President Obama Decries National Security Leaks

[Taro T]

Listening to the President's press conference right now.

 

He just got asked a question about the leaks about Stuxnet, the Kill List, additional info and what he thinks about it. (Very last question he took.)

 

Claims that they're trying to track any leaks down, realizes that they're dangerous to the personnel in the field, that the leaks are NOT from the White House, and that he wants to prosecute any leakers. Anyone buying it?

 

Sorry, don't have a link to it.

[WorldTraveller]

There is no link to it yet because he is still answering the question.

[Taro T]

There is no link to it yet because he is still answering the question.

 

Press conference was over when I started the thread.

[GG]

There is no link to it yet because he is still answering the question.

 

Surprised that the transcript hasn't been leaked ahead of time.

[WorldTraveller]

 

Press conference was over when I started the thread.

Maybe I had it on pause earlier. Oops

[B-Man]

What a wonderful "press conference"

 

15 minutes late starting

 

20 minute "statement" on the economy...........................absolutely NO new information, the usual suspects blamed.

 

 

3 total questions...........the last regarding "security leaks" the only slightly challenging one. ..........answered with non-denials

 

and then a quick dash out of the room.............................................late tee time ? ?

 

 

 

.

[IDBillzFan]

What a wonderful "press conference"

 

15 minutes late starting

 

20 minute "statement" on the economy...........................absolutely NO new information, the usual suspects blamed.

 

 

3 total questions...........the last regarding "security leaks" the only slightly challenging one. ..........answered with non-denials

 

and then a quick dash out of the room.............................................late tee time ? ?

 

 

 

.

He's getting pounded mercilessly on Twitter for his "the private sector is doing fine" comment. Still no tweet from Axelrod.

[WorldTraveller]

He's getting pounded mercilessly on Twitter for his "the private sector is doing fine" comment. Still no tweet from Axelrod.

Is he? It wouldnt surprise me, I thought that comment was odd, actually more of a gaffe. I would imagine you will see his opposition bring that up in a rather mocking way.

[IDBillzFan]

Is he? It wouldnt surprise me, I thought that comment was odd, actually more of a gaffe. I would imagine you will see his opposition bring that up in a rather mocking way.

GOP already released a

. Edited June 8, 2012 by LABillzFan

[UConn James]

It smacks of Reverend Lovejoy loudly chiding his huge dog for pooping on Ned Flanders' lawn, while whispering for him not to stop.

 

Anything that distracts from the economy, jobs and deficit/debt... Barry's all over it.

[B-Man]

He's getting pounded mercilessly on Twitter for his "the private sector is doing fine" comment. Still no tweet from Axelrod.

 

 

 

#doingjustfine is already a popular Twitter hashtag, with tweeters posting things like........... “Battleship movie? #doingjustfine.”

 

#doingjustfine is trending number one as of 11:37 Eastern time.

 

 

.

[Doc]

In other news, Bill "apologizes" for speaking the truth about temporarily extending the Bush-era tax cuts.

 

"I'm very sorry about what happened," Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I thought something had to be done on the 'fiscal cliff' before the election. Apparently nothing has to be done until the first of the year."

[IDBillzFan]

#doingjustfine is already a popular Twitter hashtag, with tweeters posting things like........... “Battleship movie? #doingjustfine.”

 

#doingjustfine is trending number one as of 11:37 Eastern time.

 

 

.

Funny stuff.

 

Some of my favorites:

 

Attention, Titanic passengers, this is your captain speaking. You may have heard a loud bump, but we're #DoingJustFine.

 

Breaking: Solyndra replaces FOR SALE sign on abandoned HQ with a sign that says #DoingJustFine.

 

Countdown with Keith Olbermann #doingjustfine

[B-Man]

In other news, Bill "apologizes" for speaking the truth about temporarily extending the Bush-era tax cuts.

 

 

I'm very sorry about what happened," Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I thought something had to be done on the 'fiscal cliff' before the election.

 

Apparently nothing has to be done until the first of the year."

 

 

Thats because the private sector "Is Doing Just Fine"

 

 

.

[IDBillzFan]

Thats because the private sector "Is Doing Just Fine"

 

 

.

Funny how that hashtag doesn't even show now as trending. Still new to Twitter so I have much to figure out.

