Steve Benen: Six of the major Republican presidential candidates stopped by Fox News on Saturday night to field questions from Mike Huckabee and some GOP state attorneys general. The exchanges weren’t terribly newsworthy, but something transpired behind the scenes that spoke to a larger trend.
Fox News allowed a New York Times reporter to roam around before, during, after the interviews, covering how the candidates and their teams operated. One campaign “stood out by going into defensive mode immediately, insisting that the reporter stay far away”:
….. Spotting the reporter, Mr. Romney’s aides sprang into action, questioning where he worked and what he was doing there, and then insisting that he not physically approach Mr. Romney before or after he was questioned on television … The request was reiterated to executives at Fox News.
Romney’s aversion to media professionals is making the transition from an oddity to a problem. Indeed, the political press will put up with quite a bit, but it really doesn’t like being ignored, and Romney has apparently invited a backlash.
More here
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Thanks Amk
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11:10 The President meets with college presidents to discuss college affordability
USA Today: President Obama has invited the presidents of about 10 colleges and universities to a meeting at the White House on Monday to discuss affordability and productivity in higher education. While many White House events feature various presidents of colleges, a private meeting – called on short notice, with the president himself in attendance – is highly unusual.
The meeting, described as a roundtable discussion, will include Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House advisers, and a small group of college presidents and “thought leaders” in higher education, according to an invitation sent by the White House. A list of those invited has not been released.
More here
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Morning everyone 😉
The Obama Diary 
hooray FIRST.Good morning TOD family
Morning Fred!!!!!! Morning everyone!
morning Chip.How r ya?
Yea! Morning, Fred 🙂
morning D
🙂
Good morning Chips and Fred.
morning Sonja
Morning Chips and TOD Family!
These Mitt Romney ads tickle me for some reason. He is eating HIMSELF alive.
Obama/Biden2012
Merkel and Sarkozy are having lunch right now. Geitner is there and will be going to five different cities in the region, to offer advice.
Observation- Merkel is all about austerity, could be a tea bagger in this country.
I have no idea why the WH gave her a medal last year. She has veto power at the ECB, and she keeps stalling recovery plans.
This week is the final week, they are running out of time, thus, I hope Merkel comes off her hardline positions.
I would not bet against Geithner.
Sorry. I don’t like Geithner. I don’t think he’s served the President well at all.
Are you responding to the PL spin about the guy? He has gotten a bad rap from the get go from Huff and Puff, etc.
Geithner has actually served President Obama very well. The PL and other crap places like Huff Po and Daily Kos went after him for messed up reasons. Hopefully you’re not basing your judgement on him based on their narrow mindedness.
Geitner has actually done an extraordinary job for the President. You can tell because of all the bad press about him.
I beg to differ. Just look at the record. Auto industry saved. Banks and financial institutions rescued and help in passing the stimulus, preventing another Great Depression. Effective management of TARP money resulting in recovering almost all the money lent to the big banks. Comprehensive financial regulations since the New Deal. Exactly what has Tim Geithner done wrong that shows that he has not served the President well?
I wouldn’t be so tough on Merkel. The Germans, give their history, having to pay for causing WWI & WWII, do not want to bail out Europe. I read in the NY Times that they finally made their last WWI & WWII war debt payment last year. That tells you the type of country we’re dealing with. They are basically saying that they lived within their means, sometimes to their own detriment, and other European countries should too. The German people are insistent on this and even if Merkel wanted to do some unilateral bailout, the German people wouldn’t let her.
Interesting-
Reporting from Washington— At an Iranian military base 30 miles west of Tehran, engineers were working on weapons that the armed forces chief of staff had boasted could give Israel a “strong punch in the mouth.”
But then a huge explosion ripped through the Revolutionary Guard Corps base on Nov. 12, leveling most of the buildings. Government officials said 17 people were killed, including a founder of Iran’s ballistic missile program, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam.
Iranian officials called the blast an accident. Perhaps it was.
Decades of international sanctions have left Iran struggling to obtain technology and spare parts for military programs and commercial industries, leading in some cases to dangerous working conditions.
However, many former U.S. intelligence officials and Iran experts believe that the explosion — the most destructive of at least two dozen unexplained blasts in the last two years — was part of a covert effort by the U.S., Israel and others to disable Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. The goal, the experts say, is to derail what those nations fear is Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons capability and to stave off an Israeli or U.S. airstrike to eliminate or lessen the threat.
“It looks like the 21st century form of war,” said Patrick Clawson, who directs the Iran Security Initiative at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Washington think tank. “It does appear that there is a campaign of assassinations and cyber war, as well as the semi-acknowledged campaign of sabotage.”
Or perhaps not. Any such operation would be highly classified, and those who might know aren’t talking. The result is Washington’s latest national security parlor game — trying to figure out who, if anyone, is responsible for the unusual incidents.
For years, the U.S. and its allies have sought to hinder Iran’s weapons programs by secretly supplying faulty parts, plans or software, former intelligence officials say. No proof of sabotage has emerged, but Iran’s nuclear program clearly has hit obstacles that thwarted progress in recent years.
“We definitely are doing that,” said Art Keller, a former CIA case officer who worked on Iran. “It’s pretty much the stated mission of the [CIA’s] counter-proliferation division to do what it takes to slow … Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.
Many Western experts are convinced that American and Israeli engineers secretly fed the Stuxnet computer worm into Iran’s nuclear program in 2010. The virus reportedly caused centrifuges used to enrich uranium to spin out of control and shatter. Neither the U.S. nor Israeli government has acknowledged any role in the apparent cyber-attack.
Nor did anyone claim responsibility after two senior nuclear physicists were killed, and a third wounded, by bombs attached to their cars or nearby motorcycles in January and November last year.
Militants waving pictures of one of the slain scientists stormed the British Embassy in Tehran last week, setting fires and causing extensive damage. Several European countries recalled their envoys from Iran after the British government closed its embassy and expelled Iranian diplomats from London.
Like the deaths, the explosions have drawn special scrutiny in the think tanks of Washington, where Iran watchers have tracked reports of unexplained blasts in Iranian gas pipelines, oil installations and military facilities.
In October, Iranian news services reported three such explosions in a 24-hour period. The blasts killed two people. Another large blast was reported last week in Esfahan, Iran’s third-largest city.
