Laura Ingraham Asks John Bolton to Weigh in on Obama's Nobel Acceptance Speech
The O'Reilly Factor fill-in Laura Ingraham thinks that anyone should care what disgraced former U.N. ambassador John Bolton thought about President Obama's Nobel acceptance speech.
Transcript via.
INGRAHAM: In "The Factor followup" segment tonight, as you may know President Obama in his Nobel acceptance speech said war, though never glorious, is sometimes necessary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I face the world as it is and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake, evil does exist in the world. A non violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: For that, he's getting some praise in conservative quarters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a complex, intellectually rich, impressive speech.
NEWT GINGRICH: I thought the speech was actually very good. In some ways, it's a very historic speech.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He made the case for a just war. He did. And it was pretty stunning.
PALIN: I liked what he said. In fact, I thumbed through my book quickly this morning to say wow, that really sounded familiar.
CHARLES KRAUHAMMER: Well, I thought it was the best speech he's ever given on foreign soil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: But with us now is a man who was not so impressed. John Bolton is the former ambassador to the United Nations.
And John, I mean, you're always the ant at the picnic. I mean, you got Gerson, Gingrich, Scarborough, Palin, all said, look, you know, he praised America. He said war was sometimes necessary. What's your beef with the speech?
AMB. JOHN BOLTON, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Look, I thought it was shallow and sophomoric. He didn't say anything new in this speech he hadn't said in the West Point speech on Afghanistan or his two speeches at the U.N. Like most politicians, and that's an important point, he is like most politicians, he put a lot of chum in the water for a lot of different people.
It's true, he said sometimes war is necessary. Nobody's ever accused of him being a pacifist. Jimmy Carter wasn't a pacifist. Woodrow Wilson wasn't a pacifist. Neville Chamberlain wasn't a pacifist. Their mistake was fundamentally misunderstanding what to do about threats to their respective countries. And that's where Obama gets it wrong. And this speech is filled with fundamental errors that I think pose grave dangers for the U.S.
INGRAHAM: One thing he said during the speech is America cannot act alone.
BOLTON: You took the quote I had underlined right here.
INGRAHAM: Oh, mind meld here.
BOLTON: Let me just say.
INGRAHAM: That jumped out at me when he said that.
BOLTON: Yeah, he didn't say it's imprudent for America to act alone, or America should have allies.
INGRAHAM: Right, which is fine.
BOLTON: .he said we cannot act alone. That's fundamentally wrong.
But it reflects, I think, what's basically his mindset, which is he is post American. He's against nuclear proliferation. He's against belligerent war. He just wants to resolve it through the framework of the United Nations. And that's what the real problem is. That's why North Korea and Iran continue to pursue their nuclear programs. That's why we have the risk of continuing global terrorism.
Because the Obama approach isn't going to work. And because he says a nice thing about America every once in a while, doesn't change the fundamental philosophy at work in his brain.
INGRAHAM: I was actually surprised by some of the conservative comments. And I try, you know, it's the Christmas season. I try to be charitable on my radio show. But the fundamental issue is as the commander in chief of the United States military, the president of the United States, you are there to make sure that our security is paramount. And great to have allies. But whatever you have to do to keep it safe here is what you have to do to keep it safe here.
BOLTON: No. And if you look at -- even where he tries to defend America's role in the world, and providing peace and security, he puts it in the context that we made a substantial contribution. And it wasn't just treaties and declarations that kept the world safe from Communism after World War II.
That's why I think you have to look at him as a fundamentally post-American president. America has its interests, but so do 191 other members of the United Nations. And we have to take those into account.
Look, this is a president that's had some actions forced upon him by circumstances. I think Afghanistan is the paradigm case. But even in the speech where he surges American forces, he takes with one hand what he had given with the other. And that's why I think we have to look at what his priorities are. Reducing our strategic nuclear posture vis-a-vis the Russians, getting more and more international climate regulation, more and more global governance.
INGRAHAM: And we see at the same time, John, of course, China moving in such a rapid fashion. Not only militarizing space, gobbling up commodities, their middle class is growing. Their industrial output is surging. And we're - banker, please be nice to us. I mean, banker, we'd like you to cut your emissions. I mean, the whole geopolitical approach of this administration seems to me to be flawed at the very best.
BOLTON: Well, this is a case where we're playing softball with China and they're playing ice hockey. They are pursuing their national interests. That's what we ought to do.
INGRAHAM: (INAUDIBLE) you can't blame them.
BOLTON: Exactly. If we had a president who played our national interests as his first priority, I wouldn't mind that he gets into difficult circumstances with the Chinese. That's what happens when national interests clashes. He doesn't believe in the clash of national interests . He doesn't believe in using American power to advance those interests.
