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Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.

Tag Archives | John McCain

Romney Retools, Starts by Stiffing Trump

By on 07 December 2011

The Mitt Romney campaign is making an immediate shift in tactics, a move that is necessary because, as one Republican close the campaign put it, “What they are doing now isn’t working.” – ABC News

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Romney has already begun giving time to Fox News Channel and now he’s decided to demur from The Donald’s Apprentice debate. Trump’s statement, via CNN:

“It would seem logical to me that if I was substantially behind in the polls, especially in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida, I would be participating in the debate,” Trump said. “But, I can also understand why Governor Romney decided not to do it.”

It’s also being reported that Sen. John McCain is considering laying hands on Romney, something he’d previously said he wouldn’t do.

McCain has been it subtly on Twitter.

McCain actually owes Romney, because he earned it. During the 2008 season, as one aide put it, “He went wherever and whenever he was asked.” Frankly, it’s small of McCain not to come out early for Romney, because that would be the class thing to do.

Romney has decided that he needs to show he wants the nomination and show some heart, or at the very least, that he’s willing to fight for it.

Everyone is gearing up, but it’s not as much for Mitt Romney as it is to stop Newt Gingrich.

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Mitt Romney Channels Stupid for Fox News Audience

By on 22 November 2011

“Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News. Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.” – Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don’t Watch Any News


There’s a lot of caterwauling about this new Mitt Romney ad, because it attributes a John McCain quote to Pres. Obama. However, that lament misses the point.

A statement from Romney’s camp in their own defense, from Ben Smith:

We used that quote intentionally to show that President Obama is doing exactly what he criticized McCain of doing four years ago. Obama doesn’t want to talk about the economy because of his failed record.

Right now, as Newt Gingrich enjoys his surge-ette, Romney’s challenges remain with the Republican base, people who rely on Fox News Channel for their information. They’re not going to care about the accuracy of Romney’s material. They’ll simply like the message.

Low information voters suck up negative ads, which are traditionally iffy on facts. This is the second study that reveals FNC watchers aren’t getting the truth through the news they watch from Mr. Ailes.

Not only does Romney’s hit Pres. Obama on the economy where he’s vulnerable, but it positions Mitt Romney as Mr. Optimism, channeling what worked so well for Ronald Reagan, even if Mitt Romney doesn’t ever mention the Gipper’s name.

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Thanks the Gods John McCain Never Got Near 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

By on 23 August 2011

“The end of the Qadaffi regime in Libya is a victory for the Libyan people and for the broader cause of freedom in the Middle East and throughout the world. This achievement was made possible first and foremost by the struggle and sacrifice of countless Libyans, whose courage and perseverance we applaud. We also commend our British, French, and other allies, as well as our Arab partners, especially Qatar and the UAE, for their leadership in this conflict. Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat Qaddafi, but we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower. [...] – Senators McCain and Graham

Boy, the day Pres. Obama got Osama bin Laden, I bet Cindy had to pull John McCain off the ceiling.

Now, I remain against the notion that regime change is smart U.S. foreign policy. But one thing you cannot call what is happening in Libya is “failure.”

The only thing I did agree upon when Pres. Obama launched his Libyan gamble was letting Pres. Sarkozy take the lead, along with PM Cameron. It’s the only thing that made sense out of the operation.

Lawrence Korb was on with Melissa Harris-Perry last night, who is subbing for Lawrence O’Donnell (and doing a brilliant job as she always does). Mr. Korb rightly criticized McCain and Graham, using Iraq to do it, while saying Obama’s “patience” paid off. This is a ridiculous statement, because it’s not like Pres. Obama had a choice when Gadhafi didn’t quit when “days, not weeks” turned into 6 months, which isn’t a minor point.

But anyone watching the news can tell that what Obama, Clinton, Power, Rice, et al. hoped and intended would manifest is currently unfolding. There was likely a collective exhale and some satisfaction on what the Obama administration’s decision ended up meaning for the rebels, because this story just as easily could have gone the other way.

I’m a “what’s next?” type of foreign policy type. It’s like getting all excited about getting married, but not thinking about the day after when you have to live with the person you’ve chosen and what comes next. Day to day living can be tedious and tough, too. So, I am cautiously hopeful, while thrilled watching the news of the Libyan rebels, knowing this isn’t close to being over, with many minefields ahead.

There also remains a danger that the regime change that is occurring in Libya will be considered smart U.S. policy, because like Bush, Obama chose that route, too, but did so with a country not in our strategic interest. We’ve also now made Libya just that, a strategic interest, but we won’t be able to affect what’s going on. This continues to make the situation precarious for us, but this isn’t about us and never has been.

But calling the results a “failure” because of lack of airpower? This is simply wrong.

An added benefit that made me smile is that Pres. Assad of Syria has got to be feeling a bit queasy about the news coming out of Libya.

Not bad for $896 million.

Regime change is now what we do.

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Joe Biden Won the Afghanistan Debate

By on 23 June 2011

official photo by Pete Souza

It’s all about Pakistan now.

Pres. Obama felt compelled to tell the whole history of why we’re in Afghanistan in a bloated, if shorter than usual address to the nation, but this is where he should have started:

By the time I took office, the war in Afghanistan had entered its seventh year. But al Qaeda’s leaders had escaped into Pakistan and were plotting new attacks, while the Taliban had regrouped and gone on the offensive. Without a new strategy and decisive action, our military commanders warned that we could face a resurgent al Qaeda and a Taliban taking over large parts of Afghanistan.

First, as much as I disliked Pres. Obama’s speech last night, it doesn’t come close to the despicable spectacle on Fox News channel when Sean Hannity interviewed Sen. John McCain. McCain’s performance was foreshadowed by Bill O’Reilly, when he said Petraeus should basically get whatever he wants, proving it was the Roger Ailes talking point edict of the night. Using General Petraeus to attempt to undermine Pres. Obama showed political cowardice, with Sen. McCain’s opportunism made worse by the anti-constitutional notion that the military is the conductor of U.S. foreign policy and military actions, instead of the President.

