The Hemingway Report

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Here we go again

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Search begins for Obama presidential library site

With Obama's blessing, top supporters are launching a foundation that will develop and build the library, which will both house his presidential records (college transcripts, Downgrade Badge, and the National Truth Award for "you can keep your insurance period" and the phone he didn't answer when Chris called from Benghazi) to serve as a monument to his legacy.

A Perfect fit

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The search for a home for President Barack Obama's presidential library is officially underway.

With Obama's blessing, top supporters are launching a foundation that will develop and build the library, which will both house his presidential records and serve as a monument to his legacy.

The nonprofit Barack H. Obama Foundation will be led by Marty Nesbitt, a close Obama friend from Chicago, and Julianna Smoot, a former White House social secretary and top official in Obama's re-election campaign.

A vigorous competition to host the library has already ramped up. Hawaii, where Obama was born, and Illinois, his longtime home, have been lobbying the Obamas both publicly and privately. New York, where Obama went to college, also has expressed interest.

With so many of Obama's aides and supporters calling Chicago home, the focus has increasingly turned to the Windy City, where Obama was first elected and came into his own as a national political figure. The involvement of Nesbitt, a Chicago businessman, in forming the foundation is likely to amplify speculation that Chicago has an inside track to getting the library. The third founding member of the nonprofit's board, Kevin Poorman, is also based in Chicago and runs a company formed by Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, who is now Obama's commerce secretary.

''No specific site, institution, city or state is advantaged over another at this point,'' Nesbitt said in an interview. ''The ultimate site will be chosen based on the merits.''

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, said Chicago is ''undeniably a natural fit'' to host an Obama library and museum.

In February, the foundation will ask parties that want to host the library to make their interest known. That list will be culled and in May, the foundation will notify the groups that will be invited to submit formal, detailed proposals. The president and first lady Michelle Obama will make the decision, and the foundation will announce it in early 2015.

''He has asked us to lead the planning and development of a library in a way that reflects his values and priorities over the course of his career in public service,'' Nesbitt said — values like expanding economic opportunity, promoting peace and dignity abroad, and inspiring the ethic of American citizenship.

The foundation plans to hire full-time staff later this year. Although it will start fundraising right away to cover its own costs, most of the money to build the library won't be raised until after Obama leaves the White House. While Obama is still in office, the foundation won't take donations from foreigners, lobbyists or organizations that aren't nonprofits. It also plans to disclose all donations over $200.

The president, Mrs. Obama and White House staffers won't raise money for the foundation until Obama leaves office, the group said. Obama will be kept up to date but won't be closely involved in the screening of the site proposals.

For the communities vying for the library, much of the legwork required to put together a proposal is already complete. Hawaii officials have been working to lure the library since the 2008 Iowa caucuses — before Obama was even elected president — and has gently lobbied Obama's sister and close friends. At the University of Chicago, where Obama once taught law, a behind-the-scenes effort is being led by Susan Sher, a top university official and Mrs. Obama's former chief of staff.

In Honolulu, University of Hawaii professor Robert Perkinson, who is heading a statewide campaign for the library, said Hawaii's efforts would now accelerate. ''We have most of the building blocks we need, but assembling everything will take a lot of hours,'' he said.

In addition to serving as the official repository for presidential records and artifacts, the libraries often have an accompanying presidential center as a vehicle for ex-presidents to promote policies and coordinate humanitarian efforts after leaving office. Some groups already vying for Obama's library have proposed that he build a center or institute in one location and the library in another.

The candy man...can't

Here's a story which generates very little play from the MSM.

Remember when the candy man (Nagin) said he was going to "make New Orleans chocolate again"?

His new digs?

New Orleans Ex-Mayor's Corruption Trial Begins

Ray Nagin facing 20 years in jail for allegedly taking money and vacations in return for city contracts

Former mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin is scheduled to appear in court Monday to face federal corruption charges that could put him behind bars for up to 20 years.

Prosecutors accuse Nagin of accepting over $200,000, along with family vacations and benefits to his family's granite countertop business, in exchange for millions of dollars worth of city contracts and taxpayer money. The 21 counts are not related to Hurricane Katrina rebuilding.