He said at the U.N. that no one nation can or should dominate another. Tell that to Beijing .
INGRAHAM: Well, what are we actually going to do if they go in to Taiwan now? Please pretty please? Back off? I mean, what are they going to do?
BOLTON: If I were on Taiwan, I'd be very worried.
INGRAHAM: Very worried.
BOLTON: This is the kind of signal of weakness that I think provokes countries to challenge the U.S. because they think they can get away with it.
INGRAHAM: In just 30 seconds, North Korea, we sent a special envoy. I love the special envoy, sent them to North Korea. Three days of talks, high level talks. Never had such high level talks before. What did we get?
BOLTON: Well, I think the North Koreans will come back to the negotiating table at the six-party talks. And you know what that means? They're setting us up to give them more tangible economic and political concessions.
INGRAHAM: I mean, they need money, right?
BOLTON: They are not going to give up their nuclear weapons program through negotiations. Neither is Iran while we're on the subject.
INGRAHAM: Ambassador John Bolton, always great to see you. Merry Christmas and happy Hanukah to all our Jewish viewers out there.
Plenty more ahead as "The Factor" moves along this evening. Lisa Ling investigates an explosion of violence on the Mexican border. And the spillover of brutality into the United States is going to shock you.
And black lawmakers are calling out President Obama, because they say his economic policies are not serving minority communities. But is that even true? We hope you stay tuned for those reports.
that America owes no consideration to the other nations of the world when pursuing its own interests. who let's this guy on tv? oh, faux.
Got milk??
"I can't keep doing this on my own with these...people."
Of course he asked for help from other nations you IDIOTS, no country can fight a war like this in modern times without the the co-operation of other countries. This woman is a danger to the USA as is the moron she attacked Americas leader with.
Said the guy who couldn't hold his job more than a few months.
And he would flip-flop between saying the UN could lose all their top floors in an explosion and no one miss them to saying the Iraq war was about enforcing UN resolutions.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The only reason this guy is still relevant is because Fox - and others - keep him in the limelight - not because of any depth or real understanding of the world's problems.
Bolton HATES human rights, it sounds too French and sissy-boy for him. He is such manly man. . .
*****
"the satisfying purity of indignation"
Sums up Bolton, Bush and the rest of the neocons very well - IMO
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That is why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.
Yes. Police the world because "our mandate" is clear.
Is like hearing bush give a lecture one the proper pronunciation of nuclear.
My god can the msm do no better?
Well they could but who the hell would believe these slimey bastards after the last nine years?
I have no use for any of them.
I would be willing to bet a gazillion dollars that had that identical speech been given by a Republican, Bolton and all his Republicon comrades would have been gushing with praise. These guys hate Democrats so much that they reflexively cut down ANYTHING they say and do, particularly a Democratic president. And furthermore, I suspect they're green with envy that they have no one on their team who has the oratory skills of Obama or respect on the world stage, especially Bolton, who I think it's safe to say was near universally despised, much like George Bush. Yet, guys like Bolton (and Cheney) are given a broad platform from which to spew their venom and lies.
Bolton was totally despised by us Europeans. He was seen, and still is, as the epitome of a terrible diplomat. He is an intellectually challenged warmonger and neo-con salesman who merely posed as a diplomat. Were he ever foolish enough to set foot on UK soil, there would be immediate and vociferous public protest. In short, we hate this snivelling SOB (and his pathetic 19th century Wild West moustache)!
Sorry folks if anyone is offended, but I am at the end of my rope regarding the political system here in the USA. I joined the Green Party last year at this time.
Remember the words of Boxing Great Muhammad Ali who not only refused entry into the armed forces but paid a heavy price by losing his Champ Title for a greater cause of PEACE!!!! Ali said the following about war and was ostracized by the pro-militarist factions in America’s war culture. Yes, America is a war culture and NOT A LOVING SOCIETY. If America was a LOVING SOCIETY, Healthcare would not be based on profits but the needs of human beings who are POOR and DESTITUTE and OUT OF WORK!!!!! This Healthcare Debate EXPOSES THE SICKNESS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AND THE POLITICIANS WORKING FOR THE OLIGARCHS BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!! Yes, America is a very SICK SOCIETY of hatred, violence and WAR!!!!
Here is what Boxing Great Muhammad Ali said years and years ago when asked why he did not want to fight in the Vietnam War:
"Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No, I'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here..... If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people, they wouldn't have to draft me, I'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years."
Like Muhammad Ali, I have no use for those who promote or revel in wars they never actually have to go fight themselves yet want others to do for their own sickness and racism.
Thanks.
Excellent post.
This needs to be repeated.
