Barack Obama News
Read news, analysis, and commentary on Barack Obama, his administration’s legacy, and his continuing impact on national debates.
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news
Will Obama’s New Approach Bring Freedom to Cuba?
CNN’s Jake Tapper hosted a contentious panel discussion about the future of Cuba in the wake of President Obama’s decision to unilaterally chart a new course in U.S. relations. The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow of international studies, debated The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and Julia Sweig, director for Latin American studies at the Council… -
opinion
Obama Can’t Unilaterally Lift Economic Freedom for Cubans
President Barack Obama’s unilateral decision to normalize relations with Cuba and lift the U.S. embargo without the approval of Congress may play well on the international left and help the Castro regime to maintain control of the country, the economy, and all levers of power for years to come, but it will do nothing to… -
opinion
Obama Does Not Have the Authority to Lift Embargo on Cuba
Cuba’s release of American hostage Alan Gross is to be welcome. Gross has vegetated in a Cuban jail for five years for the crime of bringing computers to Jews on the island. But exchanging three hardened Cuban spies for him establishes a wrong moral and legal equivalency. Worse, extending recognition to Cuba’s dictatorial regime harms… -
news
US and Cuba Swap Prisoners; Obama Ends Isolation Policy
The Cuban government today freed American contractor Alan Gross after five years of captivity, in a negotiated agreement that signals an overhaul in U.S. policy toward the island. Gross, 65, boarded a U.S. government plane with his wife, Judy, and three members of Congress and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just before noon. President… -
news
Fighting Obama’s Amnesty: Et Tu, Brute?
Most Americans don’t watch C-SPAN and I cannot blame them. More often than not, it seems as though the Senate is in a quorum call or a lone senator is debating something totally irrelevant to the issues that are important to most Americans. That changed a little bit on Saturday when Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas… -
opinion
How Obama and His Environmental Base Are Planning to Eradicate the Oil and Gas Industry
Why does the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory war against hydraulic fracturing look like the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2007 agenda for eliminating domestic oil and natural gas development? Because it is. President Obama is coordinating with far-left environmental activists to wage an all-out assault on American oil and natural gas. The NRDC’s unjustifiable access to such… -
news
Jorge Ramos’s Line of Questioning on Amnesty Power Disagrees With Obama
In 2013, President Obama said on multiple occasions—including during an interview with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos—that he doesn’t have the legal authority to suspend deportations of illegal immigrants because he isn’t the “king” or “emperor” of the United States. But in the wake of his recent executive actions to grant legal status to millions of… -
opinion
Obama Administration Should Sanction Iran, Not Israel
It is no secret that the Obama administration has a tense relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to sharp differences on key foreign policy issues and clashing world views. But an Israeli press report last Thursday suggested that the White House is considering going beyond the usual criticism and is mulling stronger actions…. -
opinion
Government Spending Bill Gives EPA More Money Than Obama Requested
Many legislators complain about the Environmental Protection Agency on various matters ranging from their excessive water power grab in their “Waters of the United States” rule to their attempt to go around Congress to regulate greenhouse gases. Now, the omnibus makes many of these complaints about the EPA look hollow—the “CRomnibus” actually would provide about… -
news
Colbert to Obama: ‘Why Did You Burn the Constitution and Become an Emperor?’
Last night, President Barack Obama appeared on the Colbert Report for an interview with Stephen Colbert. They discussed several topics, such as the midterm elections, the jobs report and the Keystone pipeline. On the online “Extended Interview,” Colbert asked a pointed question alluding to Obama’s use of executive power. The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert… -
news
Retired Reporter Details Obama’s Off-the-Record ‘Profanity-Laced Tirade’ About the Media
President Obama once delivered a “profanity-laced tirade” in an off-the-record session with reporters when he wasn’t happy about media coverage, according to retired ABC News correspondent Ann Compton. In an interview with C-Span, Compton said that in the last year she had seen “Barack Obama really angry twice:” Both were off-the-record times. One, profanity-laced where… -
opinion
What Republicans Can Do Now to Fight Back Against Obama’s Amnesty Decision
The lame-duck session presents the first test for Republican leadership in the House and Senate since the American people overwhelmingly spoke on Election Day. As usual, President Obama and congressional Democrats are playing their Washington games. They are trying to scare and intimidate Republicans in Congress into funding their liberal priorities all the way through… -
news
Why John McCain Doubts Obama’s Pick for Defense Secretary Will Have Clout
President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense will need to penetrate the White House’s tight inner circle of national security and foreign policy advisers to influence the president’s decision-making, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said yesterday. In an interview with The Daily Signal within hours of Ashton Carter’s nomination, McCain said he isn’t convinced the veteran… -
opinion
What Obama and Holder Should Have Said About Ferguson Grand Jury Verdict
Perhaps the biggest problem with the reaction of President Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, to the grand jury verdict in Ferguson is their non-support for the difficult work of the grand jury. That and their support for the mistaken proposition that the administration of justice is unfair, biased, and prejudiced towards “communities of… -
news
Where John McCain Stands on Thwarting Obama’s Amnesty
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., not only supports blocking President Obama’s executive actions on immigration but thinks Republicans could take him all the way to the Supreme Court, he said today in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal. McCain, interviewed at The Heritage Foundation after speaking about the Jones Act, suggested a “rifle shot” approach… -
opinion
The Midterms Don’t Matter to Obama. He Still Controls All the Regulatory Agencies.
The election results were a crushing political blow for the Obama administration, giving Republicans firm control of both houses of Congress for the final two years of his term. But this in no way signals the end of the president’s policy agenda. It simply shifts the action to regulatory agencies. In the days since the… -
opinion
States Strike the First Blow Against Obama’s Amnesty Plan
Seventeen states have sued the federal government in federal court in Texas over President Obama’s plan to “unilaterally suspend the immigration laws as applied to 4 million of the 11 million” illegal aliens in the United States. The 29-page suit was filed by a who’s-who of state attorneys general and governors, including Texas Attorney General… -
opinion
Since Obama Took Office, the Federal Debt Has Increased by Almost 70 Percent
The federal government hit a new milestone Friday: The total federal debt now tallies more than $18 trillion. Just six years ago when President Obama took office, total debt stood at $10.6 trillion, which means it now has increased by almost $8 trillion—roughly 70 percent—during his tenure as president. The surge in total debt, which… -
opinion
Obama Shouldn’t End Military Equipment Going to Police Departments
In the aftermath of Ferguson, President Obama will issue an executive order designed to improve a federal program that allows local police departments to obtain military surplus equipment, according to reports. Currently, through Section 1033 of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress has authorized the transfer of excess military equipment to local law enforcement officials… -
opinion
Why Did Obama Ever Think Hagel Was Qualified to Be Defense Secretary?
Breaking news from the White House: Chuck Hagel lacks the skills to be defense secretary. Talk about understatement. That’s like the last soldier on the roof of the Saigon embassy saying the Vietnam War might not be going our way. It’s not as if anyone ever really thought Hagel was all that qualified to begin…