६ फेब्रुवारी, २००९

"With General Zinni fuming in undiplomatic fashion about the way he was treated..."

"... the question of who should be the next ambassador to Iraq has turned into an embarrassing mess for the Obama administration as it struggles to recover from other stumbles over high-profile nominations."

And that's from The New York Times.

Obama has only been President for 17 days. It's mind-boggling how many screw-up there have been. "Stumbles"? Has there even ever been any normal walking in the Obama administration? It seems to me that the mode of ambulation is the stumble.

ADDED: Perfect ↓

Obama mural on 6th Street

१६१ टिप्पण्या:

Host with the Most म्हणाले...

This conservative still has his fingers crossed that Obama will succeed in keeping the country safe and preventing the government from aiding in the economy's deterioration.

These people stumbles aren't the end of the world - they can be fixed.

But it better shape up soon, or you won't have to worry about conservatives seeking to bring down Obama - he'll do it himself.

George M. Spencer म्हणाले...

Obama's ode of ambulation is the stumble?

It could be worse.

Stepin Fetchit.

Michael Haz म्हणाले...

Expect additional stumblage today when President Obama explains to the families of those whose lives were lost when the USS Cole was bombed, and when the Twin Towers were brought down, that he is going to release from prosecution the terrorists who have confessed to planning and/or carrying out those acts.

Plus the Secretary of Labor nominee has tax problems.

Plus the Porkulus bill is in trouble and it appears that it may be passed by only Dems voting in its favor.

sg म्हणाले...

In addition to stumbling, people in the Obama administration also know how to traipse:

"Obama White House Junior Staffers Traipse Through Rose Garden Lawn"

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/obama-white-h-1.html

Jason म्हणाले...

Si, se puede!!!!!

KCFleming म्हणाले...

So far, this administration has had all the grace and ease of a teenager learning to parallel park.

EnigmatiCore म्हणाले...

I sure hope things change.

/I knew those two words would come in handy eventually.

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

And to think that our relations with North Korea are going so well that we can take a NK expert away from that area and use him in the MidEast where he has no expertise.

Similialy, we can take a General, who who led all our opertions across he ME for sevral years as CENTCOM Cdr, and since Iraq is fixed already, he isn't useful.


who'd a thunk the One would ake such rational HR decisions?

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

It's mind-boggling how many screw-up there have been.

These are the people "reviewing" Gitmo?

What will they do if we get attacked.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Maybe Obama thought Zinni hadn't paid his taxes.

अनामित म्हणाले...

My mind isn't boggling any more than it did over Bush's supposedly unprecedented errors. This is what I expect from government, and what I'm used to getting from it.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

These people stumbles aren't the end of the world - they can be fixed.

Of course they're not the end of the world but in the grand scheme of running a hyper-power, this should be the easy stuff.

I guess on the postive side, since the heat is being turned up in the media, maybe he can turn the thermostat down in the White House and reduce his carbon footprint.

John म्हणाले...

Or maybe Zini did pay his taxes and DearlyBeloved Leader was worried he wouldn't fit in with the rest of the cabinet.

Ann it almost makes me think that a first term Senator with no real world executive experience or any accomplishments beyond being editor of the Harvard Law Review isn't qualified to be President.

Nah it couldn't be that. DearlyBeloved Leader is a Harvard Man. He is erudite. He is "intellecutally curious" whatever that means. He can't be in over his head.

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

PZ,

does call into question the government takever of the Banking industry and health care though doesnt it.

Their railroad already runs so well :)

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

My mind isn't boggling any more than it did over Bush's supposedly unprecedented errors.

So what you're saying is we're getting Bush's third term?

KCFleming म्हणाले...

"Why can't I just eat my waffle?"

I imagine these weren't the waffles Obama expected to be eating.

John म्हणाले...

Maybe Zini did pay his taxes and DearlyBeloved Leader was worried that he wouldn't fit in with the rest of the cabinet.

Ann, it almost makes me think that a first term Senator with no real world experience or accomplishments beyond being editor of the Harvard Law review isn't qualified to be President. But that couldn't be right? BO is a Harvard Man. He is erudite. He had a ghost writer write a couple of autobiographies. He is "intellectually curious" whatever that means. He couldn't be in over his head could he? Nah.

As an aside, it wasn't so sad it would be funny to watch the most sheltered and intellectually incurious group of people in earth, the mainstream media, spend the summer talking down Republicans for not being "intellectually curious" because you know clowns like Lithwick and Matthews and Gibson spend their evenings examining the great questions of the world in a fair and unbiased manner. UGH

Original Mike म्हणाले...

Iraq is probably his most important ambassador selection. Please don't screw this one up.

Hill, apparently doesn't even speak Arabic. Nor does Al-Malaki speak English. Isn't this something a real newspaper would have pointed out?

John म्हणाले...

At some point, they might want to realize "I won now shut up and do everything I tell you to" isn't much of a political argument in places outside of North Korea.

Before his term is over, BO is going to be loathed.

Tank म्हणाले...

Putting aside my ideological differences, what happened to the Obama competency that masterminded what must be acknowledged as a brilliant campaign, knocking off the Clinton machine (and whatever you think of them personally, the idea that this "nobody" from Chicago would ever bring down Bill and Hill a couple of years ago would have gotten you laughed off the bus).

What happened to the competence?

He looks like an inexperienced novice who never actually did, or ran, anything.

Oh.

Jason (the commenter) म्हणाले...

Now we know why Bush seemed so happy to see Obama elected.

But when he was talking about history judging his administration in a better light, I don't think even he was thinking in terms of weeks.

John म्हणाले...

RDKRAUS

It is not like he got any assistence from the media or anything taking down Hillary. It is also a good thing that the fact that he was black didn't cause a lot of guilty white people to ignore any short comings he had in order to exercise their own racial demons by voting for a black man. Nope, he won that election strictly on his incredible exectutive competance and of course the fact that he is so errudite and a Harvard Man.

Rich B म्हणाले...

Ridicule of this administration is disturbingly easy.

AllenS म्हणाले...

