This is SO Clintonian...
The response from Clark's campaign to the claims on Drudge that he had said to reporters "Kerry will implode over an intern issue.":
Bill Buck, the national press secretary for the Clark campaign, said: "We do not respond to Right-wing internet postings in any way, shape or form."
Two hours after the report first appeared on the internet, Gen Clark's campaign rushed to his aid, indicating that the retired general would endorse Mr Kerry today.
If he didn't say it, it is obvious to those of us with a brain that he would relish the chance to say that he hadn't said it outright.
From this article in the UK Telegraph.
Friday, February 13, 2004
Thursday, February 12, 2004
If this is true I'll be glad to help take care of business with my Glock 23.
Hat tip to the inimitable Kim du Toit.
Hat tip to the inimitable Kim du Toit.
Scott, you are in good company over at NRO's Corner. This is Jonah Goldberg's comment on Miller's guess of Gephardt for VP (the last sentence in the first paragraph mirrors your comment exactly):
BORING AS MULTIPLIER [Jonah Goldberg]
John - My point isn't that you can't pick a boring VP. George HW Bush was boring. Al Gore (versions 3.1 thru 9.6) was boring. But the Veep needs to balance-out what a candidate is missing or put forward a theme. I agree Gephardt would help in the Midwest and if he could assure Missouri, that's a strong argument for him. But Gephardt multiplies the dull white liberal guy factor of the Kerry candidacy. While I diagree that people saw Cheney as boring (I think they saw him as having mega gravitas), getting a boring Veep didn't hurt Bush because Bush needed a heavy-hitter to round out his ticket. Yes, I know, Gore didn't round-out the Clinton ticket so much as reinforce it -- new generation of leaders and all that. But the insight Clinton had was that the Veep pick was a way to launch a theme, convey an image. Bush did that in 2000 with Cheney by picking a guy from Wyoming in that he wanted to signal the frat party in Washington would be over if the GOP won. If Kerry picks Gephardt what will the the message be? Tired dull Democrats who oversaw the demise of the Democratic Party take one last stand?
Hey, I could be wrong because I'm analyzing this badly, or I could be wrong because Kerry makes the wrong decision. I hope it's the latter.
BORING AS MULTIPLIER [Jonah Goldberg]
John - My point isn't that you can't pick a boring VP. George HW Bush was boring. Al Gore (versions 3.1 thru 9.6) was boring. But the Veep needs to balance-out what a candidate is missing or put forward a theme. I agree Gephardt would help in the Midwest and if he could assure Missouri, that's a strong argument for him. But Gephardt multiplies the dull white liberal guy factor of the Kerry candidacy. While I diagree that people saw Cheney as boring (I think they saw him as having mega gravitas), getting a boring Veep didn't hurt Bush because Bush needed a heavy-hitter to round out his ticket. Yes, I know, Gore didn't round-out the Clinton ticket so much as reinforce it -- new generation of leaders and all that. But the insight Clinton had was that the Veep pick was a way to launch a theme, convey an image. Bush did that in 2000 with Cheney by picking a guy from Wyoming in that he wanted to signal the frat party in Washington would be over if the GOP won. If Kerry picks Gephardt what will the the message be? Tired dull Democrats who oversaw the demise of the Democratic Party take one last stand?
Hey, I could be wrong because I'm analyzing this badly, or I could be wrong because Kerry makes the wrong decision. I hope it's the latter.
Very interesting piece on the possible VP picks for Kerry from John Miller at NRO.
Some interesting points on why Hillary wouldn't be the pick. Excerpt:
HILLARY CLINTON: The media will go through several rounds of talking about Hillary as veep, if only because talking about Hillary is a favorite pastime for pundits. But neither Kerry nor Clinton will want this match. The last thing Kerry needs is another "liberal senator from the Northeast" on his ticket. Hillary has a strong incentive to stay away as well. Some potential running mates would see their careers enhanced by losing with Kerry this year: It would establish them as statesmen on their side of the aisle. Yet Hillary's reputation would suffer and it would hurt her chances in 2008. Also, she has repeatedly promised to serve out her term as senator from New York. Reneging would make her seem — for lack of a better word — Clintonian.
