On This Day:
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Today (all times Eastern)
* President Obama appears on Kelly and Michael – check your local listings here
10:15: President Obama meets with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Oval Office
11:0: The President meets with the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force
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11:15 EDT: President Obama Makes a Statement
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1:0: Jay Carney briefs the press
2:15: The President attends a hurricane preparedness meeting, FEMA Headquarters
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O.B.A.M.A – Obviously Better At Managing Adorables. pic.twitter.com/2oIA1RH1nL
— amk4obama (@amk4obama) May 30, 2014
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Fareed Zakaria: Obama’s leadership is right for today
…. Obama is battling a knee-jerk sentiment in Washington in which the only kind of international leadership that means anything is the use of military force. “Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail,” he said in his speech Wednesday at West Point.
A similar sentiment was expressed in the farewell address of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a strong leader who refused to intervene in the Suez crisis, the French collapse in Vietnam, two Taiwan Strait confrontations and the Hungarian uprising of 1956.
At the time, many critics blasted the president for his passivity and wished that he would be more interventionist. A Democratic Advisory Council committee headed by Acheson called Eisenhower’s foreign policy “weak, vacillating, and tardy.” But Eisenhower kept his powder dry, confident that force was not the only way to show strength. “I’ll tell you what leadership is,” he told his speechwriter. “It’s persuasion — and conciliation — and education — and patience . It’s long, slow, tough work. That’s the only kind of leadership I know — or believe in — or will practice.”
Maybe that’s the Obama Doctrine.
Full article here
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Fred Kaplan: Obama Lays Siege to His Critics
President Obama’s speech at West Point on Wednesday morning could be called a tribute to common sense, except that the sense it made is so uncommon. The ensuing cable pundits’ complaints—that it was insufficiently “muscular” or “robust”—only proved how necessary this speech was.
Obama’s point was not (contrary to some commentators’ claims) to draw a “middle-of-the-road” line between isolationism and unilateralism. That’s a line so broad almost anyone could walk it.
The president’s main point was to emphasize that not every problem has a military solution; that the proper measure of strength and leadership is not merely the eagerness to deploy military power; that, in fact, America’s costliest mistakes have stemmed not from restraint but from rushing to armed adventures “without thinking through the consequences, without building international support and legitimacy for our action, without leveling with the American people about the sacrifice required.”
More here
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Graduating cadets listen to President Obama deliver the commencement address at West Point, May 28, 2014 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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NPR: Transcript And Audio: President Obama’s Full NPR Interview
NPR’s Steve Inskeep interviewed President Obama on Wednesday about foreign policy, including his approaches to Syria, Ukraine and China, as well as his remaining White House priorities and his effort to close Guantanamo Bay prison. A full transcript of the interview follows:
STEVE INSKEEP: I want to begin this way. You’re here at this historic place, trying to speak with a sense of history. And I was thinking of past presidents that I know you have studied and commented on. And a couple came to mind who were able to express what they were trying to do in the world in about a sentence. Reagan wanted to roll back communism by whatever means. Lincoln has a famous letter in which he says, I would save the union by the shortest means under the Constitution. As you look at the moment of history that you occupy, do you think you can put into a sentence what you are trying to accomplish in the world?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I’m not sure I can do it in a sentence because we’re fortunate in many ways. We don’t face an existential crisis. We don’t face a civil war. We don’t face a Soviet Union that is trying to rally a bloc of countries and that could threaten our way of life. Instead, what we have is, as I say in the speech, this moment in which we are incredibly fortunate to have a strong economy that is getting stronger, no military peer that threatens us, no nation-state that anytime soon intends to go to war with us. But we have a world order that is changing very rapidly and that can generate diffuse threats, all of which we have to deal with.