Gates even felt compelled to say he supported Pres. Obama’s decision, which clearly was a reaction to the political posturing promoted by Ailes and his minions on Fox.

Steve Clemons hit this note before the speech:

Second, Barack Obama cannot appear to be a tool of the US military or General Petraeus, who has emerged as the stamp of approval or disapproval for some — like John McCain — of what the President decides. This is not healthy for the country. The military executes the President’s strategy, but some in the Pentagon have crossed lines they shouldn’t. Obama needs to show he is in control.

But Pres. Obama should have saved us all the time and simply said, I’m the guy who got bin Laden, so I don’t intend to take crap from anyone.

[...] But, in part because of our military effort, we have reason to believe that progress can be made.

The goal that we seek is achievable, and can be expressed simply: no safe-haven from which al Qaeda or its affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland, or our allies. We will not try to make Afghanistan a perfect place. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government, which must step up its ability to protect its people; and move from an economy shaped by war to one that can sustain a lasting peace. What we can do, and will do, is build a partnership with the Afghan people that endures – one that ensures that we will be able to continue targeting terrorists and supporting a sovereign Afghan government.

Some would have America retreat from our responsibility as an anchor of global security, and embrace an isolation that ignores the very real threats that we face. [...]

The content of Pres. Obama’s speech last night couldn’t have been much worse when he cravenly invoked isolationism, daring to suggest this notion even with there absolutely no evidence that anyone is seriously considering such a position, particularly in his own party, which is where this is directed.

This is Barack Obama at his worst, with his ego showing through because of what’s happening in Congress surrounding Libya, where the President is clearly wrong.

Hearing Obama talk about “progress” and America being “an anchor to global security” was utilizing words of war used by any president stuck in a situation of his own making, while trying to fool his audience it’s what we do. It doesn’t have to be and it no longer can be, especially in a country like Afghanistan that is sucking us dry.

From Spencer Ackerman, in a piece that is really important to read:

The biggest news out of President Obama’s Afghanistan speech isn’t the 10,000 troops he’s withdrawing this year. It’s what Obama will — and won’t — do with the forces he’s leaving behind. Namely: the president won’t send the remainder of the surge troops into eastern Afghanistan, which has become the country’s most buck-wild region.

It’s part of a new attempt to put the uniformed military on a much tighter leash than it had in Afghanistan or Iraq. Welcome a new phase of the war, micromanaged from the White House, and heavy on the killer robots.

Here’s what the war’s going to look like instead from July 2011 to 2014, when the Afghans are supposed to take over combat: drones, drones, training Afghans, commando raids, and drones. The military build on its momentum in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, Obama aides say. But outside of that, this is going to be a counterterrorism strategy — with a lot of troops.

It’s important here to mention David Petraeus moving to Panetta’s renewed C.I.A., where he’ll play an intense leadership role in what Spencer writes about above. The Wall Street Journal has a piece about the hearing on the C.I.A.’s wider role, which was so effective in the bin Laden kill.

The big problem with the import of Pres. Obama’s message is the political foundation, culminating right before the election.

It’s simply no way to run a foreign policy, but that’s what our politics pushes, so politicians like ambitious presidents seeking a second term don’t get caught on the losing side of wars.

As for V.P. Joe Biden, he never wanted the Afghanistan surge, Libya or Iraq, and always thought Pakistan was the ballgame in this region (read his guest post on the subject from 2007). He won’t get the credit, but his message finally got through.

Sen. McCain couldn’t resist a jab at V.P. Biden when talking to Hannity, complete with that pinched little grin McCain plasters on his mug when he’s on camera and knows he’s been beaten.

The House should not let Pres. Obama’s timid withdrawal plans stop them from challenging him, just as they continue to do on Libya.

Of course, we all know what happens when courage is shown in the House. The Senate responds with silence.

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Kerry & McCain’s Fig Leaf for Libya

By on 21 June 2011

Allowing the trivialization of the War Powers Act to stand will open the way for even more blatant acts of presidential war-making in the decades ahead. Congress must confront the increasingly politicized methods White House lawyers are using to circumvent established law and stop them from transforming it into an infinitely malleable instrument of presidential power. – Bruce Ackerman

As an audition for Sec. Clinton’s job, this isn’t a bad way to go for Sen. John Kerry.

From Politico:

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a resolution Tuesday that would give President Barack Obama the green light to continue limited military operations in Libya. The language of the proposal has more teeth than the sense of the Senate resolution McCain and Kerry rolled out last month, which was merely a symbolic gesture backing the Libya effort. The latest plan would authorize U.S. operations in Libya but expire after one year, and would make clear that the Senate agrees there is no need or desire to put boots on the ground in the North African nation.

It’s a cinch Pres. Obama isn’t standing on solid ground with his humanitarian excuse. If that really meant anything we wouldn’t be turning our heads at the carnage happening beyond the eyes of press and the world in Assad’s Syria.

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John McCain: Illegal Immigrants Did It

By on 20 June 2011

“There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally.” – John McCain

The Wallow Fire, as you likely know by now, is now the largest in Arizona history, having ravaged over 500,000 acres. The cause is believed to have been an “escaped campfire.”

Under fire for his irresponsible statements, Sen. John McCain clarifies his intense bigotry, after it was debunked.

“The facts are clear. For years, federal, state and local officials have stated that smugglers and illegal immigrants have caused fires on our southern border,” said Brooke Buchanan, Senator McCain’s communications director. “During the press conference on Saturday, Senator McCain was referring to fires on the Arizona/Mexico border, not the Wallow Fire.”

