Remy Spoofs Obama with Remix of 'Shake It Off'

◼ Music written and performed by Remy. - CNS

"Facts are stubborn things," Mr. Carney.

◼ Carney, McCain Engage in Epic Battle on CNN Over Obama's Handling of Iraq and ISIS - Newsbusters



◼ Gingrich — and Reality — Also Humiliated Jay Carney on CNN Wednesday Night - Newsbusters

◼ The Humbling of a President - Wall St. Journal

In the war with ISIS, the U.S. needs genuine presidential leadership, not a utility infielder playing everyone else's position.

Let us note briefly the commanding irony of Barack Obama delivering—hours before 9/11—the anti-terrorism speech that history required of his predecessor after September 11, 2001. There is one thing to say: If we are lucky, President Obama will hand off to his successor a terrorist enemy as diminished as the one George Bush, David Petraeus and many others left him.

If we're lucky.

...What we now know is that Mr. Obama is not even close to being his own best Secretary of State, his own best Secretary of Defense, his own best national security adviser or his own best CIA director.

The question is: Does he know it?

Can a humbling experience of such startling proportions have sunk in? It had better. What the U.S. needs if it is to prevail in the battle Mr. Obama put forth Wednesday is the genuine article of presidential leadership. What the U.S. does not need in the Oval Office is a utility infielder playing everyone else's position. We are competing against global terrorism's heaviest hitters, who have established state seizure as a strategic goal.

CNN Reporter Grills Carney on Bergdahl: Does Obama Feel "He's Above The Law?"

◼ link - Real Clear Politics

◼ MORE

Carney: We Didn’t Negotiate With Terrorists Because Bergdahl Wasn’t a Hostage or Something

◼ Critics of the administration’s deal to free Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are accusing Barack Obama of everything from negotiating with terrorists to breaking the law requiring that he notify Congress before releasing detainees from Guantanamo Bay. - IJ Review

Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney claimed that because Bergdahl was a “prisoner of war,” as opposed to a “hostage,” the White House didn’t — technically — negotiate with the Taliban. Nice spin, Jay.

◼ White House Can’t Agree: Susan Rice Calls Bergdahl ‘Hostage,’ Carney Says He’s Not - DAILY CALLER

The Obama administration is struggling to explain how their deal to release five top-ranking Taliban in exchange for captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl does not violate the U.S. prohibition on negotiating with terrorists, splitting hairs and contradicting one another in deliberations over whether Bergdahl was a “hostage” or a “prisoner of war.”

◼ Did Obama Just Trade a Deserter for 5 Taliban Leaders to Distract from the Mass Mistreatment of Honorable Veterans? - Jim Treacher/Daily Caller

Obama clearly broke the law by releasing those prisoners from Gitmo without notifying Congress, but it’s easy to dismiss such pesky details by adding those two magic words: “Republicans say.”

◼ Jonathan Turley: Let’s face it, this Bergdahl prisoner swap is illegal - HOTAIR
◼ Via RCP, you already know ◼ why it’s illegal but stay tuned anyway for two excellent points that have been overlooked. One: There’s no reason why the White House couldn’t have complied with the statute and notified Congress months or even years ago of its intent to do a deal for Bergdahl involving the Taliban Five if/when the opportunity ever presented itself. The reason they kept mum and did this on the sly, without notifying anyone first, isn’t because they had to “move quickly” or whatever, it’s because they knew that advance notice to Congress would give hawks on both sides of the aisle time to build political pressure against the swap. Obama wants to empty Gitmo and make nice with the Taliban before we abandon Afghanistan to its fate, and complying with the law was an impediment to that. So he broke it.



And, by the way, if you take the Taliban at their word, this little Hopenchange gambit to build goodwill as a preface to broader peace talks is doomed to fail.

