Grouper? I Hardly Even Know Her

Today's delicacy -- fried grouper (from the same fishing trip that produced the amberjack tacos). Plus a fried jalapeno from the garden.

It really doesn't get any better than that.

Obama Has A Plan And It Mostly Involves Others Getting Down In The Ditch

Instapundit:

ROGER SIMON: THE MAN WITHOUT A PLAN:

President Obama’s been taking a lot of flak lately for not having a plan. First it was about Libya, but now — even more importantly because, as we know, all politics is local (until it’s not) — about the budget.

The latest White House porte-parole Jay Carney has consequently been taking all kinds of in-coming himself about “where’s the President’s budget plan,” “why doesn’t he have a plan,” etc.

Not having a plan? The reason Obama is left as a spectator as Boehner and Congress gets down in the mud and ...well... dig this thing out of the ditch?

Because this is his plan:

Slurp.

Widespread Panic Gets Spread Wide By Someone

Prof. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

John Podhoretz notes that Obama is trying to talk the markets into a panic
as part of Obama’s political strategy (emphasis mine):

An enraged Barack Obama just took to the nation’s airwaves to announce his effort to strike a deal with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has fallen apart. Perhaps for the first time in American history, this president is literally using this press conference to create a financial panic over the weekend about the opening of the markets on Monday. He is warning of disaster on Monday. Clearly, he wants to use this as leverage to frighten the GOP into passing the plan proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which will push the debt ceiling problem into 2013, but it’s still an entirely new and astonishingly reckless gambit.

I agree with the analysis with one big exception, the use of the terms “first time” and “entirely new.”

Jacobson then recounts Obama's efforts during the stimulus discussions in early 2009, and his reaction at the time.

Let me recount 2008 -- and while it is certainly not a president doing so, but rather Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer -- Democrats have before used talking the markets into a panic as part of their political strategy.

Thursday, June 26, 2008:

Schumer, a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, who used his position of authority to communicate to the OTS and the FDIC that he was "concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers," and that IndyMac "could face a failure if prescriptive measures are not taken quickly."

Everything might have been fine had Schumer stopped there, but Schumer (being Schumer) took the additional step of releasing the letter to the press.

Friday, July 11, 2008:

IndyMac Regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision: "The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac’s viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.”

Wednesday, October 1, 2008:

Senator Reid: "a major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows -- that's on the verge of going bankrupt,"

Thursday, October 2, 2008:

But with investors already on high alert after the Federal Reserve's rescue of insurance titan American International Group Inc. on Sept. 16, and with the credit crunch still making funding difficult for even the largest U.S. financial companies, Reid's comments were the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a grease fire. MetLife plunged $7.19, or 15%, to $40.96; Hartford dived $12.20, or 32%, to $25.91; and Prudential slid $7.15, or 11%, to $57.65.

Oh Deer

My last post was amberjack tacos. Tonight's menu? Venison backstrap.

Simple recipe. Simply delicious.

Cut backstrap into 1 inch thick medallions and marinade in beer for four hours.

Ok, sure, add some extra virgin olive oil, a little soy sauce, a few cloves of roughly chopped garlic and a ton of pepper of the black, white and red variety.

Heat the grill until it's pegged.

Slowly place each of the six medallions on the grill. Slowly.

By the time you have ...slowly... placed each medallion on the grill, it is time to turn them -- again, slowly -- one at a time. Once each has been turned, you have enough time to take the bowl in which they were marinading to the kitchen for a quick rinse. But that's it. A quick rinse and get back quickly to take the medallions off the grill. We're going for a sear on the outside and not much more*.

Take the medallions off the grill and put them on the plate. Top each one with a slice of goat cheese and let rest for as long as your itchy fork hand can take it.

Place plate next to laptop on the table out on the deck for continuous blogging.

E a t.

Please don't ask if I ate all six medallions in one sitting.

-------------------------
*Please understand I have a constitution that tolerates food cooked rare/raw to a greater extent than most. I am describing how I cooked my meal, not prescribing how someone else should cook his. I would strongly recommend anyone else letting the medallions cook for several minutes more per side than I describe here.