Business associates who allegedly flew the ex-mayor to New York City on a private jet and on first class vacations to Jamaica and Hawaii in exchange for city contracts are expected to testify, USA Today reports.

Nagin, who served as mayor from 2002 to 2010, was widely criticized for his slow and ineffectual response to Hurricane Katrina, which left 80 percent of the city underwater in 2005.

Nagin denies any wrongdoing.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Barry's upcoming SOTU

I guess he can speak about all his accomplishments.

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Like the first president to get downgraded.

Like how he took a $10.6 trillion debt he promised to cut in half and raised it to $17 trillion.

Like how he pledged to close down Gitmo within a year (Glad he failed).

Like addition through subtraction… since Obamacare… there are more people without insurance then before the plan was enacted.

Like the Benghazi and IRS scandals he was, "going to get to the bottom of it"... so far the only person arrested was a guy who shot a video.

Like when he told us the NSA is not spying on Americans.

And these are just a few. He has lied to the American people so many times I don't how anyone could trust him anymore... even those who voted for him! I'll be watching for his last hurrah. How he's going to fix "our broken immigration system" How? Amnesty. How does one reward those who break the law? Grant them your blessing. I'm sure he'll make a case on how he's going to seal the border. (That's just until Lib's think they'll need another injection of more Democrats) Reagan was told the same pack of lies. Twenty 20 years from now we'll be facing the same problem.

But... at least Barry will get the support of McCain and Grahamnesty.

Obama's speech: Big media buildup, little lasting impact

Oct. 25, 2013: President Obama speaks at Pathways in Technology Early College High School in the Brooklyn borough of New York.AP

Quick: What did Barack Obama say in last year's State of the Union?

It's not your fault if you can't remember, and it's not necessarily the president's, either.

Nor is Tuesday's address, as Obama begins his sixth year in office, likely to be one for the history books. As he noted in a New Yorker interview, he's overexposed.

The SOTU has become one of the great media rituals, training a bright spotlight on the annual speech to Congress, but creating a story line that fades within a day or two.

Part of this is the nature of the beast. The speeches have become glorified laundry lists with a few catch phrases thrown in. Many of the proposals are destined to go nowhere; others have already been ignored by Congress.

But the media go into full battle-dress mode for the Washington event: Live coverage, plenty of punditry, post-game analysis, insta-polls. The president calls in the big network and cable anchors for an off-the-record lunch that day, providing background and spin about the speech.

The process begins with a series of calculated administration leaks designed to stoke interest in the speech and mollify certain constituency groups.

As if on cue, Sunday's New York Times had unnamed aides conveying that Obama "will present a blueprint for 'a year of action' on issues like income inequality and the environment that bypasses Congress and exercises his authority to the maximum extent.

"Mr. Obama will still use the speech to push for an immigration overhaul, with aides guardedly optimistic that he may reach a compromise with Republicans."

Jay Carney was on "This Week" and Dan Pfieffer on "Fox News Sunday" as well as "State of the Union" talking up the speech. Reuters has Pfeiffer saying that "President Barack Obama will announce a new plan next week to help Americans who continue to struggle to find jobs even as the economy recovers from recession."

In recent years, the opposition response has become a bigger deal. The Tea Party started offering a separate rebuttal.

On Tuesday, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers delivers the GOP response. Sen. Mike Lee is the Tea Party spokesman. But Rand Paul — who delivered last year's Tea Party response — is promoting his own speech, according to Politico. It's all about grabbing airtime.

But is there any lasting benefit? What tends to be remembered are off-script moments. Bill Clinton's split-screen speech on the night of the O.J. verdict. Samuel Alito mouthing "not true" during an Obama speech. Marco Rubio's water bottle.

So my question about Obama's 2013 address? He called for gun control legislation. He urged a rise in the minimum wage. Oh, and his big-ticket item for the year was immigration reform. None of which happened. Which is why his aides are carefully lowering expectations for Tuesday's speech.