God, I hate agreeing with Joan Walsh...

There is a nice list of Liberal-slash-Progressive Pundits that frankly, I don't trust: some of those people I've talked about on this blog. Joan Walsh is on that list.

I've always found her, personally, to be a wishy-washy Limousine Liberal. Someone who talks a good game, but when it comes to the brass tacks of understand certain things (race), doesn't have the first clue.

And add to all that the fact that she was, at least in my mind, a Clinton Partisan during the Campaign.

The conventional wisdom has to give Obama the best shot -- he's got the most money, the freshest story, and in a year when everyone, including many Republicans, is craving someone new, he is that guy. I'm just not sure he can shoot beyond the 25 percent or so of the Democratic electorate to grab the lead.

And:

I still think the race is Clinton's to lose, and the media, having once overstated the perfection of her campaign, is now overstating its troubles.

I also won't mention that she's been a big Barry Bonds apologist.

Boy, times have changed alright. She's become a Obama Convert in the best possible way.

But when it comes down to a match between Christopher Hitchens and Joan Walsh...man there's no contest.




From her Salon Piece this afternoon, which for purposes of this piece, is pretty much the whole thing:

I had to debate Christopher Hitchens, Clinton-hater-in-chief, on "Hardball" today. I thought I held my own, but when I watched it I caught many outright falsehoods that I missed, like his calling Saudi Arabia's Wahhabist leadership the "main clientele" of former President Clinton. Hitchens has allowed himself to be deranged by his Clinton hatred, and it's unfortunate to see a smart guy disabled by his own bias.

My bottom line is, if Hitchens is right, and Hillary Clinton is an utterly unqualified political hack who only cares about her political future and her husband's, what does her selection say about Barack Obama? Either he's naive and wimpy, and hasn't availed himself of the superior knowledge of the Clintons that Hitchens claims (or he knows and doesn't care about it); or he knows everything Hitchens does and picked her anyway for craven domestic political reasons: to get the Clintons inside his tent, not outside of it, and to co-opt a potential 2012 rival. That would be more politically venal than almost anything Hitchens accuses Clinton of doing: sacrificing our nation's global diplomatic interests to his domestic political ambitions.

So now Hitchens is extending his baseless charges of corruption against the Clintons to smear Obama. This, of course, makes me admire Obama all the more: He's taken both Clintons inside his tent because he needs them and recognizes their formidable domestic and foreign political and policy skills. He's spending political capital on them, because he thinks they're worth it, and saying a big, polite "up yours" to the Clinton haters who've made a career out of spreading this garbage. Those are my words, not Obama's, of course; he's much more diplomatic.

Transition: The President-Elect's Message on World AIDS Day

TPM: Danger! Danger, Barack Obama!!

Josh is pretty much right on this one.

As good as it is to have Barack Obama in the White House, as good as his National Security picks have been, especially for the prospect of a peace between Israeli and Palestinian, it may not do a whole lotta good if Netanyahu is elected Prime Minister in Israel.

AP: The next Governor of Arizona will be a Republican...

Ugh.

Turns out, Arizona doesn't have a Lieutenant Governor. Period.

President-elect Barack Obama's announcement Monday that Gov. Janet Napolitano is his choice to head the Department of Homeland Security means a Republican will move into the governor's office.

Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, so the Democratic governor's midterm departure — if she is confirmed as secretary of homeland security — means she will be succeeded by Secretary of State Jan Brewer, a Republican in a state that leans toward the GOP.

"It is difficult to leave one job for another but one must go where one can best serve," Napolitano said during a news conference in Chicago with Obama and other newly announced members of his national security team.

The turnover won't occur before late January at the earliest because Napolitano said she doesn't plan to step down as governor until the U.S. Senate confirms her appointment.

A Senate vote can't happen until after Obama is inaugurated Jan. 20.

Why the Washington Post can be a substandard Newspaper...

Today in an editorial in the Washington Post, Robert J. Samuelson said that basically that every new president dreams of enacting bold and far-reaching reforms, but that Obama should avoid the urge.

The decision ought to be easy. Every new president is assaulted by his own supporters, who want him to put their particular agendas atop his "to do" list. That's happening, as Obama allies clamor for speedy action to provide universal health insurance, combat global warming and support trade unions. But Obama -- and the nation -- would be better served if he concentrated for his first year on stabilizing the economy while patiently laying the groundwork for more far-reaching proposals.

Mr. Samuelson seems to conveniently forget that Mr. Obama won an election, roughly along these lines. But despite that fact, Obama should ignore what got him across the finish line and pay attention to what Mr. Samuelson says, genius that he is.

This, of course, is also in complete opposition to something another Washington Post reporter (one I actually respect) in E.J. Dionne who wrote an article, specifically called: Bold is Good!

And oddly enough, Dionne calls out Samuelson for his bull!@#$ before it even gets out of Samuelson's mouth:

The worst advice will come from his conservative adversaries, the people who called him a socialist a few days before the election and insisted a few days later that he won because he was really a conservative. The older among them declared after the 1980 election that the 51 percent of the vote won by Ronald Reagan represented an ideological revolution, but argue now that Obama's somewhat larger majority has no philosophical implications.

These conservatives are trying to stop Obama from pursuing any of the ideas that he campaigned on -- universal access to health care, a government-led green revolution, redistributive tax policies, a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, more robust economic regulation.

Robert J. Samuelson is one of the reasons the Washington Post can be at times, a substandard newspaper. My esteemed Father, I'm sure would go further.

Hey. I got an idea. Let's flash back to an article back in February, called The Obama Delusion...

As a journalist, I harbor serious doubt about each of the most likely nominees. But with Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain, I feel that I'm dealing with known quantities. They've been in the public arena for years; their views, values and temperaments have received enormous scrutiny. By contrast, newcomer Obama is largely a stage presence defined mostly by his powerful rhetoric. The trouble, at least for me, is the huge and deceptive gap between his captivating oratory and his actual views.

