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Meanwhile, about Mr. Obama: while it's probably in his short-term political interests to forgive and forget, next week he's going to swear to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." That's not a conditional oath to be honored only when it's convenient. And to protect and defend the Constitution, a president must do more than obey the Constitution himself; he must hold those who violate the Constitution accountable. So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime. Consequences aside, that's not a decision he has the right to make.
And to protect and defend the Constitution, a president must do more than obey the Constitution himself; he must hold those who violate the Constitution accountable. So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime. Consequences aside, that's not a decision he has the right to make.
When it ended I recall thinking oh boy we're screwed now. So much for justice.
Basically the past 8 years was . . Revenge of The Iran Contra Gang . . Parent
This pardon infuriated Lawrence Walsh, the Iran Contra independent counsel (a respected Republican) because it cemented the coverup, which would have surely implicated Bush. According to Walsh, he had learned that Bush had also failed to turn over his own contemporaneous notes of the Iran Contra meetings,(which according to Bush he had never attended, being "out of the loop"). Walsh's book, "Firewall, the Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Coverup" is quite an eye opener.
Compare the lack of outrage about this pardon to the uproar over the pardon of Marc Rich, which Clinton did after being lobbied by the Israelis who he was pressuring to agree to a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Ah, yes, our mainstream media has a liberal bias. If only. Parent
The report cited the interrogation of foreign detainees, warrantless wiretaps, retribution against critics, manipulation of intelligence and the fired prosecutors.
Pelosi stated vague support for investigating the firing of federal prosecutors. However she pleaded ignorance on the specifics of the recommendation for a national security investigation. Imo, most likely, because House Democrats were complicit in the matter.
Barack Obama has been more cautious. He has said he believes there is a need to look forward as opposed to looking backward.
As POTUS, Obama needs to develop as much back-bone as Pelosi; and more, if he wishes to remain upright. Parent
I was looking for a bathroom scale. I did not run all over town checking every store, but in one single store, every scale from super cheap to loaded was Made In China. If I had really wanted to avoid MIC, I probably would have had to go online to see if anyone still made that product domestically. Parent
"... To renew America, we must be bold. We must do what no generation has had to do before. We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt. And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity.
It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake. We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children. ..."
Sound familiar? Yup. Bill Clinton. '93. (I saw the excerpt on C-SPAN middle of the night!) It's a good day when RonK (who posted this last Sunday), BTD and I are all calling for the same thing, bold action from Obama.
" Pelosi and Obama appear to be on the same page when it comes to entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. Obama announced last week that he would convene a "fiscal responsibility summit" in February to focus on long-term problems with the economy and the skyrocketing costs of benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
"I support what he wants to do, to have a summit of that kind," Pelosi said Sunday. "We will have our own initiatives in the Congress to work with him on that."
Pelosi said everything should be on the table, including benefit cuts.
"The only thing we didn't want to put on the table is eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," she said."
When Bush wanted to privatize SS I remember Pelosi and the rest of the Dems making the point constantly that SS is not in danger. We have years to go before we dip into the reserves. And, we have reserves because we have been paying double since the '80s. That's right, the baby boomers agreed to raise the FICA withholding so there would be enough money when we retired.
And the Medicare and Medicaid problems could be resolved with single-payer UHC.
WTF are Nancy and Barack doing here?
If Obama wants to bargain let him do it with the bank bailout funds. Hold down that deficit by not giving B of A tons of taxpayer money to cover for Ken Lewis' malfeasance.
Bargaining with the vulnerable is despicable. Parent
Around noon Xernona Clayton, a friend of the King family, walked in with a birthday cake. She teased Dr. King, saying that he was "so busy you forgot to celebrate your own birthday." Slightly embarrassed, Dr. King blew out the candles. We must have eaten the cake in record time because it seemed that within moments the plates were cleared and we were back in our meeting -- with Al Lowenstein conducting a workshop about the march and how to step up pressure to end the Vietnam War. That's the model we should follow this week -- and beyond. We should celebrate the election of our new president. And then we should get back to work to complete the unfinished business of making America a more perfect union.
