By Nitya

Jan 6, 2009 8:29am

The Note, 1/6/09: Business Unusual — Democrats Convene Congress with Touch of Hubris

By RICK KLEIN History will record that, on the first day of the 111th Congress of the United States: Roland Burris showed up for a job he knew he’d be barred from getting. Al Franken prepared to show up to claim a seat he hadn’t really won yet. Joe Biden took the oath of office for a Senate term he had no intention of serving out. A former congressman with no history in intelligence was tapped to lead the CIA. A hole loomed in the president-elect’s incoming Cabinet, where a key teammate once stood. House Democrats stood ready to jettison term limits for their committee chairmen, just when their chairmen had to start worrying about them. It’s with those unusual twists on business as usual that the Congress of Great Expectations kicks off on Tuesday. And that leaves a cloud (think Tom DeLay is laughing?) over the start of this era of grand hopes. Maybe the thought of spending all that money makes it hard to think small. Maybe this will matter not at all to passing the stimulus bill President-elect Barack Obama is in town early to lobby for. Maybe this is precisely what you’d expect in politics, regardless of party. But taken together, it’s an inauspicious start to a new era of politics, as Obama is trying to get something bipartisan — and huge, and hugely important — done. Burris is in Washington — intent on doing more than watching TV in Sen. Richard Durbin’s office — but won’t be allowed on the Senate floor, at least not Tuesday. Not that the (maybe) senator-designate won’t try, with the choreographed clash set for just outside the Senate chamber at 10:30 am ET. “The imagery of authorities stopping a graying African-American man at the threshold of political power promises to be a moment of high drama in a controversy that has joined the complicated politics of race with the sensational corruption scandal swirling around Gov. Rod Blagojevich,” Mike Dorning and Monique Garcia report in the Chicago Tribune. “Because of Senate rules that restrict the use of cameras in the hallways around the second-floor entrance to the chamber, any theater over the actual refusal to admit Burris may not be captured by TV cameras. But there will plenty of opportunity for television and photographic imagery, including Burris walking up the Capitol steps to appear at the Senate’s first-floor appointment desk,” they write. “Senate Democratic leaders want to avoid a spectacle that would attract a media frenzy should Burris attempt to gain access to the Senate floor to be sworn in as Barack Obama’s replacement,” The Hill’s J. Taylor Rushing reports. Said Burris: “We’re going to go up to the [Senate] door, and if we’re turned away, then we’ll document all of that and consult our lawyers.” “I am a solution to the problem,” Burris told reporters — just maybe misunderstanding his situation. “Not since Mr. Smith came to Washington, in that old Frank Capra film, has an idealistic senator appointed by a corrupt party boss been so unwelcome at the Capitol. But at least Mr. Smith got his seat,” David Wright reported on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Tuesday. “But it’s also distinctly possible the scene will look more like ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?’ The senators may seem out of touch, if this overwhelmingly white group refuses to admit the one and only black man seeking to join their exclusive club.” The real way to Harry Reid’s heart: “Democrats privately expressed concern that Burris would not be able to hold the seat in a special election that must be held in 2010. Reid has denied that political calculations are involved, but one Democratic official suggested that one potential outcome would be for Burris to be seated and pledge to retire in 2010,” the AP’s David Espo reports. Lynn Sweet, in the Chicago Sun-Times: “I have a well-informed hunch that if Burris wants to get a deal done quickly, he needs to say he won’t run for the seat in 2010.” Softening, just a bit: “No one in the Democratic leadership suggested Monday that Burris would actually be seated when he arrives at the Capitol on Tuesday — or at any point thereafter — but the rhetoric was clearly softening as a potential showdown at the Capitol loomed, and Democrats were eager to get past the distraction,” Manu Raju and Amie Parnes write for Politico. Adding to the drama: “At the same time, Senate Democrats were considering when they might make an effort to seat Al Franken of Minnesota, the Democrat who was declared the winner Monday of a prolonged recount of votes but who faces a court challenge from Norm Coleman, the incumbent Republican, and cannot be certified by the state as senator for at least a week,” Carl Hulse reports in The New York Times. “While the House will convene without the uncertainty of the Senate, a partisan clash is likely there over an opening-day package of rules changes on which the Democratic leadership intends to force a vote, including one eliminating a six-year limit for committee chairmen,” Hulse continues. “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) initially planned to try to seat Franken on Tuesday, but after Republicans said they would block the effort — and warned that such a move could poison the atmosphere in the Senate at the start of the 111th Congress — Reid decided late Monday not to move forward with the seating,” Shira Toeplitz and John Stanton write for Roll Call. Not that things are close to concluding in Minnesota: “The lawsuit that Coleman’s attorneys said they would file today is called an election contest. It will prevent Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, under state law, from officially certifying Franken’s election until the legal process has run its course,” per the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “In other words, the conclusion of the long, drawn-out recount also is the start of a long, drawn-out election lawsuit,” Rachel E. Stassen-Berger and Dave Orrick write in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “According to Minnesota law, an election lawsuit stops Franken from receiving the certificate of election that normally serves as a candidate’s credential to join the Senate. Since Franken lacks that, it is unclear when he will go to Washington to join the new class of senators.” Too late to avoid the circus: “The nine incoming freshman who have secured their places will be greeted by a barrage of media. All those cameras, though, will be there primarily because of the two men who most likely won’t be,” Time’s Jay Newton-Small writes. Over in the House: “House Democrats are poised to approve new rules that will significantly increase their authority while taking the bullets out of the few legislative weapons Republicans have in the lower chamber. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has approved the changes from the last Congress, when House GOP members frustrated their Democratic counterparts by winning over two dozen amendment battles on the floor,” Molly K. Hooper writes for The Hill. “The rules package also calls for the end of six-year term limits for committee chairmen. This move is not popular with younger members, but panel chairmen have been pressing for the change since Democratic leaders surprisingly kept the six-year limits intact in their rules package for the 110th Congress. The change means that House chairmen could be in their posts until they retire or die,” Hooper writes. Democrats are edging up to “the regrettable repetition of the Republicans’ folly, which occurred after they gained the majority in Congress in 1994,” Jennifer Rubin blogs. “Like their counterparts did in 1994, the Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi pledged in 2006 to be the most ethical Congress ever; they wouldn’t fall prey to the excesses and overreach which took down their opponents. Not them. But then it happened.” Between sticker shock and Bill Richardson’s withdrawal, some early setbacks: “It’s a hard dose of reality to swallow at the threshold to the White House,” the AP’s Ron Fournier writes. “While these are hiccups in what has otherwise been a smooth transition, Obama’s response suggests that he is a patient and pragmatic politician, willing to trade time for consensus on legislation and to jettison allies who jeopardize his carefully built reformist image. . . . Like any good politician, Obama knows how to cut his losses. He must be most diligent when the promise of ‘new politics’ rubs up against the realities of the old.” “For an outfit known for its lack of drama, Team Obama has become a downright thrill show,” Politico’s Roger Simon writes. “Bill Richardson! Rick Warren! Rod Blagojevich! Roland Burris! Talk about a ride through the fun house. President-elect Barack Obama doesn’t bear responsibility for all these speed bumps on the road to a better, happier, more respected America, but he certainly bears responsibility for some of them.” Tempering the enthusiasm: “What’s to stop the Democrats? There are serious obstacles, starting with the party itself, which is hardly unified,” The Wall Street Journal’s Naftali Bendavid and Greg Hitt report. “Some Democratic congressional factions, like the more-conservative Blue Dogs, are deeply suspicious of expanded federal spending. Democrats from old industrial states worry that colleagues from California want to be too hard on the auto industry. Coal-state Democrats fear the party’s environmental wing will go too far with efforts to clamp down on fossil fuels. Republicans, meanwhile, have made it clear they won’t simply accept whatever Democrats propose, unlike in Mr. Roosevelt’s day.” Reaching out: “Mr. Obama, on his first full day in Washington since the election, held a series of face-to-face meetings with Democrats and Republicans as he began spending his political capital. He spoke of the nation’s economic condition in dark terms and urged Congress to pass the legislation within a month,” per The New York Times’ Jeff Zeleny and David M. Herszenhorn. “The meetings were a mix of symbolism and substance between the man who will be sworn in as the 44th president and the Congressional leaders who hold the fate of his agenda in their hands. The sessions, aides said, were particularly aimed at encouraging Republicans to buy into the plan and help ease resistance over a $775 billion price tag.” Welcome to the party: “Pitching a plan that is expected to include $300 billion in tax cuts, Obama pledged to consult Republican leaders, who until yesterday had been left out of negotiations between the president-elect’s advisers and congressional Democratic staff,” Paul Kane, Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray write in The Washington Post. On the symbolism: “Perhaps most important was the day’s tone. Obama met first with Democrats at the Capitol, then McConnell and other Republican leaders joined the session,” David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall report for McClatchy Newspapers. “Obama, participants said, didn’t attempt to negotiate in the meetings and didn’t express specific views of specific proposals. Still, the tone was upbeat.” “One apparent area of agreement between Obama and Republicans — transparency,” ABC’s Jake Tapper reported on “Good Morning America. “House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said the bill should be put on the Internet before the vote so everyone can see what’s in it. ‘I’ll do you one better,’ the president-elect said — and he and his team said they’re planning a Google-like search engine for the stimulus package.” “The day brought a full dress rehearsal for the role he assumes formally in two weeks, his first full working day since moving to Washington from Chicago over the weekend,” James Oliphant and Christi Parsons write in the Chicago Tribune. “Certainly, the foundation exists for Obama to work hand-in-hand with Congress, not only on the stimulus bill but also in enacting the sort of major reforms — in health care, energy and education — that he promised during his campaign.” “Obama, still 14 days from being sworn in as president, has all but conceded that he will miss his goal of signing a spending bill on his first day in office, a move he hoped would signal urgency in tackling the nation’s worst economic crisis in generations,” Joseph Williams writes in The Boston Globe. Looking at a smaller number (everything is relative): “President-elect Barack Obama told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi he favors a price tag of about $775 billion for the U.S. economic stimulus plan, a Democratic aide said,” per Bloomberg’s Laura Litvan and Brian Faler. Obama’s Tuesday, per the transition office: “President-elect Barack Obama will hold a meeting with Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff-designate; Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary-designate; Peter Orszag, Director-designate, Office of Management and Budget; Rob Nabors, Deputy Director-designate, Office of Management and Budget; Christina Romer, Director-designate, Council of Economic Advisors and Lawrence Summers, Director-designate, National Economic Council tomorrow afternoon at his Washington DC transition office.”

