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Archive for June, 2009

A note to my readers

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

First, thanks for reading. Since I launched this blog, I’ve had far more visitors and pick-up than I ever imagined. It’s flattering and humbling.

This blog was made possible because a) Katie Harbath volunteered her time and talent to design this site, and b) unlike most of my campaign colleagues, I never took a break after the election.

So, after about four years of non-stop politics (including time in the Senate, White House and RNC), I’m finally going to try and unplug for the next month by visiting friends, relatives and new places throughout Europe.

I’ll continue to post occasional analysis and have a few friends lined up to guest blog, but it’s unlikely that this site will be updated daily like it pretty much has been since its launch. I hope you understand, and hope that you’ll continue to check back regularly.

FLASHBACK: Obama vs. Flies

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

The cable networks and YouTube love President Obama’s fly swat during an interview with CNBC yesterday. Reports the AP:

The president, irritated by an omnipresent fly during a TV interview at the Executive Mansion Tuesday, took matters into his own hands.
Said Obama to the persistent fly: “Get out of here.”
But it didn’t.
So Obama waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked the fly dead in one try.

It’s worth noting that this fly encounter went far better for Obama than one during the campaign last summer in Nevada, when a similarly persistent fly forced him to end the interview:

Obama’s Crystal Ball & Personal Wealth

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

In an interview with Bloomberg’s Al Hunt yesterday, President Obama had a bizarre explanation for why he could not predict future unemployment rates:

“Well, if I had a crystal ball, then I probably would have made a lot of money before I became president. I didn’t.”

Actually, by any standard, he did make a lot of money before he became president.

In 2006, before he officially began his presidential campaign, CNN estimated that the Obamas were worth about $1.3 million. Since then, being a presidential candidate proved lucrative, with his book sales pushing his family’s income to $4.2 million in 2007 and $2.8 million in 2008. Much of that went to taxes and living expenses, but that still leaves what most people would consider “a lot of money” – especially when you consider that President Obama’s tax plans target anybody making more than $250,000 as rich.

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