The Presidency | Ed's Blog

June 10, 2012 • 1:36 PM 10

INTELLIGENCE LEAKS AND A DOJ COVER-UP: WILL THEY TOPPLE THE PRESIDENT?

Did top national-security officials, with or without President Obama’s approval, leak sensitive and highly classified national security information to make President Obama look like a strong, decisive leader? Is Attorney General Eric Holder withholding information from Congress that might implicate him and other high Justice Department officials in a “gunwalking” cover-up? If one or both are true it could mean defeat for President Obama in November. (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: National Security, Politics, The Presidency, Admiral John Poindexter, ATF, Attorney General Eric Holder, Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson, Colonel Oliver North, Congress, cover-up, current and former U.S. officials, cyber campaign, Daniel Ellsberg, David Sanger, Ed Ross, ewross, Fast and Furious program, Flame computer worm, gunwalking scandal, Iran Contra, Iran Contra Affair. President George H.W. Bush, Iran's nuclear weapons program, Jo Becker, Justice Department officials, making false statements, Mexican drug cartels, most egregious leaks of sensitive classified information in decades, national security, national security information, Obama Order Sped up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran, obstruction of justice, Pentagon Papers, perjury, President Obama, recruit spies to infiltrate terrorist groups, Republican and Democratic members of Congress, Scooter Libby, Scott Shane, Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, stonewall Congress, straw purchasers, stricter U.S. gun-control laws. U.S. law-enforcement officials, Stuxnet, The New York Times, top national-security officials, U.S. drone attacks, Valery Plame scandals, Vietnam, war, Watergate, White House, White House situation room

January 22, 2012 • 12:28 PM 50

SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTS AND EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS

There is an interesting correlation between the most successful presidents over the past 80 years and those that have had extramarital affairs. Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Bill Clinton all had extramarital affairs before or during their terms of office. Only Ronald Reagan appears to be the exception to the rule. Is it any wonder that voters may be willing to overlook Newt Gingrich’s affair? (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, ABC’s Brian Ross, adultery, assault, barack obama, Bill Clinton, bimbo eruptions, boldness, Callista Gingrich, character trait, CNN debate moderator John King, Democrat, Dwight Eisenhower, Ed Ross, Eleanor Roosevelt, ewross, extramarital affairs, Franklin Roosevelt, Gennifer Flowers, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Governor of Arkansas, harry truman, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood stars, House of Representatives, impeachment, Jackie Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, John Kennedy, Judith Campbell Exner, Kay Summersby, Lucy Page Mercer, Lyndon Johnson, Mafia boss San Giancana, mainstream media bias, Mamie Eisenhower, Marianne Gingrich, Marilyn Monroe, Monica Lewinski, Newt Gingrich, obstruction of justice, perjury, presidential candidates, presidential leadership, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, sex life, sexual harassment, South Carolina primary, successful presidents, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Vietnam War, Watergate, White House

January 8, 2012 • 12:00 PM 10

WHAT THE 2012 ELECTION WILL TELL US ABOUT OURSELVES

Following the 2008 election Americans learned a great deal more about the man they elected president than they knew about him when they voted for him. The 2012 election will tell us more about ourselves than the man we elect as our president, no matter who he is. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 2000 election, 2012 election, 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, Afghanistan, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, American voters, Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country, barack obama, big government, Bill Ayers, Black American presidennt, black liberation theology, conservative Republicans, deficits, Democratic constituenccies, Democratic Party, Ed Ross, entitlement reform, entitlement spending, European model, ewross, food stamps, fundamentally transform America, government spending, Iraq, John F. Kennedy, liberal, liberal agenda, mainstream media, mainstream Republican politicians, Medicare, Mitt Romney, negative presidential campaign, Newt Gingrich, President of the United States, presidential election, progressive, Racism, recess appointments, Republican controlled House, restore America, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Rick Santorum, Senate, Social Security, superpower, Supreme Court justices, Tony Rezko, unions, vision for America

November 6, 2011 • 12:00 PM 20

THEY’RE RIOTING IN GREECE, THEY’RE OCCUPYING AMERICA

To paraphrase an old Kingston Trio song:

They’re rioting in Greece, they’re occupying America.

There’s unrest in China, and Middle East hysteria.

The whole world is festering with unhappy contrarians

The Islamists hate everyone, everyone hates Americans

Palestinians hate Israelis, someone hates the Dutch.

And no one likes anybody very much.

