http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/barack-obama/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/barack-obama/ feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/barack-obama/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/barack-obama/#item7161 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/can-obama-win-the-election-yes-he-can-maybe/ Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/can-obama-win-the-election-yes-he-can-maybe/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/can-obama-win-the-election-yes-he-can-maybe/#item7494 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-1-osama-sleeps-with-the-fishes/ What happened On May 1, 2011, with 18 purposeful steps, US president Barack Obama approached a lectern placed in the East Room of The White House. His 10 minute speech began with the statement: “Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people, and the world, that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.” The announcement followed a raid by Navy SEALS on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden had been living, despite the widespread assumption that he was holed up in a cave or remote village in Afghanistan. Bin Laden’s body was then taken to Afghanistan for identification, after which he was quickly buried at sea. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-1-osama-sleeps-with-the-fishes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-1-osama-sleeps-with-the-fishes/#item7438 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/only-fossils-want-to-rely-on-old-school-fuel/ In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama outlined his vision for an America powered by clean energy, traveling by High Speed Rail, and competing in global clean technology markets. Obama set out a clear principle: “[I]nstead of subsidising yesterday’s energy,” he implored, “let’s invest in tomorrow’s.” Excellent idea Mr. President. By choosing the future, not the past, President Obama has opened a fierce technology competition with China and Germany, to bring the cost of renewable energy down below gas, coal and nuclear. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/only-fossils-want-to-rely-on-old-school-fuel/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/only-fossils-want-to-rely-on-old-school-fuel/#item7229 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-so-bloody-average-but-so-are-these-hot-shots/ Before our necks had even cooled, the latest foreign dignitaries to hit Australia have got us all hot under the collar again. Our Mary and her husband Prince Fred conquered Canberra yesterday, just as the Ba-rockstar President of the United States did last week and the Her Maj less than a month before. Australians swoon when foreign royalty or might-as-well-be-royalty hit our shores. And over the past couple of months we’ve been swooning like 12-year-olds at a Justin Bieber concert. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-so-bloody-average-but-so-are-these-hot-shots/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-so-bloody-average-but-so-are-these-hot-shots/#item7214 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-barack-rockstar-obama-came-to-town/ When Barack Obama met the Australian Cabinet on Thursday morning, Julia Gillard introduced Peter Garrett as “a former rock star”. The president, who had obviously never heard of Midnight Oil or its bald front man, broke into a big grin. “Most of us end up in politics because we fail to become rock stars,” he said feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-barack-rockstar-obama-came-to-town/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/when-barack-rockstar-obama-came-to-town/#item7191 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bob-and-tonys-awkward-night-with-obama/ There were two people at Wednesday’s state dinner for US President Barack Obama at Parliament House who seemed a bit out of sorts. The first was the man who until recently had looked like our de facto prime minister, Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown. The second was our alternative prime minister, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who in the past fortnight has gone from being a dead-cert for PM to being the subject of criticism from conservatives about an election strategy based more on opposing things than proposing things. As President Obama stood at the end of Parliament’s Great Hall in front of that remarkable tapestry of the Australian bush landscape, hand on his heart as The Star Spangled Banner played, Bob Brown grudgingly lifted himself from his seat to join in the standing ovation. Brown, the man who had shouted across the parliamentary chamber at Bill Clinton on his 1997 Australian visit, was up on his pegs and deferring to the Leader of the Free World, a man who represents pretty much everything Brown loathes. The symbolism of it was one thing. Of more interest is the enormous and important policy shifts in defence and regional security which Prime Minister Gillard and President Obama have presided over this past fortnight which have helped Labor put some long-overdue distance between itself and its partner in power. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bob-and-tonys-awkward-night-with-obama/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bob-and-tonys-awkward-night-with-obama/#item7173 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oi-barry-leave-the-money-on-the-fridge-would-ya/ Dear Mr Obama, Thanks heaps for your beaut speech to Parliament this week, in which you used heaps of Australian idioms and that. It was beaut. Our prime minister looked at you like she dead set wanted to pash you, and our Opposition leader said something about being a fellow English speaker, which is a bloody riot, because seriously mate, have you heard us? Anyway, as you’ll see if you go to any twenty-firsts or footy dinners while you’re here, we tend to do this right-of-reply dealio whenever anyone dings on a glass and makes a speech, so I thought I’d respond and stuff. Sweet as? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oi-barry-leave-the-money-on-the-fridge-would-ya/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/oi-barry-leave-the-money-on-the-fridge-would-ya/#item7183 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/churlish-abbott-not-ready-to-play-with-the-big-kids/ Power, Chairman Mao once observed, grows from the barrel of a gun. For incumbent PM, Julia Gillard, it arrived this week aboard Air Force One. And what a show it was. MPs and senators filing out of the House of Representatives following Barack Obama’s Thursday morning speech were charged up - to put it mildly. “That was amazing,” one was overheard enthusing to another, “he’s brilliant”. “What a great experience,” the other replied as they lined up for a coffee afterwards.  These were not Labor MPs mind, but Liberals. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/churlish-abbott-not-ready-to-play-with-the-big-kids/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/churlish-abbott-not-ready-to-play-with-the-big-kids/#item7180 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mean-green-american-fighting-machines/ When the US Marine Corp establish themselves a new home in Darwin, they will bring some seriously green equipment and ideas to our shores. This is because in the three years of his Presidency, Barack Obama has actively led the US Department of Defense to embrace renewable energy and a strategic awareness of climate change. The officer in charge of greening the marines is Colonel Bob ‘Brutus’ Charette, a career soldier. As Director of E2O, the Expeditionary Energy Office, Colonel Charette has been on the road in 2011 with a fascinating presentation that shows how seriously America’s defense force is fighting its fatal addiction to oil. The Colonel jokes that when his commander told him to establish the E2O he said that his only qualification is wasting energy, as a jet pilot and commander. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mean-green-american-fighting-machines/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mean-green-american-fighting-machines/#item7181 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Barack Obama was always going to have a tough presidency. He set the bar so high for himself during the arduous two year lead-up to his election that he was always at risk of sailing right under it when it came time to start enacting the “Change we can believe in”. Indeed, back in 2008 there were times when it seemed his strategists took their cues from Napoleon Dynamite’s Pedro, as he essentially promised the electorate: “vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true”. In the nearly three years since he took office, he has made some important steps – passing a (slightly watered-down) health care package, most notably – but so many of his promises have gone unfulfilled and, although it pains me deeply to say it, his presidency thus far has been a bit of a wet firecracker.