Sen. McCain has reduced himself over the years to a crazy person yelling at shadows appearing in his own mind. It’s hard to recognize the man he once was in 2000.

“The degree of irresponsible political pandering by Sen. McCain has no limits. With the lack of evidence, he might as well also blame aliens from outer space for the fires.” – Angelo Falcon, the president of the National Institute for Latino Policy, CNN

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The Sunday Early Bird News Round-Up: Father’s Day

By on 19 June 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday.

Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there!

On this day in history, June 19, 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.

Here are some news stories from around the internets that you may or may not have seen:

~Barack Obama has pulled a GW Bush and is arguing he doesn’t need Congressional approval to use military force in Libya because what we are doing there doesn’t meet the definition of hostilities. I kid you not. I be the Libyans would beg to differ. So, while the White House is trying to convince all the good people at Netroots Nation that Obama actually gives a damn about the progressive base, the NYT has came out with an incredible story about how Obama, like Bush before him, ignored his top legal advisers about the need for Congressional approval prior to bombing Libya.

Maybe President Obama could have a debate with Senator Obama circa 2007 because this is what Senator Obama said about war powers:

The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.

~Speaking of Netroots Nation, the Obama administration is predictably buttering up the glbt vote. Once again the argument goes something like this “hey, we may be letting you down but just imagine how bad off you’d be if those other guys were in charge!” I give Obama credit where credit is do- for example on DADT- but I can’t help but get the sense that he has to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing, and even then only after polls show that about 60% of Americans support it.





~More on the annoying politics of gay marriage.

~So, it’s official, we’re already in negotiations with the Taliban. I’ll repeat the question I posed in last weeks news round-up: If we can negotiate with the Taliban, a group that is killing American soldiers and Afghan civilians as we speak, why do we reject without any debate, the possibility of Mideast peace negotiations with Hamas? I have yet to get an answer to that question. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comment section.

~Today, Karl Eikenberry offers a rare rebuke of Afghan President Karzai for his remarks about the U.S. negotiating with the Taliban, among other things.

~Tim Pawlenty’s tax plan is a joke- almost 40% of the benefits of the plan would go to the top 1% of the richest Americans. I don’t care how much average Republican voters hate Barack Obama, do they realize that the GOP exists to line the pockets of big business at their expense? And no, the Democrats don’t get a pass on this either.

~A Bahraini blogger at Netroots Nation called out the State Dept. for their silence on the brutal crackdown in Bahrain despite their knowing all the gory details about what the government was/is doing. Inexcusable.

~In the wake of the “Gay Girl in Damascus”/Amina controversy (if you are not familiar with it you can read about it here) there has been quite an important discussion that has ensued about how the West has misrepresented the glbt community in Arab countries, purportedly for their [our] own selfish purposes. If anything good has come of the Amina hoax, it’s that glbt advocates in the U.S. and Europe are having an open dialogue with members of the glbt in the Arab world, many of whom feel that the West doesn’t really understand their real concerns, but instead are taking advantage of them in order to push a decidedly Western agenda. On a similar note, there’s now a long-time-coming controversy brewing about the popular blog Gay Middle East, the gist of which revolves around the question of “who gets to speak for glbt Arabs in the Middle East?” There’s also the controversial issue of Pinkwashing which you can read about here.

~President Obama isn’t polling well against an unnamed GOP opponent. That’s not so good.

~John McCain is upset that some of the GOP presidential candidates are listening to the electorate and expressing doubts about invading and bombing a new country each week. He calls this view “isolationist.” You see, McCain’s (and Lieberman and Lindsey Graham) definition of “patriotism” is threatening the use of force to deal with every situation. If one expresses doubt or questions aobut whether this is in the U.S.’ best interests, well, then you are relegated to the status of cheese-eating-surrender-monkey. Go sit in the corner!

~Why is this news?

~An excellent article about how Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was put on a pedestal by the U.S. and other Western countries, all the while they ignored the reality of what was going on on the ground (in the territories). The unelected Fayyad could stay in Washington’s good graces only so long as he unquestioningly did their bidding and now that there is a new Hamas-Fatah unity deal in the works (it’s not a done deal yet) and a continued push for a declaration of statehood at the UN in September, Fayyad may find for the first time that his phone calls will not be returned by the State Dept. and White House.

~Speaking of Israel-Palestine, Thomas Friedman has the whole solution mapped out in one short article. That was easy.

~A comedian impersonating Obama was pulled off the stage at the Republican Leadership Conference for making racial jokes. Isn’t this the same guy Fox News uses for their fake Obama debates?

~Andrew Breitbart is pathetic. Question- did Breitbart call on Vitter or Ensign or Sanford to resign when they were caught with their pants down?

~Our ally, Pakistan. Sigh.

~It’s interesting how Islamaphobia is so mainstream that it’s actually used as a political tactic to get votes. There aren’t a lot of groups about which you can say that, except perhaps glbt folks, who of course are also used by the right as a political wedge issue.

~Ok, this guy is my new hero. This was very bad planning by British Prime Minister Cameron’s advance team. Watch the doctor come in the hospital room and kick Cameron out for using a patient’s room as the setting for a political photo op:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTzMmkyk8V0&feature=player_embedded

~I’m sorry but Justice Clarence Thomas has turned the Supreme Court into a joke. And it would be entirely appropriate for Chief Justice Roberts to rein him in. It has nothing to do with his conservative judicial philosophy but has everything to do with the way he conducts himself. There was a time in this country when the Supreme Court was actually respected. I know, go figure. There have always been controversies but the SCOTUS has weathered those storms by staying as far away from politics and the appearance of impropriety as possible. Not Clarence Thomas though (and Justice Scalia is guilty of this also).

