This is how you fight back. It's definitely worth a watch.
Looks like the Obama mantra of "Not this time" is real. Every time, he's attacked by the GOP slime machine, he has to hit back harder and stronger. Today was a very good start.
"The way we handled you guys was a mistake on our part. What we're hearing is that we truly treated people badly and weren't accessible enough or open enough. We had bad relationships with reporters, and it probably bit us on the ass."
"We ran a press operation that lost all credibility with the press through endless and pointless memos like, 'Where's the Bounce?' and polling memos that cherry-picked only positive polls when we were up and ignored polling when we were down."
"Even among Clinton spokespeople long known for their heavy-handed ways, Phil Singer stood out for his all-too-common and accepted profanity-laced tirades and abusive behavior--both at colleagues and the media, who were all too happy to direct his comeuppance toward Hillary at a time she needed them most."
Come on, guys. Stop with the sophomoric he-said-she-said crap. You have the video from Sky News of McCain saying we should talk to Hamas. Just quote the damn video, it's posted below. It's a fact what McCain said. Don't write that Democrats "say," or Jamie Ruben says, that McCain said x y and z. McCain SAID it. You have the proof. Stop presenting facts as allegations, out of some twisted desire to be fair. You're not being fair, you're not being a journalist, when you quote lies you know to be untrue, or when you quote truths that you pretend are unconfirmed. Do your damn job. It's nuance, to be sure, but it's the difference between a reader walking away with "well, a Democrat claimed that, so it's probably not true" and a reader saying "wow, there's video, McCain must have actually said that."
George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.
His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.
The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator's action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
The debate over Prescott Bush's behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the "Bush/Nazi" connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler's rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty.
In today's Washington Post, Jamie Rubin destroys the George Bush/John McCain attack on Obama over Hamas. McCain told Rubin that we were going to have to work with Hamas -- and McCain didn't mention any conditions. Now, this interview happened two years ago, so, in fairness, McCain might not remember, but he said it quite clearly:
But given his own position on Hamas, McCain is the last politician who should be attacking Obama. Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News's "World News Tonight" program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange:
I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"
McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."
For some Europeans in Davos, Switzerland, where the interview took place, that's a perfectly reasonable answer. But it is an unusual if not unique response for an American politician from either party. And it is most certainly not how the newly conservative presumptive Republican nominee would reply today.
Given that exchange, the new John McCain might say that Hamas should be rooting for the old John McCain to win the presidential election. The old John McCain, it appears, was ready to do business with a Hamas-led government, while both Clinton and Obama have said that Hamas must change its policies toward Israel and terrorism before it can have diplomatic relations with the United States.
So while McCain was cavorting in Davos with all the other elites, he thought it was okay to work with Hamas. But now, McCain is on the attack over a manufactured issue. What a fraud.
Thanks to Clinton-appointee Rubin for finally getting this out. The debate's only been going on for weeks now - you couldn't have brought this up earlier?
George Bush proved two things during his speech at the Knesset yesterday: 1) The 2008 campaign for president is about George Bush; and 2) Everything Bush does is political, first and foremost.
So, game on. Bush wants to the debate to be about him. McCain is such a weak candidate he has nothing else to run but Bush's record. This is going to be fun. Ugly, but fun.
Why doesn't Bush just sell off the naming rights of the national parks - heck, the country - to Exxon or some other energy company? They seem to be calling the shots on everything and just look at the results. Congress needs to step in...now.
The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and park managers who oppose the plan.
The new regulations, which are likely to be finalized this summer, rewrite a provision of the Clean Air Act that applies to "Class 1 areas," federal lands that currently have the highest level of protection under the law. Opponents predict the changes will worsen visibility at many of the nation's most prized tourist destinations, including Virginia's Shenandoah, Colorado's Mesa Verde and North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt national parks.
Oops. That would make McCain a McHypocrite for blasting Obama for proposing the EXACT same thing McCain proposed only two years ago. But in all fairness to McCain, nearing the age of 72, maybe he simply can't remember his positions anymore. More in Jamie Ruben's op ed in Friday's Washington Post.
Bill O'Reilly is mad at Markos today. Apparently, Markos is David Duke. Or Neville Chamberlain (no, that's Obama, sorry). Or an illiterate gay. Or something. It's difficult to tell. It's also hy-sterical.
