links for 2008-11-14
Posted by Thomas Nephew on November 15th, 2008
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“At a conference in Washington this week, former department criminal division chief Robert S. Litt asked that the new administration avoid fighting old battles that could be perceived as vindictive, such as seeking to prosecute government officials involved in decisions about interrogation and the gathering of domestic intelligence. … “It would not be beneficial to spend a lot of time calling people up to Congress or in front of grand juries,” Litt said. “It would really spend a lot of the bipartisan capital Obama managed to build up.”" What an idiot. Bipartisanship isn’t a good in itself, it’s a means to an end — and its price should never be sweeping war crimes and crimes against the rights of Americans under the table. Shame on Robert Litt.
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“[Former Clinton official Robert Litt's] belief is that Bush officials should be protected from DOJ proceedings even if they committed crimes. And his reason for that is as petty and vapid as it is corrupt: namely, it is more important to have post-partisan harmony in our political class than it is to hold Presidents and other high officials accountable when they break the law.” Yes, that is apparently the consensus, Obama shouldn’t be a part of it — but I’m afraid he will.
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“Now, as Obama turns from campaigning to governing, his advisors are struggling to harness this potent web of supporters to help him move his agenda over the next four years.”
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“[A green public-investment stimulus ] would generate many more jobs–eighteen per $1 million in spending–than would programs to increase spending on the military and the oil industry… [which] generate only about 7.5 jobs for every $1 million spent.”
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““Obama’s energy plan is much more than a campaign laundry list,” says Bracken Hendricks, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a think tank chaired by John Podesta, who heads the Obama administration’s transition effort. “It really is a centerpiece of Obama’s economic development strategy for the nation, for energy security, and rebuilding our cities and infrastructure”…”
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“The proposed regulation “would allow state and local law enforcement agencies to collect intelligence on individuals and organizations even if the information is unrelated to any criminal matter,” Maddow explained.”
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“…the site isn’t going anywhere. The online tools in My.BarackObama will live on. Barack Obama supporters will continue to use the tools to collaborate and interact.” Sifry thinks the site may be integrated with/take over the DNC “Partybuilder” site. OTOH, Kerry staffer Brian Young thinks it may go independent, a “Friends of Obama” site that activates grassroots support for Obama initiatives.
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“The red/blue map was not redrawn; it was more of a national partisan swing.” I.e., rising tide lifted all states; their relative rankings didn’t change much.
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“Three times in three debates McCain proposed cutting military spending and Obama avoided the topic. Obama has proposed significantly enlarging the largest army the world has ever seen. Obama has refused to forswear the use of aggressive war or even first-strike nuclear attacks, or to uphold the rule of law. He claims that Bush and Cheney have not committed any crimes that he is aware of. So why did I vote for this man?” (1) A victory over racism — esp. in VA, (2) crushing the GOP, and (3) a mandate open to redefinition.
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“The secret for the Democrats, says Emanuel, is to remain the party of reform and change. The country is angry, and it will only get more so as the problems in Iraq deepen. Don’t look to Emanuel’s Democrats for solutions on Iraq. It’s Bush’s war, and as it splinters the structure of GOP power, the Democrats are waiting to pick up the pieces.” It would be nice to know whether this was Emanuel speaking, Ignatius paraphrasing, or Ignatius making stuff up.
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November 16th, 2008 at 12:17 am
What do you think about Clinton at State?
November 16th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Not wild about it, honestly — for the same reasons I favored Obama over her in the first place: Iraq, war drum talk during the primaries. But not as unhappy about it as I’d be about McConnell or Hayden staying on, or Summers being Treasury Secy.
I don’t see what’s in it for Clinton if her passion was really health care reform — from that perspective, I’d think Secretary of State is little better than being in Antarctica or on a flight to Mars. She’d do better in the Senate, maybe as majority leader. Or at HHS.
From Obama’s perspective, it would be “Team of Rivals” — gather the major figures of the Democratic Party under him, on the theory that they can’t really fight against you if they’re working for you. The Emanuel appointment might also be a case in point — another powerful ex-Clintonista, after all.