Some analysts suspect that the CIA and Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, are involved, with possible help from the MEK, a fringe Iranian group that the State Department lists as a terrorist organization, although it has many allies in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Based in Iraq, the group is believed to have links to dissident networks inside Iran.
Iran claims to have arrested dozens of CIA informants in recent months, and U.S. officials acknowledge that a handful of informants in Iran have been exposed. What they did, or where, is unknown. In October, U.S. officials announced that they had uncovered an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.
Some analysts caution against assuming the CIA is orchestrating all the attacks in Iran, arguing it gives U.S. intelligence far too much credit. But that doesn’t preclude U.S. support for allied spy services in Europe and the Middle East that also target Iran. Still, there is more speculation at this point than hard evidence.
A cyber expert who works closely with U.S. intelligence said he is convinced that Israel, not the U.S., launched the Stuxnet attack because U.S. government lawyers would not approve use of a computer virus that could spread far beyond the intended target, as Stuxnet apparently did. That caution, of course, presumes the lawyers knew the virus would spread, and that’s not clear. The expert would not speak publicly about classified matters.
Whether the White House would authorize the targeted killing of Iranian scientists is far from certain. An executive order signed by President Reagan in 1981 prohibits direct or indirect involvement in assassinations, although the term is not defined.
President Obama has authorized the killing of Al Qaeda members and other suspected militants, including at least one U.S. citizen in Yemen.
Some analysts claim that the U.S. would not back a bombing campaign that has killed Iranian workers at oil refineries and other civilian sites. It would amount to sponsoring terrorism, a charge Washington regularly levels at Tehran.
“I do not believe that the U.S. has participated in either attacking scientists or physical attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities,” said Greg Thielmann, a former State Department intelligence official who helped expose the faulty intelligence cited by the George W. Bush administration before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “Selling them bad parts, introducing malware — that does seem to me within the realm of what one might expect from U.S. intelligence activities.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-bomb-20111205,0,7550482.story
That is what I think, too. Of course, sooner or later there will be a leak from a Rtpublican member of Congress. Bets?
More speculating. I hate when the MSM do this.
It’s so irresponsible. I listened to the retired Army Generals this weekend, from their press conference push-back on the GOP debates, and they said that covert activities need to stay covert. I’m not sure why these journalists speculate with no real facts, putting lives in danger. This is why Valerie Plame’s outing went unpunished by the media,because they’re pretty much guilty of the same thing. I can’t say I agree with covert action, especially when lives are lost, but I also know that I sleep better at night knowing that if anything like that is going on, there’s a man with a conscience guiding those activities – and he doesn’t take those actions lightly.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has seen a sharp drop in support in parliamentary elections.
With 96% of votes counted, electoral officials said United Russia had just under 50%, down from 64% in 2007.
The vote is being seen as a popularity test of Mr Putin, who is running for the presidency in March.
European observers cited procedural violations and apparent manipulation, including ballot box stuffing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-europe-16024938
Power hungry pols/rulers/dictators/tyrants are losing out everywhere.
@VeraWangGang Vera Wang
Our First Lady’s beauty and elegance is what really resonates for me! XxVera yfrog.com/mgyr6fdj
Thanks Tulips, I spotted that last night. Vera designed a beauty with that gown and noone but FLOTUS could wear it and look so beautiful.
The media accuses the president of not being friendly enough with the press when he’s willing to answer any question no matter how stupid. Romney freaks when a Times reporter just walks around, let alone asks a question. It will be interesting to see if there is any payback against Romney since he’s a Republican and therefore exempt from real scrutiny. Gingrich, on the other hand, will blab anything to the press which could cause its own set of problems for him. Neither one of these “candidates” is ready for prime time and I hope that becomes more and more obvious to people as this dreary Republican farce wears on.
no they won’t go after Romney.He’s their golden boy.Just like Tweety had the audacity to say that “we” as in the media put Potus in the WH;they will cover for Romney
Tweety, lightweight that he is, was parroting rightwing talking points. They claimed the “librul” media have the President a pass and put him the White House. I must have been on a different planet. ‘Cause the “librul” media followed FOX around like a little puppy repeating every negative story about the President FOX conjured up.
“GAVE” the President a pass. I need the “edit” feature because I’m a terrible typist.
Both the House and Senate are in a sort of holding pattern today — they’ll meet to talk and advance some minor issues, but won’t take up any of the big ticket items (like the budget, payroll taxes, or unemployment), since there are no agreements in these areas yet.
The House meets at noon for speeches and 2 p.m. to debate eight suspension bills, but won’t vote on these bills, or anything else, until Tuesday.
Five of the bills deal with land management issues, one amends bloodline requirements for Indian tribes, and one makes technical corrections. Details here.
The last House bill, H.R. 2360, amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to extend the jurisdiction of the U.S. to energy-related installations attached to the OCS.
The Senate has an equally quiet day. Members meet at 2 p.m., and at 5:30 p.m. will move to votes on four judicial nominations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/197081-easy-monday-land-use-bills-and-judicial-nominations
No sense of urgency. They should give back their salaries – especially when they are useless in times of crisis.
Good Morning, Everyone 🙂
“Trump: I’d consider an independent run”
MY SIDES HURT!
How can he say this while moderating a Republican debate at the end of December? I know it’s potentially great television for us, but how the RNC allows it is beyond me. They’re going to allow their top two contenders to be put in situations that could very well end up in a general election campaign ad from the Obama campaign and for what? Another Iowa debate, this one a mere week before the caucus?
Good morning, TODville. This is fun:
Democrats Gleeful At Prospect Of Running Against Gingrich
There’s no better illustration of how ecstatic Democrats are about Newt Gingrich leading the GOP primary pack than Nancy Pelosi’s strategic silence.
Pelosi knows more about Gingrich than perhaps any other major national political figure. She was a senior Democrat when Gingrich was House Speaker, served on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating and campaign finance violations, and even cut a 2008 ad with him on the importance of addressing global climate change.
[snip]
Pelosi didn’t go into detail about Gingrich’s past transgressions, but she tipped her hand. “One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich,” Pelosi said. “I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.”
Pressed for more detail she wouldn’t go further.
“Not right here,” Pelosi joked. “When the time’s right.”
Which is to say that if Gingrich somehow clinches the nomination, there’s one hell of an oppo dump coming.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/pelosi-democrats-gleeful-at-prospect-of-running-against-gingrich.php?ref=fpa
THANK YOU, Nancy Smash!!