I don't think that Obama has been around long enough to have made a lot of friends. Good friends that he knows well and that he can trust. What we have now, is him scrambling to find people to fill all of these government jobs that every president has to staff. He's had to go with a lot of Clinton people who at least have some idea of how government works, but he is off his game when he picks marginal people. Maybe he just doesn't make friends that easy. I noticed that before the election his so-called friends were discarded one after another when their histories were exposed. Then there is his total lack of experiences. We have a housing financial crisis, but when he needed a loan for his house, he went to Rezko. For all the talk about affordable health care, let's take a look at his wife, and her employment at the hospital. She was making, how much? $300,000+ Doing what? Is that job needed. Funny when he said that Wall St. types getting fed aid would only be able to make $500,000. Why not limit their pay to what his wife was making. Two affirmative action clowns in the White House.

birdie bob म्हणाले...

This is what happens when the candidate is not properly vetted by the voters and media. When I read the Federalist Papers many years ago, I remember that the Founding Fathers provided for impeachment (and, no, I'm not calling for impeachment) but doubted that it would ever be brought against the President. Their reasoning was that the candidates for that high office would have been examined thoroughly by the press and voters by that time and their competence and character would hold no surprises. In this election (at least), the press became a Fifth Column instead of the Fourth Estate and allowed the voters to project their own views onto the "blank slate" that is Obama. Now we have to hope that he either innately has the necessary skills or that he is an extremely fast learner. 17 days is not a sufficient test but the results so far are not encouraging.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Obama's vision of himself isn't working out.

He'd better enforce some tyranny pretty quickly or clown cars will start circling.

Shutting down broadcasters would be a good start.

John म्हणाले...

At some point you have to stand for something and you have to stand for the people around you. Obama has never done that. He has made an entire career by standing for nothing beyond empty slogans and sitting back and letting people project on to him what they wanted him to be. Finally now that he is in a real position of authority, the buck has stopped somewhere. He can't just sit there and let other people project on him. He has to lead. He also has to act in defense of his own people and show some loyalty. I think those two acts are entirely beyond him.

The porkulus bill is classic Obama. He said a lot of meaningless slogans about growth and the emergency but never advocated any real policies. He left that entirely to the Congress. Of course the liberals in Congress rolled him like lions taking down a sick wildebeast. No he stuck with an unpopular bill loaded it up with liberal pork. But since he had no plan of his own or any real ideas of his own, he can't fight back and will be stuck with whatever Congress gives him. He is so in over his head right now he can't even fake it. A good actor could have at least faked for a year or so. BO lasted two weeks before it became clear that he wasn't up to the job.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) म्हणाले...

Remember all those election adverts: "Not ready to lead." ?

Senators almost always have the wrong skill set to be executives. Now not only do we have an inexperienced Senator as our chief executive, we also have a Senator for our Vice President, and for Secretary of State ... and Interior and Commerce.

Gates, Vilsack, Napolitano, and Shinseki certainly have executive experience, but even if not bumbling Senators the rest of the cabinet is rather thin on experience, too.

Chances are, it will not turn out well.

Larry J म्हणाले...

Ann it almost makes me think that a first term Senator with no real world executive experience or any accomplishments beyond being editor of the Harvard Law Review isn't qualified to be President.

This is just what we need as President, Chief Executive and Commander in Chief - an amateur. Despite all his talk about hope and change, I'm left hoping this change in administration won't prove a disaster.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
The Dude म्हणाले...

Aw man - only 17 days in and finally, the idea of IMPEACHMENT has arisen! This makes me happy. We need to spread the word throughout the land - IMPEACH NOW! OBAMA IS A WAR CRIMINAL!!!

I like this so much I think I'll get some bumper stickers.

Darcy म्हणाले...

I admire anyone who has read The Federalist Papers. I have them, and I've attempted to read them many times, but what I really think I need instead of reading them by myself is to read them as a part of a course.

As to Obama stumbling...I'm taking no pleasure in this. It scares the hell out of me, especially with regard to Iraq.

अनामित म्हणाले...

George Bush's third term? Nah, George Washington's 56th term. Near as I can tell, this is what government's always looked like before the high-school history teachers have had a chance to pretty it up.

Original Mike म्हणाले...

As to Obama stumbling...I'm taking no pleasure in this. It scares the hell out of me, especially with regard to Iraq.

Amen.

Swifty Quick म्हणाले...

If you listen closely you can barely hear the chanting rumble of the people, now just faintly in its beginning: "Jeb-ster!, Jeb-ster! Jeb-ster!"

I'm Full of Soup म्हणाले...

Michael H:

Is that a fact? That some of the Cole bombers are at Gitmo?

I did not know that.

I'm Full of Soup म्हणाले...

It was not that long ago that the media sounded like a chorus when they were chirping about "the seamless & smooth transition run as well as the Obama campaign" bla bla bla bla.

As Mark Levin says, Clinton happens.

bearbee म्हणाले...

These people stumbles aren't the end of the world - they can be fixed.

People stumbles in domestic affairs, yes, but stumbles in foreign affairs would be alarming.

Any cockiness this administation has will, hopefully, dissipate in short order.

Celia Hayes म्हणाले...

The most apt comment I have seen on the Obama administration's first two weeks was on the comment thread at another blog -

"I knew it was gonna be a train wreck, but I thought it would have pulled out of the station, first!"

sg म्हणाले...

Does anyone else think PBO has reached saturation level on TV?

It seems like he's making two or three "important" televised announcements every day. Is he going to continue reading every executive order when he signs it, explaining how each one is a dramatic break with the recent, sordid past?

Yet despite his omnipresence on TV, he still seems "AWOL" when it most matters (stimulus bill, Daschle, Zinni).

birdie bob म्हणाले...

Hey fcai - learn to read. I specifically said I was not calling for impeachment but was using the reasoning of the Founding Fathers on that topic to make a point. You're either disengenous or illiterate.

I'm Full of Soup म्हणाले...

Good one Celia!

The Dude म्हणाले...

Ooo - the little birdie doesn't recognize humor when he sees it. Back in the cage with you, little fellow, the big mean kitty cat won't bother you again.

Liberals - you can laugh at them, but not with them.

Joe M. म्हणाले...

You know, the man's President and I do wish him well for the sake of us all.

But mmmmmm ... I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning.

It probably has to do with his cockiness. The higher you climb, and all.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Does anyone else think PBO has reached saturation level on TV?

He's reached saturation level period. I was in Kroger yesterday and they're selling Obama t-shirts.

I bought one to use until my Sham-wow comes in the mail.

SteveR म्हणाले...

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Hey, people treated this like a fashion show, no wonder the performance doesn't match the looks.

Balfegor म्हणाले...

