Waiting For The Hour: Abraham Lincoln Speaks To Obama

There is a photograph of President Barack Obama with Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ bust of Abraham Lincoln visible in the background.  Through the magic of Photoshop™ I reworked the photograph to bring Lincoln into full focus.

When he placed his hand upon Lincoln’s Bible on January 20, 2009 Barack Obama declared he was committed to celebrating American unity and the use of the historic Bible would provide a powerful connection to our “common past and common heritage.”

When Lincoln placed his hand upon this very same Bible 148 years earlier a Civil War threatened to destroy the country.  On Friday, 156 years later, President-elect Donald Trump will place his hand upon Lincoln’s Bible as he takes the Oath of Office.  He will assume the mantle of President of the United States at a time of great unrest at home and abroad.

Upon learning of Obama’s disgraceful commutation of Army Pfc. Manning, I wondered if the ghost of Lincoln ever spoke to him during his eight failed years as president.

“Mr. President, when I took the Oath of Office I was aware I followed greatly distinguished men who administered the Executive Branch of the Government through many perils and generally with great success.” 

“I concluded my Inaugural Address by affirming to those there assembled, ‘we are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.’” 

“I have watched from this shelf upon which you placed me eight years ago the menace of racial division inflicted by you.  Through the slipstream of time I witnessed the zenith of your campaign to become the 44th president by placing your hand upon my Bible and citing my words.  Your heady talk of emulating me gave way to cynicism and complacency.  The connection to me you so desperately sought to make was maddeningly out of reach.” 

“Those who will take your place at the 58th Presidential Inauguration have the difficult task made harder by you to mitigate the damage done to a great nation.  I believe they truly seek the illumination of my legacy.  Your failures will haunt you all the days of your life.” 

“I was heartbroken the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture omitted the enormous legacy and impact of Justice Clarence Thomas and chose instead to give you a large presence in the museum.  It must, therefore, be galling to know Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will swear in Mike Pence using the Bible that President Reagan used for both of his inaugurals.” 

“Racial discord will not be your only legacy I fear.  The American people to whom you are beholding have suffered greatly by your arrogance, fecklessness and intolerance of political opponents.  You have sought, at every turn, to take away Americans’ right to bear arms, your administration covered up the murder of four Americans in Benghazi and most egregiously you lied repeatedly about your ‘signature’ law that upended healthcare and you did nothing to end the persecution of Christians.” 

“The loathing for Israel you demonstrated sickened me.  I could enumerate a litany of failures and scandals besmirching your tenure as you faltered day after day destroying a nation built by great men and women.” 

“I stand firm in my belief that once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens you can never regain their respect and esteem.” 

“You should have heeded my words, ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”  

“Your heart will be filled with sorrow knowing you were at the apex of history and squandered it.  It is a bitter agony for me.”

UPDATE 1:  Welcome readers of Adrienne’s Corner.  Thanks for the linky-love Miss A.

UPDATE 2:  Welcome readers of Diogenes’ Middle Finger who graciously linked to this post.

What The Situation Requires, Of Course, Is A Stupid, Futile Gesture On Someone's Part

Today Democrats from both the House and Senate held a news conference following a meeting with The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer.  He came to Capitol Hill to stiffen the spines of his fellow Democrats to preserve his signature health care law. 

Vice President-Elect Pence, in a separate news conference, stood firm telling Republicans repealing and replacing Obamacare was at the top of President-Elect Trump’s list noting, “We’re going to be in the promise-keeping business.  The American people voted decisively for a better future for health care in this country and we are determined to give them that.”

In the Democrats’ meeting, Obama urged his party's lawmakers to focus on emphasizing how the law has helped people. And he accepted some blame for not sufficiently promoting it.

It’s as if after ramming Obamacare down the throats of the American people in 2010 the Democrats were left measuring Neidermeyer’s horse to get the carcass out of Dean Wormer’s office following a prank-related accidental death in Animal House.  The two sides traded insults throughout the day.  They placed a placard on an easel bearing their new attack line: “Make America Sick Again.”

So it looks like our big defense of ObamaCare is a catchy slogan & hashtag. You can tell we put a lot of thought into it.

— Josh Earnst (@NotJoshEarnest) January 4, 2017

Meanwhile, the Senate voted 51-48 Wednesday to begin debating a budget that, once approved, will prevent Democrats from using a filibuster to block future Republican legislation to void the health care law. The Senate is expected to complete the budget by next week, with House approval to follow.

"We're united in our opposition to these Republican attempts to make America sick again," says Sen. Schumer https://t.co/PHEXUQsVnN pic.twitter.com/0hpZP05y4Y

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 4, 2017

POTUS told Democrats to start calling the GOP health plan "TrumpCare", which is exactly what a 5 year old would say.

— Josh Earnst (@NotJoshEarnest) January 4, 2017

The ACA didn't work for Donna Brazile. Sad! #ACAWorks pic.twitter.com/GahlpGai9c

— Ian McKelvey (@mckelvey_ian) January 4, 2017

Beltway Ninnies And New York Times Propaganda Ministry Plead “Don’t Upset The Dragon!”

