This thread is stale, but in the interests of informational hygiene, a quick correction.

Bob Adams listed as follows:

Look at the recent Presidents to see the trend:
George W. Clusterfuck – governor of TX
Bill Clinton – governor of AK
Geo. HW Bush – VP under Reagan, before that he was Senator from CT 1952-1960, but that was over nearly 30 years before he ran for President…not many contemporary voting issues to deal with
Ronald Reagan – governor of CA
Jimmy Carter – governor of GA
Gerald Ford – not even elected
Richard Nixon – WP under Ike, and again, a senator nearly 30 years before being elected

Good lord, this is so wrong, it might have come from Dubya’s White House.

Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas (AR), not Alaska (AK).

George Herbert Walker Bush, the father of Dim Son, did not in fact serve as a Senator from CT. That would be, instead, GHWB’s father. GHWB had as his previous federal service a Texas congressional seat held over two terms from 1966 to 1971 (the better to get Dubya that safe slot in the Texas Air Guard during Vietnam).

GHWB did in fact run for the Senate twice in TX. In 1964, he ran as a vocal opponent of the Civil Rights Act of ‘64. Ralph Yarborough beat him. In 1970, he ran again, having toned down the rhetoric a bit. Lloyd Bentsen won that time.

GHWB went on to chair the Republican National Committee and to serve as DCI at the Central Intelligence Agency before running for President in 1980 (and, famously, referring to the program espoused by his primary opponent Ronald Reagan as “voodoo economics”).

Nixon indeed was a Senator before being elected President, though not, as Bob avers, “nearly 30 years” before.

Tricky Dick, then in the Senate, was elected to the Vice Presidency, with Ike at the top of the ticket, in 1952. Nixon took office as VP in January 1953. He ran for President and won in 1968, taking office in 1969.

1969-1953 = 16 years, not 30.

–

http://phoenixwoman.blogspot.c…..s-joe.html

karen > curiosity….i just read about ‘em. also, had nothing to contribute to the Biden conversation…maybe i’m just in love w/ the sound of myself typing…

This is funny…
Jane why even bother. This guy is a joke!!!

Alvord:

Biden is probably touching up his hair (what little there is of it), he’s 63 years old. He’s used to dye it red, but has let it go naturally silver in recent years, and will probably do that sort of blonde highlight thing people do to make it look as if they haven’t gone totally gray. George Will seems to use this process, although he won’t allow any gray to show, vain little thing that he is.

BTW, here’s a link to Biden’s website for all those eager to volunteer or contribute to his campaign (I can tell there’s a whole bunch of you here). MBNA, DuPont and Wilmington Trust can’t be expected to pay for everything.

Just as an aside, I lived in northern Delaware for 6 years, and I despise Biden. He has no backbone whatsoever, nor any realistic sense of his limitations, intellectually or characterwise. He would be a disaster as President, but I don’t believe he has of chance of winning the nomination, and his campaign should provide some very amusing moments before its inevitable flameout.

Taters:

Gustav von A. : Tadzio::Joe Biden : White House

Has Biden dyed his hair? When I saw him on Hardball his hair looked blonder than I remembered it.

And anudda thing: So is the “Democratic candidate looking extremely idiotic in a uniform of some sort” now an absolutely mandatory photo-op stop in the campaign intinerary?

I mean, if you’re going to be a candidate run entirely by your consultants, couldn’t you at least hire ones who will tell you not to put on that helmet and climb into the tank, please don’t put on that ridiculous tyvek containment suit with the blue booties, and for godsake don’t put a flack vest on over your blue blazer?

How do these nimrods ever get elected in the first place, given that they apparently lack the political instincts of a candidate for junior high student council?

“Just bein’ me,” Joe thinks. Checks the mirror. Blue wool all bunched and sticking out. “Senator Reporting-For-Duty! Heh heh. Yesireebob. Not too shabby!”

Agh. Please. Somebody. Just shoot me now.

Brooks is none too swift, but he ain;t a racist. I think he was referring tot he importation of latino gangs that is scarey AND real. But he didn;t say that and ended up sounding like one.

Goodness, am I defending Bobo?
Color me chagrined.

Adam | 12.22.05 – 2:05 am

Great link you furnished, Adam, to that WSJ article, recommended reading. Grampa is right on this one. The split in the Repug party defines the swing niche that we need to target.

Dems need to be talking very clearly about the desire for EFFECTIVE government, not larger government. With all of the technology we have available to us (and I’m not talking about the NSA), we should be able to streamline and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government across the board, reducing our costs to operate.

I don’t want MORE government, I want the government we have to do its damned job and I want it to be transparent to the entire public on everything except personal records and national security. Katrina, for example — the government failed to do its job, even though it had far more than adequate warning. The warning system in advance of the storm was absolutely transparent; we could all of us see it coming. But once the storm came and went, we could see nothing happening; we had to rely on the mainstream media and on leaks to tell us what was happening. That is utter bullsh*t.

The one agency that appeared to operate effectively — mostly because it hasn’t been ravaged by cronyism — is CDC. They were calling for volunteers through their network, issuing advisories as the storm hit, continuing advisories afterwards. They filled in the gaps where the EPA and OSHA didn’t, advising about chemical and biological exposures for the benefit of healthcare workers and volunteers. This is exactly what I want from the rest of our government. I want to know at the end of the day that my tax dollars are actually doing work for the benefit of this entire country, not some smarmy *sshole playing golf in Scotland on my dime.

Pick any other topic. Like Iraq — are we getting our money’s worth there? Should we be enlarging any single government agency or offering in any way if we aren’t absolutely certain the current money isn’t being used to its absolute maximum efficiency? Should we be doing anything for which we are not adequately tooled (Humvees without adequate armor, for example)?

Which takes me back to marketing and execution. This is the message: we need a competent, effective government. And now we need a team that can execute this; we absolutely cannot afford a team on board, even if it’s a Dem team, if they can’t execute better than the current team.

Ugh. Biden. No way in hell.

FYI: The Ag in NY is Elliott Spitzer. And he is terrific.

Presidents who go up against the CIA have a history of not finishing their terms.
–
Cliff Varnell | 12.22.05 – 12:37 am

And along those lines . . .tasty little morsel from Malloy’s show last night.

Guest had encountered James Bamford (author of Puzzle Palace, acknowledged authority on NSA) in DC – Bamford’s take

these spooks are

never happy to be in the public eye (the old joke NSA = No Such Agency)

supposedly sensitive to any invasion of domestic privacy, and

are currently mindful of how this Admin has dragged CIA through the mud and slimed them w/ massive failures in Iraq and 9/11.