It is also a good thing that the fact that he was black didn't cause a lot of guilty white people to ignore any short comings he had in order to exercise their own racial demons by voting for a black man. Nope, he won that election strictly on his incredible exectutive competance and of course the fact that he is so errudite and a Harvard Man.

The irony is, he didn't benefit from the "soft bigotry of low expectations," once he was in office -- instead, he has suffered from the problem of colossal, wholly unrealistic expectations. His transition has been so incompetent, it's made Clinton's early bungling look like genius, but even if his transition had been managed halfway competently, he could never have lived up to the expectations so many had set for him. It may even be a mercy for all involved that expectations are getting reset further and further downward with every day that passes.

Third Coast म्हणाले...

AJ, you can find the details of one of the Cole bomber's situation here:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/06/obama-withdraws-charges-against-nashiri-for-now/
Sadly, The One is indeed stopping his prosecution for the time being.

अनामित म्हणाले...

I don't like Obama or his droids but these "stumbles" are trivial.

Nobody is even noticing other than the political junkies.

Zinni got booted because many Jews view him as a Mel Gibson type due to his outspoken opposition to Jewish Neo-con, Israeli-centric power in the Bush administration.

Chris Hill knows nothing about the Middle East.

Obama's team should have covered their motives and shown respect by telling Zinni that his DynCorp connections would cause trouble in the confirmation hearings.

He's close to Gen. Jones so the best thing to due is give him a prominent special envoy job in the middle east.

But I'm telling you Zinni has been marked as a bad goyim. He's on the no-fly list due to his early comments.

somefeller म्हणाले...

I think it's still a little early to talk about trends in the Obama administration. However, as someone who supported Hillary in the primaries, I have to point out - isn't it interesting to see that the Cabinet appointment that was most applauded by all sides and that went more smoothly than most of the others was that of Hillary Clinton? (Tom Daschle had more drama than Hillary Clinton? Tom Daschle?) That probably wouldn't have been predicted not so long ago.

ricpic म्हणाले...

Those soviet style Obamskaya posters give me the willies.

Zachary Sire म्हणाले...

Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it.

richard mcenroe म्हणाले...

How did The Great and Powerful Ob's crack team of vetters miss the fact that the distinguished General Zinni has been stealing money from enlisted men...

Anton म्हणाले...

Krauthammer is a must-read today. That idiot Nancy Pelosi is running the show which means, my friends, that reason is in deep trouble.

अनामित म्हणाले...

Most of the stumbles are personnel related.

That would suggest that Obama doesn't have a good HR executive getting everyone selected, vetted, and seated in their chair. (Would this be the chief of staff’s responsibility?)

There is an old organizational behavior model that says that all new work groups pass through four stages: forming, storming, norming, and performing.

You can help reduce the storming, and facilitate the norming by getting the organization chart set with very clear responsibility assignments. But here, people have already commented on the fact that the Whitehouse org chart seems confusing. You have cabinet members PLUS regional special envoys and specific policy czars.

Volker has carped about how the financial advisory group hasn't even formed yet. But for the groups that have formed, there must be some wonderful and amazing storming going on right now.

अनामित म्हणाले...

And now we have surrogates smearing Zinni in an effort to justify the Administration's inept handling of the matter.

They "hope" to "change" the subject.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

So Zinni's opinion is now to be taken seriously along with an article to the NYT? Haha. Who says Republicans aren't honest.

Christy म्हणाले...

Goody! The first conspiracy theory of the Obama Administration. Was it Biden who called to congratulate Zinni, or was it, as in the reports yesterday, really Obama? And if it was Obama, who is reining him in? What was offered to Zinni to make him change his statement? Let's watch and see.

I hate that the Washington Times scooped the New York Times on the story. But did the NYT get involved only to do damage control? Get the word out that Biden called Zinni, not giver-then-taker-away Obama.

And another thing. What does this say about Hillary having any authority over her own department?

exhelodrvr1 म्हणाले...

rdkraus,
I guess you could call the Obama campaign brilliant, if brilliance is defined as significant tactical errors by your opponent in the primary, combined with a disgusting unwillingness by the media to followup on your weaknesses, while at the same time wildly exaggerating weaknesses and/or just plain making things up about your opponents.

Tank म्हणाले...

I'm not saying that Clinton did not make mistakes in her campaign, and, well, McCain was another "worst Republican candidate ever." Nor did the media do anything but applaud.

But he did many, many things right. He KNEW how to work the Democratic primaries and caucuses in a way Hillary obviously did not. He made many correct moves along the way, from playing the race card, to dumping Wright, etc.

Let's not rewright history.

The fact that this no-record, nobody from Chicago outwitted the Clinton machine is no small accomplishment.

अनामित म्हणाले...

Ann it almost makes me think that a first term Senator with no real world executive experience or any accomplishments beyond being editor of the Harvard Law Review isn't qualified to be President.

I realize I'm late to this discussion, but the choice wasn't between an inexperienced administrator and an experienced administrator. It was between a one-term Senator and a four-term Senator.

It's hard to imagine McCain doing any better with the stimulus package. It's easy to imagine him doing worse. For example, McCain's instinct would lead him to compromise early and often with the Democrats, while simultaneously retaining all the Republican-demanded boondoggles.

MayBee म्हणाले...


It's hard to imagine McCain doing any better with the stimulus package.


McCain's history is against bills like this. He - almost alone- railed against the most recent farm bill. He voted against the monstrous transportation bill.
It should be very easy to imagine McCain doing better with the stimulus package than let Pelosi have her way!

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

he could never have lived up to the expectations so many had set for him

The problem ultimately is that Obama has 2 or 3 positions on every subject. The press never has pinned him down on any of them, so therefore when he now has to actually make choices, 40-60% of the people on each topic are going to be disappointed.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Blogger richard mcenroe said...

How did The Great and Powerful Ob's crack team of vetters miss the fact that the distinguished General Zinni has been stealing money from enlisted men...
9:45 AM


You should tell that blogmaster to implement anti-spam processes, he is now unreadable. (Conspiracy?)



jdeeripper, what a crawling thing you are.

Cato Renasci म्हणाले...

Well, I have to say that so far Obama has lived up to the expectations I had for him and his administration - I expected excessive spending, incompetence in matters of governance generally, and particular in foreign affairs. And they haven't even started really messing with medicine yet!

If the Obama administration keeps this up, in 5 years we'll be hunting Democrats with dogs (to use Phil Gramm's locution about the Clinton socialized medicine gambit.