Amidst all this chaos, Americans want a president and legislators that will restore order, prosperity, and national security. It’s difficult to imagine how we can elect the right people, however, when we spend more time focusing on form than substance. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 24/7 media coverage, 9-9-9 plan, ANWR, Asia, barack obama, china, Dutch, Ed Ross, energy independence, ewross, flat tax plan, foreign policy, form over substance, gaffe, government executive, Herman Cain, Islamists, Israelis, John McCain, Kingston Trio, leadership skills, Lincoln-Douglas style debate, middle east, Middle East hysteria, Mitt Romney, national security, Newt Gingrich, Occupying America, Palestinians, Palinizing, President Obama, President of the United States, private sector, referendum on President Barack Obama, republicans, Rick Perry, rioting in Greece, sexual haraassment allegations, unhappy souls, Warfare and Conflict

September 11, 2011 • 12:38 PM 11

A TALE OF TWO SPEECHES: OBAMA ORATORY VS. THE PALIN PARADIGM

Consider the speech given by President Barack Obama before a joint session of Congress Thursday evening along with the one Sarah Palin gave at a Tea Party rally in Indianola, Iowa, the Saturday before. President Obama, a gifted orator, delivered his “jobs plan” with eloquence, passion and determination. Still, even with sweeteners intended to attract Republican support, it set forth the same failed ideas he’s pursued for the previous 961 days. Sarah Palin, with her high-pitched voice and quirky Alaskan pronunciation of certain words, “delivered a devastating indictment of the entire U.S. political establishment—left, right and center—and pointed toward a way of transcending the presently unbridgeable political divide.” (More)

Filed under: Palin, Politics, The Presidency, Alaska, Alaskan pronunciation, Anand Giridharadas, big corporations, big government, candidates for president, corporate crony capitalism, Ed Ross, ewross, Gov. Palin, Indianola, indianola-iowa, Iowa, jobs plan, joint session of Congress, Keynesian economics, Mama grizzly, New York Times, obama orator, permanent political class, political establishment, political oratory, republican, Republicans in Congress, rhetoric, sarah palin, stimulus, tale of two speeches, tea party, the Palin paradigm, United States, Washington D.C.

August 7, 2011 • 12:00 PM 17

FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE HUB OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

I begin my radio show every Sunday evening, “. . . coming to you live from the outskirts of the hub of Western Civilization.” The hub of Western Civilization, of course, is Washington, D.C., on the outskirts of which I have lived for the past 32 years. Indeed, it is the most powerful city, not only in the West, but in the entire world. I fear, however, I will live to see the day when it is no longer. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 2010 election, bankrupt, china, civility, cold war, Congress is broken, conservatives, counterespionage operative, democrats, Ed Ross, entrepreneurship, equal opportunity, Europe, ewross, feckless, fond memories, free enterprise, Ft. Meade Maryland, great leaders, great presidents, individual initiative, islamic world, islamist-jihadists, labor rates, legislate from the bench, manufacturing, nuclear weapons, outskirts of the hub of Western Civilization, politically and bureaucratically, President Barack Obama, President Ronald Reagan, progressives, radio show, Reagan administration, redistribution of wealth, republicans, rogue states, Rome, social justice, social-democratic nation, Tea Party movement, US Constitution, Washington DC, White House, world's preeminent superpower

June 5, 2011 • 12:00 PM 8

NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE 2012 ELECTION

The state of the U.S. economy and jobs are the overwhelming issues that will determine the outcome of the 2012 presidential election. Still, in a close race, national security issues could play the decisive role.

Given the inherent advantages President Barack Obama has on national security as an incumbent president and the likelihood that Republicans will nominate a candidate better suited to challenge Obama on domestic issues, Mr. Obama will have an advantage. Insufficient attention by the Republican nominee to national security issues could be a politically fatal mistake. (More)

Filed under: National Security, The Presidency, 2012 election, Afghanistan, Arab world, arms sales to Taiwan, car bombs, china, domestic economic issues, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy issues, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Iraq, Israel's 1967 borders, Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, jobs, John Bolton, Jon Huntsman, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, national security, Newt Gingrich, President Barack Obama, President Obama's approval rating, presidential debates, Rasmussen Reports poll, Republican nominee, Ron Paul, sarah palin, there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, Tim Pawlenty, U.S. economy, U.S. forces, United States presidential election 2012, Vulcans, war, we got bin Laden

April 3, 2011 • 4:21 PM 27

SORTING OUT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT

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President Barack Obama will kick off his reelection campaign this week with an announcement followed by a series of fundraisers in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles with a growing gaggle of GOP candidates forming up to run against him. Sorting them out by their ranking in the polls is the traditional approach. I prefer, however, to look at them another way.

