Election Central Morning Roundup
Bush Snubbing Obama At Blair House For Obama-Hater John Howard
The Washington Post reports that the the reason the Bush Administration isn't letting Barack Obama stay in the Blair House is that they are hosting former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and will be giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fun fact about Howard: He is a staunch Iraq War supporter who said in early 2007 that if he were in al-Qaeda he would be praying as much as possible for an Obama victory and for the Democrats in general.
Obama Holding Press Conference, Meeting With Bush And Ex-Presidents
Barack Obama is holding a 10:15 a.m. ET press conference in Washington, during which he is expected to make announce the creation of a new Chief Performance Officer at the White House, who will monitor the effectiveness of agencies. Later on he will attend a private lunch with President Bush and the three living ex-presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Biden Going To White House To Meet With Bush The Elder
Joe Biden is headed to the White House this morning for a closed-door meeting with former President George H.W. Bush. Afterwards, Biden will be holding private meetings at the Obama D.C. transition office.
New Poll: The Ex-Presidents All Have High Approval Ratings
A newly-released CNN poll finds that large majorities of Americans approve of how all three living ex-presidents handled their jobs: Bill Clinton is at 69% approve to 31% disapproval, George H.W. Bush is at 60%-39%, and Jimmy Carter is at 64%-33%. With two presidents who were defeated for re-election enjoying such high ratings -- and one of them with a poisonous surname right now -- one does have to wonder if there's hope for George W. Bush.
Burris To Meet With Reid And Durbin
Roland Burris is set to meet with Harry Reid and Dick Durbin today, in an effort to negotiate his seating in the Senate. "We are requesting that Senate leaders resolve this matter to avoid legal action and award Senate appointee Burris with the full privileges of a U.S. senator," Burris' lawyer said in a statement.
RNC Holding Special Forum for Chairmanship Candidates
The Republican National Committee is holding a special session in Washington today, which will serve as a forum for the six candidate running for RNC chair. The meeting was called by RNC members, specifically to host the candidates and hear about how they will reinvigorate the party.
Landrieu Snubs Vitter At Swearing-In
Roll Call reports that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) declined to have her scandal-plagued GOP co-Senator David Vitter next to her at her swearing-in yesterday. Instead, she was escorted to the well of the chamber by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and retiring Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM).
Will Ferrell To Do Bush Impression On Broadway
The Bush years may be coming to an end -- but the Bush-parody years are not, with Will Ferrell taking his Bush impression to Broadway in a new show entitled "You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W. Bush." Ferrell told CNN: "He's arrogant with a school-boy attitude, and combine that with the fact that he is commander in chief -- and, unfortunately, it's very funny."
I think the Blair House thing is a total bitch move. Not is it only evidence of a third-rate third grader's sensibility, it must be costing us (taxpayers) millions to keep security around that hotel.
w. is such a pissy little man.
January 7, 2009 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. What a little adolescent fuckwad. Can't wait to see the last of this shithead until his war crimes trial.
January 7, 2009 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Co-sign. I was willing to believe the what turned out to be BS about how it was booked for the whole time given that the administration was changing (yeah, I'm naive that way). But then it turns out that NOBODY wants to party with Bush on his way out, so he's just being bitchy. Can't say it's out of character, though.
January 7, 2009 10:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
You are being generous. Third graders are much more intelligent and mature than the king. Please don't insult my third grader daughter. I would rank it as a kindergartner's mentality.
January 7, 2009 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Pitch for RNC chair:
Noun ... verb ... Ronald Reagan
January 7, 2009 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ya gotta love it. . .the boy king just can't help himself. His true "assholeish" fratboy character gets revealed yet again. Let some moronic Aussie use a tax payer financed residence so that our next president has to hole up in some hotel with his wife and 2 kids. Good riddance George and you will, no doubt, be known as THE. . .WORST. . PREZNIT. . .EVER!!!!!!
January 7, 2009 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
For one night, no less!
January 7, 2009 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think it’s a poignant commentary on the Bush administrations faux focus on patriotism. For all the yelping by Republicans about the Clintons and the Lincoln bedroom, the Bush administration would rather curry favor (follow the Aussie money after they leave office) with an ex-asshat than accommodate a US President-elect in preparing to service the nation. Georgie, you’re doing a heck of a job!
January 7, 2009 9:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't characterize Howard as an ex-asshat. I'd bet that he's as much of an asshat as he's ever been.
January 7, 2009 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Point well taken!
