The Milvian Bridge

By Extension
To extend the power of the Oval Office, the president has also already signaled that he intends to try to leverage his authority more fully through executive actions that do not require Congressional approval. (NYT, 1/22/2013)

Obama has been consumed with the idea of being a "transformational" president (whatever that means). He has supposedly read up on the topic and has spoken extensively with presidential historians. Here's the thing, however. Transformational presidents found ways to fulfill their vision working with all sides in Washington. Obama apparently believes that he can do it with executive orders. It's not the same and his legacy will not be what he imagines.


Ladies With Guns
Pentagon chief Leon Panetta will announce plans to lift the direct combat exclusion rule for women in the military, a senior defense official says. (Washington Post, 1/23/2013)

First Bradley Manning and now this. The feminization of the military is complete. Next up, lawsuits against the military the first time that a female is wounded or killed in action. The military will be accused by feminist lawyers of having created "a hostile work environment."  Go ahead and laugh, but remember where you heard it first.


Leaving On A Jet Plane
On Tuesday, Tiger Woods said he moved from California to Florida in 1996 to avoid the state's high taxes. (Breitbart.com, 122/2013)

Francois Hollande's proposed tax increase on the rich is proving so onerous that former president Nicolas Sarkozy is reportedly planning to move himself and his money to London. In so doing, he will join the ranks of other famous French citizens, like Gerard Depardieu, who have fled France to escape Hollande's socialist reach as well. (Breitbart.com, 1/22/2013)

More and more people move or consider the move to Lowtaxestan.


Teaser
Obama teased the crowd with a theme of unity: “Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people.” But his “we the people” theme turned out to be more of a campaign retread. “We the people understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it,” he said. “We reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”

And we the people accept that we live in an era of diminished oratory. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 1/22/2013)

Have aliens taken over the body of Dana Milbank and published under his name?  If not, then four years in we finally learn from a Liberal that Obama ain't that great a speaker after all. 

Speaking of which:

I thought the teleprompter gave a better inaugural speech in 2009. (Ann Coulter tweet, 1/22/2012)