“During the meeting they will review the medium-term budget outlook and discuss their commitment to crafting a budget for 2010 that puts us on a path to bring down the deficit as the economy recovers. President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden plan to work with their economic team to identify budget reforms necessary to restore fiscal discipline, take on major fiscal challenges like reigning in health care costs, and scour the budget line by line, looking for waste and inefficiencies to eliminate.” On one of those other Senate vacancies — Gov. David Paterson, D-N.Y., is keeping his own counsel, and his own pace (take that, Mayor Bloomberg).

“I think the most prudent way to select a senator is to wait until the previous senator has actually vacated,” Paterson tells ABC’s Terry Moran, in an interview to air on “Nightline” Tuesday. “And there is a lot of pressure on me to make the decision early. There are a lot of reports every day. We have the rumor of the day around here that I have to appoint someone. I am not going to be coerced. I am not going to be unduly persuaded. And I’m not going to be pushed around.” Clashes to come: Obama’s choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA could have used a bit of ground work. “The choice, disclosed Monday by Democratic officials, immediately revealed divisions in the party as two senior lawmakers questioned why Mr. Obama would nominate a candidate with limited experience in intelligence matters,” Mark Mazzetti and Carl Hulse write in The New York Times. Said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Intelligence Committee’s incoming chairman: “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.” Mazzetti and Hulse: “A second top Democrat, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the departing chairman of the Intelligence Committee, shares Ms. Feinstein’s concerns, Democratic Congressional aides said. Ms. Feinstein’s Republican counterpart on the Intelligence Committee, Senator Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, said he would be ‘looking hard at Panetta’s intelligence expertise and qualifications.’ ” “This is a little bit clumsy for the Obama team,” Jake Tapper said on “GMA.” Some pushback, from former congressman and 9/11 commissioner Tim Roemer: “It is a savvy and insightful pick by the president-elect,” Roemer tells The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder. “I think Leon Panetta brings a terrific skill set and complements the national security team that Obama is putting together. Right now, we need a steady hand at the CIA. We need a strong manager. We need someone with good relationships with the Hill, someone who has a keen ability to explain difficult issues to the public.” Driving the buzz out West: “Gov. Christine Gregoire is out of state, but her office won’t say where she is or what she is doing — other than to say she’s not going to work for President-elect Obama,” per the Seattle Times. “Gregoire’s mysterious absence left local political blogs buzzing this afternoon with speculation that she could be in Washington, D.C., preparing to accept a job with the Obama administration. Gregoire was on a plane to D.C. on Sunday morning. But Marty Brown, Gregoire’s legislative liaison, said the governor’s trip has nothing to do with a job in the new administration. . . . Spokesman Pearse Edwards said Gregoire will be making an announcement Tuesday morning, and no further information would be released before then.” The rumor mill at Commerce, per the Times’ Jeff Zeleny and David M. Herszenhorn: “Democratic officials familiar with the search said prospective candidates include William Daley, who served as commerce secretary in the Clinton administration, and Laura Tyson, who has advised Mr. Obama on the economy.” Now we know why Joe Biden is being sworn in on Tuesday: He’s got one more trip planned. (But if he travels abroad as a senator and not vice-president-elect, does that mean any gaffes he makes won’t count?) The Kicker: “You really haven’t had much of a life, have you?” — Barack Obama, to Evan Bayh, during his vice-presidential vetting process — in a line he probably didn’t use with Bill Richardson. “I am the magic man. . . . I am a solution to the problem.” — Roland Burris, slightly off-target. Bookmark the link below to get The Note’s daily morning analysis:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/the_note/index.html For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s new blog . . . all day every day:
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User Comments

