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Joseph Curl

Joseph Curl

jcurl@washingtontimes.com

Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.

Columns by Joseph Curl

** FILE ** President Obama dances onstage with members of the cast including Santa, Joshua Bell, Renee Fleming, Mariah Carey, in white, and actress Jane Lynch at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony across from the White House in Washington, Dec. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

CURL: Christmas comes early to D.C.; New Year’s hangover to follow

With Santa Claus coming to town in just two weeks, the holiday spirit has swept over the nation's capital. Democrats and Republicans met under the mistletoe to strike a rare accord on a federal budget, the first bipartisan pact to come out of a divided Congress since 1986. The Obama administration concluded its bailout of General Motors, saving a private company from bankruptcy by buying a 60 percent stake.

December 11, 2013
President Barack Obama talks with MSNBC's Chris Matthews during a break in the taping of an interview for the "Hardball with Chris Matthews" show, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, at American University in Washington. The show will are later Thursday. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

CURL: Obama tells a whopper on IRS scandal

Fact: The IRS targeted conservative and tea party groups requesting tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election. That's a fact. But President Obama, in an interview last week with sycophant Chris Matthews, now says the entire scandal was made up by the media.

December 8, 2013
President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about the new health care law during a White House Youth Summit, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

CURL: ‘Mission Accomplished’ for Obamacare

The Obama administration this week rolled out its revamped Obamacare website, and right away, traffic picked up — the site was able to handle a whopping 50,000 at the same time (about .00000000001 percent of what Amazon or Google can handle during this holiday season, but not bad for government work).

December 4, 2013
President Obama (right) is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon the president's arrival at Atlantic City International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, near Atlantic City, N.J. Mr. Obama traveled to the region to take an aerial tour of the New Jersey coastline damaged by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

CURL: Chris Christie rising, Barack Obama falling

With America's mainstream media taking the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, the nation's lonely and underworked pollsters stepped up to feed the beast. Not surprisingly, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was a big winner, even if the 2016 election is three years away.

December 1, 2013
President Barack Obama speaks about the government shutdown and debt ceiling during a visit to to M. Luis Construction, which specializes in asphalt manufacturing, concrete paving, and roadway reconstruction, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, in Rockville, Md. President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats are mocking Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. for saying Republicans should get something from the budget standoff — but he doesn't know what that is. . (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

CURL: Media ignores Democratic infighting, abandonment of Obama

One story the mainstream media just loves: Republicans at war. The party's splintered to shreds, torn beyond repair, rended in two, broken asunder. They write it week after week. The House speaker loses a vote, boom, the Republican Party is ruptured. But guess what story they never write?

November 24, 2013
United States President Barack Obama, center, watches the action while sitting behind his brother-in-law, Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, front left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in College Park, Md., Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

CURL: The beginning of the end for Barack Obama

Second-term presidents in the past 30 years have had some pretty embarrassing news conferences, full of frank admissions of failure, submissive spasms of shame and groveling, grieving apologies.

November 17, 2013
Terry McAuliffe (left) makes nice with rival Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II after their final governor's debate Thursday at Virginia Tech. (associated press)

CURL: Virginia voters: Time for something futile and stupid

On Nov. 5, Virginia will hold its Tuesday Night Football game. Might be on Spike. Check your TV listings. Why the Land of Presidents holds its gubernatorial elections in off years — no presidential or congressional races on the ballot — is anyone's guess. Maybe state lawmakers want to see just how few voters will go to the polls.

November 3, 2013
First, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius went to a gala in Boston instead of testifying about the Healthcare.gov rollout debacle. Then she went to Phoenix to assure America that she was working "24/7" to get her $634 million website up and running. (Associated Press)

CURL: Step 1: Fire Kathleen Sebelius

Imagine you're on a jet, flying to Los Angeles. You look out the window to see the engine on fire. In full panic, you see the pilot pulling on a parachute. "Sorry folks, not my problem," he says, and leaps out the door. That's Kathleen Sebelius.

October 27, 2013
Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, gets a hug by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a campaign rally, Women for Terry, at the State Theater in Falls Church, Va. on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. Clinton formally endorsed her family friend's bid for Virginia governor, marking her first public campaign event since departing the State Department in February. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

CURL: Anatomy of Ken Cuccinelli’s losing campaign in Virginia

The more he spoke, the more he seemed surprised by his lack of success in a state that is still more red than purple, despite two wins by Barack Obama. And he seemed shocked by the mendacious campaign of his opponent — absolutely shocked.

October 20, 2013
** FILE ** This combination of photographs shows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio as they leave the White House separately in Washington, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, after a closed-door meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to negotiate the framework for a deal on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CURL: Throw the &#$@%* bums out

Let's say you run a widget factory. You've got two shipping foremen — Mr. Red and Mr. Blue. One handles East Coast orders; the other, West Coast orders. You pay them a lot — a lot. But they're worth it. They get the job done. Until they can't.

October 13, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama signs the health care bill at the White House in Washington on March 23, 2010, flanked by smiling supporters from the House and Senate as well as Victoria Reggie Kennedy (behind Mr. Obama's right shoulder), widow of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was a champion of the legislation. (Associated Press)

CURL: Welcome to Obamacare — fax us your money!

On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed the non-ironically named Affordable Care Act. That was 915 days ago. From the moment the last of the 22 pens he used to sign the bill into law left the parchment, the federal government has been gearing up — and, of course, collecting cash — for Day One, non-ironically set 915 days in the future, Oct. 1, 2013.

September 29, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama delivers remarks about the ongoing situation in Syria in the Rose Garden of the White House on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, in Washington. Mr. Obama said that he has decided the United States should take military action against Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack but that he will seek congressional authorization for the use of force. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CURL: The president thinks you’re stupid (and so do ) …

... the vice president, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, everyone in Congress (even the dumbest guy there, Al Franken), the Supreme Court, the Washington media — enough, you get the picture, right? You're Stupid.

September 8, 2013