For the first two years of his administration, President Obama has largely steered clear of scandals that could threaten his agenda. But in just this last month three major scandals have generated almost daily headlines that can only undermine Obama’s standing with voters.
First came the failed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “Fast and Furious” gun smuggling sting. Fast and Furious began unraveling immediately after guns the ATF allowed to be sold to known suppliers of Mexican drug cartels were found at the scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent’s murder. Since then, despite firm Obama administration denials, it has become clear the program was approved and monitored by senior Obama administration officials. And while more details about that involvement becomes public, additional damning information comes out of the field as well. Just this week, Mexico confirmed that as many as 200 murders can be linked to Fast and Furious weapons.
Next, the bankruptcy of solar panel maker Solyndra LLC provided conservatives with more ammunition against both Obama’s economic stimulus program and green jobs agenda. Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu all spoke highly of the now bankrupt firm and cast it as the model of Obama’s “clean energy” economy. Now that model has failed spectacularly and there are almost daily revelations about who in the Obama administration knew and did what about Solyndra’s impending failure.
Finally, just this week, a brand new scandal has emerged, this time raising questions about Obama’s commitment to the safety of our troops and his ties to wealthy telecommunications donors. On September 15th, The Daily Beast‘s Eli Lake reported that White House officials pressured Air Force Gen. William Shelton to downplay his concerns that a new wireless project by a satellite broadband company, LightSquared, would interfere with U.S. military GPS capabilities. Now this scandal is also producing almost daily new revelations, including today’s scoop by The Examiner’s Tim Carney, that George Soros is a LightSquared investor.
Maybe it is just a coincidence that Obama’s net favorability ratings have turned negative for the first time ever as these scandals have grown. Or maybe the president has a potentially fatal multiple-scandal problem on his hands.
Around the Bigs
The Wall Street Journal, Fed Launches New Stimulus: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke issued a statement yesterday announcing his intention to shift Fed holdings into more long-term U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage debt. Bernanke hopes that resulting lower rates will boost spending, especially in the housing sector.
The Washington Post, GOP House leaders rebuked on spending: A temporary funding bill that would have kept the government opn through November 18th failed to pass the House last night after dozens of House Republicans voted with Democrats against offsetting disaster relief spending with spending cuts to an energy loan program. “Change like this is hard. We’ll find a way forward so that we can reflect expectations that taxpayers have that we are going to begin to start spending their money more prudently,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said.
The Washington Examiner, Soros turns up in Obama’s LightSquared imbroglio: George Soros, the liberal billionaire funder of leftist groups, is an investor in LightSquared, the wireless communications company accused of coordinating with White House officials to silence a Air Force general who believes the company’s technology will disrupt U.S. military GPS capability. Soros also funds many of the liberal groups who have been supporting LightSquared.
The Washington Post, Solyndra suffered from mismanagement, heavy spending: Interviews with former Solyndra employees reveal that the company did not spend taxpayer money prudently. “After we got the loan guarantee, they were just spending money left and right,” former Solyndra engineer Lindsey Eastburn told The Post. “Because we were doing well, nobody cared. Because of that infusion of money, it made people sloppy.”
The Wall Street Journal, White House Opposes House Bill to Delay EPA Rules: The White House stopped short of issuing a formal veto threat, but did say they strongly opposed a House bill that delay burdensome Environmental Protection Agency regulations on air pollution.
The Washington Examiner, Washington area richest in nation last year: Half of the top ten richest counties in the nation, and four of the top five, are located in the Washington, DC, metro area.
Campaign 2012
Florida: The Republican field will debate live on Fox tonight at 9 PM from Orlando, Florida. In addition to the eight Republicans who have performed in the last two events, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson will be participating in this debate as well.
New Hampshire: A new poll performed by Suffolk University for WHDH TV, finds that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a commanding 27-point lead over his nearest rival, which is not Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Forty-one percent of respondents chose Romney as their top pick, followed by Ron Paul at 14%. Only 8% chose Perry as their preferred candidate.
Perry: Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Republicans “don’t need to nominate Obama lite — someone who’s going to blur the lines between President Obama and our nominee.” The Examiner‘s Byron York notes that Perry’s follow up answer makes it clear he is referring to Romney: “I think it’s important that we have a clear distinction between the candidates. When you take a look at what Mitt did from the standpoint of Romneycare in Massachusetts, you’re going to have a hard time finding a difference between Obamacare and Romneycare.”
Righty Playbook
RedState‘s Erick Erickson hits Mitt Romney for supporting Obama’s Race to the Top Education Department stimulus spending program: “Mitt Romney is on the record supporting No Child Left Behind and Arne Duncan’s reforms geared toward discrediting Texas, but he would not support school choice and while he said he’d support charter schools he’d never meet with charter schools leaders.”
Keith Hennessey details Obama’s deception on deficit reduction: “Almost all the new spending cuts he proposes would be used to offset higher spending in his Jobs bill proposal and for more Medicare spending on doctors.”
At The Corner, AEI scholar Arthur Herman explains the LightSquared scandal: “President Obama has said that those who don’t want to raise our military disability pensions are unpatriotic. What about someone who’s willing to shut down our military communication system, in order to please a campaign donor?”
Lefty Playbook
The Washington Post‘s EJ Dionne celebrates the “socialist” success of Obama’s General Motors bailout.
Talking Points Memo reports that Protect Your Care, a liberal activist group, will run a television ad in Orlando during tonight’s debate promoting the heckler who shouted “let him die” at last week’s GOP debate.
Mother Jones‘ Kevin Drum admits that the “Buffett Rule” doesn’t really exist.