The EPA better be gearing up…this will be another toxic waste dump to clean up after 🙂 Love Nancy!
Nancy should be saying “I hate Newt’s guts, he is the bane of my existence and I’d much rather see Mitt Romney win the GOP nomination. I was in the House for years with Newt and know that he’s focused and tough and gets what he wants”.
Good morning. Why should Nancy tip her hand now, before we even know if Newt will be the nominee?
That wouldn’t be tipping her hand. What she said is tipping her hand.
No way will Rove allow Newtered to be the GOP nominee. Newt will be neutered just like “CAIN”. I can’t wait until they unleach on Newtie because if Nancy Pelosi has stuff on him so do the Republicans who will give it to Rove. They want the primaries wrapped up soon so Mittens won’t get beaten up while the press still love him and for him to keep his mouth shut until next August.
Ummm…………….Jo we want Newt as the nominee. President Obama would then coast to re-election. The MSM, Rove, and his henchmen will have Mittens on the witness protection program from here on out. He is Corporate America’s chosen LACKY. Not to mention the Emoprogs, PUMAS, and DINOS. We should hope that Newt gets the nomination. Romney is going to be like a SLITHERING, SLIMEY, DECEPTIVE snake to beat. Obama/Biden 2012.
Yeah, but I agree with JoJo. If I had to bet, I’d bet on Romney. Republicans hate his guts, BUT they know he’s the only candidate they have for the General Election. Newt will not be the nominee. I don’t usually try to predict stuff, but I really believe no way, no how is Newt going to be the nominee. If Rove has to personally stuff each ballot box or hack each Diebald machine (or more likely pay Diebald to rig their machines) he won’t let Newt win.
Sabreen60 (@QueenMerytAmon)
You make a good point about Romney.
I’m not one to pay much attention to polls. To me the only poll that counts is the one in the voting booth. I found this Pew poll
interesting:
When it comes to the general election, Romney does better in a head-to-head match up with Obama than any of the other top-tier GOP candidates. Looking at all registered voters, white evangelical Protestant voters are just as likely to support Romney over Obama in a general election match up as they are to support Cain, Gingrich, or Perry against Obama. And among white Catholic and white mainline Protestant voters, Romney holds considerably more appeal than the other GOP contenders.
http://pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Romneys-Mormon-Faith-religion-and-campaign-2012.aspx#general?src=prc-section
This just proves how many haters are out there on the right. After all, it is their poll; but I’m willing to bet these are the same people who didn’t vote for President Obama in the first place.
And this is why newt should be the nominee , not Romney.
With an uninformed and crazed electorate, I think people in Congress are doing everything they can to make sure Newt does NOT become the nominee, because he’s actually dangerous. Mitt is just incompetent and greedy. But, Newt is actually dangerous – so I think they’re all over the place because they know that if he won the nomination, there are enough stupid people who could vote him into the Oval Office. That would be disastrous for everyone.
Add this to what Pelosi could say:
New Gingrich and his sleazy ways: A history lesson
So gather round, young voters, and I’ll tell you the story of how Gingrich became Speaker. Fellow oldsters may find this enlightening, too, because when you live through a story that dribbles out of a period of years, with professional spinners raising smokescreens and barking denials at every turn, it’s often hard to keep track of the big-picture story line.
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/05/new-gingrich/
Rich with the lies of the Newt.
Democrats Gleeful At Prospect Of Running Against Gingrich
Brian Beutler December 5, 2011, 5:05 AM
There’s no better illustration of how ecstatic Democrats are about Newt Gingrich leading the GOP primary pack than Nancy Pelosi’s strategic silence.
Pelosi knows more about Gingrich than perhaps any other major national political figure. She was a senior Democrat when Gingrich was House Speaker, served on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating and campaign finance violations, and even cut a 2008 ad with him on the importance of addressing global climate change.
But when TPM asked her to talk a bit about his recent ascent and the possibility that he’ll be the GOP nominee, she mostly demurred.
“I like Barney Frank’s quote the best, where he said ‘I never thought I’d live such a good life that I would see Newt Gingrich be the nominee of the Republican party,’” Pelosi said in an exclusive interview Friday. “That quote I think spoke for a lot of us.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/pelosi-democrats-gleeful-at-prospect-of-running-against-gingrich.php
WH Holiday tweet-up now in progress:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
Syria expects to sign Arab League peace deal ‘soon’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-middle-east-16032532
Good morning , Everyone have a nice day. Did anyone watch that joke on FOX NOISE yesterday the ‘Huckabee’ presidential special? I think the more FOX trots out these clowns the more people are coming to the senses. Michele Bachmann was challenged by Newt calling her a “memory-challenged professor.:lol: Well Bachmann does have some memory lapses. But then so does Newt, particularly his past of being a high price lobbyist.
December 05, 2011 8:30 AM
The nature of GOP tax-cut demands
By Steve Benen
About a week ago, the conventional wisdom was that extending the payroll tax cut through 2012, as President Obama wants, wouldn’t pose too tough a challenge. The party leadership in both parties and both chambers had endorsed the goal, and the debate was over how to pay for the policy, not whether the policy was worthwhile.
But Republicans quickly discovered a problem. In the Senate, most of the GOP caucus was so reluctant to approve the tax break, they voted against their own party’s plan. In the House, the gap between the leadership and the rank-and-file members was surprisingly wide.
Deep rifts among House Republicans over a payroll tax break became evident Friday as rank-and-file members of the caucus told their leaders that they did not want to extend the cut in Social Security taxes for another year, as demanded by President Obama.
Given the effort Democrats are making to capitalize on the issue, Speaker John A. Boehner warned Republicans they would run political risks and could be accused of allowing a tax increase if they blocked the continuation of payroll tax relief set to expire at the end of the year. Lawmakers coming out of the caucus meeting Friday said they had had a spirited debate.
“Most people standing up to speak were troubled” by legislation to extend the payroll tax cut, said Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona. “There was a divide between the rank and file and the leadership. There was a lot of disquiet in that room.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/the_nature_of_gop_taxcut_deman033895.php
Boehner is a weak speaker and simply has no clue how to hold his caucus together. The Republican led House is like an unsupervised grade school playground, everybody running around with nobody to keep them in order. This is no way for the United States Congress to behave. Boehner and his whole useless crew have to go.