January 7, 2009 10:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm a bit flabbergasted by the Blair House snub. It makes no sense that they would do this since by all accounts the Bushes have been overly gracious to the Obamas since the election. (There was even a report that Michelle and the girls made a secret trip to the White House where Laura and both Bush girls were there to meet them). Why would they do something so petty that could so easily be discovered? Perhaps it was a staffer decision? Trust me, I'm no Bush apologist....it just doesn't seem to add up.
January 7, 2009 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Perception /= reality.
"Some of my best friends are black" yeah whatever George.
January 7, 2009 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're right, it's a fabricated non-snub. The Blair house is ready for the Obama's on the same day it's been ready for every other new President:
"The Obamas were told that Blair House, where incoming presidents usually stay in the five days before Inauguration Day, is booked in early January, a spokesperson to the Obama transition said. 'We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,’ the spokesperson said. 'But, there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.'"
Just a reminder, the Clintons had a scholl age daughter when they moved to Washington...five days before Inauguration Day.
January 7, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, make no mistake, it's turned out that this is pettiness at its best. As for the point about Clinton, I'm betting that in the intervening 16 years there's probably been a change in the school schedule. I know for sure that school starts earlier here than when I moved here 10 years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it has changed at Sidwell, also.
January 7, 2009 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
We're not talking about school starting, it's a return from the Christmas break (though I'm sure they don't call it that). There's no way you can actually believe that in 1992 (when the Clinton and Gore children started there) Christmas break ended after January 15th. The lehgths y'all go to to make up stuff to complain about Bush never ceases to amaze me.
January 7, 2009 10:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, in 1996 public schools in UT went back to school the equivalent of next Monday (too lazy to find a calendar to find out what the exact date was, but it was the Monday before MLK day). This year, many schools aren't starting until 1/22/09. I've got a high school freshman interning in my lab until then. Perhaps GA is behind the times???
January 7, 2009 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Now that is an absurd comment. Sometimes you are funny and sometimes you distort things, but that really is absurd. It's a total snub and its juvenille. I guess what do you expect from a president with a kindergartner's mentality and brain power. Pathetic.
January 7, 2009 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
So, you are saying that since the Bush administration didn't anticipate month's ago that Obama would win the election and want to move into the Blair house 2 weeks earlier than any other President elect, and reschedule the normal events that Presidents host during the final weeks of their administrations, that that is an intentional snub to Obama?
January 7, 2009 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, absolutely. Nice try at spin. They should have parked howard in a hotel. It's costing the tax payers a ton of money for extra security. Also, the country has been in an economic meltdown sinces september, if not substantially longer since they were trying to cover it up and prevent the collapse until after the election. You would have thought that they would have made blair house ready and available on November 5 so that obama could be in dc, if he wanted to get his arms around the crisis and get involved.
Try again. I thought you were a "conservative." We are wasting a ton of money on security that would not be expended if obama was in blair house. Oh, I guess that you are not a fiscal conservative.
January 7, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
The point is OBAMA is moving early...he's the one who decided to arrive more than a week before all the others. It was his decision that caused all this. You are blaming the wrong people.
January 7, 2009 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is another silly comment. Come on, you are better than that.
January 7, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
wrong as usual. there is no such thing as a traditional move in date for blair house, the date that keeps getting thrown around is simply the date that W himself moved in 8 years ago, plenty of president-elects have moved in earlier; if anything the 1st of january is much closer to typical. so no the obamas weren't making some extraordinary request, nor were they "showing up early."
howard is a private citizen who should have been put up at the white house, in a hotel or at the australian embassy's lodging. at worst they should have accommodated both, given that the blair house is bigger than the white house. it's a snub plain & simple, and just an additional pain to local residents and taxpayers.
January 7, 2009 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Mr Obama will be arriving in Washington much earlier than most incoming presidents. Mr Carter arrived from Georgia in 1977 the day before he was sworn in while Ronald Reagan was six days early in 1981.
Three days before he was inaugurated, Mr Clinton retraced the route Thomas Jefferson, the first president to live in the White House, took from his home outside Charlottesville, Virginia. "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4046348/Barack-Obama-forced-to-live-in-Washington-hotel.html
I'll try to find a more comprehensive list for you since research doesn't appear to be your strong point.
January 7, 2009 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gee, and they were all facing an economic meltdown created by their predecessors and they were facing a war that is tying up the US Military in the middle of the Middle East that had caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Keep ignoring the facts.
