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The Obama Watch

Setting Himself Up for a ‘Chubbing’

President Obama, meet Governor Peabody.

Vote for Endicott Peabody. He’s better than you are. That bumper sticker slogan appeared, mischievously, in South Boston decades ago. Endicott Peabody, grandson of the founder of the elite Groton school, was then the liberal Governor of Massachusetts. Some of those Irish-American wags, “Southies,” had had it with Peabody’s insufferable moralizing. They put out that gag bumper sticker and it had its intended effect. Peabody was dumped unceremoniously in a Democratic primary. His political career never recovered. His prep school nickname, “Chub,” spoke to his aristocratic pedigree. It’s not something you should flaunt in our democratic republic.

Barack Obama is the latest Harvard liberal to give us the “Chub” treatment. His comments about the American people (“they”) show how out-of-touch he is. During the ‘08 campaign, he dismissed the folks who live in what liberals call “flyover country.”

They cling to their guns and religion. They fear people who are not like themselves.

This is an administration that allowed a known jihadist to roam freely through a major army base in Texas. Nidal Hasan openly defied higher authority. He even gave PowerPoint presentations on why our enemies were right to use violence against us!

When this walking time bomb finally exploded, killing fourteen at Fort Hood, the Obama administration promised us an “investigation.” What they delivered is nothing more than a whitewash of years of bureaucratic coddling of terrorism and winking at treason. It didn’t even mention Islamism or jihad. The murderer had a business card calling himself a “Soldier of Allah.” He cried out “Allahu Akbar” as he murdered his fellow soldiers.

The Obama administration’s investigators could not find their rumps with both hands.

Federal investigators had known about Hasan and his family going back to 2001!

The FBI, we learn, was aware that Nidal Hasan had been exchanging emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda leader holed up in Yemen. But the feds determined that because Nidal Hasan was said to be an Army psychiatrist, and because he was asking Awlaki about the mental stresses on Muslims in our army, that his emails were okay.

What? Imagine it’s World War II, and we have a German-American soldier whose parents were members of the pro-Nazi Bund in the 1930s. And we learn that our soldier has been exchanging letters with top Nazi brass. Do we think for a minute that the FBI in 1943 would have given him a pass?

What’s the difference? Our top leaders then — from President Roosevelt down to the lowliest private — were determined to win World War II. The Obama administration, as we learned from Bob Woodward’s book, is primarily concerned about public relations.

They don’t actually want our enemies to win, but they’re determined not to call the struggle a “war.” It’s an “overseas contingency.” And they want to give enemy combatants all the protections and privileges of domestic criminal defendants. It’s how the ACLU goes to war.

As Woodward makes clear, this administration is deathly afraid of offending its left-wing base. They’d prefer not to mention Afghanistan or Guantánamo Bay if they can avoid it.

Here’s the best proof that politics, not principle, is guiding the actions of the Obama administration: Nidal Hasan’s arraignment has been held over for three weeks at Fort Hood — until after the midterm elections.

Why does this matter? Because he is being charged with thirteen deaths, not fourteen. One of Nidal Hasan’s victims was pregnant. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA) applies wherever the federal government has primary jurisdiction — from the District of Columbia, to national parks, to military installations. It applies to our bases in Afghanistan and to our units and planes operating there. It applies to Fort Hood.

The law is called the Lacy and Conner Peterson Act, even though it would not have applied in the case of that young mother and her unborn son. Their murder was a state criminal matter for California.

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About the Author

Ken Blackwell, the former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio is Vice Chairman of the Republican National Committee’s Platform Committee. He also serves on the boards of the Club For Growth and the National Taxpayers Union.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (24) |

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 10.21.10 @ 6:44AM

The unborn can not vote, nor can they accept government hand outs. In short, they are useless to the secular humanists who run the Democratic party.

Jmulcahy| 10.21.10 @ 7:06AM

I am reminded that Endicott Peabody was the answer to the question, "What Governor was named after three Massachusetts towns?"

"Endicott, Peabody and Marblehead."