Nothing new here, but I’ve been wondering about this stuff since Saturday (was married to a Black Ops/SigInt guy)and to hear Bamford confirm these kids are pissed off is more than a little encouraging as to just what they might do in terms of pushback. YeeHaw!

dead last | 12.22.05 – 2:05 am

Interesting…that Newsmax link you provided is a classic hit piece on that FISA court judge. Worth looking at it to dissect their assassination methodology. (I did get a chuckle out of the “Save DeLay” link on the site – HAH!!! Yeah, if only I could send an anchor through that link…)

Joe has no credibility. Other than the credit card interests of delaware it is unlikely he will be able to gather any serious interest in his campaign.

The 2008 dem candidate will be the one who is unapologetic about his democratic views. The red staters will feel much more comfortable with someone who sticks to their prionciples who they disagree with rather the someone who bends with the wind.

The Biden, Clinton, and lately Obama plays for the middle come off as nothing but phonyiness or at worst admission that they arenot serious about democratic issues. Please fire their advisors and get them to stop.

Tinksrival | 12.22.05 – 12:47 am

You took the words out of my mouth, Tinks. I had hoped that the ticket was Dean/Clark or Clark/Dean this past year. We would have had domestic and foreign policy wrapped up solid between them. Clark would probably move to a very similar process as the Dayton Accords with Iraq, creating a federal system to organize Kurdish-Shiite-Sunni states within an Iraqi nation. It would piss off the neighbors, but an all-out civil war is hardly a preference.

Could only hope that we get a ticket with Gore, Clark, Feingold, Schweitzer combination, with a good crew for cabinet like Dean at HHS, Vilsack at Education…maybe put Clark as SecDef with Clinton as SecState. Might even be able to coax the Big Dog to do UN; now he could milk reforms out of the entire UN membership, don’t you think?

Agh. Pisses me off that we couldn’t get this off the ground last time. We actually have one helluva field when you look at it this way.

p.s. Biden needs to stick to his knitting. He’s a has-been sucking up air right now; Reid should take him aside after the first of the year and tell him to share nicely and let the other kids have a crack at the toys.

Dave–You’ve “never heard of these two characters”, yet you ask about their chances twice? Why?

The forces that are looking seriously at impeachment need to concentrate as much effort on Cheney as Bush, if not more. Dick Cheney must be deposed or eliminated by other means (let’s use our imaginations during this most hopeful of holiday seasons ;0). How quickly would Dubya blow up without uncle Dick and the Turd to hold his hand and do all of the actual work of the devil?

If the propsect wasn’t so damn dangerous, it would be comedic relief.

Dave–Hackett for Ohio. Sherrod Brown is a good guy, though.

How can anyone forget Biden’s admitted plagiarism as well as his smarmy behavior at the Justice Thomas hearings when Anita Hill was on the stand,

Man, someone with a deft touch for sarcasm needs to be all over that Ted Stevens “saddest day of my life” crap.

Not “Senator”.

Not “Joe”.

It’s “Bend Over Biden”. OK? “Bend Over Biden”.

Or B.O.B. for conveinence sake.

I think we have to seriously consider the likelyhood that a Senator isn’t electable as President anymore. We need to look at Democratic governors as potential candidates.

Here’s why: Senators have to work in a bi-partison environment…they need to compromise and make concessions on certain issues or they’ll never get the support they need for their own issues. Come election time, the opponents will easily come up with some votes the senator made that can be made into an election issue. “I voted against it before I voted for it,” etc.

A governor works and acts in a much more unilateral environment. He’s basically the “President” of his state, and has many of the same powers that the POTUS has, only on a smaller scale. The governor can act in accordance with his party without nearly as many compromises…he can sign a bill into law after it’s been passed by his state’s legislature even if he doesn’t agree with it; the blame is often placed on the lawmakers who approved the bill.

This results in a record more in accord with the governor’s party line. There just aren’t as many “smoking gun” votes that can be used against him, as there often are with senators. A senator’s voting record will ALWAYS be used against him in modern politics.

Look at the recent Presidents to see the trend:
George W. Clusterfuck – governor of TX
Bill Clinton – governor of AK
Geo. HW Bush – VP under Reagan, before that he was Senator from CT 1952-1960, but that was over nearly 30 years before he ran for President…not many contemporary voting issues to deal with
Ronald Reagan – governor of CA
Jimmy Carter – governor of GA
Gerald Ford – not even elected
Richard Nixon – WP under Ike, and again, a senator nearly 30 years before being elected

The times have changed, and it will take an extraordinarily strong candidate to overcome this Senatorial “handicap”. I don’t see anyone who fits that bill.

If we want Al Gore, John Kerry, or Joe Biden to become President, we might want to wait until the 2028 election before we nominate them. But I ain’t gonna hold my breath.

biden is giving clueless narcissists a bad name.

The Impeachment of
Andrew Johnson

From this link,
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/impeach3.html

In a Parliamentary system, Johnson would long since have departed, for nearly all Republicans by now agreed with Supreme Court justice David Davis, who described the President as “obstinate, self-willed, combative,” and totally unfit for his office.

But these, apparently, were not impeachable offenses. Despite the changes made by Butler and Stevens, the articles as a whole implicitly accepted what would become the central premise of JohnsonÂ’s defense:

That only a clear violation of the law warranted a President’s removal.
snip

No need for an investigation here since he already admitted it on teevee.

Biden’s a moron, but Hilary’s not far behind him in the “bend over backward to be the most centrist” sweepstakes.

Dave – ah, you bring up Ohio and Brown and Hackett. Over at dKos that could start an all out war.

The whole dem party begged Brown to run against DeWine, but he delayed and delayed, finally Paul Hackett stepped up. Hackett was the blog darling in a special election this year in Ohio when he almost beat Jean Schmidt in a very republican district. All the while calling Bush, directly and clearly, a chickenhawk. That one word earned him a great deal of money from the blog guys and gals.

So when Brown declined to run after much begging, Hackett stepped up and said he would run again. Everyone was excited. AND THEN Brown changed his mind and is running against Hackett in the dem primary.

This has split many dems – those who support Brown, a well known and well liked progressive in Ohio, and Hackett, a newbie in politics, but with the stomach, and an Iraq veteran, for an all out fight. People, myseflf included, believe Hackett has a better chance in the reddest of Ohio.

