Rubbing his face in it...

In case you missed it, Russian Czar-For-However-Long-He-Wants Vladimir Putin had some (new) choice words for the United States and its leader-in-name-only, Barack Hussein Obama, regarding the current stand-off with Syria.

Those words appeared, in of all places, America's "Paper of Record"...aka: the New York Times (aka: the U.S. edition of Pravda).

Read it here...

It appears The Manly One has thrown down the gauntlet...or at least rubbed Mr. Obama's face in it.

Bonus: From the presidential debates last year -- President Obama puts Gov. Mitt Romney in his place, citing Romney calling Russia "a threat." Sheesh. Talk about a guy who's out of touch...




Super bonus: A quick collection of Tweets/reactions to the Putin op-ed:

--Putin's only suggestion to the NYT op-ed editor: "Cut what you need to cut. Just please post it on 9/11."

--This is Putin doing a home run trot pantless in Yankee Stadium.

--"Bad news is Assad bailed on his piece. Good news: We landed Putin!"

--Countdown to Assad’s inevitable “Just try and stop me” NYT op-ed

--The Russian president just trolled an embarrassed United States in its paper of record on September 11th. Everything I love is dead.

--"Vlad there's a typo here." "Are you sure?" (Lowers brow, makes stern face) "Oh no no, my mistake."

--Putin's next act of Obama trolling: a series of YouTube lectures on Constitutional Law

--Only a matter of time before Putin has a Hangout on Google+

--Lay off Putin's op-Ed. Can you write an essay while simultaneously bedding a gymnast and strangling a rare Siberian tiger?

--Putin's take on the situation on the ground in Syria is accurate. On the gas thing, he's been listening to too much Rush Limbaugh.

--Not sure why some people think it's funny a foreign anti-American thug just lectured us using one of America's biggest papers...

--Putin now just basically doing donuts in Obama's front yard.

--Putin wrote that op-ed shirtless, with an enigmatic smirk, and immediately after having someone killed.

--It's a good thing Vladimir Putin followed the letter of international law when it intervened in Georgia. Wait....

--What time is Obama's Op-Ed in Pravda?

--Putin just won the world champion belt in concern trolling...

--The Vladimir Putin op-ed in the @nytimes may contain more chutzpah per square inch than any op-ed in history.

Mission accomplished/promise fulfilled?

On Detroit and bankruptcy...



From the Washington Examiner: On October 13, 2012, President Obama boasted to Americans in his weekly address that he refused to “let Detroit go bankrupt.” “[W]e refused to throw in the towel and do nothing,” Obama said. “We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt, I bet on American workers, and American ingenuity and three years later that bet is paying off in a big way.” Of course Obama was referring to the auto industry – alluding to Mitt Romney’s unfortunate New York Times op-ed headline from 2008. With the news of Detroit filing for bankruptcy today, his line takes on new meaning.

That's some fine, fine work you're doing there!

Out of touch?

President Obama, speaking in Roanoke, VA, on Friday, actually said the following (video below):

There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me — because they want to give something back.  They know they didn’t — look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.  (Applause.)

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

Out of touch? Yeah, just a bit...

(To read the official White House transcripts of this speech/gaffe/belief, go here.)

Thin-skinned...

Talk about acting "un-presidential"...

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

According to MediaBistro.com's TV Newser, "FNC’s Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry got the first question at today’s joint news conference between Pres. Obama and Lee Myung-Bak, President of South Korea. Henry asked the president about the alleged Iranian terror plot, and used a quote from GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney who had criticized Obama’s leadership. Obama responded with, 'I didn’t know you were the spokesman for Mitt Romney.' In an interview later with Megyn Kelly, Henry explains, 'I was trying to put it in the broader context of not just Mitt Romney, but there are a lot of Republicans out there who would charge that this president leads from behind.' He decided not to engage with Mitt Romeny. Instead, he decided to go after me a little bit.”

Watch the clip (below) and decide if this is how we expect American presidents should handle tough questions...

(h/t: Wesley J. Smith)