The subtext of Obama's campaign is that his own life narrative -- to become the first African American president, a huge milestone in the nation's journey from slavery -- can serve as a metaphor for other political stalemates. Great impasses can be broken with sufficient goodwill, intelligence and energy. "It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white," he says. Along with millions of others, I find this a powerful appeal.
ad_icon

But on inspection, the metaphor is a mirage. Repudiating racism is not a magic cure-all for the nation's ills. The task requires independent ideas, and Obama has few. If you examine his agenda, it is completely ordinary, highly partisan, not candid and mostly unresponsive to many pressing national problems.

Really, Mr. Samuelson? Do go on!

By Obama's own moral standards, Obama fails. Americans "are tired of hearing promises made and 10-point plans proposed in the heat of a campaign only to have nothing change," he recently said. Shortly thereafter he outlined an economic plan of at least 12 points...

The Post isn't a total waste of time; but some of their reporters certainly are.

Introducing your National Security Team...

Courtesy of TPM Media...

"It comes from me..."

Fred Kaplan of Slate has an excellent piece on Temporary Obama Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that almost convinces me.

And by "almost" I really say that...well...okay, fine Kaplan convinced me:

It would be a mistake to regard Gates as merely a holdover from the Bush administration. Literally, of course, he is. But since coming to the Pentagon in December 2006, he has altered the dynamics of decision-making and, as a result, of policy.

Before Gates, the National Security Council was dysfunctional. Rumsfeld would skip meetings and refuse to let his deputies speak on his behalf. His tag-team partner, Vice President Dick Cheney, would block the NSC from forming a consensus on issues that concerned him; instead he would meet alone with President Bush afterward, a practice that compelled the secretary of state—Colin Powell in the first term, Condoleezza Rice in the second—to go around the process as well.

When Gates came onboard, he demanded high-level meetings, with all the players present, debating their positions all at once before the president, with a decision made at the end. Some officials contend that it is because of Gates that U.S. troops are coming out of Iraq a bit more rapidly than they might have otherwise—and that Bush hasn't bombed Iran.

If that's the case (about Iran) I am eternally grateful.

Pakistan and India get together...

From our, "It's-Very-Important-That-This-Doesn't-Start-A-Nuclear-War-Department", the Pakistani Intelligence Chief is heading for Mumbai to help with the Investigation...

Roughly equivalent to Iranian Intelligence coming over here and helping with...anything.

UPDATE (9:14pm Pacific): According to the Times of India, not so much.

Fireside Chat for November 29, 2008

A litte early this week.  After all, it is Thanksgiving Weekend...

HuffPo: "Obama Advisers Concerned By Gates Decision -- 'Makes Them Look Wimpy'"

Here we go again. This time from the Huffington Post.

There is an article in the Politics Section of the Huffington Post entitled: "Obama Advisers Concerned By Gates Decision -- 'Makes Them Look Wimpy'"

It links to an article in The New York Times, called: "Obama Plans to Retain Gates at Defense Department"

Scanning the article, we see the following:

“From our point of view, it looks pretty damn good because of continuity and stability,” said an Obama adviser, who insisted on anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. “And I don’t think there are any ideological problems.”

The point of the article was to announce Gates' retention. It was not a piece about Obama advisers complaining about the retention; despite what Huffington Post seems to think. But, to be fair:

In deciding to ask Mr. Gates to stay, Mr. Obama put aside concerns that he would send a jarring signal after a political campaign in which he made opposition to the war his signature issue in the early days. Some Democrats who have advised his campaign quietly complained that he was undercutting his own message and risked alienating war critics who formed his initial base of support, especially after tapping his primary rival, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, for secretary of state.

But advisers argued that Mr. Gates was a practical public servant who was also interested in drawing down troops in Iraq when conditions allow.

The key paragraph, at least in Huffington Post's mind, is as follows:

But it also stirred a debate inside Mr. Obama’s circles, where some advisers worried that the decision to turn to a Republican appointee — something President Bill Clinton did in naming William S. Cohen to the defense post in 1997 — would reinforce the notion that Democrats could not manage the military. “It makes them look like they’re too wimpy to be trusted to run the building,” said one adviser who asked not to be named.

Keeping Mr. Gates after a polarizing campaign on the war also seemed incongruous to some. “I really can’t begin to understand from a political point of view how Barack Obama, a person who got the nomination because he ran against the Iraq war, can keep around the guy who’s been in charge of it for the last two years,” said Loren B. Thompson, head of the Lexington Institute, a research organization.

The Lexington Institute is something I've never heard of. This is from it's mission statement:

It is the goal of the Lexington Institute to inform, educate, and shape the public debate of national priorities in those areas that are of surpassing importance to the future success of democracy, such as national security, education reform, tax reform, immigration and federal policy concerning science and technology. By promoting America's ability to project power around the globe we not only defend the homeland of democracy, but also sustain the international stability in which other free-market democracies can thrive.

Uhhh, sounds fairly conservative to me. At least, they resemble the bunch who brought us into this War in Iraq. I can't imagine any of these guys are close to the Obama Campaign. Maybe they are, but since they're not identified as such in the NYT Piece, I kinda doubt it. So I'm left to wonder why the New York Times is going to them for quotes.

NYT: Obama "lagging" on Biden...

Yeah...

This is weird.

When I'm calling bull!@#$, I'm usually calling out Fox or the Murdoch St. Journal (which I recognize as being one in the same)...

But here I am calling out the Grey Lady...

Like I said, weird.