Ah the smell of dictatorship in the morning. And these people aspire to closer ties with the EU? That'll be the day. And we're worried about marriage - not that we shouldn't be, but it's shocking the contrast that these guys can't even hold a parade without hundreds of thugs threatening their lives while the police watch and do nothing. Kind of amazing how that scene could describe any of a myriad of civil rights struggles throughout history: the thugs, the victims, the policy idly standing by. Andy Towle has an update.
Despite being the Chair of the powerful Senate committee with oversight authority for several years, Susan Collins failed to do any real oversight of the mess in Iraq. She did George Bush's dirty work -- and never held him accountable. She was also one of Halliburton's chief enablers. Her gross failure's are exposed by a local station in Maine tonight. The clip is five minutes long, but it is so worth watching.
Remember what Harry Reid said about this race on Monday:
We just have a lot of places to look that are very important. I believe that Maine is going to be our Rhode Island this time. I think Sue Collins who has favorability not nearly as high as Chaffee's, but once Allen starts tying her to what Bush has done Maine which has a very progressive state, are, they're going to turn her out.
Tom Allen is tying Collins to Bush and Iraq. One of her big claims to fame was Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. He's special all right. Collins brought Bowen to Maine to campaign for her, which was very shady. Now, Bowen is facing a federal criminal investigation. That's Susan idea of great work.
Tom Allen can beat her. Help him out. Every dollar contributed goes a long way in Maine. Send her into retirement with George Bush.
Chris Matthews obliterated a right-wing radio host tonight on his show over Bush's comparison of Obama to Nazi appeasers. Seriously, this is about 6 minutes long. Watch it. In a nutshell, Matthews called the guy on his bs. The guy kept saying that Bush was right, Obama was like the people who appeased Hitler, so Matthews asked the guy who Neville Chamberlain was. The guy had no idea, and tried to bluff his way through five minutes of Chris Matthews repeating the question over and over again. It was wonderful. Some of the best political television ever. Watch it. (Hat tip, TPM.)
McCain is now saying that he can win the Iraq win in "only" 5 years if he becomes president. Only five years. He's gotta be kidding. Just five more years, folks. Sure, that's another 4,000 dead troops and a couple hundred billion a year (that would mean, say, another TRILLION DOLLARS), but other than that, uh, other than that we're basically screwed. McCain isn't even pretending that he'll end the war in Iraq. He's pretty much promising us that if he is elected president, we'll be there another five years. Absolutely astounding.
One more thing. When asked to commit to removing US troops in five years McCain said no. Uh huh.
"Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage."
"Hillary Clinton believes that gay and lesbian couples in committed relationships should have the same rights and responsibilities as all Americans and believes that civil unions are the best way to achieve this goal. As President, Hillary Clinton will work to ensure that same sex couples have access to these rights and responsibilities at the federal level. She has said and continues to believe that the issue of marriage should be left to the states."
Attention regarding the military is currently focused, understandably, mostly on the war in Iraq and, secondarily, Afghanistan and beyond. But given how this administration is pushing the military to the breaking point when it comes to personnel, rotations, recruiting, etc, the personal aspect of the military continues to be overlooked by most media and commentators. Recently Senator Webb's bill to provide a new G.I. Bill has brought to much-needed focus to military and veterans issues, but the lack of support to veterans runs deeper than that.
The group Foreign Policy in Focus recently put out a report on veteran suicides, and their data indicates that more veterans commit suicide than are killed in combat overseas. From the report:
Eighteen American war veterans kill themselves every day. One thousand former soldiers receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide every month. More veterans are committing suicide than are dying in combat overseas.
These are statistics that most Americans don't know, because the Bush administration has refused to tell them. Since the start of the Iraq War, the government has tried to present it as a war without casualties.
In fact, they never would have come to light were it not for a class action lawsuit brought by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth on behalf of the 1.7 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two groups allege the Department of Veterans Affairs has systematically denied mental health care and disability benefits to veterans returning from the conflict zones.
The Iraq war is especially problematic, I think, when it comes to psychological difficulties because of the combination of long and repeated tours, as well as the nature of counterinsurgency where everybody is a potential threat. The people who serve deserve better treatment from our government than they're getting.
(Now in all fairness, John McCain may still think that we're at war with Hitler.)