Tom you may be right in a way, he's calling Gephart as the VP pick. This could get interesting.
Some interesting points on why Hillary wouldn't be the pick. Excerpt:
HILLARY CLINTON: The media will go through several rounds of talking about Hillary as veep, if only because talking about Hillary is a favorite pastime for pundits. But neither Kerry nor Clinton will want this match. The last thing Kerry needs is another "liberal senator from the Northeast" on his ticket. Hillary has a strong incentive to stay away as well. Some potential running mates would see their careers enhanced by losing with Kerry this year: It would establish them as statesmen on their side of the aisle. Yet Hillary's reputation would suffer and it would hurt her chances in 2008. Also, she has repeatedly promised to serve out her term as senator from New York. Reneging would make her seem — for lack of a better word — Clintonian.
Tom you may be right in a way, he's calling Gephart as the VP pick. This could get interesting.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
This will make the fiscal conservative in you want to hurl. (Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan)
Perhaps this is all part of a shrewd plan by Karl Rove to have Bush propose all kinds of crazy spending programs to get democratic votes, and then have the Republican congress actually cut spending while nobody is looking. Or, perhaps we're all getting the Deliverance treatment.
Perhaps this is all part of a shrewd plan by Karl Rove to have Bush propose all kinds of crazy spending programs to get democratic votes, and then have the Republican congress actually cut spending while nobody is looking. Or, perhaps we're all getting the Deliverance treatment.
Dick Morris was on Hannity and Colmes last night, and he's pretty sure that Hillary is in line for the VP spot. It seems she would make for a strong ticket, but she brings a lot of baggage that could be exploited by the Bush campaign as well. I suggested this a while back, and I still think it's going to happen.
It makes sense if you think about it. If she turns down being Kerry's running mate, she risks being shut out of the presidential spot until 2012 if Kerry wins. If Kerry loses, she's still in the Senate, and can come back strong in 2008 without going up against an incumbent president. The only way I see her turning this post down is if the Clinton machine feels they can sabotage the Kerry campaign and insure a Bush victory in November (I know, big time conspiracy theory, but we've seen worse.) This way she makes a bid in 2008 without the taint of being defeated alongside Kerry four years prior. Either way, this is going to be very interesting.
It makes sense if you think about it. If she turns down being Kerry's running mate, she risks being shut out of the presidential spot until 2012 if Kerry wins. If Kerry loses, she's still in the Senate, and can come back strong in 2008 without going up against an incumbent president. The only way I see her turning this post down is if the Clinton machine feels they can sabotage the Kerry campaign and insure a Bush victory in November (I know, big time conspiracy theory, but we've seen worse.) This way she makes a bid in 2008 without the taint of being defeated alongside Kerry four years prior. Either way, this is going to be very interesting.
After reading my boring piece below, for some amusement on the issue, go read this. The absurdity is parodied nicely.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
The Bush"Guard Service" issue: Reality Check
This whole issue has really been bothering me. Not what anyone has said, but what hasn't been said. First of all, as anyone in the guard or reserves can tell you, this is a perfectly normal record of service. There is a difference between the guard, the reserves, and the active duty military branches. End of story. Should be, but it isn't, because most people don't know enough about our branches of service.
It is not considered a "big deal" to have to take off guard or reserve drill weekends as long as you make them up, and you are in good standing with your commanding officer. You do have to have a "good reason", but this can be anything from a family emergency to a work conflict. People tend to forget that those in the reserves/guard work 5 days at their jobs, then the weekend, then right back, so for half of the month they work straight through for years (this is the trade off for not being deployed for all of those weekends in a row a few times over the same period-though of course they can be called to do that as well). If it is a time of national emergency, you won't be allowed to take them off, so the fact that it happened simply means that we weren't in the week following September 11 if Bush didn't serve weekend drills for a few months in a row in his 5th year of duty. That's not AWOL, it's NORMAL.