This from this morning's article For Biden, No Portfolio but the Role of a Counselor:

So far, Mr. Biden has not been given a defined portfolio, the way Al Gore was given the environment and technology in 1992. And Mr. Obama’s aides say they do not expect Mr. Biden to assume the kind of muscular role that Vice President Dick Cheney has played over the last eight years, although he is expected to put out a number of fires.

Funny. I seem to recall a Newsweek Magazine Article, written by Jonathan Alter (who I trust waaay more now than Helene Cooper) from back in October:

Biden, who had stayed neutral in the Democratic primaries after dropping out in January, told Obama that he was "ready to be second fiddle" and sought no specific portfolio—but only if he got a guaranteed hourlong, one-on-one session with the president every week (like Al Gore's lunches with Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush's with Ronald Reagan) and a presence at all important meetings. Obama said yes, that he wanted him for his judgment and for his help in enacting a big legislative agenda. And so the job was defined: "My role will be to say, 'Boss, here's the way I'd go about it'."

What Alter said does eventually make its way into the New York Times piece:

Mr. Biden is spending most weekdays in Chicago, where he stays in a hotel and has lunch once a week with Mr. Obama. During the days, Mr. Biden, Mr. Obama and a coterie of advisers are in the team’s transition offices, going through possible hires. Mr. Biden has been involved in cabinet and policy decisions, offering advice to the president-elect, aides said.

Mr. Obama’s aides say Mr. Biden has backed the decision to appoint Mrs. Clinton secretary of state. “If he had made an argument against it, it would have carried a lot of weight,” a senior aide to the transition said. “He was totally in support of it.”

But in the end, what I find objectionable is Helene Cooper's desire to make something out of nothing, to force drama into a benign process piece.

"So far, Mr. Biden has not been given a portfolio".  Well, according to Newsweek he didn't ask for one.

So far, it looks like the arrangement worked out between Obama and Biden is working as promised.

If I want drama, I've got the Clintons for that.

The Second Obama Economic Presser...

Less than thrilled...

Okay, so it looks like Robert Gates is going to stay on (for at least a little while) as Secretary of Defense.

It was a story long predicted by the SMSM (Wendell: Stinkin' Mainstream Media), and long resisted by me.

Personally, I was hoping for Chuck Hagel (R-NB), soon-to-be former Senator, Vietnam Veteran, and vocal Iraq War Critic.

But my Dad had a question about Gates' deputies.  According to Politico:

Gates has been negotiating with Obama emissaries over his deputies — some will be retained, and some new — and how the Pentagon will be run.

Your Director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council...

Introducing Melody Barnes, former Kennedy Aide, and President-elect Obama's Director-designate of the Domestic Policy Council.



The Domestic Policy Council (DPC) of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering domestic policy matters, excluding economic matters, which are the domain of the National Economic Council. It is a committee of Cabinet chaired by the President.

Attendees Under Bush:
Richard B. Cheney (Vice President)
Michael Leavitt (Secretary of Health and Human Services)
Michael Mukasey (Attorney General)
Elaine Chao (Secretary of Labor)
Gordon Mansfield (Secretary of Veterans Affairs)
Dirk Kempthorne (Secretary of the Interior)
Margaret Spellings (Secretary of Education)
Steve Preston (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development)
Chuck Conner (Secretary of Agriculture)
Mary Peters (Secretary of Transportation)
Carlos Gutierrez (Secretary of Commerce)
Samuel Bodman (Secretary of Energy)
Henry Paulson (Secretary of the Treasury)
Stephen L. Johnson (Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency)
Edward Lazear (Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers)
Jim Nussle (Director of the Office of Management and Budget)
Keith Hennessey (Assistant to the President for Economic Policy)
John Walters (Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy)

The Obama Economic Team Presser...

And introducing, your starting four for your Economic Meltdown:

This is about controlling Black People...

Randi Rhodes, on her nationally syndicated Radio Show, alerted folks to this story going on down in Mississippi.

Reginald Simpson, a student at Pearl Junior High, explained that when students on the bus started saying, "Obama is our president," the bus driver told them she didn't want to hear his name. One kid said, "This is history woman," and according to Simpson, "She pulled over and kicked me and the kid off the bus." They were left waiting at the high school and later taken to their own school.

Rest assured, the local ACLU is looking into the matter.

“A complete prohibition of political speech violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and will not be tolerated,” the ACLU said in a statement. “This election should serve as an opportunity to educate students and encourage tolerance.”

Translation: Stand by...you goin' to Court.

The ACLU is encouraging students and parents to contact the group if they are subjected to or witness any form of restrictions on speech, discipline, or santions in response to protected speech activities. Call (601) 354-3408 or 888-354-ACLU (2258).

The story is also posted here (another local Mississippi station) here.

The video of this story is best viewed via the Raw Story version of this tale.

Granted, it may not have been politic for one of kids to refer to the Bus Driver as "woman", but at the same time, if she really wanted to get the kid in trouble, legitimately, she would have gotten to school on her normal route, and reported said kid to the Principal.

But no, that wasn't good enough.

She had to make sure these kids were afraid to say President-Elect Barack Obama's name.  She can't have little black kids thinking they're somebody, especially with hard and fast proof out there that they can be somebody.

This is about controlling black people.

To paraphrase: "Yeah, one of y'all may have made it, but we're going to make sure that the rest of you damn well know where your place is."

Meet your new United States Senator from Delaware...

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said today she will appointed Ted Kaufman, a longtime, close adviser to Sen. Joe Biden to fill the senator's seat until a 2010 special election.

UPDATE (12:30pm Pacific): The Hill beat me to it.  Nuts.  One of these days!

Our Media, as ever, sharp as butter knives...

So, on the one hand, we have the New York Times saying that Hugo Chavez was dealt a huuuuge blow in recent elections:

President Hugo Chávez’s supporters suffered defeat in several state and municipal races on Sunday, with the opposition retaining power in Zulia, the country’s most populous state, and winning crucial races here in the capital, the National Electoral Council said.