But the fight between Brown and Hackett will all out knock down drag out conflict, unless Hackett can back down. And to me he does not seem like a “backdown” kind of guy.

DrBB – exactly how I feel. Have not seen a really good candidate for a while. Sweitzer (sp?), the AG of New York, is the closest I can get to someone who can hold his own when attacked, fight the good fight without getting hijacked on the way, and is an upright man with the stomach for politics.

This Sweitzer in Montana is also quite good, but still too new to politics to made a big splash, but who knows, by 2008 we may be desparate for anyone outside the beltway.

In my mind, Feingold, Obama, Hillary (ugh) let alone Biden (choke) will not even come close. We need someone who can stand up and speak to America with a fervor and honestly hertofore missing. Feingold has it at times, Dean had it in spade for a while, but few are speaking loud enough right now. We shall see I guess.

P.S. With Sweitzer running for Gov. of New York, he will not be ready for a national run until ??? Can he run in 2008 having just won the NY Gov. in 2006? Doubt it. If a dem wins in 2008, then he has to wait at 8 years, unless he wants to challenge a sitting dem prez.

Aw shucks, there just is not someone I can invision that is bold enough, brave enough, tough enough, and honest enough to take 2008, let along the mess that Bush will leave.

Edward Teller> it was an interesting article i was reading in In These Times (Nov. 21, i believe) called “who is Sherrod Brown”…apparently he’s some progressive from ohio & could possibley be the rarest of all beasts, a cool politician…he’s running against Paul Hackett, who doesn’t have any political experience, but is a Iraq veteran & virulently anti-bush for a bonus…anyways, i’d never heard of either of these characters, but i thought it was a good article, as ohio is a state of some electoral importance, & figured somebody here would know all about it…

What is it with these retreads? Kerry thinks he’s going to run again too. Hard enough for a senator to get elected, but one who’s already been rejected for the job?

Oh yeah, a good ol’ campaign-consulted-up-the-wazoo, triangulating, GOP-lite former-also-ran. The ideal candidate! How could he possibly lose? It’s a no brainer!

What do these guys tell themselves? “If only the public had a chance to see the real me”? “I just had the wrong consultants last time”? “I can hoover up cash from the credit card companies with the best of ‘em, therefore I must be president”?

How about, “I am a bloviating egomaniac with no core beliefs, that’s why I got sh-tcanned last time, why I’ll get sh-tcanned next time, and why I should just get out of the damn way and let someone with genuine convictions have a shot.”

Just wish I knew who that “someone” was.

The only thing Purple Thumb Joe is positioning himself for is another bad hair day.

If we can freep a poll, why can’t we freep Biden with Reid, Pelosi, DNC, etc. He isn’t the person we want out there, so why don’t we try to stop him?

I think Dems need someone with executive experience to run in 2008. That’s likely to be a governor, not a senator.

Feingold is Jewish = snowball’s chance in Hell in an Arab war environment. IMO

I haven’t seen this mentioned — Guess who wrote the 1978 FISA Act: Senator Joe Biden.

it’s Joe Liebidenman, yes?

He looks as stupid in that flack jacket as president codpiece did on that flight deck.

Biden is a fucking moron. Any dem who wants to win the White House in 2008 should send him an email telling him that he is a public embarrassment and needs to retire.

Oh, and send the same email to Clinton and Obama.

OK Folks,

Since the conversation has touched the ‘08 election let me advance the obvious and probably only ticket(s) that can win and win big: Gore/Warner, Gore/Schwitzer, Gore/Dean. I personally like Gore/Schwitzer because the new center of the party is gunna be the “solid west”.

Gore has already won the popular vote nationally, did NOT vote for the Iraq War, was the first to back Dean, is clean as a hound’s tooth, comes from the South and can hit the ground runnin. He is much more acceptable ta the Dem base than Hilary, and would eat her lunch fer breakfast.

I think that there might be a chance of seein’ Gore in the WH as early as ‘06. Dems win both houses in ‘06. Bush/Cheney are impeached, Pelosi is elevated ta President and appoints Gore VP then abdicates. Voiala, we have Gore in the WH for 10 years insted a 8.

I saw Biden on Hardball or Blitzer last night, and he made me so mad. What a bucket of warm spit. He actually said, referring to illegally spying on Americans, “It might be different if they could show some successes that came from doing it.”
Um, NO. No, you overpaid underworked never-an-original-thought idiot who WE PAY. NO! I won’t sacrifice liberty, not now and not ever.

Adam – that WSJ article was good, and precisely what I was referring to.

Now, really, off to bed.

Edward Teller — I’m not sure what Anonymous stuff you are referring to (I’ve been unable to follow the comments for the past week or so, although I did read the comments for this thread).

MY focus point is that we can make some headway by giving top priority to the issues on which we are most likely to win. In 1992, Clinton won by pounding a simple message: “the economy, stupid.” Of course there were dozens of other issues important to progressive politicians and voters, but many of these did not draw strong, passionate majorities. The Clinton campaign found the one issue that could draw such a majority, and it stuck to that message.

I don’t know whether the imperial presidency or the abuse of power is such an issue today. I suspect it could draw a fair number of voters who lean to the libertarian side, particularly in the West. Detailed polling is needed to identify the best issues and buzz words. But I think the left spends way too much energy attacking those who do not toe the line on every single issue (sadly, this problem has plagued the left since before I became politically aware, which is a long time) and not enough energy building the coalitions that will remove this disastrous administration from power.

Now it’s time for me to go to bed. My grandson is visiting, and he gets up early.

They are not slowing down…

http://www.newsmax.com/archive…..5451.shtml

Same problem
Same M/O
Same fraud

Are we losing the battle here? What if George actually did crown himself king and forgot to tell us? Would our reactions be any different? Is there anything we could do differently, or does it even matter?

Just keeping it real…
-
-
-
-
-

Not to harp on the same theme too much, but I think this is extremely telling w.r.t. potential for serious consequences to flow from the domestic spying stuff.

Son comes home from HS Xmas role-playing party of XC skiers. He says they’re actually concerned that this country is at a turning point. Good kids, but very apolitical – most are from VERY conservative families (that’s where I live). Rising dissonance between these hard working kids and their hard working parents? Yes.

Grampa,

You’re right on here. As an ex-Republican who left when the godsquad showed up, I’ve been frustrated ever since that I ever believed there was a there there.

Your points about core conservative beliefs in limited government and concern about executive branch power grabs enabled by compromised legislators are apt.