DRUDGE:
Reintegration: Military hides Bergdahl from public view...
◼ FLASHBACK: 'Converted to Islam And Taught Captors Bomb Making Skills'... - Mail Online 8/22/10
◼ NYTIMES: Left note explaining desertion before going AWOL... - New York Times
Pentagon knew whereabouts but didn't risk rescue for 'deserter'...
Never Officially Listed as POW...
CHARGE: Soldiers died searching for him...
Former fed prosecutor: Release of Gitmo terrorists impeachable offense...
◼ PREZ: 'Absolutely' Possible They Will Return to Terror - Real Clear Politics
Freed Taliban leaders given hero's welcome...
◼ Toobin: Obama 'Clearly Broke Law' - Mediaite
FATHER: 'I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners'...
Anger explodes...
BOWE 'SHOULD FACE COURT-MARTIAL'

Lawless

Jay Carney, 2013: No Decisions About Bergdahl-Detainee Deal 'Without Consulting With Congress' http://t.co/CIKSr29y7Q

— The Weekly Standard (@weeklystandard) June 2, 2014

Susan Rice Claims Bergdahl Served in the Military with ‘Honor and Distinction.’ Intel Community Disagrees. http://t.co/B6INTEkVnz #tcot

— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) June 2, 2014

If we have been negotiating with the Taliban for several years over Bergdahl, why not give Congress notice? http://t.co/LdoPXfFZvz

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 2, 2014

Senator: U.S. is ‘less safe’ due to Obama release of top terrorists http://t.co/mfFznkbpHi

— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 2, 2014

Fellow soldiers call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter, not a hero http://t.co/UBfQt3Sdsk via @cnn

— Red Alert Politics (@RedAlert) June 2, 2014

Resignation Friday: Jay Carney resigns

◼ Two down, if Obama would give instead of accept a resignation, the day would be perfect. - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
◼ Jay Carney suddenly quits as White House press secretary over 'strain on family life' – but was it timed to 'deflect attention' from resignation of scandal-hit VA chief? - Daily Mail UK
◼ ‘Whoa!’: White House Press Corps Reacts to Jay Carney’s Departure - Mediaite
◼ Jay Carney resigns, deputy Josh Earnest named replacement - Politico

"Jay Carney is such a habitual liar that I'm not gonna believe he has stepped down until he says he hasn't"

— Big Mike (@ThaRealRevis) May 30, 2014

◼ Sharyl Attkisson Wastes No Time Linking Jay Carney's Successor To Benghazi - TPM
◼ Who is Josh Earnest? - Katie Zezima/Washington Post
◼ Discussion at Lucianne
Sharyl Attkisson, the investigative reporter who left CBS News earlier this year reportedly because of her frustrations with the network's perceived liberal bias, said Friday that the new face of the White House's press team stifled her efforts to get more information about the 2012 attack in Benghazi.

Almost immediately after President Obama announced that Josh Earnest would replace Jay Carney as White House press secretary, Attkisson reacted to the news on Twitter.

White House spokesman Jay Carney steps down.
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) May 30, 2014

Josh Earnest takes over Carney's job.
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) May 30, 2014

Then Attkisson, the author of a forthcoming book on her frustrations with the Obama administration, said that Earnest prevented her from receiving photos of the Benghazi attack.

Josh is apparently the White House official who has told the White House press office not to release Benghazi night White House photos to me
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) May 30, 2014

And has ignored a year and a half of our calls and emails to obtain the photos.
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) May 30, 2014

◼ Henceforth, the Administration's efforts to provide the public with exactly zero information will be led by the ironically named Josh Earnest. - Ace Of Spades

◼ ‘Flip Newscycle’: Iowahawk names possible replacements for Jay Carney - Twitchy, Who Said What on Twitter

#JoshEarnest Verb Adjective

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) May 30, 2014

Maybe he should switch to Fox News... White House says Obama only learned of VA wait-list scandal on TV (just like the IRS, Fast and Furious and reporter snooping scandals)

◼ Krauthammer: Obama Acts Like He Stumbled Upon The Presidency & All This Horrible Stuff Is Happening - IJ Review

◼ White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president didn't know about explosive Veterans Administration scandal until he saw news reports - Daily Mail

◼ ABC, NBC Ignore Report Showing Obama Administration Knew About Ongoing VA Problems - Newsbusters
◼ Video: Obama routinely shocked, angered by things happening within his own administration - Guy Benson/HotAir

