VIDEO: President Obama on Dr. King's Legacy

By GottaLaff



In case you missed this earlier:

The President speaks about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the importance of persistence in achieving broader goals in remarks at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Kennedy wants state succession law changed

A selfless and aware gesture. And very, very sad.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, has asked his state’s governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to ensure Massachusetts has two seats in the Senate, according to The Boston Globe.

(snip)

The letter to Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and the Massachusetts state House and Senate leaders does not mention the healthcare battle over Kennedy’s own health issues, according to the Globe, but makes it clear that Kennedy sees it as vitally important that there be a way to fill a seat more quickly than under his state’s current system.

“I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their senator,’’ Kennedy writes in the letter.

“I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.’’

Sarah the Quitter's Legacy: Hypocrisy

By GottaLaff

"Beware of accepting govt. largesse... it doesn't come free." Hyp. O. Crite:

David Frum: "Sarah Palin's most notable achievement as governor of Alaska was to increase the payout from the state's energy tax take by $1200 per resident. Isn't it odd then that she would use her farewell address to warn against the danger of government handouts?"

The Nation of Dick's legacy

By GottaLaff

The L.A. Times had a few good letters about the Nation of Dick this morning:

Cheney's legacy

Re “Cheney sides with Limbaugh” May 11 --Letter #1:

I used to think of Dick Cheney as a snake -- my apologies to all serpents. Now he just reminds me of a worm -- a big, fat nightcrawler squirming on the end of a fishhook. Our former vice president is wiggling all over the place, hoping to distract us from seeing him at the top of the torture pyramid.

Cheney has granted several interviews to media hosts, all trumpeting the same message. He claims that President Obama is risking the lives of thousands of Americans by outlawing torture.

But this time, repetition won't substitute for truth, and peddling fear won't scare us into acceptance. Cheney broke the law.

Even if he is not brought to justice for it, all of his memoirs will be shelved with the horror genre.

***

Letter #2:

As the saying goes, when you're already in a hole, stop digging. By all calculations, Cheney should be in China by now.

***

Letter #3:

Last week, Cheney said that he would choose Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell when it comes to the future vision of the Republican Party. George W. Bush and Cheney did such a good job of destroying the Republican Party that, as a Democrat, I have encouraged Republicans to listen to Cheney.

In a party in which failure is considered to be the new success, I wish Cheney all the success he deserves.

How historians judge Bush: He's in the Top 10 of America’s worst presidents

By GottaLaff

Georgie Bush told us all that we should wait to see how historians will judge him. Why? Because they would look back on him kindly, that's why. Boy howdy, was Bushie Boy extra crispy wrong!

Today, C-SPAN released its second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, in which “65 presidential historians ranked the 42 former occupants of the White House on ten attributes of leadership.” Coming in first was Abraham Lincoln, followed by George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. Finishing last was James Buchanan. George W. Bush came in 36th, just beating out Millard Fillmore, who ranked 37th:

Color me pessimistic, but I'm thinkin' things won't look any better to historians in 10, 20, or 50 years.

Oh, and Joe Lieberman was wrong, too. Shocking, huh?

Sole Man: Epitaph of the Bush years

By GottaLaff

Bush can attempt to rewrite history, but three-quarters of us know better:

"If Bush ever hopes to have the history of his presidency revived, a la Truman, it's going to start with success in Iraq. That's why it must have been that much harder for him to deal with the fact he had shoes thrown at him in his final visit to the country before he leaves office. It's bad enough in our last NBC/WSJ poll that 79% of Americans said they wouldn't miss him -- but at least no one is throwing shoes at him stateside. In that same poll, we asked respondents to judge Bush on his greatest achievements and failures. Not surprisingly, Iraq was at the top (or near it) in both lists. Removing Saddam Hussein was seen as Bush's second greatest accomplishment, but going into Iraq and starting a war was seen as his greatest failure. Iraq is THAT complicated for Bush and his legacy. This economic downturn in the last year of his presidency probably serves as the exclamation point on a public judgment of a below-average presidency for him. But Iraq has always been viewed as Bush's last chance at historical redemption. The good news for him: He's taking this with humor and, as he points out, journalists could not have done that in Iraq eight years ago. But yesterday's shoe-throwing incident -- the showing of the sole of a shoe is a great insult in Arab culture, NBC's John Yang points out -- might very well be the epitaph of the Bush presidency."

