Monica Crowley

The Five---TODAY!

I'll be co-hosting "The Five" at 5pm ET on the Fox News Channel today! Tons o' fun. Please tune in.

Listening Tour, Indeed

The Bama just wrapped up a three day "listening tour" in the heartland. At the conclusion of his "One Nation, Under the Bus" Tour, he seemed pretty satisfied that he had heard the wishes of the people.

The problem? I looked at the transcripts of every public event he held while on tour, and with the exception of less than a handful of questions, all of them were planted or cleared by Team Obama. "Mr. President! What an honor to have you here!" "Thanks for being here, sir!" "Your stimulus really helped! Can you please spend more?" "Why are the Republicans standing in the way? How can you get things done?" "When will you walk on water?"

You get the picture.

There were two people whose questions truly stood out because neither one was an Obama toady.

The first was Ryan Rhodes, a Tea Party organizer in Iowa, who asked Obama why he tolerated Joe Biden referring to Tea Partiers as "terrorists" and why he opposes a balanced budget. Obama's reply? To say that people have called HIM names, so whatever. And as for the balanced budget question, Obama mumbled that he was late for his bus departure or something.

Then there was the farmer, who politely asked Obama about the suffocating regulations he now faces:

The man said that people would rather be farming than "filling out forms and permits to do what we like to do." Obama told the farmer "don't always believe what you hear" and blamed Washington for ginning up speculation. Obama added that, "Nobody is more interested in seeing our agricultural sector successful than I am, partly because I come from a farm state." Would that be Illinois or Hawaii?

The farmer was not simply "believing what he heard." The farmer was believing what he was seeing in terms of massive new regs that were killing his farming business. Obama blew him off the way he blew off Mr. Rhodes.

A listening tour only works when the person conducting the tour actually listens. But Obama has never intended to listen. It was all a PR move for the re-elect campaign.

And by the way: Obama's been president for over two and a half years. If he doesn't know what the American people are telling him by now, he's either not listening, or he doesn't care.

The Fight Continues

Last year, the people of Wisconsin elected a Republican Governor and a Republican legislature to fix the state's grave economic problems: major debt, high unemployment, way too much spending. Governor Scott Walker and the GOP legislature then proceeded to do what they promised: they began to bring the state's fiscal situation under control by eliminating some collective bargaining privileges for the government unions, and reducing taxes and some of the state's regulatory burdens.

Of course, all Hades broke out. The Left mobilized to protect their government patrons in the Democrat party and the unions who have been benefiting from the government gravy train. They trashed the state Capitol, hoisted signs calling Walker "Hitler," and imported professional left-wing ambulance chaser Jesse Jackson to scream about the unfairness of it all.

The Left even moved to recall Walker and six GOP stae senators. The Walker recall cannot happen under state law until November at the earliest, and recent polls show a lack of support for recalling the Governor. The 6 GOP recalls happened last week, and 4 of the 6 Republican state senators survived their races. Two Democrat state senators---who joined the rest of their caucus in fleeing the state rather than take the tough budget vote---faced recall elections yesterday and survived.

So: although the Republicans kept their majorities in both chambers, they lost their comfortable margin. They are now down to a razor-thin one vote advantage in the state senate.

The Left will not rest until they defeat the people who are defeating them, their corrupt lock on government and the public unions, and their sick ideology. That's why this battle is not nearly over.

Walker and the GOP are producing real economic results in Wisconsin. Thanks to their reforms, Wisconsin created 9500 jobs in June, over half of those created in the ENTIRE nation that month. Businesses are coming back. The economic environment is improving.

But again: results do not matter to a Left that is watching its ideology wither in front of its eyes. It will fight with everything it has to survive. They have already claimed 2 GOP state senate seats in Wisconsin. They will not stop there.

This is why we fight. This is why we do not let our guard down or rest on our laurels. The other side most certainly is not. And neither must we.

Elvis Has Left the Building

Thirty-four years ago today, Elvis Presley died of a drug overdose at his Graceland estate. The man who brought rock n' roll to mainstream America and revolutionized music as a result remains a cultural icon. Thousands of people still make pilgrimages to Memphis, and he earns more money dead than he did while alive.

Although Elvis left this mortal coil over three decades ago, his political equivalent now resides in the White House. Elvis crossed racial lines: he adopted and adapted black musical styles, worked with black musicians, and brought crossover appeal to both black and white. He was a child of the South who knew the South well and loved it, but who saw its flaws and in his own way, did what he could to bring the races together.

