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Sarah Palin continues to delude herself -- or at least, is desperately hoping to continue deluding her fans, which isn't very hard to do -- that she, as the two-year governor of Alaska and former mayor of Wasilla, has more "executive" experience than either Barack Obama or Joe Biden. At least, that was what she tried telling Bill O'Reilly in the second part of her interview shown last night:
O'Reilly: You pointed out his [Obama's] lack of experience -- you don't have that much experience. You walked away from the governorship after, what, two years? Two and a half years?
Palin: Going into my lame-duck session -- my fourth legislative session -- and not wanting to put Alaskans through a lame-duck session --
O'Reilly: OK, but is it fair for you to criticize Obama's lack of experience when somebody could make the same criticism about you on the national stage.
Palin: If you're talking about executive experience, I would put my experience up against his any day of the week. I have been elected to local office since 1992, and was a city manager, strong-mayor form of government, was a chief executive of the state, and was an oil and gas regulator. There was some good experience there that could have been put to use in a vice presidential ticket. We've to remember too that I wasn't running for president.
O'Reilly: No, but that's the key question. Because John McCain is up there in years, you had to be qualified to take that office over.
Palin: Right. But I -- I'm saying I was running for vice president, just like Joe Biden had been running for vice president. I never once heard you or anybody else question Joe Biden and his experience.
O'Reilly: Well, he's got a lot of experience.
That's the whole absurdity of Palin claiming she has more "executive" experience, as though being mayor of a small town places her on the same level of experience as a United States Senator. The issue of experience isn't related to the organizational context, but rather the scale of it: Joe Biden has nearly a half-century of wrestling with national and international issues -- the kind a president has to deal with -- and has an established track record there.
When Palin was Wasilla's mayor (and before that a council member), the issues she was dealing with involved placement of a sewage-treatment plant and deciding whether someone's driveway needed paving. Oh,and let's not forget the vital issue of building a new gym with taxpayer dollars.
But the interview reached its real nadir when Palin tried to explain why voters would want to vote for her. It's possibly the most garbled, incoherent piece of anti-intellectual right-wing populist nonsense I've ever heard:
O'Reilly: Let me be bold and fresh again. Do you believe you are smart enough, and incisive enough, intellectual enough, to handle the most powerful job in the world?
Palin: I believe that I am because I have common sense, and I have, I believe, the values that are reflective of so many American values. And I believe that what Americans are seeking is not the elitism, the, um, the, ah -- kind of spineless -- a spinelessness that perhaps is made up for that with elite Ivy League education and -- fact resume that's based on anything but hard work and private-sector, free-enterprise principles. Americans could be seeking something like that in positive change in their leadership. I'm not saying that that has to be me.
No, it definitely doesn't have to be you, Sarah. Indeed, I think it's safe to say that this level of intellectual incoherence would be a real danger to the country.
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The Rock Obama returns to Saturday Night Live, this time in response to Max Baucus, Olympia Snowe and Mitch McConnell's lack of cooperation on some actual health care reform.
When in doubt, I turn to Chris Bowers. He didn't disappoint me - he had ready a step-by-step explanation of what needs to happen to get the public option in the bill sent to the Senate floor:
The bad news is that we learned today that the Senate Finance Committee will not report a public option in its version of health care reform. The good news is that we also learned today that there are 51 votes in favor of Schumer's public option. Here is how we get to 51:
Arguably, proving that there are 51 votes in favor of Schumer's public option is the bigger news. This is because everyone knew the public option would be defeated in committee, but claims that there were 51 votes in favor of a trigger-less public option were pretty much all based on a post I wrote two weeks ago.
Because Democrats are not going to pursue reconciliation for the public option (see why here), the next step in the process does not actually involve Kent Conrad's Budget Committee, as I had previously reported. Instead, a source on the Hill confirms to me that the Senate HELP and Senate Finance committees will be merged by an informal, behind the scenes process involving the four major players in the Senate: Tom Harkin (Chair of HELP), Max Baucus (Chair of Finance), Harry Reid (Majority Leader), and the White House. Together, these four will meet and decide what sort of bill to send to the Senate floor.
I rarely watch over-hyped television events, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Teddy Kennedy's wonderful Irish wake last night.
Since I grew up and still live in a largely Irish Catholic cohort, I don't know much about how other cultures usually deal with death. But I can tell you about the Irish side of my heritage: We do like to spit in the eye of death - with prayer, with jokes, with song. (And a side of sarcasm, please.)
And much like my own father's funeral, I got a much bigger picture of Ted Kennedy as reflected in the eyes of those who loved him.
But it wouldn't be a real Irish wake without this, one of my favorite Irish poems:
May those who love us, love us.
And those who don’t love us,
may God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
may He turn their ankles
so we’ll know them by their limping.