Yes, America is a war culture and NOT A LOVING SOCIETY. If America was a LOVING SOCIETY, Healthcare would not be based on profits but the needs of human beings who are POOR and DESTITUTE and OUT OF WORK!!!!! This Healthcare Debate EXPOSES THE SICKNESS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AND THE POLITICIANS WORKING FOR THE OLIGARCHS BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!!! Yes, America is a very SICK SOCIETY of hatred, violence and WAR!!!!
And thanks for the Muhammad Ali quote, who unlike too many today thought taking a risk to support the courage of your convictions were more important than the apathetic ease and convenience of supporting a hypocritical status quo.
"We will find fulfillment not in the goods that we have, but in the good we can do for each other."
Robert F. Kennedy
Interesting thing about Muhammad Ali, have you noticed that he was not accoladed and erected as an "icon" until he was too fragile and sick as to be able to speak for himself? It is the ultimate F*ck You to a great man, by trying to co-opt his legacy as a marketing campaign, even before he hits the proverbial bucket.
The old powerful angry black man with a reason... has now been supplanted with the fragile "wise" compliant negro, who sits there smiles and waves back so that we can all feel better about ourselves and our nation, even though... in the big scheme of things little has changed.
Did anyone else see it? I looked all over for it and couldn't see it. It must haave been hiding. I scoured the whole interview for it and it wasn't there. If anybody has seen the fair and balanced part of the interview, would you please let me know where I can find it?
I thought is was balanced.
Bolton on the Reich and Ingraham on the left.
I guess if I have to explain it - it wasn't as obvious as I thought.
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... to be able to acknowledge threats but also admit errors. That's Obama.
It is the COWARD who hides behind bluster and bravado, denying that their actions are anything but the sole, correct course. That's Bolton and his bloviating pack of lying sycophantic gangsters.
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."
Thomas Mann (1875 - 1955)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... you forgot that it is the correcting the errors that takes courage.
Saying "I am sorry" while continuing doing exactly the same it is not courage it borderlines demagoguery.
... if you admit the error, you gotta fix it.
He is not following through after the admit phase...
Sorry to be OT but you folks may want to watch this on History Channel tonight at 8/7C:
http://www.history.com/content/people-speak
It's narrated by Howard Zinn.
The people of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage." J.K. Galbraith
"Men cling passionately to old traditions and display intense reluctance to modify customary modes of behavior, as innovators at all times have found to their cost. The dead-weight of conservatism, largely a lazy and cowardly distaste for the strenuous and painful activity of real thinking, has undoubtedly retarded human progress..."
V. Gordon Childe, Man Makes Himself, p. 31
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
"I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member"
"I can't keep doing this on my own with these...people."
will probably come to the conclusion that the rainforests of the world were bulldozed for beef production in order to service restaurant chains in the United States.
WHY are neoconservatives like Bolton, Gingrich, and Palin still receiving so much attention when none of these people are currently holding political office -- especially when the last election made it fairly clear that a majority of the American people wanted something different?? I don't recall many political figures from the Clinton era being asked to comment while Bush was in office -- so why are so many people from the Bush era being asked to comment on Obama? (It was hardly surprising in this case, given that we're talking about FOX News...but they're not the only ones doing it.)
I know, I know...it was actually a rhetorical question. I feel fairly certain that I already know the answer -- the reason lies with the corporate interests behind the media (parent companies and advertisers), many of which tend to lean conservative or Republican.
*Sigh*...it's a pity that so many mainstream media journalists have apparently decided that Freedom Of The Press really isn't all that important, either to themselves or to the American people as a whole.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
of a Television studio to babble away in.
"none of these people are currently holding political office"
So they have the time and need the money and have zero risk of losing a seat since they have none?
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091213/ap_on_re_...
our lackey politicians are nothing but public relations spinmeisters and errand boys and girls for their Corporate Chiefs.
Well, in fairness, in this case they were on Fox. Why are they getting so much attention here, is a good question. Obama said some important things in his speech that aren't easily classified. That would be interesting to talk about. How dumb are Laura Ingram and John Bolton, is a less interesting question.
Bolton as shallow and sophomoric - and he is - but the bigger problem is that this fool is given a stump from which to spout AND there are people who are stupid enough to think he's intelligent rather than a totally out of control probable substance abuser (if it quacks like a duck...) who embarrassed our country by representing the Bush cabal in the UN.
Hows that for a run on sentence.
Actually - he reminds me of Yosemite Sam except that Sam is kind of likable.
Obummer is a corporatist who believes war and Wall Street gambling is alls he has to praise to get a bone from the CONs. I can't wait to hear what his market dept comes up with for his 2012 run. That Change thing is old already. LOL
while he escalates a war the week before he gives a speech in which basically says "war is peace." And now we have to hear the warmongering neo-con d*ckheads evaluate said speech.
LOL this place is so f*cked...
...that the reason why you're laughing is to keep yourself from screaming?
