[Sixstrings]

The white house did this same thing about Poroshenko. They really did not want him to speak at congress. But Boehner invited Poro, anyway. And the the white house was snippy for the whole visit.

So now it's happened again. Boehner invites Netanyahu to speak at congress, and the white house has gone ballistic over it. Obama says he will not meet with Netanyahu while he's here, and Kerry won't meet with him either.

Obama admin says Netanyahu will "pay a price" for defying him and speaking at congress, where he will give a speech calling for sanctions on Iran.

Obama admin says Netanyahu has "spat in their face." Do you see the drama here? It's a bunch a politics crap and it's what they did in the campaigns and so they just carry this over onto the world stage but you can't do that. You can't just trash Israel because it defies you, and constitutionally, Boehner is Speaker and can invite anyone he wants to, to come speak. White House is acting like children, even if they're opposed to Netanyahu, they're coming at it like a girl flapping her arms and screaming yelling -- not from a position of strength.

I'm not proud of my President when his administration acts this way; they did a bit of it with Poroshenko, now it's 10 times worse with Netanyahu and it's so undignified and petty.

On the issues -- I do realize it's more complicated with Iran, lately. They're actually working out to be our allies in some places and on some issues.

So okay, BUT, tack it down the middle -- don't just go all pro Iran and trash all your old allies. Not cool. Obama did the same thing about Ukraine, he let Ukraine twist in the wind for so long while he just kept going along with Putin. Now he does it with Israel, to go along with Iran.

And what's up with "he will pay a price" I mean jesus we sound like we are Iranians now, wtf, this is Israel we don't talk that way even about our enemies -- "he will pay a price."

Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials said to say

PM ‘will pay price’ for spat over Congress address; Obama said to have asked him to tone down pro-sanctions rhetoric; Wash. Post: Kerry’s enthusiasm for defending Israel may wane

The White House’s outrage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to speak before Congress in March — a move he failed to coordinate with the administration — began to seep through the diplomatic cracks on Friday, with officials telling Haaretz the Israeli leader had “spat” in President Barack Obama’s face.

“We thought we’ve seen everything,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed senior US official as saying. “But Bibi managed to surprise even us.

“There are things you simply don’t do. He spat in our face publicly and that’s no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price,” he said.

Officials in Washington said that the “chickenshit” epithet — with which an anonymous administration official branded Netanyahu several months ago — was mild compared to the language used in the White House when news of Netanyahu’s planned speech came in.

In his address the Israeli leader is expected to speak about stalled US-led nuclear negotiations with Iran, and to urge lawmakers to slap Tehran with a new round of tougher sanctions in order to force it to comply with international demands. The Mossad intelligence service on Thursday went to the rare length of issuing a press statement to deny claims, cited by Kerry, that its chief Tamir Pardo had told visiting US politicians that he opposed further sanctions.

Haaretz reported that Obama had personally demanded that Netanyahu tone down his pro-sanctions rhetoric in a phone call between the two last week. The president has said a sanctions bill would cripple negotiations with Iranian leaders at a critical stage, and has threatened to veto such a bill should it come through.

The Washington Post reported that Netanyahu’s apparent disrespect for the US leadership was particularly offensive to Secretary of State John Kerry, who over the past month had made frenzied efforts on Israel’s behalf on the world stage — making dozens of calls to world leaders to convince them to oppose a UN Security Council resolution which would have set a timeframe for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

he White House said Thursday that Obama would not meet with Netanyahu when he travels to Washington, with a spokeswoman citing a “long-standing practice and principle” by which the president does not meet with heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections. Kerry will also not meet with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu will be in Washington in part for a March 3 address to a joint session of Congress. House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the Obama administration.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-spat-in-our-face-white-house-officials-say/#ixzz3Pf5pHksN

[GHung]

" ...White House officials said to say"...