If this is an indication of Obama’s administration we are in deep trouble.
What happened to “one president at a time”??

Posted by: CW | January 6, 2009, 9:13 am 9:13 am

And the greatest sham of them all….
Barry is about to show up to lead a country that he has never once in his life shown an ounce of appreciation for. He has really shown quite the contrary. I wonder how many flag burning rallies he attended in his lifetime but was too cautious to be photographed.
The American people were totally mislead to believe that the economic crisis was somehow on bush’s and the republican party’s hands. Nevermind that the socialist dems at the top- Reid, Pelosi, Frank, Dodd, Schumer, have been hell bent on spreading as much wealth around as possible and nearly broke our housing market as a result.

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 9:18 am 9:18 am

Will someone slap that smile off her face!

Posted by: LongT | January 6, 2009, 9:21 am 9:21 am

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. Where have you been? The start of the new administration is golden compared to the incompetence, venility and discord our government has been marinating in the last eight years. And Ann Coulter got cancelled from appearing on the Today Show! Yay!!! Happy Days are trully here again. PS You Are SO right wing, aren’t you Ricky?

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am

I wonder if the new congress can do what no other has acomplished? That is to reach an approval rating of zero….

Posted by: sure thing | January 6, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am

In case anyone bothered to read the story, PEBO just sat there. He didn’t offer any input. Sort of like voting “present”.
BHO has said that there is only one President at a time, when it is convinient for him. This empty suit will do like other liberals have practiced for years, which is to offer no opinion until they see which way the political wind is blowing.
Leadership means having to make tough decisions. BHO has never had to do this.

Posted by: i just love him soooo much | January 6, 2009, 9:33 am 9:33 am

sure thing–They might not hit zero, but they are already in single digits.
Remember they ran on a platform of CHANGE also. They CHANGED from bad to worse.

Posted by: i just love him soooo much | January 6, 2009, 9:36 am 9:36 am

Obama was elected as the candidate of change. Those up front, who stuck their necks out and backed him when he needed support, Richardson, Kennedy, Haggel were pushed aside. The old Clinton stalwarts are coming out of the woodwork. This is no change at all. We have been hoodwinked.

Posted by: OutInTheSun7 | January 6, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am

Al Frankin, Blago, Ried we are doomed

Posted by: Jim Rod | January 6, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am

The Democrats have no one but themselves to blame for the mess that they find themselves in in Illinois. If the legislature there had acted swiftly (working over Christmas if necessary), they would have removed Blago from office before he could have made an appointment.

Posted by: Brother Bill | January 6, 2009, 9:54 am 9:54 am

Panetta seems to be a flub up by the transition team. Given all the things we learned form the 9/11 commission, one would think we would have an intelligence professional at the CIA versus a politician who is more interested in keeping on message than ensuring accurate timely intelligence.
Look at how the Bush Adminstration used politics to shade the WMD Intelligence reports. Obama needs good, unfiltered data, not one shaded in the gray tones of K Street.

Posted by: scott jeffries | January 6, 2009, 9:56 am 9:56 am

One would think that Pelosi and Reid would have learned from the mistakes of the 3 GOP controlled congresses that precedes the 111th and with GOP controlled executive branch that they should be concerned with the business of the American people whom elected them and not their special interests who paid big money for food on a spoon! Nor should they be worried trying to entrench themselves in the cloaks of power.
If they do, their majority will be come a MINORITY just like the mighty Rove congresses before them.

Posted by: scott jeffries | January 6, 2009, 9:59 am 9:59 am

1600 absentee ballots from Minnesota military men and women rejected from the recount. 166 duplicated votes for Franken. As soon as Franken was ahead, he said, “stop counting.” Shame on you Minnesota democrats. You are all truly children in the bodies of adults.

Posted by: mm | January 6, 2009, 10:02 am 10:02 am

The only reason why Panetta was hired is because he is Hispanic. Democrats are obsessed with race and ethnicity.

Posted by: mm | January 6, 2009, 10:03 am 10:03 am

DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! The right wing drumbeat continues because hope is dead for them and always has been.
Most of the criticism is about how Obama isn’t going about cleaning up the multiple disasters created by Republican dominance. Conservatives don’t approve, so they’re tearing it down in any way they can. SHUT UP CRYBABIES!

Posted by: SteveDenver | January 6, 2009, 10:04 am 10:04 am

steve–A Democrat telling Republicans to SHUT UP and STOP CRYING. Thats a good one.
Have you been asleep for the last 8 years?

Posted by: i just love him soooo much | January 6, 2009, 10:12 am 10:12 am

SteveDenver: That was very grownup of you. You would make a great Senator. Go wait at your sandbox and they will join you at sundown!!!

Posted by: zeuser89 | January 6, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am

This new congress and president are about to drive us off a cliff… Wait and see how bad it will get, good luck all of you.

Posted by: ynot | January 6, 2009, 10:17 am 10:17 am

Is “your guy lost, get over it” going to be liberals response to every question that arises from the right?