More here
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My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to the President – PDF
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Greg Sargent: GOP retreat on Obamacare continues apace
A new report this morning confirms that House Republicans are likely to delay plans to offer an alternative to Obamacare until after the elections; that multiple Republican candidates are retreating from repeal; and that they are increasingly mouthing support for the law’s general goals. Once again: There’s no real policy space for a meaningful alternative, but the base still sees repeal as its lodestar, yet everyone else opposes repeal, forcing Republicans to claim they’d scrap it and replace it with something or other doing all the popular things in it, without saying what.
More here
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Why is it that most of the people calling for Shinseki’s head have never had to deal with VA, while those that have dealt with VA aren’t?
— john miller (@deaconmill) May 30, 2014
McCain is right. Treatment of veterans in Arizona is disgraceful. If only there were a prominent veteran in Arizona who could have helped
— Donald J. Drumpf (@RealDonalDrumpf) May 30, 2014
#maddow I think John McCain should resign. This VA thing happened in his state. Where was he? On the Sunday talkies
— Pat Fuller (@bannerite) May 29, 2014
Huge standing ovation and applause for VASec Shinseki at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans here at the Hyatt. These guys love him — philewing (@philewing) May 30, 2014
Reporters follow VA Secretary Eric Shinseki after his remarks to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans pic.twitter.com/6cuFPBSbem — Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) May 30, 2014
Today’s speech: Secretary Shinseki on Homelessness Among Veterans http://t.co/wB1zRH2dTK — meta (@metaquest) May 30, 2014
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Justin Wolfers (NYT): Deceptive Dip in G.D.P. Points to Perils of Election Forecasting
An economic report issued [yesterday] provides a good example of the hazards facing election forecasters. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that in the first quarter of this year, Gross Domestic Product, a broad indicator of the health of the economy, shrank at an annual rate of 1 percent. Even worse, an alternative and more accurate measure, called Gross Domestic Income, shrank at an annual rate of 2.3 percent. If that persisted, we’d call it a sharp recession.
But no one is using the R-word. Nor should they. Markets have taken the news in their stride, and few economists have changed their view that the economy is growing and will continue to through 2014. Likewise, consumers remain confident about their economic prospects. Their confidence rests partly on other indicators that suggested far better growth throughout the quarter, such as nonfarm payrolls, which grew by 569,000 over the same period.
More here
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The 16 questions @NBCNews should have asked Edward Snowden but didn’t. http://t.co/MMFIslVJhY — Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) May 29, 2014
MLK and Marlon Brando pic.twitter.com/ng8S25mzFZ — Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) May 29, 2014
Guys steals 1.7 million documents. Forgets to print out e-mails he exchanged w/NSA officials expressing concerns abt NSA programs #oops — Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) May 30, 2014
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National Journal: Lies, Damn Lies, and Global-Warming Rules
The president is about to take a major step to fight global warming. Here’s what you need to know.
President Obama promised to take action on global warming with or without Congress’s permission. Next week, he’ll tell the world how he plans to do it.
The administration is preparing to release the central pillar of Obama’s climate-change agenda: a proposal for far-reaching rules that will require power companies to cut carbon emissions.
The rules will mark the most significant federal action on climate change since Democrats’ cap-and-trade bill died in the Senate four years ago, and they’re Obama’s best shot at adding broad action on global warming to his legacy.
The rules will also touch off a political war of the first order, offering battleground for environmentalists, industry groups, and politicians to fight over the nation’s energy future.
Here’s what to watch for when the administration pulls back the curtain.
More here
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Must Read: Sandy Hook principal’s daughter on Joe the Plumber’s ‘Dead Kid’ callousness: http://t.co/2XjQfDmdBX #notonemore
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) May 29, 2014
#gunsense pic.twitter.com/upIaEOb9cq — Pedro (@gabino_58) May 29, 2014
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ThinkProgress: Redskins’ Twitter Campaign To Defend Their Name Goes About As Well As You’d Expect
The Washington Redskins — desperate to defend the name that Native Americans, members of Congress, a majority of the United States Senate, religious leaders, civil rights groups, several current and former NFL players, United Nations Human Rights representatives, and even President Obama have said should be changed because it is a “dictionary-defined” racial slur — started a Twitter campaign to rally support Thursday afternoon.
