Gallup: “Political Winners” Circle Filled by Figures Close to Obama

Looks like the GOP has been successful branding Pelosi as a "loser" considering that she has had a very good year politically.

PRINCETON, NJ -- In Americans' estimation, the top three political winners of 2009 are all women closely linked with the Obama administration: Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Sonia Sotomayor. Among these, Michelle Obama has the broadest support with 73% calling her a "winner" in U.S. politics this year and 21% a "loser." However, Clinton's rating is nearly as positive.

President Barack Obama, himself, also falls in the political winners circle, although the percentage calling him a political loser is somewhat higher than is seen for the three women.

The picture is quite different for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom half of all Americans identify as a political loser. More than half say the same of Rep. Joe Wilson (the representative who yelled "You lie!" to Obama at a joint session of Congress), as well as Gov. Mark Sanford (who is losing his wife and is under a state ethics investigation over an admitted extramarital affair), White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi, and the Republicans in Congress generally.

VIDEOS: Jason Leopold interviews Valerie Plame about CIA leak case

By GottaLaff

My pal Jason Leopold is not only the go-to guy for all things Plame/Rove/Cheney, he also conducts interviews with newsmakers.

Here's a Q and A from 2007 that he had with Valerie Plame Wilson herself that deserves more attention, especially in light of the newest revelations about what a big fat liar Dickless McHeartstent is:

Valerie Plame Still Wants to Know ...
By Jason Leopold t r u t h o u t | Report Tuesday 13 November 2007

Former covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson would still like to know the identity of the CIA official who passed her name to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney in the spring of 2003, and 'under what circumstances.' That's just one of several unanswered questions Plame Wilson has been trying to figure out in the years since several senior officials in the Bush administration leaked her name to syndicated columnist Robert Novak and a handful of other journalists.

That leak ended her two-decade CIA career. 'I'd like to know, why did Novak go with my maiden name, Plame, in his original article?' Plame Wilson said during an hour-long, two-part interview with Truthout. 'I always thought that was strange. When I married, I took my married name. And then he [Novak] used Valerie Plame [in his column]. It was only the CIA who knew that I worked for them, and my maiden name.' Plame Wilson is promoting her book, 'Fair Game,' a memoir she wrote about the leak, her job as an intelligence operative working on counterproliferation issues, and the fallout that ensued when she became a public figure after her identity and CIA status were published in newspapers and magazines.

Her book landed on The New York Times bestseller list two weeks ago and has more than 350,000 copies in print. Perhaps the most important question yet to be answered for Plame Wilson is whether President Bush had prior knowledge about the leak of her identity. "I'd love to know, what did President Bush know about all of this?" Plame Wilson said.

Jason Leopold is senior editor and reporter for Truthout. He received a Project Censored award in 2007 for his story on Halliburton's work in Iran.

Obama senior adviser re: Joe the Mouther-- “I think this is a pimple on the ass of progress”

By GottaLaff

Joe the Pimple?

In fact, the White House is more than ready to brush aside the most infamous protestor of all: Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who yelled at the President during his televised address. “I think this is a pimple on the ass of progress,” said the senior adviser.

See? That is one more example of how the Obama White House is more honest than BushCo was. See, all it takes is being a little pro-active.

Clearly, the White House is feeling confident in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s big speech. And they got some good news in the immediate aftermath. They had seen some slippage among seniors and independents over the summer. But on Thursday, the AARP released a poll which offered some comfort. The poll, conducted immediately after the speech, showed 72 per cent of independents over the age of 45 saying that some of their concerns were addressed by the speech, with 63 per cent saying they were “more supportive” of his proposals. Those findings were broadly in line with a CNN poll after the speech showing a 14-point rise in support for Obama’s plans among those who watched the address, with 67 per cent of all voters backing the president’s plans. Such instapolls don’t necessarily portend a longer-term rise in Obama’s ratings, but they sure beat the alternative.

How ironic that a popular pimple eradicator is called the Proactiv solution.

Did Joe the Mouther admit to planning his outburst?

By GottaLaff

Bad choice of words... or revelatory?

Asked if he regretted his comment, Wilson said, "Oh, yeah I wouldn't do that – I wouldn't have planned it or done it again."

I wouldn't have planned it again or done it again... ? Or: I wouldn't have planned it. Or done it again. Question mark. Just sayin'...

"People know that I am respectful of the president..."

I guess that depends on what the word "president" means. White president named Bush? Sure. Black president named Obama? Not so much.

"...I'm respectful of the office of the presidency."

Whose?

"...But I am just very passionate about the issues that I believe in and I know what was stated was inaccurate."

He knows that. For a fact. Despite this:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Wilson made his comments Thursday evening during an interview with Columbia, South Carolina radio station 560 WVOC-AM.

Keith's Special Comment calling out Joe the Mouther here.

VIDEO: Wilson raises more than $200,000 after outburst

By GottaLaff

You've gotcher birthers, yer deathers, yer tenthers. Now you've gotcher mouthers:




Oh yeah? Well Joe the Mouther didn't make over $765,460 (doesn't include other fundraising efforts) like his opponent Rob Miller, now did he?

Less than a day after Rep. Joe Wilson formally apologized to President Obama over his "you lie" outburst, a campaign aide confirms to CNN the South Carolina Republican has raised "more than $200,000″ in the wake of the now-infamous moment.

Way to go, Rushpublics! Give your hard-earned unemployment checks to a guy who disrespects the highest office in the land, tries to sabotage genuine efforts to save lives and repair our badly damaged health care system, and so much more.