But...in the very next paragraph:

Pro-Chávez candidates won 17 of the 22 governor’s races at stake. Many of the seats that Mr. Chavez’s supporters did win were in relatively sparsely populated rural states.

Conversely, we have our friends at McClatchy Newspapers saying just the opposite:

President Hugo Chavez's candidates won a majority of the governor's elections in Venezuela on Sunday, but opposition forces could point to gains with victories in several major states as well as the capital city, Caracas.

I guess I should be grateful because at least we have two different News Organizations actually going out there, doing their own reporting even though they come to day and night different conclusions.

My guess is that the Media really wants to lead with a story that Hugo Chavez got his butt handed to him, but the conclusions are mixed.  You can read the results either way.

This is why reading the news, and keeping track of the news is dependent on the viewer reading more than one source.

All Michelle, All The Time...

Newsweek Magazine is giving Michelle the cover, and a bunch of ink in between.



The first article is: What Michelle Means To Us, as in us Black people.

The new First Lady will have the chance to knock down ugly stereotypes about black women and educate the world about American black culture more generally. But perhaps more important—even apart from what her husband can do—Michelle has the power to change the way African-Americans see ourselves, our lives and our possibilities.

The next is a piece about raising kids in the White House.

The Obamas may enforce a bit of normalcy by making the kids do chores and make their beds—advice that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis gave to Hillary in 1992. But the Obama family will grapple with issues that former first kids haven't had to face. Chelsea Clinton, the last girl of a similar age in the White House, grew up well before the era of Facebook and cell-phone snapshots. Banning Facebook entirely could risk alienating the Obama girls from their peers, but restrictions will almost certainly be necessary for their own protection. Schools that were once valued for their ability to protect famous kids from prying eyes are now wide open if their students choose to post photos or status updates.

And finally, there's an interview with Michelle.

It's just unknown. And like any new thing, it feels a bit daunting until you have your plan. What I do know is that once the pieces start coming together, I think that's when the excitement can begin. When the girls know what school they're going to be in, they'll have a sense of how that's going to feel, and they'll know what their rooms look like. All my anticipation is really around the girls, making sure that they're OK. Barack and I … it's going to be a hard job. He likes hard jobs [laughs]. We know we have a lot of work to do. That's just a natural part of it. But as soon as I know that the kids are where they need to be, the other stuff is just hard work, which we are used to.

UPDATE: I should have noted, but the Michelle Interview was conducted on the Campaign Trail, so it's not new.

TPM: The hidden influence of Brent Scowcroft...

Josh and the gang nailed this one. They've been talking up Brent Scowcroft long before the Murdoch St. Journal got ahold of the story.

Mr. Scowcroft spoke by phone with President-elect Barack Obama last week, the latest in a months-long series of conversations between the two men about defense and foreign-policy issues, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The article title indicates that there are a lot of Scowcroft ties within the Obama Administration.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was deputy national-security adviser under Mr. Scowcroft in the George H.W. Bush administration, is almost certain to be retained by Mr. Obama, according to aides to the president-elect. Richard Haass, a Scowcroft protégé and former State Department official, could be tapped for a senior National Security Council, State Department or intelligence position. Mr. Haass currently runs the Council on Foreign Relations.

Other prominent Republicans with close ties to Mr. Obama include former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed the Democrat in the final days of the campaign, and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Yes and no. I think the title overstates the case. How many of those people are really going to get jobs in the Administration? Gates, so far, seems to be more of a media invention than anything else. I'll admit that it might just happen, but I'm still waiting for someone from the Transition to say he's on the list. Haass, maybe, but are these to enough to be talking about "Scowcroft ties??"

But to me, the key paragraph(s), which explains many, many motivations:

Mr. Scowcroft's re-emergence caps a tumultuous few years for the 83-year-old former Air Force general. In the run-up to the Iraq war, Mr. Scowcroft wrote an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal arguing against an invasion and warning that it would "seriously jeopardize, if not destroy" the Bush administration's war on terrorism. In speeches and interviews, he regularly criticized both the decision to invade Iraq and the Bush team's handling of the war effort.

The White House responded by removing Mr. Scowcroft from his position as chairman of a foreign intelligence advisory board. Defenders of the Bush policy say the president has planted the seeds of democracy in the Middle East and preserved strong ties with Israel, which had a tense relationship with the elder President Bush when Mr. Scowcroft was national-security adviser.

Mr. Scowcroft, who stayed neutral in this year's presidential campaign, is a prominent advocate of a "realist" approach to foreign policy that favors deal-making over the ideological commitments the second Bush administration was known for.

"He said before the war that this is a war of choice that we shouldn't be engaged in. I think that has resonated with Obama," said Amy Zegart, a public-policy professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who served as an adviser on national-security matters to Mr. Bush's 2000 campaign.

Praying for a Civil War...

Since I don't pretend to be non-partisan, I'll readily cop to loving the heck all those stories about the Republicans going at each other's throats.

But I'm starting to get the distinct feeling that some in the News Media also want a war between the Obama and the left-wing of the Democratic Party.

Look at some of the news stories that have cropped up in the last 24-48 Hours:


Huffington Post: Obama Considering The 'Original Lieberman' For Post?

The Hill reports that President-elect Obama is "considering Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) for the USDA post. His transition team declined to comment on Cabinet speculation."

The news of Rep. Peterson's consideration has some Democratic activists up in arms. A DailyKos post titled "Who was Lieberman before Lieberman was Lieberman?" notes that Peterson has often been a thorn in the side of House Democrats, much like Joe Lieberman in the Senate.

Up in arms?  Really?  Over the USDA?

