I missed seeing Obama on the Chris Matthews show. But, Kristen Breitweiser didn’t. Here’s a tiny bit from the beginning of her Huffingtonpost article:
Barack Obama appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball last night and was asked about the way he would handle the 3 a.m. phone call.
The transcript:
MATTHEWS: Let me give you a scene that may face you in the next year or two, where the national security adviser calls you at 3:00 in the morning and tells that you a couple of jet — commercial jets have been hijacked. And they believe it is al Qaeda. And, as we know, al Qaeda always tries a second time. They tried for the World Trade Center after ’93. They came back in ’01.
They’re heading for the Capitol. What do you do?OBAMA: Well, look, I am hesitant to engage in hypotheticals like that, because…
MATTHEWS: But it has been predictable.
OBAMA: Oh, well, the — I don’t think anybody predicted 9/11. And, so, we don’t know what kinds of circumstances are going to come up.
Yup. That’s right, Barack Obama glibly stated that he didn’t “think anybody predicted 9/11.”
Where have I heard THAT before? Kristen has that answer:
2. Perhaps Obama might better strengthen his image of having a handle on national security issues by not sounding so much like the disgraceful, incompetent former Bush Administration National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Recall that Ms. Rice stated that “I don’t think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile.”
In other words, that before 9/11 nobody in our (entire) intelligence community could have predicted that something like 9/11 could happen. (i.e. the Bush administration’s 9/11 talking point)
I am not even going to bother listing the hundreds of cites/articles/studies/reports/military exercises, drills/testimonials/PDB’s/SEIB’s or even television shows that disprove Rice’s statement. I will just mention my personal favorite — the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing titled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.“
(all emphasis by me)
And on a totally different subject, I’m in full agreement with Paul Krugman and Elizabeth Edwards:
Elizabeth Edwards has cancer. John McCain has had cancer in the past. Last weekend, Mrs. Edwards bluntly pointed out that neither of them would be able to get insurance under Mr. McCain’s health care plan.
This is the sort of thing that makes me seriously worry about us ever getting Health Care for everyone. How do people who’ve ever had serious illness in their family think THEY deserve it but OTHERS don’t?
What I don’t get is how we accept public roads & schools & safety — but not public health.
As I said, this is an Open Thread — What are you thinking about today?
Filed under: healthcare, Presidential Election 2008 |
The Confluence 
What is the best way for an undecided to do:(in the event that Obama is the nominee)
a.Get Obama to persuade the voter to vote for him
b.Vote Obama with reservations
c. Stay at home or vote McCain
d. Type (write) in the ballot Hillary Clinton as a protest vote)(if this is possible)
or e. Vote for Nader of another person as a protest vote?
i also missed Matthews with Obama because I was afraid Chris would get that tingle in his leg from hearing Barack’s golden tones and sport wood on live TV.
Note to Barack – a lot of people predicted 9/11. Airplanes into buildings was discussed frequently in anti-terrorism circles. Sigh.
What’s still on my mind today is Randi Rhodes. If Hillary’s health care plan was enacted years ago, she and other Obamatons might have received the psychiatric care they obviously need and their meltdowns would have been avoided.
I joke, but Randi now joins Kos, Arianna, John Avarois, Keith Olbermann and other “progressive” voices who have traded their rationality and integrity for “hope and change” rhetoric , vile smears and general douchebaggery.
Katiebird–
I had not heard that before. I can’t believe that Obama said that. It seems like that should be leading the campaign coverage on all the networks. I think I’ll write to CNN and point that out.
Also over at huffington post, I learned that Obama did not go to Memphis for the fortieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s murder. WTF! Cornel West calls him out on it. It’s not like we don’t know he’s black now, and with all the Wright videos out there, what did Obama have to lose by showing up to honor Dr. King.
lemonv,
I think there are a couple of issues.
1) Some of us feel a responsibility to the party and are naturally inclined to vote for the party’s nominee — but that doesn’t mean those inclinations are unchanging.
2) In the heat of a primary campaign, it is VERY common that supporters of one candidate will be disinclined to support another candidate. That’s the nature of commitment and support.
3) We don’t have to make our general election decisions today. We’re supporting our candidate for the Democratic Nomination and we’re committed to her success.
4) It’s the candidate’s responsibility to gain the voter’s trust when we reach the General Election Season. If it’s Obama — it’s his job to convince me.
I’m one of those who’s inclined to support the nominee. But at this point, he’s no where near making that sale.