Joe म्हणाले...

The fact that this no-record, nobody from Chicago outwitted the Clinton machine is no small accomplishment.

Partial credit is due Obama, but his campaign wasn't run all that well. Had the media not been completely in the bag for Obama, he would have been sunk by February. His speeches alone were horrible and extremely arrogant. What candidate compares himself to Jesus and gets away with it? (You have to go way back to the early campaign for that one.) Also in the early campaign, what candidate's wife has completely trashed the candidate in speech after speech and gotten away with it?

(The press treated Bush II in 1999/2000 as a foregone conclusion which was irritating, but still feel far short of the blatant adoration and anointing of Obama.)

Patm म्हणाले...

Weak horse. He's showing the weak horse, again. We're in trouble.

Bissage म्हणाले...

Stumbles or no stumbles, I still find myself hoping for the best.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

ZPS said Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it.

When he actually starts dealing with a disaster area let me know.

Until then, he should just work on finding patriotic Cabinet members who have paid their fair share of taxes.

अनामित म्हणाले...

The fact that Obama is relying upon Harry Reid to get the stimulus through shows either that Obama doesn't really care about the bill or is even less competent that Obama-phobes believe.

अनामित म्हणाले...

I agree with Darcy as well. Our enemies see his weaknesses as well as we do.

Does Obama even realize he's president? What quirk in his personality or social anxiety would lead him to this position, fronting a ridiculous bill, hiring a doofus of a press secretary, mocking Jessica Simpson's weight?

Maybe today after he meets with the families of the Cole and 9/11 attacks, he will come face to face with the reality of his job.

(Oh, George, "Stepin Fechit" is a really cheap shot.)

Nichevo म्हणाले...

A disaster area? Like Kentucky? Yes, I wish he would visit there.

MayBee म्हणाले...

ZPS said Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it.

Perhaps if he'd ever spent any time at his job in the Senate, he have realized what he was getting himself into.

Bumsurf म्हणाले...

Control yourselves. Let's look at this from a different perspective. If Obama weren't "screwing up" we'd all be screwed.

Greg Toombs म्हणाले...

Awww, c'mon...

Which community can we suppose Obama will successfully organize next?

The Dude म्हणाले...

PatCA - you are correct - Steppin Fetchit earned an honest living during the last great depression, at a time when blacks were truly restricted. He did his job well, was paid for his actual work, and kept his self respect. Obama has much to learn from those who came before.

jayne_cobb म्हणाले...

Perhaps the stumbles in the "disaster area" would be understandable if they weren't over simple appointments.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Both Imus and whoever is Rush's replacement host put forward the theory that what's happening is in fact that Obama hasn't the slightest clue what he's doing.

Imus would be the stronger test, as he has been going out of his way to praise everything about every black person for the last year.

Obama's woman-melting gaze into the future isn't working out any longer.

Laura(southernxyl) म्हणाले...

"Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it."

No one handed him the Zinni appointment. He and his people screwed this up all by themselves.

(sounds like a Ludlum - The Zinni Appointment.

Synova म्हणाले...

This Zinni thing is an executive failure. The stimulous thing is what Obama ought to know how to do... work people and get them going the same direction. That was what he was supposed to be good at, right?

But making executive decisions, management decisions, and providing that sort of leadership with an understanding of how people react to having their lives jerked around is something we were told was *irrelevant*.

We were told that Obama managed his CAMPAIGN STAFF.

I don't think that McCain would have been wonderful, and yes, he was a Senator, too, but I can't even imagine him managing people so poorly. He was a military officer, after all, so he does have executive experience.

Maybe Obama is under the impression that when he tells people to do stuff that they have to do what he says. Maybe he doesn't realize that NO ONE rules except with the consent of the governed.

Zinni at least seems to get that, if what I read was accurate (and why wouldn't he, since Generals serve at the pleasure of NCO's) he told them where to stick their consolation offers.

Patm म्हणाले...

And it's a little ironic. The "narrative" on Bush was that Cheney was "running things," which was patently untrue. Now the pretense is that Obama is "fully in charge" which also seems to be untrue.

I wonder who is behind him, though. Soros? Soros wanted this sort of "revolution."

I miss Bush.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Hell, I miss Cheney.

Clyde म्हणाले...

@Ricpic

Try this poster on for size:

CHANGE

Michael Haz म्हणाले...

AJ Lynch - Here is an article regrading the Cole bomber being held at Gitmo.

Roberto म्हणाले...

Blah, blah, blah.

Zinni's just another whiner and this entire affair will be soon forgotten.

It's amazing to read the inane comments about something like this...compared to the massive blunders via G.W. & Company that got us buried in Iraq.

Maybe this will give many here a more realistic perspective as to what is REALLY IMPORTANT:

WASHINGTON – The Army is investigating an unexplained and stunning spike in suicides in January. The count is likely to surpass the number of combat deaths reported last month by all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the fight against terrorism.

"In January, we lost more soldiers to suicide than to al-Qaida," said Paul Rieckhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He urged "bold and immediate action" by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

According to figures obtained by The Associated Press, there were seven confirmed suicides last month, compared with five a year earlier. An additional 17 cases from January are under investigation.

Roberto म्हणाले...

Psychedelic George said..."It could be worse. Stepin Fetchit."

And once again, another of the Althouse pricks rears his ugly racist head.

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

I don't think that McCain would have been wonderful, and yes, he was a Senator, too, but I can't even imagine him managing people so poorly. He was a military officer, after all, so he does have executive experience.

Maybe Obama is under the impression that when he tells people to do stuff that they have to do what he says. Maybe he doesn't realize that NO ONE rules except with the consent of the governed.


I know Synova, that the AF taught you the same thing it did McCain.

Organizations do well, what the Boss checks

I don't think The One has been checkin his HR folks much.

MayBee म्हणाले...

Synova:work people and get them going the same direction. That was what he was supposed to be good at, right?
...
We were told that Obama managed his CAMPAIGN STAFF.


I think Obama is learning how hard it is to get people going in the same direction when they aren't hired specifically to go in his direction.

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

Don't expect things to get any better. These guys still think they are running a Chicago precinct with all the graft and corruption tactics that they are accustomed to using.

They are small time hoods and crooks who are suddenly playing in the big leagues. Obama is nothing more than an empty suit and it is becoming more and more apparent. He has this OMFG what have I gotten myself into look on his face. NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME.

