More Bad News For Obama 

This afternoon President Obama delivered yet another major address on the economy. According to one top White House advisor, today's speech was just the beginning of "a series of speeches" Obama will deliver over the next few weeks. 

Why now? Some reports indicate that the White House is hoping it can frame the agenda for upcoming budget fights. Congress is getting ready to head out of town for its August recess. And with top congressional leaders gone, Obama can dominate the headlines. But based on the latest polling data, it appears as if Obama is really in damage control mode. 

Yesterday, we reported the latest Marist poll that found Obama's approval rating at a post-reelection low -- just 41%, and another poll that found many Democrats have turned against Obamacare. The news isn't any better today. For example: 
 

• According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, only 29% of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction. 
   
• While Mr. Obama is trying to take credit for an improving economy, Americans aren't buying it. Just 31% believe the economy is likely to improve next year. 
   
• Only 34% said they believed Obamacare is a good idea. Anyone who thinks Obamacare is a good idea should talk to part-time workers in Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and communities across the country where hours and paychecks are getting slashed thanks to the new law. 
   
• Asked whether they wanted Obama or Congress to take the lead in setting policy for the country, 38% said Obama, while 48% said Congress. That's an interesting finding because the liberal media constantly tries to inflate Obama's standing by noting that he's so much more popular than Congress. Yet the American people would still prefer Congress set the agenda rather than Obama!

In other news, Obama's program to aid struggling homeowners is a failure. According to a new report, nearly half of the mortgages modified under Obama's 2009 program are in default again. And taxpayers are still losing billions on Obama's bailout of "Government Motors." 

Chaplains Must Be Religious 

Here's a sign of the confused times in which we live: The House of Representatives voted last night, largely along party lines, to prevent the Department of Defense from hiring atheist chaplains. 

This amendment became necessary after a liberal congressman proposed legislation in June authorizing the Pentagon to hire individuals who are "certified or ordained as secular humanists and ethical culturists or atheists" as chaplains. 

You learn something new every day. I did not realize one could become an ordained atheist! 

Summing up the frustration of many Americans, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) said the following in response to the left's repeated assaults on religious liberty:
 

• "My constituents back in Oklahoma are shaking their heads. The secular left is so invested in ripping God from everything that I must stand here … to prohibit Obama's Department of Defense from establishing an oxymoron -- atheist chaplains. Why does the secular left insist on ruining the integrity of the chaplaincy to serve their agenda of institutionalized godlessness?"

Rep. Bridenstine is right. This is where the left's "war on faith" has taken us. Congress is now debating atheist chaplains. It seems ludicrous. That a chaplain should be religious goes without saying. But then again, our Supreme Court just ruled that men can "marry" other men too. 

Sadly, this isn't over. The assault on religious liberty in the military has gotten so bad that a number of groups, including American Values, have formed a coalition to defend the religious freedom of our men and women in uniform. 

Once again, I implore pastors and men and women of faith to get involved in the public policy process. The culture war is very real and our religious liberty is at stake. 

A Disgraceful Campaign 

Mark your calendars, friends. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have agreed with the editorial page of the New York Times. But to my pleasant surprise, today is one of those days. 

The New York Times is calling for Anthony Weiner to drop out of the mayoral race. His campaign is a disgrace and I have little doubt that should he be elected mayor of New York City, he would only disgrace the office and betray the public's trust yet again. 

Mr. Weiner warned us when he resigned from Congress in disgrace over a "sexting" scandal that more pictures and messages would likely emerge. And they have. 

But no one expected, now that he is running for mayor, that these new messages would be unrelated to those that forced him from Congress. Sadly, that is precisely the case. Weiner's "I warned you" defense is no defense at all. By the way, it has been reported that the young lady Weiner was most recently "sexting" was a field organizer for Obama for America. 

Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, appeared with him yesterday to assure everyone that this public humiliation doesn't change her opinion of her husband and that he is deserving of our votes. My heart goes out to her. 

But I wonder if she understands how much she is hurting the cause of women. Like Hillary Clinton, who repeatedly tolerated her husband's continued humiliation of her with his exploitation of other women, Huma has apparently decided that the prospect of political power trumps the abuse she is taking. 

I remember when the feminist left went ballistic in the 60s when Tammy Wynette released the popular song "Stand By Your Man." But feminist left-wing women in politics apparently are willing to be doormats for their men. A "war on women," anyone?