Bill| 10.21.10 @ 5:35PM

Actually, I heard a long time ago that some wag had amended the question, "What Governor was named after three Massachusetts towns?" to "What Governor was named after FOUR Massachusetts towns?

And the answer was "Endicott, Peabody, Marblehead and Athol."

Ken | 10.22.10 @ 4:26AM

The three towns as I remember them, (being from Boston myself), were: Peabody, Marblehead and Athol. Check Bill below, but I don't believe Endicott was in the mix originally.

Bob | 10.22.10 @ 7:13PM

Weell ith you want to be compwetely cowect , you could say that thumbone was thwinking of the entire democwhatic pawty when they nameed it Athol.

Wayne| 10.23.10 @ 2:35PM

Bawny Fwank?

wayne| 10.23.10 @ 2:39PM

That would be "compwetewy".

WV Conservative | 10.21.10 @ 8:01AM

I've lived in Washington, DC, and believe me, urban liberals have no use for rural folks. They write them off as stupid, backward, uneducated and unteachable racist hicks faster than you can say arugula. So, tell me again, whose afraid of people different from them?

Bob Miller| 10.21.10 @ 8:12AM

I heard this riddle while in college in Massachusetts:

Q. Who is the only Governor of Massachusetts who had four cities in the Commonwealth named after him?

A. Endicott Peabody. The cities are Endicott, Peabody, Marblehead, and Athol.

Petronius| 10.21.10 @ 10:37AM

I'm happy to be the Establishment's worst nightmare: an unreconstructed white male with no degree and a desire for absolute autonomy.

gypsy| 10.21.10 @ 12:10PM

Believe me Petronius, you don't need to be sans degree or white or even male to be a nightmare to the so-called "progressives" trying to march us backwards into tyranny. All you need is a soul, a conscience and the ability to actually DO the right thing, and not just talk about "difficult decisions" before opting to be a selfish asshole

jrjr| 10.21.10 @ 5:00PM

Fear not Petronius, we are here to dispel one of your non-accomplishments -- "no degree." Hear ye, hear ye, .... On this day in the year of 2010 of our creator, we, as a group of Patriot No-Bodies from the order of the Fly-Over Dumasses , hereby bestow upon you -- the position of Knight of the Fearless AmSpec Posters -- to forever speak you very thoughts and fears of the possibility of the US devolving into a socialist, marxist, commune.

jrjr| 10.21.10 @ 5:02PM

Fear not Petronius, we are here to dispel one of your non-accomplishments -- "no degree." Hear ye, hear ye, .... On this day in the year of 2010 of our creator, we, as a group of Patriot No-Bodies from the order of the Fly-Over Dumasses , hereby bestow upon you -- the position of Knight of the Fearless AmSpec Posters -- to forever speak your very thoughts and fears of the possibility of the US devolving into a socialist, marxist, commune.

Linda kiker| 10.21.10 @ 11:37PM

I second that!!

National Whistleblower | 10.21.10 @ 5:03PM

Recognize the American Holocaust

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17286921/The-America-Betrayal

http://www.allvoices.com/contr.....erpetrator

Petronius| 10.21.10 @ 8:26PM

To All and Singular
Be it Knowne that Mine opposition to Academie is purely personal; to wit, that upon payment of tuition I claim the Right to proclaim and hold Mine Opinions openly without let or hindrance from any and all quarters. Secundus: That Mine Expectation that the Knowledge transferred to Me by the Professoriat would be of genuine use in the mundane world. Tertius: That any student with talent, ability, and adequate funds have the liberty to study any subject with the mentor of his choosing on a space available basis at public colleges and universities without declaring a major and pursuing a degree. Unless and until that day comes, schooling at all levels consists of only One Subject: Conformity. Gaze upon Thy Sheepskins with satisfaction All Who Will. Those BA's and BS's Doth Signify only the Approval of others.
When next the Order convenes, charge ye tankards and horns for to toast The Required Course which hath no content of marketable value: the only explicable requirement being the employment of the professor. Enduring the insults and condescension of these peckerwoods was bad enough. Why should I or anyone have to pay for it? Do not call it education when In Very Truth it is a Racket.
Last: The accolade extended is baseless and rejected out of hand. The plain fact is I have no appetite for excrement.
That is all.