The obvious joke: Bush is a heel. Oh wait. That's wrong. The obvious joke is Bush himself. A really, really bad joke.

Bush makes surprise visit to Iraq

The only way this would be worth attention is if he was made to stay and fix everything he f'd up. Otherwise, it's just posturing for his legacy.

BAGHDAD – President George W. Bush is having a rapid-fire series of meetings with top Iraqi leaders during his unannounced visit to Iraq.

Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are celebrating the recent security agreement between the two nations.

Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, calls that a remarkable agreement and notes that an elected parliament approved it.

Bush flew overnight and landed at Baghdad International Airport in the afternoon, local time. He was met by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the top U.S. commander, General Ray Odierno.

This is not an Onion spoof: Bush on his own legacy

By GottaLaff

Yes, he's serious. No, he wasn't locked in a rubber room after uttering these jaw-droppers:

Reflecting on his eight-year presidency, President Bush said above all he would like to be remembered as a commander-in-chief who remained faithful to his values and "did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process."

In an interview with his younger sister, Doro Bush Koch, the president said he was forced to make several difficult choices during his tenure in the White House, but added "I darn sure wasn't going to sacrifice [my] values."

"I came to Washington with a set of values, and I'm leaving with the same set of values," Bush told Koch in an interview taped earlier this month that aired on National Public Radio Thursday.

Can't argue with that last part.

Bush also indicated he hopes his legacy is evaluated on success in the War in Iraq, America's efforts to combat AIDS, and the passage of Medicare legislation in 2003.

"I'd like to be a President (known) as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace; that focused on individuals rather than process; that rallied people to serve their neighbor; that led an effort to help relieve HIV/AIDS and malaria on places like the continent of Africa; that helped elderly people get prescription drugs and Medicare as a part of the basic package; that came to Washington, D.C., with a set of political statements and worked as hard as I possibly could to do what I told the American people I would do," Bush said.

The irony is excruciating. My tongue is throbbing from all the self-inflicted biting.

VIDEO: World leaders refuse to shake Bush’s hand during G20 photo-op

By GottaLaff

Why would they want to get anywhere near the guy who let Iran acquire enough enriched uranium for a single crude nuclear bomb on his administration's watch (more of a political milestone than a technical one — there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has an actual bomb or the highly-enriched uranium needed to make one just yet)?

That's quite a legacy. Apparently, nobody wants to shake hands with the moron who allowed one of the "Axis of Evil" to achieve such a milestone, among other things. So, so many other things.

Here's the video of the Intellectual Deficit-in-Chief being internationally shunned:

Rick Sanchez: This may be a case of "what goes around comes around."

Putin: “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls"

By GottaLaff

The Chimpenfuhrer's legacy, Sarkozy/Putin edition:

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

An historic moment: Bush (inadvertently) prevented the torture of another human being.

H/t: Bucky

Look what's going on in Iraq, Syria, Gitmo, and Pakistan

By GottaLaff

We've been concentrating so hard on the election that some of this slips by us unnoticed. Well, it's time to notice:

Marine orders access to US secret prison camp at Guantánamo --Guantánamo commanders have long refused to say who runs it, or how much it cost to construct. A judge has ordered the Pentagon to give two military attorneys unprecedented access to a secret prison camp here in a ruling that specifically notes that alleged 9/11 conspirator Ramzi bin al Shibh has been mentally ill and may be still. Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, the chief judge for military tribunals, issued the three-page ruling on Sunday. He granted access to two Pentagon lawyers with top-secret clearances to inspect a portion of Camp 7, a secret prison camp facility run by a clandestine unit called Task Force Platinum, which segregates former CIA prisoners from the other 250 war-on-[of]-terror captives here.