Oh,, so some said somebody said. Sure. Times of Israel is does a fine job of naming sources, eh? Regardless, Obama's message is pretty clear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yjNbcKkNY#t=19

[PrestonSturges]

We'll still keep sending Israel billions of dollars in aid and they'll keep whining.

The GOP is appealing to the hard core fundamentalist Christians with their comic book religion where Israel triggers the Rapture or something.

[Paulo1]

They are trying to trigger more sanctions for the talks to fail this July. Then, they'll bomb the bejesus (couldn't resist out of them. Iran has a lot on its plate so this might be an opportune time for Israel to plot and stir.

[Sixstrings]

WE'll still keep Israel billions of dollars in aid and they'll keep whining.

The GOP is appealing to the hard core fundamentalist Christians with their comic book religion where Israel triggers the Rapture or something.

I believe them, because they did the exact same thing about Poroshenko -- and it's all over the news here too not just this Israeli report, the WH is ballistic at Boehner for inviting Netanyahu to speak.

Preston, Obama admin has "campaign mode" too much and gets nasty and snippy and holds grudges, in how it handles foreign policy. It's not good. Being IN OFFICE was supposed to be different to the games one does in a political campaign.

It's not cool -- Ukraine is an ally, yet Obama had to be so cool and detached with Poroshenko when they met. Not for any geopolitical reasons, it was just petty politics! Because Republicans invited him!

If Obama is in the right, then let Netanyahu speak. If Obama has the truth on his side, then one has nothing to fear from dissent.

[Sixstrings]

And APPARENTLY Obama is not working with Boehner to even compromise about foreign policy.

The President is not a king. The people elected this Congress, and he's got to deal with that and govern it's not just a neverending campaign where you never compromise.

We SHOULD have discussion about the islamic violence problem in Congress, WE SHOULD have discussion about Iran and what our position should be.

Do any of you have an opinion on Iran? I know this is wonky stuff, and I don't get far into it, but it seems like we do work with Iran a lot lately. That "us backed" government in Yemen was actually tied to Iran, too. I think Iran has done some things about ISIS as well, and what's left of Iraq are all the same mulsim faction that Iran is and Iraq has ties with Iran -- and still tied to us.

Is it shifting sands of geopolitics?

Then just talk about it, don't shut down debate and discussion in congress.

My opinion: if Iran is playing ball on some things and they're not all bad guys anymore, then work with them where it works out, BUT YOU DO NOT trash all the old allies we've had all this time. We should never trade a Saudi Arabia, for an Iran.

Play it down the middle.

But what do you guys think, about the actual issue at state -- are Iranians just playing games with us, so we let them get the bomb, then after they have the bomb, will they just tell us to piss off and suddenly we've got a red alert nuclear Iran problem on our hands?

CAN Iran be trusted to have nukes? How dangerous is it? This needs to be discussed, and O is trying to shut that discussion down.

[PrestonSturges]

CAN Iran be trusted to have nukes? How dangerous is it? This needs to be discussed, and O is trying to shut that discussion down.

Let's put it this way - no Arab country is going to nuke israel, period, because Jerusalem is there second holiest site, not to mention the Arabs living there, and israels ability to retaliate via subs. Conservative hysteria on the subject is the usual meaningless BS.

[Sixstrings]

Let's put it this way - no Arab country is going to nuke israel, period, because Jerusalem is there second holiest site, not to mention the Arabs living there, and israels ability to retaliate via subs. Conservative hysteria on the subject is the usual meaningless BS.

You make a good point.

But a larger issue is that if Iran has nukes, then the whole ME are all going to want them too, no? We may wind up losing KSA as an ally -- because we FAILED as leader in this region and allowed someone to get nukes.

KSA tolerates Israel having nukes (unofficial) but they don't want Iran to have them. If we let Iranians get nukes, then the Saudis will want them too, and if we won't let them have them then they're jumping ship from us.

And honestly, we do not want to see the middle east having nukes. It's the LAST place in the world that should have nuclear weapons, for God sake.