Is there a focus point here with more resolution than the stuff Anonymous was putting forth four hours ago?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/congress_dc

Bush, who has been battling sinking approval ratings, has seen his clout in Congress diminished by recent scandals affecting top Republicans, as well as the recent revelation that he secretly ordered domestic eavesdropping on U.S. citizens.

No mention of Bush’s rising approval ratings here.

52763 responses

Still at 88%

This dog has legs, it’s gonna hunt.

“I really take offense to this. General Clark led the conflict in Bosnia without the loss of a single soldier.”

I wasn’t talking about soldier so much as Iraqis. They are the ones dying by the thousands.

Excellent article Suzanne ;)

I will catch up with you soon Ed Teller :)

Sam,

The courts have no power to adjudicate a matter that has not been brought before them. We would need first to see the government sued for the warrantless wiretaps (e.g., a section 1983 suit for depriving a person of his civil rights under cover of an official action), or a criminal prosecution under FISA. Apart from that, the judges could bring moral pressure on the Administration, e.g., by threatening to resign, but they have no power on their own to enforce the law.

Interesting aspect of the WaPo article that ties in with “turf holding” mentioned by Grandpa and Edward Teller above about the judiciary.

There was a LOT of bureaucratic warfare and resentment by departments about being folded into DHS – and some snarky reporting about how the WH had no idea of what they were doing, such as not knowing there were Immigration Judges.

“Yes Wes Clark has integrity… But the guy makes Murtha look like a dove. He wants to stay in Iraq and fight it out… You know once the boots are on the ground and the supply lines are in place… Those generals just hate to walk away unless everybody is dead or waving white flags.”

It’s a bit more complicated than that. Wes Clark is very concerned with what these assholes have done to our Armed Forces. Clark wants to use a more diplomatic approach to the divisions in Iraq. It has to be resolved politically. Clark is a master at this. Have you ever heard of the Dayton Peace Accords? If we completely pull out of Iraq now Iran is the big winner. Thats how bad Bush has fucked this up. On purpose or not I’m not sure. But Clark has said that this window of opportunity is closing fast and it is critical that we seize the last oppportunity to negotiate this constitution to balance the fractions in Iraq. It is in the best interest of the Middle East region, Europe and the US. What is the alternative? Iran gains a stronger base in which to theaten other countries in the region. This will ultimatly end up in a much bigger conflict. Israel and Palestine are making progress but are still very fragile. It is a ticking time bomb if we don’t start working the political angle. Clark recognizes the big picture.
I have heard him speak of the troops in Iraq and I have seen the anguish he feels about the whole Bush misadventure,. Please don’t be so quick to judge. Clark stayed in the military to help build back the “all volunteer” Army since Vietnam. His service to this country and to the military is beyond the call of duty.

“Those generals just hate to walk away unless everybody is dead or waving white flags.”

I really take offense to this. General Clark led the conflict in Bosnia without the loss of a single soldier.

Apoligies in advance to anon for mispellings

Edward Teller – I think Bush is also vulnerable in Congress, and for the same reason. If we have to rely on the handful of “moderate” Republicans to stop Bush, we will not succeed without a wholesale shift toward the Democrats, which I do not think likely in 2006. However, if you add some of the genuine conservatives to those moderates, the balance begins to change. Many of those conservatives are waking up to the fact that the “imperial presidency” that has grown so inexorably under the Bush Administration is inconsistent with their view of limited government. I’m not talking here about the nutcases, the power-hungry Republicans who will sacrifice any principle to keep their party in the White House, or the religious right who want government poking around between your sheets. But I believe that some conservative Republicans are genuinely troubled by Bush’s power grab. Equally important, there are conservatives out in the electorate who also have reason to fear this president. If we expect to see practical results in the near term, we should be aiming to drive a wedge between this group and the party leadership.

How many divisions have the courts?

Biden, Clinton and Lieberman are destroying the ability of the party to move in a decent, progressive direction.

Can President Bush be held in contempt of
court—-? what if the judicial system determines he is not upholding the laws of the
land in regard to spying on Americans, not
faithfully executing his oath of Office and
holds him in contempt of the courts and
recommends to the Congress that Impeachment process must begin..
Could this scenario actually happen.?
What authority do the courts have here
in this spy scandal-? –throw out cases based
on warrants obtained by illegal spying.

anybody out there with more info on this–

Suzanne,

I’m afraid to read it. I’m racing to the ‘fridge for more kim chee.

Anonymous 8:20pm wrote –> What could the military industrial complex possibly have wanted to eliminate nixon for?
–

Anon, I don’t think they did.

In my opinion, the heavy actor in Watergate was Richard Helms, the CIA’s Deputy Director of Plans (operations) in 1963, and Director of Central Intelligence from June 30, 1966 to February 2, 1973.

In his vastly under-appreciated historical masterpiece, THE ENDS OF POWER, Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman said that Nixon referred to the JFK assassination as “the Bay of Pigs thing.” (That Nixon used “the Bay of Pigs thing” as code for the JFK assassination was recently corroborated by journalist Richard Whalen, who also worked in the Nixon administration.)

http://mtracy9.tripod.com/kennedy.html

According to Haldeman, Nixon made 3 attempts to get the files on the Bay of Pigs from CIA Director Helms (along with the files on the assassinations of the Diem brothers in Vietnam and Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic). 3 times Helms turned down the President of the United States’ request for CIA files — once in ‘69, again in ‘71, and the third time a few weeks before the Watergate break-in.

Was the Watergate burglary a case of Helms pushing back on Nixon’s attempt to get the goods on the CIA and the JFK assassination, an attempt to bring the Agency under Nixon’s heel?

Consider that the burglars were all ex-CIA, and the actions of James McCord were strikingly suspicious.

It was McCord who botched the break-in by mis-applying tape over a doorlock twice — and he was a top break & entry man.

It was McCord who wrote the letter to Judge Sirica that got the ball rolling in the courts.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet…..ccordJ.htm

And McCord was working the media harder than Mark “Deep Throat” Felt.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/w…..rces_x.htm

(quote on)

The news of Deep Throat’s unmasking has sparked reminiscing among the Watergate-era reporters about the stories they wrote and the sources they cultivated. The June 17, 1972, burglary at Democratic headquarters in Washington’s Watergate hotel and the White House’s coverup afterward was the biggest story of their careers.

Robert Jackson, 70, is retired from the Los Angeles Times. One of his best sources throughout the Watergate coverage was James McCord, one of the five burglars arrested in the break-in. McCord gave Jackson several scoops, including details of his testimony to a grand jury.