News of that cash haul comes after Wilson directly asked in a Web video for campaign cash to fend off attacks from political opponents and said he's standing by his opposition to Democratic efforts at health care reform.

Why, you can see how much his sincere apology means right here:

"On these issues, I will not be muzzled, I will speak up and speak loudly against this risky plan," Wilson said in a YouTube video released Thursday evening. "The supporters of the government takeover of health care and the liberals who want to give health care to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan."

Who, again, used what, again, as an excuse to distract? Who, again, is a big fat liar? Oh, right, that would be you, Joe the MoutherFoxer.

Joe Wilson is the Disease for Which Democracy Does Not Have Insurance to Cure.

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, courtesy of my buddy Mark Karlin:

Despite his impassioned and compassionate speech of Wednesday night, Barack Obama needs to understand that Joe Wilson is the disease for which democracy does not have insurance to cure.

Let me start with this fairly assured speculation: Wilson's outburst was designed by the GOP corporate PR fronts to distract media coverage following Obama's cogent and compelling remarks to Congress. [...]

In the summer of our healthcare reform discontent, Wilson's unprecedented assault on the dignity of the American presidency was part of a long-line of PR stunts to create chaos out of the effort to insure the health of most Americans [...] then the shocking outburst of Joe Wilson, which he apparently shouted twice. [...]

In the Bush Administration, if a Democrat had done that he would have been expelled from Congress. [...]

Until the Democrats start understanding the importance of theater, emotion, and corporate ownership of the media, they are sailing upwind even though the majority of Americans are on their side on almost all progressive issues.

Until the Democrats have a media strategy and ownership epiphany, Joe Wilson is the disease for which democracy does not have insurance to cure.

There's your excerpt. Here's the rest.

VIDEO- Keith Olbermann's Special Comment calls out Joe Wilson

By GottaLaff

As always, Keith nails it:

In a Special Comment, Countdown’s Keith Olbermann calls out South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson not just for his shameful incivility in interrupting President Obama’s health care speech before Congress but for being so glaringly, stupidly, publicly wrong.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Wilson Censure Now In Works

By GottaLaff

Or, they could just kick is sorry ass out completely. Why must my daydreams always be so far fetched?

It appears House Dem leaders are now considering censure for Wilson for yelling at the president last night, despite Nancy Pelosi’s earlier suggestion it might not happen. [...]

Dem Rep Jim Clyburn, who strongly rebuked Wilson in public, privately approached him on the House floor today to demand that he apologize to the full House, a leadership aide says.

But Wilson refused, the aide adds, saying he’d already privately apologized to Rahm Emanuel.

House Dem leader Steny Hoyer, meanwhile, approached GOP leader John Boehner to push for a House floor apology from Wilson, the aide adds.

The House Dem leadership has now concluded a public apology is necessary. “Wilson brought dishonor to the House,” another leadership aide says. “He needs to apologize to the House on the floor for his behavior and if he does not, action will be taken when we return to session next week.”

House leaders are discussing the possibility of a Floor resolution censuring Wilson, the first aide confirms.

And then they can kick his sorry ass out. Oh, sorry, daydreaming again.

Joe "You Lie!" Wilson: "Stand with me against liberal attacks"

By GottaLaff

Original post here.

The most embarrassing twit-iest of Tweeters:

(click on images to enlarge)

And from his web site:

Aww, poor widdle Joey. Need a hiding place?

He has the unmitigated gall to disrespect the President of the United States during a vital address; he calls Barack Obama a liar; he disrupts, in a most disturbing way, a major event in front of the whole world... and laughably begs for cover?

From Hannity?

And anyone else who would be idiotic enough to respond?

Pathetic. Disgusting. Hilarious. Nauseating. Infuriating.

You can donate to his opponent. See my earlier post.

Joe "You Lie!" Wilson's opponent raises $400K--UPDATE: $474,134

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: 2 minutes later: $480,731!

Yum:

The DCCC reported Thursday afternoon that Miller's new post-speech total had risen to $400,000, via 11,000 individual contributions.

See, this is what happens when someone acts so contemptuous, so infantile, so hostile that he can't keep his big, fat, loud, cavernous, windbaggy mouth shut for a few minutes. Not even for the president of the United States.

What happened to all that harrrrumphing and phony outrage the Rushpublics spat at us for 8 years about saying even one critical word about a war president? Or any (Rushpublic) president?

What about respecting the office, even while disagreeing with the man who holds it? How small can one sick insolent schmuck of a person [sic] be?

Their bad. Karma's a bitch, huh Joe?

UPDATE: Thank you Eric B., for this link.

Plame, Wilson to take CIA leak lawsuit to Supreme Court

By GottaLaff

How I wish Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson could finally get the legal victory that they deserve:

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, plan to take their civil lawsuit against Bush administration officials to the Supreme Court after a federal circuit court refused to rehear the case on Monday.

Wilson v. Cheney, filed in 2006, charges that Bush administration officials such as Vice President Cheney, and aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, violated Plame's constitutional rights in allegedly engineering the outing Plame, who was undercover at the time, as retaliation against her husband, an Iraq war critic, who had been sent to Niger in 2002 to investigate the possible sale of yellowcake uranium to Iraq. [...]

"There must be consequences when government officials abuse their power and endanger national security for political ends," said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan on Tuesday. "This is an issue worth fighting over and we will not give up."

Never, ever give up. Not ever.