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
... a kabuki play of "good cop/bad cop" of sorts.
Might as well have some fun with it. Life is too short to waste it taking it too seriously, me thinks.
My sentiments exactly.
So what else is new ? Fox propaganda , some right wing morons and a psychotic neolunatic as guests .
To be perpetually angry, unsatisfied, and looking like a walrus? He's just like Cheney. Only dropping atomic bombs on adversaries would put a slight smile on his face. And even then, only a smirk.
were kind of good looking.
"length comparison" incident at the shower while he was in high school...
"Hey, I know! With the way things have been going in this country, I'M perpetually angry, unsatisfied...but WHOA! But I do NOT look like a walrus!"
Bolton does look like he would be momentarily pleased if someone tossed him a kipper...
me-oww!
Bolton would have loved this:
"'Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?'"
1984, Part 3, Chapter 3
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
...that the American people as a whole really need to brush up on their Orwell, because that's the direction in which our governmental leaders increasingly seem to be pushing us -- the neoconservatives especially, who seem to believe that "1984" and "Animal Farm" were intended as instruction manuals instead of as cautionary tales.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
"all animals are equal.......but some are more equal than others".
'Talk to the hand'
In fact, I used that exact same argument myself recently on the thread concerning Rush Limbaugh's claim that Americans should view good health care as a luxury expense, like owning a beach house.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
We kill because we are afraid of our own shadow, afraid that if we used a little common sense we'd have to admit that our glorious principles were wrong. ~Henry Miller, The Wisdom of the Heart, 1941
"A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life."....Muhammad Ali
My heart goes chitty chitty bang bang, chitty chitty bang bang, chitty bang bang bang...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
...."He wants to resolve it through the framework of the United Nations. And that's what the real problem is. That's why North Korea and Iran continue to pursue their nuclear programs. That's why we have the risk of continuing global terrorism." Bolton
is this a joke?
Nobody knows shallow and mindless shit better than John. I see, by the way, that Fux has stopped calling him Ambassador Bolton. KKKaptain KKKangaroo was upset that we didn't use nukes against North Korea or Iran. That is the kind of human scum Lora has on her show. Not that she is any better.
Somebody remind me why I give two shits what these washed up nobodies have to say.
From Wikipedia:Though Bolton supported the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard, but did not serve in Vietnam. He wrote in his Yale 25th reunion book "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost." In an interview, Bolton discussed his comment in the reunion book, explaining that he decided to avoid service in Vietnam because "by the time I was about to graduate in 1970, it was clear to me that opponents of the Vietnam War had made it certain we could not prevail, and that I had no great interest in going there to have Teddy Kennedy give it back to the people I might die to take it away from." This is why I despise people like John Bolton - "You go die for what I believe in."
Halfway through that clip it occurred to me that Ingrahm and Bolton have completely forgotten that George Bush was president for 8 years before Obama won the Presidency.
Bolton calls Obama the post-American President while ignoring 8 years of failed policy that forces Obama to play the hand he was dealt.
'Talk to the hand'
Bolton's comments are useless, except to the POX fascists and dead enders.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Bolton should really Go Cheney Himself and Shut the Grayson Up. He's making a fool of himself.
Where did this POS come from anyway?
If it isn't McCain, Cheney or their worthless daughters, the pundits always ask Bolton what he thinks.
But, you know what? He phones it in every time. Hell, I could have anticipated his B.S. word for word. Why bother asking him? His answer never varies. "Obama is a Commie/Terrorist Pal."
This Clown was censured for the time he was there, he was ordered by MS Rice to STFU, and he was NEVER approved he was a toothless tiger and a belated New Years Eve noise party Favor.
This Moron should be jailed for just showing up in public he is a walking Talking Moronic GAS BAG or Socialist Corporate Interest.
Bolton's notion that Obama is "post-American" by being "against belligerent war" speaks volumes just by itself.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
There we go now.
NOBODY 2012
When fairly senior conservatives are saying nice things about Obama's speech, who else can a Coulter wannabee turn to to get some trash talk? Bolton can always be counted on for some negative comments concerning anything UN-related, and recently anthing Obama-related. He looks like a walking caricature; and whenever he starts talking I swear he's an escaped character from "Dr. Stranglove". (No offense intended to Peter Sellers or Slim Pickens.)
Does Bolton even understand the financial leverage China has on the US? And yet he expects us to play hardball with them? Tell me again why he ever had the title "Ambassador"?
I'm always amazed at these GOP zombies that are so worried that Obama is going to destroy the country after less than a year in office, but were apparently in hibernation from 2000-2008.
I bet Bolton's head would explode if he was forced to learn that the US would never have won the Revolutionary War against Britain if not for the extensive support the US received from FRANCE!
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