Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

[Via Democratic Underground]

Hillary Clinton is running a TV ad in West Virginia attacking Barack Obama on the gas tax issue. To make her point, her ad displays a newspaper article titled "Obama attacks Clinton’s gas tax plan". However, the article’s title doesn’t match the article’s contents  - it appears that the title has been superimposed on a different article. Look closely at the ad and you will see that the article flashed on screen is about "Troopergate". The article is about Eliot Spitzer’s "Troopergate" scandal. But who could forget the original "Troopergate" scandal made famous by Bill Clinton.

Does the Hillary Clinton campaign really want to remind people of "Troopergate" and all the other scandals of the Clinton era? We already know that the Clinton campaign is loose with the facts, but this is a bit too much.

The YouTube version of the ad is below:

Hillary Clinton supporters, Click here.

All you latte-drinking Obama supporters keeping score at home should take note that the Panderer-in-Chief was fixing herself a cappuccino while on her fake gas station visit.

The Tennessean newspaper is reporting that Al Gore is poised to endorse Barack Obama at a news conference Wednesday:

Former Vice President Al Gore’s office confirms that he will endorse Democratic Senator Barack Obama tomorrow morning. The Senator from Illinois was able to secure the much sought after endorsement on a telephone call with the Vice President last night.

The Politico reports on the reaction from Hillary Clinton’s campaign:

On a just concluded conference call, Clinton campaign’s chief strategist Mark Penn dismissed the Gore endorsement. He said, "it is long past the time when this endorsement would be considered significant. Al Gore represents the pre-9/11 way of thinking. It will make no difference to our campaign. We are in it to win it."

Later in the call, Howard Wolfson added, "we have the greatest respect for the Vice President. We think it is a fine vice presidential endorsement."

CNN was able to get reaction from some prominent Clinton surrogates:

Clinton supporter James Carville was dismissive of the endorsement. Reached by phone at his home, he unapologetically said, "I think he is Judas. He betrayed the Clintons. Hillary Clinton made him the man he is today. Hillary introduced him to the Internet and gave him the global warming slides. He is disloyal. I mean it." He then added before hanging up the phone, "I am mad as hell. I am going to write all about this Judas in an op-ed on the Pttsburgh-Tribune Review."

Geraldine Ferraro, prominent Clinton supporter, told the Daily Breeze, "Barack Obama is lucky to get this endorsement. It only proves my point. If Obama was a white man or a white woman, Al Gore would not have endorsed him. This endorsement clearly shows how lucky he is."

Lanny Davis told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he was disappointed with the endorsement. He said that he had "two questions" for Al Gore that he would later post in a blog on the Huffington Post.

Asked about the national security implications of Al Gore’s endorsement, terrorism expert Larry Johnson said that it was troubling to see Al Gore endorse Ice Cube. He said that having gangstas in the White House would pose serious national security risks.

Hillary Clinton was unavailable for comment.

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."  - Hillary Clinton, Remarks at George Washington University, March 17, 2008

"Now let me tell you what I can remember, OK — because what I was told was that we had to land a certain way and move quickly because of the threat of sniper fire. So I misspoke — I didn’t say that in my book or other times but if I said something that made it seem as though there was actual fire — that’s not what I was told. I was told we had to land a certain way, we had to have our bulletproof stuff on because of the threat of sniper fire. I was also told that the greeting ceremony had been moved away from the tarmac but that there was this 8-year-old girl and, I can’t, I can’t rush by her, I’ve got to at least greet her — so I greeted her, I took her stuff and then I left, Now that’s my memory of it." - Hillary Clinton, interview with Daily News editorial board, March 24, 2008

 But don’t worry, she is ready to answer phone calls at 3 a.m.

Ever since Hillary Clinton cited her 1996 USO trip to Bosnia with Sinbad and Sheryl Crow as an example of her commander-in-chief qualifications, the pundits have been scratching their heads in bemusement. Today the Obama campaign responded forcefully to Mrs. Clinton’s so called commander-in-chief credentials. Then, unexpectedly, Sinbad has responded by ridiculing Mrs. Clinton for her characterization of the Bosnia trip:

In an interview with the Sleuth Monday, he said the "scariest" part of the trip was wondering where he’d eat next. "I think the only ‘red-phone’ moment was: ‘Do we eat here or at the next place.’"