Posted by: worker man | January 6, 2009, 10:19 am 10:19 am

Hello AMERICAN IDIOTs!!!! Does anyone in the entire world believe that our Congress is anything but totally decadent and corrupt. Look at the Foley and Craig scandals by the republicans. Look at Barney Frank and Ted Kennedy and what they did in the past. Look at Franken and all this corrupt voting in Minnesote(way worse than Bush/Gore). Look at Hillary and the pay for play with this indicted Hsu. Are we truly the “Great Satan” as the Muslims claim-I don’t know but we have immoral, corrupt leaders in business and certainly Washington. So, you say Cheney is corrrupt, well what in the world is Obama with all his indicted and covicted close friends in Chicago-Of course, he is corrupt as is Bill Richardson. Come on folks, give up-we do not care about anything moral. We vote for immoral people even knowing they are immoral and corrupt-we will not survive this filth!!!!

Posted by: rockychance | January 6, 2009, 10:23 am 10:23 am

We look like total fools to the rest of the world. Comedy Central with Obama as the host !!! Burris, Franken, Reid, Pelosi – what a freakin joke !!!

Posted by: jimbo | January 6, 2009, 10:36 am 10:36 am

What are all those farmers in Minnesota thinking? They must have been sucking in too many fumes from all that silage.
This is going to be interesting. Hold on to your seats. We’re in for a bumpy ride.

Posted by: Susan | January 6, 2009, 10:37 am 10:37 am

The point is, Right Wing fellers, other news sites, like First Read on MSNBC, are reporting on the Obama transition in a much more even handed way. ABC chooses to spin every hiccup into a catastrophe, which is pretty ironic since they down played every true catastrophe the Bush administration propagated. Hence, the belief among well read people, that The Note has a right wing bias. I read The Note to keep informed of how the other lives, but MSNBC is my trusted news source.
Clearly, Obama has run a brilliant transition, choosing competent, non-ideological appointees (anyone remember Bush’s choice of the anti-UN guy Bolton for…UN ambassador?) I am well pleased with my new President. The Note, not so much.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 10:44 am 10:44 am

The Note to keep informed of how the other half lives, but MSNBC is my trusted news source.
I am happy to repeat that!

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am

**** Amy****
Your kidding right? This congress, president and cabinet are a complete disaster.. You’ll soon see why people are concerned..

Posted by: ynot | January 6, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am

Classic example of why there are more horses’ asses in the world than horses. (on BOTH sides)

Posted by: disgusted | January 6, 2009, 10:53 am 10:53 am

Amy–HA HA HA HA.
So that means that ABC is right wing and MSNBC is unbiased? Only in the mind of a cleuless liberal idiot.
HA HA HA HA

Posted by: worker man | January 6, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am

” they should be concerned with the business of the American people whom elected them and not their special interests who paid big money for food on a spoon! Nor should they be worried trying to entrench themselves in the cloaks of power”
LOL…are you seriously that nieve ????

Posted by: Mike_C | January 6, 2009, 10:55 am 10:55 am

‘Baaah baahhh baaaaaahhhhhh. Obama, I vote for you you, where is my check?”
Says the ignorant sheep that voted for BHO.

Posted by: i just love him soooo much | January 6, 2009, 11:08 am 11:08 am

Does anyone know what the problem is with the democrat and republican party? They are both full of politicians!
The problem is that man is easily corruptable, no matter what side of the isle he sits on.
However, there is one party that places a FAR greater responsibility on the gov’t, thus giving the gov’t FAR greater power, and that is the democrats.
Right now, I am sending rougly 37% of what I make off to state and federal legislators who think that they can somehow mangage it better than i can. And I believe it was joe biden (who has made $2.59 million in the last 10 years and given less then $3,000 to charity) who said “time to be more patriotic, time to pay up”….
Really? I think 37% is pretty freakin patriotic!
As Thomas Jefferson said..
A goverment big enough to give you everything you want, “is strong enough to take everything you have.”

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 11:11 am 11:11 am

Whoever said the Al Franken recount was far worse than the Bush/Gore robbery of the presidency in 2000- are you joking? Bush stealing the 2000 election was for the highest office in the land, not one senate seat. Also, the effect of that is obviuosly felt becasue we let a ideological retard run our counrty for 8 years. Imagine how different our country would be right now if Gore was our president for the last 8 years. Just think of the improved state of financial markets, housing markets, no billion dollar war, global warming, etc… Oh wait you rightwingers don’t believe in global warming despite it being a sceintific FACT. Someone tell me two good things that Bush has done in office??? Anyone? Obama will be a great change, maybe we will start to stress clean energy, education, health care as opposed to oil and war

Posted by: DSchles | January 6, 2009, 11:13 am 11:13 am

No, I’m not kidding. Look at the Note’s headline “Democrats convene Congress with touch of Hubris”
Where is the hubris? Democrats are refusing to seat a Democrat, Franken, until Coleman’s lawsuit is settled (per the law). They refuse to seat a Democrat, Burris, until the Blogo scandal is resolved. How is this hubris?
Nowhere in the body of the story is there an example of hubris, in fact, it mentions Obama reaching out to Republican leaders and working to win support for bills designed to pull this country out of the very bad recession looming ahead. It is a mark of bias for The Note to characterize Democrats in a negative light withour providing facts to back it up. Furthermore, When George H. W. Bush became CIA chief, he too did not have Intelligence experience, its hardly unusual. And The Note doesn’t bother to detail Panetta’s reputation as a highly effective manager and his experience sitting in on Intelligence briefings in the Clinton White House. Another example of The Note’s bias. But you wouldn’t know these facts if you didn’t read other news sources. Try the Wall Street Journal, if you don’t trust MSNBC.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am

Amy–Are we not supposed to question our elected leaders? Or only the conservative ones?

Posted by: worker man | January 6, 2009, 11:27 am 11:27 am

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123118438603754671.html
Here is an even handed description of the Panetta appointment from no less than the Wall Street Journal.
Compare this to The Note’s single line characterization of Obama’s appointment of Panetta and you will see what I mean about The Note’s bias against the new administration. You are not getting the facts, folks, you are getting red meat for right wingers.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 11:27 am 11:27 am

DSchles
I know you liberals are always trying to tear up the consitution, but winning with electoral votes does not mean Bush cheated…. it means he won the election!
On the contrary, Franken winning with votes that somehow outnumber the eligible voters in that area does not mean he won…….it means he cheated!
How many times can groups like acorn and people like george soros screw with our elections before the American people go after them with pitchforks?
Come on people, after Mickey Mouse and hundreds of thousands of dead people were registered from the grave to vote for barry, there should have been riots on the streets!!!!
Barry and his henchmen are dirty, plain and simple. But what scrares me the most is the media’s willingness to cover for him and other democrats.