But McCord “could be a difficult guy to deal with,” Jackson says. He wanted to do things his way. Jackson was scooped by the New York Daily News on a report that McCord had been offered “hush money” if he would agree not to testify about what he knew. “I called McCord at home,” Jackson says. “He said, ‘yeah, that’s right.’ I said, ‘Jim, why didn’t you tell me?’ He said, ‘we hadn’t gotten to that part yet.’ ”

(quote off)

Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of the Nixon tapes — Haldeman fingered Butterfield as very possibly a CIA plant (THE ENDS OF POWER pg 109).

Connect the dots.

Presidents who go up against the CIA have a history of not finishing their terms.
–

double crapola, forgot to include the link

here ya go:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..02327.html

WaPo has up a very scary article “Prelude to Disaster, the Making of the DHS”. The WH micro-managed and hobbled DHS.

Me3,

I registered at your site. Let’s talk soon.

Love ya!

http://www.harrispollonline.co…..asp?lang=1

Register for the Harris Poll database ;)

You can’t select polls to take really… But they do choose people out of their pool for scientific polling.

dAVE:

dUHHHHH?

okay, i’m not even close to ohio, but who would ya’ll like to see win the Dem primary for senator there, Brown or Hackett?

Grampa,

We are seeing that fight start. One of the main Republican themes has been that we have a liberally-appointed judiciary running amok. But the pushback from the judiciary branch actually respects the tenets of conservatism in some of its better aspects with more resonance than the current Republican machinery is desperately trying to force their faux-conservative theme down every open throat in power.

Cozumel,

They did go all out gonzo! I’ll never forget frickin Peggy Noonan’s hit on Clark. “crazy” ya right! Look who’s crazy now! Everything Clark said about Bush before the primary has come to pass.
The bastards! Everything thats come to light since he testified at the prewar hearings with Pearl has proved him true and Pearle the lying dirtbag he is.

Geeze I hate these people!

Time for bed.
I hope I dream about duct tape,tar,feathers, and Noonan and Pearle.

“Footnote: arguably, Georgie’s constituency is also drunk with power. All those oral-stage losers out there who are doing their best to be “Rapture Ready” are praying that Armegeddon will bail them out of their need for another drink.”

I think they are basically suicidal… I mean the whole thing about the “kool-aid” drinking is a direct reference to Jim Jones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

Bush says “trust me” – Jim Jones…

And the ultimate trust is the nuclear football… And I can’t think of two scarier people holding it.

So this “rapture” thing… Going to heaven without dying or what not… Surrounded in glowing light from heaven… Sounds too close to mass murder by nuclear weapons for me.

The Bush “bubble” thing… Jim Jones did exactly the same thing. He had trouble hiding his drug use. Exactly the same thing.

Too many parallels for there not to be some truth… I think both are similar types of sociopaths.

Edward Teller makes a good point. If there is one thing that the judicial branch values over and above basic ideology, it is the preservation of its own independence and powers. By attempting to circumvent FISA, Bush is treading on the very foundation of the judiciary. One can see the same concern expressed in the recent Padilla decision. These are very conservative judges, but their conservatism is overcome by the need to protect their own sphere of power. In his recent Supreme Court appointments, Bush seemed to value judicial humility (abdication?) over, for example, protection of civil rights. But when the Administration’s attack on civil rights becomes an attack on the prerogatives of the judiciary, I predict we will see the judges stand and fight.

“Does he want to A-bomb Iran? Yes, he does.

Does he want the “political process” in Iraq to turn Iraq into a client of Iran so that he can A-bomb Iran? Yes, he does.”

Yes he does.

Yes Wes Clark has integrity… But the guy makes Murtha look like a dove. He wants to stay in Iraq and fight it out… You know once the boots are on the ground and the supply lines are in place… Those generals just hate to walk away unless everybody is dead or waving white flags.

The problem is we have done far more than enough damage and destruction in Iraq… People want a graceful exit.

Honestly… We dumper Chimper McFlight suit, blame the war on him (honestly, it’s his fault), withdraw the kids out of there… Let history figure out if it’s a win or a lose. Chimper by default gets saddled with all the blame, and Americans can say “We weren’t really wrong, we trusted a bad man – he’s not ‘right’”

the problem with Biden? He is a taller butch Orrin Hatch.

Many threads coming together this week before Christmas. One thing strikes me as more noteworthy than the rest.

The legislative and executive branches are being displayed in all their inherent weaknesses at the same time that the flexibility of the only branch which grants life tenure is showing remarkable resiliancy.

The Dover PA judge is a recent Bush appointee, a conservative Christian and Republican. Yet he issued a terse and scathing rebuke of something dear to the heart of the most loyal followers of his community.

The Justice Department, after five years of hyper control by the Bushbots, is homing in on the 11yo paradigm of cronyism and corruption ushered in by the Congress of 1994.

The FISA court is pondering their legal liability (!!!!) vs the shuck and jive they’ve been fed by executive branch appointees.

I didn’t have to cheat to get through law school.

And I knew the Iraq war was bullshit from long before the Congressional authorization.

Fuck Biden.

This country’s not ready for a President with hairplugs, and Joe’s got ‘em….

Footnote: arguably, Georgie’s constituency is also drunk with power. All those oral-stage losers out there who are doing their best to be “Rapture Ready” are praying that Armegeddon will bail them out of their need for another drink.

Tinksrival,

“Wes Clark ‘08″

He was my hope for 2004! He got “Swiftboated” right out of the gate via Brit Hume pretty much.
He was the the GOP’s biggest fear in a head-to-head with Bush, IMO. So he was the first one they went after and took down. He wasn’t ready for prime time or the GOP meat grinder of dirty politics.

Maybe next time…

I assumed DXM was referring to the not altogether successful attempt at rejuvenation/cosmetic rehabilitation.

Drunk With Power

Has it occurred to anyone besides me that, with all the talk about how Bush is drinking again, that maybe he doesn’t need to drink now that he rides around in the 747?

I think the phrase “drunk with power” really sums up our friend George.

Please (for the love of God, please) recall that Bush has started TWO wars. That’s not one, but two: Afghanistan and Iraq. Say what you will about these wars, they are still wars, and many would argue that

a) both are still in progress

and

b) neither one of them is going well

Well, where does that leave us? Call me Joe Liberman, but I think it leaves us in the position of not wanting Georgie to start another war.