...This White House’s “we found out on the news” formulation has become such predictable boilerplate that Allahpundit didn’t even have to spell it out in his earlier headline, and the “anger” charade is its inevitable counterpart. Nobody is madder — “madder than hell” in this case — than the president, you guys. But as MKH noted last week, the president’s ostentatious fury generally recedes into “we can’t comment on an ongoing investigation” territory, followed by “only wing-nuts are still talking about this phony scandal — which, by the way, happened a long time ago, brah.” ABC News’ Jonathan Karl pressed Jay Carney about the Robert Petzel kabuki “resignation” yesterday, which Carney deflected by hiding behind a statement from the American Legion:...



◼ VA Whistleblower Says He's Been Demoted, Bullied - CBS St. Louis
◼ More Coming Forward - USNews&WorldReport
◼ When will Obama address? - FOX
◼ Empty Anger: Why VA hospital scandal is hurting the administration’s credibility - FOX
◼ FOURNIER: Quiz: How Dumb Does Obama Think We Are? Policy fiasco magnified by insulting public relations - National Journal
◼ FLASHBACK: Obama Assailed Bush VA For 'Deplorable Conditions' - Jim Geraghty/National Review

Jay Carney Lets Benghazi Cat Out Of The Bag

◼ link - Neil Munro/Daily Caller

White House spokesman Jay Carney let President Barack Obama’s Benghazi cat out of the bag today, when he acknowledged that the president’s unilateral intervention in the 2011 Libyan civil war hasn’t led to a stable government in the Islamic and tribal country....

Three days after the Sept. 11 attack, White House officials discussed how to spin the Benghazi disaster, which threatened to upset Obama’s November reelection strategy.

The officials quickly choose to blame the attack on Arab inability to control supposed anger over a YouTube docudrama produced by a Egyptian immigrant in California, rather than a possible “broader failure of policy” in Libya, Egypt and the Arab region.

The official spin, according to the memo, on page 13 of this link, should be that “these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”

The spin was successful. It kept the “broader failure of policy” issue out the 2012 election, and kept the GOP and the media focused on the credibility of the YouTube claim.

Since the election, GOP investors and media reports have focused on the White House’s promotion of the distracting video, not on the possible “broader failure of policy” that the officials have successfully sidelined for 18 months.

But Carney slipped today, and accidentally highlighted some of the “broader failure of policy” when he was asked by a reporter to explain why the U.S. has failed to catch the jihadis who killed four Americans, even after 18 months of investigations and surveillance.

“Attempts to move forward with a democratic government are challenging and are not often successful, at least, every step is not forward,” he admitted....

◼ Benghazi: American ‘Liberalism’ and the Mainstream Media on Trial - Roger L. Simon/PJM

...We still do not know why no attempt was made to rescue our people during the attacks since no one knew how long they would go on and why no one has been apprehended for these attacks. Those are only two of the ongoing mysteries about Benghazi. Where was the president that night? What did he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talk about in their telephone conversation? We have heard rumors of gun running, MANPADs and on and on.

But what remains is something tragically simple. The Obama Administration and related entities (State, intelligence, etc.) were willing to lie about the murder of truly heroic American citizens in order to protect their behinds and, more importantly and scandalously, win an election. And people like Candy Crowley of CNN were all too willing to help them....

More revelations are coming certainly. Democratic leaders like Pelosi look nervous. Jay Carney appears like a cross between Baghdad Bob and a Soviet apparatchik when he stands in front of the press these days. And many in the press themselves stand close to humiliation, not just the president of CBS News, who happens to be the brother of Ben Rhodes....

Freaky Photoshop disaster: Jay Carney puff piece goes hilariously wrong [pics]

◼ The next issue of Washingtonian MOM doesn’t hit newsstands until next week, but lucky for us, we don’t have to wait for a sneak preview of the cover story: - Twitchy

THIS ! RT @ThePantau: Guys, Jay Carney owns at least three different copies of "War and Peace."