[WorldTraveller]

I see Romney already blasted Obama at a rally for the private sector "is doing just fine" gaffe.

 

And that it's already being mentioned on politico. For an administration and campaign that received so much praise for their discipline etc. they have really failed at the messaging war since the day he took office on just about every major piece of legislation they pushed , midterms and almost all the special elections, and so far they have been taken to the woodshed by the Romney camapaign.

[B-Man]

Back to the "Leaks"

 

The New York Times revealed today in a major news article that the well-known Stuxnet malware attack on the Iranian nuclear program was, in fact, an American operation. Most experts had felt that was the most logical conclusion, but it had never been confirmed. The Times report is based on interviews with anonymous sources “because the effort remains highly classified, and parts of it continue to this day,” reporter David Sanger wrote. While this is an acknowledgement of U.S. prowess in cyberwarfare, the revelation is an inexcusable breach of security that seems to be a part of a disturbing trend.

 

One has to ask: Why is the Obama Administration choosing to continue revealing operational information that is normally not released? This includes the specific units that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, information from the bin Laden compound, classified information on the bin Laden raid, details of drone operations, and now secrets about cyberwarfare. There is NO good operational reason for doing this. The only “logical” reason is a tight race for presidency. Does this mean that the closer that we get to the election, the more operational secrets will be given away?

 

The larger reality is that these leaks, designed to highlight the President’s credentials as a tough leader, are trying to mask the fact that Obama has virtually nothing to show on key national security issues. Progress in the big and important issues, such as relations with China and Russia, broadly fending off Iranian nuclear development, and keeping the rogue regime in North Korea inside its box, have all proven elusive for this Administration.

 

The Foundry

 

 

Most ominously, there are the national-security leaks that are becoming a national scandal—the "avalanche of leaks," according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, that are somehow and for some reason coming out of the administration. A terrorist "kill list," reports of U.S. spies infiltrating Al Qaeda in Yemen, stories about Osama bin Laden's DNA and how America got it, and U.S. involvement in the Stuxnet computer virus, used against Iranian nuclear facilities. These leaks, say the California Democrat, put "American lives in jeopardy," put "our nation's security in jeopardy. This isn't the usual—this is something different. A special counsel may be appointed."

 

{snip}

 

President Obama's problem now is how he looks each day—careening around, always in flight, a superfluous figure. No one even looks to him for leadership now. He doesn't go to Wisconsin, where the fight is. He goes to Sarah Jessica Parker's place, where the money is.

There is, now, a house-of-cards feel about this administration.

 

Peggy Noonan

 

.

[Taro T]

Back to the "Leaks"

 

 

 

The Foundry

 

 

 

 

Peggy Noonan

 

.

It'll be interesting to see if this story 'gets legs' and if so, how the administration reacts to it. The President was quite indignant at the accusation that the leaks are coming from the White House, but all preliminary indications are that that's where they come from.

 

I'd figured that if Romney were to win the election it'd be because of the economy. That'll be a major part of his victory, should it happen, but if the MSM does take up this story and it turns out the leaks were from the WH would that be the item to keep blue collar democrats home on November 6?

[Doc]

It'll be interesting to see if this story 'gets legs' and if so, how the administration reacts to it. The President was quite indignant at the accusation that the leaks are coming from the White House, but all preliminary indications are that that's where they come from.

 

I'd figured that if Romney were to win the election it'd be because of the economy. That'll be a major part of his victory, should it happen, but if the MSM does take up this story and it turns out the leaks were from the WH would that be the item to keep blue collar democrats home on November 6?

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

[IDBillzFan]

It'll be interesting to see if this story 'gets legs' and if so, how the administration reacts to it. The President was quite indignant at the accusation that the leaks are coming from the White House, but all preliminary indications are that that's where they come from.

 

I'd figured that if Romney were to win the election it'd be because of the economy. That'll be a major part of his victory, should it happen, but if the MSM does take up this story and it turns out the leaks were from the WH would that be the item to keep blue collar democrats home on November 6?

Part of me thinks the last thing the WH wants is to see what we're seeing now in all media: the repetitive use of the word "Leaks."

[erynthered]

Thats because the private sector "Is Doing Just Fine"

 

 

.

 

 

Food stamps up 100 % since obama became CIC.

