I saw this article today which stood out to me. It's really nothing new if you're knowledgable about things, but I liked it for how neatly it refutes several common conservative talking points. #1-3 dealt with trivial things like golf and vacation time, which is pretty small even if it's annoyingly brought up on talk radio. #4 and 5 though really show how full of crap some people are when it comes to foreign and economic policy.
4. Obama has never visited Israel as president, which shows he doesn't give a damn about it
It's true that Barack Obama, as president, hasn't visited the Jewish state. Not once in four years. He's in good company:
· Nixon waited five-and-a half years to visit
· Ford never went
· Carter went once in four years
· Reagan never went in eight years
· Bush Sr. never went
· Clinton went six times in eight years
· Bush Jr. waited seven years to visit
That Obama hasn't gone, therefore, means two things: 1) Jack and 2) Squat. It's true he and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu don't like each other personally, but the more important issue is whether he's committed to Israeli security. Hardline Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a hawk who, with Netanyahu, has been the driving force behind a possible attack in Iran, says:
I can see long years, administrations of both sides of the political aisle deeply supporting the state of Israeli and I believe that reflects a profound feeling among the American people. But I should tell you honestly that this administration under President Obama is doing in regard to our security more than anything that I can remember in the past.
Then there's Dennis Ross, who has spent a whole lot of time with five Republican and Democratic presidents, not to mention their Israeli counterparts.
I've worked with every Israeli prime minister in the past 30 years, and there have always been ups and downs. But you don't really see the kind of language we're hearing now. It must be the polarization. I can't explain it otherwise.
If you think you know better, Mr. Armchair Expert, than Israel's own hardline defense minister and the guy who has worked with Republican presidents, Democratic presidents, and every Israeli prime minister over the past three decades, I'm all ears.
5. Taxes under Obama are at an all-time high
If you buy this one, congratulations: You've failed not just history, but economics as well. Between the combined burden of federal, state, and local income taxes, Americans are parting with the smallest share of their income since 1958. The Bureau of Economic Analysis says we pay 23.6 percent of what we make, down from an average of about 27 percent during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
What makes you think that any president is responsible for what state and local governments take from you anyway? Never mind that Congress controls the federal purse strings, and never mind that cuts in income tax rates and payroll tax rates have been in effect for several years now. Of course, this could all change come January, unless hyper-divided Washington can somehow find a way to cooperate and avoid taking the economy over the fiscal cliff. But for now, the notion that taxes are gobbling up more of our hard earned income than ever is, to use a word we've heard often during this long and often dishonest campaign, malarky.
