Did Tehran Terrorize U.S. Sailors?

The Obama Administration's deception in selling the nuclear deal with Iran was the subject of a hearing on Capitol Hill this morning.

The White House refused to allow Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes to testify about his role in manipulating the media. Rhodes can talk to the New York Times Magazine but not members of Congress?

Now some senators are demanding that Rhodes be fired.

There is clearly a lot more about this deal that the Obama White House isn't telling us.

Rep. Randy Forbes, a leading member of the House Armed Services Committee, says the Obama Administration is hiding shocking details about what happened to the U.S. sailors Iran seized several weeks ago.

"I've had a full classified briefing," Forbes said. "I think that when the details actually come out . . . that's going to be a huge cause for concern for most Americans. That's why I've encouraged members of Congress to get that briefing so they do know exactly what did take place."

Forbes added, "I think clearly there were violations of international and maritime law that took place here. We [the United States] did almost nothing in response. In fact, to have Secretary Kerry actually thank them for releasing our sailors after the way they captured them, I think was a slap in the sailors' face."

Why is the administration refusing to release these details? The sailors know what happened to them. The Iranians know what they did to them. Why are the American people the only ones being kept in the dark?

Of course, I know the answer. Obama doesn't want an outraged American public to torpedo his daily appeasement of Iran.

If Obama's policies are so brilliant and so good for the country, why does he find it necessary to continually deceive us about one policy after another and another?

Parents Oppose Open Bathrooms

When Obama isn't pushing for open borders, he's pushing for open bathrooms. Not surprisingly, the parents of America aren't on board with the notion that children in the public schools can choose their gender and whatever bathroom or locker room they want to use.

A new Rasmussen poll finds that 55% of parents with school aged children oppose Obama's latest edict allowing boys in girls' bathrooms, while just 32% support it.

Poll Predicts A Close Contest

I am not going to comment on polls every day because there will be new polls coming out constantly from now until November 8th.

But there is a new NBC News poll out today that blows a hole in the media narrative that the 2016 election is likely to be a landslide for the left. The results suggest, as of now, a very tight race.

When asked whom they would vote for if the election were held today, 48% of registered voters chose Hillary Clinton, while 45% said they would vote for Donald Trump. Notice no one has a majority, and Clinton's lead is just three points, down from five points last week. In short, it looks like a toss-up.

Here are some other takeaways from the results:
 

• Trump has a gender gap. Clinton is beating Trump by 15 points among female voters. But Clinton has a gender gap, too. Trump is beating Clinton by 11 points among men.
   
• Clinton is getting a huge percentage of the black vote -- 84%. But that's down significantly compared to the 93% that Obama won four years ago. Meanwhile, Trump is getting 9% of the black vote, significantly better than the 6% Mitt Romney won and the 4% that John McCain won.
   
• Trump continues the GOP pattern of performing poorly with Hispanic voters, but his percentage (28%) is no worse than Romney's (27%). Meanwhile, Clinton has a problem with white voters -- she's losing them 53% to 39%.
   
• Some pundits suggest that Trump is not appealing to independent voters. But according to this poll, "independents break for Trump 44 percent to 36 percent."
   
• And what of the much-hyped divide within the GOP? According to the NBC poll, Democrats split 87%-to-8% for Clinton, while Republicans break 87%-to-7% for Trump.

  Rebranding The Party?

  Here's an item from the NBC poll that is going to cause a lot of indigestion among Republican officials inside the Washington Beltway. As you know, Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan recently held the first in a series of meetings to find common ground on conservative principles. They have quite different views on a number of issues. For example:
   

• Ryan is a big supporter of multi-national trade deals. Trump based a big part of his campaign on the idea that bad trade deals are destroying America's working class.
   
• Ryan believes the country is ready for "an adult conversation" on reforming entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. Trump says he is opposed to benefit cuts that fall on the middle class.
   
• Ryan is an advocate of more immigration. Trump has advocated a time out for immigration and wants to build a wall to stop illegal immigration.

  Speaker Ryan and others argue that Trump is out of step with the GOP view on these issues. But there is growing evidence that indicates the grassroots is closer to Trump's views than Ryan's.

  The poll asked Republicans, "Who do you trust more to lead the Republican Party?" Fifty-eight percent of respondents said Trump, while 39% said Ryan.

  A recent Rasmussen poll found similar results: 47% of Republicans said the party should be "more like Trump," while 32% said it should be "more like Ryan."