Give a man a fish . . . teach a man to fish

Let's update the old proverb for today.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat today. Teach a man to fish -- and take him fishing -- and he'll still be eating fish in July."

There are few things in life better than eating fish you caught yourself. I made some amberjack tacos today:

We caught this fish and many, many others during our spring break trip in April to celebrate my wife's parents' 50th anniversary. Good times, good times.

Still paying dividends.

By the way, forget my pic above, if you're interested in real chef-ery, please visit my sister in law's blog TheChefinMyHead.

And specific ChefinMyHead post from spring break HERE. One of the amberjacks in those photos was in my tacos and is now in my belly. Probably the one with the biggest smile.

Obama's Political Rhetoric Rings the Doorbell, Gets Let In

Via Jim Geraghty, Obama exhorts others to "leave our political rhetoric at the door" one day, says Republicans are holding a gun to the head of the American people the next.

Here it is:

Michelle Obama Channels Her Inner CheChe

Reading Clarice's Pieces this morning over at American Thinker reminded me of a comment MayBee had left at Just One Minute.

First, let's take a look at the story MayBee was commenting on:

First lady Michelle Obama gave a fascinating insight into just how heavily the weight of office rests on her husband's shoulders and how the job of president has taken it's toll.

Speaking at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee in Massachusetts she told of his total dedication to the job and told how she worries about the increasing number of lines on his face.

She said: 'I see the worry creasing his face. I hear the passion and determination in his voice.

''You won’t believe what these folks are going through;' he told me that last night.

''Michelle, it is not right. We’ve got to fix this. We have to do more,'

'Barack always reminds me that we are playing a long game,

'He reminds me, as I said to you, too, that change is slow.

'He reminds me that change doesn’t happen all at once, but that if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there, because the truth is we always have in this country. We always have.'

Heavy stuff. MayBee went on to write in response:

It's also pretty funny to picture them, actually sitting on a sofa in the WH residence, her in a designer dress with her Jimmy Choos kicked off in the corner, him with his WH brewed honey ale, reading the 10 letters for the day and saying, 'Michelle, it just isn't right, what people are going through.' 'Why, what do you mean Barack?' 'We have to fix it. I am tired, but I can't rest until this is fixed!'

Anyone remember Che Che? At the time, John Podhoretz called CheChe's writing "The Greatest Kos Posting Ever!" and concluded: "To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the grief of Little CheChe."

Well. CheChe turned out to be the work of a parodist. But a parody perfectly executed.

Let's reprise CheChe's work in the form of Michelle speaking, building upon the scene MayBee gave us. Off we go!

I don't think I've ever seen such a look of misery and dejection on the face of Barack as I just did a moment ago.

He sat down with me on the sofa and (as calmly as he could) tried to explain to me why the Republicans want to starve little children and take Social Security away from the elderly in order to give coporoate jet owners wads of cash. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it became increasingly difficult - the rage and feelings of helplessnes were just too much. I could tell something was wrong. I found myself at such a loss for words - nothing made any sense; nothing makes sense anymore. I finally had to admit, "Barry, I just don't know - I don't know what's going on in this country anymore..."

When he finished my lower lip started to tremble and my eyes began to fill with tears, "Michelle" he said, "why are the Republicans doing this to the country?" Well, that was it for me: I finally fell apart. I just fell into his arms and we both began sobbing for several minutes.

He had to comfort me and get me back on my feet. Sometimes I just think it’s too much, but seeing the strength in Barack's voice helped me to get through.

To paraphrase Podhoretz paraphrasing Wilde: It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.

Obama Targets Corporate Jets

At his press conference on June 29, 2011, Obama went after corporate jets and corporate jet owners. Six times. Obama says that they needed to pay more in taxes.

Don't get him wrong though -- Obama thinks having his own plane is . . . awesome.

It's not that he wants to "punish your success."

He just needs more of your money to operate his plane.

MORE: Whaddya know, Obama continues the corporate jet fetish in his weekly address this morning (h/t Don Surber):

See full weekly address here

Obama's Promise of Change Has Been Painful

Hey that's Obama's characterization of "change" in the Obama era, not mine.