It started with this tweet asking fans to tell Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has made a habit of chiding the team over its name, how they felt:
More here
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“I’d rather be born black, American, female, in the 20th century, and I was. What luck I have!” —Maya Angelou: http://t.co/uhtdTQ3f33
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 28, 2014
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USA Today: Biden to attend U.S. World Cup soccer match
The United States men’s World Cup soccer team will have a particularly vocal fan when it takes on Ghana next month: Joe Biden.
The vice president will attend the U.S.-Ghana match on June 16 in Natal, Brazil, as part of a trip that will also take him to Colombia and the Dominican Republic as well as Brazil.
More here
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The #Clippers are being purchased by the ex-head of Microsoft, so count on next year’s team being slow, error-prone and full of viruses.
— God (@TheTweetOfGod) May 29, 2014
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I’m not sure whether to love this video, or be freaked out by it:
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I shouldn’t laugh, but:
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On This Day
Sen Obama attends a rally in Great Falls, Montana, whilst campaining in the race for the White House. May 30, 2008
Sen. Obama addresses a rally at The Four Seasons Arena May 30, 2008 in Great Falls, Montana
On This Day: Sen. Barack Obama and Ranger Wesley Jensen look at the presidential faces on Mount Rushmore May 30, 2008 at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota. Citing the size of his ears, Obama joked that he would not want his face added to the memorial
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on May 30, 2009 in Washington, DC. The Obamas are traveling to New York City for their date night
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk towards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to New York where they had a private dinner and attended a play, Saturday, May 30, 2009
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President Obama takes part in a Jewish-American Heritage Month reception on May 30, 2012 in the East Room of the White House
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President Obama walks to Air Force One prior to departing Chicago O’Hare International Airport on May 30, 2013
@lacasablanca: Oval Office meeting: President Obama and @sr_simone of “Nuns on the Bus” discussed #ImmigrationReform
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MoooOOOooorning!
Rise and Shine!
Gooooooooooood morning GeeeeeeeeBeeeeeeee!!!!
Moooooorrrrrrrrnnnnniinnng!!! 🙂
good morning gobrooklyn – wtg on first
Thanks, 99! Good morning!
Rising and Shining, M’am! As you wish! 😀
Congrats on First! You’re looking mighty golden!
🙂 Thanks, Dudette!
Congats gobrooklyn. And good morning to all TODers!
Thanks!
Good morning Chips & Co.
Moooooooorning Vicki!!!
Republicans Block Help for Veterans
Good Morning all. I just wanted to say that I have become a perpetual lurker, not so much a poster. I did call my one “sane” senator Bill Nelson this morning. I did tell him to stop following the GOP like he did in 2001 and vote for war. We that canvassed, call banked, registered voters, took people to get their ID’s, and work at the polls on election day…need strong Democrats to stand with our President. and Secretary Shinseki.
Definitely worth reading
13. Your passport was revoked while you were in Hong Kong. How did you get out and manage to fly to Russia?
And I see that the author’s tweet is in the post. As usual, posting before reading. Still worth the read.
Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh! Morning Uptown Boy!
GM Downtown Girl. Since you won’t accept a post devoted to you know who, how about Petula Clark. I used to have a big crush on her. Not like the one I have on you, but close.
😆 Don’t give LL any ideas, Uptown Boy!
Well, he will show up later, when you disappear for a while. Really, “Two Rivers” was a beautiful love song.
But if Petlula Clark won’t work, how about The Dave Clark Five, and if not them how about Kelly Clarkson and if not her, how about a tribute to the career of Clark Gable?
🙂 I was trying to maintain the sequence, but I can’t think of anyone called Gable something!
But you could go with Betty Grable. Close enough and then allows to switch over to Betty’s.
Pictorial Journey Is deliciously done. Thanks Chips.
Morning TOD.