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 11:36 am 11:36 am

Jill, if the dead people and dozens of Mickey Mouses registered had actually shown up to vote, now, that would have been a problem. Bogus registrations do not equal fraudulent votes. You might want to consult the pre-election opinion polls which showed Obama winning, to soothe your mind.
Seems to me the Minnesota recount has been nothing but transparent. They even posted some of the disputed ballots online, so you can see how stupid our fellow voters reallya are. (Who puts a star next to their choice instead of checking the box? Please, people!)
You know perfectly well there were counties in Florida and Ohio in 2000 where literally thousands more votes were cast for Bush than there were people eligible to vote. That is a documented fact. Where is your outrage over that?

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

Snark, snark, snark. Gaza is in flames and the economy is crumbling, but The Note continues its honored tradition of finding controversy and sensational news wherever they can, even if there’s nothing really there. Who needs The National Enquirer when we have our ever-ready masters of innuendo and breathless scandal at ABC? The far right folks who think the media is in the tank for Obama should be pleased that The Note will feed their fantasies. Meanwhile, in the real world, the hard work of preparing a government and policies goes on. But don’t tell ABC or the wing nuts. It’s too much fun to snark, snark, snark.

Posted by: tmginnova | January 6, 2009, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm

Amy
Are you drunk? ACORN has been indicted on countless fraud charges involving elections where votes have simply just “appeared” during recounts to favor the democrats.
Here is a newsflash, ACORN community organizers/agitators aren’t voting republican. It doesn’t work both ways. Saul Alinsky’s “take power by whatever means necessary” is a central strategy of the democrats- especially the obamas.
As for easing my mind with exit polls, are you refering to the same polls/questionaires that demonstrated just how brilliant many who voted for obama were?
People were voting for him because he was offering them a new pair of shoes. That is the influence of the community agitators running around and registering people to vote who had no idea what they were voting for.

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm

“Whoever said the Al Franken recount was far worse than the Bush/Gore robbery of the presidency in 2000- are you joking? Bush stealing the 2000 election was for the highest office in the land, not one senate seat. Also, the effect of that is obviuosly felt becasue we let a ideological retard run our counrty for 8 years. Imagine how different our country would be right now if Gore was our president for the last 8 years. Just think of the improved state of financial markets, housing markets, no billion dollar war, global warming, etc… Oh wait you rightwingers don’t believe in global warming despite it being a sceintific FACT. Someone tell me two good things that Bush has done in office??? Anyone? Obama will be a great change, maybe we will start to stress clean energy, education, health care as opposed to oil and war”
————————————
DSchles
Well, you must be comedy act for today!
You are the perfect liberal – STILL WHINING that Bush somehow “stole” the election. GET OVER IT!
The idea that this country would better off if Al Gore had been Pres. for the last 8 years…LUDICRIS!!!!!!
First & foremost, we would have been attacked multiple times if old “finger in the air” Gore had been in charge. That nut could not make any decision without focus groups & polls first!
You just a bit behind the times there son, didn’t you get the memo? It not global warming anymore…it climate change now! Most sane people do not buy Gore’s BS that man is responsible for “global warming”/”climate change”.
Both sides can throw “experts” up and let them debate it. The idea that a couple hundred years of detailed data can accurately project the end of the world unless we return to walking and farming is just ridiculous. It would be like taking 2 hours worth of data from Wall Street and then try to predict what the market is going to do for the next 5 years! The only scientific FACT is the earth goes through cycles, and not all of them are predictable! A few years ago you fools were claiming the planet was warming, now its cooling…Your trying to extrapolate long term data from a snapshot in time. Hardly scientific!
Financial markets…LOL…son, you need a serious history lesson. There is blame on both sides. Larry Summers was a major proponent of deregulation when he was Clinton’s Sec. of Treasury. Barney Frank shoved the incredibly stupid idea of giving mortgages to people who had no possible way to pay them back into the system. All the while making sure any regulation of Freddie/Fannie did not occur!
I’ll give you 2 things son,
A. FACT – NO ATTACKS ON THE US IN OVER 7 YEARS! (Let us all hope Obama can keep that streak alive!)
B. FACT – BUSH TRIED TO PUT REGULATION IN PLACE TO PREVENT THIS ECONOMIC MELTDOWN AND ITS WAS DEMOCRATS THAT BLOCKED IT
stress clean energy?…well…lets see if the people are willing to pay for all this wonderful fantasy you liberals have been claiming for decades. The only problem is that you pie in the sky dreamers have no idea HOW to actually make it happen.
Simple example – Electric/Fuel Cell Cars! Do you have any idea how big an effort and how much it will cost to provide the infrastructure to support these “Wonder Cars” ?
How many gas stations are ready to dispense hydrogen for fuel cell cars. How many are ready to provide a re-charge for electric cars? Have the car & battery manufacturers found a way to perform a “Quick Charge” yet, so I don’t need to wait hours when my battery gets low?
Most of the current hybrid vehicles do not give you any substantial gain in MPG, yet cost thousands more than gas powered vehicles that get well over 30mpg.
Do you honestly believe that world peace will be achieved on Jan 20th when Bush leaves office? The terror groups around the globe are not going to stop because your “anointed one” takes the oath. We will still have issues to deal with all over the world. By the way, have you or any of your liberal buddies stopped to ask what the EXIT STRATEGY is for Afghanistan???? You people would not shut up about that with Iraq, so where is the outrage about Afghanistan?
Well, you keep trying, I’m sure your comedy will improve in time.

Posted by: Mike_C | January 6, 2009, 12:56 pm 12:56 pm

Ladies and gentlemen you are about to witness the most blatant form of power abuse. The new congress will use the fear in the minds of the people to forward its agenda, that agenda being to render our financial system, our constitution, and our electoral process ineffective. The result will be chaos, not prosperity for all.

Posted by: mmonroeliveson | January 6, 2009, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm

And can anyone please explain why color remains an issue when ethics is at stake in the appointment of a replacement senator from Illinois? I mean it’s obvious that Blagojevich intentionally appointed an elderly black man, knowing the appointment wouldn’t stick, for the purpose of creating controversy.

