Proof positive that politics is not a blood sport for Barack Obama can be seen in his unprecedented reaching out during the transition for advice and help from John McCain.
Tonight McCain will be guest of honor at a black-tie dinner celebrating Obama's inauguration but, beyond such ceremonial gestures, the President-Elect has been consulting his former rival about potential nominees to national security jobs, in one case even pursuing answers to questions McCain had raised.
According to Lindsey Graham, McCain's close Senate friend, the Republican candidate has told him "many of these appointments he would have made himself."
With Joe the Plumber reporting from Gaza and Sarah Palin sulking in Alaska, Obama has been healing election campaign wounds, not only by dining with conservative pundits, but discussing with his former rival McCain's proposals to cut "corporate welfare," curb waste in military procurement and overhaul immigration rules, according to Rahm Emanuel, the new White House chief of staff.
In the months ahead, McCain could turn out to be one of Obama's strongest Senate allies, representing the traditional wing of the Republican Party rather than the extremists who took over and wrecked his presidential campaign.
With Hillary Clinton in the Cabinet, it's conceivable that, when McCain's Senate term expires next year, Obama could turn to him as a replacement for interim Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to complete a truly Lincolnesque team of rivals.
Showing posts with label National Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Security. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Obama Makes the Right Choice
As the selection of Joe Biden becomes clear, the only remaining mystery is how political observers could have possibly doubted that Obama would make it.
Stooping to self-quotation, "It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase 'Joe is right' was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
"Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new."
If Obama had not already been inclined toward him as a running mate, John McCain and Vladimir Putin this month must have helped make up his mind.
"In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars."
Unless Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to fake us out and text-messages differently a few hours from now, he has made the best possible choice.
Stooping to self-quotation, "It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase 'Joe is right' was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
"Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new."
If Obama had not already been inclined toward him as a running mate, John McCain and Vladimir Putin this month must have helped make up his mind.
"In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars."
Unless Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to fake us out and text-messages differently a few hours from now, he has made the best possible choice.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
VP for Saving the Planet?
Al Gore's impassioned speech today urges Americans to give up fossil fuels within a decade or risk losing national security, raising again the question of how his presence on the Obama ticket would elevate the stakes for "change" in this election.
The once and possibly future Vice President cited military-intelligence studies warning of “dangerous national security implications” of climate change, including the possibility of “hundreds of millions of climate refugees” creating worldwide instability and converting US dependence on foreign oil into a threat to the nation's safety.
Barack Obama issued an immediate statement underscoring his agreement:
“For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat. I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President. It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer.”
How better to advance these objectives--and bring Executive branch experience to an Obama White House--than persuading Gore to take up his former job with enhanced responsibilities?
Al Gore may have lost the legendary "fire in the belly" for higher office, but he might be persuaded to reenter the arena to forward what has become the cause of his life.
The once and possibly future Vice President cited military-intelligence studies warning of “dangerous national security implications” of climate change, including the possibility of “hundreds of millions of climate refugees” creating worldwide instability and converting US dependence on foreign oil into a threat to the nation's safety.
Barack Obama issued an immediate statement underscoring his agreement:
“For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat. I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President. It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer.”
How better to advance these objectives--and bring Executive branch experience to an Obama White House--than persuading Gore to take up his former job with enhanced responsibilities?
Al Gore may have lost the legendary "fire in the belly" for higher office, but he might be persuaded to reenter the arena to forward what has become the cause of his life.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Truth About 935 Bush Lies
Did it take a thousand untruths to get us into Iraq? Not quite.
According to a new study by two non-profit journalism organizations, "President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials...made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq."
The orchestrated campaign has been documented by the staffs of the Fund for Independence in Journalism and the Center for Public Integrity to create a data base of deception.
Some of the highlights:
.On August 26, 2002, Dick Cheney made a speech saying "there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." The CIA had no idea of the basis for that claim.
.A month later, in his weekly radio address, the President said: "The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given...This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year."
.In July 2002, asked whether Iraq had relationships with Al Qaeda terrorists, Don Rumsfeld answered, "Sure" despite the fact that his own Defense Intelligence and the CIA had no such evidence.
.A year later, President Bush told Polish TV: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." The two labs he cited, a team of experts found, "had probably been used to manufacture hydrogen for weather balloons."
The report concludes that the Bush Administration "led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses." White House reaction: "The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world." Add that to the list.
Now that 935 lies to get us into Iraq have been documented, collated and counted, how many more is it taking to keep us there?
According to a new study by two non-profit journalism organizations, "President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials...made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq."
The orchestrated campaign has been documented by the staffs of the Fund for Independence in Journalism and the Center for Public Integrity to create a data base of deception.
Some of the highlights:
.On August 26, 2002, Dick Cheney made a speech saying "there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." The CIA had no idea of the basis for that claim.
.A month later, in his weekly radio address, the President said: "The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given...This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year."
.In July 2002, asked whether Iraq had relationships with Al Qaeda terrorists, Don Rumsfeld answered, "Sure" despite the fact that his own Defense Intelligence and the CIA had no such evidence.
.A year later, President Bush told Polish TV: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." The two labs he cited, a team of experts found, "had probably been used to manufacture hydrogen for weather balloons."
The report concludes that the Bush Administration "led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses." White House reaction: "The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world." Add that to the list.
Now that 935 lies to get us into Iraq have been documented, collated and counted, how many more is it taking to keep us there?
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