Katiebird or riverdaughter–
Is the Clinton campaign responding to this statement by Obama? I googled and can’t find much reportage on it. I can’t figure out how to contact CNN either. Some geek I am! Any suggestions?
Never mind. I figured out how to send the info to CNN. Now I’m going to check out Clinton’s web site and see if they have. it.
I’m going to be slow answering today. I’ve got pleurisy so I’m spending a lot of time in bed. Like now. But, I’ll be back in a bit.
bostonb, is it possible to post things on the Hillary blog? Maybe I could work up a version of this to post there….
I really have trouble with a “Democrat” that spends more time defending Republican actions and positions than they do defending Democratic ones.
For me, Obama isn’t a Democrat AT ALL.
Since this is an open thread…has there been anymore discussion about the future format for The Confluence? I’ve done some reading on SoapBlox which is the setup used on EENR. The prices seems more than reasonable to me but I know nothing about how much bandwidth we’d need, etc. I’d be happy to contribute if you decide to go this way.
I’ve missed some of the discussion because my niece and nephew and five little brats have been visiting. He’s on R&R from Iraq after ten months of hell. It was so good to see him. He leaves Tuesday for five more months. Back to worrying every time something happens over there.
What’s on my mind is the total ineptness and disorganization of the Democratic party. They do not deserve our votes or our support. I cannot believe all the hate, the misogyny and sexism coming out during this primary process. This was the year the Dems were going to sweep easily everything. Instead, this has turned ugly and I do not recognize my country or my party anymore. And yes, I am ashamed to be a Democrat. I thought we were better!
Kaitebird ~
Aw geez, was my first reaction to hearing you have pleurisy. I remember when my mother had it and she was sooo uncomfortable. Please rest and take care of yourself. *shaking head sadly*
As for watching Tweety – I quit MSNBC months ago. I don’t care who is on there. (Hillary is the exception of course. But how I’d know is a mystery)
I printed out the Breitweiser article and am taking it with me while I run the errands that simply MUST be done now. i’ll check back after reading and see where you all are.
Oh happy day, it’s finally the weekend. (It’s been a heck of a week here)
Katiebird–
I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well. Pleurisy sounds serious. Are you being treated with meds? I remember when Richard Nixon had that.
I sent a tip to Hillary’s fact hub and another message to her main website. The story wasn’t listed on the fact hub yet. I also sent it to CNN. This is really a shocking story. Obama is not even remotely qualified to be President.
tabbycat,
I don’t know if riverdaughter and ronk have talked about changing the site. To me it seems fine for right now. I guess riverdaughter must be busy, but I hope we’ll hear from her over the weekend.
leslie, your mom was way more than uncomfortable. I once spilled boiling water on my lap and this is as bad as that! 🙂
bb, I AM on meds. The first set (from Tuesday -Friday) didn’t work at all, but I’m on something called MethyIprednisolone now. It’s been about a day. We’ll see how it does….
I’ve supposed to be working on my SIL’s website, but I’m too sick to focus. She’s not too happy with me.
I wish Hillary would pick Elizabeth Edwards as her running mate.
katiebird–
That’s awful. I hope the prednisone works. Years ago I had a terrible ear infection and couldn’t hear anything out of one ear. I had to take two courses of steroid medication, but eventually it cleared up. Be sure to get lots of rest. Your SIL should be more understanding.
oh katie, I’ve had pleurisy. very painful, I hope you get better quickly!
you know, obama does well in prepared speeches and in debates when he follows hillary, but doesn’t seem to come up with answers when he’s directly questioned. he doesn’t have the grasp of issues hillary has. maybe people will start to notice that.
Katiebird
I’m so sorry to hear that. What a awful way to spend your time. I had pnuemonia four winters in a row (shattered cartilidge and all) and I know how grim it is. Please be sweet to yourself. You have people who look forward to what you write. Whenever you’re feeling exhausted and low, we’ll always be happy to say kind and true things to you. 🙂
Katiebird .. pleurisy’s is so painful , I had it once . Went through , heck, I cannot remember how many antibiotics, My Mom’s boyfriend who at that time was in his 80’s . . kept telling me to eat raw garlic .. lol .. Long story short , after much suffereing and no progress , I thought – what the heck ? I made an omelette with zucchini , cheese, onions etc. and chopped up tons of garlic and enfolded it in the omelettte after it was done .. I swear , before I was halfway done – the pain started easing and where the pain was felt all warm like something was going on . I had used a heating pad for comfort .prior to this.