Maybe putting the "original Lieberman" at USDA is a great way to get him out of the House.

Murdoch St. Journal: Longtime Crisis Manager Pleases Wall Street, Mystifies Some Democrats

At a time of crisis unmatched since the Great Depression, President-elect Barack Obama has put his faith in one of the world's most experienced financial crisis managers -- a man popular with the Wall Street leaders he's consulted with closely over the years, but a mystery to many traditional Democratic constituencies.

"He is a great choice," said Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Thain, who was considered a candidate for Treasury secretary if Republican Sen. John McCain had been elected. "This will be one of the most important jobs in the new administration as we get through this crisis, and Tim understands markets and policies better than almost anyone."

But Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, said recently: "I always worry about somebody who has spent his whole life at the Federal Reserve....I just don't know him."

Never known Murdoch's papers to have an agenda or anything...

If Andy Stern was saying this about the nominee for Labor Secretary, it'd be an actual story. 

New York Magazine: MoveOn Meeting On The Upper West Side Gets Heated

At some 1,200 locations around the country last night, members of MoveOn.org gathered to celebrate Barack Obama's presidential victory and plan their new political strategy as part of a celebration called "Fired Up and Ready to Go!" Our man Tim Murphy attended a meeting on the Upper West Side populated by veteran activists and the younger types inspired by Obama to join the process. So can these two generations agree on an agenda? Not so much! "It was like a co-op tenants' meeting," said one attendee. "Everybody wants to hear themselves talk." Watch the video and get fired up.

Really, you want to go here? Really?  Now we're supposed to be concerned about the elites??

Huffington Post: Kinsley Warns Of Coming Blogopocalypse

But many readers may be reaching the point with blogs and websites that I reached long ago with the Sunday New York Times Magazine--actively hoping there isn't anything interesting in there because then I'll have to take the time to read it.

When you need column inches to fill, why not yet another story about the schism between the Traditional Mainstream Media and the Blogosphere.

Anyone noticing yet how many of these stories link back to the Huffington Post?  No one's ever accused them of being right wing, yet here they are fanning the flames of B.S. stories.

Here's a twofer.  A Huffington Post article called Dem Foreign Policy Experts Fear Clinton Team, really leads to a Washington Independent story called: Will Clinton Fill State Dept. With Loyalists?

The dispute is only partly ideological in nature. While the coterie of foreign-policy thinkers around Obama have been more liberal, in an aggregate sense — on issues like Iraq and negotiations with America’s adversaries — the Obama loyalists question the boldness of the Clintonites. They fear that Obama’s apparent embrace of Clinton represents an acquiescence to the conventional Democratic foreign-policy approaches that they once derided as courting disaster. Some wonder whether a Clinton-run State Dept. will hire progressive Obama partisans after an acrimonious primary.

Ummm, Barack Obama's still going to be the President, right? I mean he's not abdicating his Constitutional Authority, right? Hillary Clinton, ultimately, will be reporting to him, right??

And of course, the Politico: 5 on the outs in Cabinet shuffle

The new administration still has some major posts to fill, including heads for the departments of Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Labor and Energy, not to mention the Environmental Protection Agency. But a number of the biggest prizes seem to have already been won, and a handful of serious contenders already been passed over in the speed-dating game that is the Obama transition.

Here's a look at five major players and the jobs they have apparently not been given:

Watch out progressives, chances are your favorite person won't be getting the job you want them to get (if they even want it).  There were what? Five people (Kerry, Richardson, Holbrooke, Susan RIce and Gregory Craig) all rumored to be going to State? Someone was walking away unhappy in all this.

And my new favorite (also Politico): White House political office will remain...

President-elect Barack Obama has answered bipartisan calls for the disbandment of the White House office central to the Karl Rove-style politics the Democrat condemned as a candidate. The office stays.

Funny, between ending the War and the implosion of the Economy I don't remember this being one of my big issues during the campaign, or even coming up in the Blogosphere. Plus, the problem wasn't the Political Office's existence...it was the fact that Bush and Team made sure the Political Office was put at the front of everything they did.

Ugh.

I'm a little lost...

Is there something I'm missing here?

I mean the Status of Forces Agreement isn't perfect. Hell, anything that doesn't call for our immediate withdrawal from Iraq falls short in my mind, but as far as things go, this isn't a bad deal for the Iraqis:

• U.S. Forces out of Iraqi Cities by June 30th.
  
• U.S. Forces out of Iraq in three years (yeah, I think we could do better).
  
• Increased Command and Control over U.S. Missions in Iraq by Iraqi Forces.
  
• Inspection of U.S. Cargo by Iraqi Forces.
  
• Occasional (if supervised) inspection of our Troops' mail by Iraqi Forces.
  
• Contractors working in Iraq losing all their Legal Protections. Priceless.

This was all summarized in this Countdown With Keith Olbermann Report (read by David Shuster) from November 20th:



The Iraqis seem to have a real problem with this deal, a deal that their own leaders admitted they wouldn't have signed if McCain won the election.

Several Iraqi officials said they were assured that President-elect Barack Obama would honor the agreement. During his campaign, Obama pledged to reduce the U.S. presence in Iraq over his first 16 months in office, removing them by the summer of 2010.

Last I checked, Obama won, and now protests over the accord sprung up around the country, apparently at the behest of Muqtada al Sadr.

Tens of thousands of followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr packed a central Baghdad square Friday, where they protested a U.S.-Iraq security agreement and likened Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to fallen dictator Saddam Hussein.

Sheik Abdul Hadi al Mohammadawi read a nationalistic speech on behalf of Sadr urging a rejection of any pacts with the U.S., charging that approving one would infringe on Iraqi sovereignty.

The crowd chanted back, "Leave, leave, occupier."

