Monica Crowley

Fore!

The state funeral of the Polish President, killed in that horrific plane crash in Russia last week, was held in Warsaw on Saturday.

The eruption of the Icelandic volcano has made continental travel nearly impossible, with most European airspaces closed over the last few days to most air traffic. The White House canceled Obama's planned trip to Poland for the funeral.

I've got no problem with that. Volcanic ash is known to take out aircraft's engines, and everybody wants safety first.

What I do have a problem with is Obama's decision to spend the day playing golf (his 32nd round since becoming president) instead of at least paying his respects at the Polish Embassy. Sure, he called the Polish Prime Minister and sent the Polish people his sympathy. But he couldn't have postponed his game for an hour while he went to the Embassy of a deeply loyal friend of the United States? Apparently not.

More evidence of Obama's priorities. If you need even more evidence of how lame his lack of action was this weekend, just think of what Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, or George W. Bush would have done.

The O'Reilly Factor---TONIGHT!

I'll be a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight on the Fox News Channel at 8pm and 11pm ET. Please tune in.

Must Be Bush's Fault

The Icelandic volcano with the unpronounceable name just blew again. Millions of people around the world cannot get to where they need to go. Airports are in chaos. European economies are getting scalded. Ash spreads across continents and oceans. It must be Bush's fault.

The White House was caught red-handed making up the number of jobs they claim the economic "stimulus" "created or saved." They altered the stimulus baseline projection by 7 million jobs. In other words, they lied. It must be Bush's fault.

Obama accepted nearly $1 million in campaign contributions from the now charged-with-fraud Goldman Sachs, a company he's now railing against and wanting to screw to the wall with new regulatory "reforms." Will he give the donations back? No word yet from the White House. It must be Bush's fault.

According to a new Pew Research Poll, 80% of all Americans do not trust their government. One in three believes their own government is a threat. These numbers are markedly higher than they were when Bush was in office.

But no matter: it must be Bush's fault.

So is the terrible current season of "American Idol."

The McLaughlin Group

Please join us this weekend for "The McLaughlin Group." Check your local listings for time and channel or visit www.McLaughlin.com for more information.

No, Thank YOU

On Tax Day yesterday, the president did two things. 1) He went to Florida to decimate another symbol of American exceptionalism: the NASA space program. And 2) He attended a fundraiser (what else?) in Miami to try to rake in money for his crippled party. Priorities!

At the fundraiser, he commandeered the microphone in order to make fun of the millions of Americans who came out yesterday at Tea Parties across the nation to protest, well, him. Not him, per se, but everything he's done and stands for: out of control spending, ever-bigger government, huge new entitlements, and higher taxes.

First he claimed he'd CUT taxes, and then he said: "You would think they'd be saying thank you."

Wow. The last time he was this overtly obnoxious was during the campaign when he said us average Americans cling to our guns and our religion. The contempt he has for us seeps out of his every pore.

First, on his "cutting taxes" assertion: he's lying. He has raised some taxes so far, in total violation of his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class.

Second, everybody knows that with the vile spending going on and the new $2.6 trillion health care entitlement they just layered on, the Democrats are going to have to support raising taxes---of all kinds---from hiking income taxes to proposing a VAT. After November, watch those taxes happen before your eyes.

And third, his complete dismissal and disregard for the majority of Americans is striking. Most Americans now agree with what the Tea Party stands for: limited government, less spending, lower deficits, and lower taxes. We want fiscal responsibility. That's not an unreasonable request. It's what the Founders intended. And yet, the Bama mocks it with a schoolyard taunt.

Well, here's news for you, sir: WE'RE the boss now. You can make fun of us all you want. But there are more of us than there are of you, and we get to speak in November. So: thank YOU for reminding us how colossally jerky and destructive you are.

Obama in Outer Space

On the issues that matter most, the president is always somewhere else.

Exhibit A) For most Americans, the economy is the most pressing issue. We just got last week's jobs report, and it wasn't good. For the second week in a row, first-time jobless claims spiked. The unemployment situation is getting worse, not better. Home foreclosures have also just reached record highs. And where has Obama been? Focused on health care.