How do I know? Because my husband was a Navy reservist. When my father was in the last months of his life I was caretaking him, and thus my husband was caretaking our boys. Sometimes somebody in the family, (my mother or his) was able to watch the boys while he did his reserve weekend. Sometimes not. He was unable to do his two weeks of active duty with his own squadron that year (2000) because of the situation with my father, who was literally on his deathbed at that time. Did it mean he got to "get away" with not doing his two weeks of active duty? Of course not, he made up the time with a different squadron doing a much worse, much more tedious job (preparing for an inspection--read lots of scrubbing, walking the tarmac looking for the tiniest speck of anything, etc.) than he would have had he been able to do his 2 weeks with his own squadron. He had to make up any time that was missed.
The point is, all of this had to be AUTHORIZED. If Bush were AWOL, you'd have known it long before now. You DON'T just "not show up" for your drill weekend. People are depending on you to do a certain task and if you are not there (in our experience even if it was authorized) you'll be certain to get a call.
The other point is that when talking about the guard or reserves you can not equate their lifestyles to those in the active branches. Active duty people are deployed, they are put under harsh conditions, away from family and friends. While away from that support, they are also away from those demands. "Weekend warriors" are not really ever away from the demands, as they are only away for the weekend. What I mean is that they are never accepted as "unreachable" by their family members or employers, or in Bush's case their perspective employers (as he was working on a political campaign). That is an accepted part of being in that kind of service, for all involved, just as active duty families accept the separations.
What I would like somebody to say is that comparing Bush's and Kerry's service is like comparing Apples and Broccoli. They are both necessary parts of the food groups but they aren't comparable. Both served. (Hell, IMO, Bush has served twice, the last 4 yrs. as CIC should count for something.) Both requested "early outs". Trust me, there are plenty of people in the active military that will tell you that Kerry's taking advantage of his thrice wounded to go home was abandonment of "his boys" considering the scope (or non scope) of his wounds, more than those that are peeved in the Guard because Bush took advantage of going to HBS when he got accepted.
Apples and broccoli.
End of story.
This whole issue has really been bothering me. Not what anyone has said, but what hasn't been said. First of all, as anyone in the guard or reserves can tell you, this is a perfectly normal record of service. There is a difference between the guard, the reserves, and the active duty military branches. End of story. Should be, but it isn't, because most people don't know enough about our branches of service.
It is not considered a "big deal" to have to take off guard or reserve drill weekends as long as you make them up, and you are in good standing with your commanding officer. You do have to have a "good reason", but this can be anything from a family emergency to a work conflict. People tend to forget that those in the reserves/guard work 5 days at their jobs, then the weekend, then right back, so for half of the month they work straight through for years (this is the trade off for not being deployed for all of those weekends in a row a few times over the same period-though of course they can be called to do that as well). If it is a time of national emergency, you won't be allowed to take them off, so the fact that it happened simply means that we weren't in the week following September 11 if Bush didn't serve weekend drills for a few months in a row in his 5th year of duty. That's not AWOL, it's NORMAL.
How do I know? Because my husband was a Navy reservist. When my father was in the last months of his life I was caretaking him, and thus my husband was caretaking our boys. Sometimes somebody in the family, (my mother or his) was able to watch the boys while he did his reserve weekend. Sometimes not. He was unable to do his two weeks of active duty with his own squadron that year (2000) because of the situation with my father, who was literally on his deathbed at that time. Did it mean he got to "get away" with not doing his two weeks of active duty? Of course not, he made up the time with a different squadron doing a much worse, much more tedious job (preparing for an inspection--read lots of scrubbing, walking the tarmac looking for the tiniest speck of anything, etc.) than he would have had he been able to do his 2 weeks with his own squadron. He had to make up any time that was missed.
The point is, all of this had to be AUTHORIZED. If Bush were AWOL, you'd have known it long before now. You DON'T just "not show up" for your drill weekend. People are depending on you to do a certain task and if you are not there (in our experience even if it was authorized) you'll be certain to get a call.
The other point is that when talking about the guard or reserves you can not equate their lifestyles to those in the active branches. Active duty people are deployed, they are put under harsh conditions, away from family and friends. While away from that support, they are also away from those demands. "Weekend warriors" are not really ever away from the demands, as they are only away for the weekend. What I mean is that they are never accepted as "unreachable" by their family members or employers, or in Bush's case their perspective employers (as he was working on a political campaign). That is an accepted part of being in that kind of service, for all involved, just as active duty families accept the separations.