My husband and I were laughing this morning at Obama's cajoling and wheedling of the Senators to get his spending payola obscenity of a bill passed. His voice was up almost a full octave over his "I am a serious politician" voice. He sounded more like a petulant teenager trying to get out of being late for curfew.

You have to laugh otherwise we'll start crying. We are in such deep doo doo.

Patm म्हणाले...

Anyone read noonan today? She and Krauthammer are both spot-on.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123388255500354969.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/05/AR2009020502766_pf.html

Tank म्हणाले...

May I say this?

Obama?

McCain?

Either way, this was not going to be a good four years. Both of them would have been likely to do the wrong thing.

Gotta admit, it's more fun being on the outside. If it's gonna go bad, let it be on someone else's watch. In addition, being on the outside seems to be the only thing that gets Repub's acting like conservatives.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Maybe this will give many here a more realistic perspective as to what is REALLY IMPORTANT:

That's good Mikey. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Looky over here!

Zinni's a whiner...that's good. I mean really keep up that line of defense.

Eric म्हणाले...

It's hard to imagine McCain doing any better with the stimulus package. It's easy to imagine him doing worse.

Awwww, everyone was having fun. Why you gotta bring us down like that?

Synova म्हणाले...

Gosh, Michael...

What happened in January?

BJM म्हणाले...

It occurs to me that we haven't had an adult in the WH since George H.W. Bush.

As a boomer I'm deeply ashamed of how badly we've fumbled the baton our fathers handed off. Gen X doesn't look any too promising at this point either.

अनामित म्हणाले...

Michael, I don't agree with you that the fact that Obama has taken over as Commander in Chief is leading to an unprecedented increase in military suicides.

अनामित म्हणाले...

There is no level of shame that is deep enough for the baby boomers (although it really is the fault of their parents, who failed to pass on the skills and values of self control necessary to govern and act responsibly).

Roberto म्हणाले...

Henry: I'm sure the families of the dead soldiers would find your little joke very funny.

Why not send it along and see what they think?

Prick.

Roberto म्हणाले...

Obama's been President for 17 days.

Where were you idiots during the eight years of the Bush administration's blunders and huge mistakes?

You sound like small children who didn't get their way.

Obama WON...you're fools LOST.

Get over it.

Zachary Sire म्हणाले...

When he actually starts dealing with a disaster area let me know.

Delusional. Most of you can't even admit that he's trying. Not only that, he's doing exactly what he said he was going to do when he campaigned: big spending. But hey, liberals complained for 8 years, so it's your turn now. Take it from me: Pace yourselves!

Roberto म्हणाले...

Hoosier, why not give Obama a chance to actually do something for the country instead of bitching and whining about things that have happened during the course of 17 fucking days? Every administration has missteps and mistakes during transition periods...read some history and you'll understand that.

You're nothing more than a right wing sycophant who just can't accept the fact that you put up an old fool and a young redneck as your party's candidates and they got their asses handed to them.

Roberto म्हणाले...

"Pace yourselves!"

17 days.

अनामित म्हणाले...

"Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it."

Maybe BO's first real life executive lesson should be, 'when you're already in a hole stop digging'

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Delusional. Most of you can't even admit that he's trying.

Delusional nothing Zach. He hasn't even started dealing with a disater yet, he's still trying to fill his Cabinet.

Like I said, let me know when he actually starts doing something.

Tank म्हणाले...

Michael

You need to calm down.

This is exactly how the liberals and Democrats treated Bush and Cheney every day (except Sept. 12, 2001) for eight years.

You'll get used to it.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Hoosier, why not give Obama a chance to actually do something for the country instead of bitching and whining about things that have happened during the course of 17 fucking days?

Maybe you mistook the hysterical laughter for bitchin and whining. See it's like this; folks like you paraded this dolt like he was the best thing since sliced bread and how business as usual in Washington was going to change. I'm simply holding him to the oh so high standard the likes of you raised him on.

Every administration has missteps and mistakes during transition periods...read some history and you'll understand that.

Transition period is over. It's game time now. Plus I've forgotten more history than you'll ever know.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

You're nothing more than a right wing sycophant who just can't accept the fact that you put up an old fool and a young redneck as your party's candidates and they got their asses handed to them.

Old fool and a redneck? I guess slurs like that are acceptable in progressive circles.

Bring a handkerchief when you come here to debate. Having spittle all over your chin is so unbecoming.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Republicans really have turned into a bunch of fucking whiners.

Darcy म्हणाले...

Bring a handkerchief when you come here to debate. Having spittle all over your chin is so unbecoming.

And a bandaid might be prudent.

MayBee म्हणाले...

Where were you idiots during the eight years of the Bush administration's blunders and huge mistakes?

I was complaining about his inability to reign in his own party when it came to excessive spending.

So I'm feeling pretty consistent about now.

JorgXMcKie म्हणाले...

Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it.

This is more like standing up and declaring, "I can lead us out of this disaster area. I have plans and strategies and will appoint the right people to make it happen. Someone give me the keys!" then, upon getting handed the keys looking around and saying, "Hey! Is there any gas for the vehicles? Who is supposed to be driving? I thought Daschle, Geithner, Solis and ha already had driver's licenses. Zinni would do great, except I changed my mind."

Obama reminds me of nothing so much as John Belushi in Blues Brothers explaining why he left Carrie Fisher standing at the altar.

And, after seeing the response to criticisma of this statement, I expect 4 years of "Bush screwed it up so bad *no one* (not even Teh One could make it work.

This, of course, misses the fact that ush has had nothing to do with O's appointments or the Porkulus Bill.

Jim Howard म्हणाले...

Ok, I take it that we're not allowed to evaluate Obama after only 17 days of screwing up.

Fine.

Will one of you Obama supporters please tell us how long we have to watch him screw up until we're allowed to comment on it?

I am certain we all agree the moratorium on comment on The One's lack of clothes runs out on 9/11/2009, since we all know President Clinton had no blame whatsoever attached to him for 9/11/2001.

It is true that The One won, so when does the end zone dance end?

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

Republicans really have turned into a bunch of fucking whiners.

garage buddy, that's not whining, it's laughter.

Just think, had your girl not been upstaged by the very junior senator from Illinois, you could have been laughing at all of us wingnuts.

Because we know Hillary! would have not had these kind of vetting problems.

Zachary Sire म्हणाले...