Exhibit B) While Iran is working at breakneck speed on a nuclear weapon and is defiantly telling the U.S. where to go, Obama has been dusting off old Cold War treaties with Russia and holding meaningless nuclear summits to secure Canadian and Chilean nuclear material. To recap: Iran is over here, developing a nuke. And Obama is over there, clinking glasses with the Canadian prime minister.

Exhibit C) Today is April 15th, the most dreaded day of the year. Tax Day. If you are two seconds late with your tax return, the IRS begins compiling interest on what you may owe. (Of course, many states are broke and handing out IOUs instead of tax refunds. Try giving the IOU to the barista at Starbucks for that latte.) Of course, nearly 50% of the American people pay no federal income tax at all, so for them today is just another Thursday. But for the rest of us, today is a plague. According to a Rasmussen poll released this week, 66% of Americans believe they are overtaxed. The widespread Tea Party movement is essentially a tax revolt. And where is Obama today? In Florida, discussing space policy.

His seemingly screwed-up priorities are, of course, all by design. He distracts with one hand while undoing America with the other. Don't think he doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing.

And that's even scarier than Tax Day.

Patriots, Start Your Engines

One year ago, millions of Americans gathered in a thousand protests---large and small---to express outrage over the direction of the nation: out of control government spending, unprecedented growth of government, political paybacks, bailouts, and ever-rising taxes. The American people believed they weren't being heard by their "representatives." America's "representatives" were failing them, their children and grandchildren. They were failing the Founding Fathers. They were failing the Constitution.

Our outrage exploded. We became a nation of Howard Beales: we're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore. The Tea Party was born.

One year later, the movement has grown exponentially and has experienced some attendant growing pains. But the message to government stays the same: STOP SPENDING.

In fact, the Tea Party movement is no longer simply a movement. A majority of the American people agree with what the Tea Party stands for. We can now call it "a majority of concerned Americans" or, dare I say, "mainstream."

The Tea Party was never "fringe" or "minor." And its significance and power has only grown, which has forced the Left-wing media to reluctantly cover it (albeit unfairly and despicably much of the time.)

And the reason for its tremendous influence? Because its power rests with the people. Just as the Founders intended.

To locate a Tea Party near you tomorrow (April 15th, Tax Day), please visit www.TeaPartyPatriots.org . Your presence matters. Show Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid who's boss NOW.

Hi-Caliber Rocks!

Loyal listeners of my nationally syndicated radio show are familiar with Hi-Caliber, the nation's first and most influential conservative rapper. His weekly news hip-hop "rap-ups" air on my program every weekend. He's incredibly talented and gutsy, and he's reaching young people with his music and message.

New Jersey's biggest newspaper, the Newark Star-Ledger, ran this piece about him today. Please check it out and support him (at www.HiCaliberConversation.com ):

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/04/brick_rapper_hi-caliber_melds.html

Maybe if He Stopped Bowing

Here we go again. President Obama bowed to the Chinese President and the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao, when they met in Washington yesterday. This latest bow comes after a string of previously humiliating and ridiculous Bama bows: to the Saudi king, the Japanese emperor, and (my favorite) the Mayor of Tampa, Florida.

After all of this deferential bowing, the Saudis are still supporting and exporting Islamic terrorism and radicalism and the Japanese are still in our face about our military bases there. I'm pretty sure Tampa must still have some sort of beef with Washington. But the point is that no matter how much groveling the Bama does, the result is the same: total contempt from those he's trying desperately to charm with his "humility."

The latest example is Hu, who looked completely baffled and slightly amused at the sight of the President of the United States and supposed champion of freedom, bowing before him. Of course, he read it as American weakness (as he and everyone else in the world had read the Bama's previous bows). The result? Earlier yesterday, Team Obama rushed to the media to trumpet a breakthrough of sorts with the Chinese over sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. Jeff Bader, a top Obama national security official, proclaimed, "They are prepared to work with us."

Not so fast. The Chinese immediately undercut that statement: "Pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve it," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

If only he'd stop bowing to everybody, they might take him more seriously. I say "might" because he's so pathologically anti-American in his actions and ideology that even if the bowing stopped, they'd still know they could run circles around him.

So: Obama believes he has charmed Hu into backing sanctions. He bows. He prostrates himself. Hu blows him off.

And....scene.

The O'Reilly Factor---TONIGHT!

I'll be a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel TONIGHT at 8pm and 11pm ET. Please tune in.