The Obama administration is on “spin overdrive” trying to downplay Iran’s seizure of two U.S. ships and ten sailors. Secretary of State John Kerry literally thanked the Iranians for their help. Vice President Joe Biden brushed off the incident, saying, “This was just standard nautical practice.”

Standard practice? Sorry, Joe, but we’re not that dumb.

The front page of [Thursday’s] Washington Post features outrageous photos, provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRG), of Barack Obama’s latest humiliation of America. See them here.

They show our sailors on their knees, hands behind their heads, as prisoners of the IRG. In another photo, the lone female sailor is seen wearing an Islamic headscarf. I’m fairly certain that is not standard issue in the U.S. Navy. Iran’s theocratic thugs forced her to demonstrate her submission by putting it on.

The chief of staff of the Iranian Army said [Wednesday] that the seizure of our patrol boats “should be a lesson to troublemakers in the U.S. Congress.” (The House of Representatives [Wednesday] voted to maintain certain sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard Corps.)

An Iranian admiral said that his missile forces had targeted the USS Harry Truman and that their communications with us made it clear that “the [Iranian] Navy has the first and the last word” in the Persian Gulf.

And Iranian state television broadcast what it said was a confession and apology from the commanding U.S. officer.

Does that sound like standard practice in a friendly rescue to you?

Human rights experts are pointing out that Iran’s behavior likely violated the Geneva Conventions regarding the treatment of captured military personnel. And even if there was mechanical trouble, the Iranians had no right to seize and detain our sailors.

Yet they did, and pointedly humiliated them. And the Obama administration says, “Thank you.”

WWRD — What Would Reagan Do?

Barack Obama is not the first president to run into trouble with the Iranians over free passage in the Persian Gulf. What would Ronald Reagan?

Well, we don’t have to guess. Ronald Reagan demonstrated how an American president should respond to such aggression after an American ship struck an Iranian mine on April 14, 1988.

Reagan said, “They must know that we will protect our ships, and if they threaten us, they will pay a price.” Indeed they did!

Reagan ordered Operation Praying Mantis, and within 24 hours the United States Navy had decimated Iran’s naval forces.

Poll Position

[Wednesday], the Des Moines Register, considered the gold standard of Iowa polling, released results from its most recent survey of likely Iowa caucus goers. Among Republicans, the poll found there are essentially two races taking place.

Ted Cruz (25%) and Donald Trump (22%) are battling it out for the top spot, while Marco Rubio (12%) and Ben Carson (11%) are fighting for third place. No other candidate received double digit support. In fact, the candidate closest to Dr. Carson registered at just 5%.

Among Democrats, there has been a surge of support for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. One month ago, Hillary Clinton led Sanders by nine points. Now they are essentially tied — 42% for Clinton to 40% for Sanders.

Haley Controversy Continues

I received a lot of feedback [Wednesday] regarding Gov. Nikki Haley’s State of the Union response. But a couple of readers asked whether I might have misconstrued her remarks.

Just to clear up any confusion, Haley did several interviews [Wednesday] in which she admitted that her comments about the “angriest” and “loudest” voices were directed at Donald Trump, among others. Even the the Obama White House applauded Haley.

As Rush Limbaugh, I and others pointed out [Wednesday], Americans have every right to be upset and angry given what is being done to “fundamentally transform” our country into something more like a multi-cultural socialist playground rather than a shining city on a hill. Our cultural and political elites should stop attacking the anger and angst Middle America feels and start attacking the causes of their discontent!