President Obama was supposed to have extinguished America's history with racism once and for all. The first viable bi-racial candidate for president, he was supposed to transcend race for good, and then his policies would speak for themselves.

And that's the problem. His policies have been abysmal failures. From adding over $4 trillion in debt so far, to the nearly trillion dollar political "stimulus," to the multi-trillion dollar new entitlement of ObamaCare, to the war on American businesses, to the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill, to his class war, Obama has grievously failed America.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 9.1%. The full unemployment rate is closer to 18% when you add in those who are working part-time when they'd like to work full-time and those who have given up looking for work all together. There is non-existent GDP growth. Manufacturing and construction have stalled. The housing sector remains in collapse. Consumer confidence is at record lows.

The guy who was supposed to be the political Elvis has shaken, rattled, and rolled all the way to political and economic failure. Some of his defenders have tried to play the race card and called racism on anybody who opposes Obama or criticizes his failures. This is, of course, the lowest of the low. But the fact that Americans are judging Obama not on the color of his skin but on the content and failure of his policies shows that race is precisely NOT the issue. The economic catastrophes are the issue, as is Obama's weak and destructive leadership.

The real Elvis left the earthly building 34 years ago. The political Elvis is still very much with us as president, but we will see to it that he leaves the building in January 2013.

The O'Reilly Factor---TONIGHT!

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

The Big Show

As I watched the Republican presidential debate held in Iowa last night, I kept thinking to myself: "Who among them is ready for primetime? Who is ready to go head-to-head with Barack Obama? Who is ready for the Big Stage?"

To some extent, they all are ready, because they've all be national figures, to varying degrees, for a while. But a presidential campaign is something else entirely. If you win the nomination, you are thrust into a situation for which there is no real preparation, except having done it before. But even if you're a candidate who has run a presidential campaign before, every election year is different, along with different national and international circumstances, different media, different staffs. Running previously is no guarantee of winning success the next time.

Last night, I saw: Mitt Romney running very, very carefully. He's running not to lose. Doesn't want to make a mistake. That's fine for a frontrunner as far as it goes. But what's removed from that strategy is fire, passion, and a willingness to take the fight to Obama.

Which brings us to Michele Bachmann. She is a natural born fighter. She was full of fierce combat, which along with her devotion to First Principles, makes her a Tea Party goddess. She was strong and authentic. She spent part of the evening engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Tim Pawlenty, and subjected him to several beatdowns. That's not to say Pawlenty didn't land some good points during the debate. But his exchanges with Bachmann diminished him, and he spent the remainder of his time clamoring to get in his talking points. He came off like a kid trying to get his dad's attention.

Newt Gingrich was on fire last night. I suppose he feels he's got nothing to lose and went for broke: he took it to the moderator, blasted the media, engaged in some podium-thumping, and got in some great substantive points. I appreciate his combative style, but the downside of it is unlikability. Given the gravity of the country's problems, likability shouldn't matter much---but it does. He could gain traction after his performance last night. I hope he does, because he'd make mincemeat of Obama in a presidential debate.

Herman Cain rocked the house a few times during the debate, but his acknowledgement that he was still "learning" about issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Afghanistan didn't come off as refreshingly honest. It came off as a little too honest, lending the impression of weakness. But he's a great champion of the private sector and speaks powerfully about the free market.

Rick Santorum is a principled conservative who got in some great points when given the chance to speak. Sadly, he didn't have many chances. Ron Paul became even more of a fringe candidate, showing he's clueless on the responsibilities of American superpower---or he doesn't care. Either way, he's not going to be president.

And then there was Jon Huntsman, who was a giant zero. He can self-fund his campaign, which is why he'll stay in the race. But he's given voters precisely no reason to choose him over the other candidates.

Of course, there were some personalities not on the stage but hovering over it: Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and possibly some others. Perry is getting in, which will change the dynamics of the race.

They all have some work to do before any of them face off with Barack Obama, who has been honing his BS routine for years. Unlike in 2008, he will have to run on his record, and it's an abysmal one. But he has become quite a master of spin and manipulation, and whoever faces him will have to be able to match him...with the truth, and with style married to conservative substance.