Seriously, McCain just can't cut the umbilical cord to his bff George Bush. McCain also is intent on running a dirty campaign against Obama. Invoking Hitler? What's next, attacking the guy's wife? (Oh yeah, sorry, McCain's surrogates are beating up on Obama's wife too. I mean, what kind of guy has to beat up someone's wife to win an argument?) So today, McCain got asked if he thought Obama was a Hitler appeaser (Bush called Obama that on the floor of the Israeli Knesset), and McCain refused to say no. It's not that hard a question, for a real man. And the answer should be obvious, to anyone who's sane. But McCain isn't sane. He also isn't very nice. Man, the story I heard about him today, two stories actually. Including one dealing with Republican Senators witnessing McCain grabbing other Senators by the neck. It's no wonder McCain's buddies have to beat up a guy's wife. It's probably the only way he can let off all of that steam from his out of control temper. Hate to be his wife. His second wife, I mean. Not the first one that he abandoned after she was permanently injured in an auto accident - it reportedly left her 4 inches shorter and permanently on crutches. He dumped her for a rich beauty queen 17 years his junior. And you don't want to even know about her, if we're talking about wives. Let's just say that Michelle Obama has never been arrested for any drug crimes.
(PS Speaking of Israel, funny that no one is asking McCain about his pledge a few weeks ago NOT to defend Israel from an Irani nuclear attack once America becomes energy independent. You'd thinks Jewish Americans, hell, all Americans, would find that campaign pledge a wee bit interesting. Talk about appeasement. But hey, at 72 years of age (once he takes office, if he wins), McCain is allowed to be a little nutty every once in a while. He's lived a good life, so why not let him retire in the White House where he won't really have that taxing a job. And the next time he says something stupid, like not being willing to send American troops to defend Israel, his staff can just warm up some milk and put McCain down for his afternoon nap. Al Qaeda will just have to wait.
I welcome the California Supreme Court’s historic decision. I have long fought against discrimination and believe that the State Constitution provides for equal treatment for all of California’s citizens and families, which today’s decision recognizes.
I commend the plaintiffs from San Francisco for their courage and commitment. I encourage California citizens to respect the Court’s decision, and I continue to strongly oppose any ballot measure that would write discrimination into the State Constitution.
Today is a significant milestone for which all Californians can take pride.
Yes he did. And they've got the memo to prove it. Take this, along with John McCain and the Republicans fighting to kill the GI Bill because it's "too generous" to our troops, and once again you get a clearer idea about which party is for our troops and which party simply talks.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the following statement today regarding the state Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage:
“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.”
“This is bullsh**t. This is malarkey. This is outrageous. Outrageous for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, sit in the Knesset…and make this kind of ridiculous statement,” Biden said angrily in a brief interview just off the Senate floor.
“He’s the guy who’s weakened us. He’s the guy that’s increased the number of terrorists in the world. His policies have produced this vulnerability the United States has. His intelligence community pointed that out not me. The NIE has pointed that out and what are you talking about, is he going to fire Condi Rice? Condi Rice has talked about the need to sit down. So his first two appeasers are Rice and Gates. I hope he comes home and does something.”
He quoted Gates saying Wednesday that we “need to figure out a way to develop some leverage and then sit down and talk with them.”
Sometimes, Biden really does say things better than anyone else does.
We conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional.
Democratic congressman Rahm Emanuel, who is Jewish himself, weighs in on George Bush's personal attack on Democratic nominee Barack Obama. Bush compared Obama to Nazi sympathizers in Israel in a speech before the Knesset. Here is what Rahm had to say:
The tradition has always been that when a U.S. President is overseas, partisan politics stops at the water's edge. President Bush has now taken that principle and turned it on its head: for this White House, partisan politics now begins at the water's edge, no matter the seriousness and gravity of the occasion. Does the president have no shame?
Wow. Losing a congressional race in Mississippi and being the most hated president in American history makes a guy say crazy things. Not to mention, John McCain must be in real trouble if Bush had to stoop this low to help him. This is so inappropriate in so many ways. Bush's own staff admitted that he meant Obama. I'm hoping the ADL, which always weighs in when Democrats say such things, will be blasting our president for invoking Hitler in our presidential race. Not to mention, doing it in Israel? How tacky can you get.
Bush has said repeatedly that he would not insert himself into the presidential race, but that stance changed dramatically today during his trip to Israel. After likening Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Osama bin Laden, Bush compared Barack Obama to Nazi appeasers:
"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," said Bush, in what White House aides privately acknowledged was a reference to calls by Obama and other Democrats for the U.S. president to sit down for talks with leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"We have heard this foolish delusion before," Bush said in remarks to the Israeli Knesset. "As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American Senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
Obama himself quickly responded to the comparison, calling it a false attack and listing past presidents who didn't think that diplomacy was such a bad idea:
"It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel."
"Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power -- including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy -- to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President's extraordinary politicization of fo
