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Joe Klein
Time
Over the past few weeks, Barack Obama has been criticized for the following: He didn't go to Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the Wall's coming down. He didn't make a forceful enough statement on the 30th anniversary of the U.S. diplomats' being taken hostage in Iran. He didn't show sufficient mournfulness, at first, when the Fort Hood shootings took place, and he was namby-pamby about the possibility that the shootings were an act of jihad. He has spent too little time focusing on unemployment. He bowed too deeply before the Japanese Emperor. He allowed the Chinese to block the broadcast of his Shanghai town-hall meeting. He allowed the Chinese President to bar questions at their joint press conference (a moment memorably satirized by Saturday Night Live). He didn't come back with any diplomatic victories from Asia. He allowed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 plotters to be tried in the U.S. criminal-justice system rather than by the military. He has dithered too long on Afghanistan. He has devoted too much attention to — and given congressional Democrats too much control over — health care reform, an issue that is peripheral to a majority of Americans.
And all this has led to a dangerous slippage in the polls, it is said, a sense that his presidential authority is ebbing.
As a fully licensed pundit, I have the authority to weigh in here ... but I demur. Oh, I could sling opinions about every one of the events cited above — some were unfortunate — but it would matter only if I could discern a pattern that illuminates Obama's presidency. The most obvious pattern, however, is the media's tendency to get overwrought about almost anything. Why, for example, is the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall demolition so crucial that it requires a President's presence? Which recent U.S. President has gotten the Chinese to agree to anything big? (In fact, Obama has secured significant diplomatic cooperation from the Chinese on North Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan.) Was his deep bow indicative of anything other than his physical fitness? (My midsection, sadly, prevents the appearance of obsequiousness in such circumstances.)
President Obama greets Michaele Salahi in a reception line at Tuesday's state dinner. The White House says she wasn't invited.
Ed Rollins
CNN Senior Political Contributor
The gate crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi want to be famous as stars of reality television. I am all for that. Give them a reality television series and call it "Trial and Jailtime" in the D.C. criminal justice system. This despicable, desperate, duplicitous couple disgraced the Secret Service and embarrassed the president in his home.
They totally overshadowed the president's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the leader of an important ally. The incident made the Obamas' first state dinner, honoring the prime minister and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, fodder for comedians - and it certainly raises security concerns for other world leaders visiting at later dates.
The gate-crashers need to be held accountable and not glorified.
Unless they have some excuse we haven't heard yet, the Salahis deserve to be charged with criminal trespassing and lying to federal officers for starters. Yes, they dressed for the occasion, but the Salahis are no different, and shouldn't be regarded any differently, than a nut case who jumps over the White House fence and tries to run in the front door. The only difference is that the fence-jumper would be shot ten feet from his entrance point.
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Eliza Browning
AC360° Associate Producer
During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American women in the military have quietly been proving themselves as never before. These are the first wars in which women in the American military have lived and fought alongside men for long periods of time – and some say they could not fight these wars without them. Recently, it was announced that the nation’s top drill sergeant is now a woman.
Even in the field many women have taken on roles that were often seen as taboo in the past, as the necessity of manpower means they are called upon for duties previously set aside for male colleagues. But has their pioneering work come at a price? Do they receive the same support as their male counterparts? We'll talk to women in the military about how they are breaking barriers tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Tomorrow evening, President Obama will deliver an address at West Point Military Academy to announce his plans to send thousands of additional U.S. military troops to Afghanistan. More than 900 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan, and October was the deadliest month since the start of the war in 2001, with 74 U.S. soldiers killed. According to numerous reports, the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq have cost $768.8 billion dollars. Will Obama face resistance from lawmakers on Capitol Hill?
Editor's Note: After Friday night's AC360° we heard from many of you about the State Dinner crashers. Most of you disagreed with Lisa Bloom that it was no big deal because Michaele and Tareq Salahi did not try to harm anyone. Many of you also weighed in about Tiger Woods' car crash. What do you think? Let us know!
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I am positive if I had had a crash, or you, or anyone else like Tiger's crash, there would have been a blood test at the hospital re: blood alcohol or other substance, what is he trying to hide? IF we didn't watch his matches, didn't buy his endorsed products, he would not be where he is today. There seems to be 2 sets of rules for those who have, and those who have not. IF I ran over a fire hydrant and crashed into a tree first thing you would do is a drug/alcohol test! I am sick of the double standard!!!
I feel CNN legal analysts are usually on point. Lisa Bloom is part of this team but had a lapse tonight. To say no harm was done by the Whitehouse gate crashers is silly. They certainly provided some food for thought for terrorists. If that is not acted upon, it looked President Obama's staff do not have their act together or perhaps that they by-pass security for prominent DC couples or reality TV stars. No matter how you slice it, some examples need to be set here. Lisa should think again. i usually agree with her opinions.
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Tonight on 360°, the photo the Secret Service must hate to see. It shows President Obama face-to-face with the White House party crashers. Plus, the latest on Tiger Woods' SUV accident. Why his wife used a golf club in the incident and why police faced when they got on the scene. Plus, meet the CNN Hero of the Year.
Want to know what else we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
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