Posted by: mmonroeliveson | January 6, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm

Jill, I personally know several very nice people who voted for McCain although they never watched any of the debates, or could name his positions on the issues, and one woman I know, couldn’t even name his VP! At least four McCain voters told me they “just always vote Republican because my Dad/Husband/brother is/was Republican.”
These are nice people, I’m just saying, if you feel frustrated by the reasons people gave for voting for Obama, imagine how I feel working with the McCain zombies.
I am grateful enough Americans turned out to replace the Republican regime. Republicans lost the presidency, the House and the Senate. The majority of Americans polled said they trusted Democrats more than Republicans to turn the country around. Republicans have lost members in droves. That’s a fact. And Obama currently has the support of like 79% of the American people. What ACORN did was very bad, but it did not lead to fraudulent election returns. Show me proof, if you still believe it did.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm

Elect an African American and some of the ‘news blogs tremble’ with the ‘thundering herd’ of ‘hard rite edge, fiery-eyed fanatics’ on the assault. Misstatements, mis-interpretations, lies, fraud and illegitimate accusations are the ‘trademark of this crowd.’ The REAL unfortunate part is, statistics indicate a significant majority of these folks associate themselves with being conservative, God Fearing Christians!!! (Now, that’s frightening.)
“mm” 10:03AM; You assert that Leon Panetta was Appointed because he’s Hispanic??? (This is racist and bad… real bad.) NOTE; Leon E. Panetta was born in Monterey, California, on June 28, 1938, to ITALIAN immigrant parents, Carmelo Frank and Cramelina Maria (Prochilo) Panetta. His parents operated a restaurant until 1947, when they sold it and bought a walnut ranch in Carmel Valley.

Posted by: bobj72 | January 6, 2009, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm

Mike_C
Excellent post!
Isn’t it incredible how al gore’s $30,000 monthly utility bills, private jets/ yachts, apparently have no impact on the environment but my SUV is causing the earth to heat up like a furnace?
Global warming…err.. climate change is a ridiculous idea. There have been ice ages that have come and gone on their own long before Al Gore had 4 mansions, but now all of a sudden 100 years worth of enviromental data proves armagedeon?
This is how liberal elites at the top work in every society. They tell the common folk how to live their lives, but they themselves live life to the fullest on the common folks’ dime.
Apparently a favorite of michelle obama’s is iranian cavier… how much jet fuel does it take to get that crap here?

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm

tmginnova; Looks like the media you so avidly supported when it was blasting the Bush administration just might be every bit as critical of the new administration. You can blow off their revelations but your denial won’t change the facts.

Posted by: mmonroeliveson | January 6, 2009, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm

Jill, Al Gore has a Nobel Peace Prize for his work bringing attention to the destruction of your planet.
What have you done for the world lately?

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm

Amy–you have to be one of dumber posters I’ve seen on here.
Al Gore flying all over the world in his private jet, telling others they must stop driving their cars. No hypocrisy there.
If you’d close your CO2 hole and stop spouting nonsense, you would be doing your part.

Posted by: worker man | January 6, 2009, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm

This was a tremendous article .. more like this one please!

Posted by: Mark | January 6, 2009, 2:34 pm 2:34 pm

Amy
Really? Al Gore has made almost a billion dollars flying around the world in his private jet charging audiences up to $300,000 to listen to him speak on “global climate change”.
I bet al doesn’t believe half of the crap he claims to. He probably goes to one of his many homes and laughs at all of the sheep who actually listen to him.
Sorry, but peace prizes don’t impress me. Jimmy carter and yassar arrafat are some of the proud owners of such prizes.
Did you know that your man al beat out a woman in her 80′s that had saved over an estimated 1000 children from the Nazis. She smuggled them to safety, gave them false identities, and hid them herself.
What did al gore do besides tell America that it is the cancer of the world?
As for your question about what do i do for the world?
Well, i work, pay taxes and try to give 10% of my income to charity. Al on the other hand was well-known for donating a whopping 1% of his income to charity. The guy was actually on record for defending his ridiculous charitable record saying his tax policies as VP helped the poor.
Typical liberal- VERY generous with OTHER people’s $$$.

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm

Educate yourself on Al Gore and the seriousness of global warming before you start attacking those who defend him. Only a nimrod would disparage a man who has made his life work calling attention to the effects of pollution on our globe.
Your hate negates any points you might score with actual thinking people.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 2:47 pm 2:47 pm

How to help our country survive should be you only concern, why spend the time bad mouthing each other when you could be flooding the internet with intelligent comments that may help someone. I don’t know the answers, BUT, I do know greed has caused all of this and the trouble is people on both sides turned a blind eye to the consequences as long as they were doing ok. America can not regain her greatness unless you all help! I know most of you love this country no matter if you have an, L, R, or D behind your name. THINK, HOW CAN I HELP!!!

Posted by: kimo stevens | January 6, 2009, 2:48 pm 2:48 pm

Mike_C; Your B. Fact is ‘faulty.’ Check and you’ll find the ‘Obstructionist’ to Regulating finance, in general has been the Republican party. (Lest you forget; Phil Gramm is ‘The God Father of Deregulation’ – going way back.) And more recently, Sen. Hagel wrote legislation to regulate Fannie & Freddie and his bill was ‘blindsided’ by an “outside group of lobbyist” who were contracted (“back-door”) by the Republican party. The ‘mortgage meltdown’; programs, qualifications, etc. were all developed and implemented on Wall Street, by the big mortgage banks and traders. And the mortgage matter can’t be dropped ‘at the heels’ of the poor. Subprime mortgages (‘gone bad’) only make-up 7% of the total problem. 2nd Homes and investment properties are the biggest issue in the mortgage downturn. The last note; if you could ‘see your way clear’ to avoid the maliciousness directed at the President Elect, your comments would likely ‘come across’ as less biased, less devisive, more mature and intelligent.

Posted by: bobj72 | January 6, 2009, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm

Bobj; So it always seems to come back to your condemnation of Christians. Weak argument. Christians aren’t the problem. Misguided Christians are a problem to others of the same faith as they are a problem to the entire world, I’ll agree, but why do you insist on railing on God fearing people, be they Jews, Christians or Muslims? That distaste you obviously harbor has done far more damage than good across the years of history. The inadequacies of corrupt political leadership, be it black, brown, yellow, white or any other color have nothing to do with faith, sir. Even so, lack of faith seems to be as much a problem as misdirected faith. Beyond that statement, many politicians know no God beyond money and power, the tools they use, right or wrong, to advance their personal agenda at the expense of all other interests. Therefore we should beware of all leaders, including our next president and his circle of advisors. They are only humans with human flaws and human baggage they drag along with them wherever they go.

Posted by: mmonroeliveson | January 6, 2009, 2:59 pm 2:59 pm

bobj72
When will you liberals realize that deregulation was not the cause of our financial meltdown, but rather democratic REGULATION beginning with the worst president in US history- jimmy carter.
The Community Reinvestment Act, which was initiated by carter, gave way to the gov’t FORCING banks to abandon their lending standards, and lend to people who could never pay them back.
If the banks didn’t comply, they faced lawsuits led by ACORN, Barry O and others for disrcrimination.
And what happens when you inject socialism into capitalism? Our economy nearly collapsed.

