The Obama Timeline

CNBC analyst Jim Cramer blasts Obama, saying he “has undeniably made things worse by creating an atmosphere of fear and panic rather than an atmosphere of calm and hope.” [1551]

On March 5, a federal judge throws out a lawsuit challenging Obama’s eligibility to serve as president, calling the case a waste of time. U.S. District Judge James Robertson’s written opinion states, “This case, if it were allowed to proceed, would deserve mention in one of those books that seek to prove that the law is foolish or that America has too many lawyers with not enough to do.” [1564]

Obama names Vivek Kundra his Federal Chief Information Officer, where he will direct “…the policy and strategic planning of federal information technology investments” and be “responsible for oversight of federal technology spending.” Obama states that “Kundra will bring a depth of experience in the technology arena and a commitment to lowering the cost of government operations to this position” and “he will play a key role in making sure our government is running in the most secure, open, and efficient way possible.” (Within a week, Kundra is on a leave of absence after an FBI raid of his former place of employment, the technology office of the city of Washington, D.C. Although several of his former co-workers are arrested, there is no immediate indication that Kundra is a target of any investigation.) [1697, 1698, 1699]

A crowd generously estimated at 50,000 marches on New York City’s City Hall on March 5, demanding that the state’s budget not be cut because of a $15 billion shortfall. The governor, David Paterson, has proposed across the board cuts in education, health care, senior services, disability services, housing assistance, and crisis intervention programs; many of the protesters are state workers and union members. Protesters demand raising state taxes on those earning more than $250,000, on top of the Obama tax increases coming for that group. (It is not known what solution they will propose when, out of economic self-defense, a large number of those high-income earners choose to leave the state.) [1574]

The public interest group Judicial Watch announces on March 5 that it has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Joseph “the plumber” Wurzelbacher. The lawsuit charges that Ohio officials violated Wurzelbacher’s rights when they illegally accessed his private information from government databases, allegedly in an effort to smear his reputation and discourage others from challenging Obama’s policies. [295, 312, 1552]

The nonprofit government watchdog group Freedom Watch files a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to the involvement of special interest groups in writing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) legislation. The founder of Freedom Watch, Larry Klayman, states, “It is important that the American people know who is pulling the strings of our government, especially when those are this nation’s purse strings. With budget projections over the next eight years ranging from such substantial sums of money as $3.5 trillion in 2010 to a whopping $4.9 trillion in 2018, the time for transparency is now, in the initial stages while the budget is still being finalized. The accountability has to start now, the exposure has to happen now; otherwise we may find ourselves in another Iraq-like economic and political debacle, only this time it may be a financial insurgency without end. Instead of roadside bombs, it will be bank failure and corporate bankruptcy, instead of sectarian violence, it will be the ‘haves’ clashing against the ‘have-nots.’” [1555]

When constituents ask Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) to look into Obama’s possible ineligibility to serve as president because he may not be a natural born citizen, his response is a form letter with the lame answer that “Presidential candidates are vetted by voters at least twice—first in the primary elections and again in the general election. President-Elect Obama won the Democratic Party’s nomination after one of the most fiercely contested presidential primaries in American history… The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the qualifications to hold the office of president.” Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) responds to similar inquiries by referring constituents to Web sites Snopes.com, which, in turn, refers readers to FactCheck.org—which is financed and operated supporters of Obama. Neither Martinez nor Kyl confronts the issue directly. [606, 1556, 1557]

Senate Republicans, with help from several Democrats, block approval of Obama’s pork-filled $410 billion spending bill. Most Senators oppose the bill because of the massive waste it includes, while several object to its easing of travel restrictions to Cuba without getting any concessions from the Cuban government in return. (The ailing Edward Kennedy is brought in to vote for the bill.) The House had previously approved the bill 245–178, with 20 Democrats voting against it. A stopgap Senate bill is needed to fund government operations until the legislation can be amended to gain approval of more Senators. [1558]

Obama declines Rush Limbaugh’s offer to debate, but the Democrat National Committee (DNC) childishly decides to enter the fray by placing an anti-Limbaugh billboard where he may see it as he drives around his neighborhood in Florida. The DNC invites Democrats across the country to compose insults (of 10 words or less) for the billboard, with a free T-shirt going to the winning slogan. In response to the DNC, Limbaugh jokes on his radio show that he hopes they are not spending taxpayer stimulus funds on the billboard. Wisely or not, Obama is making a concerted effort to attack Limbaugh, going so far as to have an unidentified senior White House aide “tasked with helping to guide the Limbaugh strategy.” (Using taxpayer dollars to pay a White House aide to engage in political mudslinging is arguably illegal. The aide may perhaps be Shauna Daly, who has the newly created job of White House Counsel Research Director. The 29-year-old Daly’s job experience consists mostly of digging dirt on political rivals, but she is no doubt aided by political gamesman David Axelrod.) The combined Obama/DNC anti-Limbaugh antics boost the talk show host’s ratings significantly. By the end of March, revenue for Limbaugh’s talk show will likely exceed its entire 2008 revenue. The eventual winning entry for the Democrat billboard is the unimaginative and unimpressive “Americans didn’t vote for a Rush to failure.” (Little should be expected in return for a T-shirt.) The Obama administration also shows signs of intentionally going after Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) for his strong opposition to the Obama agenda. [1128, 1562, 1568, 1572, 1585, 1633, 1663, 2183]