Cheney: Obama Looks Weak

Obama defends record, says he's accomplished 70% of goals

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama is keenly aware that liberals think he hasn’t done enough in office—but he thinks they’re being pessimists. “I keep in my pocket a checklist of the promises I made during the campaign,” he tells Rolling Stone . “We've probably accomplished 70%.” Does he still want to work on things like climate change? Sure. “I’ve been here two years, guys,” he says. More»

(NEWSER) - Often compared to Spock, President Obama recently took time out to see the new Star Trek blockbuster—and liked it. “Star Trek was ahead of its time,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with Newsweek. Turning to Dick Cheney, Obama said the VP's arguments for torture and unilateral action eventually lost ground inside the GOP. "So it's interesting" to see Cheney "trying to vindicate himself and relitigate the last eight years." More»

In lengthy interview, Iranian Prez gives his opinions on Obama, Iraq, Europe

(NEWSER) - The diminutive leader of Iran has a big ego and is a big talker: in a lengthy interview with Der Spiegel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talked a lot—about his feelings for President Obama, his beef with Iraq, and other international issues—but in the end, avoided answering many of the reporter's questions. He did manage to take some shots at the US and the UN and reiterate his resistance to iran's halting work with nuclear materials. Among the high points: More»

Even a majority of Republicans back the withdrawal

(NEWSER) - Americans overwhelmingly President Obama's plan to pull out of Afghanistan says a new Gallup Poll , with 72% in favor and only 23% opposed. For Democrats, that rises to 87%, but even Republicans support it, with 50% for it versus 43% opposed. More specifically, Obama's plan to withdraw 30,000 troops over the next 15 months was called "just right" by 43% of respondents, with 19% thinking that number was too high and 29% thinking it was too low. More»

Troop withdrawal could lead to instability, some fear

(NEWSER) - Political leaders in Afghanistan are concerned that President Obama's decision to start withdrawing US forces could lead to a repeat of the US withdrawal in 1989, when Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was allowed to gain major influence. "We don't want to go back 20 years when [ISI was] making the decisions about Afghanistan," one mayor tells the Wall Street Journal . Adding to the concern is the fact that billions of dollars in aid cuts will likely accompany the withdrawal, Reuters reports. For his part, Afghan President Hamid Karzai appeared supportive of Obama's speech. More»