We'll see who emerges in the GOP race. It'll be a healthy competition. And as we watch the Republican candidates' learning curves, we should all remember that once upon a time, Barack Obama looked like a clueless twirp in his Democrat debates. In America, anything is possible.

The Five---TODAY!

I'll be co-hosting "The Five" at 5pm ET on the Fox News Channel today! Tons o' fun. Please tune in.

Heads Won't Roll

When the Iraq war started to go badly, President Bush got pounded in the press. He got attacked for not changing strategy fast enough and for keeping leaders too long who were held responsible for the mission going south so dramatically.

One week before the midterm elections in 2006, President Bush affirmed his support for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The day after the election, he accepted his resignation.

We are in the economic equivalent of the lowest point of the Iraq war. Things have gone south dramatically, even from their bad beginnings in the fall of 2008. We've got the multiple economic catastrophes of stubbornly high unemployment, a debt crisis and humiliating downgrade, non-existent economic growth, and deep stock market slides. Things are grim.

And yet, Obama hangs on to his failed strategy. He also hangs on to the one other person substantively and symbolically tied to the economic disaster: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Obama and the Left blistered Bush for clinging to a failed strategy and inept leaders. Where is their criticism now?

Tim Geithner: if you had any sense of shame and dignity, you'd tender your resignation.

And President Obama: if you had any sense of shame and dignity, you'd ask for it. And then you'd take it.

Kerry and Murray and Baucus, Oh My!

As part of the stinkbomb debt deal, Congress set up a so-called "Super Committee" to ostensibly do what the rest of the Congress won't or can't do: figure out another $1.5 trillion in spending cuts or face the axe of automatic, across the board cuts in defense and Medicare and ObamaCare. These cuts will be mythical, of course, just as the cuts are in the first wave of this deal.

The leadership of both parties in both houses of Congress get to appoint members to the Select Committee. Each party gets 6 representatives, and each house gets 6 members on the Committee. Yesterday, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went first with his appointments: John Kerry, Patty Murray, and Max Baucus.

If you were ever under the illusion that the Democrats are serious about spending cuts and deficit reduction, this list should disabuse you of that notion once and for all.

Reid selected a man who upon returning from Vietnam, proceeded to throw the US military under the bus to advance his political ambitions, lied about his military record, and just ludicrously called S & P's decision on our debt the "Tea Party downgrade."

Reid also selected a woman who first ran for the Senate as "a mom in tennis shoes" who has since been a reliably Far-Left vote for the Democrats.

And Reid selected another man who, at the tail end of the ObamaCare debacle, showed up on the Senate floor drunk. Slurring his words. Meandering around. Making no sense. Drunk.

Nice picks. Inspired choices.

Lest we forget the real reason all three were chosen by Reid: they're all major backers of tax hikes.

The Senate Democrats have shown us yet again that they are fundamentally unserious about the grave fiscal crisis facing the nation (never mind that they're going on 3 years without passing a budget).

Therefore, the Senate Republicans should show us how deadly serious THEY are about fixing the nation's debt crisis by appointing Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, and Jim DeMint.

And.....scene!

Liar, Liar, Downgrade on Fire

"Mr. President! Your country just got downgraded! What are you going to do next?"

"I'm going to two fundraisers!"

Obama's version of Disney World.

Last night, Obama was the star attraction at two fundraisers for his re-election. Why anyone would give the most economically destructive president in American history money to get re-elected is beyond me, but I digress.

As we ponder the humiliation of Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt for the first time in history, here's something to remember:

The two tools Obama, Tim Geithner, and the Democrats (and some Republicans too) used to scare everyone into a deal to raise the debt ceiling were the scary prospects of default and downgrade.

We now know that those were nothing more than fear tactics in order to get through this Frankenstein debt contraption.

First, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was on "Meet the Press" on Sunday and said this:

"The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default."

So as we were saying....there was never ANY chance of default. And by the way, where was Greenspan when this debate was happening? To quote Adam Sandler's character in "The Wedding Singer:" "It would have been nice to have this information YESTERDAY!"

Second, they freaked everybody out about the horrors of a potential downgrade if no deal was reached. So a deal was reached and we got downgraded anyway, and as we've seen, the stock market has been a horror show.

All of this means that either Obama and Geithner and others didn't know what they were talking about---OR if they understood Greenspan's point, then they were outright liars when they kept threatening default.

Downgraded America: yet another case of Obama lies, America dies. I think we may be up to Obama Lies, America Dies, Volume 48,972.