I liken it to “Animal House”
To be fair he deals with a bunch of lunatics, many of them in safe seats. He doesn’t have a lot of leverage against them. Block the cash flow from the RNC ? The RNC is not as powerful as Grover Norquist.
The GOP is being eaten alive by their extremists. Barack Obama warned them in 2009 when he met them face to face at their “retreat”. They didn’t listen. Well, now it’s time to face the consequences.
And these same folks will want the Bush Tax Cuts extended forever without any off-set and will block the middle class portion being extended if the millionaire/billionaire 1% don’t get theirs.
If I Go There Will Be Trouble, If I Stay It Will Be Double
by mistermix
The Trump/Newsmax debate and Newt Gingrich are putting Mitt Romney in a really fascinating bind. When sure losers Huntsman and Paul declined and made noises about the dignity of the Presidency, it looked for a minute like the whole thing was off. But Newt came in to save the day when he cheerfully accepted, saying, “How could you turn down The Donald?” and that he’s going for the “sheer entertainment value”.
Now Mitt is in a real double bind. First, Newt just signaled that a genuine smile and a sense of humor are going to be required, and Romney has neither. He’s one of the stiffest and most humor-deprived politicians we’ve seen since maybe John Kerry or even Richard Nixon. There’s a real possibility that a little ribbing by Trump and Gingrich will give America an opportunity to get a good look at the stick rammed firmly up Mitt’s ass. We had a tiny glimpse of it during last week’s Fox News interview, and it wasn’t pretty.
Second, his whole strategy is based on attracting Republicans who are disgusted with the Tea Party but don’t want to vote for Obama, while at the same time pandering just enough to be a palatable choice for 27 percenters who know in their hearts that Bachmann or Gingrich just can’t win. The former don’t want Mitt in the same part of the country when the Trump debate is happening. The latter will consider it a condescending snub and evidence of high-hatting if Mitt blows off Trump.
I really can’t predict what Romney will do. My guess is that he’ll manufacture some kind of scheduling conflict, and promise a Trump/Romney event sometime next year. But the latest ugly polls showing Newt crushing him might just cause the ever-calculating Mitt to throw caution to the wind, accept the invitation, and try to memorize a few jokes. Either way, it’s going to be fun to watch.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/12/05/if-i-go-there-will-be-trouble-if-i-stay-it-will-be-double/
Sounds like a trap cooked up by Trump and Newt when they last talked. Mitt’s in trouble.
Send in the Clueless
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 4, 2011
There are two crucial things you need to understand about the current state of American politics. First, given the still dire economic situation, 2012 should be a year of Republican triumph. Second, the G.O.P. may nonetheless snatch defeat from the jaws of victory — because Herman Cain was not an accident.
Think about what it takes to be a viable Republican candidate today. You have to denounce Big Government and high taxes without alienating the older voters who were the key to G.O.P. victories last year — and who, even as they declare their hatred of government, will balk at any hint of cuts to Social Security and Medicare (death panels!).
And you also have to denounce President Obama, who enacted a Republican-designed health reform and killed Osama bin Laden, as a radical socialist who is undermining American security.
So what kind of politician can meet these basic G.O.P. requirements? There are only two ways to make the cut: to be totally cynical or to be totally clueless.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/opinion/send-in-the-clueless.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Back To The Middle And Around Again
by Zandar
As the Occupy movement struggles to stay in place with winter and multiple pepper spray fronts lashing the countryside, the Right screams that the dirty, criminal hippies deserve to be kicked out of “private property” unlike the law-abiding owners of Zuccotti Park. Oh wait.
It turns out that the owners of Zuccotti Park — the historic site of Occupy Wall Street — have been engaged in some of the very same tax-dodging that many of the protesters were enraged about. The “city Finance Department says park owner Brookfield Properties and its parent company, Brookfield US Corp., currently owe the city more than $139,000 in unpaid business taxes from 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.”
Never you mind that unpaid tax bill thing and dating the Mayor. Them hippies need a-punchin’, so a-punchin’s gonna git done.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/12/05/back-to-the-middle-and-around-again/
No shit? Imagine that…
Huh, I’d forgotten about OWS.
December 05, 2011 9:20 AM
Al Hunt asks a good question
By Steve Benen
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and one of three House Republicans on the so-called super-committee, appeared on Bloomberg TV over the weekend, and fielded a very good question from Al Hunt. Pat Garofalo has the video and ran this transcript:
HUNT: Why under those pre-Bush tax cut tax rates did the economy do so well in the ’90s? And why under the Bush tax rates, less for the wealthy, to do so poorly in this decade?
UPTON: Well, a couple things. One, spending went up, Al, the wars. I mean, that’s trillions of dollars. And also there was no change in the entitlements. And we also know —
HUNT: But that shouldn’t hurt the economy. That shouldn’t hurt economic growth.
UPTON: Yeah, but that impacts the debt and the deficit.
HUNT: But I’m asking, why did the economy grow a lot? Why were more jobs created in the previous decade under higher taxes than in this decade under lower taxes?
UPTON: I don’t know specifically the answer to that question.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/al_hunt_asks_a_good_question033896.php
enjoy 😉
Ryan Drew Spills The Beans On Obama Under Armour Sneaker (DETAILS)
http://globalgrind.com/style/ryan-drew-spills-beans-obama-under-armour-sneaker-details
Good morning everyone! Fred, that’s cool beans! I wish they would sell them to the public, man, I’d buy them! 🙂
That’s really cool, Fred.
Jeez Romney and his camps freak out about the NYT reporter just milling about is very telling. His obsessive aversion to the media and getting his message out will bite him in the ass because when one doesn’t get out there and control the media; they risk having others define them, their message distorted, and the media jumping on that bandwagon in an effort to crush them for not being communicative. Keep f*cking that chicken Willard.
If Mitt “Who Am I This Time” Romney can’t handle a couple of questions from reporters on the campaign trail, how would he ever be able to handle an hour long press conference with the jackals? This is really pathetic for someone thinking they are qualified to be the leader of the free world. Unbelievable….
Jackals become toy poodles during Republican Administrations.
GENE SPERLING JUST MAKES SENSE
It is tragic that such common sense proposals for job creation and economic growth are being blocked by the Republican Party. And it is doubly tragic that the media continues to report the “a pox on both their houses” nonsense. Both sides are not to blame for the gridlock. The Democrats are trying to do the right thing for the country with common sense proposals. The Republicans just demand no taxes on the rich. Their masters are Grover Norquist and Rush Limbaugh.