What I would like somebody to say is that comparing Bush's and Kerry's service is like comparing Apples and Broccoli. They are both necessary parts of the food groups but they aren't comparable. Both served. (Hell, IMO, Bush has served twice, the last 4 yrs. as CIC should count for something.) Both requested "early outs". Trust me, there are plenty of people in the active military that will tell you that Kerry's taking advantage of his thrice wounded to go home was abandonment of "his boys" considering the scope (or non scope) of his wounds, more than those that are peeved in the Guard because Bush took advantage of going to HBS when he got accepted.
Apples and broccoli.
End of story.
The shredding of John Kerry has begun. This will be fun to watch after months of democratic candidates taking pot shots at the president. I don't think this photo will sway many lefites though, since their philosophy allows for fleeing to Europe and protesting against your country during a war (Bill Clinton) but vilifies joining the National Guard during a war (George W Bush.)
Hey, is that Jason Lee in his Almost Famous garb behind Jane Fonda?
Hey, is that Jason Lee in his Almost Famous garb behind Jane Fonda?
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Maine caucus results are in:
PORTLAND (AP) -- John Kerry has won Maine's Democratic presidential caucuses.
With 40 percent of towns reporting, Kerry had 46 percent of the statewide vote. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was second with 26 percent followed by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio with 13 percent. Those numbers come from the Maine Democratic Party.
Only 24 pledged delegates to the Democratic convention were at stake during Sunday's caucuses in fire stations, libraries, schools and even people's homes.
But that didn't mean the state was overlooked by candidates.
Both Dean and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich crisscrossed then state Sunday. Kerry paid a visit last week, and Clark visited the state in December.
Maine Democratic Party Chairwoman Dorothy Melanson said her prediction of a turnout of 12,000 to 15,000 seemed to be on track. That included 2,500 who voted by absentee ballot.
PORTLAND (AP) -- John Kerry has won Maine's Democratic presidential caucuses.
With 40 percent of towns reporting, Kerry had 46 percent of the statewide vote. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was second with 26 percent followed by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio with 13 percent. Those numbers come from the Maine Democratic Party.
Only 24 pledged delegates to the Democratic convention were at stake during Sunday's caucuses in fire stations, libraries, schools and even people's homes.
But that didn't mean the state was overlooked by candidates.
Both Dean and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich crisscrossed then state Sunday. Kerry paid a visit last week, and Clark visited the state in December.
Maine Democratic Party Chairwoman Dorothy Melanson said her prediction of a turnout of 12,000 to 15,000 seemed to be on track. That included 2,500 who voted by absentee ballot.
This makes me ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From WGME News: Portland, Maine
IMMIGRANT RALLY
"The U.S. Border Patrol says additional sweeps of Portland are possible in search of illegal immigrants. More than 200 immigrants and community leaders turned out for a march and rally yesterday in Portland to protest the January 24th sweep that resulted in at least ten suspected illegal immigrants being detained. Border Patrol agents went to Portland's airport, bus stations and train station in search of people who are in the country illegally. Agents also checked Latino, African and Asian restaurants and markets. At yesterday's rally, elected officials said they oppose another sweep and questioned the tactics of some agents. They said immigrants in Portland should not be afraid to leave their homes or seek help from police. "
My comments:
IF YOU ARE AN IMMIGRANT AND NOT A NATURALIZED CITIZEN, IF YOU EVEN HAVE A GREEN CARD, YOU ARE HERE BY OUR GOOD GRACES (NOT TO MENTION OUR TAXES), YOU HAVE LIMITED RIGHTS AND WE OWE YOU NOTHING.
THE "IMMIGRANT" POPULATION SHOULD BE SUPPORTING "SWEEPS" THAT RESULTED IN AT LEAST TEN SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEING DETAINED! IF YOU WORKED HARD AND OBEYED THE RULES TO GET HERE AS A LEGAL IMMIGRANT, YOU SHOULD BE RIPPED AT THOSE THAT HAVEN'T!