— Marc T Grove (@mtgrove) April 11, 2014

"Gee, I wonder how glamorous DC politico-media power couples balance their hectic lives." - no taxpayer, anywhere, ever

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) April 11, 2014

Just another morning at the Carney house pic.twitter.com/2FCHf8sqDR

— Noah Wehrman (@NoahWehrman) April 11, 2014

And this:

Hmmm … maybe we should take a closer look at that last one. Notice anything unusual?

Look how fake this picture is. pic.twitter.com/eS0zAlrJwZ

— RB (@RBPundit) April 11, 2014

LOL RT @seanmdav: OMG. They even forgot to erase the kid's finger in the fake book Photoshop. pic.twitter.com/g8uvMLdFEM

— Matthew (@Matthops82) April 11, 2014

“The Democrats once styled themselves the party of workers. Now, they are the party of people who would have been workers, if it hadn’t been for Obamacare.” That doesn’t bode well for them in November; and it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the nation if the situation continues.

◼ Krauthammer: Carney’s Words to be ‘Emblazoned on the Tombstone of Liberalism’ - Ed Driscoll/PJMedia

“Charles Krauthammer made the bold proclamation on Wednesday that the comments White House press secretary Jay Carney made in response to the recently-released CBO report on Obamacare will be ‘emblazoned on the tombstone of liberalism,’” Jason Howerton writes at The Blaze:

Here’s the statement made by Carney that he is referring to:

“Opportunity created by affordable, quality health insurance allows families in America to make a decision about how they will work, or if they will work.”

“He says opportunity. This is what he’s heralding in this achievement, that the government is giving opportunity for people to decide if they want to work. This is the liberals’ ideal of the opportunity society,” Krauthammer said. “Of course, in a free society, you can decide if you want to work, but what Obamacare does, and so the essence of liberalism, is you can choose not to work, and the people who do work end up subsidizing you.”

In other words, he explained, the people who work “have to send their money to the government” so they can redistribute it to the people who choose, “in this ideal new opportunity society,” not to work.

◼ The Comment Made by Jay Carney That Charles Krauthammer Says Will Be ‘Emblazoned on the Tombstone of Liberalism’ - Jason Howerton/The Blaze

...Oh, and speaking of Obama’s Palace Guard stumbling into an “unexpectedly” rude surprise:

Well now. RT @HuffPostPol The CEO of our parent company, AOL, blames Obamacare for cuts to employee benefits http://t.co/A2EPhuTg5P

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) February 6, 2014

◼ As Rich Lowry writes, “The Democrats once styled themselves the party of workers. Now, they are the party of people who would have been workers, if it hadn’t been for Obamacare.” That doesn’t bode well for them in November; and it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the nation if the situation continues.

◼ Until it can’t.

◼ The Party of Less Work - Rich Lowry/Politico

"...more freedom, to use a certain buzzword"

◼ White House spokesman Jay Carney sums up what the Obama presidency thinks about your freedom. - IJ Review

During a press conference on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary called ‘freedom’ a “buzzword.” He was discussing Obamacare’s effect in lessening work hours because it lowers the hourly threshold an American must work in order to obtain health care.

◼ FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NOTHING LEFT TO DO - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Sometimes you can disagree with spin from this White House while still admiring its political craftsmanship. Yesterday was not one of those days. Rocked on their heels by a CBO analysis of ObamaCare that’s going to spark full-blown panic among Democrats up for re-election in 2014, White House spokesman Jay Carney ran a spin session that involved claiming unemployment is the essence of freedom – it’s great that people can quit their jobs because ObamaCare will subsidize their health insurance at everyone else’s expense, because they’ll have more time to work on their cowboy poetry or whatever.

Keep that in mind when you’re looking at your gigantic ObamaCare premiums and deductibles, young and healthy suckers. You’re paying three times what you used to pay so that older people who really don’t want to work can feel more free to quit their jobs....

Carney topped off his disastrous press conference by claiming that “freedom” is just a “buzzword,” a line that’s going to show up on T-shirts for years to come. Way to make the entire United States recoil in disgust from your Administration, dude.

