i can recall stories of “he asked me to find evidence to go to iraq.” remind me again what valerie plame was about

I know Bush defenders don’t believe in “The Buck Stops here”, but, Bush was in Charge of the CIA, the NSA, and the DOD. You can look it up. He was ultimately responsible for the intelligence.

They manipulated weak intelligence to get the result they wanted to justify an unjustifiable war that has cost too many young Americans their lives.

However, you have to admit that screaming about how Obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry (he doesn’t) and how he’s a socialist (he isn’t) reeks of Hannity.

a pragmatist, I think. The socialist stuff is a bit overwrought.

this is so misleading. What was so left leaning that he voted for in his term? All those really liberal policies he voted for are at best characterized as left of center.

I’d like to see the factual basis for that :)

make up your mind

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/default.aspx

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seeking to limit expectations on what a new Democratic regime will be able to achieve in the 111th Congress.

“We have to chose our priorities” and decide “what is achievable,” Pelosi told reporters this morning, adding: “A lot of it is about time.” She saied that the current economic conditions and budget deficit “are going to make it harder” to do some big things dear to Democrats, like comprehensive health care reform, but said that smaller, “discrete,” initiatives, i.e. SCHIP and stem cell funding, could be done quickly.

In response to a question, she confirmed that she spoke with the president-elect this morning by phone, but said they merely talked about some of the things that they are going to have to talk about in the coming days.

Asked whether Americans can expect a “more left Congress,” she repeated the mantra that she has used since obtaining the speaker’s gavel two years ago: “The country must be governed from the middle.”

She was coy with the question of whether Rahm Emanuel would be going down the Avenue to take the job as Obama’s Chief of Staff. “I have not been informed of that decision,” she said.

Remember what a calm, even-keeled hand he was during the entire election season? Gone are the days of CINC soul-glimpsing and the premise that never looking back on a decision is the apex of leadership. He sees this as an opportunity to change the old, hyper-partisan method of doing business in DC. And I’ll bet McCain is a big partner in helping him achieve this goal.

Of course nobody really knows what he’ll do. But I expect he and the congressional leadership will have a long talk about what types of legislation are a priority, and I also expect that Pelosi and Reid will be reminded in no uncertain terms who gets the final say. The reason you don’t see many vetos in this type of situation is that almost all major legislation is run by El Jefe, if El Jefe is in the same party as the controlling legislators.

on where the fur is.

I recognize that people are flawed, and governments even more flawed, so I’m used to disappointment. I’m afraid that Obama supporters aren’t immune to that, though.

The stock market will definitely be higher (say 12,000), and Obama can point to a 3,000 point gain while in office. That really doesn’t mean anything, other than it was oversold during this crisis, but he’ll have that to hang his hat on.

Frankly, the world is a scary place right now, both geopolitically and financially. Not the ideal time to be learning how to be President. Which is why I hope (and expect) Obama to fill his cabinet with experienced people from the Clinton administration and maybe even some from the Bush administration (Gates?)

Bush coming up with even bigger disasters to cover up his other disasters. Bush was just a cornucopia of disasters.

economy is and always should be top priority. If it’s not, that’s when you know the president has been doing his job

I don’t think we’ve won it. I don’t think we will win it. At this point I don’t think we could win it. We can keep things relatively calm by buying off the same guys who were attacking us not so long ago, but as soon as we stop that it’s likely back to square one. And the Iraqi government wants us out. When we leave it’s going to be a horrible situation.

And terrorism…

A lot of them are fighting us head on in Afghanistan. Some have gone to Iraq. Others have bombed other countries’ (our allies) shit.

But no doubt that the FBI and other agencies have done a good job over the last few years. Do you think they wouldn’t have been as vigilant if it was Gore in office on 9/11? A lot of what the government has done to increase security would have taken place under any president. Bush gets his due, but I sure as hell don’t give him all the credit.

In fact, due to our foreign policy over the last eight years more people hate the United States than ever. Hardly makes us safe. It’s the shit like Guantanamo Bay, torture, and a war against the wrong enemy that I’m talking about.

but the thing is, I don’t necessarily think that Obama represents the Kos crowd. They think he does, but he hasn’t said anything so far that leads me to believe he’s going to govern that way.

Now, some of his stated policies I find horrifying (like the national service plan), but if he turns out to be a centrist, great. I think one of the benefits to him of being something of a blank slate is that he can be all things to all people, because there’s not a track record there.

…I’ve heard several Congressional Republicans express their willingness to cooperate with the Obama Administration. Last night I saw Obama accept his win with a big dose of humility, signaling that he wants to work to bridge these divides. I don’t know what makes you think he’s not capable of doing that.