Obama Thanks Bill Clinton & Al Gore for “Extraordinary Work” in the Release of the Two Journalists

How has Barack Obama’s “unclenched fist” policy toward Iran worked thus far? About as well as we predicted. After three hikers got lost traversing Iraqi Kurdistan and wandered across the Iranian border, Tehran has openly suggested that the Islamic Republic will try the three for espionage:
An Iranian lawmaker and member of parliament’s National Security Committee rejected the suggestion the Americans were tourists and said authorities were investigating whether to charge them with espionage.
“Surely we can say that they came as spies,” said Mohammad Karim Abedi, a hard-line lawmaker, speaking on Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV. “The concerned authorities will decide whether they were spies or not. If it is proven that they were spies, the necessary legal procedures will be sought against them.”
Better send Bill Clinton to Tehran to give them something.

Common folks…..all of this was entirely pre-arranged, and it is obvious that this is being used for political purposes.
I’m sure the journalists are very relieved, but we all should have known this was coming down the pike.
As long as journalists choose to take risks, they do have to be prepared to suffer the consequences, after all. That goes with the job…..which isn’t the best job to have, for your personal welfare.
Personally, at this time, I do not consider travel outside the US, to be a very practical thing to do, without being at risk of personal injury, death, illness, or imprisonment, in this absolutely crazy world we live in today.
I leave that to those with more money than practicality, or those in occupations, where they are forced to take those risks, to keep their jobs.

We all know that the United States simply does not negotiate with terrorists… heh.
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Terrorist? Is every country we do not agree with terrorists? The term ceases to have meaning.
Look you want to have your little political digs, fine, but use a little sense.

The US govt should have made Ling and Lee sign agreements not to profit from their illegal misadventure, given the fact that we had to send a former President to help negotiate their release.
At what cost to the U.S. taxpayer?
Now they will become celebrities, write books and sell the movie rights, along with one-on ones with Katie, Oprah, etc.
Where are journalistic ethics in this case? They willfully violated the border laws of a totalitarian state and caused an international incident.
For what? A news report?

“Where are journalistic ethics in this case?”
Well, SOMEbody has to produce a “big” story a week, to keep the press from being reduced to covering “insurance reform” — or Cash 4 Clunkers — with any critical attention . . .

why not focus on the real issues? Like Nukes, biological weapon programs, the prison camps, the starvation? Why are we focused on two “journalists”? Why is a former President and a guru of an Earth-worship cult spending so much time, money, and carbon-footprint on two “journalists” when there are so many serious issues with North Korea? Did we taxpayers pay for this? Didn’t the “journalists” know when in another country you are subject to their laws…no matter how screwed up they are? Did Gore buy some carbon-offsets for private jet carbon footprint around the world to free 2 “journalists”? It is great for their families that they are home but, maybe, this expense and global warming caused by rescueing them could’ve been put to better use.

Man… people really hate Obama.
Did you know that he gets 4 times as many death threats as Bush? It’s hard to believe, but when you read the comments in forum like this… even comments about something GOOD that Obama has done (like helping these innocent women)…. you realize that the level of paranoia and rage is just boiling over.
When people accuse Obama of pre-arranging the capture and release of these journalists… you quickly realize that this is only the tip of the wingnut iceberg.
I am glad that the Secret Service takes these threats seriously. Given the current rate of threats (16000 a year, 64000 over 4 years). In a country with about 140,000,000 voters, about 40% of whom are republican, that’s about .1% of the GOP that will be unable to vote in 2012. It could decide the election!
If you are a Republican, you have a moral obligation to tone it down. The current state of Republican rhetoric is dangerous, immoral, irresponsible…. and places an enormous burden on taxpayers… both in apprehending whackos, and in providing for their humane incarceration and reform.

Ed…
Because the journalists are people. And, ultimately, the government exists to serve its people.
I am sick and tired of hearing Republicans complain that rescuing these journalists is going to diminish our power.
Why should we sacrifice our own people to advance an abstraction? It’s no different from what a terrorist does when he blows himself up…. except, I suppose, these complainers aren’t sacrificing themselves to forward their political agenda, they are sacrificing innocent people.
I am glad to know that I have a President who puts his people first.

‘Gobot’,
I am not a republican…that is your reflexive response to anyone who criticizes the White House.Your masters, the bi-partisan governing and media elite, have trained you well.
The U.S. has thousands of US citizens in foreign jails world-wide, as I write this….many for lesser crimes than Lee and Ling, soome completely unjustified. What is the President doing about them?
Come on…this is about access.’Journalists’ who work for the former VP w/connections to this admin have it, other unfortunate US citizens do not.
Why the double standard?

“Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong-Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it,” Central News Agency reported.
Former Secretary of State and Obama supporter Colin Powell branded the communist country a “terrorist state” that has “no respect for human rights.”
Maybe you can explain how negotiating with a terrorist state does not equal negotiating with terrorists.
Once again, why is Al Gore sending “journalists” to North Korea?

AND WHAT, exactly, did we give Pajama Boy in return for the ladies ? This looks an awful lot like Emperor O’Babble extending his butt kissing foreign policy.