We find ourselves forced into an ugly debate about the nature of freedom. Liberals, as explicitly stated by Carney, think work erodes freedom – you’re not really free unless you can say “the hell with it” and do whatever you want, fed, clothed, and medicated by the maternal State. To modify the old folk song, freedom’s just another word for nothing left to do.

...The same law Obama is praising because it will reduce the workforce by making work unnecessary for 2.5 million people is also forcing elderly nuns to pay for contraceptives. When you’re dependent on the State for your livelihood, even your ability to vote becomes a largely theoretical “freedom.” They know which way you’re going to vote. You can’t afford to make any other choice.

When we expect everyone to seek employment, we are showing respect to our fellow citizens. Obama’s attitude is outrageous in its contempt for the American people. He really does think the American dream is a reasonably comfortable dead-end existence, with the working population obliged to cover the bills of the indolent.

No more burdensome job for pajamaboy; just bill working taxpayers RT@kerpen @TSAS4LIFE Haha @AFPhq nails it -> pic.twitter.com/TdlGIEgayx #FL22

— Jeremy Rodgers (@RepRodgers) February 6, 2014

Jay Carney nears meltdown over questions about Obamacare application process

◼ This exchange today between ABC News’ Jonathan Karl and White House press secretary Jay Carney was rather…well, interesting. - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

In a post entitled Obamacare Paper, Phone, Web Apps ‘Stuck in the Same Queue,’ Memos Note, ABC News reported:

A series of internal Obama administration memos obtained exclusively by ABC News reveal for the first time how dysfunction with HealthCare.gov has upended the entire Affordable Care Act enrollment process, including applications by paper and phone that officials have been pushing as more reliable alternatives.

While President Obama and other top aides have publicly reassured frustrated consumers that they can bypass the troubled website and apply by phone in as little as 25 minutes, those working most closely with the rollout acknowledged privately that even the nonelectronic avenues would be no more efficient or guaranteed, the documents show.

“The same portal is used to determine eligibility no matter how the application is submitted (paper, online),” reads a Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight memo from Oct. 11.

“The paper applications allow people to feel like they are moving forward in the process and provides another option,” it says. “At the end of the day, we are all stuck in the same queue.”

Carney Ducks Obamacare Questions, Walks Out of Press Briefing

◼ Spokesman for “Most transparent administration in history” can’t answer basic Obamacare questions - ATR

White House spokesman Jay Carney today abruptly walked out of the briefing room after struggling to answer questions related to Obamacare. As he walks out, frustrated reporters can be heard asking questions, including:

“Have White House officials watched anyone without insurance go through the website, trying to help the situation?”

“Couldn’t we have a [HHS] rep just come to the press briefing?”

WH press gave @PressSec hell today on Obamacare website - Haven't seen them this fired up since Biden's gay marriage comments

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) October 22, 2013

Pathetic: White House pimps another Obamacare success story that wasn’t successful

◼ Read the WHOLE tale, CLICK HERE - Twitchy

Some excerpts:

Huh, I just tested http://t.co/IV0cLrFUr3 for the first time and I was able to set up an account with no trouble.

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 17, 2013

Two White House staffers retweeted Lizza’s “no trouble” tweet from their official White House accounts.... Press secretary Jay Carney... And senior communications adviser Tara McGuinness (who also promoted the false success story of fake Obamacare buyer Chad Henderson)...

A little problem there, guys. Less than 40 minutes after tweeting about his successful account creation, Lizza was defeated by HealthCare.gov. Fancy that! Carney and McGuinness didn’t bother retweeting these tweets.... As of Friday night, Lizza reports that he is still unable to enroll or view eligibility results.

Tried healthcare dot gov again. Still broken. Can set up an account and get identity verified, but can't view eligibility results or enroll.

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 19, 2013

This is what it looks like when you hit "View Eligibility Results" pic.twitter.com/Dw5bNiqyzs

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 19, 2013

The link to register to vote does work, though: pic.twitter.com/XY5zi46yaa

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 19, 2013

@RyanLizza @allahpundit @PressSec Jay thinks RTing random good tidbits will make the bad news go away. Poor guy is cracking.

