Obama Now Underdog for Re-election

Independent pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen tells Newsmax that Wednesday night’s GOP debate was “rockier” than expected for leading candidate Rick Perry, and says his stance on the Social Security issue could be the “chink in the armor” of his campaign.
But Rasmussen asserts that the Texas governor now has all the “excitement and charisma” in the Republican race and could prove difficult to beat, while leading challenger Mitt Romney is an “awkward position.”
And Rasmussen believes that President Obama would be the underdog in a head-to-head race against any of the leading GOP candidates.
Rasmussen is founder and president of Rasmussen Reports and co-founder of the sports network ESPN. He has been an independent public opinion pollster for over a decade, and most major news organizations cite his reports.
He is also the co-author of “Mad As Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System.”


Read more on Newsmax.com: Rasmussen: Obama Now Underdog for Re-election
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Obamateurism of the Day

Barack Obama had an excellent opportunity to put his Hope and Change promise into action this week, after having been introduced by union ally James Hoffa Jr on a Detroit stage with a call, “Let’s take these [Tea Party] sons of bitches out” and telling Obama that his army of union activists would do the job.  Obama may not have heard Hoffa’s speech when it happened, but he had all day yesterday to repudiate Hoffa’s comments about going to war against Tea Party activists.  That would have fulfilled his promise to change the tone in Washington and reduce the bitter partisanship — which is something that almost by definition has to start with one’s own allies.  It also would have matched his speech after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona that called for constructive rhetoric in political debate.  Hoffa might have been miffed if Obama took the opening for a “Sister Souljah” moment, but it wouldn’t have damaged Hoffa at all and could have boosted Obama with moderates.

Instead, not only did Obama fail to take the initiative to rebuke Hoffa for his own gain, the White House couldn’t pick up the golden opportunity handed to them by ABC’s Jake Tapper yesterday.  Jay Carney could have distanced his boss from Hoffa’s remarks by scolding Hoffa, but instead just prattled about how the press corps wants to make “connections” between supposedly unrelated people and incidents — even though Hoffa introduced Obama at the event with the remarks in question.  It’s a response akin to, “Who are you going to believe — us or your lying eyes?”

Obama could have had a real presidential moment.  Instead, Obama looks clueless as to what his own promises of Hope and Change actually were, and ended up tacitly endorsing Hoffa’s remarks.http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/07/obamateurism-of-the-day-585/

Speech Stunt Backfires on Obama After Boehner Boxes Him In

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has asked President Obama to address a joint-session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8, when it wouldn't conflict with the Republican presidential debate.

Citing logistical difficulties, Boehner requested that Obama hold his jobs address, which Obama wants to deliver next Wednesday, one day later.

The Speaker's letter made no mention of the more obvious conflict: between the president's speech, and a Republican presidential debate scheduled on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. That debate is the first of the post-Labor Day political season, and the first one in which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is set to participate.

The response by Boehner sets up an early showdown between Obama and the Congress just returning from its August recess....

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/179067-boehner-asks-obama-to-move-speech-to-thursday#ixzz1WnE1x3VN

Obama's Uncle Charged With Drunken Driving, Held by Immigration Officials

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. –  President Obama's uncle -- arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and held without bail on an immigration detainer, reportedly has had a Social Security card for the last 19 years. 

The Boston Herald reported Tuesday that Oyango Obama, whose sister Zeituni Oyango was also held last year for being illegal in the United States, is being represented by the same lawyer who won Zeituni Oyango's asylum.

A spokesman for Cleveland immigration attorney Margaret Wong told the Herald that he "wouldn't know how" Onyango obtained a Social Security number. 

Bailey Comment: If I were a gambling person I would bet that President Obama's Uncle will get asylum just like his Aunt did! That shows you just how screwed and screwed up America has become! 
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/29/obamas-uncle-charged-with-drunken-driving/#ixzz1Wb1zt6pu

ExxonMobil Sues Gov't for Canceling Deepwater Well Worth ‘Billions of Barrels of Oil’

(CNSNews.com) – ExxonMobil, the world’s largest energy company, filed a lawsuit against the federal government for canceling an oil-drilling lease in the Gulf of Mexico that held “billions of barrels of oil,” according to the company.

In the suit, filed Aug. 12 in federal court in Louisiana against Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar and related parties, Exxon alleges that the Interior Department made an “arbitrary, capricious” decision in canceling the deepwater leases, arguing that the government’s action “deprives ExxonMobil of property without due process of law.” ExxonMobil lawsuit filing..pdf

At issue is an ExxonMobil project in a part of the Gulf of Mexico known as the Julia Field, which the company estimates holds “billions of barrels of oil.” ExxonMobil was in the process of connecting the wells drilled in the Julia Field to existing oil platforms in a nearby part of the Gulf when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) canceled the leases, accusing ExxonMobil in 2009 of not having a “commitment to production.”

ExxonMobil had asked for a Suspension of Production (SOP) allowance in 2008 in order to have enough time to tie the wells in the Julia Field to the nearby production facility, something it said the government normally allows.

However, ExxonMobil contends that in arguing it did not show a “commitment to production,” BOEMRE used criteria it had never applied before, and that did not exist anywhere in federal regulations.http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/exxonmobil-sues-obama-administration-can