Long story short – it worked . later I just had a piece of toast with about 3 or 4 garlic cloves minced on the toast and this man told me I had to ‘chew’ the garlic not just swallow it – I did . In less than 2 days completely gone . Symptons relieved all most immediately ..
fwiw…;)
Briana,
Wow. That’s amazing. I wonder if garlic works for colds? I’ve had a cough for a couple of weeks now that I can’t get rid of. I wonder if it has to be raw garlic or if you can eat the roasted kind?
Did Chris Matthew comment that he could feel warm pee dripping down his legs when he interviewed Obama?
I wrote about this last night, and I’m sorry if I’m tedious – I don’t get how there hasn’t been an outcry against Rhodes performance and why Obama hasn’t said anything. Just imagine what would have happened had a nationally syndicated talk show host said those things about Obama and Wright at a Hillary fundraiser, organized by her supporters and sponsored by a radio station who endorsed her. The outcry would have been deafening. Remember the outcry when the woman asked McCain how they could “beat the bitch” and McCain said nothing. That was an anonymous voter. This is a well-known celebrity whose radio talk show used to draw more listeners than Limbaugh’s did in Miami. Rhodes is someone who knew her words would get picked up and bandied around, and regarded the diatribe as within the boundaries of civilized discourse. Would she have regarded it that way had it been racist in tone, and directed against Obama? I doubt that. I’m sure that she, like the rest of us, would have howling in fury at seeing someone assaulted with such demeaning language.
Why am I supposed to vote Democratic and believe that Democrats will do a better job than Republicans, if this is the way they allow themselves to talk about women? is it now hip to be misogynist? I mean, we’ve always been the cooler party – well, since the sixties anyway – but have we so thoroughly embraced a rat pack mentality in this group that we’re now regardling all women with Mickey Spillane sensibilities? It’s the same storyline he used – Hillary’s the duplicitious, two timing bitch out putting the steal on sad, noble Obama’s mojo. Gotta be a hard man to deal with a woman like that. Never mind that the story line is no more truthful than when Spillane wrote it. As Spillane himself observed, he didn’t have fans, he had customers. Uh huh.
I feel like the party has thoroughly deserted the principles that I thought it stood for. I’m here because I believe in equality, freedom and cultural progress. By not putting a kibosh on the sexist rhetoric, I see our party taking a big step back on its commitment to women. I have no reason to believe that Obama will be any better than McCain.
I had a cold once and my husband made me a garlic tea. he boiled water with garlic cloves in it, strained it and I drank it. it really made me feel a lot better, and my cold was gone in a day or two.
oh, and Boston, if your cough is keeping you awake at night, try this: when you’re going to bed, put vicks vaporub on the bottom of your feet and put socks on. I don’t know why this works but it does!
chris– Thanks for the tips. My cough is getting better. The problem is if I do get started coughing, I can’t stop for awhile. I may try that Vicks thing.
Hi Bostonboomer .. unfortunately it has to be ‘raw garlic’ .. and YES it does help coughs . That gentleman by the way lived to be 99, the only one in his family who had longevity . For his early breakfast every morn. he had the ‘toast’ thing with the raw garlic sliced on it .. for breath he would eat bunches of parsley..
At that time I had only used raw garlic ‘minced’ on salads etc.. sparingly , cooked of course I always used lots of garlic .. but after that things changed as I pushed raw garlic on everyone . . 😉 .. lol ..
If you cut the raw garlic into small pieces you can swallow them whole with some soup. Garlic is like nature’s own penicillin, if not quite as strong, and is a good help to your immune system whenever you’re ill really.
Wow, Briana — Can I steal your garlic hint & comment for my Eat4Today blog? This is the sort of thing we love to talk about there.
katiebird ~
I just returned from errand running. Yes, my mother was waaay more than uncomfortable. Once when she had it (her respiratory system was never very strong then) she was hospitalized. As a child I saw tears running down her face when she tried to breathe/move. I wish I had known of the garlic cure then.
Mom is 95 and hasn’t had pleurisy for at least 30 years. She still recalls those times and nearly stops breathing for a moment in a kind of defense
I hope you are able to be pain free very soon. Lots of sweet tea, and warm clothes.
So we had our WA state 39th district caucus today. 600 people attended—standing room only.
The fab GF and I missed the first one—she was barfing and passed out, so I really couldn’t leave. That SUCKED because she got herself dressed and said that she felt fine and we should go, then she barfed again.
Anyway, we went today…I shot some video of people saying why they support Sen. Clinton. I’ll put them up as soon as I get them ready.
One thing about the video camera—we stopped some shenanigans dead in their tracks. There was some shillyshally at the credentials table, but the Clinton campaign dude, the fab GF, and I went over there to challenge our inclusion to stand as delegate nominees (acceptable here).