Okay, I get it but...we're leaving. We're leaving.  Barack won the election.  We're outta there!  I would get the protesters chanting "Not Fast Enough! Not Fast Enough!" but they seem to be protesting the deal itself.

That whiny little...Part II

Mitch McConnell is speaking to Harry Reid, finally, but now to give him a warning:

In letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), McConnell urged Reid to adopt a more conciliatory tone and warned him that Republicans will unite against Democrats if he does not. The letter was signed by all 40 GOP senators and two Republican incumbents who are awaiting the results of elections in Georgia and Minnesota.

“As a caucus, Republicans will insist on our basic right to participate in the legislative process,” McConnell wrote to Reid. “The Republican Conference intends to protect the Senate’s history of full and open consideration of major legislation, which includes a fair amendment process and the opportunity for debate.”

Reid responded by saying that he supports working across party lines but blasting Republicans for obstructing the work of the current Congress.

Uhh, Mitch, you do remember the part where you lost the 2008 Election, right???

Fireside Chat for November 22, 2008

Calling on all Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike to put their shoulders into it, and help those who are wondering what's going to happen next...

Maybe it's Politico...

So the day Hillary is rumored to be getting Secretary of State, Politico runs a story about Kim Gandy of NOW complaining there aren't enough women on the Cabinet.  I complain about NOW's timing...

Now, the day Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) is rumored to be getting Secretary of Commerce, Politico runs a story about how Latino Groups feel there aren't enough Latinos on the Cabinet.

I'm starting to think I was wrong.  Maybe, the timing issue is more on Politico's part...

UPDATE (5:59am Pacific):  From the New York Times: Women feel that Hillary getting SOS is a good thing.

That whiny little...Part II

Mitch McConnell is in a snit.  He's not speaking to Harry Reid.

The bigger question is, when isn't he in a snit.

Never mind...

Penny Pritzker says she's out.

Penny Pritzker, in the mix to be President-elect Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary, just sent [The Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweeet] an e-mail saying she is not a candidate for the post. Pritzker is a member of the Obama transition operation and chaired his finance committee. Money she helped raise from major donors in the first quarter of the campaign was crucial to establishing Obama as a viable presidential candidate.

TPM: Holy Crap!

I agree with Josh Marshall.  Holy Crap!!  (And that can never be said enough)

House Democrats voted 137-122 this morning to give the gavel of the Energy and Commerce Committee to Rep. Henry Waxman over longtime chair Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, who has been a lifelong advocate for the auto industry.

Krugman on the Big Three...

Paul Krugman says yea on the Auto Industry Loan (note, it ain't a Bailout if you gotta pay it back).

Basically, he says yes they're idiots, but we can't let 3 million jobs go poof.

The Krugman/Bailout portion of the Video begins about 2:20 in.

I always listen to Laurence O'Donnell

Laurence O'Donnell reminding us all that while 60 Senate Seats is nice, remember there are at least eight Republican Senators running for Re-election in States that went for Barack Obama in the General Election.

On Leaking...

By the way, once Team Obama get a notion to hire someone for a Cabinet position, it's not necessarily someone on Team Obama doing the leaking.  That's not to say it's not happening.  It may prove useful to Team Obama to leak these names to let the Press do some of the vetting.

At the same time, since the FBI has to do some background checks (I think), any one of them could be the source of a leak.  And certainly the people they're talking to could leak.

Heck, if you live on the same block and see the FBI or Vetters roll up to your neighbors house, you might be of a mind to tell a Reporter.

I think simply saying that Team Obama is suddenly springing leaks is a little simplistic.

One more hire while waiting for Hillary...

According to the New York Times:

Penny Pritzker, a Chicago businesswoman and national finance chairman of the Obama campaign, was in the final stages of vetting for Commerce Secretary.

A longtime friend of Mr. Obama, Ms. Pritzker was a chief architect of his record-breaking fund-raising efforts during the presidential campaign. Ms. Priztker is one of three cousins who manage their dynasty’s financial empire, which includes the Hyatt hotel chain, casinos and many other ventures. But some of Ms. Pritzker’s business dealings may also raise tough questions during any confirmation process. She was involved in running and overseeing Superior Bank, an Illinois institution co-owned by her family that was at the forefront of turning subprime loans into securities, the risky practice at the heart of the financial crisis. The bank collapsed in 2001 after regulators discovered accounting irregularities that overstated its assets.

UPDATE: (7:31 am Pacific): But of course, the Washington Post disagrees.

Two more hires while we wait for Hillary...

The Heads of Health and Human Services and The Department of Homeland Security have been appointed.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security’s myriad functions.

And...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) will be Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration, with the delicate mission of shepherding a health care bill through Congress at a time of punishing budget constraints, two senior Democratic officials said.

Definitions

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism. On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the now defunct United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The United States Federal Protective Service falls under Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).

With over 200,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department in the U.S. federal government, after the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Energy.

Health and Human Services

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America".

The department was created when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act (PL 96-88) into law on October 17, 1979. It split the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, (HEW), which included the Social Security Administration, agencies constituting the Public Health Service, Family Support Administration, and the Office of Education into the Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Education. Both began operation on May 4, 1980. (In 1995, the Social Security Administration was removed from the Department of Health and Human Services, and established as an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States Government).

Stay Classy, Larry Eagleburger!

Senator Begich, Part II

Mark Begich's lead over hopefully soon to be former Alaska Senator Ted "Tubes" Stevens has jumped from 1, 022 Votes, now to 2,300 Votes, with counting expected to last until 6pm tonight (Pacific Time).

Per Ed Schultz, they might want to start thinking about renaming the Anchorage Airport.

The "Third Way" wants its say...

More advice the President-Elect should feel free to ignore.

Uhh, it was the so-called "Third Way" that Obama sought to move away from during the primaries, right? It the so-called "Third Way" that helped poison the atmosphere in Washington, right?