It's not as simple as you think Preston, it's not just about Israel, it's a sunni shia intra muslim war thing and Obama is about to let one side get nukes. That may not be wise. This should be discussed in Congress.

Obama should start talking to the American people about what we are doing with Iran, he needs to explain it to us and explain how it's going to work out for us and work out best for the world.

I suspect he does not know wtf he is doing, and neither does John Kerry, and Republicans and Netanyahu and the Saudis all know it too -- as well as Putin, in Russia, nobody respects the Obama admin. Obama admin is gullible. Russia played them like a fiddle the most they could, now it's Iran.

[Fishman]

Worst president in American history. Petulant, arrogant, remarkably incompetent.

[Sixstrings]

Worst president in American history. Petulant, arrogant, remarkably incompetent.

Polling data seems to agree with you:

Obama is the worst president ever

Well, not the worst president ever. Just the worst in your lifetime. And your parents’ lifetimes. He is the worst president since World War II, according to a poll published Wednesday.

The Quinnipiac University survey that found 33 percent of Americans named Mr. Obama as the worst. Just over a quarter named his predecessor, George W. Bush.

“Over the span of 69 years of American history and 12 presidencies, President Barack Obama finds himself with President George W. Bush at the bottom of the popularity barrel,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement.

Nixon, who resigned in disgrace, got just 13 percent of the vote, while Jimmy Carter, president when interest rates topped 20 percent, was named by 8 percent of respondents. None of the remaining eight presidents received more than 3 percent.

...

Mr. Obama has become a real bummer lately, a Gloomy Gus. He’s depressed, like Debbie Downer. His glass is always half empty. His “Hope and Change” is long gone, replaced with a cynicism rarely seen in America’s highest elected office — and certainly not since Mr. Carter declared that the moribund economy was the fault of lazy Americans.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/2/curl-obama-is-the-worst-president-ever/?page=all

Personally, speaking for myself, he's the worst president in my lifetime -- that is correct. But it's more like he's just mediocre, not "horrible horrible bad." There are worse ones farther back in history, like Hoover and then earlier in history.

Carter was before my time, but from my knowledge of history I'd say he was far worse than Obama. That hostage crisis was a bunch of crap, and he had the military in mothballs and decrepit and they failed rescuing the hostages -- and Carter didn't even get back on the horse, he just left it at that, that massive failure of American forces in the desert. It was left to Reagan to solve the crisis and free the hostages.

And Clinton had Blackhawk Down, in Somalia. The lesson here: if American military suffers an ignominious defeat, you do not surrender -- you do a counter-strike, win one, then pull back. And keep respect. Clinton was too soft on terrorism and that led the way to 9/11.

Carter -- those depressing lectures, just depressing the hell out of everyone, wearing his sweaters and telling people to turn the heater off. And his lectures about how Americans just have existential angst problems, wtf was that, sweet Jesus, what kind of leader is that.

Here's the presidents historians put at the bottom of the rankings:

The bottom ten often includes Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, Warren G. Harding, Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan, Herbert Hoover, Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, and George W. Bush. Because William Henry Harrison (32 days) and James A. Garfield (200 days, incapacitated after 119 days) both died shortly after taking office, they are sometimes omitted from presidential rankings. Zachary Taylor also died after serving as president for only 16 months, but is usually included.

In the case of these three, it is not clear if they received low rankings due to their actions as president, or because each was president for such a limited time that it is not possible to assess them more thoroughly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States

Way too soon to have W. on the list, historically. For one thing he -- and Dick Cheney -- have been turning out right on a lot of things.

ON FOREIGN POLICY AND STRATEGY -- Obama is definitely a very bad president. He's just phoning it in. He can only do anything good when he just steps out of the way and lets the Pentagon step up -- which he is finally doing about Russia.

All the red lines -- you do not make a red line unless you are going to enforce it, that is a Thou Shalt commandment for a US president. That's our natl security on the line, you start to waffle like that and you endanger the country and wolves come out all over the place. Make the red line, or do not make the red line, but don't f*ck around with it.