~The perpetually angry neoconservative WaPo blogger Jennifer Rubin quotes John Woo, the author of the infamous torture memos in the Bush administration, for guidance on War Powers. Good grief.

~Private contractors in Iraq will be able to stay in Iraq long after the remaining troops leave which means they will still be able to line their pockets rebuilding the country we bombed to hell and back.

The End.

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War Hawks and Neocons

By on 23 April 2011

Security forces in Syria met thousands of demonstrators with fusillades of live ammunition after noon prayers on Friday, killing at least 81 people in the bloodiest day of the five-week-old Syrian uprising, according to protesters, witnesses and accounts on social networking sites. – Security Forces Kill Dozens in Uprisings Around Syria

We will never be rid of the curse.

The Washington Post’s shameful op-ed eviscerating Pres. Obama over “inaction” in Syria isn’t worth reading, but it goes nicely with John McCain playing president in Libya.

Welcome to another edition of America’s amateur foreign policy hour.

Having Sen. McCain say in Libya that “for the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal” is not only inappropriate, but reenforces the notion of an empire nation, which is the biggest reason our country hangs in continual economic limbo, something conservatives never consider when thinking of national security that must include our economic health.

The BBC is reporting that NATO has utilized armed Predator drones, with Pres. Obama approving the action earlier, which now have struck inside Libya for the first time. Unarmed drones have been used for intelligence and reconnaissance missions.

Pres. Obama could not have approved the use of anything that is a worse symbol of American imperialism than a hell fire missile coming from a Predator. This type of action has already proved counterproductive in Pakistan, but then U.S. policy has been in a perpetual state of chaos for over 10 years.

As an aside, I don’t watch Chris Matthews much anymore, but took a moment yesterday to do so only to hear him trip over himself opining that Predator drones might signify a way out of Libya, something that made him sound so incredibly ignorant I wanted to immediately turn off the TV, but curiosity stopped me, because I wanted to see how he was going to get out of this mess. As he interviewed Richard Engel, he asked the significance of the armed drones being utilized instead of an AC-130, with Engel saying the armed drones were like “a kite” in comparison, something Matthews didn’t know. What’s worse is that he didn’t bother to find out before he went on the air or do any homework on the matter, at least none that was evident. It’s no wonder people are stupid on foreign policy with the likes of Chris Matthews dispensing opinions that armed drone attacks might be the end, instead of simply positing questions and letting the experts tell you what is and is not true.

It seems to me the American people have to get reacquainted with a new thought, which war hawks and neocons are not going to like and neither are humanitarians.

Our standard for bombing or becoming militarily involved in another country that has not attacked us must have at its core that a clear and present danger to the United States must exist.

Unless genocide or ethnic cleansing are happening we stay out, with the ugly reality in geopolitics that you also need proof that it is. We shouldn’t bomb countries before something has happened, preemptively involving ourselves in something that is only a threat.

It’s horrific to read and hear about the carnage erupting throughout the Middle East, but we simply cannot be involved in every skirmish, no matter how gut wrenching the reports. The founding of our own American freedom came through a lot of bloodshed and chaos, with the result of fighting for your own country part of what rebuilds a nation’s character. New American discipline needs to be instilled in our leaders to engage with the world community to bring thugs to justice, without everyone expecting U.S. military involvement for which taxpayers are on the hook.

I’d start with George W. Bush for Iraq, but then I’m a liberal, not one of the mealy-mouthed Democratic elite.

Released last night, Pres. Obama’s statement on Syria:

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the Syrian government against demonstrators. This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now. We regret the loss of life and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims, and with the Syrian people in this challenging time.

The Syrian Government’s moves yesterday to repeal Syria’s decades-old Emergency Law and allow for peaceful demonstrations were not serious given the continued violent repression against protesters today. Over the course of two months since protests in Syria began, the United States has repeatedly encouraged President Assad and the Syrian Government to implement meaningful reforms, but they refuse to respect the rights of the Syrian people or be responsive to their aspirations. The Syrian people have called for the freedoms that all individuals around the world should enjoy: freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the ability to freely choose their leaders. President Assad and the Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected their calls and chosen the path of repression. They have placed their personal interests ahead of the interests of the Syrian people, resorting to the use of force and outrageous human rights abuses to compound the already oppressive security measures in place before these demonstrations erupted. Instead of listening to their own people, President Assad is blaming outsiders while seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria’s citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by his Iranian allies. We call on President Assad to change course now, and heed the calls of his own people.

We strongly oppose the Syrian government’s treatment of its citizens and we continue to oppose its continued destabilizing behavior more generally, including support for terrorism and terrorist groups. The United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Syria and around the world.

This is why there is The Hague.

The president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh has reportedly offered to resign in exchange for immunity.

I used to say about George W. Bush and the neocons that if they’d been around during the Cuban Missile Crisis we’d have wasted Cuba. But after Libya, I’m not so sure if Barack Obama doesn’t deserve his own sub-category, even as Sec. Clinton has already said we will not become engaged in Syria. The inconvenient geography of Syria renders it absolutely impossible, making a mockery out of the “humanitarian” angle of Libya, which never should have been uttered, let alone engaged militarily.

The problem with all of this is that Pres. Obama’s foreign policy makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why Libya and not Syria? It’s not about “inaction” in Syria as much as it is irreconcilable stupidity for going into Libya, a decision that looks like the height of hypocrisy when reading, watching or hearing about the carnage in Bahrain.

Pres. Obama doesn’t have a Middle East strategy, policy or anything resembling a foreign policy road map, which is now nakedly exposed.