Now, if you are like me, you might think that a would-be commander-in-chief should not be taking so much incoming from comedian like Sinbad. And you would be right. The Clinton campaign responded just as forcefully:

Still, defending Clinton against Sinbad the refuter, Singer said, "The sad reality of what was going on in Bosnia at the time Senator Clinton traveled there as first lady has been well documented. It appears that Sinbad’s experience in Bosnia goes back further than Senator Obama’s does. In fact, has Senator Obama ever been to Bosnia?"

It appears that the Clinton campaign is suggesting that both Clinton and Sinbad have passed the commander-in-chief threshold by visiting Bosnia. Mrs. Clinton already has stated that the Republican nominee, John McCain, has also passed this crucial threshold to the be President of the United States. This leaves Barack Obama as the only candidate left who has failed to cross this threshold.

Since I am a Barack Obama supporter, and since I have now been convinced by the Bosnia test that my candidate is not commander-in-chief material, I have gone googling to find my ideal candidate. I am still not sold on Hillary Clinton and I am also not comfortable voting for a candidate who goes by the one word name of a pirate. So, I have compiled a list of a number of people, who like Mrs. Clinton and Sinbad, have passed the crucial Bosnia test. I ask you the reader to help me decide who to vote for as our next commander-in-chief. All of the following have passed Hillary Clinton’s Bosnia test and should be considered commander-in-chief material:

• singer Mary Chapin Carpenter
• the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
• Houston based Latin band La Mafia
• New York city based rock band Evil Jake
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (will need a constitutional amendment)
• B. B. King
• Comedians Louis Johnson, Jeff Burghart and Mike Estime
• The Bellamy Brothers
• alternative rock band Oleander
• jazz musician David Sanchez
• Tanya Roberts and Kurtwood Smith
• Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters
• country singers Paul Brandt and Claudia Church
• Football players Russell Carter, Byron Hunt, Roland James, Ronnie Lapette, Don MacNeal, Curtis McGriff, Stephen Baker, Scott Connover, Pete Shaw and Willie Buchanon

[Via Daily Kos]

Barack Obama supporter in Seattle is surprised to find herself in Hillary Clinton’s fearmongering ad. Read and watch the TV report here.

It’s 3AM and the phone rings and rings and rings and rings and rings and rings. The crank caller is scaring the children of America.

"I heard somebody say, where’s Mandela? Well, Mandela is dead, because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas." - George W. Bush, September 20, 2007

A day after President Bush declared to the world that Nelson Mandela had been killed by Saddam Hussein, the Nelson Mandela Foundation announced that Mr. Mandela was found to be still alive:

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is assuring the public that the former South African president is still alive, after comments by U.S. President George Bush that potentially could be misunderstood.

In Johannesburg, the foundation’s chief executive officer, Achmat Dangor, said Friday that Mr. Mandela is alive and well, and enjoying some rest and relaxation at his home.

I am very thankful that the 89-year old Nobel Peace Prize winner is alive and well.

It is ironic that Mr. Bush should now be lamenting that there are no Mandelas in Iraq. There was a Mandela before Mr. Bush attacked Iraq. That Mandela said the following about Mr. Bush’s decision to attack Iraq:

It is a tragedy, what is happening, what Bush is doing. But Bush is now undermining the United Nations.

…

What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust.

…

Why is the United States behaving so arrogantly? All that it wants is Iraqi oil.

George W. Bush, a man with no foresight, did not listen to those who had that foresight. Now he is lamenting that he could use such men. How sad.

The Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney, should immediately resign from the President’s Cabinet. According to the White House web site, the President’s Cabinet is "drawn from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution." The web site also states that the Cabinet consists of "the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments." To avoid any confusion that the Vice President is part of the Executive Branch, Dick should do the honorable thing and quit.

Earlier this week the Vice President asserted that he was exempt from an executive order requiring him to file reports on classification of records. Dick claimed that he was exempt because he was not strictly an executive branch official:

Vice President Cheney’s office has refused to comply with an executive order governing the handling of classified information for the past four years and recently tried to abolish the office that sought to enforce those rules, according to documents released by a congressional committee yesterday.

Since 2003, the vice president’s staff has not cooperated with an office at the National Archives and Records Administration charged with making sure the executive branch protects classified information. Cheney aides have not filed reports on their possession of classified data and at one point blocked an inspection of their office. After the Archives office pressed the matter, the documents say, Cheney’s staff this year proposed eliminating it.