And, boy, does he want to! Oh, Lord, does he want to. He is itching, positively itching to start another war. Just the way, in years past, he was itching for another drink. Yes, he’s drunk with power.

So, maybe, just maybe, with a pyscho like Georgie at the helm, the best bet is to make sure the current war soaks up all the war resources we have until President Alcoholic is out of power.

Does he want to A-bomb Iran? Yes, he does.

Does he want the “political process” in Iraq to turn Iraq into a client of Iran so that he can A-bomb Iran? Yes, he does.

Impeachment would be nice (drunk with power: “I can wiretap any fucking [you thought I would get fuck into this] I want to. Fuck you, and fuck the Constitution too.“

But, on-topic, Joe Biden and the rest of the emasculate Democratic leadership don’t have the balls (redundancy I admit) to even come (excuse the expression) close.

Joe (D-MBNA) is just bidin’ his time.

He’d never get my vote. Oily, smarmy, transparently self-aggrandizing, spineless. For starters.

I’ll still take Clarks’ integrity over Powells any day of the week.

Did I misspell again?

Sorry anon again

P-u-m-m-e-l

NYT tomorrow or today – Thursday re Abramoff plea bargain:

“At the same time, prosecutors in Washington have been sifting through evidence of what they believe is a corruption scheme involving at least a dozen lawmakers.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12…..r=homepage

We need a counter to the “straight talk” McCain line and I don’t see one yet on the horizon.
My current favorite is Feingold.

PS: what was up with the comment that JB is the Gustav von Aschenbach of American politics? He’s in love with a young Polish boy???

Anon (17th c.)

I have no idea what you’re referencing at the top of your post. Thanks for the compliment.

Tinksrival,

I was just reading Clarke’s recent op-ed. He seems to think Iraq can be turned around to some extent. I’m just not sure I believe that. I think a comment from yesterday about Iran, Turkey and Syria decending on Iraq is likely.

In the end I see an alliance between Pakistan, Iran, Shiite Iraq and China. Pakistan might act as a liason between this super state and the Sauds.

For those of you who like to feed on conspiracies (the problem is that there are so many of them that I can’t keep track of them all), my father, an ardent conservative, was an acquaintance of LBJ. On the night that JFK named him as his Vice-Presidential candidate in 1960, all my father said was, “If I were Jack Kennedy, I wouldn’t walk down a flight of stairs in front of Lyndon Johnson.”

If you really want to get conspiratorial, LBJ was a product of the great Texas political kingmakers, George and Herman Brown. Brown and Root, an international construction firm, later merged with Kellogg, another construction firm, and finally with oil-well supply firm Halliburton. It is now the tail that wags the Halliburton dog.

“Can judges on the FISA Court just disband, though?”

I don’t think so (disband the court) but the message is clear.

They could ALL resign but that wouldn’t undo the legislation that created it.

Great points, ed, but the “C” word (class as in socio-economic) and the “e” word (economic issues) will not play well here.

Guess the sheer brilliance of the analysis is suppose to move the world to a more equitable “market solution” and we will all have kittens and puppies with cake….

glad you agree — you would be amazed what those that proclaim they want change will do to prevent it from happening.

This is at all levels, state, fed, local politics and even the bloggosphere

Cozumel:
Thanks for putting this info up. Did read it
over at Raw News. These Judges over at the
FISA court are going to make G.WBush wish
he had obeyed the law. Its going to be a big
story soon and give traction to the issue of
this President and Vice President acting outside the laws of this country and will add
to the momentum building for investigations
and possibly Impeachment.
When you add the Fitz investigation and
Abramoff scandals to the mix going on now
it is going to be explosive and and so
damaging. The momentum is gathering.

OK. Thanks for the pummel. :-)

I think FISA should just fold, Supremes turn the matter over to the Justice Department and send a letter to Congress indicating, depending on the outcome of the Justice Department investigations, over to you congress critters. This is a constitutional crises and only Congress can make the final call.

Can I pummell you?

My General beats your General…hands down!

Wes Clark ‘08

Anonymous,

You just said “I don’t speak for me3, but IMHO, they are “target marketing” to the same “market segment”

Its the corporate model of politics — one we are sure to lose, because the BIG corporate dollars are gonna go”.

You’re right. You can see the process at work, both in 2000 and 2004 in major ways, and in less dramatic ways in 2002 and ..?.. (as in “You don’t introduce a new product in August” or WTF was said then)

I remember during the summer of 2004 – end of July & beginning of August – my family was on the Oregon coast. We were able to watch cable in the house we rented. Kerry and Bush both worked the Oregon environment hard, as it was a swing state. One of my shirttail relatives was doing ads for Kerry.

We had shuddered two weeks earlier in Seattle, as we watched Kerry march on to that podium at the Demo convention and salute, reporting to duty. I turned to Michael and said “That’s SO confining! Is he dead meat, or what?”

Michael told me the Kerry campaign was being run by people who made the Gore campaign look like a model of efficiency. Two weeks later in Oregon, as we watched the incredible differences between Kerry addressing 30,000 people in the open air in Portland, or holding an impromptu community forum in a driveway outside Eugene, vs. Bush skittering from secure military base to secure computer manufacturer, I again asked Michael, who had just flown in from DC and NYC, “What happens next?”

Michael said “We ditch the activism and dive to the center. Has to happen.” He explained to me the most recent take on the uncommitted voter hypothesis. I replied “Don’t the Kerry people know the Bush people know that’s where the turf is already, and have a plan in place?”

Michael replied “They probably do, and even though Kerry is ahead by more than we expected, he’s still gonna lose, because Kerry’s circle don’t realize the nastiness increases geometrically at this point in a campaign this close”

Back to anonymous’s (excuse me, Anonymous’s – I find it hard enough to write music to an anonymous lyric a thousand years old, let alone deal with this handle in a highly charged discussion group!!! – find a handle, brickhead!..) point:

To reiterate, you’re right. The race to the center in a corporate money political environment in which the left is outspent is a dead end strategy.

