Overnight Open Thread (4-4-2013)

Jim Geraghty: Obama is Mentally in the Post-Presidential Phase of His Presidency

President Senioritis.

In a departure from a long practice of keeping his personal circle strikingly tight and rarely lingering at official events, Obama has been hosting star-studded dinners that sometimes go on well past midnight and inviting a few newcomers such as former NBA star Alonzo Mourning into his social sphere. He's playing golf more than any other year, replacing basketball as his go-to sport, partly because of concerns about getting injured . . .

The presidential dinners, inside the White House and beyond, are more and more frequent. At one dinner, not previously disclosed, the Obamas hosted U2's Bono, Gen. Colin Powell, Apple CEO Tim Cook, investor Warren Buffett and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Another drew actors Will Smith and Samuel L. Jackson, along with journalist Gayle King. Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, attended a dinner with fashion-industry insiders.

...As the crisis in Ukraine escalated in early March, White House aides turned to a less consequential matter: Should Obama travel to Florida for a planned weekend golf getaway?

Earlier in the presidency, current and former aides said, they probably would have canceled the trip. Obama, and his image protectors, had always been mindful about doing anything that could be turned into a Republican attack line.

Lying State Department Hack: Bowe Bergdahl Knows Better What Happened Than His Memory-Challenged Squad Mates

True in trivial sense but then Bergdahl also has the most to gain by lying about what he did and what his motivations were - unlike his fellow soldiers.

She keeps using the phrase 'fact pattern' which I gather from context means a kind of structure built on lies and cherry-picked facts. Plus: Dude this was like five years ago.

I wonder if when Marie Harf graduated from college, she ever envisioned that she'd be prostituting herself in public like this. Still defensive bitchiness and thick wrists aside she is kinda cute. Especially by government hackess standards.

Quote of the Day

"Now, Mr. Carter. I know this is completely unorthodox. But I think this is the only way to find that boy. Now that penis had a mole on it -- I'd recognize that penis anywhere."

Well I believe it was already revealed in the 1970s documentary Grease that the FBI does in fact have a butt database.

Ralph Peters: Why Team Obama Was Blindsided by the Bergdahl Backlash

The president, too, appears stunned. He has so little understanding of (or interest in) the values and traditions of our troops that he and his advisers really believed that those in uniform would erupt into public joy at the news of Bergdahl's release - as D.C. frat kids did when Osama bin Laden's death was trumpeted.

Both President Obama and Ms. Rice seem to think that the crime of desertion in wartime is kind of like skipping class. They have no idea of how great a sin desertion in the face of the enemy is to those in our military. The only worse sin is to side actively with the enemy and kill your brothers in arms. This is not sleeping in on Monday morning and ducking Gender Studies 101.

But compassion, please! The president and all the president's men and women are not alone. Our media elite - where it's a rare bird who bothered to serve in uniform - instantly became experts on military justice. Of earnest mien and blithe assumption, one talking head after another announced that "we always try to rescue our troops, even deserters."

President Obama did this to himself (and to Bergdahl). This beautifully educated man, who never tires of letting us know how much smarter he is than the rest of us, never stopped to consider that our troops and their families might have been offended by their commander-in-chief staging a love-fest at the White House to celebrate trading five top terrorists for one deserter and featuring not the families of those soldiers (at least six of them) who died in the efforts to find and free Bergdahl, but, instead, giving a starring role on the international stage to Pa Taliban, parent of a deserter and a creature of dubious sympathies (that beard on pops ain't a tribute to ZZ Top). How do you say "outrageous insult to our vets" in Pashto?

Nor, during the recent VA scandal, had the president troubled himself to host the families of survivors of those vets who died awaiting care. No, the warmest attention our president has ever paid to a "military family" was to Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl.

Oh Goody - Bowe Bergdahl to be Promoted to Staff Sergeant AND Get $300K in Back Pay

You know I could live with the fact that Bergdahl may never be court martialed for desertion but I'll be damned if he actually gets rewarded for his perfidy.

MA Bill Will Force Divorcing Couples to Get Court Permission Before Having Sex

CA Bill Will Require Verbal or Written Consent For Sex on Campus

Remember back when a mantra of the left was to keep the government out of our bedrooms? Ah good times, good times.

Does Matthew Yglesias Ever Tire Of Being Embarrassingly Wrong About Everything?

Short answer: No. Which is why he makes more money and lives better than you do.

Is MoDowd Too Dumb to Do Pot?

Sure seems that way.

Sandra Fluke Makes It Into CA Senate Seat Runoff

Pretty good for a 33 year old chick who's never had a real job and whose main claim to fame is that she wanted other people to pay for her birth control.

Meanwhile Sen. Leland Yee (D) received over 10% of the vote which pretty much accounts for all the people who were unaware of his indictment for gun-running and/or just have strong cultural affinities for shameless gun-runners.

Judge Takes Break During Hearing To Fight Public Defender

Okay the first thing you need to know is that this took place in Florida. Well actually that's about all you need to know since it tells you that a) it really happened and that b) it's just as embarrassingly entertaining as you'd expect.

What is Godzilla Doing When He's Not Knocking Buildings Down?

Well scoring with the ladies for one thing. Turns out they have a thing for bad boys of any species.

The Group knows what you did.

Tonight's post brought to you by potato sack Marilyn:

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posted by Maetenloch at 09:52 PM

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