More Hillary Mania...

It must be an addiction. They (the Media) must go into counseling...

So first we have Politico fanning the flames of a Obama Supporters vs. Hillary Supporters possible spat...

And now we have Politico saying that Hillary might turn down the damn job...

Two lame stories. Same lame website!

This in addition to one paper (in the U.K.) reporting that Hillary's accepted the damn job...

This is not what the Boss meant by "no drama"...

UPDATE (3:05pm Pacific): I have no idea what this means:

According to The Hill:

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) designated Clinton to head a task force to develop a Senate Democratic proposal to expand health insurance coverage as part of his larger push to move a major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system next year.

Glenn Beck. Racist...

Glenn Beck got himself accosted at a Wendy's last Saturday night by a guy calling Beck a racist.

Beck was shocked by the allegation.

Really?


January 25, 2008

Hillary Clinton [D-NY] wants to be consistent, I believe, affirmative action, she should give [Sen.] Barack Obama [D-IL] an additional 5 percentage points just for the years of oppression."

October 25, 2007 (to a Muslim Guest):

"But how do we know the difference -- I mean, you're reasonable. How do we know the difference between you and those that are trying to kill us?"

Second of two times for that one...


April 2, 2007

I mean, I was talking about it with my family yesterday. I said, "I'm tired of being the least popular person in the world." I said look at our family. We're Americans. Nobody likes Americans. We're Americans, so the world hates us. But then inside of America, we love America -- and that's becoming more and more unpopular. So, we're not popular with Americans.

Then we're Christians. That's not popular anymore. But not only are we Christians, we're Mormons. So, we're not even liked by the Christians. I just -- I'm white. I'm human. There are a lot of environmentalists that don't like humans, but within the humans that accept humans, I'm white.

The majority of humans don't like whites. I mean, I just can't win. You can't win. And why is it? Because if you are a white human that loves America and happens to be a Christian, forget about it, Jack. You are the only one that doesn't have a political action committee for you.

God forbid, I forgot that I'm also a conservative. I'm a conservative, which is not popular in America, but I'm a conservative that doesn't like the Republicans. I can't win! I've got to find one thing that I agree with, you know, the rest of the world on, I guess. I'm tired of being in that group. Conservatives get no respect.

Feb. 12, 2007

Barack Obama is "very white in many ways. He is colorless. As a white guy you don't notice that he's black. So he might as well be white. Do you know what I mean?"

November 14, 2006, to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim ever elected to Congress:

OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. ... With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, 'Let's cut and run.' And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.'

September 5, 2006

"Muslims and Arabs" don't "act now" by "step[ping] to the plate" to condemn terrorism, they "will be looking through a razor wire fence at the West."

July 21, 2006

Now, I understand that we are uncomfortable with each other. That is -- that is a part of life. You are right there that, you know, white people generally hang out with white people. Black people generally hang out with black people, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera -- all down the line, because we have -- we have our cultures in common. We have our histories in common in many ways, but, see, that's the problem. That's why we used to've concentrate on being a melting pot.

And the other reason why we're afraid to hang out with each other is because we're afraid that, you know, somebody's gonna sic the NAACP on us, or somebody's gonna sic an attorney on us. We -- we're both -- I contend that African-Americans are just on -- as uncomfortable speaking in a room full of white people as I am speaking in a room full of black people, because I'm constantly -- I have a constant inner dialogue in my head -- not of "don't say anything racist," but "don't say anything that might be perceived by others as racist." And here's why it freaks you out, and you just clam up and don't say anything, because I don't know what would be perceived as racist. Because what I say is not racist.

July 21, 2006

If we speak the same language, if we use the same -- if we use the same language -- and I mean that by not Spanish and English, although that's important -- I mean, drop the Ebonics crap. There's times that I've gotten into conversation with people, and I don't know what they're saying to me, because it's Ebonics, and I don't wanna say, "What the hell are you even talking about? What?" And it -- I don't wanna say anything because I just don't want -- that's the whitest white guy ever. Like that's a slam. Let's speak the same language. Let's believe in the American dream that you can accomplish anything with hard work, with education, with optimism. Let's start melting into each other again.

September 9, 2005

Beck referred to survivors of Hurricane Katrina who remained in New Orleans as "scumbags." Also, after acknowledging that nobody "in their right mind is going to say this out loud," Beck attacked victims of the disaster and the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying: "I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims."

America's Top Cop

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff is saying that Eric Holder has been tapped for Attorney General.

At the same time, since Michael Isikoff got the story, doesn't that mean someone from the Transition Team is going to be fired now?

Lieberman gets to keep seat...

From our "With friends like these" department...

UPDATE (9:25am Pacific): Laurence O'Donnell has a tidbit that puts Evan Bayh to shame.

The President-Elect delievers a surprise speech at the Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles

Via Video, of course.

I tend to take warnings from Michael Ware seriously...

Layoffs we can believe in...

Finally, some layoffs I can get behind...

Memo to Al Franken...

Academic studies are nice. Votes are better.

Phil Gramm, Unrepentant Scumbag

Randi Rhodes said on her radio show today that Former Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) should be in jail.

Reading a new profile in the New York Times, it's easy to understand why.

“Some people look at subprime lending and see evil. I look at subprime lending and I see the American dream in action,” he said. “My mother lived it as a result of a finance company making a mortgage loan that a bank would not make.”

On Capitol Hill, Mr. Gramm became the most effective proponent of deregulation in a generation, by dint of his expertise (a Ph.D in economics), free-market ideology, perch on the Senate banking committee and force of personality (a writer in Texas once called him “a snapping turtle”). And in one remarkable stretch from 1999 to 2001, he pushed laws and promoted policies that he says unshackled businesses from needless restraints but his critics charge significantly contributed to the financial crisis that has rattled the nation.