I’m disappointed here. He is roundly hated in every liberal blog I frequent. OK- I haven’t followed Biden’s career and recent votes etc. in earnest, but at the dawn of my political curiosity a few years ago ca. 2000, he was the only talking head on TV that seemed more concerned with the bigger picture, and genuine solutions to problems than any other politico. In interviews he had that Clinton lucidity where you felt he was living in the same world as you, had formulated the same questions as you, and was working to formulate a solution that, agree or disagree, was actually related to something out there in the “real world”, not just a talking point or condesceding helmet-haired beltway TV show tripe.Maybe this is why Senators aren’t elected President- he knows the game, and now that his hat is in the ring he is playing it, to the disappointment of those of us who demand authenticity in these demanding times. I like big-picture people, and I will posit for the sake of discussion, that he has impressed me in the past as being such a person. So I guess I’m honestly asking (not withstanding his Hawkisk pose of late, IF I may reasonably ask this be not withstood) what- SPECIFICALLY – people dont like about this guy. Thanks for your consideration

Can judges on the FISA Court just disband, though? Can they say, “since the Administration won’t follow the law and has no use for this Court, we’re packing up and shutting this place down?” And what kind of a constitutional crisis does that invoke? We want the Courts, especially this FISA Court, to stand up to Bush, Gonzales, and Cheney, not stand down.

JD Cane – I love the “Trophy Dems” label. And your Diebold point is on the money.

Powell is beneath contempt – from My Lai to the UN speech, he has no integrity. I wish this weren’t true since I was astonished when he was first out playing politics at the diversity of support he generated – I saw oldtime NH farmers and yuppie progressives talk about him as a great future president. And that’s hard to achieve even for a white male.

“One judge, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said members could suggest disbanding the court in light of the president’s suggestion that he has the power to bypass the court.”

Would that be drawing a line in the sand or what?

Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program

The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush’s domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.

Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president’s eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.

snip

The judges could, depending on their level of satisfaction with the answers, demand that the Justice Department produce proof that previous wiretaps were not tainted, according to government officials knowledgeable about the FISA court. Warrants obtained through secret surveillance could be thrown into question. One judge, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said members could suggest disbanding the court in light of the president’s suggestion that he has the power to bypass the court.

more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..02326.html

Let me through out a name and get pummelled. :-)

Powell.

Me3 – I was working in VT during the last campaign (and living/voting in NH for primary). It was interesting since most progressive Vermonters were pretty distressed by Dean when he was governor and shaky on supporting him for prez initially. In NH, I certainly had the impression – and it was purely impression – that the Dems were the ones out to knock Dean out of the campaign any way they could. Many of us felt the primary outcome was strange and could not figure out where the sudden boost in Kerry support came from.

I continue to believe that we need a candidate like Dean if we want to win an election. We need a counter to the “straight talk” McCain line and I don’t see one yet on the horizon.

I’d suggest that getting rid of Diebold and the other crooks counting our votes by 2006 is stll issue number one, so we can check Bushco’s unearned power in Congress. Most of the Trophy Dems are ignoring this fundamental corruption of the soul of our system. Without a fair count at the polls, how does the Republic survive?

Re the MSNBC poll:

i susssed out why 88% voted for chIMPECHMENT.

see: today is the winter solstice so all the satan worshiping evil doers ( chimpy mcflightsuit’s base ) were too busy sacrificing virgins and dancing around penagons made of puppy blood to vote!!

Sorry anon!

s-h-o-w-y

uuuuuummmmmmm, me3, dean is not afraid to talk about economic issues — of course the corproate media is afraid of him

Just what distinguishes some puke republican like Jeb Bush from a chickenshit dem like Biden?

Just wondering….

If Howard Dean and John Conyers formed a “third party” they’d stomp anyone that the DLC (aka RNC-lite) and the RNC could muster.

Peace,
UL

Cliff Varnell — thanks for sharing, my “creepiness factors” are the result of things that have been discussed in threads over the past couple of years.

Please do tell what you know!

She’s not as dirty as Bush

not sure that is an advantage — isn’t that what the monica thing was all about?

But, as I’ve said here before, the press turned on Dean within 72 hours of his statement in which he advocated an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma.

I think the press was under GOP orders to shoot down Dean at every opportunity. They are afraid of Dean, and have given the poor man _hell_ for being correct, honest, fair… And standing up to the GOP with the truth.

This machine hates to be addressed to by the truth.

That her MO is the same as Bushco or what?

I don’t speak for me3, but IMHO, they are “target marketing” to the same “market segment”

Its the corporate model of politics — one we are sure to lose, because the BIG corporate dollars are gonna go repug/neocon anyhow

Biden’s attempt to find a “center” is also suicidal.

well, even this reasonable sounding analysis “misses” the fact that dems and liberals have abandoned the economic issues that made the progressive movement, civil rights, and the labor movement possible.

Like somehow, “polite” people just don’t talk about dollars…

Its insanity, really, but even today’s self-proclaimed liberals and progressives won’t use the “e” and “c” word — economics and class as is ’socio-economic”

Anonymous 8:20 & 8:22 (”Tilting At Windmills”) –

Lemme take a crack at this historical big picture you outline (very well, btw).

> *JFK was killed, a coup de tat

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Maxwell Taylor leaked word of a CIA plot to overthrow JFK, in the New York Times, 7 weeks before the assassination.

http://home.earthlink.net/~jkelin1/krock.html

The un-named “very high administration official…served much of his life in the service of democracy” could ONLY have been CJCS Taylor, who was “on the scene” in Saigon at that time. The only other “very high administration official” in Saigon then was SOD Robert McNamara, the guy from Ford Motor Co.

Gen. Edward Lansdale, a CIA operative under Air Force cover (a/k/a “The Quiet American”) was an architect of the CIA’s policies in Vietnam and was in charge of the the clandestine war against Castro, the infamous Operation Mongoose.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/…..ngoose.htm

A couple of Lansdale’s colleague’s spotted Lansdale in one of the Dealey Plaza photos.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/USO/appD.html

Connect the dots? They were not working solely in their own interests, but highly placed operatives of the CIA more than likely murdered JFK.

I’ll break this up into several posts.

Next: Watergate.
–

I remember watching the demo debates at the beginning of 2004 on C-SPAN. We don’t have cable, so we just set up a laptop at dinner and watched the debates later unless they were on a major network that our antenna could pick up out in the exurban Alaska bush.

Anyway, we watched all the NH and Iowa debates, when everyone was still in there. Once you got over some of the farcical aspects, there was a little meat there. As the primary season drew into February, their private in-jokes and reparteee was almost as interesting as the way they discovered how to actually avoid answering any probing question in a meaningful way. Dean was the only one who combined depth and fire in his approach to this process.

But, as I’ve said here before, the press turned on Dean within 72 hours of his statement in which he advocated an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma.