With a hat tip to Jim Geraghty, on a visit to Cree Inc. in Durham, NC -- Obama summed up what Change has meant since he was elected president.

I made this video to put that summation in context.

MORE: Here's an old photoshop I did that fits in rather well here.

TheVIMH Blogging Command Center

Relax.

The martini is necessary. The reading glasses, optional.

Grading Palin Vs The Media

So the media went nuts over the release of Sarah Palin's emails from her time as Governor of Alaska.  As an example, here's a headline from the New York Daily News (via JammieWearingFool):

Sarah Palin writes at an eighth-grade level in recently released emails, say writing analysts

I wonder if anyone has put a grade level on Anthony Weiner's tweets?

Now to be fair, the article -- unlike the headline -- is fairly balanced.  In it we find this:

It turns out Palin's writing skills are still better than most educated Americans. Global Language Monitor gave Palin's emails a score of 8.2, which actually exceeds that of most chief executives.

So as chief executive of the state of Alaska, her emails scored higher than most other chief executives.

Also the name "Global Language Monitor" rang a bell.  Remember the 2008 VP debate?

(CNN) -- An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night's debate between the vice presidential candidates. ...

Grade level: Biden, 7.8; Palin, 9.5

Ah, those were the days.

But wait!  There's more!  I left off the parenthetical that followed that last part.

Because it's the kicker:

(Newspapers are typically written to a sixth-grade reading level.)

Sarah Palin writes her emails two grades higher than journalists write their articles. 

The (Not So) Popular Mechanic In Chief

Instapundit is nothing if not helpful with this: 

SIX DRIVING TIPS to save gas this summer. At these prices, you’ll need to!

Good ideas from Popular Mechanics.  And, hey, check it out:

Monitor Tire PressureKeep your tires properly inflated, because low pressure increases rolling resistance. Few drivers check and adjust their tire pressure often, but it's a good idea to do it once a week. 

They say to keep your tires inflated . . . just like Obama!

Of course, Obama was talking just as much about reducing our overall dependence on foreign oil and getting to a fossil fuel free world as he was about personal savings.

Speaking of reducing fossil fuel use, one tip is this: 

Avoid Ethanol When Possible
Gasoline that has been cut with 10 or 15 percent ethanol, called E10 or E15, is an mpg killer. Why? Gasoline stores more energy than ethanol (119,000 Btu per gallon vs 80,000). So it takes more ethanol than gasoline to go the same distance.

Obama wants to cost us more money at the pump by pushing alternative fuel?  The deuce, you say!

Speaking of costing you more money -- I notice that Popular Mechanics didn't mention trading in your 8 mpg clunker in favor of a hybrid as an idea to save money.

Huh, I wonder why?

When Economic Conditions (And Definitions) Won't Cooperate

From Jim Geraghty's Morning Jolt, we are directed to this NY Times article on how bad unemployment numbers bring discouraging news for out of work Americans Obama's election chances:

WASHINGTON — No American president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has won a second term in office when the unemployment rate on Election Day topped 7.2 percent.

Seventeen months before the next election, it is increasingly clear that President Obama must defy that trend to keep his job.

Roughly 9 percent of Americans who want to go to work cannot find an employer. Companies are firing fewer people, but hiring remains anemic. And the vast majority of economic forecasters, including the president’s own advisers, predict only modest progress by November 2012.

Bold mine. Because, well, that is a poorly worded sentence.

Via Instapundit, let's turn to this AP article:

The labor force — those who have a job or are looking for one — is getting smaller, even though the economy is growing and steadily adding jobs. That trend defies the rules of a normal economic recovery.
...
By the government's definition, if you quit looking, you're no longer counted as unemployed. And you're no longer part of the labor force.

So the NY Times':

"Roughly 9 percent of Americans who want to go to work cannot find an employer."

should rather be:

"Roughly 9 percent of Americans who are actively looking for work cannot find an employer."

So the question is, how many people have given up looking for work? Back to the article:

Since November, the number of Americans counted as employed has grown by 765,000, to just shy of 139 million. The nation has been creating jobs every month as the economy recovers. The economy added 244,000 jobs in April.

