Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/770061
It'sclearPresidentObama—despitetheboos from Flyover Country — doesn't plan to get off the national stage any time soon. Unlike most former presidents, he's not going to leave Washington next month and quietly live out the rest of his days in one of the many hoods he grew up in. Hecouldbuyabighomein beautiful Hawaii, where the golf season never ends and Wash- ington is 4,700 miles away. Or at least move back to Chicago. That's where he made his political bones, where he worked and taught law, and where he became the great candidate of hope and change. Sure, Chicago's war-torn streets are mean and deadly with gunfire. But since Obama and his family will get lifetime protection from the Secret Service, there'll al- ways be half a dozen agents around to cover them when- ever they have to go out to the corner store for a carton of milk. Unfortunately, President Obama and his ego are not go- ing anywhere, at least not un- til his youngest daughter fin- ishes school. He'll stay in Wash- ington, close to his friends in the mainstream media, where he can be the always avail- able commander in chief of the Democrats' raggedy Trump Re- sistance Movement. Obama is already rehearsing his new role as America's Other President. Recently he made headlines by boasting he could have beaten Donald Trump and been reelected to a third term by running again on his mes- sage of hope and change. Too bad the Constitution got in the way. But Obama's big ego can't be limited by the Constitu- tion — or reality. He still doesn't get it: Trump's victory was not just a punishing defeat of Hillary Clinton and her bad political ideas. A majority of voters in states not called New York and California clearly didn't want another four years of Obama or his amateur act. In 1988, when George H.W. Bush was elected, he was effec- tively serving Ronald Reagan's third term. Bush took advan- tage of the successes my father had in the 1980s. Hillary was her own worst enemy, but she lost in large part because of Obama's eight years of failure. Everything President Obama touched at home and abroad he left in wreckage. During his reign the Demo- crat Party shriveled in power in Washington and lost more than a thousand legislative seats in state capitals across the coun- try. The alleged Obama eco- nomic recovery was so feeble it's nearly invisible. Except for the oil and gas fracking booms in Texas and Pennsylvania, which happened in spite of the Obama admin- istration's green energy poli- cies, does anyone know a place where the American economy is prospering? The wealthy counties around Washington, D.C. — made rich by budget-busting spending spree of Obama's federal gov- ernment — don't count. Obama's long string of for- eign policy fiascos is even more shameful — Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Syria. His legacies are ISIS and his Iran nuke deal, which is a ticking time bomb that a fu- ture president will have to stop. Meanwhile, before he leaves office, Obama is still causing as much trouble as he can. He's not merely doing the usual innocentthings — creat- ing a few new national mon- uments out West or pardon- ing a few hundred nonviolent drug offenders. The future ex-president is still playing games with Vladi- mir Putin over Russian's alleged interference in the presidential election and playing with fire in the Middle East. He and his hacks at the State Department have been caught orchestrating a United Nations resolution condemning Israel's plans to build new settlements in East Jerusalem. Not vetoing the anti-Israel vote in the UN was a public bitch-slapping of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a petty American president. Netanyahu is lucky. He won't have to wait long for his pal Donald to kiss and make up with him and begin treat- ing his country like the valued friend it is. But President Trump and the rest of us will be dealing with all the messes "Third Term" Obama has made for a long time. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). Send comments to Reagan@ caglecartoons.com. Follow @ reaganworld on Twitter. MichaelReagan Cleaning up a er 'third term' Obama Cartoonist's take It was cold outside, and the cats were huddled together in a tight group while they con- ducted a meet- ing in the fenced maintenance yard near the house. They felt secure therein. I unlatched the gate and entered. Noting that I was the only intruder, they continued their discus- sion only to be interrupted oc- casionally with their impulsive tongue washing of body parts. Pretty Foot was leading the discussion as usual. She was the oldest of the feral cats that had slowly invaded the ranch over the last 10 years, and was the only semi-domesticated one of the bunch She would allow me to stroke her back from time to time, but the rest of the "Meox Mix" crew kept just out of reach. After all, they were feral — i.e., wild. They were born somewhere in Antelope Valley where they managed to sur- vive on mice and gophers un- til they either departed this world from the hardship of outdoor living, or just lucked out and found a barn or house that would tolerate their standoffishness. Pretty Foot said, "We need to enforce our resolve to ei- ther stay on the ranch and be appreciated for our feline charm and grace, and yet be free from harassment by that big ugly dog called "Jazz." Her Aunt Agnes nodded in ap- proval and a few