White House Economic Advisor Gene Sperling on the Economy
===========================
On Newsmakers, White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling discusses the latest jobs numbers and the economy.
With the latest unemployment rate dropping to 8.6%, Sperling said “It’s not nearly good enough.”
Sperling called on Congress to pass an extension and expansion of the payroll tax credit, a proposal the Senate failed to advance last week.
Sperling blamed the Republicans for stalemate, saying the members refuse to compromise. “Until more of the Republican party is willing to come to the center… it’s going to be very, very hard to make the progress we need,” he said.
Sperling said the thing he is most worried about is Congress not extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance before the programs expire in January.
==========================
http://www.c-span.org/Events/White-House-Economic-Advisor-Gene-Sperling-on-the-Economy/10737425968/
Good morning Family, I can’t believe Mitt Romney wants to be CIC and so afraid to face a NYT reporter. What a wimp!
Is the sound missing for anyone else on the romney video or is it just me?
morning everyone!
oh, i figured it out!
Good morning, TOD!
Gates Foundation Grants ALEC A Hefty Sum For ‘Education Reform’
This is exactly why I’ve always been suspicious of Bill Gates’ “philanthropy.” Yes, I understand that he’s done wonderful things in Africa, but the United States is where we live and there is a very real and lasting battle going on over the future of public education. While union-busting is certainly one goal of the privatization monsters, profit is the primary goal. Education for profit is lucrative and alluring, especially to people with large sums of money parked and waiting for investment in big-profit items. So when Bill Gates claims to stand for education reform in this country, I place him squarely in the category of those who stand to profit from privatized education.
Now we have this grant from the Gates Foundation to ALEC, of all things. It isn’t a small grant, by any stretch. $376,635 to be paid over a period of 22 months. That’s about $17,000 per month dropping into the coffers of one of the most evil organizations in the country. The grant description reads as follows:
Purpose: to educate and engage its membership on more efficient state budget approaches to drive greater student outcomes, as well as educate them on beneficial ways to recruit, retain, evaluate and compensate effective teaching based upon merit and achievement
~snip~
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/gates-foundation-grants-alec-hefty-sum-educ
h/t karoli
That makes no sense. Wasn’t Bill Gates one of thebillionaires who testified in Congress asking them to raise his taxes? Why wold he ever support those evil bastards?
Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman Refuse To Attend Donald Trump’s Debate: It’s ‘beneath the office of the presidency’ |
In what’s been characterized as “the clown hosting the circus,” business mogul and media hound Donald Trump will moderate Newsmax’s GOP presidential debate this month. Current front runner Newt Gingrich happily accepted Trump’s invitation, but candidates Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul are declining to participate because they question the seriousness of the event.
~snip~
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/04/381513/ron-paul-jon-huntsman-refuse-to-attend-donald-trumps-debate-its-beneath-the-office-of-the-presidency/
h/t Tanya Somanader
Shell signs £11bn deal to fuel Iraq’s power stations with gas
Shell has signed a breakthrough contract to exploit $17bn (£11bn) of gas thrown off by the oilfields of southern Iraq over the next 25 years. The surplus gas is currently burnt off in a process known as “flaring”, which is estimated to cost $5m a day in lost fuel. Its capture and use in power stations has been billed as the answer to Iraq’s domestic power shortages. Shell chief executive Peter Voser described the deal as heralding “a new chapter in the gas industry in Iraq”.
The war-torn nation holds the fifth largest gas reserves in the Middle East and wants to capture more fuel for its power stations, currently only able to cope with about half of domestic demand. The venture will need $17.2bn of investment but is expected to leave Iraq with a gas surplus to export. The new joint venture business, Basra Gas, will be 51% owned by the Iraqi government, with Shell taking 44% and fellow partner Mitsubishi, the Japanese conglomerate, owning 5%.
~snip~
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/nov/27/shell-fuel-iraqi-power-stations
h/t Simon Bowers
Hamid Karzai at Bonn talks: Afghanistan needs long-term engagement
December 5, 2011 09:06
President Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan needs long-term support from other countries to maintain stability after foreign troops withdraw in 2014, at the opening of international talks in Bonn, Germany.
~snip~
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/111205/hamid-karzai-at-bonn-talks-afghanistan-needs-long-term-engagement
h/t Jessica Phelan
Gah! Maybe if Karzai and his administration wasn’t so corrupt, they wouldn’t need so much help! I remember when he came to the state of the union as W’s guest…that should’ve been the heads up of trouble to come!
US complies with Pakistan’s order to evacuate Shamsi air base – reports
The US military started the evacuation of its Shamsi airfield in Pakistan Sunday, local media reported, a move demanded by Islamabad following a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
The Pakistani government had given the US until December 11 to leave the site, which is said to be where the CIA launches its drone attacks on the tribal belt between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
~snip~
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/111204/us-complies-pakistan-order-evacuate-shamsi-air-base
Morning guys,
Anyone knows when they’re going to broadcast the show from last night? I look forward to watch it every year, but especially this year, as Meryl is my goddess. 🙂
Have a good day, everyone.
“Gala will be broadcast on CBS on December 27, 2011 at 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT”
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/
Someone here said it would be Dec 27th.
Hi BWD, I believe it will be broadcast on Dec 27.
Thanks, guys.
No words for this…
Joe Arpaio, Arizona sheriff, accused of botching sex crime investigations
Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff, has been accused of failing to properly investigate more than 400 sex-crimes — including dozens of cases of alleged child molestation. The Associated Press reported that between 2005 and 2007, Arpaio’s office not only failed to adequately investigate sex crimes, but in some cases never opened investigations at all — even when the suspects were known to police.
In one city in northwestern metro Phoenix [El Mirage] where Arpaio’s office was providing contract police services, officials discovered at least 32 reported child molestations where Arpaio’s office failed to follow through, even though suspects were known in all but six cases.A retired El Mirage police official who reviewed the files said many of the victims were children of illegal immigrants, according to the AP.
~snip~
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/111205/joe-arpaio-sex-crimes-child-molestation-maricopa-arizona
h/t Freya Petersen
No surprises here. Joey has always been too busy self promoting, costing the county big $$ and chasing brown people to actually worry about real crime.