In Teddy's honor, we won't ever stop pointing to those limpers.
The Daily Beast:
Friday night's event commemorated both past and future, again beginning with the site. It was held at the John F. Kennedy Library, in an auditorium where Senator Kennedy used to hold dinners—shadow state dinners, really—to honor foreign leaders such as Czech President Vaclav Havel, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and a variety of Irish politicians including Mary Robinson and John Hume. But the library is next door to a plot of land where the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate will rise. Boston's mayor Thomas Menino said it would provide "another lasting legacy of the Kennedys in Boston." Contributions to the project, budgeted at $100 million, have picked up since the senator's death, said its CEO, Peter Meade, and the public has been invited to contribute instead of sending flowers.
The night's speeches — a total of three-and-a-half hours that left the audience scrambling for cars in a downpour that is a foretaste of Tropical Storm Danny's promises for today -- alternated between solemn assessments of Kennedy's merits and accounts of his misadventures. The most entertaining of the latter came from John Culver, a former senator from Iowa and a college chum of Kennedy's. He told of being assured by Kennedy that "there's nothing to it" when he enlisted for a sailing race, and then being seasick, rain-soaked, and chilled for 24 hours while Kennedy shouted orders. "We were being bounced all over," said Culver, "and it's all my fault?" And Dodd told of a phone call from Kennedy earlier this month, when he was in a recovery room after prostate surgery. He said Kennedy told him, "Between undergoing prostate surgery and holding town meetings, you made the right choice."
Dodd turned serious then, listing some of the laws Kennedy sponsored in education, health and other areas, and compared him with his brothers: "John Fitzgerald Kennedy inspired America. Robert F. Kennedy challenged America. Our Teddy changed America."
Vice President Joe Biden told of how Kennedy "took on the role of being my elder brother" when he was in despair after his wife and daughter were killed and his sons gravely injured in a car crash just after he was first elected to the Senate. Kennedy urged him, again and again, to give the Senate a chance. He got him committee assignments, encouraged him to get involved, and then, when Biden suffered from brain aneurisms in 1988, took over his committee for him for months until arriving unexpectedly in Delaware to tell Biden he was needed and it was time to return.
Then Biden turned to the dozens of young Kennedys in the hall and said pundits were making a mistake when they said the era of Kennedy was over. "Because of you," he said, "the dream still lives."
The evening's final speaker made the same point. His niece, Caroline Kennedy, said, "We are the ones who have to do all the things he would have done, for ourselves and for our country."
Then the audience stood and all sang a favorite song of Kennedy's: "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."
It was inevitable Obama's numbers would drop, and although Ohio is typically a bellwether state, it remains to be seen whether this is a trend. (Download complete poll here.)
The fact that the most high-profile administration efforts went to save banks instead of homeowners probably didn't help. People all over the country are barely hanging on, and it will take something like a successful health care plan - or another stimulus package - to win back their confidence:
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- A new poll found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has dropped by 13 percentage points from two months ago in Ohio, traditionally a critical swing state in presidential elections.
The survey by Quinnipiac University released today showed 49 percent of Ohio voters approved of Obama’s job performance, down from 62 percent in a May 6 poll. The disapproval figure for Obama in the new poll was 44 percent, up from 31 percent in the May survey.
The pollsters termed Obama’s ratings “lackluster” in a release, and said the numbers were his lowest marks “in any national or statewide Quinnipiac University poll since he was inaugurated.”
The White House announced late today that Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Cincinnati on July 9, where he will tout progress being made by the $787 billion economic stimulus Measure passed in February.
“The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll numbers “indicate that for the first time voters have decided that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their problems.”
"We should be planning on a contingency basis for a second round of stimulus. ... The stimulus is performing close to expectations but not in timing." Reuters: "Addressing a seminar in Singapore, Tyson said she felt the first round of stimulus aimed to prop up the economy had been slightly smaller than she would have liked and that a possible second round should be directed at infrastructure investment."
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Senator Al Franken. Music to my ears, and fingernails on a chalk board to Bill O'Reilly's....hehe. Gotta' love it. Give 'em hell Al. He got the biggest hug from Bernie Sanders. You know he's happy to have him there.
Jul. 7--WASHINGTON -- With his hand on a Bible that belonged to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, Al Franken today was sworn into the U.S. Senate.
He was walked down the aisle by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota and former Vice President Walter Mondale, also a former Democratic Senate member from Minnesota. It is the ritual for senators-elect to be escorted by the member from their delegation.
Before the oath, Klobuchar introduced Franken to the Senate in brief remarks, recalling his work as a comic, his upbringing in St. Louis Park, and compared his energy and passion to that of Wellstone.
"Despite a little delay... it's been 246 days since Election day... Al Franken now joins me in representing the state of Minnesota," Klobuchar said.