January 7, 2009 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, you're making stuff up. Obama wanted to move in early to put his kids in school. His convenience, not national security.
January 7, 2009 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh that's right he isn't meeting with congressional leaders to try to jump start the legislative process. And, he isn't trying to get his administration up and running asap to be ready to deal with the disasters that the king is leaving for him to deal with. Yep, he is just taking his kids to school everyday and cooking and cleaning all day until they get home. You are really getting absurd.
January 7, 2009 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's doing all the things you listed...like every other President-elect before him. He just moved to DC early to get his kids in school (or I suppose he could be lying about that).
January 7, 2009 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really, so every president elect has had to deal with an economic meltdown and two wars. Oh, that's right, history isn't your strong suit.
January 7, 2009 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
You keep shifting your arument. Are we discussing why Obama is in DC or why he moved his family, weeks earlier than past Presidents?
January 7, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uh, nope. Look at my comment at 11:03.
January 7, 2009 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're missing the point. Blair House is empty except for ONE NIGHT (1/13) that Howard is using it. It has 119 rooms. 35 bathrooms. And out of pettiness the Bush WH said that the Obamas couldn't use it because they needed it. So the Hay-Adams and surrounding streets had to become a taxpayer-funded high security zone.
January 7, 2009 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush, told the Post that several other events are planned at Blair House over the next week."
Wrong again...Google "Blair House" click "News" and read a few articles. The trick is to skip the Daily KOS, Huffington and NY Times. There's still plenty of Bush bashing, but a few facts are also included.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hAYigh6kTfpz8NL4g4tUNQMPkKIQD95I74M80
January 7, 2009 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even today, Linda Blair is occasionally recognized as the character Regan, the possessed girl she played in the 1973 classic "The Exorcist."
I'm glad the Obamas won't be staying in the Blair House. The thought of it makes my head spin.
January 7, 2009 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
666
January 7, 2009 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Amazing, isn't it? With W, when you support him his loyalty to you and payback is tremendous: unwavering support, medal of freedom, high-ranking jobs, preferential treatment over your own country's elected president ...
Now if Obama had only supported Bush in Iraq, W would probably allow him to stay in house own bedroom in the WH.
January 7, 2009 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
On the Rachael Maddow show last night, Rachael stated that she had gotten e-mails from Blair House staffers who indicated that John Howard was invited after the Obama's were snubbed.
If true, it is just another CYA move by GWB.
January 7, 2009 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Burris to Seek Chairmanship of Senate Ethics Committee
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=5504
January 7, 2009 9:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, it's four. You forgot W.
(OK, technically, he's still prez but mentally, he left the job a long, long time ago.)
January 7, 2009 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
The question is was he ever there? I thought darth vader has been running the show since 2000, while the king was having frat parties.
January 7, 2009 10:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Then blame Chenney for the Blair house snub, if he's running everything. You can't have it both ways.
January 7, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reid: So, are you read to give up and go back to Chicago?
Burris: No.
Reid: Ok. Let's get you to your new office then.
http://pufferfish.typepad.com/
January 7, 2009 10:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder who actually made the Blair House decision. I doubt Bush was personally involved. After all he is the guy taking the hit. Sounds like one of Bush's staff decided to let his inner sore loser Republican shine through. Paging Joshua Bolten, paging Joshua Bolten.
January 7, 2009 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting note on this. According to the nytimes.com, "Mr. Bush is also bestowing the Medal of Freedom on Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, and Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia. Ms. McDonough told The Washington Post, which first reported the news, that the Bushes had also invited Mr. Blair and Mr. Uribe to stay at Blair House but that they had declined."
So why did they decline and Howard accept?
January 7, 2009 10:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why would Blair, Howard and Uribe want to share an award Bush also bestowed on George Tenet, Paul Bremer and Tommy Franks?
What a rogues gallery!
January 7, 2009 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
There you go. The Congressional Medal of Freedom is one more thing that has been thoroughly debased by this Administration. It's not longer one of the highest honors that can be bestowed, it's simply crony payoff.
January 7, 2009 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope that they come up with another medal. The "Medal of Freedom" has been permanently tarnished by the king. It is meaningless and in fact an insult. Maybe they should call it the "Medal of Death" since the king has awarded it to all the criminals involved in the iraq disaster.