But the number of Americans counted as unemployed has shrunk by much more — almost 1.3 million — during this time. That means the labor force has dropped by 529,000 workers.

In an article making the case that the current 9% unemployment rate is bad news for Obama's re-election prospects, it wouldn't appear that the NY Times is simply wishing away a half million people as a boost for the President. So, perhaps the NY Times simply does not know any better.

PSA: Don't Drink and Drive

This is a reprise of a post I did back in June of 2008 (boy, those were the days!).  I'm not changing the format of the post (I'm lazy like that) -- just updating the supporting images and numbers for the Obama Era.

Off we go!
-------------------------------------
So normally a really, really good sale on beer is something for which we lustily cheer. And while that is certainly the case in this case for the price of the case of beer pictured below, we feel we must issue the following Public Service Announcement:

Don't Drink and Drive

Price of Case of Beer:.....................$10 (2 12-packs/$10)
Number of beers per case:...............24
Fluid ounces per beer:..........__........12
Fluid ounces per case:..............._....288
Price per ounce:.........................$0.03472
Fluid ounces per gallon:.................. 128

Price of Beer per Gallon:...$4.44

Price of Gas per Gallon:..>..$4.79

Don't Drink and Drive.
Just Drink. Don't Drive.
It's Cheaper.

Don't Ever Think It Can't Get Worse

Bryan Preston at the Tatler gives us this:

Great news: Britain’s national health service is still getting worse

Not treating people, or making them wait longer and longer for treatment, in an aging society is just another form of healthcare rationing.

Doctors are blaming financial pressures on the NHS for an increase in the number of patients who are not being treated within the 18 weeks that the government recommends.

New NHS performance data reveal that the number of people in England who are being forced to wait more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in the last year, while the number who had to wait longer than six months has shot up by 43%.

Brings to mind a friend's post a couple years ago. For those who didn't know PUK, Peter Bocking, he was a dear friend of the Just One Minute community. He passed away in the fall of 2009. If you didn't know him and haven't seen it before -- see a few posts I did as a "Best Of PUK" series at the time -- here and here and here and here.

At one point on Just One Minute, he related his experience with Britain's NHS dealing with the death of his mother. It was a heartbreaking tale -- and one quite out of character for PUK. He delivered it, reluctantly, not to try and garner sympathy, but as a warning to his American friends of what the path toward state run healthcare would lead to. He posted that story in a series of comments. After he passed away, I collected them in a single comment at Just One Minute to record them for posterity.

Clarice Feldman took that collection and printed it at American Thinker.

I'm going to reprint his comments here, again to put a person in front of the statistics we continually read about, so we do not simply become inured to the impact such appalling treatment has on real lives. It's what PUK was trying to do for us:

--------------------------------------------------

I always used to go round to see my mother each day to make sure she had everything she needed. One morning I got the urge to ring her for some inexplicable reason,she sounded hoarse,so it seemed a good idea to pop round and check her out.She was unwell so I called the doctor out,he prescribed some antibiotics and said "keep an eye on her". Since the carers were due at that time it was possible to collect the prescription and get some shopping done. Having done that,I went home,her cleaner was there,she was also a friend.

Later that day,the cleaner phoned to say my mother had "crawled upstairs" and gone to bed. She was like that very independent.

She was in bed and having trouble breathing and could not lie down,it appeared to be heart failure,a familiar condition. I gave her ten minutes to decide on an ambulance or a cup of tea.She opted for the ambulance.

The ambulance was rapid,since they had a description of the problem,the paramedics dealt with the situation efficiently and professionally. Unfortunately I could not go in the ambulance with her,because,it was night,my money and medication were at home,all I was wearing was trousers and a T shirt.

On arrival in the ward the following morning,a doctor ushered me into a side room.

"We treated her for heart failure not knowing she had bad kidneys" "She has about a month,all I can tell you is when it happens it will be quick"

All I could think of saying was "Have you anything else to say to me"

The doctor hesitated "No", he said and left the room with his assistant,(witness)

Visiting was Hell! It was a fight to get flexible visiting times,the jobsworths fought it every inch,despite my being the only family member.