That's the model we should follow this week -- and beyond. We should celebrate the election of our new president. And then we should get back to work to complete the unfinished business of making America a more perfect union.
Commenters may not accuse others of being racist.
Please address arguments and views expressed civilly and don't personally attack commenters. Parent
Paterson can take care of himself and NYers.
And as far as what organization I was referring to. Well considering that CC is not a NYer and complains that poor Paterson is being bullied by outside intervention namely her Kennedy machine, I posit that her organization is even more outside than Ted Kennedy's machine could ever be. If in fact Ted is lobbying for Caroline it has more to do with NYers getting their fair share than disgruntled Hillary supporters looking to settle scores.
What organization? from the NYT article I linked to above:
"Those women are elated with her appointment to the Department of State, but they still feel quite bruised by the political process over the last year,"
I'm not going to get too upset no matter who he picks if it's a hard working person who will be a fighter for all of us. I don't live in NY, but look at who represents me. Not the Senators I have. I can't vote in NY, but I care who your Senator is because his or her vote counts on issues I care about just as much as the votes of the crappy Senators who represent me.
As a woman who worked hard in a corporate atmosphere and got where I did on my merits, I would like to see someone who has worked their way into a position where they should be considered for a position like this one. I know CK has done a lot for education, etc., but it does kind of give me the same vibes I had when the CEO's daughter got a highly paid job at my company with very little experience. Or his son who rose from gofer to Executive VP in five years. Those kind of things bother me. And I think there must be many women (and men) like me who have seen this situation in our own environments even if it might be unfair to CK to judge her on our experiences.
The last two polls I saw of New Yorker's shows that many of them don't feel she is the right choice. It's not just the "outsiders" or Hillary supporters who feel this way. Shoot, on Daily Kos, some of Obama's biggest, earliest supporters don't want her to be chosen. It's not just disgruntled Hillary supporters and you always bring it back to that. Parent
Some here have hated the Kennedy's ever since he/they endorsed Obama. It is clear that many here, namely Cream City, are continuing a vendetta against Caroline Kennedy and her so called machine. To toss out one of our best senators because he endorsed Obama is about as petty as you can get, imo.
I have heard relatively zilch about Salazar's choice from the Hillary payback crowd, Why is that, do you suppose? He is also a representative of all of us and will be making votes that affect us, as you point out. Parent
I think Senators from NY have a lot of power based on the history of who you have had representing you (and me, too, even though I'm an outsider). Plus, in this case, you have well known people publicly lobbying for the job. Most people probably can't name the Senators from Colorado but I'll bet they can New York's and California's.
If Ted Kennedy has to leave his seat, there will be a lot of interest in his replacement don't you think? Especially if someone famous decides they want the job. Parent
Hillary came to NY as a carpetbagger on the coattails of Bill
So, I guess we know where your viewpoint comes from.
What are you implying here? I voted for Hillary at least the first time around, but I guarantee you that she would have never seen the light of day as a carpetbagger in NY had not Bill been President, that is a fact.
My viewpoint comes from one place only. I think highly of Paterson and will support whoever he picks to replace Hillary. Unlike the die hard Hillary cultists here I could care less who Paterson's appointee endorsed in the primary.
It is clear that this is the same strain of resentment by the same people here, who trashed Ted Kennedy for endorsing Obama, and continue to trash him to this day. Parent
Hillary could have run for the seat from Arkansas even if Bill had never been President. I didn't necessarily like them retiring to NY so that she could run for that seat. She proved herself worthy to me by her actions.
I also think highly of Paterson. I like him a lot. I hate that he is getting pulled in so many directions, if he is, but I think he'll do what he thinks is right.
I'm not going to argue anymore because we'll be chattering. I just couldn't read you imply that CC's views were bordering on racists and keep my mouth shut. Parent
No doubt she earned it once she was the nominee and ran easily the second time because of her record with constituents.
