15 posts tagged “president”
Another little gem from my visit to Robert and Delia’s place today. Robert forwarded me the URL to April Winchell’s blog, who blogged about some swearing the President did.
Specifically, then-Sen. Barack Obama read the audio book version of his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, quoting his friend Ray, who had rather colourful language.
I suspect there will be, if there isn’t already, an Obama sound-board featuring clips from his book.
I see that the US president’s brother, George Obama, has been arrested for marijuana possession.
Have we returned to the era of goofy, Democratic presidential brothers?
Sam Houston Johnson, Billy Carter, Roger Clinton and now George.
We have to return to the days of J. F. K. before there was a Democrat in the White House whose kid brother didn’t embarrass him.
Where were the Secret Service guys when Muntadhar al-Zaidi’s shoes came flying toward President Bush yesterday? What if it were a grenade? And now, of course, those who do want to pop the President off know just how the Service will react if a projectile were aimed at him.
They also know that Dubya has pretty good reactions for a sexagenarian.
And his wit’s still there: ‘That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know.’ Good recovery. On a par with Billy Crystal and the Jack Palance ad libs that year at the Oscars, at least as far as politics are concerned.
I might not agree with your world-view, but, Mr President, I am pretty sure I would have taken a shoe for you.
Just after I commented on another blog that Republicans were generally more civilized when arguing for their candidate, I hear that some have chanted death threats against Sen. Obama. Way to go. (I am being sarcastic.)
And now, there’s news from The Times—from the same owner as Fox News—that indicates a philosophical split inside the campaign.
Paikea, who is a Vox friend of mine here and who is a Democratic supporter, blogged a reference to an article that painted Gov. Palin as narcissistic. And that, I have to concur, summarizes some of the more disturbing elements about her that I could not identify.
It appears, according to The Times, that John McCain is merely an inconvenience in the presidential run of Sarah Palin.
Rallies now have gone from something resembling a tiny senatorial
race for Sen. McCain to mass crowds after Gov. Palin’s arrival. And she
knows that that’s her contribution, using it to her advantage. She knows that there were many holding back from supporting Sen. McCain because of his RINO image.
Even when there are divisions among the Democrats, as there is today between Sens. Obama and the Clinton family, they aren’t stupid enough to air their dirty laundry in front of the world.
I have expressed my doubts about Sen. Joe Biden, believing that he is a typical Beltway type who is not going to listen to a black senator. Sen. Obama might be labelled a visionary by his allies—so does that mean that Sen. Biden is going to be the details man, in which case it’s going to be more of the same politicking? His record indicates yes, and I think there’s going to be a power-play if the Democrats get in.
But the Democrats successfully hid their rifts in 2004, with their whole party behind Sen. John Kerry, never mind what was there behind the scenes.
I know the Governor’s words excite a group of Republicans, but for all the criticisms of militant Democrats, the parties are looking more and more similar in the behaviours these candidates are eliciting among their audiences.
I am not sure if this could be called inspirational.
While there is nothing technically wrong with a vice-presidential nominee overshadowing a presidential one, the presidency, if the Republicans took the White House, is John McCain’s, not Sarah Palin’s—and as a former navy captain I am sure he would not desire insubordination.
In the Republicans’ defence, one could argue that Gov. Palin had to get tough in opposing the Democrats for the easy ride Sen. Obama has been getting in the media.
While another Democratic friend of mine says the ACORN furore is a horrid smear campaign, I cannot imagine a Republican candidate getting off fairly scot free on issues like that of the Tony Retzko connection or Sen. Obama’s nationality whilst in Indonesia. (The media were, as I have once said, quick to endorse the Killian memoranda against President George W. Bush, even if it was remarkably easy for a professional like me to pinpoint the cut of the Times typeface and what laser printer they came off.)
I don’t believe that Sen. Obama is not American, that his middle name is Mohammed, or that possible dual nationality prevents his run under Art. II, s. 1 of the US Constitution. However, the secrecy surrounding a possible Indonesian nationality (still not answered, from what I can tell) and his 1961 birth certificate (versus a certification) should concern the fourth estate as well as US voters.