Like I said, let me know when he actually starts doing something.

He's attempting to get an enormous stimulus package passed, he's signed some bills, made some orders, filled most of his cabinet, and again, it's been 17 days.

Like I said, delusional.

JorgXMcKie म्हणाले...

Republicans really have turned into a bunch of fucking whiners.

garage, don't make me search the archives and post all the "fucking whin(ing) done by you and your Merry Band of liars and distorters.

Having the pedal covering on the other extremity isn't so much fun, is it, whiner?

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

This, of course, misses the fact that ush has had nothing to do with O's appointments or the Porkulus Bill.

That's what Mikey, Alpha and the rest of the gang don't understand. This is supposed to be the easy part.

Rich B म्हणाले...

I think I'm starting to suffer from Obama Incompetence Fatigue. Only 1,444 days to go.

Hoosier Daddy म्हणाले...

He's attempting to get an enormous stimulus package passed, he's signed some bills, made some orders, filled most of his cabinet, and again, it's been 17 days.

You're right Zach, you're absolutely right. I just bought into so much of his Hope and Change bullshit that I was simply expecting so much more by now.

Chennaul म्हणाले...

Michael-

Well when Zinni was whining about Bush I'm sure you and yours didn't have that attitude.

Frankly I think Zinni is all about Zinni and this is more of the same-too bad your guy got stung by him.

Actually from Zinni's past performance they should have known better-and maybe somebody at the last minute wised up.

This guy Zinni is proving right now-yet again that he's a loose cannon-if he really cared about what was best for the country he shouldn't have let his vanity and hurt feelings reveal the fumbling and lack of preparedness by the Obama team about what should have been an important pick, particularly since not much can be done about that now.

What the hell check is left on Obama-the media-?

About the only reality check he is going to get now is from Putin and how...

Putin knows inexperience when he sees it.

Now as for the military suicides when you combine seasonal affective disorder, with post Christmas and the sea change that an Obama administration voted for by the American public-your going to have this.

These guys and gals have been sacrificing for years and it was for a long term higher goal and the American public just told them it was for naught.

Awful.

Welcome to the meat grinder.

Patm म्हणाले...

Obama WON...you're fools LOST.
- - - - - -

Bush won twice and that never stopped laughter, derision, mockery, whining and much worse from the left.

He may have won, but his country does not want what he and Pelosi are selling. If the country is good enough to listen to at election time, it should be good enough to listen to now.

Governance is more than strutting around saying "I won." Get over it. And eat me while you're doing it.

Chennaul म्हणाले...

Dave-

garage, don't make me search the archives and post all the "fucking whin(ing) done by you and your Merry Band of liars and distorters.

There'd be reems of that-crap the stuff they pulled for eight years and now they want it all cherry...

Good news is looks like schmoozin' with Hollywood and bowing to that "expertise" is finally coming home to roost-so to speak.

Al Franken in the Senate and now Val Kilmer wants to be governor of New Mexico!!!!

Ok crap we're all screwed.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Because we know Hillary! would have not had these kind of vetting problems.

A real vetting problem is appointing a college roommate who's expertise was being a former horse judge to be head of a national emergency agency. Or Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. So far, nothing close to that sort of incompetence that I can see. All this huff and puff is over what again exactly? He didn't know the intimate details of Tom Daschle's tax status beforehand? Ge, Zinni is upset? It's amazing Republicans are strutting around like they won and our brain dead media is more than willing to go along with the farce. Did you notice Republicans never get asked what their actual plan is other than what they tried the past 8 years that didn't work and was rejected overwhelmingly at the polls?

Rich B म्हणाले...

"So far, nothing close to that sort of incompetence that I can see."

Garage -

Let us know when you see it.

Chennaul म्हणाले...

garage-

Your guy promised during the Inaugural Marathon to reveal character-and so far we've seen a bunch of elitist Limo Liberals who don't want to pay taxes .

Funny how you have what two examples?

And don't try waving the Harriet flag- do you see HER on the Supreme Court?


No you don't.

अनामित म्हणाले...

"There'd be reems of that-crap the stuff they pulled for eight years and now they want it all cherry..."

Yep, BO is 'cherry'. Putin is going to bust his cherry.

Zachary Sire म्हणाले...

You're right Zach, you're absolutely right. I just bought into so much of his Hope and Change bullshit that I was simply expecting so much more by now.

Well I voted for the guy and even I didn't buy into all of that, which was just as much a media creation as it was an actual promise.

By the way, liberals who complained about Bush in the first two weeks of his presidency had something different going for them by way of the disputed election...so any of you with ODS who think you can compare yourselves to them are reaching.

Also, why would a conservative want to justify his whining by comparing himself to a liberal? Man up, pussies.

jayne_cobb म्हणाले...

"Obama WON...you're fools LOST."


I'm still trying to figure out how that's an actual argument.

I mean your side keeps saying that as if it means something outside of the fact that he's president.

dick म्हणाले...

Garage,

So now tell us how well Bambi and his FEMA are doing in Kentucky. From what I can see they are not even there yet and the President has not deigned to show up for his photo ops. That gives the people of Kentucky a real good idea of how much Bambi cares about the rest of the country.

And tell us again how really competent this crew is. If they can't even vet their own people after getting a big questionnaire filled out, what should make me believe they can do anything at all right.

BJM म्हणाले...

Henry Buck said: The fact that Obama is relying upon Harry Reid to get the stimulus through shows either that Obama doesn't really care about the bill or is even less competent that Obama-phobes believe.

I don't think it's either, Obama's fingerprints are not on the bill. He will throw the Congressional Dems under the 2010 bus if the bill doesn't pass or it's ineffective.

Obama proved during the campaign that he has little to no loyalty to those who fail or embarrass him.

So it's actually a win-win for Obama, he will be free to triangulate center as Clinton did after the left's hobby horses drove his presidency into the popularity ratings ditch.

I'm beginning to think we are witnessing Clinton Lite, of course without the computer revolution and dot com bubble to fuel economic recovery.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

So now tell us how well Bambi and his FEMA are doing in Kentucky. From what I can see they are not even there yet and the President has not deigned to show up for his photo ops.

FEMA hasn't arrived in KY yet? Sure about that one?

Original Mike म्हणाले...

FEMA hasn't arrived in KY yet? Sure about that one?

Report I saw last night said it took them 9 days.

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

now Val Kilmer wants to be governor of New Mexico!!!!