…

The aggressive efforts to protect the operations of his staff have usually pitted Cheney against lawmakers, interest groups or media organizations, sometimes going all the way to the Supreme Court. But the fight about classified information regulation indicates that the vice president has resisted oversight even by other parts of the Bush administration. Cheney’s office argued that it is exempt from the rules in this case because it is not strictly an executive branch agency.

Oh really Dick?

The Executive Order that the Vice President takes exception to was issued on March 25, 2003. It was an order amending Executive Order 12958 that governs the handling of Classified National Security Information by the Executive Branch of the United States Government. This is the very Order that gives the Vice President his authority to classify documents in the first place. Without this Order, the Vice President has no authority to classify documents. To be clear, the Vice President, and that includes the incumbent, is given classification authority by the Executive Order specifically "in the performance of his executive duties." Section 1.3 of the Executive Order states:

Sec. 1.3. Classification Authority. (a) The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only by:

(1) the President and, in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President;

(2) agency heads and officials designated by the President in the Federal Register; and

(3) United States Government officials delegated this authority pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

The Vice President’s role as the President of the Senate, given to him in Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, does not give him classification authority according to the Executive Order - it is his executive duties that give him authority in this Executive Order.

The Vice President has also started to use a new classification designation called "Treated as Top Secret/SCI". This is a new classification which is specifically prohibited by the Executive Order:

Sec. 1.2. Classification Levels. (a) Information may be classified at one of the following three levels:

(1) "Top Secret" shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe.

(2) "Secret" shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe.

(3) "Confidential" shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by statute, no other terms shall be used to identify United States classified information.

So, either Dick Cheney has properly classified information that he wants to keep secret, and therefore is bound by this Executive Order, or all of the documents he has "classified" as "Treated as Top Secret/SCI" has not been properly classified. In trying to exempt himself from the laws, Dick Cheney may have jeopardized national security. Very clever, Dick.

The Vice President’s office has also claimed that Dick Cheney is not covered by the order because his office is not an "agency" as defined by the Executive Order. The Executive Order however defines "agency" as follows:

"Agency" means any "Executive agency," as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105; any "Military department" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 102; and any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information.

So unless Dick Cheney is storing all his "classified" information in his Senate office and unless all of that information was not gathered in the performance of executive duties, he is bound by this Executive Order.

The latest news out of the White House is that the President meant to exempt himself and the Vice President from the Executive Order, though he failed to spell it out in the Order itself. Of course the President of the United States may choose to clarify his position and issue an Executive Order exempting himself and the Vice President from the laws of the United States and from common sense. In that case, we the people may have to seek recourse to Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution.

ABC News is reporting that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will resign this evening. ABC is also reporting that the White House has requested time on the major networks for a presidential address for 9pm Eastern tonight.

According to ABC News:

Sources in the White House tell ABC News that Alberto Gonzales will resign this evening. Shortly thereafter, the president will address the nation at prime time. There is speculation within the White House that the president will also ask some of his senior advisors to resign. Earlier today White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten was observed entering the White House with other staff members to attend what appeared to be a hastily organized meeting.

Attempts to contact the Justice Department and the Attorney General for comment were unsuccessful.

The Washington Post is also reporting that the White House search for a replacement for Alberto Gonzales has been successful. It is likely that the President will announce the replacement during his prime time speech tonight:

The White House has been searching since the U.S. attorneys scandal broke earlier this month for a suitable candidate to replace the current attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. Late last week, sources tell the Washington Post, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten presented President Bush with three names on a "short list" of candidates. The names on the list are reported to be Solicitor General Theodore Olson, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald, and former United States Marine and interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Rod Majors. Multiple sources within the Oval Office have told the Washington Post that the president will nominate Rod Majors to replace Alberto Gonzales as the next attorney general.

While a Sunday announcement is unusual, it has long been rumored that Alberto Gonzales will step down. This week’s testimony of his chief-of-staff highlighted the many inconsistencies in Mr. Gonzales’s recent statements regarding Gonzogate. I hope the president moves quickly for a Senate confirmation for Mr. Majors.

I look forward to a scandal-free next two years at the Department of Justice. I hope you the reader join me in that hope. Let us all give Mr. Majors our full support as he leads the Department of Justice and this nation out from this sticky situation.