Once the camera was on, we got a different explanation of the rules—and acceptance of our participation—than we had previously.
All of the officials were Obama supporters. They put on their flare when the caucusing began.
Interesting things…
1. The Obama campagin was much more professional. They even had a laptop playing the song-mash thing with Sen. Obama saying “Yes, we can” and crap. OHMYGOD they played it for five hours. It was LOUD and annoying.
2. People—esp. Obama supporters—came over to the Clinton table to ask for directions: “What do we do? What happens next? Where do we go?”
We were even helping people get in and out of doors and carry their Obama stuff. Though there weren’t many of us, we looked like we had more experience and like we knew what was up.
A couple of the Hillary supporter gals were old hands at this. One was an AFSCME member, another a healthcare worker, and they knew their shit.
The Obama camp (not far away) sat on their collective ass. I mean, nobody asked them anything. When they did (“Where is the Triage Room for Credential challenges?”) they gave them the wrong answers.
3. They had a shitload more flare to sell and cleaned up. Clinton supporters would’ve bought anything Clinton-related if we had it. The fab GF even sold the button she was wearing on her sweatshirt.
One of the Hillary gals had spent the night making Hillary t-shirts by hand and sold each one.
4. An Obama supporter wearing a freakish amount of Obama flare proseletyzed to the fab GF. The fab GF gently told the Obama supporter she was full of crap.
Do not mess with the fab GF.
5. Many of the Obama supporters were so rude. Even the manager of the facility we were at mentioned it—and I think she was a Republican.
I think the other reason people came to the Clinton table for help is because we were friendly. There was a lot of smiling and laughing at the table and we made an effort to help the caucus organizers keep things running—setting out tables, putting out chairs, carrying stuff, picking up trash, etc.
I’m biased, of course, but I think I’m right. We acted like winners and welcomed all, even the misguided, to the Clinton campaign.
Some Obama supporters were just regular folks and we’d be joking and talking with them, but these were caucus goers, not campaign workers. The campaign workers were really kinda rude.
One Obama supporter was an older, African-American dude, a war vet, named George. He was dressed really nice—that guy had class. We’d passed each other so often in the crowd, he finally laughed and gave me a big hug. At the end of everything, he asked me to give Hillary a big kiss from him. And he meant it.
Yep, that dude had class.
Another Obama guy—hippie-esque, if you’ll pardon the stereotype—was pretty nice. He brought over a bunch of sports drinks. We gave him some Rice Krispie Treats.
The fab GF and I had made two huge batches because Rice Krispie Treats are the offical food of adventure. We shared them with whoever wanted one and people were hungry, so it helped take the tension down a notch.
6. They had twice the delegates Clinon got, but we held onto each of our delegates. The fab GF said she thought it felt like the support was about 60/40 Obama/Clinton. I think she was right—there were alternates who shows and though they didn’t make delegate, they waved signs and shouted and stamped their feet and everything.
Generally, if I’d known we could sell Clinton campiagn gear, I would’ve ordered it. We would have sold everything.
People are pissed with the Democratic Party and weren’t afraid to say so. It was especially bad with the Obama supporters who blamed the Party for everything. I mean—everything.
Generally, when people talked about why they supported Sen. Clitnon it was healthcare and her.
Seriously—Hillary’s toughness and intelligence carried the day. I heard very little discussion about Sen. Obama from Clinton supporters—the opponent to beat was not Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain, but the big problems facing the country.
Anyway, that’s all.
Oh, wait. The fab GF has a response for “Why won’t the stupid bitch quit?”
Answer: Don’t call Sen. Obama a bitch.
Ohio: the opponent to beat was not Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain, but the big problems facing the country.
I loved that you said that! everyone’s talking about her negative campaigning, but when I hear her speak, this is what I hear from her – the problems in the country, her incredible understanding of them, and her solutions. that seems positive to me. there have been some negatives, but I feel like the idea that they are what the campaign is all about has become an urban legend. she has really good ideas and more importantly knows what the problems are and isn’t afraid to talk about specifics.
thanks for your good work today. it’s appreciated! and I hope the fab GF feels better! (try garlic)
Great post Ohio. Thanks and I love your GF!
The fab GF is truly fab.
She told me another story this morning about how a young Obama supporter was yelling at her about there being no food or vending machines. He even demanded to know where the cafeteria was.
It clearly was all her fault that he was hungry. She forgot to pack him a lunch.
Yes, it really was like that.