Next:

Report on Iraq Security Lists 310 Contractors At least 310 private security companies from around the world have received contracts from United States agencies to protect American and Iraqi officials, installations, convoys and other entities in Iraq since 2003, according to the most comprehensive accounting yet of the secretive and weakly regulated role that private firms have played in the conflict. [...] The list, more extensive than any that had previously been disclosed, contains some familiar American companies, like Blackwater and DynCorp, but also hundreds of obscure firms.

Next:

Iraq VP: US blackmailing Iraq over SOFA The US military has threatened to halt vital services in Iraq if Baghdad refuses to sign a controversial US security pact with Washington. In addition to halting all military actions, US forces would cease activities that support Iraq's economy, educational sector and other areas- 'everything' - Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Vice President told the US newspaper McClatchy. According to al-Hashemi, many Iraqi politicians view the move as 'political blackmail'.

Next:

Pakistan summons U.S. ambassador on border strikes
Pakistan's government summoned the U.S. ambassador today to urge an immediate halt to missile strikes on suspected militant hide-outs near the Afghan border.

And finally:

Iraq condemns U.S. assault on Syria
The Cabinet also approves changes to a proposed security deal, including giving Iraq the right to determine whether any U.S. soldier suspected of committing a crime should stand trial in Iraqi court.

Our next president-- that would be President Obama-- will have to deal with all of this. Look what Bush has stuck him, and us, with. Of course, the Republicans will condemn Obama for not resolving every bit of it within the first month of his presidency.

Bush's legacy

By GottaLaff

No matter what they do, the Republicans can't pin this on Obama or Pelosi. This has been brewing for a very long time. Bush's legacy is one of abject failure, and when a book is written, this will most likely be included in Chapter Eleven:

George W. Bush's excellent legacy

By GottaLaff

"Granted, much of Mr. Bush's general standing among the public was lost after Hurricane Katrina, difficulties in Iraq, the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, failure to pass immigration reform and the most recent mortgage and energy realities. Yet, even now, the president has spearheaded the successful surge in Iraq and he may yet transform the Middle East as no one before him has ever done. The president also has a domestic record that he can be proud of - from literacy and faith-based initiatives to judicial appointments and tax cuts. That record also includes the moral restoration of the presidency after years of the embarrassing Clinton scandals."

Question-O'-The-Day: Cheney edition

By GottaLaff

Dan Froomkin always has something interesting to say. Today, it's in the form of a question, and it's about the Nation of Dick:

Vice President Cheney doesn't act in plain view, so discerning his influence on the Bush presidency has always been a bit of a guessing game. And in the wake of the White House's shift on Iran policy -- from saber-rattling to talking -- one guess is that Cheney's influence, at least on this issue, is waning.

Could it be that President Bush is listening less to his hawkish vice president in hopes of leaving behind a somewhat less toxic foreign-policy legacy?

I might be inclined to believe that if it were the case that Bush knew what the word "legacy" meant. Last time I checked, he thought it referred to these.

Bush's golden moments

By GottaLaff

Another zinger from an L.A. Times letter writer, this time about Bush's Through-the-Looking-Glass presidency:

Re "White House puts warming threats on back burner," July 12

Consider these high points in George W. Bush's presidency: "Bringing democracy to the Middle East," "We'll be welcomed as liberators," "The economy is sound," "Mission accomplished," "I am a uniter" and so on.

We can now add Bush's initial disbelief in global warming (as if it were some sort of Grimm's childhood tale), which has morphed into ignoring his own experts' concerns and shifting responsibility to the next administration.

Eight years of wasted opportunities and disastrous decisions will be Bush's legacy. The nation and world herald these golden moments. I wonder how they will be portrayed in the "George Walker Bush Presidential Pop-Up-Book Library," soon to be constructed somewhere in Texas.

I wonder if they'll display little Georgie's crayons and pretzels. And the shredded remnants of the Constitution.