Well at least Val knows how to play a Fighter Pilot.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

How could FEMA possibly have arrived? You haven't been yakking about how much faster and better they were than under Bush.

And we know you wouldn't miss an opportunity to crow, take credit, blame others, etc. Res ipsa loquitur, their performance must have been shameful, which also explains the lack of news coverage.

Where is Sean Penn? Where the buses underwater, the cops running away, the shoot-refugees-on-sight orders? Were they too busy dealing with these rumored (?!) concentration camps?

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

More evidence that in the Obama administration, allpromies hae expiration dates.

From the NYT;

Under insistent questioning from a Senate panel, Mr. Panetta said that in extreme cases, if interrogators were unable to extract critical information from a terrorism suspect, he would seek White House approval for the C.I.A. to use methods that would go beyond those permitted under the new rules.

“If we had a ticking bomb situation, and obviously, whatever was being used I felt was not sufficient, I would not hesitate to go to the president of the United States and request whatever additional authority I would need,” Mr. Panetta said in his nomination hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.


and here I thought Leon got the CIA job by writing editorials complaining about Bush Torture :)

exhelodrvr1 म्हणाले...

Michael,
"you're fools LOST."

FYI, typos don't go real well with comments of that nature.

I'm Full of Soup म्हणाले...

Michael H:

Thanks very much for the link to the Cole/ Gitmo article.

BJM म्हणाले...

Michael said... Henry: I'm sure the families of the dead soldiers would find your little joke very funny.

Why not send it along and see what they think?

Prick.


Your crass, unfeeling remark demonstrates who is the prick here. Have you volunteered or donated to military support groups Michael? Have you sat with a wife or a mother during the worst moments of their life? If not then sit down and STFU, asshole.

No one has any fucking idea what these families feel/think or the stress families and servicemen endure in peaceful and combat deployment unless you've lived as a military dependent, mother or wife.

A service person suits up, kisses their loved ones goodbye and does their duty in some godforsaken place, expecting nothing more than the pride and satisfaction of doing the job. Isn't that enough? Or do they have bear having their privacy invaded and personal pain exploited for political means too?

When is enough, enough?

Palladian म्हणाले...

"When is enough, enough?"

Enough is never enough for our worst resident scuzzbag troll "Michael". He keeps tossing gasoline around and people keep providing him with a match. Just ignore him.

garage mahal म्हणाले...

Whenever I see Zinni's name, I always think of ziti, on the Sopranos.... after the priest ate it all up...... Anthony Jr walks in and asks "So what, no fucking ziti now...?"

LOLOL.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi म्हणाले...

At what point does this bozo start to lead? He's still in full blown campaign mode blaming Bush for all his problems. Like he had no idea what he was getting into when he took the job. It should be interesting to see how long it takes the public to tire of this. I know I have.

Cedarford म्हणाले...

Host with the Most said...
This conservative still has his fingers crossed that Obama will succeed in keeping the country safe and preventing the government from aiding in the economy's deterioration.


Me too, only the most idiotic, unamerican of political partisans are hoping for further destruction of family and national prospects simply to "better reposition our people to get the power HE now has."

*************
Original Mike said...
Iraq is probably his most important ambassador selection. Please don't screw this one up.


It's a shitty little ME country of 24 million, just like all the other shitty little ME nations with as little capacity individually to impact our economy or threaten our national security. Bush said it was HIS most important country. As if we prospered or failed based on whether or not Iraqis would turn out to be the Noble Purple-Fingered Democracy and America-loving Freedom Lovers!!!!! he predicted, rather than Shiite pawns of Iran battling infidels, Jews, Kurds, and Sunnis as they have for 700 years.

Afghanistan is on it's way to being "lost" to Taliban and whatever Karzai henchmen heroin smugglers they decide to ally with. The ones who did not make millions off Bush's debt-fueled largess and aren't fleeing to cozy digs in the USA. Afghans simply Reverting back to the natural Afghan order of things..

Far more important? Ambassadors to Mexico, Canada, China, Russia, Pakistan, India, NATO, Japan, France, the UK. Probably Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Venezuela, Columbia, Thailand, and Germany as well....
And what the nations in OPEC under Saudi leadership decide...

**************
rdkraus said...
May I say this?

Obama?

McCain?

Either way, this was not going to be a good four years. Both of them would have been likely to do the wrong thing.


Yep, with dismay, I watched the preening, dumbly incoherent, and erratic McCain and the inexperienced Religious Right Goddes sidekick campaign and concluded that ticket had no business being anywhere near the White House. At least with Obama there was a chance he might settle down and run the White House as good as he ran his campaign. Too early to tell, yet.

Daschle, Zinni, chickenshit hypocrisy charges? Obama rolling too easily on Pelosi and her goody package after filling most his Caninet with non-Leftists?

All too early. Clinton, Nixon, and Reagan all had lame events early on, too..

****************
Soldier suicides? Shame when any group has an adverse "rate of..." change, be it soldier suicides, professional women's breast cancer rates increases, black teen pregnancy, gay unemployment, and so on...
But soldier suicides are still less than their civilian cohort peer groups...indicating a host of small problems might be at play. Less stress and risk of violence in Iraq, but possibly recruiting more "fragile" and thus less fit people?
It's a small problem, and yes, each individual in America suffering anything is a tragedy.

But after 7 years, its time to shift the dominant narrative to what is good for the whole country and what is best for ALL citizens ----and not so much how all our policy must be predicated on how happy the "hero troops are" or what the Heroes of 9/11 and the Supreme Victimhood claimers - the survivors of 9/11 victims - demand.

Crimso म्हणाले...

"He's attempting to get an enormous stimulus package passed"

So he simply can't get the votes? It's like a fucking election in Saddam's Iraq. He wants 98% instead of 60%. Wonder why.

Paul म्हणाले...

He doesn't KNOW how to lead. He knows how to preen. We're stuck with this vagina-man for four years, but hopefully four years of the Gong Show in DC will relegate the quisling party to the wilderness for a long, long time.

Crimso म्हणाले...

"At least with Obama there was a chance he might settle down and run the White House as good as he ran his campaign. Too early to tell, yet."

The signs don't look good. All of the suckers who voted for this dilletante (sorry Althouse, but you too) on the hopes he do so have left us in quite a pickle. Maybe he'll turn out okay. But there's a distinct possibility it'll get worse. It seems that he never gave much thought to what happens after he's in charge. Somebody please explain to him that running for POTUS and being POTUS are two different things. "I won" indeed. Yep, genius, you won. That's the easy part.