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Obama is No Patsy

By on 21 March 2011

[...] The same kind of difficulties are already bedeviling our Libyan war. Our coalition’s aims are uncertain: President Obama is rhetorically committed to the idea that Qaddafi needs to go, but Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, allowed on Sunday that the dictator might ultimately remain in power. Our means are constrained: the U.N. resolution we’re enforcing explicitly rules out ground forces, and President Obama has repeatedly done so as well. And some of our supposed partners don’t seem to have the stomach for a fight: It took about 24 hours for Amr Moussa, recent leader of the Arab League, to suggest that the organization’s endorsement of a no-flight zone didn’t cover bombing missions. [...] – A Very Liberal Intervention, by Russ Douthat

It’s the fantastic fantasy meets the unmitigated stupidity of missing reason. But it certainly tears the bark off the Obama fan boy foundational tenet, which is that Pres. Obama is being forced by those around him, never having to take responsibility for his own decisions, because his blunders are never his own. Could it be any more insulting to Pres. Obama? I’m no booster for Obama, but I’ve always given the man a lot more credit and respect him more than this. Why would anyone vote for someone, primaries or general election, who is actually believed to be such a patsy?

This thinking unmasks what type of individual is respected in the traditional and new media world.

Newsbusters has the transcript of “The Chris Matthews” show where tingling legs rule:

ANDREW SULLIVAN, THE ATLANTIC: Well, I don’t think it’s wrong for a President of the United States to issue an opinion about some madman like Gaddafi. I do think that the American public might have been consulted before the United States goes to war. I mean, we now got, you know, the President tells people after the fact? I mean, you know, we go into a Middle Eastern country, we don’t know the consequences, it’s been hatched by Hillary and McCain. I mean, what could go wrong?

[Laughter]

SULLIVAN: I mean, when you think about it. And I think it, I’m just, I’m just, I don’t know why anybody voted for Obama in the primaries. I mean this is a, this, this initiative, this, this, this no-fly zone, this war essentially, is, is a Hillary-McCain concept.

A few minutes later, when the discussion changed to whether or not Obama will push for Social Security reform, Sullivan said he didn’t think so, and continued with this same theme:

SULLIVAN: Look, we, people who voted for this guy wanted him to let the old politics go.

MATTHEWS: Transformational president.

SULLIVAN: Wanted him to actually tell us the truth about this stuff and to do the right thing. And that was the appeal of Obama. And two years later, we have this politicized Clintonian mess.

Nice try, but what we now have is an Obama war that was begun on the wings of Executive Branch hubris and ego. As if Barack Obama didn’t have the facility to engage us in a “politicized mess.” Perhaps Mr. Sullivan slept through health care, but also the deficit commission, not to mention the Bush tax cut extension debacle, all of which were organized through a politicized Obama-directed mess.

It’s also laughable that Pres. Obama is listening to John McCain. The only people who hang on his every word reside at NBC news and “Meet the Press.”

There is also a lot of difference between being guided by Sec. Clinton and having the most powerful women inside the Obama administration being responsible for going from deliberative to first-strike, no-fly war shots and Pres. Obama deciding to let his own commander in chief hubris be his guide.

For Obama fans and delusional war hawks, Barack Obama is never responsible, even while being influenced. There is always an out for him. That’s a partisan mess peculiar only to Barack Obama, which has nothing to do with bogeyman Clintonianism, which Mr. Sullivan is always ready to reach for when his political analysis hits the rocks, which is often. Luckily for Sullivan it won’t impede his failing upwards.

Sullivan does raise a good point that is likely sticking in a lot of throats right now, but it’s not a new question, though the emotion behind his sputtering is priceless: And I think it, I’m just, I’m just, I don’t know why anybody voted for Obama in the primaries.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s national security foundation was always going to be on the leading edge of aggressive, which is something I always knew.

As for Barack Obama, even with his anti-Iraq war stance and speech delivered in a safe district to virtual silence, there was no evidence of bravery anywhere in his career.

John McCain was the worst of all choices given he shoots first, thinks later, with Sarah Palin waiting in the wings an even larger unknown than Obama, but with neoconservative ideology in place of foreign policy knowledge, which today remains the case, Palin was always a troublesome waiting in command.

Pres. Obama may be a lot of things, but he’s not a patsy, which Sullivan implies, nor is he blameless or some stooge being led around by McCain or Sec. Clinton.

Barack Obama was simply never the man so many who voted for him thought he was, but primary voters were too busy adoring candidate Obama’s face, in Sullivan’s logic, or his persona, while sucking Plouffe-Axelrod marketing through a straw, to stop and realize that when he ducked the vote on Iran he was sending a message.

Are you hearing him now?

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Midterm Sunday Round-Up: The Take It Down A Notch Halloween Edition!

By on 31 October 2010

Rally to Restore Sanity

On this day, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, sparking the Protestant Reformation in Germany.




The countdown to the midterms continues and I have a feeling it’s going to be more trick than treat, but lets get started with the links:




~Ms. Marsh attended the Rally to Restore Sanity (or Fear) and you can see her post-rally observations/commentary here. As I was watching some of the coverage both on TV and online I sort of got the feeling that it was a real jab at the mainstream media’s coverage of politics. Granted, I wasn’t at the rally but it did seem to cast a wide net in terms of the types of people who attended (liberals, moderates, independents, etc.). I’m interested to see how the MSM reacts to it today, particularly if they think Colbert and Stewart were taking aim directly at them because we all know the MSM can’t stomach criticism. My favorite slogan from the rally: “does this sign make me look fat?” Heh.

~Ok, everything you need to know about the U.S. midterms with respect to the GOP can be found in this video. Seriously.

~In an inexplicable move, ABC picks right wing shill Andrew Breitbart to help provide election night political commentary. What, was Rush or Pam Geller not available? And we wonder why hateful rhetoric and political misinformation has become mainstream. Interestingly, it turns out the ABC newsroom is none too pleased about Breitbart joining their team.

