COMMANDER-IN-CHEAT – AT 9:34 A.M. ET:   Andrew Malcolm nails the Barack Obama approach to the truth.  If we had a better press, Obama would never get away with it.  But we don't have a better press.  From IBD: 

Remember back in the 2012 presidential campaign when Barack Obama said things like:

"Al Qaeda is on the run. We have decimated its core leadership. And Osama bin Laden is dead. But I don't want Americans to think the struggle against terror is over. It's not, by any means. We have a long struggle ahead. By 2014, new terrorist groups may spring up and we'll be back fighting in the Middle East."

Neither do we.

That's because, while the Democrat incumbent said the first part over and over to imply he'd lead the nation to victory over Islamic extremists, the second warning part he left out. Not by accident, of course.

Now, as is his habit, Obama is muddying the waters with superfluous words and thoughts to cover his lies, gaffes and distortions. He warns of making generalizations, then makes them. He smoothly dodges and deflects questions, appearing to listeners' ears to answer while changing the subject from his responsibility to someone else's fault.

It's easier for Obama to do because of a less than shark-like D.C. media and because words heard come and go so fast it's difficult for listeners to parse and analyze before the Talker-in-Chief is off gabbing about something else. All of which, of course, he knows full well.

Take this exchange with "60 Minutes'" Steve Kroft: "Is this the most difficult period of your presidency, the biggest challenge of your presidency, this period we're in right now?"

Pause the tape. Now, Obama knows if he agrees, that's the night's top headline: "Worst time of my presidency: Obama." So, he gives Kroft nothing on that subject and pivots to recalling the ancient, reviled Bush era to change the topic away from himself. Resume tape.

"It's a significant period. But if you think about what I walked into when I came into office...."
Can you imagine a headline like this: "Obama says U.S. in a 'significant period'" Of course not.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  All presidents, of course, twist things to some degree.  But Obama is world class.  He is a perpetual candidate, speaking the bromides that will make him more popular, or less unpopular.  The public, to a large degree, seems to have caught on.  Too many journalists have not.

Obama, like Jimmy Carter, is too small for the office. 

September 30, 2014