— Judge Elihu Smails (@JudgeElihu) October 19, 2013

Jay Carney Gives Laughable White House Response to Legitimate Question About Health Care Prices

◼ There is a big difference in verbiage: - IJ Review

You will be paying less.
You will be paying less than expected.
Think the White House isn’t misleading America?

"No fair, objective journalist can look at the facts of this flagrant abuse of power and not conclude that it is a massive political scandal deserving of constant, merciless scrutiny"

◼ Are media buying into ‘phony scandal’ claim?

...The "phony scandal" line was the unofficial talking point of the week in Washington. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made it his fallback retort from the podium -- when asked about the president's new wave of speeches on the economy, Carney explained Obama was trying to refocus Washington away from "fake" controversies.
For three speeches in a row, Obama hammered this refrain: "With this endless parade of distractions and political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball."

...But given the attention their own networks gave the IRS and other scandals just a few weeks earlier, a number of journalists and media personalities refused to go easy on the president this week.

On MSNBC, host Joe Scarborough ripped into Carney on Wednesday after the press secretary claimed the attention on "phony scandals" had all "come to naught."



◼ Carney shifts away from ‘phony’ scandals, Scarborough says not so fast - MSNBC

Scarborough Goes Off On Jay Carney: 'I'm Not Someone You Talk Down To From Your Podium'

“Is that the truth or not, Jay?” Scarborough asked. “I want to talk about the economy, but don’t give me talking points because that doesn’t work on this show and you’ve been here long enough to realize that doesn’t work on this show!”

The top 9,486 ways Jay Carney won’t answer your questions (interactive)

◼ Watch Jay Carney 'appreciate' 131 questions - matt Sobocinski/Politico

◼ The top 9,486 ways Jay Carney won’t answer your questions (interactive) - Yahoo

Jay Carney doesn’t have an answer for that. He hasn’t discussed that subject with the president. He will refer you to the Department of [insert agency here]. He refuses to speculate on that. He’ll have to get back to you. But he appreciates the question. A Yahoo News analysis of the 444 briefings that Carney has held since becoming White House press secretary has identified 13 distinct strains in the way he dodges a reporter's question. Since Carney held his first daily briefing with reporters in the White House Brady Press Briefing Room on Feb. 16, 2011, for example, he’s used some variation of "I don’t have the answer" more than 1,900 times. In 1,383 cases he referred a question to someone else. But will he at least speculate on hypotheticals? No. In fact, he has refused to do so 525 times.

Carney Walks Back Obama Statement That All Members Briefed On NSA

Four Americans — and the truth — died in Benghazi

◼ Facts emerging about Benghazi may not tell us anything new, but they remind us of two important truths: - Timothy P. Carney/Washington Examiner @TPCarney

First, the upper levels of the Obama administration are peppered with partisans who play fast and loose with the truth for political gain.

Second, regime change and military interventions, especially in the Muslim world, are messy, destabilizing and deadly.

The White House and the State Department have consistently misled the public about the terrorist attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, White House press secretary Jay Carney, and President Obama all tried last September to convince Americans that the attacks were spontaneous mob violence arising from protests over an anti-Islamic video on YouTube. Ambassador Susan Rice famously made this claim on Sept. 16 on five Sunday morning talk shows.

This was false...

◼ Across U.S., Editorial Boards Press For More Answers on Benghazi - speaker.gov
◼ Shine a light on events in and after Benghazi - Long Island’s Newsday

Emotional testimony from a top diplomat who was in Tripoli, Libya, during the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi made it clear Wednesday that the White House misled the public by not immediately calling it what it was -- an organized act of terrorism.

Obscuring the truth for partisan political advantage during a re-election campaign is atrocious behavior unbefitting any American president....