MOHAMMED ATTA FLEW OUT OF PORTLAND TO BOSTON TO FLY AN AIRLINER INTO THE WTC. HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET....
EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD BE MADE TO WATCH THE IMAGES OF 9/11 AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR TO REMEMBER WHAT THESE PEOPLE WILL DO TO GET TO US, AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY DID. THIS ISN'T WW2, WE AREN'T ROUNDING UP IMMIGRANTS AND PUTTING THEM IN COMPOUNDS, WE ARE SIMPLY ASKING FOR PEOPLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR HOW THEY GOT HERE AND WHY THEY ARE HERE.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, YOU ARE WELCOME TO LEAVE AND GO BACK TO POVERTY, DISEASE, DICTATORS, WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU CAME HERE FROM THAT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN BEING "HARASSED" BY THE US BORDER PATROL.
(I say this as a person that has a close friend from India that had a green card when we were in high school, she and her family are now US citizens, my grandparents were immigrants from Ireland, and I appreciate our melting pot society. But people, right now it's a different world, I as a full blooded American wouldn't be crabbing if the government wanted to verify my ID, therefore it completely fries me when "immigrants" complain about their "civil rights" being trampled on. Do people think about the fact that NYC is the "Land 'O Immigrants" and it didn't stop any of them from getting killed in the WTC attack either? HELLO?)
From WGME News: Portland, Maine
IMMIGRANT RALLY
"The U.S. Border Patrol says additional sweeps of Portland are possible in search of illegal immigrants. More than 200 immigrants and community leaders turned out for a march and rally yesterday in Portland to protest the January 24th sweep that resulted in at least ten suspected illegal immigrants being detained. Border Patrol agents went to Portland's airport, bus stations and train station in search of people who are in the country illegally. Agents also checked Latino, African and Asian restaurants and markets. At yesterday's rally, elected officials said they oppose another sweep and questioned the tactics of some agents. They said immigrants in Portland should not be afraid to leave their homes or seek help from police. "
My comments:
IF YOU ARE AN IMMIGRANT AND NOT A NATURALIZED CITIZEN, IF YOU EVEN HAVE A GREEN CARD, YOU ARE HERE BY OUR GOOD GRACES (NOT TO MENTION OUR TAXES), YOU HAVE LIMITED RIGHTS AND WE OWE YOU NOTHING.
THE "IMMIGRANT" POPULATION SHOULD BE SUPPORTING "SWEEPS" THAT RESULTED IN AT LEAST TEN SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEING DETAINED! IF YOU WORKED HARD AND OBEYED THE RULES TO GET HERE AS A LEGAL IMMIGRANT, YOU SHOULD BE RIPPED AT THOSE THAT HAVEN'T!
MOHAMMED ATTA FLEW OUT OF PORTLAND TO BOSTON TO FLY AN AIRLINER INTO THE WTC. HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET....
EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD BE MADE TO WATCH THE IMAGES OF 9/11 AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR TO REMEMBER WHAT THESE PEOPLE WILL DO TO GET TO US, AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY DID. THIS ISN'T WW2, WE AREN'T ROUNDING UP IMMIGRANTS AND PUTTING THEM IN COMPOUNDS, WE ARE SIMPLY ASKING FOR PEOPLE TO ACCOUNT FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR HOW THEY GOT HERE AND WHY THEY ARE HERE.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, YOU ARE WELCOME TO LEAVE AND GO BACK TO POVERTY, DISEASE, DICTATORS, WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU CAME HERE FROM THAT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN BEING "HARASSED" BY THE US BORDER PATROL.
(I say this as a person that has a close friend from India that had a green card when we were in high school, she and her family are now US citizens, my grandparents were immigrants from Ireland, and I appreciate our melting pot society. But people, right now it's a different world, I as a full blooded American wouldn't be crabbing if the government wanted to verify my ID, therefore it completely fries me when "immigrants" complain about their "civil rights" being trampled on. Do people think about the fact that NYC is the "Land 'O Immigrants" and it didn't stop any of them from getting killed in the WTC attack either? HELLO?)
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