Since Sen. McCain was unwilling to conduct a dishonourable campaign, or so he claims (does he truly ‘approve this message’?), he might be unwilling to throw accusations that are not fully checked. Gov. Palin may well have taken the initiative with attacks, using less evidence than the Senator would find comfortable.
And since the Republicans themselves have had their share of attacks without much of a defence in the media, the Governor may well think she needs to get headlines if she’s going to get the GOP POV in the news.
Conclusion: both sides are split, one more openly than the other.
As a foreign observer, the campaign has arrived at a new low, not because of any one side, but because no matter who Americans vote I am not certain there will be much real change. (I feel the same, incidentally, about Labour–National in New Zealand, hence my third-party run.)
Attitudes on both sides do not set a presidential example for Americans internally, or inspire confidence in allies and observers externally.
It’s hardly up to McCain and Obama. I think their number twos are calling the shots in a very unwarranted way—one after the election if the Democrats get in; the other before the election, acting as though it were her campaign and John McCain is her vice-presidential running-mate. Neither is ideal, and both are worrisome.
Photographed by Larry Downing/Reuter and reproduced only for parodying purposes.
From France 2, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy got a much better reception in the UK than in France. A nice summary of the very packed two days for the Sarkozys, with an emphasis on the First Lady. The kiss in the segment is a nice, romantic finalé to the piece.
This video, from the Élysée, was taken yesterday when the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the First Lady arrived in London to meet HM Queen Elizabeth II and HH the Duke of Edinburgh. I wrote in a comment on Timothy’s Vox blog, after reading an article about it, that Mme Sarkozy did not know where to stand and tried to follow her husband and the Queen on the inspection. I was wrong: looking at this video, the First Lady knew exactly where to go and accompanied Prince Philip in her meet-and-greet. The Jacqueline Kennedy comparisons aren’t invalid.
And it seems the newly hyphenated Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is on her way to being the most photographed woman of 2008: her image sells political, fashion (she’s wearing Dior by John Galliano) and gossip media.
The Psychic Twins had predicted that Hillary Clinton would be the US’s next president, but I like those whacky predictions that come from left field. Here’s one I read today from 2006 (spelling errors in the original):
As we begin to prepare for the 2008 election, a woman appears from an unsuspected source as a major contender for US President. Hillary Clinton will not be on the 2008 ballot because of a physical impairment - she may have an illness or be in a serious car accident. Tom DeLay will go to jail and Karl Rove will be forced out of his job. (Look for Nancy Pelosi to run for Vice-President in 2008.) Keep an eye on Condeliza Rice, she will shine in this area and may choose to run for Vice-President.
Pelosi? Rice? Clinton not on the ballot?
If this comes to pass, I’ll have to admit there is something to these.
Carla Bruni has been romantically linked to French president Nicolas Sarkozy, according to Point de Vue magazine in France. The cover headline reads (translated), ‘Carla Bruni: the woman in the President’s heart.’ The magazine launches tomorrow (December 19) and contributes to the largely positive press M. Sarkozy has been receiving since his election. (More at the Lucire Insider blog today.)
Hillary Clinton has upset over the anti-Obama comments made by one of her reps.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iviufLueJCRqiUapUAxXQ3yACUqAD8THFBOG0
So he’s gone from her campaign.
There are two interpretations:
- if you mess with Hillary over expressing your own free will, then the Patriot Act is going to look like a walk in the park;
- Barack Obama is her choice for running-mate. So leave the man alone.
And a Clinton–Obama ticket is going to be hard to beat in marketing terms because both candidates have had a huge MSM build-up.
Who does the GOP have? Romney–Huckabee? Now that I say it, it sounds pretty good, but it also sounds like it belongs to an episode of Bewitched as a rival agency to McMahon & Tate. Damn, Obama is just an exotic surname in an age of internationalism. A marketer’s dream.
Thompson and another yet-to-emerge Law & Order cast member? Somehow, I think we won’t see FDT in the vernacular with Fred polling so low in New Hampshire—except maybe as a typo when someone is trying to type FDR.
Giuliani and someone that the Democrats will rip into? McCain and … um … well, heck, just McCain?
We are talking a lot of lost ground in terms of publicity here for the Republican Party. It needs to wake up and stand united, and with someone very, very credible that will beat the Democrats on substance—then brand it all correctly.
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