Congrats G ❤ B for your GOLD!
Sunny, Hot and Humid in my parts of the World.
R&S is excellent.
Thank yooooou Nena!
Thanks a million Kay!
My pleasure, Chiparoo.
Asked about his relationship with Secretary Clinton and her potential run in 2016, the President said “… I’ve been blessed to have some people around me like (Hillary Clinton), and Vice President Biden and my Chief of Staff who are just great, hard-working effective people and I love them to death.”
Here’s a fun experiment. Let’s see how long it takes the media to take this leap >>> Did President Obama just inadvertently leak that White House CoS Denis McDonough might be considering a run for President in 2016? 😀
I’m as dumb as the media, because – I swear – that’s where my head went for a millisecond. Ha!
Seems I’ve risen but so far I’m just glowing a bit, not shining!
Mornin’.
LOL! Good morning job! 🙂
Thanks for the video. That was quick on the Youtube already.
Nice interview. I like this cute exchange that starts around 7:15:
Michael: I want to switch gears a little bit, because we know that Sasha’s becoming a teenager…
PBO: Sasha, next week, will be 13
Michael: Do you get more white hair from what you do here as the President or dealing with teenage daughters
PBO: Well the truth is, first of all, on the grey hair tip, my grandfather on my mother’s side was grey by the time he was 30. So even if I hadn’t been President…
Michael: Oh, you beat the odds…
PBO: I’m not sure…
Kelly: You’re doing well though…
[Laughter]
PBO: That’s my point. I think probably this job excelerated it maybe six months, but I was going… now is the time. If I wanted to avoid this, I would’ve had to start dying it a while back.
Michael: Have you ever considered dying it?
PBO: I have not…
Michael: C’mon, it’s just us, nobody’s gonna watch…
PBO: No, I’m being honest with you. I’ve seen Michelle in the hair salon. It’s just too much work.
[Laughter]
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At 9:20, the President mentions Malia had her first prom, but keeps mum on whether she went with a boy. He’s such a cute, proud Dad. Listen to the whole thing. You’ll enjoy it.
Amazing interview – GWB should watch it – learn what he should have been doing while in the White House.
I only One or Two Vet Groups are asking for Gen Shinseki to step down…..the people that actually are the most invested in this……why are the Media scream and the politicians politicking?
Oh yeah, I get it……pretentious Peacocks must showcase their unnatural colors?
Twitter is interesting. For some reason a couple tweets I originally sent out on May 21 are getting a lot of retweets today.
As I keep saying Phoenix Arizona, where were John McCain? He represent Arizona and have for along time, what the hell was he doing for the veterans? Now he is out there crowing the loudest about being upset about what has been going on in the VA, but it’s been going on for a long time John McCain.
POTUS answer about FLOTUS running for office was funny. I think we can rule out the fact that FLOTUS would run for any political office.
Lovely to read from Jovie and to see his puppy.
Welcome Back, Sir 😉
Good Morning Family!
Moooooorning Duuuuuuudette!
Goooooood Moooooorning Blog Queen! 🙂
Happy Friday all! It is a beautiful Montana morning. My lilacs are in full bloom and the smell is heavenly. What a great R&S. Thanks for the pictures of the Great Falls event. I can’t remember if it was the day before or the day after he was here in Missoula, which I attended. It was wonderful. We were all so impressed by how well organized it all was. The next week Hillary came and I attended it. It was very unorganized. That really sealed the deal for me.
Senate to get a second chance to do right by veterans
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senate-get-second-chance-do-right
Am I the only one annoyed that the NPR interviewer wants PBO to sum up his foreign policy in one sentence?
I am not. He gave PBO the perfect opportunity to say that the world is too complex to sum it up that way. People need to realize that.
I loved the answer. I also love watching PBO turn what angers us into an opportunity to tell Truth. I just found it sophomoric, but your point is well taken.
Great stuff, Chiparooo!
Especially enjoyed the articles and interview on President Obama’s foreign policy approach.