~It appear’s Joe Miller’s campaign is in its death throes. Or maybe not. It is Alaska after all. If so, it may have something to do with the truism that the cover up is almost always “worse than the crime.” Anyway, it turns out that Joe is a big wuss just like most of the other Tea Party candidates when it comes to answering really basic questions from the media. You know, questions like “so, what exactly is your military service-connected disability for which you receive monthly tax free payments for life?” Instead of answering, he and his fellow Tea Party pals turn to the militia members guards which accompany them everywhere and demand to be frittered away to a happier place- a place with lots of guns and no gays where they never have to answer a single question about anything ever again.

~Speaking of Alaska Joe, Sarah Palin tweeted that his campaign is essentially a “lost cause” while urging him to keep fighting. Get it? She’s still pissed off he initially wouldn’t say she was qualified to be POTUS!

~I thought this was a really fascinating article about how the Tea Party has essentially hijacked early American history for their own political ends. Harvard historian Jill Lepore has written articles and now even a book about what she calls the “anti-history” of the right-wing Tea Party movement.

~Bill Clinton was in Ohio on Saturday trying to boost up the state’s embattled Governor Ted Strickland. It’s hard to believe anyone could be losing to GOPer John Kasich, but then again the same could be said about Harry Reid with respect to wingnut Sharron Angle.

~By the way, Bill Clinton needs to give Barack Obama enthusiasm lessons. Just sayin’.

~Lots of outside money is pouring into the Missouri Senate race.

~It looks like the Washington Senate race is going to be a nail-biter right down to the end with the latest polls showing Democrat Patty Murray with a one percent lead over Republican Dino Rossi.

~Trick or Treat! Scared yet?

~More race-baiting from the GOP in Arizona.

~I really think that Colorado’s gubernatorial candidate, Tom Tancredo, is insane.

~Wow. Sharron Angle actually had an event that was open to, get this, the media! Not that she took questions or anything. And as if we didn’t know that Senator John McCain has jettisoned whatever past principles he seemed to hold, he was with Angle trying to promote her candidacy.

~In case you missed it, here’s a news story that should shock absolutely no one- Fox News LIED. Yup, it’s true. The fake news channel, aka GOPTV, ran a story (on Fox and Friends) claiming that Chicago [read: Democrats] went out of it’s way to make sure INMATES got their absentee ballots but not our SOLDIERS. Problem was, it’s not true.

~~Somebody finally confronted David Gregory about how he lets politicians just spew talking points without much challenge and Gregory got very, very angry.

~The supposedly non-partisan 60 Plus Association, which bills itself as the conservative alternative to the AARP, has an ad out comparing the fight to repeal health reform to D-Day. This election cycle is the season of really over-the-top, historically inaccurate political analogies.

~Jim DeMint exemplifies just how good the GOP is at rebranding elite power players as a Mr. Everyman. DeMint is the perfect Tea Party leader- his far right ideology combined with his flagrant obstructionism and insider status screams “it’s all about ME!” but that seems to have been lost in the fine print as the media seems uninterested in asking tough questions of the shameless self-promoter. Does this look like the office of a humble outsider or Mr. Everyman?

~Here is a cool election map with tons of interactive detail.

~If the GOP totally routs the Democrats here’s some more fun we can look forward to- gutting the EPA and investigating climate scientists. In other words, a war on science. They just love wars. I have an idea, why don’t we also investigate whether the earth is, in fact, round?

~Barbara Boxer is doing much better in the polls. She spent Saturday in San Jose rallying union members to the cause prior to appearing with gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown in Los Angeles.

~Christine O’Donnell gives an interview to the Christian Broadcasting Network and of course, there is nothing substantive because, well, she apparently doesn’t know much about all that policy stuff. But if you’d like to know whether she’d ever go bungee jumping or her thoughts on the after life, tune in!

~And there goes Florida. Jesus, they are already talking up Rubio as a potential 2012 VP candidate.

~I’d like to thank the Tea Party, but in particular a special shout out goes to Sarah Palin, Sharron Angle, Joe Miller and Michelle Bachman, for dumbing down politics to the point where simply putting one foot in front of the other constitutes being qualified for high office. Sharron Angle’s latest excuse for running away from the media (in an airport)?- she was concerned about airport security.

~AIDS activists have been bird-dogging Obama at almost every public appearance and he got a little hot under the collar on Saturday as he got into a pointless verbal sparring match with them. What’s interesting is that he doesn’t seem to come across as passionate during the exchange so much as simply annoyed and defensive although to be fair, I haven’t seen a video of it. Regardless, it’s a far cry from candidate Obama.

~My congressman in Massachusetts, Barney Frank, is actually fighting off a serious challenge from Republican unknown Sean Bielat. The only reason this has turned out to be such a tough fight for Frank is because outside conservative groups have poured tons of money into Bielat’s coffers in the hopes of unseating Frank. And then of course there is the governor’s race here in MA which could result in former Harvard Pilgrim (health insurance) CEO Charlie Baker winning the race for the GOP.

The End.

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The Sunday News Round-Up

By on 15 August 2010

Chateau de ChillonGood morning! Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

On this day in history, August 15, 1057, Macbeth the King of Scots (Mac Bethad mac Findlaích) was killed in battle by King Duncan’s son Malcolm, likely in retaliation for Macbeth’s having killed King Duncan. Macbeth of course became the subject of William Shakespeare’s great tragedy “Macbeth.”

The photo on the left is considered one of the most beautiful castles in the world, the Château de Chillon. It sits on Lake Geneva and is believed to have been built around 1150 AD. In 1816 the poet Lord Byron wrote “The Prisoner of Chillon” based upon the imprisonment of a monk in the dungeon of the castle.

