Yesterday, the White House announced that President Obama would once again be giving a “major jobs speech” in September after his Martha’s Vineyard vacation. If spending three years delivering identical speeches created jobs, President Obama would be taking credit for 4% unemployment today. Alas, they do not. In fact, President Obama has given many “major“ speeches and addresses on jobs since taking office. While some news organizations treated this announcement as “breaking news” yesterday, it is unfortunately more of the same from a President who is long on speeches and short …
Today marks the anniversary of the first ever Presidential Inaugural Address under the Constitution. Let’s look at five that stand out. April 30, 1789, George Washington’s First Inaugural: Neither the Constitution nor Congress required Washington to deliver an inaugural. But Washington set the bar high for his successors. The only president to be unanimously elected, Washington admitted that he had hoped to retire to Mount Vernon, but, he declared, “I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love.” His presence was a …
Is President Barack Obama trying to perform an end-run around Congress in order to implement restrictions on political speech? It’s a question that 27 senators put to President Obama in a letter this week in which they urged him to reconsider a draft executive order (EO) that would require government contractors to disclose political contributions. In the letter, the senators cite to Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, who raised concerns over the underlying purpose of the executive order: Given similarities between the draft EO and some …
Nearly a year ago, President Obama delivered a speech calling for an increase in oil and gas production. Since then, he has canceled more production than he has allowed. Today he delivered a speech at Georgetown University outlining a plan to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025. President Obama said when gasoline was $4 a gallon, “you had a lot of slogans and gimmicks and outraged politicians waving three-point plans for two-dollar gas—when none of it would really do anything to solve the problem.” Then he offered his own …
Last night, nine days after U.S. military operations against Muammar Qadhafi began, President Barack Obama took to the stage at the National Defense University to finally explain his rationale for intervention in Libya’s civil war. He described the brutality of the Qadhafi regime, the United States’ interests in the conflict, the limited nature of U.S. military involvement, and the role the “international community” would undertake in finishing the job in Libya and rebuilding the country. It was a speech more appropriately delivered at the onset of Operation Odyssey Dawn, and …
Tonight, the president gave a long series of remarks that might have been appropriate last week when the administration kicked-off Operation Odyssey Dawn—explaining why US forces directly intervened in the Libyan civil war. Yet the questions asked at the outset of the intervention were still left largely unanswered. That airpower could turn back the advance of Gadaffi’s forces was never in doubt. The issue always was—what comes after that? Tonight, the President tried to answer the question—sort of. He stated finishing the job in Libya and rebuilding the country would be the responsibility …
Today, America marks the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. On January 28, 1986, America lost seven brave explorers – Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe – when NASA suffered its first-ever in-flight loss. The loss of the Challenger marked one of those vivid moments in our nation’s history that are unforgettable, including where you watched it, heard of it or how you grieved. For millions of Generation Xers, they were in their school rooms, cafeterias and libraries set …
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Friday participated in the unveiling of his official portrait to commemorate his service as the 21st U.S. Secretary of Defense. Following are excerpts of his remarks as prepared for the Pentagon ceremony: I have seen our country in times of depression and prosperity, peace and turmoil, exhilarating triumphs and agonizing wars. Yet America is here today, as it was yesterday. And I have every confidence it will prosper and endure. In my lifetime, our nation’s leaders have had to: tackle the worst economic …
Last week, eight former commissioners from the Federal Election Commission (including me) tried to warn a committee in the House of Representatives that a bill it was about to vote on was not only unnecessary, but so burdensome to the right of political speech and advocacy that it violates the First Amendment. We summarized our criticisms of the “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Election Act,” or DISCLOSE Act (H.R. 5175), in this commentary in the Wall Street Journal. As we pointed out, the DISLOSE Act not …
Tonight President Obama outlined his plans for operations in Afghanistan. The President was right to call the U.S. mission a “war of necessity” in March, and that America must “finish the job.” But even after the commitments from the White House tonight, grave concerns remain that this administration is willing to do all that is needed to win this necessary war. It is inexcusable that President Obama has taken this long to make a decision. Given that he has been in office over 10 months; the many months General McChrystal …
