What we heard the other day has turned out to be true. While the Obamas were on their 10-day vacation, the Oval Office was redecorated to suit President Obama’s taste:

NYT – THE CAUCUS: The Oval Office has gotten a makeover.

When President Obama addresses the nation on Iraq on Tuesday night, he will do so from newly redecorated digs. The look, which includes new and reupholstered furniture and new paint and wallpaper, is more modern and tends toward neutral hues of brown and taupe, rather than the gold and yellow tones favored by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Gone is the sunburst rug that Mr. Bush loved so much; designed by his wife, Laura, he used to say it evoked a spirit of optimism. In its place is a more muted, mostly wheat and cream-colored carpet featuring the presidential seal in the center, and ringed on its edge with five quotations selected by Mr. Obama – four from former presidents (Lincoln, Kennedy and both Roosevelts) and one from the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. . . .

The makeover was not done at taxpayer expense; the White House said the costs were covered by the White House Historical Association, a nonprofit group, through a contribution from the committee that paid for Mr. Obama’s inauguration. The White House is not saying how much the redesign cost, except to say that it was ‘’in line with’’ what Mr. Obama’s two most recent predecessors spent. The rug was made and donated by the Scott Group, a carpet maker headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., that had made the rug designed for President Bill Clinton, the White House said.

But given the hard economic times facing the nation, Mr. Obama is bound to face questions about the redo. . . . . .

These are the quotations the president chose for his rug:

* “The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

* “The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, But It Bends Towards Justice” – Martin Luther King Jr.

* “Government of the People, By the People, For the People” – President Abraham Lincoln

* “No Problem of Human Destiny Is Beyond Human Beings” – President John F. Kennedy

* “The Welfare of Each of Us Is Dependent Fundamentally Upon the Welfare of All of Us” – President Theodore Roosevelt . . . . . . . Read More

And the Left is always saying it is people on the Right who are likely to be violent.

Fox News is reporting that Leftist actor John Cusack is wishing a “Satanic Death Cult” on Fox News, Dick Armey, and Newt Gingrich in a tweet he reportedly sent out:

FOX NEWS: Actor John Cusack went on a caustic Twitter rampage Sunday evening, attacking former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Fox News.

“I AM FOR A SATANIC DEATH CULT CENTER AT FOX NEWS HQ AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICES ORDICK ARMEYAND NEWT GINGRICH-and all the GOP WELFARE FREAKS,” Cusack tweeted.

Cusack has long been outspoken about politics. He supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election and has contributed to The Huffington Post, but this is the first known time he has stooped to the level of making threats. . . . . Read More

Here is video of Bill O’Reilly going back and forth with Rev. Al Sharpton on the Glenn Beck “Restoring Honor” Rally.

Sharpton held a rival rally on Saturday, which O’Reilly pointed out only drew several thousand people as compared to Beck’s hundreds of thousands. Sharpton actually claimed they were not trying to draw a big crowd. “We now how to do a big rally,” Sharpton said, pointing to his participation in the “Million Man March.”

O’Reilly also put Sharpton on the spot for telling his crowd “they are trying to disgrace our day.” He asked, “What does that mean?” Sharpton claims he was trying to “preempt violence,” to warn his people to not let the Beck Rally Crowd “provoke” them.

To that, O’Reilly said incredulously, “I’m supposed to buy that?”

The bottom line is that the Beck Rally was a huge success, and greatly disappointed the Left, who were hoping it would produce all kinds of video and photos that could be used against conservatives. Instead, it showed the very best of America, and displayed Americans who love and are proud of their country.

Here is video of Bill O’Reilly reviewing Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” Rally, which he said was a “huge victory for Glenn Beck.”

After giving his commentary on the rally, O’Reilly talked with Glenn Beck about the incredible weekend.

O’Reilly said critics like Howard Dean should be “ashamed of himself” for his attacks on Beck. At the end, Bill told Glenn Beck he does not think there is another person in America who could have brought that many people together.

Once again, President Obama has refused to talk with Texas Gov. Rick Perry about the issue of “border security.” Gov. Perry requested to meet with Obama on the issue while Obama is in Texas today, and an aide said the Governor “has been denied a meeting” with President Obama:

FOX NEWS: A governor’s spokeswoman says Gov. Rick Perry has been denied a meeting with President Obama when the president visits Fort Bliss on Tuesday.

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger says the Republican governor had asked to meet with the president on Tuesday to discuss border security. Cesinger said Monday that White House aides said the president would not be available for such a meeting.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening. . . . . Read More

Alaska will begin counting absentee ballots today in the GOP U.S. Senate Primary race between Joe Miller and incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Miller shocked the political world by leading Murkowski by over 1,500 votes at the end of election night. Now, the outcome depends on the count from more than 25,000 ballots yet to be counted. Over 15,000 of those ballots are absentee ballots, and another 9,000+ are “questioned” ballots that have to be reviewed. It could be mid-September before the outcome is known:

THE FIX: A week after primary day, the Alaska Republican Senate primary between attorney Joe Miller and Sen. Lisa Murkowski is starting up again Tuesday as state election officials begin the process of tallying the remaining uncounted ballots in the race.

The total number of ballots that remain uncounted stands at 25,500, according to an official tally provided to CNN. Of those, 15,720 are absentee ballots, 9,117 are “questioned” ballots and 663 are early votes. Not all of the uncounted ballots were cast in the Republican primary, and more absentee ballots are expected to arrive by mail in the coming days. Miller currently leads Murkowski by 1,668 votes.

It’s unclear whether the absentee ballots will favor either candidate. Miller, a military vet and West Point graduate, has said he expects to do well in the absentee count, which contains ballots from military and overseas voters. He said Monday that his campaign did have a program to target absentee voters.

Murkowski led Miller among early voters, however, taking 54.1 percent of early ballots cast compared to Miller’s 45.9 percent, according to the Juneau Empire. That bodes well for her, although the number of early ballots remaining is relatively small. (The 663 included in the uncounted ballot count are early ballots that were received on Election Day.)

On Tuesday, the state Division of Elections plans to count about 15,000 of the uncounted ballots, including the remaining early votes, absentee ballots and some questioned ballots, according to MSNBC’s “First Read.” Tuesday’s count will be followed by two more on Sept. 3 and Sept. 8, and the final tally may not be certified until mid-September. By an estimate provided to MSNBC, Murkowski may need to win as much as 55 percent of the uncounted vote to overtake Miller. . . . . Read More

Classic Fred! An absolutely true statement. Remember that as you listen to President Obama use the word “I” over and over again tomorrow night.

Via Fred Thompson on Twitter