“According to officials, President Obama will announce 48 grant recipients and the amount of each award”
–> Hmm: 48 government favours, the day after His 48th birthday?? Who does He think He is — Queen Elizabeth?

Skippy…. love the name, by the way. It’s always so funny to refer to an accomplished black man in a condescending, mocking way.
But, why bother even repeating North Korean propaganda? And why put “journalists” in quotes? Do you, like the North Koreans, maintain that they are spies?

“It’s always so funny to refer to an accomplished black man in a condescending, mocking way.”
–> It’s sooo much more dignified for a sitting president to bust up a press performance by referring to “Skip Gates”?

Well done former President Bill Clinton and should be our President Hillary Clinton in successfully securing the release of the two female journalists from N. Korea. The Clintons are an incredible team, unmatched in political skills, intelligence and diplomacy.
The Clintons are what real leadership looks like. Obama, watch and weep, as you will never be their political equal.
The DNC made an enormous mistake in betraying the Clintons for the unqualified Obama. Fools. What a tragic loss for the country and the world where they are unmatched.
Also, journalists need to be more careful in crossing boarders they shouldn’t, it not only puts their own lives at risk, it puts our nation at risk in trying to save them.
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Hillary 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Yeah, I agree with Easy.
I don’t know how people languishing in prison is going to raise money.
I think they just like the idea of having Americans in N. Korean prisons as more of a PR tool, as evidence (as if any was needed), that Kim Jong Il is kind of looney.
It’s just like with 9/11… it provided a great pretext for invading Iraq. And, of course, some people did make tons of money off the deal. But for the most part, it was all about providing public support for a war that they just wanted out of the naive belief that a great big war would preserve the GOP’s “permanent majority” while improving our standing in the world.

“But I can’t stand that the GOP is being overrun by racists and anti-intellectual types.”
I think Senator Byrd should be tossed from the Republican party.

The lesson for the day: If Al Gore asks you to go get some pictures for him say NO!

This “Skipppy” Gates you refer to must not be too prominent if I have never heard of him.
And, “Bete Noir”, not Bet, is used to refer to an object or abstract idea that is particularly disliked or avoided.
But more important is, why did the US bow to the North Koreans and send them an ex-President for “Al Gore’s” “journalists”?

Good cover….Skippy.
I knew a guy who was convicted for stalking…. and he always made sure he had an alibi. “Why…. I wasn’t standing outside of so and so’s house…. I was waiting for the bus.” He always had an “innocent” explanation for his offense.
Kind of like Rush Limbaugh and the ol’ “Magic Negro” routine…. “Well… I was merely commenting on the limited depictions of African American males in mainstream American cinema.”
So, you say, “Skippy Gates…. gee… I don’t know who this could possibly refer to. Black Beast? That’s simply a french phrase meaning an ‘uncomfortable idea.’”

Perhaps, Mr. Obama will be a one-term president. We have one more chance to vote him out of office.

MANY Obots are disappointed with Obama!
They could have had a V8 – but drank Koolaid instead.
We could have had an EXPERIENCED female president – but the media preferred a hip-hop INEXPERIENCED president owned by Wall Street – the media’s corporate sponsors!

“We could have had an EXPERIENCED female president”
I love Hillary but the experience argument between Hillary and Obama is limited to their age as he spent more time in legislative office than she did and they both have experience working with public advocacy groups.

Honestly, I don’t know that Hillary and Obama would have been that much different.
I would have voted for Hillary if she had one… but I am totally happy with her work as Secretary of State.
I don’t know that there’s much point in speculating that we’d be better or worse off… as both lined up pretty well. The difference, however, is that Obama’s administration, in addition to having the usual Democratic figures… it also has people from outside of the Clinton sphere… which seems to me like a smart move.
As far as having McCain for President… well, I think he probably would have done OK, too. But I don’t know that he would be as focused on the American people as Obama is. And, in this economic climate, that would be a bad thing. Plus, it would embolden all the people who messed up over the last 8 years… and they’d be able to walk around claiming they had a mandate to invade Iran or something.
Obama is not perfect… but he was the best of the available choices.

I don’t need a report to tell me who is a racist and who isn’t in the republican party. That being said, it is sad that we have a president with ideas for our future and good ones and he has been fought at every turn by the Rep. and now some Democrats. I’m sure he has done at least one thing they can give him credit for but no. Here is a list of things I am proud of him for: equal pay for women, health care for children, closing of quantanomo,ending the war in Iraq, facing the problems in Afghanastan where we should be anyway,helping the veterans get an education after the war and their families, bringing our deceased soldiers home in honor not behind some door so people cannot see just how many have died, working behind the scenes in the kidnapping of these two Americans, and with the pirate situation a few months ago and finally addressing health care. Can the republicans say they addressed any of these problems? And by the way, the economy, which the republicans like to forget but they also ignored.

Obama thanked Gore? He’s the reason they were there in the first place. I hope Obama’s “thanks” to him was done in a sarcastic tone.