I watched my mother die alone, in a side room,the nurse was on her tea break,the pain killing drugs that had been promised, unadministered. She was eighty four.

Fuck the National Health Service!!!!

********************

Kidney failure is horrendous. Victims literally die before your eyes as the salt builds up in their bodies,the faculties decay, one by one. I watched her go blind an assume the characteristics of dementia.

One sister said,when I asked her to help her move."She can do it herself"!

Whilst General Practitioners know their patients,hospitals can be on the level of battery chicken factories.

********************

Terrible indeed. Medical have to be impersonal to a certain extent to stay sane,but that doesn't help the patient or their families.

A friend of mine,a philosopher,says that the moral component has disappeared from medical ethics. Everything is now distilled down to utilitarian and legal considerations

This,I think, removes the humanity from medicine,and indeed many other areas of life.

********************

It wasn't about me,I just did what ever was best for my mother.If it took grovelling the so be it,if it took a temper tantrum,off we go.Plenty of schmoozing the nurses who looked after her. Whatever creates the best environment.

********************

I've never talked about it before,I sense it is a more common experience.There needs to be a greater concentration on medical ethics,doctors aren't fixing clunkers,but human beings.

********************

The worst was watching the end,despite promises, my mother did not die easy.She was obviously in great pain when the salt reached her heart.As she went her false teeth came out.I put them back and stroked her hair into place,gave her a last kiss on her forehead,spent some time,I know not how long,with while the nurses came and pronounced her dead.

Then I rang my lift who had gone home,not thinking it would be so quick,and walked the four miles back to her house,locked up and went home.

********************

I was alone with her in the room.They always wheeled them into that side room to die.It was the absence of nursing or other staff that was appalling,that and the lack of any palliative medication.

********************

She died the 8th July 2003.
********************

Not hard to keep calm.I'm neurotic about things like losing a pair of glasses,but anything serious and I go ice cold efficient. Just made that way I suppose.

********************

Amazing how the human race adapts to the most cruel afflictions.That is why the "death panels" are so obscene,people can live a life even under the most difficult conditions. Who is some little Nazi like Emanuel to withhold treatment?

********************

This is the story of the human race,it is all our stories,they should be taken into account in any health system.

The quality of their lives and magnitude of their losses should be factored into the equation.We should start a movement for morality and humanity in medicine.

Taxes

So it's April 15th.  You know what that means...

Well, nothing, actually.  But it does offer an excuse to relive some old posts.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air asks: Where’s the 5-minute tax form?

Ah, yes.  Obama and tax simplification.

How about an old be-careful-what-you-wish-for post: You May Want Tax Simplification, But Are You Sure You Want Obama's Tax Simplification?

And if you're having trouble because the tax code is so complex, please avail yourself of The 1040DEM

Obama's Plan to Reduce the Deficit in Parable Form

Via Instapundit, we have this gem from Obama:

"If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know," Obama said laughingly. "You might want to think about a trade-in."

Let's go . . . to the back of the envelope!

Let's say you drive 200 miles per week.

Let's say that you currently get 8 mpg and are paying $3.70/gal.

200 / 8 = 25 gallons used per week * $3.70 = $92.50/week in gas.

Let's say your current car is worth $4,000 in trade-in and you own it free and clear.

Let's say the car Obama has in mind for you gets 25 mpg.

200 / 25 = 8 gallons used per week * $3.70 = $29.60/week in gas.

That's a savings of almost $62/week in gas!!! Or $250/month!!! You've hit the motherlode. Thanks Obama!

But wait. Now let's say that car costs $20,000 and after your trade-in you finance $16,000 at 6% interest for 4 years.

Your new car payment is $375/month.

Thanks to Obama, you now have monthly expenses $125 more than before he touched your life.

But the feeling you get driving around in a new, Obama-approved car means the thing pays for itself. In Obama-bucks.

Hey, I just had an idea. Let's put this Obama guy in charge of the federal budget! With this kind of brilliant grasp of economics that federal deficit will be gone in no time -- he said laughingly (in order to keep himself from crying).

Do be sure and read that Instapundit post -- the AP decided to scrub the article of this quote, but Glenn's got the screen shot and the video.

