President Obama Delivers his Farewell Address … So Mr. President, No You Didn’t

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE GOOD RIDDANCE DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE ASS SPEECH …

Last night Barack Obama gave his farewell speech as President of the United States from Chicago. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. One could only laugh as this is about the only thing that Obama could do correct in the last 8 years and that was campaign and talk about himself. Although, at the outset when trying to calm down the appreciative and partisan crowd, he sounded a bit porky-piggish without the aid of the TOTUS. When the crowd finally took their seats, Obama did what he does best, talk about himself and describe the country and what his administration did to the United States with revisionist history.

I have news for you Mr. President, no you didn’t. Barack Obama had the unique opportunity as the first elected black person as president to do some amazing things. Instead, Obama was nothing for than a far LEFT ideologue who ruled by fiat, and by a pen and a phone. You decimated the Democrat party under your 8 years as they find themselves in the minority in the House and Senate, governorship’s and state house. America is as decisive as it has been in years as Obama pitted black vs. White, rich vs. poor. Obama’s foreign policy was a disaster. Maybe one has to look no further than the unicorn and gum drop part of Obama’s speech where he lectures us about being open and not retreating to our own bubbles. Obama lecturing We the People about compromise, seriously? This from the man who told Republicans that elections have consequences and then pursued to ram the disaster that is Obamacare down the throats of the American people who never wanted it, not supported it. All of a sudden now, after 8 miserable and long years, Obama wants debate, discussion and compromise.

And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable.

And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.

And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. Look, politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other.

WAPO: Text of Speech:

My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks.

Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people — in living rooms and in schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man.

So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I was still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills.

It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.

(CROWD CHANTING “FOUR MORE YEARS”)

I can’t do that.

Now this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.

After eight years as your president, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government.

It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.

What a radical idea, the great gift that our Founders gave to us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, and toil, and imagination — and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.

For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom.

It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan — and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.

(APPLAUSE)

So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.

Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious. Sometimes it has been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.

(APPLAUSE)

If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9-11 — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high.

But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. The answer to people’s hopes and, because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.

In 10 days the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. No, no, no, no, no. The peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected President to the next. I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me.

Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on earth.

Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.

And that’s what I want to focus on tonight, the state of our democracy. Understand democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued, they quarreled, and eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity. The idea that, for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together, that we rise or fall as one.

There have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality, demographic change, and the specter of terrorism. These forces haven’t just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids and create good jobs and protect our homeland.

In other words, it will determine our future. To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity.

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Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families Poll: Most Troops Have an Unfavorable View of Obama

The Not-so Commander in Chief …

The Military Times reports that a recent Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families poll shows that the military has a 51.5% unfavorable rating of Barack Obama, while only 16.4% have a favorable one after eight years. Who had the most unfavorable opinion of Obama of all of the branches of the military, the Marines at 60.3%.  The biggest criticism of Obama’s time in office was that he decreased the size of the military while in office, as 71% of those polled said the military needs more personnel. Red State opines that back in 2014, 65% of post-9/11 veterans had a favorable opinion of former President George W. Bush, calling him a good Commander-in-Chief, as opposed to about 42% at that time for President Obama.

President Barack Obama will step down after eight years as commander in chief with one of the most influential tenures leading the U.S. military, but not necessarily the political support of service members.

His moves to slim down the armed forces, move away from traditional military might and overhaul social policies prohibiting the service of minority groups have proven divisive in the ranks. His critics have accused him of trading a strong security posture for political points, and for allowing the rise of terrorists like the Islamic State group whom the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were supposed to silence.

More than half of troops surveyed in the latest Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families poll said they have an unfavorable opinion of Obama and his two-terms leading the military. About 36 percent said they approve of his job as commander in chief.

Their complaints include the president’s decision to decrease military personnel (71 percent think it should be higher), his moves to withdraw combat troops from Iraq (59 percent say it made America less safe) and his lack of focus on the biggest dangers facing America (64 percent say China represents a significant threat to the U.S.)

Barack Obama Retools his Political Operation to Save his Legacy

HASN’T HE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE … SHOULD SOME ONE INFORM OBAMA THAT IT WAS HE WHO DESTROYED THE DEMOCRAT PARTY?

According to The Politico, Barack Obama is retooling hos political operations and PAC’s in order to salvage his legacy and supposedly rebuild the Democrat party. The electoral college landslide victory by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race over Hillary Clinton was a repudiation of Obama and his policies for the last 8 years. Americans finally stood up and said, no more, enough is enough. However, Obama does not seem to have gotten that memo. Maybe its on Hillary’s private server. However, in order to save his legacy, Obama will not go gentle into that good night as most every other preceding president. Instead, the presidency of “I and me” will look to retool his PAC’s to make it once again about him. However, truth be told, it was Obama and his my way or the highway liberal LEFT agenda what decimated the Democrat party in the last eight years where they find themselves in the minority in the House, the Senate, the Governorship’s and the state houses. Oh yeah, and the lost the White House too.

This is what happens when an unqualified individual who is nothing more than a community agitator,  a liberal ideologue and who has no respect for the Constitution or We the People operates like a king instead of a president and thinks he can just do everything as he wishes. It is called a failed presidency.

Barack Obama doesn’t want his post-presidency to be all about Donald Trump, but he knows some of it’s going to have to be.

Trump’s win upended his plans for life after leaving office, and people who’ve been talking to him say he’s been quietly sorting out how to honor the tradition of withholding criticism of his successor as he also considers how best to salvage his legacy and rebuild his party.

“The way he views his role is not that he himself, Barack Obama, is going to be out there giving fiery speeches and leading marches, but he wants to play a role in empower and lifting up the next generation of leaders,” said Jen Psaki, his White House communications director and an alum of both his presidential campaigns.

Already, former aides are revamping Organizing for Action, the group formed out of his old campaign structure. No longer about backing up Obama’s agenda in the White House, it will be a nexus for training activists and candidate recruitment, reshaped both by Trump’s win and some of the factors that contributed to Hillary Clinton’s loss.

Barack Obama to Meet with Congressional Democrats on Saving Obamacare & His Failed Presidency

DIDN’T WE JUST HAVE AN ELECTION WHERE THE VOTERS CHOSE TO END OBAMACARE?

So much for Barack Obama promising a peaceful transition to president-elect Donald Trump. As reported at Politico, lame-duck Barack Obama plans to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats on how to save his failed signature piece of legislation, Obamacare. In direct contract with the will of the American people. The repeal and replacement of Obamacare was on the ballot during the 2016 presidential election that saw Donald Trump win in a electoral college landslide. But, just like how the LEFT and Democrats refuse to acknowledge the Trump victory, they are also trying to resist the will of the people who want an end to Obamacare and have it replaced with something affordable and a more common sense approach to healthcare. After Obama gets back from his lavish vacation, he looks to save his unaffordable, Affordable health care law. Now Obama and Democrats look to bring back the old lies that the GOP looks to take away your healthcare.

Obama looking to continue to inflict pain on America

President Barack Obama will head to Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with congressional Democrats about how to shield Obamacare from Republican efforts to dismantle it, a Capitol Hill source told POLITICO.

The meeting is at 9 a.m. in the Congressional Visitors Center auditorium and is for both House and Senate Democrats, according to a notice sent to members Friday morning.

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to stand firm against repeal efforts and subsequently, Republican efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act with a more conservative framework. And a conference call convened by House Democrats earlier this week focused largely on emphasizing the benefits of Obamacare, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) noting that she sees parallels between the current situation and the 2005 effort by then-President George W. Bush to privatize Social Security, according to an aide on the call.

“The Affordable Care Act has been successful in meeting its goals of reducing cost, increasing access and improving quality of care,” Pelosi wrote to members in a “Dear Colleague” letter this week.

Democrats are also launching a broader health care offensive against Republicans that focuses not only on their push to repeal Obamacare but any prospective efforts from the GOP to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid. To that end, Democrats, led by Schumer, Pelosi and liberal firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — will host a so-called “day of action” on Jan. 15 that is meant to rev up grass roots support for shielding social safety net programs.

Obama lies, lies and more lies

Barack Obama and Democrats refuse to admit that Obamacare has been a lie and a complete failure. Then again, what’s new? They think they also won the 2016 elections. So much for elections having consequences like Obama once told the GOP. That of course is different when the shoe is on the left foot.

Bill O’Reilly ‘Is It Legal’ 12/20/2016 … Barack Obama Pardons 78, Commutes 153 Sentences that Includes Dangerous and Armed Criminals

According to Obama these criminals are supposed to be low level and non-violent drug offenses. REALLY? The people who have been given pardons and had sentences commuted were arrested with guns. And thus you have the legacy of Barack Hussein Obama.