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-is-destroying-chuck-todd-on-msnbc-right-now-2011-12?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics
MUST WAtCH. Chuckie Boy BITCH SLAPPED BY THE DONALD. 😆 😆 😆
LOL Little Chuckie frequently get taken down by POTUS and now, Trump. He’s to stupid to realize that he’s a punching bag and doesn’t have a brain in his head. 😀
That was fun….thank you.
Huntsman responded to Trump on Fox
If he wasn’t saying these words on FOX “circus show” News, they’d carry a bit more weight.
I’m sorry, I don’t understand why this is a good thing…Trump is an idiot, as I’m sure most of us agree. (Apologies to those who do not.) I know many people here think Todd is anti-Obama, and deserves any kind of smack down he receives, but even if that’s true, Trump playing the bully doesn’t benefit anyone.
I just don’t think there’s anything to be happy about here. It’s all so sad, and proves once again that PBO was right: Trump is merely a carnival barker.
Your miliage may vary on all this, of course.
I totally agree with you – Trump is despicable. He should be shunned from society for launching his crazed, racist conspiracy theories against a President who towers above him in integrity, smarts, looks, etc. I’m not sure why the media still has him on TV, and so in that respect, all I can say to Chuck Todd is “you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas”. I wish more people would be offended by the mere existence of this scum, Trump. He makes my skin crawl.
You nailed it, IMO.
Theo, I totally agree with you.
I read it…thanks Me4obama. What a hypocritical pos. Yeah, chuckie lies and so does trump. Wonder if he’d get more favorable polls if he told the truth? Brawawawa..nah, didn’t think so..he’d have to admit to being a craven asshole.
Robert Gibbs on Mitt Romney: He’s a political gymnast of the highest order.
Smelling Blood In The Water Team Obama Goes In For The Kill On Mitt Romney
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-romney-epa
Gibbs and Axe were great, but it makes me crazy that the hosts ask everything from a repub perspective, and David Gregory, has the nerve to complain about “personal attacks” against Mittens right after the gop mouthpiece insinuates that PBO wasn’t born here.
I hear ya debz. I was thinking the same thing about DG. He is just useless. All you have to do is look back to the 2008 campaign until today to see the vicious attacks against President Obama. He has been called every name in the book and his allegiance to American has been questioned by the right. I don’t remember David Gregory expressing such concern when the vitriol was being directed at President Obama. It’s selective outrage.
Mitt Romney having no core is evidenced by the fact that he is has been on both sides of so many issues it makes your head spin. I have no idea what he really stands for. The concern trolling from David Gregory about personal attacks was nauseating. I sometimes wonder if it is ever possible for him to formulate a question without including some GOP spin or talking point.
I’ll repeat what I said a couple of times in the last few weeks. I’m concerned that the White House is attacking Romney that harshly right now. Is it because they think Gingrich will be the nominee and he’s easier to beat?
For the record I’m very sceptical that Gingrich will win the nomination. First does he even WANT to be POTUS? VP maybe because it’s prestigious and not as tough as the top job. But POTUS ? I’m not sure… Newt is certainly dangerous because despite his baggage, he’s so good a demagogue, he’s so good at peddling hate and lies and at appealing to the worst in people, he could do a lot of damage in an electoral campaign. As a vp candidate for example, he would keep the radicals happy and do the “dirty” work of the less radical republican nominee.
The GOP power brokers and the media will do everything in their power to put a less radical and more electable candidate at the top of the ticket. (Note that I’m using the term “less radical” instead of ” moderate” because nobody is moderate in the GOP anymore. ). If a “less radical” makes it to the nomination, I’d prefer Romney. But his weakening so soon makes an opening for the other mormon in the race, or for other candidates who could be persuaded to try to be nominated in a brokered convention.
And make no mistake, when the primaries begin and the election nears, the “base” will accept anyone who has a good chance to beat Barack Obama, as long as there is someone in the campaign ( a vp candidate for example) to keep them excited and keep their hate and fear at high levels.
Good morning family. Shared this at the end of last thread. Enjoy and please pass it far and wide. Such an inspiring and enlightening story!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-an-army-colonel-is-retiring-early–to-become-a-high-school-teacher/2011/12/02/gIQAB2wAMO_story.html
Jennifer Palmieri to join White House staff
The White House is bringing onboard high-octane Clinton administration veteran Jennifer Palmieri, a top official at the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, to beef up its communications unit heading into 2012, POLITICO has learned.
Palmieri, who currently serves as president of CAP’s political action fund and as a senior vice president at the parent organization, replaces former deputy communications director Jennifer Psaki, who left for the private sector earlier this fall.
One Democratic insider described the hire as a “wow” because Palmieri is a true Obama outsider with a reputation as a canny political strategist. She’ll have instant credibility within the tight-knit West Wing with responsibilities that will expand well beyond her title, administration officials say.
Obama’s top aides, led by communications director Dan Pfeiffer, have been in talks with Palmieri for about a month.
Palmieri has deep connections to the Washington press corps, having served as DNC national press secretary during the 2002 cycle and John Edwards’ top spokesperson two years later. She has even deeper links to top players in the Obama administration.
Palmieri began her career working for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, then a California congressman, and went on to serve as a special assistant to Panetta when he became Bill Clinton’s chief of staff when Clinton was president. She was one of the few senior staffers to spend eight years in the Clinton White House, the last three years as a deputy press secretary.
Her relationship with Panetta will come in handy as the White House and Pentagon negotiate the deepest cuts to the Pentagon in a generation, hundreds of billions in possible reductions that Panetta says would render the military “a hollow force.”
Palmieri’s interactions within the Edwards family were more complex. She was an Edwards true believer in 2004, but served as a part-time consultant in 2008 as she became increasingly disturbed by the candidate’s personal shortcomings. At the same time, her friendship with Elizabeth Edwards, who was dying of cancer, deepened.
Palmieri was one of a handful of friends Elizabeth Edwards, who died a year ago Wednesday, leaned on at the end of her life.
“We shared many, many laughs in 2004. But the 2008 cycle was very different,” Palmieri wrote in a Jan. 2012 Washington Post tribute to Edwards.
“It is hard to explain, even to fathom, how difficult these past three years have been on her,” she wrote. “I understand that if your husband betrayed you as badly as hers did, you might have a hard time knowing whom to trust… When she reads this, I know that she will point out the things I said that are wrong or unfair, and express particular dismay at any sentences I ended with prepositions. I love her for that.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/69784.html
I wonder if she’s being auditioned for the COS in 2013. Rouse doesn’t want the job and Daley has been a mess.