 

http://dailycaller.c...ma-took-office/

 

 

Nothing to see here " We're doing just fine"

Edited June 8, 2012 by erynthered

[B-Man]

Food stamps up 100 % since obama became CIC.

 

http://dailycaller.c...ma-took-office/

 

Nothing to see here " We're doing just fine"

 

 

Whats Really To Blame For The Lousy Recovery.

 

Whenever the subject of the weak economic recovery under President Obama comes up, his defenders tend to respond along the lines of: "What do you expect, since the recession was the worst since the Great Depression?"

 

Obama himself has used this excuse. "From the moment we first took action to prevent another Great Depression, we knew the road to recovery would not be easy; we knew it would take time," he said last week.

 

But the history of economic cycles suggests that the exact opposite should have happened.

 

"Typically following a recession, the economy rebounds strongly," Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker noted in the bank's quarterly journal.

 

What's more, deeper recessions tend to produce strong recoveries.

 

{snip}

 

"You can't find a single deep recession that has been followed by a moderate recovery," Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, said back in August 2009.

 

 

Despite the fact that the 2007-2009 recession was very deep, the current recovery has been uniquely anemic.

 

In fact, growth rates for the current expansion have been well below the average set by the previous 10 recoveries.

 

So why, then, has this recovery been so unusually weak?

 

 

Lousy leadership.

 

 

Investors Business Daily

 

.

Edited June 8, 2012 by B-Man

[Taro T]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Thus the subtitle to the thread. Hope I'm wrong, but the answer to the question seemed quite insincere.

 

"I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."

[fjl2nd]

Investors Business Daily

 

.

 

Yes, because all recessions are created equal.

[Doc]

Yes, because all recessions are created equal.

True. This was the worst recession in the history of mankind.

[fjl2nd]

True. This was the worst recession in the history of mankind.

 

We can pretend that it wasn't very bad if you'd like...

[DC Tom]

True. This was the worst recession in the history of mankind.

 

"...because of the failed policies of the Bush administration." [/Pelosi]

[B-Man]

Yes, because all recessions are created equal.

 

 

No, they are not.

 

But, of course, all that is covered in the article that you so glibly replied to.

 

 

Perhaps if you had read it with an open mind...............or at all.....

 

.

[fjl2nd]

No, they are not.

 

But, of course, all that is covered in the article that you so glibly replied to.

 

 

Perhaps if you had read it with an open mind...............or at all.....

 

.

 

I didn't click the link. Thought you posted it all. I like IBD, used to have a subscription.

 

This recession is pretty unique however and there were a lot of factors that brought on the crisis. Housing, credit, skyhrocketing unemployment, etc.

 

A lot of jobs that were lost are never coming back. The article points out that robust growth was predicted after 2009. This wasn't just by the administration either. I'm sure those on the right will chalk it up solely to Obama's policies which is just outrageous but go ahead. Obviously, we are in a very unique situation where employment may be a problem for years to come.

[erynthered]

Man, without teleprompters this guy could put you to sleep.

 

 

 

"My Whitehouse"

 

 

Mr. Leaky speaks.

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/06/08/obama_being_accused_of_leaking_classified_memos_is_offensive.html

[B-Man]

Obama Claims No White House Leaks, But . . .

 

President Obama is claiming that it is “offensive” and “wrong” to suggest that White House officials had anything to do with leaks about the secret “kill list” and cyberattacks against Iran this past week. “The writers of these articles have all stated unequivocally that they didn’t come from this White House,” he says.

 

But if you look back at the New York Times scoop on the cyber program, it cites “members of the president’s national security team” who attended a meeting in the White House Situation Room:

 

At a tense meeting in the White House Situation Room within days of the worm’s “escape,” Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency at the time, Leon E. Panetta, considered whether America’s most ambitious attempt to slow the progress of Iran’s nuclear efforts had been fatally compromised.

 

“Should we shut this thing down?” Mr. Obama asked, according to members of the president’s national security team who were in the room.

 

 

 

Of course, we don’t know who exactly was in the room, but this a high-level national security meeting. The culprit may not be a “White House official,” but the leaks came out of a White House meeting — directly from the president’s top national-security advisers. This is not some guy in the bowels of the State Department passing e-mails to Julian Assange; it is one degree removed from the president.