Some links to go with your morning coffee/tea:

~Excerpts from General Petraeus’ much-anticipated interview with David Gregory (which airs today) have some wondering if after only about a month on the job, Petraeus has already broken a promise to his Commander in Chief regarding a timetable for withdrawal. I can’t help but wonder if Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen and the military brass are once again trying to box Obama in regarding Afghanistan – not that that excuses Obama in any way, he is the Commander in Chief after all.

~This is an incredible story in the NYT about Obama’s shadow wars in places like Yemen, Kenya, Somalia and even breakaway republics that were part of the former Soviet Union. Among the questions, who authorized this? Congress? Well, apparently the Executive did through secret Executive Orders. Even if one believes fighting terrorism necessitates this sort of action, and that is a matter of some debate, we should be concerned about what our government is doing without our knowledge and without any oversight whatsoever. It’s stuff like this that “the professional left” is concerned about. These programs were started by Bush and EXPANDED under Obama. If we are concerned, are we all on drugs, as Gibbs suggests?

~In an article that has been created huge buzz not only in the blogosphere but in foreign policy circles, Jeffrey Goldberg essentially argues that an Israeli attack against Iran is a fait accompli. At times he tries to veil his own bias, albeit unsuccessfully, but essentially he is helping Israel make its case for war. Glenn Greenwald, Lynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, Stephen Walt and Trita Parsi have excellent analysis of the article if you haven’t seen them already. They really put the whole issue in perspective, something which the establishment media refuses to do. The good news for those who oppose war with Iran is that Goldberg, like so many neocons, has a horrible track record when it comes to being right about things. Kind of like Bill Kristol.

~There seems to be growing discord among members of Obama’s foreign policy team with respect to Sudan and there is speculation that Gen. Scott Gration, the very controversial Special Envoy to Sudan, may be on his way to an ambassadorship and perhaps giving up his Sudan portfolio. It appears he openly argued with Amb. Susan Rice during a high-level principals meeting at the White House. Sudan activists have never been comfortable with Gration, believing he has been far too easy on President Bashir.

~CNN contributor Erick Erickson compares the expansion of the Cordoba House (aka The Mosque) near Ground Zero to “human sacrifice.” Please don’t spend more than 3 seconds trying to wrap your mind around that one because it’s 3 seconds you will never get back. I guess the question is, how in the world does someone like Erickson get hired by a mainstream media outlet (that isn’t Fox News)? I guess the other question is, does CNN have a double standard when it comes to offensive tweets, given they fired Octabia Nasr for tweeting about her admiration of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah upon hearing of his death. CNN said that it did so because her “credibility was compromised. Has Erickson’s credibility been compromised or is apples and oranges because Erickson was essentially hired to be controversial?

~John McCain doesn’t seem to understand that politics in the age of YouTube and Twitter really makes it hard to get away with outright lies. Hey John, less Snooki and more honesty.

~If anyone is wondering why the U.S. is so desperate to aid Pakistan in the wake of the devastating flood here is the reason- in addition to the horrific human suffering which we are certainly right to be very concerned about, there is another problem- Pakistan’s government could collapse. And Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

~This story is heartbreaking. Bomb-sniffing dogs serving in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer trauma just like we humans do. Here is a story of the German Shephard Gina who returned home from Iraq after a 6 month tour. She is slowly being rehabilitated.

~Boy, the news sure is depressing, but you made it this far, so this should make you smile. And have you ever seen a baby bat?

~Obama visits the Gulf Coast and promises support for residents and businesses affected by the spill.

~Not content with simply alienating every single Hispanic in the U.S. with the call for the repeal of the birthright citizenship which is enshrined in the Constitution they claim to hate love so much, the GOP now want us to know about the threat posed by little Muslim Terror Babies. The hits just keep coming.

~Why has more than half of the $275 billion in stimulus money not been spent yet?

~South Carolina Senate [Democrat] candidate Alvin Greene was indicted on Friday. I guess that means we’ll never know whether the Alvin Greene action figures which were part of his plan to stimulate the economy, would have actually worked.

~Here’s a headline that should wake you up about as much as a good cup of coffee or tea on a sleepy Sunday morning: US aid arrives as Moscow races to protect nuke site from wildfire.

~A very interesting and rather touching profile of Vicki Kennedy a year after the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Among the tidbits- the White House tried to recruit her to work for/with them.

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Sunday News Round-Up

By on 18 July 2010

Sea Turtles threatened by the oil spill

Good morning. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.



On this day in history July 18, A.D. 64, the Great Fire of Rome began.

~Here is the Sunday talk show line-up.

~BP is buying up researchers to help with its National Resources Damage Assessment. According to other researchers and lawyers Think Progress spoke with, it’s essentially a $250/hr hush fund which prevents the scientists from publishing or sharing their research findings. More importantly, the contract they signed with BP would seem to prevent the scientists from testifying against the company.

~The “A Whale” super-skimmer has been sent back from whence it came because it is not able to collect more oil than the smaller skimmers. The inability of the super-freighter to skim large quantities of oil raises questions about BP’s use of kerosene dispersants at the beginning of the spill as it tends to just hide the oil and make it more difficult to skim off the surface.

~Mark your calendars. On July 20th the most ineffectual Secretary of the Interior ever, Ken Salazar, will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on “the role of the Interior Department in the Deepwater Horizon Disaster.” I think the title of the hearing should be “why does Ken Salazar continue to hold the position of Interior Secretary?” But that’s just me.

~Once again the release on questionable grounds of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is back in the news in a very big way. It seems like where there is smoke there is fire and in a twist that should surprise no one, BP is allegedly involved. And is anyone really surprised that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s name has popped up? Or Tony Hayward’s? Now the Senate foreign relations committee is calling on former British government officials to explain to them, possibly in person (ie. in front of the Senate Committee!), the link between BP oil exploration in Libya and the release of al-Megrahi. Oil, money, corruption, back-room deals- the movie version is going to be great.

