Thursday Open Thread
Open thread time!
Because Katrina response was so great:
According to multiple sources, Obama last night called George W. Bush and formally asked him to participate, along with Bill Clinton, in humanitarian relief efforts for Haiti — in the same vein that Bush’s father and Clinton did following the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. Bush 43 said he was ready to do whatever was necessary. A formal rollout of the Clinton/Bush 43-led relief effort will take place as early as tomorrow afternoon, but possibly not until the weekend, as the administration doesn’t want to take any attention away in the next 24 hours from search and rescue efforts. For Bush 43, this is his first real public effort since he left office; it’s an opportunity to begin establishing his post-presidential legacy, especially on an issue like disaster relief, which remains a scar on his presidency.
No word yet on whether Bush has asked Michael “Brownie” Brown for his advice on disaster relief.
Because that answer worked so well before…
I have to admit this is pretty good stuff from Glenn Beck. Recalling Katie Couric’s famous 2008 question to Sarah Palin about which newspapers and magazines she reads, Beck tonight asked Palin who her favorite Founding Father is. She gave the identical painfully awkward response: “All of them.” To which Beck replied, “Bullcrap” — and pressed her to answer.
“You know, well, all of them, because they came collectively together with so much … so much diverse and so much diversity in terms of belief, but collectively they came together.”
She eventually said, “And they were led by, of course George Washington.”
Will she accuse Beck of asking “gotcha” questions now?
Tags: Open Thread
My God. She doesn’t even have an elementary school understanding of the Revolutionary War.
As for Obama asking for George W. Bush to join Bill Clinton re the Haiti response, he is just trying to make the Haiti Diaster nonpartisan, which Bush himself did with the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The Indian Ocean Tsunami response by Bush was actually one of the few good things he did during his two terms, and part of that was enlisting his father and predecessor in the effort to make the response bipartisan and nonpartisan.
I don’t have a problem with the Bush/Clinton effort. This sends a message (same one Bush sent during the tsunami, btw) that not everything is political.
And, is it only me, or does anyone else think George Washington was an easy pick. I know my favorite was Jefferson – loved the true blue radical stuff – but I also loved Adams for his reluctance and attention to detail in shaping our government. So… while I don’t necessarily disagree with Palin’s first answer her inability to stand by it, and explain what she meant, makes me question her depth on this issue and makes her George Washington answer come across as a throw-away.
Washington as a Founding Father was less important than Franklin, Adams or Jefferson, in my opinion. In fighting the revolution and being the First President under the 1787 Constituion, his importance grows. But Jefferson was far more instrumental, and my favorite Founding Father is Franklin.
I actually agree with her answer. So, shame on her for not being able to defend it.
IMO, Jefferson was able to be Jefferson because of Adams, and vice versa. And it’s this balance, this give and take, that’s missing today.
here, here DD. As a fellow transplant-turned native philadelphian, I also like everyone’s favorite fat, skirt-chasing drunk.
i cant believe Glenn actually said that to Saint Sarah…. methinks he might be getting a little jealous of Fox’s new golden girl.
Now that Bush-43 will be doing disaster relief PSAs at Obama’s asking, does that make him a liberal socialist since EVERYTHING obama sands for is evil?
I thought she might have said Washington because he’s the first one that came to mind.
I have to say Franklin is my favorite, because he’s a scientist and I like his rougish qualities. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence though is such a progressive document.
BTW, I heard that Morning Joe (Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezynski) were making fun of Palin a little bit and Mika said she should’ve said Lincoln. Oops! LOL!
Mika is dumb enough to have turned out like M-Bach and Palin. She just didnt have the conservunist afraid of fire and solar eclipse style upbringing.
Word is coming out that the House/Senate conference is going to have a health care reform bill for CBO scoring by Saturday.
The word is that the reconciled bill will have a national exchange instead of a state one, the excise tax will mostly be gone to be replaced with Medicare taxes on investment income (people over $200K in income) and removal of the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies. These would all be big improvements if they can come to an agreement.
Also, a Coakley loss will likely have little effect. It’s being reported that the state of MA must wait 10 days for all absentee ballots to be counted, plus another 5 days for certification. This should be enough time to get the bill passed.
Everytime someone asks Palin a softball question, it is like she is standing at the Bridge Of Death:
“Who is your favorite Founding Father?”
“All of them…no, Wash- Aiiee-ee!!!“
Well, she was obviously groping for the story of how Washington refused to be king, which IS remarkable and admirable.
But really. Folks in this art of the world get a much stronger emphasis on “Founding fathers’ and the history of that era, because that’s what our fieldtrips are. My ability to name “great thinkers of the Western Expansion” might be equally limited, depending on the day.
A new Blue Mass/R2K poll shows Coakley up by 8% 49-41.
We’re now hearing reports that some kind of deal about the excise tax has been struck. No details have been released yet.
I see Brooke’s point about living in the original 13 colonies, however most of what I learned about our founding fathers that helped me pick my favorite I discovered once I’d left school. And I didn’t go into American Government for a living.
Also in reference to Franklin (also my favorite) THIS is amazing.
http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/history_articles/first_person/franklins_advice.htm
(please make a point to read point 5 where he suggests putting a basket over an old woman’s head)
House subpoenas Geithner’s AIG e-mails, phone logs
AP ^ | Jan 13 2010 | DANIEL WAGNER
A House committee probing bailout deals has subpoenaed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for correspondence from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials. The House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee is examining New York Fed decisions that funneled billions of dollars to big banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley. Geithner was president of the New York Fed at the time.
John Adams referred to Washington as a Mutton head, in fact he was not a very successful general, lost 7 of the 10 battles he fought and won at Yorktown thanks in large part to 8,000 french troops and the entire french fllet of the coast. His value to the new republic came when he visted all thirteen colonies after his election, stopping out side each town and village, alighting from his carriage and mounting his pure white steed Nelson, he gave the new nation the pride and confidence they needed to finish what the war started. Of the founding fathers the hands down most important one was Ben Franklin, the most widely known and respected man in the colonies and in the world for that matter, without Franklin, there would have been no revolution.
so all evening and afternoon fox has been fellating their new star instead of mentioning any sort of massive disaster or doing ANYTHING to help. souless horrible morons. but im sure their market research has shown their viewers dont care
john stewart just went after rachel maddow……. head exploding!