The bed-wetting on the Left over a congratulatory phone call made to President-elect Trump by Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president, caused heads to explode last Friday.  But why?  Because no US Commander-in-Chief has spoken directly to a Taiwanese leader since America established diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979 via President Jimmy Carter’s “one China” policy.

The President-elect did not inform the White House or the corrupted-by-Hillary State Department beforehand.  He did not consult with what is effectively America’s liaison office in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan.  Each would have tried to stop him.

Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a tweet acknowledged that “consistency is a means, not an end” but suggested Trump’s moves, including the call with Tsai, “are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan.” “That’s how wars start,”the Connecticut Democrat wrote.

Evan Medeiros, former Asia director on the National Security Council, told the Financial Times Chinese leaders “will see this as a highly provocative action, of historic proportions” and that he is worried “Trump is setting a foundation of enduring mistrust and strategic competition.”

I was promised by uninformed DC journalists who had lunch at PF Changs the world would end in nuclear holocaust tonight https://t.co/xiPkdbtCUl

— Comrade Balding (@BaldingsWorld) December 3, 2016

The people of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa) consider themselves Taiwanese not Chinese and Beijing is worried the island situated off China’s southeastern coast will formally break away and declare itself the Republic of Taiwan.  China has long sought to absorb the island nation into the Communist Party’s “Motherland”.

Gordon Chang, a noted expert on China, Asia and nuclear proliferation as well as a former trustee of Cornell University notes, “Trump, by seemingly not caring about Beijing’s reaction, has cut China down to size, telling its autocrats he does not fear them.”

“Just about everyone assumed the Chinese would create a crisis for Trump in his first months in office, just as they created crises for both George W. Bush—in April 2001 with the detention of the crew of the U.S. Navy EP-3—and his successor—the harassment of the Navy’s unarmed reconnaissance vessels, the Impeccable and Victorious, in March and May 2009.”

“Instead, Trump took the initiative and created a crisis for China’s leaders, and he did that more than a month before taking the oath of office. Therefore, Beijing is bound to find the next months unfamiliar and unsettling.”

“There is, if you need a metaphor, a rather large bull in the china shop. And, yes, that could be a good thing.”

China is a bully.  The Communist regime is a master at strategic and methodical planning fully seizing on Obama’s impotence as a leader.  It has engaged in a series of confrontations in the East and South China Sea.  They have witnessed the decline of the United States under the sorry leadership of The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer.  The leaders of that country chortle at his ineptitude in much the same way you will see in the video below.  The point of the video, released 6 years ago, is Americans erred by turning away from their values. We should shudder at the idea of a Chinese-dominated future.

Our betters on the Left show little, if any, regard for the Taiwanese people.  They are quite happy to turn a blind eye to the expansion of Communism in the Pacific Rim.  Leave well enough alone they say.  Don’t upset the Dragon they say.  Watch the failed attempt by ABC’s little Georgie Stephanopoulos to create a controversy where none exists.

Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was the Play?

Curmudgeonly Cartoons: Evangelical Endorses Lucifer?

According to Christian Broadcast News, Mike Pence’s endorsement of Ted Cruz on Friday “makes perfect sense.”

First of all, Pence and Cruz are both solid constitutional conservatives. Do they have a few differences? Sure, but those are on the margins. Pence’s views line up nicely with how Cruz sees the world. As two born-again evangelicals, they see the world through a biblical prism. Their worldviews are identical in nature. 

Secondly, if Pence is looking at a future presidential run, he can’t afford to tick off the conservative grassroots of the Republican Party. A Trump endorsement would taint him in the future and potentially kill any chance of a future presidential run.

I can’t remember a more tepid, watered-down endorsement.  Perhaps that’s because, according to Eliana Johnson of National Review, he’s in a tough reelection battle against former Indiana house speaker John Gregg, the same man he defeated by just 2.9 points when he was elected to the governorship four years ago. Since then, circumstances have changed. Once a widely popular governor whom conservatives twice encouraged to run for president, first in 2012 and then in 2016, Pence has seen his approval ratings fall sharply—by about 15 percentage points—since he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act a year ago; fumbled his way through public appearances defending that decision; and tightened restrictions on abortion in the state. He has taken a hit with women and business interests.

Poor Governor Pence.  You can’t blame him for being queasy.  He came under intense pressure from conservative donors, politicians, and media figures—many of them close personal friends—to back Cruz.  Had he sat on the fence, the growing chorus of allegations that he was putting his own career ahead of what many see as the fight for the survival of the Republican Party would endanger his reelection bid.

In an election year unlike any I can remember, endorsements just haven’t meant much and the question remains—will his make enough of a difference to stop Trump's march to the 1237 delegates needed for nomination or will it be the shot in the arm Cruz needs to survive?  In a few days we’ll have the answer.

New Poll Shows #TedCruz CLOBBERING #Trump By Double Digits in Indianahttps://t.co/JYz2HEwbPE

— Mike aka Proof (@ProofBlog) April 30, 2016