Other than Dean, Kucenich and McKinney and Sharpe rocked. First time I had a positive reaction to Rev. Sharpe. Was Biden even in there? If he was, that just shows you – I don’t remember him at all.

I have a spelling checker –
It came with my PC
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure real glad two no.
Its very polished in it’s weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And we mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.

And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of none eye am a wear.

Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured o’er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

That’s why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants to pleas,
Sow now ewe see why eye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas!

There could be worse than Biden, but I doubt he is going to President.

However, if we threw out suggestions here in this thread I think the variety of answers (and rationales) would be a pretty good indicator of the fundamental problem. Even the relatively like-minded group that frequents here is likely to be all over the map with suggestions about can bring home the gold in 2008. No?

What do you mean? That her MO is the same as Bushco or what?

She’s not as dirty as Bush… But she lusts for power and control. I don’t think Bill would have been President if she had not been behind him kicking and pushing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904#survey

Quoting Ed Teller:

Re the MSNBC poll:

I voted back when it was 26,000 or so votes. Approaching 50,000, and Bush’s core has gone from 8% to 7%. MSNBC has to make this a story, don’t they?

I haven’t checked LGF or any of the other koolaid sites, but maybe I will when I get the doglicking image out of my mind and need further scatological entertainment. Anybody check to see if freepers are hyping the poll?

I can’t hardly make myself click on a bushbot link anymore… Those pages reek with twisted delusion. I don’t know where they are… The current number of respondents is at 48,356… And that 88% pro impeachment is looming over a 4/7% split base that totals only… 11% – 12% if you add “I don’t know”

I have said many times here… The core of Bush’s support is a group of sociopaths. You find one in every crowd, in every society. His core support is 12-15% I predicted… I was only off by one point… On the lower end of the scale.

I mean it looks like America is wide awake and aware of this man as an internal threat.

If in 2008 the only Democrats who run for president are Biden, Lieberman, Hillary and God forbid Feinstein, I’ll throw up. I must admit, that any of those four clowns would be better than any Republican. I would have to vote for Hillary and take some drug to maintain my sanity.

Mark C.: “Things have gone awfully quiet with Mr. Luskin no longer quite so chatty, huh?”

Nothing like a deposition to sew up loose lips, huh?

On the other hand, Luskin’s bouts of spin did have the merit of repeatedly putting Plamegate back on the public radar.

Biden’s an ideal Trophy Democrat for the Rethugs to point to as “proof” democracy isn’t dead, after they kill it.

HILLARY/BIDEN 2008

or is it

BIDEN/HILLARY 2008

Excuse me while I visit the vomitorium

While I share everyone’s concerns about BIDEN, we will see a lot of morons throw their hat into the ring for 2008 — I would be reasonably confident that Biden is not going to make it past the first few cuts.

I would be more concerend about seeing him on the ticket as VP a la Gore/Loserman.

WTF was with that anyhow? I respect what gore has to say now and he was the dutifully elected man in 2000, but that was worst choice since JFK put LBJ on the ticket and signed his own death warrant.

Me3,

you said “Hillary would stay in and try to exploit the same power grabbing done by BushCo…”

What do you mean? That her MO is the same as Bushco or what?

God, yet another lucite, hollow-man. It’s a win-win for the oligarchs. They figure that Biden should lose – just by virtue of his utterly transparent, anabolic insincerity- but if, God forbid, he should win, the billions would still keep flowing in basically the same direction.

I heard citizen spook’s mom took away his internet privileges until he gets a job and moves out of her basement.

damn….

wonder if they will be looking for a border…..

perhaps if it includes the internet connection, it would be a good deal

Joe Biden is to 2008 what Joe Lieberman was to 2004.

Biden’s attempt to find a “center” is also suicidal. The “center” is a no man’s land where you will get shot at from both sides in this mess the GOP created. The feeling I get is that the country wants to move left of center.

Honestly… If you look at the ideological “center” right now… It’s hard core conservative. The country wants a graceful exit out of a meaningless and stupid military engagement… Anybody who doesn’t come to the table without a withdrawal plan is sunk.

Hillary would stay in and try to exploit the same power grabbing done by BushCo… McCain wants to increase troops. Kerry would withdraw, but he’s flipped and flopped and failed to stand under pressure… He won’t do in this climate.

This is going to take a really strong leader to bail us out. I don’t see anybody on the radar yet.

Churchill referred to another colleague as “A modest man with much to be modest about,” which doesn’t quite fit ANY senator, but a bit of modesty might take Biden a long way. Ah, forget it.

Oy. Jane’s “On Image” posts make clear that Bushco’s evil white frat boy thug junta are bullies, and bullies crumble when met with strength and clarity. How is this guy gonna bring that?

Joe Biden. Me no likey. How come whenever he talks, all I hear is the roaring of the ocean in my ear?

I heard citizen spook’s mom took away his internet privileges until he gets a job and moves out of her basement.

Winston Churchill once referred to Clement Atlee as a sheep in sheep’s clothing. The same could be said of Joe B. If nominated in ‘08, the
Rethugs will shear him.

Can a girl get a Fitz fix around here?
I need it bad :(

speaking of which, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CITIZENSPOOK?

He had some of the best fitz stuff on the net for a brief flash — now it is a FDL.

Do you think NSA got citizenspook?

Reminder to self: Please put this picture of Biden on my wall in case I weaken my resolve and decide to change my voter registration from G to D.

The only G (as in green) he sees comes from corporations like MBNA America.
Whenever I write them a check, I think “of this $1,000, Joe got a penny so they could get $20.”

He won’t last 15 minutes in this political climate. Biden is a pandering loser.

Biden is a political caricature

or is it….
charlatin; a person making shiowy pretenses to knowledge or ability: FRAUD, FAKER

Joe Biden gives hopeless optimism a bad name.

Scoop Jackson did it first, did it better, and still got beaten for the nomination by Jimmy Carter

And 1976 is thirty years ago.

Joe Biden is the Gustav von Aschenbach of American politics.

Tinksrival — Things have gone awfully quiet with Mr. Luskin no longer quite so chatty, huh?

Probably blowback from the War on Christmas.

Biden is a big ego from a small state that doesn’t have a chance for the nomination. What about his plagiarism problems that will inevitably re-surface?

There must be better candidates out there. What’s wrong with John Edwards?

Can a girl get a Fitz fix around here?
I need it bad :(

kind of sad if this is the best we can do, isn’t it.

guess we have to be grateful for the progress we are seeing, but it still smells kind of funky.

Calling Al Gore….