January 7, 2009 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
The debasement of those medals has been happening for a loooooooong time. No disrespect to the acting profession, but dozens of actors and actresses have been presented with either the Congressional Gold Medal or the Presidential Medal of Freedom, or both (e.g., John Wayne). Granted, they didn't authorize torture or anything, but really, what the fuck is it worth when a president gives it to someone who spends most of their time living a very comfortable life with a relatively easy carreer, or because they're buddies, or because they're political pals? Service in the field of battle, or volunteering for children, or a thousand other selfless acts are more significant than what most folks did to get their neck trophies. Banish the medals altogether.
January 7, 2009 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Deport Howard.
January 7, 2009 10:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have to say, if I was comparing him to the current President, I would have a pretty favorable opinion of any ex-President, too. I'd even trade him for Nixon in a heartbeat.
January 7, 2009 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
There is no hope for the king's approval ratings increasing, ever. None of the other living ex-presidents got us involved in a war based on lies that cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. In addition, none of the living ex-presidents presided over the greatest economic meltdown since the great depression. I wonder what hoover's ratings were while he was alive. Now that would be a closer comparison, but hoover was actually better. He didn't lie us into a war like the king.
January 7, 2009 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Shorter Harry Reid: "Could you at least use some lube? No? Ok..."
January 7, 2009 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jon Stewart called it "dickish".
Spot on.
The Bush middle finger goes up one more time to the guy who will have to clean up the mess.
January 7, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Invites the Obamas to Stay at TONY BLAIR's House
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=5524
January 7, 2009 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Off topic, but interesting. 9 out of the top 10 states with the highest teen pregnancy rates are red southern states. I guess that the "conservative" abstinance only stuff is working like gangbusters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_he_me/med_teen_births
What a crying shame. I wish that people would wake up someday on this kind of stuff.
January 7, 2009 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, why lie about a statistic and then link to the article that shows you are lying?
New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona are Western States, with New Mexico and Nevada being "Blue" States. Again, when you guys make up things to berate us for it diminishes the rest of your arguments.
January 7, 2009 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, excuse me 7 out of ten, based on your analysis. Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona were red up until the last election. Also, last time I checked New Mexico and Arizona were in the southern part of the US. They border Mexico for pete's sake. I didn't say the confederacy, I said southern. Gee, that's good news its only 7 out of ten and not 9 out of ten. Oh, boy! That's really great.
January 7, 2009 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
...and 10 years ago 7 of them were Blue states...so is it what they are now, what they used to be or what you want them to be to make you argument?
January 7, 2009 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ten years ago they weren't employing abstinance only sex ed. What's your point? Nothing as always.
January 7, 2009 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually federal funding for Abstinence-only programs began about 15 years ago...
January 7, 2009 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ten years ago. I thought the clintons sucked as well by the way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstinence-only_sex_education
It was attached to the nuke welfare bill, which is fitting.
You don't see a problem with the states with the incredibly high teenage pregnancy rates vs the rest of the country? Nothing there huh.
January 7, 2009 2:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're all class, W, really.
Little bitch.
January 7, 2009 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Michael A, I read the same article. And Massachusetts, where gay marriage is destroying the "Sacred Institution", has among the lowest rates of teen birth and the lowest rate of divorce. What nasty hypocrites "Christians" are!
Then again, the white "Christians" will blame it on Blacks and Hispanics.
January 7, 2009 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, "age is a number," I like that PREZNIT, especially the 'nit' part referring to Bush. As to Blair house, I suppose that if two latter day fascists want to meet to bemoan the failure of the Fourth Reich in Oz and the U. S. we can't do much about it. But I hear the air quality in Australia is much improved following Herr Howard's departure. Let's hope for the same with Herr Busch.
January 7, 2009 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I saw a clip of Obama's meeting with the ex-Presidents. I noticed that Jimmy Carter was standing a tiny bit far away from the others as if he didn't want to be there or didn't feel like he belonged there.
January 7, 2009 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I totally noticed that, too!
Carter's always sort of been "odd man out" when it comes to the ex-presidents club. I've always written it off to his record as president....I wonder if W will now take his place as the least embraced ex-president?
January 7, 2009 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's because he doesn't follow the "Ex-President's Club" rules. As a matter of fact he received the Nobel Prize for breaking them.
January 7, 2009 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
This from later in the WaPo link re Blair House:
Specter said he wants to use the hearings to ensure that Holder has "the stature and the courage to say no" to the White House.
Hard to take that from a guy that voted in favor of Gonzo.
January 7, 2009 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink