Obama: "You Can Go Ahead And Clap"

Mr Obama's quite into self-promotion these days, reveling in the violent passing of Muammar Khaddafi (one of 75 different ways of spelling his name) -- as though he had something to do with it -- and prompting applause at the end of his lackluster (Canadian-manufactured by Prevost) Bus Tour. From the Los Angeles Times:

On Wednesday afternoon, Obama stood at a lectern against a backdrop of firefighters and offered his prescription for solving the persistent jobs crisis: "A fair shot for everybody; a fair share from everybody. That's the principle that built America."

The president got a polite reception from the 100 or so people crowded into the station garage. Early in his speech he mentioned his American Jobs Act.

One or two people clapped.

"You can go ahead and clap," the president said. "Go ahead, nothing wrong with it."

In the meantime, it may appear that Nancy Pelosi won't get a Christmas card from Mr Obama this year. From The Hill:

Pelosi's silent treatment shows breaks with President Obama

By Mike Lillis - 10/20/11 05:30 AM ET

For House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), disagreement with President Obama often takes the form of silence.

While rank-and-file House Democrats have been outspoken in taking the White House to task over issues as diverse as foreclosure prevention, environmental protection and funding the federal government, Pelosi has stayed quiet or shifted her talking points to attacks on the GOP.

And all is not well between Mr Obama and the Demorats:

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., announced his retirement from Congress this afternoon -- and he issued a scathing parting shot at President Obama's track record on his way out.

In a statement explaining his decision, Cardoza, a leader of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, said he was "dismayed" by the administration's "failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis."

Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the Administration's inaction is infuriating," Cardoza said.

A former chairman of the moderate Blue Dog Caucus, Cardoza also bemoaned the increasing partisanship in Washington, and blamed the media for fueling the ideological divide in the country, not giving enough attention to moderates.

But wait, every bit of news isn't bad:

Cardoza is the sixth member -- all Democrats -- to announce plans to retire outright so far. He's also the third member of the Blue Dog Caucus to head for the exits -- joining fellow moderate Reps. Dan Boren, D-Okla., and Mike Ross, D-Ark.

And finally, it is with the greatest sadness that I report Minister Louis Farrakhan seems to be breaking with the First Black President of the United States:

A YouTube video of Minister Louis Farrakhan taking President Obama to task over the war in Afghanistan and the bombing of Libya is making its way around the Web. In the video, Farrakhan admonishes the president for turning into someone else. Farrakhan says, "We voted for our brother Barack, a beautiful human being with a sweet heart, and now he's an assassin. They turned him into them."

"They turned him into them." Right. It's not Mr Obama's fault. It's that nebulous "they." In Mr Farrakhan's racist world, "they" are white.

People, you couldn't write a fiction book this ridiculous and out-of-control.

BZ