The Obama Doctrine

FROM INSTAPUNDIT: Byron York gives us this:

In the last few days, Obama administration officials have frequently faced the question: Is the fighting in Libya a war? From military officers to White House spokesmen up to the president himself, the answer is no. But that leaves the question: What is it?

In a briefing on board Air Force One Wednesday, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes took a crack at an answer. "I think what we are doing is enforcing a resolution that has a very clear set of goals, which is protecting the Libyan people, averting a humanitarian crisis, and setting up a no-fly zone," Rhodes said. "Obviously that involves kinetic military action, particularly on the front end."

It's not a war, it's "kinetic military action". Now we know why he plays so much golf. Obama is training himself to become Kinesiologist-in-Chief.

Committees Have to be Attended By Men With Legal Pads

I first put this up as a comment on Just One Minute.  Then Clarice put it up on the Tatler at Pajamas Media.  Might as well put here too.  Modeled after Col. Nathan R. Jessup from A Few Good Men, of course.  First a little context to set it up.

John Boehner's letter to Obama over on The Corner:

A United Nations Security Council resolution does not substitute for a U.S. political and military strategy.
...
it appears your Administration has consulted extensively on these same matters with foreign entities such as the United Nations and the Arab League.
...
The American people take the use of military action seriously, as does the House of Representatives. It is regrettable that no opportunity was afforded to consult with Congressional leaders, as was the custom of your predecessors, before your decision as Commander-in-Chief to deploy into combat the men and women of our Armed Forces.

And off we go!

COL. NATHAN H. OBAMA:  Son, we live in a world that has committees, and those committees have to be attended by men with legal pads. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Speaker Boehner? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for your precious Constitution, and you curse turning over military authority in the name of multilateralism. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That sidestepping the Constitution, while tragic, probably saved a lot of effort on my part and will hopefully help me avoid blame should it all go wrong. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, means beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentations. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me delegating my staff to be on those committees, you need me assigning underlings to that committee. We use words like “grave concern that order be restored” and “sustainable international consensus”. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent discussing something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very white papers that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide them. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a three ring binder over there on the conference table, pick a seat, and please put your cell phone on mute. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Foreign Policy in a Ditch

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                                               March 22, 2011

Remarks by the President at a DNC Fundraiser

12:50 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. Have a seat.

So, Democrats, it is wonderful to be here, wonderful to be among so many good friends. We live in a dangerous world. You all know this. We all are aware of what's going on. You know what I'm talking about. Protests, revolutions, dictators on the precipice. All dangerous stuff. We don’t want any part of that -- I don't want any part of that if it involves doing anything other than giving a speech.

I mean, think about it, we’re the folks who were behind the steering wheel and drove the car into the ditch. Anything to get out of being in front driving this thing. (Applause.)

But look, we had to look like we were doing something. And so we asked France to get in there and put its boots on -- it's galoshes -- and they pushed and they shoved. And NATO was sweating and we were were standing, watching them and sipping on a Slurpee. (Laughter.)

And we were pointing at them saying, "how come you’re not pushing harder, how come you’re not pushing faster?" And then when the Arab League finally got the car up out of the ditch -- and it’s got a few dings and a few dents, it’s got some mud on it, they’re going to have to do some work on it -- they point to everybody and say, "look what these guys did to their car own." After we got them to get it out of the ditch!

Well, I’m telling ya, no way we’re asking for the keys back! I don’t want them to give us the keys back. We don’t know how to drive! (Laughter.)

“We’ll come along for the ride,” we said, “but we’re definitely sitting in the back.” (Applause.)

I mean, I want everyone to think about it here. When you want to go nowhere in your car, what do you do?

AUDIENCE: N!

THE PRESIDENT: That's right, you put it in N. Neutral. You know what starts with N? That’s right. NATO. They’re going to idle in neutral, just like we want. They’ll bicker and whine and dither. This baby’s staying in neutral. (Applause.)

America, we are not going backwards. We’re not going forwards. Do we want to go back? Or do we want to go forward? I say we want to do neither. (Applause.)

Thank you Democrats. I love you! (Applause.)

END

12:54 P.M. EDT