Let’s be fair to Daley, he only stepped in temporarily so Rahm could run for mayor. This is Chicago pols helping each other.
The Media Wakes Up And Realizes Obama Is The Favorite To Win In 2012
================================
As we inch closer to 2012, it looks the media might be starting to read their own polling. Despite the fact that Obama has been running ahead of the GOP field for most of the year, the mainstream media narrative has been all about how this president is doomed. However, their narrative has consistently not matched the data, which has shown soft support for any of the Republican flavor of the month frontrunners, and sold support for Obama from his base.
The media was trying to set up a storyline to create drama for the 2012 election. The declining unemployment numbers along with Obama’s focus on jobs, and the Republicans relentless obsession with getting rid of the one candidate who could give Obama a race has all combined to make it look like Obama is the favorite to win in 2012.
The reality is that most incumbent presidents should be favored to win reelection. There are recent notables like Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, but as a rule of thumb unless a weak personality challenged incumbent is running up against charismatic opposition who connects with the American people on emotional level, the incumbent should be favored. None of the Republican candidates can match Obama on the campaign trail. None of the GOP candidates can match the Obama organization and fundraising.
================================
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obama-2012-favorite
Well, duh, did the media stop inhaling the pixie dust for a change? Jimmy Carter was a fine and brilliant man, but Reagan outfoxed him on the Iran hostages issue and he had been long-trained by his acting coaches and by General Electric, which revived his career and nurtured him, to appear people friendly and charismatic. He came along at the right time and under the right circumstances to defeat the incumbent. George H W Bush suffered from the Romney (I am an awkward man) syndrome. He swept into office on Reagan nostalgia and though he was worlds smarter than Reagan and his frat boy son, George, he was beaten by a guy who worked all his life to exude charisma and empathy. I don’t think George H W ever knew what hit him.
Currently we have as president the most charismatic person in modern American political history and we have people running against him who run from repellent to nauseating. There is not one of these characters that I would feel comfortable with as mayor of a small town, let alone president of the US. The only reason this is a horse race is because there are large numbers of people in this country who apply not a single brain cell when they go to the polls and simply pull the R lever, no matter who is running. That’s why we have the raft of juvenile incompetents running around the US House right now, trying and miserably failing to act like congressmen.
Lol..I enjoyed reading your analysis, Jackie. And, of course, the major reason we have so many brainwashed idiots pulling the R lever is the US corporate media that masks as “news” and the hate for profit radio that runs rampant throughout the good ol’ USA.
No wonder theobamadiary get 6 millions hits now. If people want to know what’s going on in the Obama Admin and have a place to get factual information..they’re learning where to click on.
December 05, 2011 9:55 AM
The wrong spokesperson for ‘bipartisanship’
By Steve Benen
Newt Gingrich, believe it or not, is comfortable presenting himself as someone who could forge bipartisan solutions in Washington. “There are a thousand small things that create bipartisanship even if you disagree about big things,” Gingrich said over the weekend. “And it’s really important to remember that, all the little human things that a good leader can do to get the city of Washington to work again.”
Kevin Drum was gobsmacked, and highlighted some examples to bolster the fact that Gingrich is largely and personally responsible “for the poisonous state of partisan politics in America today.”
1978, speaking to a group of College Republicans: “I think that one of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty.”
1989, speaking about the Democratic leadership in Congress: “These people are sick….They are so consumed by their own power, by a Mussolini-like ego, that their willingness to run over normal human beings and to destroy honest institutions is unending.”
2011, speaking about the current Democratic president: “Obama is the most serious radical threat to traditional America ever to occupy the White House.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/the_wrong_spokesperson_for_bip033897.php
“traditional America” Oh, really? THANK GOD, his version of traditional America is OVER.
Did anyone else notice how much Mittens looks like Rick in that video clip??? Scary!
Re: Press become toy poodles under a Republican admin…..I just wish they would! Anyone who has a toy or mini poodle knows how feisty they are when challenged or ignored! That simile for Tony Blair was always a misnomer too. We have lived with poodles, poodle mixes, and know others, and they are nobody’s pushover!
Gulf coast task force for the Gulf after oil spill, final reccommendations-
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/931381dfcd9a5c308525779700424ccd/fe1b7ef4aa5c896a8525795a007b171a!OpenDocument
MITTENS WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN A RERUN…THERE ISN’T A GOP CANDIDATE AROUND THAT CAN STAND UP AGAINST OUR AWESOME,COMPASSIONATE,INTELLIGENT,HUMBLE AND GRACEFUL PRESIDENT!
December 05, 2011 10:30 AM
Indifference to the truth
By Steve Benen
The controversy over Mitt Romney’s first television ad — the one that shamelessly wrenched a President Obama quote from context, misleading the public — has largely come and gone. But the Romney campaign’s blatant dishonesty left a bad taste in the political world’s mouth, made worse by the campaign’s failure to come up with a coherent defense.
By way of an explanation, a top Romney operative told the NYT that the manipulation of facts in campaign commercials is fine because ads are “propaganda” and “agitprop.” Referencing Democrats, the unnamed member of the Romney campaign added, “It’s ludicrous for them to say that an ad is taking something out of context … All ads do that. They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art.”
Greg Sargent wasn’t persuaded by this.
So here you have it: The Romney camp’s standard for accuracy and fairness seems to be that there is no need for any such standard, because all ads are by definition “manipulative” and “propaganda.”
But come on: You can make an assertion or depiction designed to persuade that also happens to be … true. […]
Between this new quote and their boast that the ad’s mangling of context was strategically brilliant because it won reams of media attention, it almost seems as if Romney advisers are trying to persuade political reporters and commentators to abandon any standards they might use to judge tactics and rhetoric throughout this campaign.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/indifference_to_the_truth033898.php
Gingrich’s Pitch: The Old America
And it’s by far his best cultural message, designed to aim directly at seniors and all those somewhat discombobulated by a multicultural America and a biracial president:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/gingrichs-pitch-the-old-america.html
Is he using music from the “Rudy” movie soundtrack? Impressed that Newt has enough money to get on the air in Iowa – ad is complete pap, but that’s all it needs to be right now. Whether or not Newt will be the nominee will depend on the debates on the 10th and 15th when he’s targeted by all others in the debate as the Not-Romney’s want to take him down in hopes they get another look, and Mitt of course needs to take him out as well.