But it's hard to imagine her getting the nod in the first place if she'd come here as the former First Lady of Arkansas... Parent
I don't think anyone who knows of HC's work long before Bill was President or even Governor could argue that she wasn't involved in public service. They both had famous last names but they both also have a record on their own. That's the only comparison I can see, but I still don't think this is about Hillary. I know it isn't to some people because they didn't even support Hillary in the primaries.
I'll just be glad when the appointment is made and we have a new Senator to get to work. I'll support any of them because they are all way above any Senator I've had since Al Gore became VP. Parent
We have too many unknowables hanging over our heads in New York state at this time (like so many in all the states do).
The melodrama around this appointment needs to cease. Parent
The fact that Hillary performed well as Senator suggests that just because you have a famous name does not rule out that you can be an effective leader.
Paterson, knows this, and seems unbridled by any of the baggage people here are laden with. He will do just fine in picking the right person to represent NYers, and, contrary to Cream City's concerns about the poor man's unbearable pressures from the Kennedy machine, I think he is having a great time with this. Not to mention all the publicity it is generating for him. Parent
This isn't even about Hillary. It's about other people who might be better qualified. I wish you would go read one of the front page posts on DK about this appointment so you would see that it isn't just Hillary supporters that are opposed to CK. Parent
This is about Paterson. And I do not see his popularity sinking despite the rumors commenters here are circulating. Parent
Prior to establishing residency in New York, HRC had lived in Washington D.C.and in Arkansas, hadn't she?
The term has nothing to do with the heavy lifting she did during the campaign to win her first victory or the work she did as senator which earned her her second. Parent
-- The Illinois and New York seats are replacements for two very high profile politicians who have dominated political news for most of the last two years.
-- In Illinois we have the added drama and excitement of Blagojevich and his antics. In New York we have the very public efforts by a very powerful political family to secure the seat for one of their own. Given all the outrage during the primary about the evils of political dynasties, it is not surprising this would spark a lot of interest.
Personally, I would have preferred DeGette get the seat in Colorado, but she took herself out of the running. Parent
The loudest and most frequent voices are the same voices who were staunch Hillary supporters, and the same voices who threw Ted under the bus once he endorsed Obama.
The Kennedy issue has only to do with payback, imo. Parent
The Associated Press revealed that Kennedy hasn't voted in at least six major elections in the last 20 years, including the 1994 election for the seat she wants to claim.
But this is not about Kennedy or Hillary or those who are looking for political payback. This is about NY and Paterson. The fact that is has become about Kennedy, led by those who felt betrayed by her and Ted is what I have a problem with.
If Paterson picks Kennedy fine by me, I think he is up to the task of making the best choice, same if he chooses Maloney or anyone else for that matter. Parent
I recognize that you are still trapped in the Democratic primary. It is always sad when someone is unable to break free of the past and move on with their life. I hope you recover soon.
In the meantime, people would be well-served to read Squeaky's comments with an eye toward their source. Parent
Digby did a great interview with her here. Worth a read. She is certainly a solid pick.
I am resolved to trust Paterson's judgement, in any case.
Parent
Mostly, I'm pretty sure that Maloney has the political skill to win in two years (having fought competitive elections before), and she doesn't seem to have pissed anyone off or have any turnoffish characteristics. She's a political workhorse, which is both what New York needs right now (given the economy) and what Patterson needs later (given that he'll be sharing a ticket with this person soon). Parent
I think (with the exception of Spitzer) anybody could beat King in 2010. Parent
Though clearly Cuomo would be the easiest to get elected. Parent
I agree with Andgarden on Carolyn Maloney. Parent
Caroline Kennedy is just not in that league. She's smart enough to learn on the job, but why, when there are many pols in New York ready from "day one"? Parent
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As far as the "sidekick" crack, I am simply tired of the martyr act of yours.