James Ronan| 10.21.10 @ 8:46PM

My father used to say, "Chubb Peabody is nothing but a football helmet and an asshole!"

David Schor| 10.22.10 @ 10:05AM

The picture is clear.

Early in the Bush administration, the FBI learned about Nidal Hasan, but did absolutely nothing.

Then he snaps during the Obama administration, and the GOP numbskulls who actively foment holy war want to blame the new guy.

Republican hypocrisy truly knows no bounds.

Peace.

DS

JJ| 10.22.10 @ 2:41PM

Dear David, nobody is blaming the new guy for what happened, but he is absolutely guilty of not allowing the "truth" of the matter to be revealed after the fact.

And yeah, so much hypocrisy on the right while nothing but honest, open purity is on the left. Uh huh, I've got it.

PELLIGRINO| 10.23.10 @ 1:08AM

Where is swift justice? Help us out legal hounds (readers here who can forthrightly present what the law states). Shouldn't former Major (hopefully his rank has been stripped from him already) Nidal Hassan (from Virginia) be charged with Treason? And wouldn't the UCMJ punishment for this be death? So....his life was preserved. I am sure we have all the questioning out of him that we need (on his vile contacts at our radical mosques in Northern Virginia and D.C. as well as his overseas contacts). When is is hanging? I guess death by firing squad is passe? Or are we whimping out with the lethal injection?

Bottom line: He needs to be dead. Now.

Probably the truth: His case and the legal proceedings with go on for the next two decades? (say it isnt' so)

I hope that the Fort Hood Monument lists the unborn child. Yes, 14 lives were lost.

And the Army's General George William Casey is still serving? What a disgrace.

St. Thor| 10.24.10 @ 8:52AM

Actually, when I was in JAG the really neat offense that seems might apply here was spying which carried with it no prison time at all, just execution. No exceptions.

St. Thor| 10.24.10 @ 8:56AM

Actually, when I was in JAG the really neat offense that seems might apply here was spying which carried with it no prison time at all, just execution. No exceptions.

PELLIGRINO| 10.23.10 @ 1:28AM

And...who was fired (fired in utter disgrace) over this in the U.S. Army Medical Command? Anyone? Any of his scumbag medical officer colleagues at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. been given the boot? Can't seem to recall any heads rolling over this.

What, they all say at Walter Reed that they just didn't know during his 5? 6? years assigned to work at Walter Reed?

Unacceptable. When you work shoulder to shoulder with someone for 2-3 years, you know. How about all those who attended his legendary PowerPoint presentation?

Maybe I just never saw the news stories. But I should think that 6 officers in the Army Medical Corps (perhaps even his newer supervisor at the Fort Hood Army Medical Center as well) should have been sacked immediately. And 4-6 others forced to resign.

If you cannot spot a scumbag who is openly opposing his pending deployment (or fully resisting even in the possibility) -- what occured in his first months at Fort Hood's hospital.....then you don't need your eyes or hearing examined, you need another profession outside our armed forces.

Street sweeper perhaps? (Correction: Now that goes to far. It demeans a streetsweeper.)

The Army does teach & preach and continues to preach something called "situational awareness." The newest private knows this. It means: Knowning very clearly all that is going on round about you. Applies whether on foot patrol in Afghanistan or working at a garrison post in the U.S.

So all the "non situationally aware" medical colleages of Nidal Hasan must be sacked. They could again put our military personnel and their families at risk.

Wasn't Walter Reed the place with the deplorable medical wards for our wounded soldiers? Lousy conditions? No oversight? Yes, it was. Aha! But we were told that there was really nothing that the Walter Reed leadership (a brigadier general) could do....

Will there be other grave failings of leadership uncovered about the Walter Reed 2004 - 2008 years? (the use of 'grave' is intended)

And has our Army medical leadership been "given a pass" on Hasan?

Guess so.

More Articles by Ken Blackwell

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