Vice President Joe Biden administered the short solemn oath of office.
The oath read: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
And with that, he begame Minnesota's junior senator.
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What on earth is going on here? On "This Week" this morning, Biden shrugs off possible Israeli action against Iran with "Whattaya gonna do?". But Joe, while Israel is certainly a sovereign nation, it's one that's heavily subsidized by the United States and we certainly do have a say. Didn't you just give them the go-ahead signal to bomb Iran?
Seems to me this is the moral equivalent of sending detainees to other countries to be tortured and then saying, "That wasn't us!"...
STEPHANOPOULOS: But there will be engagement -- if the Iranians want to...
(CROSSTALK)
BIDEN: If the Iranians seek to engage, we will engage.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And meanwhile, the clock is ticking...
BIDEN: If the Iranians respond to the offer of engagement, we will engage.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But the offer is on the table?
BIDEN: The offer's on the table.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it pretty clear that he agreed with President Obama to give until the end of the year for this whole process of engagement to work. After that, he's prepared to make matters into his own hands.
Is that the right approach?
BIDEN: Look, Israel can determine for itself -- it's a sovereign nation -- what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Whether we agree or not?
BIDEN: Whether we agree or not. They're entitled to do that. Any sovereign nation is entitled to do that. But there is no pressure from any nation that's going to alter our behavior as to how to proceed.
What we believe is in the national interest of the United States, which we, coincidentally, believe is also in the interest of Israel and the whole world. And so there are separate issues.
If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But just to be clear here, if the Israelis decide Iran is an existential threat, they have to take out the nuclear program, militarily the United States will not stand in the way?
BIDEN: Look, we cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination that they're existentially threatened and their survival is threatened by another country.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say we can't dictate, but we can, if we choose to, deny over-flight rights here in Iraq. We can stand in the way of a military strike.
BIDEN: I'm not going to speculate, George, on those issues, other than to say Israel has a right to determine what's in its interests, and we have a right and we will determine what's in our interests.
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Vice President Joe Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that the US wouldn't stand in the way of Israel if they decided Iran was an existential threat. "Israel can determine for itself, it's a sovereign nation, what's in their interest, and what they do with Iran or anything else," said Biden.
Okay, I admit for being a sucker for Fourth of July shows. Stirring songs and fireworks wend their way into my cynical soul and I shake free those constraints to really, really love celebrating our independence. I grew up with a family tradition of a picnic under the stars and the fireworks show at the Hollywood Bowl. At least, that's what I used to do. Last night, I had to content myself with the Boston Pops on TV while comforting my frightened puppy; my husband got to take the kids to a bluff not far from our home where they could watch three different fireworks shows along the bay.
This morning, it's me cowering, wishing I could hide under the sofa at the prospect of the Sunday shows. It's safe to say that Sarah Palin's inexplicable "I'm saving Alaska by quitting early" move will be at the forefront of the conversation, especially on FoxNews Sunday, having bagged successor Lt. Gov. Parnell. VP Joe Biden will be on This Week, but he'll be followed by the intolerable roundtable featuring Tony Blankley and George Will, opining on Iraq, Palin and Franken. The only saving grace? We are spared David Gregory and Meet the Press, which is pre-empted for Wimbledon coverage.
ABC's "This Week" - Vice President Joe Biden.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Gloria Borger, Bob Woodward, Joe Klein, Tina Brown. (repeat)
CNN's "State of the Union" - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Mullen; Queen Noor of Jordan.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Fareed speaks to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband about why Iran is so angry at Great Britain. Plus, a discussion on aid in Africa -- are celebrities throwing money at the problems or making an actual difference?
"Fox News Sunday" - Mullen; Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and John Boehner, R-Ohio; Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; and former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove.
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Vice President Joe Biden told NBC's David Gregory that he questioned former Vice President Dick Cheney's judgement for criticizing President Barack Obama policies on national security. Biden seemed to pull his punches when asked about Cheney's motives. "Never question another man's motive," warned Biden.
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Vice President Joe Biden expressed doubt as to whether Ahmadinejad had been re-elected as President of Iran. "We don't have all of the details. It looks like the way they're suppressing speech, the way they're suppressing crowds, the way in which people are being treated there is some real doubt about that," said Biden.
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(Reagan's "shoe-in" set off more red flags than a May Day parade.)
A look back at another nomination for Supreme Court Justice. Robert Bork was President Reagan's pick to replace Lewis Powell. From the get-go the nomination was questioned, and when time came for Senate Confirmation hearings, Reagan's perceived shoe-in was quickly derailing.
Here are a series of news reports about the confirmation hearings with highlights of some of the days sessions from September 15 - October 2, 1987. I hope to run some of the hearings shortly as well as run reports on the outcome.