 

 

 

 

The Corner

 

.

[DC Tom]

I didn't click the link. Thought you posted it all. I like IBD, used to have a subscription.

 

This recession is pretty unique however and there were a lot of factors that brought on the crisis. Housing, credit, skyhrocketing unemployment, etc.

 

A lot of jobs that were lost are never coming back. The article points out that robust growth was predicted after 2009. This wasn't just by the administration either. I'm sure those on the right will chalk it up solely to Obama's policies which is just outrageous but go ahead. Obviously, we are in a very unique situation where employment may be a problem for years to come.

 

Yes, skyrocketing unemployment is unheard of in a recession.

[IDBillzFan]

‘Uhhh,’ the president’s ‘uhhh’ press conference was ‘uhhh’ terrible

 

If you are president of the United States and you don’t have anything to say, don’t have a press conference to say it. If you’re the president of the United States and by Thursday it’s widely believed you’ve had one of the worst weeks of your presidency, take Friday off, and specifically avoid having a press conference.

 

Anytime you are president and you’re speaking in public at an ill-timed press conference after a bad week, try to have something to say, and do a good job in saying it. I watched the whole thing, but it’s not easy to think of one useful thing that he had to say. And what he said, he said very poorly. Was it just me, or did the president seem a little dazed and confused? He should have had a cup of coffee before the press conference.

 

And one more thing that’s a pet peeve. The president says “uhhh” too much. When I was a cable television news extra during the ‘90s and early 2000s, you learn early to purge your presentation of “uhhh.” Saying “uhhh” suggests uncertainty and is distracting. (And in my case, when it was accompanied by a Southern accent, it was even worse.) I don’t know what the president had in mind, but his own meandering, stuttering performance could not have done him any good with any audience. What was he, uhhh, thinking?

 

Perhaps the president and others are huddled in an after-action review meeting in the Oval Office right now. It appears no one at The White House wants to give the president bad news or an honest critique of his performance. Somebody should print this post and slide it under the Oval Office door immediately.

 

Wicked.

[Chef Jim]

'Uhhh,' the president's 'uhhh' press conference was 'uhhh' terrible

 

 

 

Wicked.

 

Really. Dude needs to join Toasmasters.

[/dev/null]

Yes, skyrocketing unemployment is unheard of in a recession.

But we're not in a recession. The Green Shoots® led to the Summer of Recovery® which led to Summer of Recovery 2.0®.

 

Shouldn't Obama be doing a victory lap right about now?

[IDBillzFan]

Really. Dude needs to join Toasmasters.

This is what happens when you have no command of a situation or dialogue, and especially when you rely on the scripted word to get you through.

[Chef Jim]

This is what happens when you have no command of a situation or dialogue, and especially when you rely on the scripted word to get you through.

 

When I checked out my scripts with my manager many years ago I noticed he was writing down tick marks. I couldn't figure it out. Then it dawned on me. "Oh !@#$, he's counting my ums."

 

And now I through them in on purpose every so often so I don't sound scripted and robotic even though it's a hug no no. Many of my staff have jointed Toastmasters and it's helped them immensely.

Edited June 8, 2012 by Chef Jim

[B-Man]

President Barack Obama: "The private sector is doing fine"

 

 

President Merkin Muffley : "yes... Fine, I can hear you now, Dmitri... Clear and plain and coming through fine... I'm coming through fine, too, eh?... Good, then... well, then, as you say, we're both coming through fine... Good... Well, it's good that you're fine and... and I'm fine... I agree with you, it's great to be fine... a-ha-ha-ha-ha".

 

 

.

[DC Tom]

One has to ask: Why is the Obama Administration choosing to continue revealing operational information that is normally not released? This includes the specific units that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, information from the bin Laden compound, classified information on the bin Laden raid, details of drone operations, and now secrets about cyberwarfare. There is NO good operational reason for doing this. The only “logical” reason is a tight race for presidency. Does this mean that the closer that we get to the election, the more operational secrets will be given away?

 

Ego. These are a bunch of people that need to feel special and let the world know it.

[/dev/null]

Have no fear. Eric Holder to the rescue!

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AG_HOLDER_LEAK_PROBES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-08-18-57-40