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 3:09 pm 3:09 pm

“Lest you forget; Phil Gramm is ‘The God Father of Deregulation’ – going way back.) ”
Bob….my point EXACTLY…..Both sides…does your memory recall who was Clinton’s Sec of the Treasury when Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was passed ? He was a major promoter of it.
Larry Summers !
As far as Freddie/Fannie goes, no one has done more to mess that up than Barney Frank!
BusinessWeek reported in its Nov. 14, 1994, issue that Fannie Mae called on Frank to exert his influence against a Housing & Urban Development proposal that would force the GSE to focus on minority and low-income buyers and police bias by lenders regardless of their location. Fannie Mae opposed HUD on the issue because it claimed doing so would “ignore the urban middle class.”
According to an article by Kathleen Day in the Oct. 8, 2003, Washington Post, Frank opposed giving the Bush administration the right to approve or disapprove business activities that “could pose risk to the taxpayers.” He told the Post he worried the Treasury Department “would sacrifice activities that are good for consumers in the name of lowering the companies’ market risks.”
Just a month before, Frank had aggressively thwarted reform efforts by the Bush administration. He told The New York Times on Sept. 11, 2003, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s problems were “exaggerated,” a gross miscalculation some five years later with costs estimated to be in the hundreds of billions.
“These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” Frank said to the Times. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
Frank was asked by CNN’s John Roberts on the Sept. 22, 2008 “American Morning” about this and his opposition to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Originally, he claimed he didn’t think the two GSEs were facing any problems when the issue first surfaced in 2003. He instead blamed the Republican-controlled Congress for their ultimate fall, failing to mention his friendly relationship with Fannie Mae and the contributions it had made to his campaign over the years.
“Yes, I did not think we were facing a crisis in 2003, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have to have reform,” an animated Frank said when confronted with the question. “Here’s the deal, the Republicans controlled Congress from 1995 through 2006. They did zero to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
In fact, Republicans did make several attemts to help correct the regulation issues. Barney Frank shoulders more of the blame & responsibilty for the Freddie/Fannie meltdown that triggered this mess than any other single person!
In 2000 Congressman Richard Baker (R-La.) then the chairman of the House subcommittee that had jurisdiction over Fannie and Freddie introduced legislation to more tightly regulate the mortgage giants. The bill never saw the light of day.
In 2004, the Senate took up a measure put forwarded by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) only to have it blocked again by Fan & Fred using Democrats as a partisan attack machine.
In 2005 the Republican Congress House GOP leaders tried again. They put forward H.R. 1461 [109th]: Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005. The bill would have stripped control of Fan & Fred from the Housing and Urban Development Department where Cuomo had turned it into a regulatory farce.
The bill would also introduce “anti advocacy provisions” barring money from Fan & Fred being used as a slush fund for liberal lobbying organizations.
Despite Democrat opposition to that measure the bill passed the House, but could not get a vote in the Senate even after the anti-lobbying provision was removed.
“If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.”
– John McCain, May 25, 2006

Posted by: Mike_C | January 6, 2009, 3:16 pm 3:16 pm

Jill, listen to the audio story on today’s Wall Street Journal, if you want to understand the collapse. Turn off the right wing radio and OPEN YOUR MIND.
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 3:16 pm 3:16 pm

Amy
I think you are so open minded your brains fell out a long time ago.
And I don’t listen to talk radio.
Why don’t you stand up and say the Plege of Allegiance, you do know what it is, don’t you?

Posted by: Jill | January 6, 2009, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm

Bobj,
After the treatment of Bush by liberals, I would say my treatment of the incoming adminstation is very unbiased, fair, mature & intelligent.
Perhaps you forget the hateful and vile BS that Bush had to deal with from day 1. people like DSchles still to this day are whining about he “stole” the election. People like that never gave Bush a chance.
I hope Obama is sucessful, but the facts are very simple. You cannot possibly solve these problems without an honest and open discussion of how they started and how they grew. Blame exists on BOTH sides. Not just on the right.
all the back into the Johnson & Carter administrations. Johnson sold Freddie/Fannie and in doing so weakened the controls that were in place. Carter created the now infamous Community Reinvestment Act, which required banks to grant loans throughout the entire community and threatened them with not being able to expand or merge.
Clinton in addition to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, but also strengthened the Community investment act. In the new regulations Clinton required banks and lending institutions to lend to people with low income and bad credit, and made it to where the government would secure these loans. This created Subprime Mortgages in 1997.
If you want to creat a real solution, people have to ccome to grips with how both parties at times made mistakes. The Democrats have got to STOP pretending to be social engineers. Every time they try to do this, it makes things worse.
The solutions must wor for our entire system, not attept to control one or more pieces of it.

Posted by: Mike_C | January 6, 2009, 3:39 pm 3:39 pm

I think you’ve jumped the shark, Jill

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm

Amy; Try conducting an exercise in independent thought. Were you observing the events occurring in the fall of 2008? In August fuel prices controlled by OPEC production had skyrocketed. Many Americans had mortgages they could barely afford before fuel costs and consumer goods escalated in price. The costs of fuel caused those people operating on the brink of financial failure to become unable to pay their mortgage notes. America had no control over fuel costs because the tree huggers have for years brought suit against any company that tried to drill for oil on US soil. People were in homes they couldn’t afford because politicians in the interest of buying votes had pushed for less qualification for mortgages. When the failed mortgages affected the solvency of our financial institutions, credit default swaps threatened a complete collapse of the financial industry. Congress allowed the lawsuits against harvesting our own resources, making us dependent on other nations for fuel. Congress passed the legislation that allowed unqualified people to purchase homes. Congress failed in their oversight duties, allowing the proliferation of unregulated gambling among Wall Street investors. More specifically, the agendae of the Democratic Party, determined to help the poor in exchange for their votes has caused widespread and ever increasing poverty and bad credit for the very people they duped into supporting them. Financial recovery for the poor people in America will not happen within their lifetimes. The middle class and wealthy will no longer enjoy the lifestyles they have traditionally experienced. Everyone loses. With tunnelvisioned determination our new leadership continues down the same path toward destruction of the things that once made America the world leader in per capita personal wealth, education, healthcare and military superiority. Why? It’s all in the interest of being in control, of controlling the power of government and the money that follows. It’s about being in control of the corruption we call politics.