The only good thing I would say about O's "do nothing and lead from behind" strategy (or lack thereof) is that it has caused a lot of problems in the world, and made much of the world remember that they need us and want our leadership.

Whereas if a Bush had just handled things and prevented the problems, the world would just blame us for it -- so better that they come to us, and ask for the help.

But OTOH -- I'd still prefer a Bush, or Reagan, and just solve all these problems before they get so out of hand. And ultimately that is how we have to handle it -- that's how you prevent 9/11's, and Pearl Harbors, and Iranian hostage crises, and ISIS attacking us, and Russia / China probing us to see how weak we really are.

Our biggest natl security threat is anything nuclear (and increasingly, threat of crippling cyberattack) -- so ultimately, you cannot just "lead from behind," and things really must be handled. However much it makes the world dislike us.

[careinke]

CAN Iran be trusted to have nukes? How dangerous is it? This needs to be discussed, and O is trying to shut that discussion down.

Let's put it this way - no Arab country is going to nuke israel, period, because Jerusalem is there second holiest site, not to mention the Arabs living there, and israels ability to retaliate via subs. Conservative hysteria on the subject is the usual meaningless BS.

Actually, Medena is their second most holy site. Jerusalem is number three.

[salinsky]

Are you people serious? Don't you recognize theater when you see it? Next week they'll kiss and make up.

[Sixstrings]

Are you people serious? Don't you recognize theater when you see it? Next week they'll kiss and make up.

Obama and John Boehner? I'm not sure about that.

[Fishman]

"And APPARENTLY Obama is not working with Boehner to even compromise about foreign policy" And therein lies the problem. Obam has no political skills except campaigning. He can't interact with his own party in any fruitful way, much less the other party. Good normal politics is campaign hard, then talk and work with the other side to accomplish something, statesmanship. He is utterly devoid of that skill.

[PrestonSturges]

I just love listening to you guys quoting last years election propaganda from the Washington Examiner (sucks when the free market lets a paper fail, right?) or the Washington Times (which has survived with one BILLION dollars in subsidies from the Moonies).

Anyway, even if we go with your premise that Obama is a cowardly, stupid, lazy idiot man-child kenyan homosexual Muslim manchurian candidate, he still beat all the Republican candidates twice, and won both elections by very large margins, bigger than predicted. Even though he's barely human, he still has to scrape the GOP candidates off the sole of his shoe.

[PrestonSturges]

Petulant....

....arrogant...

.... remarkably incompetent....

[Fishman]

But only Obama combines them all prest. And yes he did win twice, amazing what having the most of the media running block for you can do. And yes I will completely admit he campaigns among the best, just no substance. Across the country, state, municipal, House, Senate, massive wave of conservative Republicans . He's the best campaigner for Barack that he could possibly be, but the utter destruction of his own party and policies. Thank you, thank you so much

[PrestonSturges]

Of course it's a conspiracy!

The so-called liberal press was actively engaged in digging the grave of the German people and the German Reich (Mien kampf p243) It is this press, above all, which wages a positively fanatical and slanderous struggle, tearing down everything which can be regarded as a support of national independence, cultural elevation, and the economic independence of the nation. (Mein Kampf p323)

But you're winning so keep doing that victory dance.

[Shaved Monkey]

Carter -- those depressing lectures, just depressing the hell out of everyone, wearing his sweaters and telling people to turn the heater off. And his lectures about how Americans just have existential angst problems, wtf was that, sweet Jesus, what kind of leader is that.

Seeing PO and telling the world
No one wants to hear that.
Dubya told Americans to go shopping now thats a leader.

[SILENTTODD]

The GOP is appealing to the hard core fundamentalist Christians with their comic book religion where Israel triggers the Rapture or something.

A comment after my own "heart" PrestonSturges. I have never understood the mythologies of Zionism, Islam, or Evangelical Christianity. They are all death cults dragging the rest of us to their vision of "Valhalla"!