Scandal - Pentagon back Channel to Gaddafi - 2nd Term Blues

Fox News: Reports " Pentagon officials were so concerned with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's push in 2011 to back Libyan rebels against Muammar Qaddafi that they opened their own back-channels with Qaddafi to try and prevent the U.S. from entering the civil war, according to a report that cited newly uncovered audio tapes.  "

Lets Get Real:

If this story is confirmed its a major scandal, you can not have the Pentagon running its own foreign policy because they do not like what their political leaders are doing.   From the article it seems that President Obama left the problem of Libya to Hillary Clinton, the Clinton State Department was pushing for action, while the Defence Department did not want to take military action.   The new Republican Senate should drag in Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to discuss what the Defence Department was up too, this blog supported US action in Libya, that is not the point, you can not have the military cutting the bridge under the US Secretary of State. 

Keystone XL pipeline Passes the US Congress - 2nd Term Blues

BBC News: Reports " The US Senate has passed a bill to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, sending it to President Barack Obama's desk for a likely veto. "

Lets Get Real:

One can expected President Obama under pressure from the green lobby to veto this Bill, that is good for the Republicans in the long term, they can showcase a White House driven more by a political agenda than good Government.   The Republican Congress should pass bills that force President Obama to veto, then in 2016 the Republican nominee can say that the Congress with Republicas and Democrats passed bills only for the to die on Obama's White House desk.   As these bills go down the drain the Obama poll numbers should also go down. Thus 2016 is starting to look good for Republicans. 

Senator Warren for the Democratic Nomination - Election 2016

The New York Times: Reports on the growing support from Republicans for Senator Warren to be the Democratic nominee in 2016, the article notes the following " Ms. Warren represents Republicans’ best hope for an expensive, prolonged battle for the Democratic nomination, weakening Mrs. Clinton along the way, political operatives on both sides say. "

Lets Get Real:

In reality its only 2015,  and we have  nearly a year of this kind of commentary to come, the VERY LIBERAL NYT it seems is supporting the Clinton Camp, not by choice really but due to hard politics, they think that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee, thus they want to build bridges.   If they could really chose they would go with Senator Warren or another Democratic African - American candidate.   The NYT will spend the next two years trying to make sure that the Democrats pick their kind of Democrat or someone they can work with in the future.   Thus expect calls for no one to challenge HC, that Party unity is important.  On the other hand should Senator Warren run it will be hard for the liberal NYT, they will want to support her, but will know she would never get elected President, IF Warren runs and catches fire with the liberal base of the Democratic Party she could give HC a run for her money.   THUS WARREN FOR THE DEMOCRAT NOMINATION 

Ukraine vs. Russia - The Cold War 2

BBC News: Reports " US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said sanctions against Russia could be extended because of the escalation of violence in east Ukraine. "

Lets Get Real:

The Kremlin is putting two fingers up to the West and the Obama Oval, the sneaky Russian bear is placing its troops in the Ukraine to fight the Kiev Government.   The West should go hard on Russia, as suggested by one Fox anchor, the US should block all credit transactions from Russia.   Thus would cut people going to Russia to visit and reduce Western interest in any business in Russia.   The Russians think that the Obama Oval is weak and only has two years to go, so they have decided to play him.    The Obama Oval has given its hand out to Moscow, but all that the Oval gets is a snub.    The Russian bear respects an enemy who stands up to it, then the game is understood by both sides, the look of weakness by the Obama Oval could cause a major crisis within the next two years, think Cuba and 1962.

The FUTURE of Greece - Euro Crisis Update

Guardian:  Reports " Greece’s new anti-austerity government set on collision course with Brussels..Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras heads coalition of left and right parties with mandate to take on country’s paymasters "

Lets Get Real:

Either the EU holds the line or every Country with election will have Parties of the extreme spending German money on their own promises.  The EU can make the loans to Greece on a longer period, but they can not write off billions, it would make the Euro in the long term a dagger in the heart of those Countries that do not have a corrupt political system, the German tax payer is not going to pay for the political promises of Greece, Spain or Italy.   Of course in typical EU style they might find a solution that no one understands and push the issue down the road, lets see what the Germans say over the next few days.

POTUS on 50% Approval - 2nd Term Blues

Gallup: Reports in its daily tracking that President Obama has gained a 50% Approval rating, while 45% Disapprove of the Obama record. 

Lets Get Real:

The Oval Office is having a good session, as noted the Kurds have pushed IS out of Kobane, the US economy is showing growth, the Oval has tried outreach to Cuba, and the Iran talks are still going on.  Of course its January, lets see what the Oval numbers are at the end of the year, if POTUS has strong numbers then VP Biden might take the risk and run against Hillary Clinton, yes its funny, but other odd things have happened in Presidential Elections.   The Oval Office should use his high poll numbers as political cash to get his Agenda through the Republican Congress, its not going to happen but it will define the race for the year and for 2016. 

Kurds BEAT IS in Kobane - New War on Terror

BBC News: Reports " Kurdish forces have driven Islamic State (IS) militants from Kobane, officials say, ending a four-month battle for the northern Syrian town. "

Lets Get Real:

This is a great PR win for the Kurds and the Obama Oval, it shows that in the fight for Kobane the best policy was to use US planes in the air and Kurds on the ground.   As the article notes IS has actually gained more land since the US started bombing and to be fair to the Obama Oval it has stated that the fight will take years.   Thus a good day for President Obama and the people of Kobane.