Posted by: mmonroeliveson | January 6, 2009, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm

Mike_C; You said; “Clinton in addition to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, but also strengthened the Community investment act. In the new regulations Clinton required banks and lending institutions to lend to people with low income and bad credit, and made it to where the government would secure these loans. This created Subprime Mortgages in 1997.”
Your statement; “Clinton required banks and lending institutions to lend to people with low income and bad credit, and made it to where the government would secure these loans” . ……… This is patently UNTRUE. One (1) the CRA was enacted to address the ‘real issue’ of “Red-Lining” minority areas – in lending; those living in a predominant minority community would not be approved for a loan. Since all banks are insured by the Federal Govt., the practice of “Red-Lining” ultimately had to be ‘outlawed.’ Asserting that Clinton, or any government entity REQUIRED lenders to make loans to Unqualified applicants is reckless and dishonestly (intended or not) ‘points fingers’ at the ‘poor.’ Lending institutions DID NOT underwrite loans to folks who didn’t (or don’t) qualify. “Government secured loans” are FHA & VA Loans, and they require an extensive level of qualifications. FHA Loans and VA Loans are Government Secured and they Default at a rate, which is historically the lowest (best) in mortgage lending. FHA & VA Loans out-perform “A” Paper loans (applicants with higher credit scores, getting lower interest rates.) The ‘Housing Crisis’ (and the resulting financial crisis) also results from a different issue; that is ‘mortgage backed securities’, which has now had a negative financial impact on most economies, globally.

Posted by: bobj72 | January 6, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm

mmonroeliveson — I just checked back and found your attempt at mind reading, suggesting I supported the media during the Bush years. Well it so happens that I thought much of the media was remarkably asleep at the switch (when they weren’t cheerleading) as Bush led us into an unnecessary war on false pretenses and as he substituted his loyal but clueless followers for competent administrators throughout the federal government. It was only as facts became way too obvious to ignore that most of the media suddenly discovered some of this. I’m all for the media covering facts. What I was complaining about in my last post was mindless focus on minutiae (like the latest who’s up and who’s down) and attempting to find controversy when there’s no apparent basis (like the non-existent connections between Blago’s problems and Obama). So the next time you try to characterize my opinion, please check with me first (or at least read my post). Thanks.

Posted by: tmginnova | January 6, 2009, 5:13 pm 5:13 pm

“the tree huggers have for years brought suit against any company that tried to drill for oil on US soil.”
Oil companies are sitting on U.S. leases they haven’t even drilled yet.
Why? Because they would prefer to drill closer to shore. It would be cheaper. For them.
Oil drilled on U.S. soil does not belong to the U.S., unless you plan to have the government take over EXXON, Shell, etc. Whatever oil is drilled here is sold on the world market, so our oil would go to powering cars in China and India, or wherever, it wouldn’t bring the price of oil down, and it would not further our goal to get off oil in the first place. Drilling on U.S. soil would not lead us to being energy independent. Obama wants to invest in wind, solar and biofuels and develop alternative technologies.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your opinion.

Posted by: Amy | January 6, 2009, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm

I love the continuing attempt by the far right wing nuts to blame our current economic crisis on (1) poor people and (2) the Democrats. I guess the poor people ran Wall Street and Detroit, set interest rates, invented and traded and scammed on all of the fancy mortgage-backed securities. And I guess the GOP is blameless, despite having controlled the entire frigging Executive Branch for 20 of the last 28 years, and both houses of Congress for all but a few of the last 14 years. But keep blaming it all on “Fanny and Freddy” and Barney Frank. Your ignorant comments provide great amusement, although aren’t much help getting us out of the mess.

Posted by: tmginnova | January 6, 2009, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm

One last item before I have to go: for a detailed assessment of the real role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Barney Frank (and a rebuttal to Faux News’ account) check out: http://mediamatters.org/items/200810010014

Posted by: tmginnova | January 6, 2009, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm

Mr. Klein, for facts sake, make the following corrections: Al Franken was declared the winner of the MN senate seat by the state’s Canvassing Board, and take out the lie that he planned (presumably like Roland Burris), to “show up” in Congress today to claim his seat, which he never did.
Only potential legal challenges by Norm Coleman, to be resolved in weeks, and the ensuing signatures by the Sec. of State and Gov. Tim Pawlenty are all that’s needed to make Franken’s win final. But as of right now, it’s okay for EVERYONE, even the declining Associated Press (which erroneously claimed Coleman won the seat 2 months ago), to say Franken “won” the MN senate seat, even if that’s not the end of the story.

Posted by: cj | January 6, 2009, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm

It’s just pure vileness. They are just miserable greedy stingy people that are never going to be happy. So there is really no reason to be overly concerned with them and their current state of anger over their loss in this last election.
The whole right wing thing these days is based completely on emotion. Just read through their comments and you quickly will see it. Each one is based completely on some form of anger or intolerance. They are always in a reaction mode to something that has initially set them off. That is why their radio and TV commentators continually make such off the wall comments. A good deal of it is based solely on ignorance and the idea that something or someone is getting the best of them. Take away the hatred for the ‘liberals’ and ‘Hillary Clinton’, and no one would pay much attention to Rush Limbaugh.
It follows right along with the whole basis of fascism. (As per the dictionary) “An authoritarian nationalistic ideology focused on solving economic, political, and social problems that its supporters see as causing national decline or decadence”.
They must create a state of fear, in which they, and only they can provide the necessary solutions, that can combat their decided enemies. In this case not so much terrorism, but an emotional outpouring against the Socialism, Over Taxation, and Excessive Government.
As Americans, of course none of us want any of these things, but the large percent of us realize that they are not really a factor or a threat. Of course you notice I did not list ‘Incompetence’, we have dealt with that for the last eight years and none of those on the right ever seemed to be particularly bothered.

Posted by: right reply | January 7, 2009, 1:23 am 1:23 am

Posted by: tmginnova | Jan 6, 2009 5:21:14 PM
Absolutely BRILLIANT!!! Unfortunately the “Hard-Right-Edge Conservatives” have ‘locked’ their thought and reasoning capacities and programmed themselves to “deflect blame, in favor of Their Truth.” Oh, well…….
And Monroe, you just don’t get it! My point re: God Fearing Christians, is something as simple as the following; “What is a vile, hate-filled, proud racist who professes to be “A Good Christian?” No more than a ‘religious pimp.’ Kinda’ like asking; “Monroe, as a Black Southern Gent, What’s the church preference of ‘The Klan?’
And Jill, sorry I can’t respond to your shallowness, as it would dignify your otherwise juvenile-attempt at ‘adult discourse.’

Posted by: bobj72 | January 7, 2009, 2:35 am 2:35 am

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