Our presidential report card graders Jed Babbin and John Zogby had different views of the Supreme Court’s decision to delay President Obama’s Clean Power Pan and international treaty.
John Zogby
“The Supreme Court allows for a halt in U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change — an action that threatens the entire agreement and puts a major dent in one of President Obama’s signature achievements.
“Secretary of State John Kerry accomplishes the first multinational ceasefire in Syria, which allows Russian forces to continue air strikes that bolster the hated regime of Bashar al-Assad. But it does allow for international aid to enter that country.
“And Hillary Clinton decides that Barack Obama is ‘likely enough’ as she embraces the policies of her one time foe and one time boss. Do voters find her likable enough? The president’s approval numbers stay about the same.
Grade: B-
Jed Babbin
“This week should have been a good one for President Obama, but it didn’t turn out that way. His federal budget (for another year of record spending and debt) was DOA in Congress, especially because of his $10 a barrel oil tax.
“The biggest shocker was the Supreme Court’s decision to enjoin (for years of future litigation) EPA’s ‘Clean Power’ plan which would strangle electricity generation across the country. Twenty-seven states have sued to set it aside. The court body-slammed the EPA’s and Obama’s commitments to global warming theology, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of the case.
“The intensity of Obama’s dedication to it is seen in this week’s Pentagon directive that requires all military services and commanders to integrate ‘climate change’ concerns into everything from weapons buying to war games with allies. The reaction across the military several (mostly obscene) versions of ‘you gotta be kidding me.’
“Even the Democratic debate at week’s end wasn’t enough to save it for Obama, though Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton tried to out-do each other on who was Obama’s most dutiful follower.”
Grade: D-
John Zogby is the senior analyst for Zogby Analytics and author (with Joan Snyder Kuhl) of “The First Globals: Understanding, Managing, and Unleashing our Millennial Generation.” Follow him at @TheJohnZogby.
Jed Babbin is an Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him @jedbabbin.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