It’s not just on foreign policy – the current gop b.s. on the va – demanding the President do this that something else – PBO examines the situation – talks with the people involved and sorts out solutions. If the people in congress worked in this fashion – what a great place it would be!
I am very disappointed in a couple of the dem senators who were demanding someone be fired – they should know better. It won’t win them any votes – which is the only reason they are doing it. Supporting PBO will win them votes – why are they never willing to admit this?
Thank you CollegeKay for the Kelly and Michael with PBO interview.
For me the signature moment was when POTUS explained how the thing he worried most about was that his levelheaded decent daughters would be poisoned by the offspring of the entitled, privileged children they are going to school with. Tells you all you need to know about how our President really feels about the likes of David Gregory.
This!
Great articles, bt.
Ah, thank you Mister, some excellent stuff floating around today.
Nice fishes you caught there. danny teach you that?
Of course!
that ain’t no danny. #cheater.
totly is i fich reel (lol) gud
Does Mommy cook what you catch, Danny?
The giveway is that the photo is in focus.
[Running from Chips as fast as I can…….]
egg.sack.lee
If bt took the pic, it would look like the fish caught danny.
Look, it’s NOT easy snapping animals!
OOOOOOMMMMMMGGGGGGG!!!! 😆
says it all, doesn’t it?
The kid’s reaction (on the right) at 20 seconds is tooooo funny:
Loved the PBO interview with Kelly and Michael. Love that President Obama—-always so appealing.
I will be really disappointed if Shinseki succumbs to idiotic political pressure and resigns. Not the problem, not the solution.
And can anyone help dense me——I have stared at that Williams/Snowden tweet for hours (not really but….) and do not get the MLK/Brando reference. Help! I’m tired of feeling dumb.
Sec. Shinseki has just left the White House.
Announced that PBO will be at the briefing at 11:15—–after his mtg. with Shinseki—-hoping it’s not about his resignation.
Since Sec Shinseki has left the WH, I fear the worst.
POTUS live in a couple of minutes:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
Free Market’ Republicans Give the Koch Brothers and ALEC a Monopoly Over Ohio’s Energy
By: Rmuse
Friday, May, 30th, 2014, 10:14 am
Monopolies exist when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity, and are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the commodity coupled with a lack of a viable substitute. The most terrifying thing on Earth to a person or enterprise controlling the only supply of a commodity is when a viable substitute is discovered that forces the enterprise into economic competition that, in part, is the nature of free market capitalism. Republicans and their conservative donors are staunch defenders of free market capitalism; that is until they see a viable competitor. It explains their drive to restrict Democratic voters during elections, and new energy sources that threaten the dirty energy industry’s monopoly on supplying power.
………………………….
The manufacturers’ association was not exaggerating because since Ohio adopted the RES, nearly unanimously in 2008, Ohio’s clean energy sector created over 25,000 jobs, over $1 billion in private sector investment, and cut electricity rates by 1.4% (over $230 million in savings). However, that was before the Kochs bought the Ohio legislature and installed an ALEC alumnus in the governor’s office.
Sadly, Ohio is just the first, but certainly not the last, state the Koch brothers, ALEC, Americans for Prosperity, and the Heartland Institute are working to prohibit access to the wind and Sun’s power source. According to the New York Times, in just the past year more than a dozen states have embraced ALEC proposals to eliminate green and renewable energy mandates and incentives due to intervention from “libertarian policy and advocacy groups.” It is noteworthy that libertarians and their staunch devotion to letting “free market capitalism” drive the economy does not apply if it cuts into the libertarian Koch brothers’ monopoly on energy and profits.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/30/free-market-republicans-give-koch-brothers-alec-monopoly-ohios-energy.html
11:15 EDT: President Obama Makes a Statement
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
Sorry but ugh. A shame.
Shinseki has resigned. Sigh.