In his next ad he will have all black and brown people, and will say “Are there not prisons, are there no workhouses??”
Are there no elementary school bathrooms in poor neighborhoods to clean?
Grrrrr.
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows – December 4, 2011
==========================================
On the first Sunday of December, GOP presidential contender Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus each brought their share of falsehoods to the table. On CNN’s State of the Union, Bachmann dismissed the economic significance of the payroll tax holiday even though economists explain that putting more money in the hands of workers would give an appreciable boost to the economy. She also appeared on Fox News Sunday, where she falsely claimed that businesses aren’t hiring because they don’t have enough money. During his appearances, Priebus did his best to attack the Obama administration’s record, distorting the reasons behind November’s unemployment rate drop on Meet the Press. He also tried to blame President Obama for deficits that are a legacy of Bush-era Republican policies and for a rising poverty rate that’s the result of the recession.
==========================================
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/201112050002
Doocy On Why Bush’s Vacations Were More Acceptable Than Obama’s: “[Bush] Never Had A Surfboard”
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201112050002
The comments are hilarious….here is one.
” The surfboard was constructed by Tony Rezko and financed by donations by Rev. Wright….and built in Kenya. “
The stupidity of people who work at Fox, especially Steve Doocy knows no bounds.
What Putin Was Reduced To
Two cheers for moderate democracy! Putin decided it was unwise to stuff the parliamentary ballots so crudely that he might capsize his own presidential “election” next Russia – but still United Russia saw its vote collapse. The rigging was still there, of course, it’s just that the loss was so big it couldn’t be thoroughly disguised:
Petros Efthymiou, who led the short-term O.S.C.E. observer mission, said the elections “proved that the Russian people can form the future of this country by expressing their will despite many obstacles.” “However, changes are needed for the will of the people to be respected,” Mr. Efthymiou said. “I particularly noticed the interference of the state in all levels of political life, the lack of necessary conditions for fair competition and no independence of the media.”
Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, who headed the mission of the O.S.C.E.’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, compared the elections to “a game in which only some players are allowed on the pitch, and then the field is tilted in favor of one of the players.”
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/12/what-putin-was-reduced-to.html
I watched Newtster’s ad–was it just me, or did it seem to feature white folks? Even the military marching shot was pretty damn white! If he wins the nomination–I hope he goes down in flames–I’m still mad about poor kids cleaning up bathrooms–that should pretty much tell you who he is—
you didn’t expect him to see anyone with a different shade now did you Auni? 😉
I don’t watch the Sunday political shows. I don’t have the stomach. But MediaMatters has a site specifically for fact checking what was said on the Sunday shows. If you read this, you’ll never have to torture yourself again!
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/
Thank you Chips for posting the Kennedy Honors video. I was unable to watch yesterday. As usual, our First Couple were magnificent.
December 05, 2011 11:15 AM
Fox targets Obama’s vacation
By Steve Benen
During George W. Bush’s two terms as president, he spent all or part of 977 days at Camp David or at a ranch in Texas. That’s the equivalent of more than two and a half years, and it set a modern record — no president has taken more time off than Bush since records started keeping track of such things.
With that in mind, it’s amazing to see Fox News whine about President Obama taking two weeks off around the holidays.
For those who can’t watch clips online, the cast of “Fox & Friends” spent some time this morning complaining about the president planning to take some time off at the end of the month. Dana Perino, Bush’s former press secretary, found Obama’s vacation plans — 17 days off — so ridiculous, she thought the reporters were a joke. She added that the trip has something to do with the drop in unemployment, and was announced on Friday afternoon (when Bush’s White House released all news it found politically inconvenient).
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/fox_targets_obamas_vacation033899.php
FOX can KMA.
mine too Jacque
Boehner’s House is scheduled to go on holiday starting this Friday through January 17th. Accomplished NOTHING but obstruction this year.
These are the same GOP who have a problem with President Obama taking off on vacation a full week later, after a year propping up the world all by himself? People can’t be that stupid to believe anything the GOP says at this point.
Oh, but some are. Every time I think nobody could be that stupid, I remember “they” (not I) put W in the White House twice. This is all so embarrassing for our country, but THANK GOD we’ll have President Obama and Vice President Biden at the helm for two terms!!!!!
President will be making remarks (apparently on taxes, according to the jackals) at 1:30 Eastern.
Sweet. Thanks for the heads up.
It’ll be on WhiteHouse.gov
Horrible puke jackal on CNN just said, “Newt Gingrich will be speaking at 1:45 and the President will sneak in at 1:30, we hope.”
Switched that channel.
So, is Newt going to make a habit of speaking every time the President speaks, and the media having a toss up on who to listen to? What can Newt possibly have to say on anything, when he doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of anything. This makes my blood boil!
Mine, too. But I laughed to myself thinking maybe the President scheduled his remarks at the same time as Newtie’s, just for fun. However, the President doesn’t play games, so probably not (but I would have!).
Heads up everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2011/12/05/heads-up-79/
I heard a report on NPR this morning that Darrell Issa helped to secure funding for an alternative energy car company in California called Apterra, and that the company has shut down. I wonder if Darrell Issa will investigate himself after he finishes the Solyndra debacle? He claims his deal is different because the company never sold a single car and never got the actual loan before it shut its doors. Hypocrite. The fact is – businesses fail. The whole point of business and government guarantees is to navigate risk in order to squeak out a profit. If there was no risk, then companies wouldn’t need managers and thinkers (sometimes mutually exclusive).
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-05/issa-supported-aptera-closes-without-receiving-u-s-vehicle-loan.html
Good Morning TOD family
So good to read your comments and share this day with everyone.
CALL TO ACTION
We have not had one of these in a while – so lets get to work.
We need to call our Senators and tell them 2 things
1. Extend the “payroll tax cut” and make millionaires pay for it.
2. Approve the nomination of Richard Corday to the Consumer Agency, we need someone fighting for us.
If you have even more energy you can call the Democratic Senators who voted against it
Manchin, Tester? (I may not have that right)
And then if you are super duper energetic contact Nancy Peolosi and Harry Reid and ask them to hang tough because the people are on their side.
Contact info for the Senate can be found here
http://www.whatisworking.com/2011/05/contact-congress-address-phone-twitter.html
Press On.