Dust Bunny Queen म्हणाले...

He wants 98% instead of 60%. Wonder why.

Because when this piece of shit pork payola bill blows up as it will, the Democrats want to have someone to share the blame. When the Republicans, smartly, in the House 100% declined to vote for this pig, it meant that if it passes the Democrats get ALL the blame. If the Dems actually felt that this was a good bill and would really do something other than line the pockets of their supporters and political organizations like ACORN, they wouldn't give a rat's ass if any Republicans vote for it.

They know this is terrible legislation but the greedy fucks are going to do it anyway.

BJM म्हणाले...

Today Jeffery Immelt, GE CEO has been appointed an economic advisor to President Obama. When Immelt succeeded Jack Welsh as CEO the stock was $60.50, yesterday it closed at $10.50. under Immelt's oversight.

Different rules for F.O.O. (Friends of Obama) than other failed Wall Street Fat Cats?

GE owns NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, produces light bulbs, jet engines and wind turbines just to name few of the conflicts of interest that this appointment brings to the table.

Meet the new boss, better connected than the old boss.

Jeremy म्हणाले...

garage - I think of ziti, too. I couldn't figure out how to work a "baked zinni" joke into the thread.

former law student म्हणाले...

This guy Zinni is proving right now-yet again that he's a loose cannon-if he really cared about what was best for the country he shouldn't have let his vanity and hurt feelings reveal the fumbling and lack of preparedness by the Obama team about what should have been an important pick, particularly since not much can be done about that now.

Zinni violated the first rule of changing jobs -- no matter how well the interview went, you're not hired till you get your offer letter.

But in terms of Presidents fumbling the selection of Our Man In Iraq, two words: Ahmed Chalabi.

John writes:
He had a ghost writer write a couple of autobiographies.

Allen writes:
We have a housing financial crisis, but when he needed a loan for his house, he went to Rezko.

Fascinating, but in this universe, Obama bought his house with the earnings from the book he wrote, borrowing the balance from the bank, and not from his friend Rezko. In Bizarro World, who was the ghost writer, and how much money did Bizarro-Rezko lend Obama?

अनामित म्हणाले...

Michael said...Blah, blah, blah.

Zinni's just another whiner and this entire affair will be soon forgotten.


But didn't you agree with him when he was whining about the Bush administration's war in Iraq? When he was whining about firing Rumsfeld?

Or is it that you don't like Zinni now that he's complaining about your boyfriend Barack?

Nichevo said...jdeeripper, what a crawling thing you are.

Здравствуйте другу.

Is the following comment what bothered you, Nichevo?

"Zinni got booted because many Jews view him as a Mel Gibson type due to his outspoken opposition to Jewish Neo-con, Israeli-centric power in the Bush administration.

But I'm telling you Zinni has been marked as a bad goyim. He's on the no-fly list due to his early comments."

I thought that was worth repeating.

former law student म्हणाले...

In fairness to Immelt, when he succeeded Jack Welsh as CEO, four days before 9/11 the stock was $39.66, yesterday it closed at $10.50. under Immelt's oversight.

Laura(southernxyl) म्हणाले...

"She thanked me for taking this, and we went over what needed to be done," General Zinni said. “She turned to Steinberg and Burns and said: 'Let’s get the paperwork moving. We’ve got to move on this.'"

You don't suppose that Herself was doing an end run around Obama, and he had to smack her down?

Eric म्हणाले...

Well at least Val knows how to play a Fighter Pilot.

Better yet, if he wins the election, he can tell his opponent "You're no daisy..."

M. Simon म्हणाले...

Smartest President Ever™ has met his match. He is being fooled by the Smartest President Ever™.

Why hasn't Polywell Fusion been funded by the Obama administration?
Bussard's IEC Fusion Technology (Polywell Fusion) Explained

Nichevo म्हणाले...

rip, essentially. i really can't be bothered. i would be mildly interested to understand the desired world state you envision, but not enough to work you. you are like a dumber c4. it's just such hackneyed stereotype.

what is your motivation? is it that the arabs are your friends, the muslims are your friends, the holders of oil are your friends, or you have no friends?

I guess I should be flattered that you're so afraid of Jews, but we're largely harmless. I sure don't see how you figure they are pulling Obama's strings; if I ran the world, Samantha Power would be pulling trains in a Shanghai brothel till the trade deficit was evened out.

As for Zinni...eh. Marines should shut up and follow orders. Nobody wants to hear Marines talk.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Oh, Raimondo. That you think he's worth quoting says all I need to know about you, tovarishch.

Synova म्हणाले...

You don't suppose that Herself was doing an end run around Obama, and he had to smack her down?

Until I have reason to think otherwise, I'm assuming that Herself figured that getting appointed Secretary of State meant that she was Secretary of State.

With authority and sh*t.

former law student म्हणाले...

getting appointed Secretary of State meant that she was Secretary of State.

With authority and sh*t.


HRC's authority goes only so far.

US Constitution, Article II, Section 2:

The President ... shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors

Synova म्हणाले...

Sure, she works for him, FLS.

It's a matter of just how much of a micro-manager he intends to be. I really can't imagine the situation being that he never said he wanted Zinni for the post. If that's the case, he ought to fire Hillary this instant.

What is the likelihood that the initial okay for Zinni did *not* come from Obama?

Do you think that's possible?

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Saw an Obama shrine on Friday--at the gift shop of the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.

Laura(southernxyl) म्हणाले...

"What is the likelihood that the initial okay for Zinni did *not* come from Obama?

Do you think that's possible?"

Yes, and in fact, this is the kind of thing I thought might happen when I read about her being offered that role. He's naive if he didn't, IMO. I just didn't think it would happen this quick.

My tomcat just had to be put down a couple weeks ago, and my girl kitties, who like each other, are jostling for position on the cat pecking order. I've awakened twice to hear one of them on the bed at my feet hissing angrily and turned on the light; she was jumping off the bed and the other standing and watching her go. They'll work it out. I suppose Obama and Hillary will too.

M. Simon म्हणाले...

Yeah, you try being handed the keys to a disaster area and not stumble trying to make your way through it.

Yep. He was told to replace Bush's Cabinet appointments and he totally screwed up. Just goes to show you how far Bush's incompetence reaches.