But when it comes to the 2012 race, Obama didn't discount the possibility he may sit out on a reelection bid. "You know, if - if I feel like I've made the very best decisions for the American people and three years from now I look at it and, you know, my poll numbers are in the tank and because we've gone through these wrenching changes, you know, politically, I'm in a tough spot, I'll - I'll feel all right about myself," Obama told CNN's Ed Henry during an interview in China.

Stop bowing, stop apologizing Examiner Editorial November 18, 2009 President Obama's bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito was deeply insulting to the American people he was elected to represent. Sadly, it came as no surprise: For the past nine months, Obama has traveled around the world apologizing for America's alleged multitude of past sins and errors. These mea culpas have been delivered to nations ruled by corrupt authoritarians (Egypt), terrorist-supporting monarchs (Saudi Arabia) and virulently anti-Semitic despots (Iran), among so many others. He has even apologized to countries in Europe that might not exist in anything remotely like their current form were it not for the repeated shedding of American blood on their soil. So seeing Obama obsequiously bowing and scraping to the head of state of the nation that launched the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor doesn't exactly come as a shock. But it is no less egregious for not being unexpected. It simply ought not be necessary to instruct an American chief executive -- even one so inexperienced in foreign affairs as Obama was when he took the oath of office -- that we do not bow to foreign monarchs. We declared our independence from a monarch. As Thomas Paine put it, "in America, the law is king." And the law is made by representatives chosen by the true sovereign, the people. A bow is far more than a diplomatic expression of respect; it is a sign of submission and acceptance of the authority of the monarch. For an American president to make such a gesture rightfully has sparked outrage across the country. Recognizing that Obama's bow was inappropriate, most of the Japanese news media used images of the president's more formal nod to the Empress. Japan has depended upon the U.S. nuclear umbrella for decades and has looked to this nation for strong, steady leadership in a dangerous world. As a result, the Japanese have been able to redirect precious resources that would otherwise have gone to its defense against threats from the Soviet Union, North Korea and China toward the pursuit of peace and economic stability. They understand -- apparently better than some of our own leaders here at home -- that a weakened America creates immense problems for them. So stop the bowing and apologizing, Mr. President. We elected you to stand up for us, not to make apologies for us or to demean the accomplishments and sacrifices of our ancestors. Stop bowing, stop apologizing

EPA Employees Silenced for Criticizing Cap and Trade When Zabel and Williams released a video on the Internet expressing their concerns over the Obama administration’s plans to use a cap and trade program to fight climate change, they were told to keep it to themselves. Laurie Williams and husband Alan Zabel worked as lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in its San Francisco office for more than 20 years, and they know more about climate change than most politicians. But when the couple released a video on the Internet expressing their concerns over the Obama administration’s plans to use cap-and-trade legislation to fight climate change, they were told to keep it to themselves. Williams and Zabel oppose cap and trade -- a controversial government allowance program in which companies are issued emissions limits, or caps, which they can then trade -- as a means to fight climate change. On their own time, Williams and Zabel made a video expressing these opinions.

Obama Pushes For Internet Freedom In China For months, authorities in the communist state have blocked internet sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. But Mr Obama told students at the Museum of Science and Technology in Shanghai: "I have always been a strong supporter of open internet use. I am a big supporter of non-censorship. "I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger a society becomes."

THEN 2008

Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.

NOW 2009

While President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment, senior administration officials say.

Attached Images

 

John Berry, President Obama's director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has issued a new directive that is clearly designed to weed out any Bush administration political appointees who "careered-into" the civil service. The directive also effectively establishes a partisan political factor in hiring for career civil service positions in the federal bureaucracy. Berry's agency oversees the federal government's 1.9 million career civil servants. The OPM was created during the Carter administration to replace the old Civil Service Commission, which was once headed by Teddy Roosevelt in his pre-White House days. The career service was intended to end the spoils system in which federal jobs were used by presidents to reward supporters. In double-speak language that would make a Soviet apparatchik blush, Berry justifies his directive as merely an attempt to prevent political interference of the career civil service: "Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. "OPM will review these proposed appointments to ensure they comply with merit system principles and applicable civil service laws. I have delegated decisionmaking authority over these matters to career Senior Executives at OPM to avoid any hint of political influence."

Dunn to Step Down as White House Communications Chief White House Communications Director Anita Dunn will step down by the end of November and be replaced by her deputy Dan Pfeiffer, Fox News has learned. Dunn's departure had been expected as she took the position on an interim basis earlier in the year. The White House had long said Dunn would leave before the end of 2009. But her exit comes at a critical time for the White House, with the administration trying to push the Senate to follow the House of Representatives' lead in passing health care reform. Dunn, who has been a vocal critic of Fox News and last month accused the network of being a "wing of the Republican Party," will remain as an outside consultant to the White House and continue to be involved in strategy.