http://news.investors.com/print/politics-andrew-malcolm/122313-683890-obama-hawaii-news-conference-media-obamacare.aspx 11 tough questions Obama is happy he didn't get
By Andrew Malcolm
Posted 09:04 AM ET
First the good news from President Obama's final news conference of 2013: "I've run my last political race."
Of course, Obama made no new news. If he'd wanted to make news, he would not have scheduled it on short notice and on a Friday, when politicians release news they want overlooked.
All presidents try this, but Obama has mastered gaming the D.C. press corps. Anything he says is considered "news," even if he's said it dozens of times before and even if Americans' eyes now glaze at the sound of his voice.
As we wrote here the other day, Obama has broken so many promises, claimed ignorance of so many of his responsibilities and underlings' failures and violated protocols, not to mention the Constitution. The media has turned on him over his administration’s faux transparency.
But in fairness to its members, the millionaire Obama has been involved in so many scandals, gaffes and failings in the nearly five years that his unelected mother-in-law has lived in the White House at taxpayer expense, that no one covering him can keep up with them all as they pass on the assembly line of daily events.
The result is, just as intended by Obama and his many media cronies lured into dead-end government service, the older scandals fall back in distant memory with no consequences.
You can read over here the full 9,200-word transcript of the news conference.
We’ve all come to understand by now that most of what he talks about wanting to accomplish will never come to pass. When it doesn’t, it will of course be someone else’s fault. And join the long line of unaddressed issues left in Obama’s political wake.
In the interests of attempted transparency and accountability, we’ve drafted a few pressing unasked questions that Obama would have tried to dodge, as he did the one about his now infamous Lie of the Year. Feel free to add your own unasked questions in the Comments below.
Transcript of President Obama's Fictitious News Conference
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. It's been 467 days now since you vowed to bring swift, sure justice to the terrorists who killed four Americans in Benghazi. Since you've been able to find and kill hundreds of other terrorists with drone strikes and since American news media have been able to find the alleged ringleaders and interview them, can you explain the delay in imposing your version of justice?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: A follow-up. You've never explained what you were doing during that long deadly night of 9/11/12 when the first U.S. ambassador in 30 years was being murdered. We've not heard your explanation for why U.S. military was not better positioned to respond to the obvious calendar opportunity of a 9/11. Nor whether you're satisfied that in your absence, no rescue was attempted?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Thank you, sir. During the solemn memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela, a man you've said you idolized since your youth, you were photographed taking selfies with two other nations' leaders while your wife was attentive to the service. Looking back, do you now regret that juvenile disrespect?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Do you still claim to believe that the illegal intimidation and harassment of conservative groups by the IRS was committed by rogue field agents whose actions coincidentally crippled scores of groups opposed to your policies to the benefit of your reelection last year?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Are you surprised that the full-scale investigation of Attorney General Eric Holder’s actions that you ordered Attorney General Eric Holder to make has not resulted in a critical report with actionable recommendations for discipline and/or corrective reforms?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: On the ‘Fast and Furious’ gun-running operation. Your Attorney General Eric Holder has claimed ignorance of the rogue operation that resulted in the deaths of both Americans and Mexicans. If he truly did not know about this illegal apple-dumpling gang business, why have you claimed executive privilege on communications between your White House and Justice? What's to protect or hide if no one knew anything?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: As you may know, Investor's Business Daily recently chronicled the assistance that your Department of Homeland Security under Janet Napolitano provided to drug cartels in smuggling children into the United States? Can you please explain the benefit of these illegal activities to national security?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Since you have often stated the grand benefits that will accrue under your signature ObamaCare bill that is so disrupting the lives and health insurance of millions of Americans and businesses, why don't you and your family reject your special exemption and voluntarily join this beneficial scheme?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: You often speak of protecting the middle and lower classes and the immorality of America’s large income inequality gap. The facts, however, show that during the 59 months of your presidency the average income of the top 1% grew 11.2% in real terms while the bottom 99% of Americans saw their incomes shrink by nearly a half-percent, the fastest gap-widening in a generation. Without blaming your predecessor, how do you explain this accelerating pay decay on your watch?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Polls show that Americans’ belief in your honesty and trustworthiness has fallen from 73% near the start of your presidency to only 45% now. You have described the need to regain their trust. Is your stated intention to pivot again next month to creating new jobs part of this bid to restore your credibility?
THE PRESIDENT: No answer.
Q: Last question, sir. In its annual report to Congress, the Internal Revenue Service stated that 40 of your White House aides owe $333,000 in back taxes. This is not the first time your staff owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in delinquent taxes.
As head of the highest-paid White House in history, can you detail in the interests of equality what you personally are doing to bring your own associates into the same legal compliance required of ordinary Americans?
Mr. President, where are you going?
THE PRESIDENT: Hawaii.