Currently there are 18 people in the monthly Townhall.com straw poll, and it doesn’t include Donald Trump or others people have talked about as potential candidates. Not all of them, of course, will decide to run. Gov. Chris Christie, for example, has stated emphatically that he won’t run. Many question if Mike Huckabee will; and who knows what Sarah Palin will decide to do?

For those contemplating a serious bid, there are numerous daunting obstacles besides the incumbency of a sitting president they must contend with. Few are wealthy enough or can raise the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to run a successful presidential campaign; and, judging from the polls, most have insufficient popular support and quickly will fall by the wayside after the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

Ranking them by their poll numbers is the conventional way of sorting the candidates. There’s another methodology, however. It requires us to read their minds and is completely subjective. It sorts them into three categories. (More)

Filed under: The Presidency, Politics, ewross, sarah palin, gop, republican party, barack obama, vice president, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ed Ross, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newt Gingrich, Chicago, Republican candidates for president, alternative, sort, reelection campaign, Townhall.com straw poll, Donald Trump, Chris Christie, poll numbers, three categories, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, John Bolton, Michelle Bachmann, Mitch Daniels, Rick Santorum, Haley Barbour, Iowa caucuses

February 6, 2011 • 10:30 AM 4

RONALD REAGAN: What You Saw is What You Got

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Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday Sunday provides an opportunity for people who respected and admired him to talk and write the President and his legacy. Some recall his great achievements—his role in ending the Cold War, Reganomics, and the revival of conservatism. Others reminisce about his acting and political careers before he became president. Others remember his storytelling, his boundless sense of optimism, and his deep and enduring love of America.

As someone who arrived in Washington, D.C., the year before President Reagan and who worked in the Department of Defense during his eight years in office, I remember a president who inspired and empowered the people that worked for him, didn’t require or create a bloated national-security bureaucracy, and who you didn’t have to analyze to understand. What you saw is what you got. (More)

Filed under: The Presidency, 100th birthday, Afghanistan, American Exceptionalism, Bill Clinton, Bob Gates, Caspar Weinberger, china, CIA, cold war, Conservatism, Defense Intelligence Agency, DoD, DoS, Ed Ross, empowerment, ewross, faith in America, George HW Bush, George Schultz, George W. Bush, Iran-Contra Affair, legacy, limited government, national security, national security establishment, office of the Secretary of Defense, President Barack Obama, Reganomics, Ronald Reagan, Soviets, Taiwan, US arms sales, US Army attache, Vietnam War, Washington DC, what you saw is what you got, William Casey

January 2, 2011 • 5:39 PM 5

DESERVING THE COMEBACK-KID TITLE: It’s Got to be a Surprise

Comeback kids in politics, as in sports or any other competitive endeavor, are those that truly surprise us. The more the media labels someone a comeback kid before the comeback, or a politician claims to be one, the more likely the characterization, win or lose, will turn out to be untrue. (More)

Filed under: Politics, The Presidency, 2012, ABC, Bill Clinton 1996 election, Bob Dole, Charles Krauthammer, comeback kid, Ed Ross, ewross, governor of California, Howard K. Smith, Jim DeMint, John F. Kennedy, lame duck session of Congress, Mark Whittington, New Hampshire primary, one-term president, Paul Tsongas, politics, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Ross Perot, sarah palin, sports, surprise, the new comeback kid, White House

November 7, 2010 • 12:00 PM 2

FOREIGN POLICY: The Last Refuge of a Diminished President?

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President Obama departed Washington, D.C. last week for a 10-day visit to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan following the Democratic Party’s historic defeat in the 2010 mid-term elections. It’s a routine foreign trip, like others the well-traveled president has made since he took office, unless it marks a new beginning of President Obama’s personal involvement in foreign policy.