◼ Republicans are also right that the administration should release e-mails around the attack and make key personnel available to testify if needed - The Denver Post
◼ Obama officials, past and present, should step up with the information Americans deserve. - Dallas Morning News
◼ We’re left with consequences of Benghazi decisions that … need to be explained to Americans – the families of Doherty, Woods, Smith and Stevens included. - Chicago Tribune
◼ Even after explosive congressional testimony … the nation is left with a growing list of unanswered questions. - Augusta Chronicle
◼ There are a lot of questions still about Benghazi. And Hicks and his dead colleagues deserve to have them answered. - Arizona Republic
◼ Benghazi deserves real review. Four Americans … were killed by terrorists who have not been brought to justice. A congressional investigation is warranted… - Baltimore Sun
◼ That is something that deserves tough, strong, independent scrutiny … to answer critical nagging questions and set the historical record straight. - New York Daily News
◼ As many Americans … remain in harm’s way overseas, a serious, public look at what happened on that day was too long in coming. More details are likely to come out. The American public deserves to know more. - Casa Grande Dispatch

◼ Obama knee-deep in Nixon-esque scandal - Joe Battenfeld/Boston Herald (image source)

President Obama’s second-term campaign slogan was “Forward,” but instead we’ve got cover-ups, congressional investigations and the government persecution of political opponents and reporters.

That sounds like “backward” to me. All the way to, say, 1972.

Who would have guessed that just a few months into his second term, President Obama would be compared to Tricky Dick. And by a liberal Massachusetts Democrat — U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano.

◼ Dems vow: ‘Hell to pay’ if IRS allegations ring true - Hillary Chabot
, O’Ryan Johnson/Boston Herald

Outraged Bay State Democrats are blasting President Obama for exhibiting a Nixonian abuse of power after the stunning news that the Department of Justice secretly obtained Associated Press phone records and the IRS targeted conservative groups — new scandals emerging against the backdrop of heightened Benghazi criticism.

“There’s no way in the world I’m going to defend that. Hell, I spent my youth vilifying the Nixon administration for doing the same thing. If they did that, there should be hell to pay,” U.S. Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Somerville) said about the IRS scandal. “Not only is it bad government and bad to society, it is horrendous politics. The worst thing you can do is give your opponent an easy hammer with which to hit you.”

“It doesn’t seem to be a couple rogue employees. This appeared to be a systemic issue,” said U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-South Boston), who wants to investigate the matter as a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee already has scheduled a hearing on the issue for this week, Lynch said, adding, “No American should find themselves the target of the IRS or any other federal organization because of their political beliefs.”

Both U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Malden) and the GOP’s Gabriel Gomez, rivals in the Senate special election, slammed the administration’s actions, as new reports emerged yesterday that the Department of Justice seized two months’ worth of phone records from Associated Press reporters and editors.

◼ Critics draw comparisons to Watergate - Hillary Chabot
/Boston Herald
◼ Abuses of power - Boston Herald

The press, Republicans and even Democrats are turning on the Obama administration as it faces three scandals that critics say show Nixonian levels of abuse

◼ THE BOSTON HERALD GOES ALL IN ON THE OBAMA SCANDALS: - Instapundit

Do not underestimate the significance: the Obama administration has not faced such an onslaught of truth-seeking since he took office in 2008, and further, no Democratic administration has been charged from all sides like this in recent memory. That press conference was unthinkable just days ago

◼ Earthquake: Did Carney Presser End MSM Monolith? - David Steinberg/PJM Media

The most notable takeaway from Jay Carney’s incomprehensible Friday appearance had little to do with his Klingon grammar. Carney does not represent the historical value of the event – you should be wise to forget his performance, and instead take note that he was flanked by the entire room, without exception.

◼ Carney Scrubs His Way Through Another Press Briefing - Bryan Preston/PJM Media

(Yesterday) afternoon’s White House press briefing was extraordinary. Spokesman Jay Carney stood by his now thoroughly discredited claim that the White House made just one “stylistic” edit to the Benghazi talking points. He invoked the name of Mitt Romney twice, and the “previous administration” once, the latter in connection with the IRS’ apology to conservative groups for targeting them during an election year. For the most part, Carney danced around the press corps despite the fact that many in the room were unhappy to have been left out of the afternoon’s off-the-record or “deep background” meeting with select but as yet unnamed members of the media. Carney was more prepared for the sparring match than his opposites were.

◼ What Did Obama Know and When Did He Know It? - Matthew Vadum /Front Page