GOP gets a scalp – a.holes
Don’t they always? This is disgusting!! They do the dirt and blame the dems or POTUS. I’m surprised that the President has a cabinet at all because every single time something happens, the gop asks for a resignation — Rice, Holder, Sebelius, Shinseki. If you notice, the repub never call for any of their own to resign (not publicly anyway) no matter what they do. Not a peep from the dems unless it’s their own. If the repubs did what the dems do, we wouldn’t have all this grdilock. I’m going to vote for the dems in 2014 but I refuse to send them a dime…only OFA. Why did the whistleblower wait until he resigned to say something? He worked under these circumstances and didn’t have the courage to say anything. I think it’s only been one time that the dems stuck together. There seems to be one going along with the repub mess every time. They get on my last nerve!
Awww… damn. Sec Shinseki resigned, the President said he accepted it. 😦
Shit, Sec Shinseki has resigned
PBO says Deputy VA Sec, Sloan Gibson will become Acting VA Secretary
Whatever…
I got to the WH before PBO arrived – I spat coffee on the keyboard looking at the gaggle of horribles – I was so pleased when the President came in & told them to shut up & sit down – worse than schoolchildren – true derps.
We will never know if Shinseki resigned or if he was basically given no choice. I know that, just like with Sibelius, the talking heads will say PBO forced him to resign.
I wish he had been given the opportunity to do with this problem what he had done with so many others. He had done an amazing job in so many areas.
I believe PBO – Shinseki resigned – he just didn’t want the VA to be continually attacked by they media and the GOP because he was there. The GOP will flog a dead horse forever – that is what Shineski knows.
My belief also is that he resigned. Which just goes to show just how honorable a man he is. I hope PBO finds another slot for him in his adminstration that doesn’t require Congressional approval, if Shinseki would be willing to accept something.
Some folks put their country and their CIC ahead of themselves japa. He can walk away with his head held high and will be well remembered – unlike those who would attack him.
I am sad about this decision—-I understand it, I guess—–to shut down the racket—- but it was a political media/GOP forced decision and nothing to do with a real solution to the problems in the VA. I think it’s a real shame.
+ 1,000,000,000,000 Dotster. It feels so wrong.
Co-sign!
Absolutely.
Good Morning TODVille,
I am sorry for the VA Chief but know that this news will bring back focus to solving the systematic problems at the VA hospitals and clinics and no longer on POTUS’s inability to either manage huge programs or fire people not performing.
But I did like Shinseki. Now twice he has been pushed out from two administrations, erroneously under Bush and by the wrongdoings of others under his party’s administration.
I’m with you NCLB. I like him too. He’s been a terrific public servant.
He’s gotten a raw deal on this. I understand it, but I don’t like it one bit.
Here we go – the media is now going to say he should not have resigned – should not have been fired – after SCREAMING for the resignation. It doesn’t matter what PBO does the WHPC will scream for the opposite.
Yep
And that is what made me spit coffee onto the keyboard – they couldn’t make a decision to save their worthless souls.
Jackals
…. no make that, Hyenas!
Piranha
Ugh!!! Disgusting!! These folks are the problem in the country!!!
Yet another proof murka doesn’t deserve smart, capable and compassionate leaders.
Ain’t that the truth!
There are times I believe that we are a truly masochistic society, self inflicting pain on ourselves either through electing people who don’t deserve to be anywhere near the reins of government or tearing down the good ones that are there.
Pity isn’t it that such a smart country can be ruined by its press and a few nutters?
New post:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/05/30/the-presidents-statement-on-secretary-shinseki/
Yep
I am so sad about this resignation. Republicans have made a mockery of this situation by fundraising and all of the he other despicable things they do, including running ads against opponents. Pundits have been despicable.
Granted I follow people who tend to think the way I do (as most of us do) but a lot of those I follow disagree with me on certain specifics,. All I am seeing are tweets very supportive of Shinseki and upset with his resignation. Not one applauding it yet.
Someone mentioned this the other day.
Damn MSM and GOP. . . They have no guts, no glory. . .