It’s not uncommon for presidents, when opposition-party majorities in one or both houses of Congress stymie their domestic-policy agendas , to spend more time on foreign policy. It’s the domain of presidential power least fettered by Congress. President Obama can use the second half of his term to build a list of foreign-policy accomplishments he can run on in the 2012 election as Republicans seek to dismantle his domestic-policy agenda at home. There’s only one problem—there must be some extraordinary foreign-policy accomplishments. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Politics, The Presidency, 2010 mid-term elections, 2012 elections, Afghanistan, Bilateral Consultative Commission, brinksmanship, Congress, Democratic Party, domestic policy, domestic policy agenda, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy, foreign policy doctrine, foreign policy president, fundamentally transform America, global governance, India, Indonesia, instincts, Iraq, Japan, John Kennedy, last refuge, leadership style, liberal president, Middle East peace, military power, missile defense, missiles, President Obama, presidential leadership, redistribution of wealth, republicans, Ronald Reagan, South Korea, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, United Nations, Washington D.C., West Bank, world community

August 22, 2010 • 3:34 PM 3

THE MOSQUE, MUSLIMS, AND BUILDING BRIDGES: Time for a Better Approach

The ongoing controversy over whether or not Muslims should build a Mosque near “Ground Zero” in Lower Manhattan fits conveniently into a false narrative perpetuated by biased reporting and misinformation that confrontation, not dialogue and cooperation, is the hallmark of America’s relationship with Muslim Americans and the Islamic world. It also exposes the fallacy that political correctness and pandering to Muslims is the best way to build bridges to them. (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, The Presidency, 9/11 victims, biased reporting, building bridges, confrontation, Cordoba House, Ed Ross, ewross, false narrative, Ground Zero, groundzero, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, islam, Islam in the United States, Islamist-Jihadist, Lower Manhattan, misinformation, mosque, Muslim Americans Islamic world, muslims, New York City, Organisations, pandering to Muslims, Park51, Political correctness, President Barack Obama, Ramadan, Religion, State Department, United States, World Trade Center

June 20, 2010 • 1:33 PM 2

SAVING THE U.S.-U.K. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP – Is It Already Too Late?

Since President Barack Obama took office, the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship” has been in free fall. The first manifestation of this decline, shortly after the President’s inauguration, was Obama’s sudden return of the Winston Churchill bust from the Oval Office, loaned to the U.S. by the British people as a gesture of solidarity after 9/11. A series of incidents followed. Now, the British even see the Obama administration’s treatment of BP in the wake of the Gulf oil spill in this light. Rough periods in the relationship are nothing new, but this one is different and likely will prove very difficult to undo, if it isn’t already too late. (More)

Filed under: National Security, The Presidency, BP, breech of protocol, British people, Bush's invasion of Iraq, David Brown, Guff oil spill, Harold Macmillan, HMS Resolute, involvement in Afghanistan, John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, nuclear weapons development, Oval Office, Prime Minister, relic, Resolute Desk, Robert MacNamara, Ronald Reagan, Skybold crisis, Tony Blair, U.S.-U.K. cooperation, U.S.-U.K. special relationship, United Kingdom, Winston Churchill bust

June 6, 2010 • 10:50 AM 7

THE OIL SPILL IN THE GULF – Obama’s Leadership Crisis

President Obama’s critics have called him many things. Now, criticizing him for his reaction to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, they’ve begun to call him “incompetent,” comparing him to Jimmy Carter. If that label sticks, the Obama presidency, like Jimmy Carter’s, is doomed. Even worse, if President Obama doesn’t act decisively and quickly to stem the tide of destruction, the oil spill will cause irreparable damage to millions of people’s lives and to the country. (More)

Filed under: Climate Change, The Presidency, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Department of Defense, Eric Holder, Gulf of Mexico, Harry Reid, Healthcare reform, Hurricane Katrina, Janet Napolitano, Jimmmy Carter, Ken Salizar, Lisa Jackson, Nancy Pelosi, Obama's leadership crisis, obamacare, oil spill in the gulf, political operatives, President Obama, Robert Gates, Thad Allen, U.S. Coast Guard, White House

Ed's Blog

INTELLIGENCE LEAKS AND A DOJ COVER-UP: WILL THEY TOPPLE THE PRESIDENT?

SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENTS AND EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS

THEY’RE RIOTING IN GREECE, THEY’RE OCCUPYING AMERICA

A TALE OF TWO SPEECHES: OBAMA ORATORY VS. THE PALIN PARADIGM

NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE 2012 ELECTION

SORTING OUT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

RONALD REAGAN: What You Saw is What You Got

DESERVING THE COMEBACK-KID TITLE: It’s Got to be a Surprise

FOREIGN POLICY: The Last Refuge of a Diminished President?

THE MOSQUE, MUSLIMS, AND BUILDING BRIDGES: Time for a Better Approach

SAVING THE U.S.-U.K. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP – Is It Already Too Late?

THE OIL SPILL IN THE GULF – Obama’s Leadership Crisis

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