~The Pentagon has established a post-McChrystal clamp-down on journalists’ access to troops serving in war zones. In my opinion, if this is the lesson Secretary Gates and the military took away from the McChrystal controversy, then they really just don’t get it.

~Apparently Israel’s far-right Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, is so out of control that even Bibi Netanyahu is fuming.

~The FEC has fined Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign with $219,000 for sloppy accounting, taking donations in excess of campaign limits and accepting corporate gifts.

~This will make your blood boil. There is reportedly an increasing number of allegations of sex trafficking by private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan and thus far, there has been zero enforcement/prosecution. The administration show little interest in reforming the private contractor system in Iraq although some in Congress seem to have interest in it.

~The Washington Post has a really interesting article chronicling Louisiana’s rise as a petrol state and how it has suffered from the “resource curse.”

~Steve Jobs addressed the iPhone 4’s reception problems on Friday and I have to say, his arrogance was on full display. For the record, I am a huge Apple fan- I use Apple computers, have the iPhone, blah, blah, blah but Steve Jobs needs to admit they screwed up- as the old adage goes, “don’t piss on me and tell me that it’s raining.”

~The MSM is ratcheting up it’s rhetoric on Iran. As far as they are concerned, there is no way other than a military offensive to deal with Tehran’s alleged nuclear ambitions. By the way, in order to put this in context (something the media apparently is unable to do), beginning in around 1996 the U.S. and Israel began saying that if left to their own devices, Iran would have nukes in two years and it’s 2011 and we are still saying the same thing- that they’ll have two nukes in two years.

~Remember all those promises about being able to keep your own doctor during the health care reform debate? Well, the Empire Strikes Back.

~The SEC settled its case against Goldman Sachs and both sides are claiming victory. For the US taxpayer, given Goldman’s huge profits, it amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist.

~Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner apparently doesn’t want consumer crusader and head of the TARP oversight panel, Elizabeth Warren, to be the head of the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Gee, I wonder why Timmy doesn’t want the job to go to Warren? Maybe THIS is why.

~The governor of West Virginia has appointed Senator Byrd’s replacement- 36 year-old Carte Goodwin.

~Senator John McCain, JD Hayworth and long-shot Jim Deakin faced off in their first GOP debate and it apparently consisted of a lot of truth-stretching and snickering.

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Sarah’s Soap Opera Continues

By on 01 July 2009
Photobucket
Illustration by Risko via MSNBC screen capture

Sarah “little shop of horrors” Palin continues to be fueled by drama. You can say a lot of things about Gov. Palin, as Todd Purdum’s delicious Palin take down proves. But playing the political victim has certainly gotten Sarah a long way. But with Gov. Sanford’s meaning of “is” is meltdown, someone who was considered the conservative’s darling for 2012, Palin looks positively serious.

However, make no mistake about it, the last thread on the McCain team straight jacket has been pulled and with it full tilt warfare has broken out.

It begins with Palin’s pal Bill Kristol, who was not content on taking the Republicans down over Iraq, but has widened his lock and load leveling gaze on past grievances he has on why McCain-Palin went down, not able to let Steve Schmidt off the hook for his part:

…Perhaps Steve was nervous someone would finger him for the Purdum piece. One reason people might do so is this passage in Purdum’s article: “All the while, Palin was coping not only with the crazed life of any national candidate on the road but also with the young children traveling with her. Some top aides worried about her mental state: was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression? (Palin’s youngest son was less than six months old.)” In fact, one aide who raised this possibility in the course of trashing Palin’s mental state to others in the McCain-Palin campaign was Steve Schmidt.

Steve Schmidt on Kristol:

Asked about the accusation, Schmidt fired back in an e-mail: “I’m sure John McCain would be president today if only Bill Kristol had been in charge of the campaign. … After all, his management of [former Vice President] Dan Quayle’s public image as his chief of staff is still something that takes your breath away,” Schmidt continued. “His attack on me is categorically false.”

Randy Scheunemann goes after Schmidt as well:

“Steve Schmidt has a congenital aversion to the truth,” Scheunemann said. “On two separate and distinct occasions, he speculated about about Governor Palin having post-partum depression, and on the second he threatened that if more negative publicity about the handling of Governor Palin emerged that he would leak his speculation [about post-partum depression] to the press. It was like meeting Tony Soprano.”

At the foundation of all this spit flying sits Todd Purdum. The same response towards Purdum happened when he let fly on Bill Clinton. He’s an equal opportunity political star shooter, having the impact of disabusing anyone of the notion that our political hot shots are anything other than human. That’s a very good thing, especially with the likes of Sarah Palin taking narcissism to a new level.

When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

Smelling salts, please.

Purdum’s piece points to many troubling bits of behavior that defy defense, with one getting a lot of attention from all angles.

But there were ominous signs—indications of an erratic nature. This is the third thing McCain could have discovered about Palin—a woman, after all, who kept a pregnancy secret for seven months, flew all the way home from Texas to Alaska with a near-full-term baby while leaking amniotic fluid, and then finally drove the 45 minutes from Anchorage to a hospital in Wasilla, all so that the child could be born in the 49th state.

Who reacts like this in such a dangerous point in your pregnancy?

With all sorts of other points discussed, including aides wondering whether Palin’s erratic behavior was due to “postpartum depression.” Purdum doesn’t stop there, however:

Several told me, independently of one another, that they had consulted the definition of “narcissistic personality disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—“a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy”—and thought it fit her perfectly.

Now it’s official. Sarah’s a narcissist. She’s got lots of company.

Drama queen is the title that fits her most aptly at this point, but that’s not her main problem. Sarah’s real trouble is she’s lugging around way too much stupid that still hasn’t been dispelled.

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