But wait, there's more from the man who would've been Treasury Secretary under a McCain Presidency.

In two recent interviews, Mr. Gramm described the current turmoil as “an incredible trauma,” but said he was proud of his record.

He blamed others for the crisis: Democrats who dropped barriers to borrowing in order to promote home ownership; what he once termed “predatory borrowers” who took out mortgages they could not afford; banks that took on too much risk; and large financial institutions that did not set aside enough capital to cover their bad bets.

But looser regulation played virtually no role, he argued, saying that is simply an emerging myth.

“There is this idea afloat that if you had more regulation you would have fewer mistakes,” he said. “I don’t see any evidence in our history or anybody else’s to substantiate it.” He added, “The markets have worked better than you might have thought.”

And finally, a new question. How the hell did this man get a PhD???

Mr. Gramm sees himself as a myth buster, and has long argued that economic events are misunderstood.

Before entering politics in the 1970s, he taught at Texas A & M University. He studied the Great Depression, producing research rejecting the conventional wisdom that suicides surged after the market crashed. He examined financial panics of the 19th century, concluding that policy makers and economists had repeatedly misread events to justify burdensome regulation.

“There is always a revisionist history that tries to claim that the system has failed and what we need to do is have government run things,” he said.

From the start of his career in Washington, Mr. Gramm aggressively promoted his conservative ideology and free-market beliefs. (He was so insistent about having his way that one House speaker joked that if Mr. Gramm had been around when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, the Texan would have substituted his own.)

Oh, A&M. That explains everything...

So...this counts as a Story?

The Center for Public Integrity has a story up about Big-Time Obama "Bundlers" people who help raise vast amounts of Campaign Cash by getting others to tag along, in bundles...are getting jobs in the Obama Administration.

We already know that Obama’s transition staff is stacked with campaign donors and fundraisers. And despite the vaunted small-donor base developed by the Obama campaign, big-ticket bundlers are also beginning to filter into the emerging Obama administration, led by Gregory Craig and Valerie Jarrett.

Both Craig, who will be White House counsel, and Jarrett, tapped as a senior adviser, have strong professional credentials. Craig served as a foreign policy advisor to Senator Ted Kennedy and in Madeleine Albright’s State Department. He also has the distinction of having played John McCain during debate prep. Jarrett is a force in Chicago politics and one of Obama’s longest-serving advisers.

It’s worth noting, though, that both Craig and Jarrett offered the Obama campaign more than just trenchant advice. Jarrett raised more than $100,000 as a campaign bundler, according to Public Citizen, a D.C. watchdog group. Craig raised more than $200,000.

Okay, here's my problem with the piece. One, it admits that these two folks have strong credentials. Two, it doesn't talk about Valerie Jarrett's personal relationship with the Obamas at all, which is a pretty big thing to be skipping. I'll admit the article is on stronger ground with Gregory Craig, whom apparently has only been in the Obama orbit since 2006, but one look at his CV should dispel any worries.

But if you're Valerie Jarrett, and you've known the Obamas for years, back to the State Senate days. If you're the woman who introduced Barack Obama to David Axelrod, if this is your friend, aren't you going to give just about the maximum you can, even if in a bundle to your pal? Shouldn't any of this be mentioned in the article?

Job or no job, Valerie Jarrett was raising that kind of money for the Obamas. Period.

This strikes me as a chicken and the egg story. What existed first the relationship or the bundle? If it's the relationship, I don't think you've got a lot to complain about.

Last chance to stuff your luggage home with those Footballs of cash...

Quick, before the new Boss is sworn in!

The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing oversight officials who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here.

The dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American government officials on Sunday and Monday, come as estimates of official Iraqi corruption soar. One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States has been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials.

My only question is one of grammar. Is Maliki dismissing the Oversight Officials by order of us Americans, or were the Oversight Officials installed at the order of us Americans? I confess that I'm a little lost.

Memo To Mark Cuban...

Mr. Cuban, owner of the last place Dallas Mavericks (3-7), good Liberal, and early critic of Barack Obama's Economic Team...

Keep your advice to yourself. Please.

Joe Lieberman: Running out of friends...

First it was Pat Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT)...

Then it was Byron Dorgan (D-ND)...

Now, it's Senator (and Lieberman ally) Tom Caper (D-DE).

"There need to be consequences, and they cannot be insignificant," Carper said in a Monday interview with The Hill.

If I had to put money on it, I'd bet that Lieberman stays in the caucus, has a Chairmanship, just not Homeland Security.

On the other hand, this could all be a load of posturing for Liberals who want their pound of flesh.

CNN: The Sit Down...

"I know you won and all, but..."

According to Murdoch (fka as the Wall Street Journal), McCain is expected to press the President-Elect on Iraq:

One senior McCain adviser said he suspects Sen. McCain will use Monday's meeting to press Mr. Obama not to withdraw U.S. forces precipitously from Iraq. The adviser added it would be "very damaging" to Mr. Obama to have Sen. McCain "out there as a critic" on national security and foreign policy.

Damaging?  Really?  Well, I got 66 Million reasons why the President-Elect isn't going to sweat it too much.

The Obamas on 60 Minutes...

Barack and Michelle's Interview from 60 Minutes, the complete interview...


Watch CBS Videos Online

Ambinder: More White House Hires...

The latest White House hires aren't the highest-profile jobs in the world (although Memo to Kim Gandy of NOW, Mona Sutphen, a woman, has been appointed Deputy Chief of Staff).

UPDATE: 5:25pm, Pacific: Oh, and she's a Sistah, to boot.

The video is from a promotional tour for a book she wrote with Nina Hachigian The Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Thrive As Other Powers Rise.

And they're talking about opportunities as well.