of the other cats applauded softly although applauding with padded hands is always softly. Pretty Foot continued, "However, not gaining that as- surance, we will be forced to seek shelter elsewhere with the result that this place will be overrun by vermin very quickly." Pretty Foot looked up at me expecting an answer as the rest of the group followed her expectant gaze. "You understand, madam," I said, "It is the nature of dogs to chase cats." "Not any longer," said Pretty Foot. "We are entering a new age of détente and cooper- ation. We have a new Presi- dent and he has promised an enlightenment and prosper- ity for the have-nots of this country. I believe that includes those of the feline persuasion. I even hear he is proposing a Miss Universe Cat contest. Maybe he is just a big pussycat at heart after all." "I doubt that," I countered. "However, I hear that his bark is worse than his bite." The clowder, that's their col- lective noun, of cats digested my remarks, and then ex- ploded with laughter. ••• I think Daily News read- ers will never see, a front page Daily News memorial tribute to me, as equal that written by Julie Zeeb Wednesday regard- ing the late Tomasina Ramos, the "dog lady." Tomasina was not beautiful, never held public office and scraped out a living for herself and her dogs by dumpster div- ing plus the occasional gener- osity of her friends. Her presence on the streets of our fair city will be greatly missed. Footnote: I asked in my Passing Parade column last week whatever happened to her dogs? A reliable source re- ports that Tomasina, in the hospital and prescient of her last days on earth, asked that her remaining dogs be put down by a veterinarian. As sad as this denouement may be, her dogs would have been lost without her. ••• If there is a more candid, yet more naive, columnist than Stan Statham, I will eat my SF Giants cap. The twice- married former state con- gressman demonstrates a sur- prising lack of common sense by discussing his possible di- vorce from his second wife in the pages of the Red Bluff Daily News. I might contribute to a fund drive to hire him a psy- chiatrist before his inevitable break down. Tsk, tsk. ••• I note, in my old columns, as far back as 2005, I was pleading for a Poetry Corner but to no avail. The editor at the time repeated the axiom that more people write po- etry than read it. That may be, but good stuff, like that of the estimable Ogden Nash, sug- gest some poetry could give the Daily News a little class. Such as: "The turtle lives twixt plated decks, which practi- cally conceal its sex. I think it very clever of the tur- tle, in such a fix to be so fertile." Or some home grown verse: "I think that I shall never see, a dog as pretty as a tree. But what the two have in common, hark. It is their bark." ••• Also, in the same 2005 col- umn I wrote, "Maybe some day I will publish excerpts from the story I wrote for Meat Industry Magazine years ago. It might make for inter- esting reading but then could be unsettling to revisit." Well, I did write the book and called it "The Knocking Pen." As recently reported, I just had a third printing of same for a few folks who had inquired about it and still have a few copies left. ••• For those who might think Jean Barton and I are get- ting a little long in the tooth for writing columns, they may not recall the late great Syd- ney Lindauer's "The Farm- er's Wife" columns in this very newspaper years ago. She died in her typewriter traces at 95. Prior to her demise, we had lunch at the Peking Restau- rant and we agreed on quite a few things such as philosophy and organized religion. ••• On the sixth day, God turned to the angel Gabriel and an- nounced he was creating a land to be called Canada and it would be filled with all manner of natural beauty, it will be rich in oil, and the inhabitants shall prosper. Gabriel replied, "Aren't you being overly generous to these people?" And the Lord answered, "You haven't seen the neigh- bors I'm giving them." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@ hotmail.com. I say Cats ponder life under barnyard Obama's long string of foreign policy fiascos is even more shameful — Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Syria. His legacies are ISIS and his Iran nuke deal, which is a ticking time bomb that a future president will have to stop. Sounding off Alookatwhatreadersaresayingincommentsonourwebsiteandonsocialmedia. RIPsweetlady.Ialwaysadmiredyoufor the love and care you gave your dogs. You'll always be remembered. Lois Neely: On the recent passing of Tomasina (Ramos) Moreno-Rivera. Our local ag families are appreciated and valued. D'Lorah Hurton: On the upcoming Winter Dinner and Ag Scholarship fundraiser Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Robert Minch StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator. nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558-3160, governor@governor. ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393- 0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Kamala Harris P.O.Box 78393 San Francisco CA 94107-8393, (213) 221-1269 info@kamalaharris.org Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Rich- ard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, Kris- tina Miller, 824-7033 Your officials By Michael Reagan OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, January 6, 2017 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4