Hillary!

Eff Dick Cheney.

Track Hillary

Cool map from the Daily News.

Where in the World is Hillary Clinton?

Clintons Buying a Home in Woodstock???

Kingston Daily Freeman: Former President Bill Clinton, right, poses with Minnie Kiruka, an employee of the Emerson Resort and Spa in Mount Tremper, during a visit to the inn in December. Clinton’s wife Hillary — then a U.S. senator and now the secretary of state — is at left. File photo

Bill & Hillary Clinton are rumored to be looking for a house in Woodstock, New York. Since you are a hip reader of mine you realize that the Woodstock Festival wasn't held in Woodstock in 1969; it was on Max Yasgur's farm in nearby Bethel. Woodstock is a charming little town and I'd hate to see it inundated with Secret Service and Clinton watchers.

Kingston Daily Freeman: Clintons to Woodstock? Rumors are swirling

Gillibrand Sworn In

Kirsten Gillibrand is now the junior Senator from New York. Pretty meteoric rise for someone who entered the 20th NY Congressional race in 2005 as a virtual unknown.

She is the youngest member of the Senate, and is the 37th woman ever to serve in the United States Senate.

It's Gillibrand for Hillary's Senate Seat

Winning over her constituents
NYTimes: Ms. Gillibrand arriving at a farm in Cambridge, N.Y., in April 2007 to meet with residents of the area to discuss a bill meant to protect dairy farmers.
Photo: Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Coach Mom loses a Congresswoman and gains a Senator: Kirsten Gillibrand has been named by New York Governor David Paterson to fill the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's Senate term.

Some liberals are freaking out because she has the worst record of any New York Congressional representative on gay issues (only 80% positive from the Human Rights Campaign [pdf file]) and supports the right to bear arms. I would point out to my freaked out colleagues that her position on gay rights is the same as one Barack Obama's and that her position on the 2nd Amendment is the same as one Howard Dean's. Chill.

Hilariously, one blog called her "a bizarro version of Sarah Palin: she proudly touts her 100 percent rating from the National Rifle Association", which would only be accurate if Palin had a degree from Dartmouth in Asian Studies or if she was a lawyer. Gillibrand speaks in full sentences and has never claimed foreign policy expertise. Or that she can see Canada from her house.

OK, Gillibrand is not as liberal as I would like. She voted with the Rethugs on FISA and for that reason I didn't give her any money this year. But she is smart, tenacious and learns on the job. She sat on the Agriculture Committee in the House and impressed all the farmers in Delaware County by learning about the issues important to them. I hope as Senator she will continue her "Sunshine" policy and list all of her meetings on her website. And I hope to meet her at the Delaware County Fair this summer. I hope we're still on her dance card now that she represents the whole state of New York.

A Modest Proposal

From John Cole:

A Bailout Plan the GOP Can Support

We need to invade Michigan and rebuild the state from the ground up. We will be greeted as liberators, we have clear supply lines, and we can easily rebuild the auto industry with the kind of money we spend on other countries we invade. Hell, our new Secretary of State, Hillary of Clinton, spent the better part of the past year fighting for the rights of average folks from Michigan, so think of the good will we have with the public. This is very doable. Just tell Congress we will give KBR no-bid contracts to fix Detroit.

We Love Lists

My #1 Video of the Campaign

Time: Top Ten Campaign Video Moments

A weird list. The Palin-Couric interviews get #1, that's justifiable, but "Joe Biden's One-Word Debate Answer" and Hillary Clinton's "Soprano's Video" beating will.i.am's "Yes We Can" video is ridiculous.

My top five:

1. John McCain "The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong" (see above)
2. will.i.am "Yes We Can"
3. Tina Fey "I Can See Russia From My House"
4. Sarah Palin "In What Respect, Charlie?"
5. Sarah Palin "Putin Rears His Head"

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy: November 19, 2008

Life: Yr. End Issue-Sculpture Garden
"Monumental Head," bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti photographed in garden of Hirshhorn estate in Greenwich, Ct., 1973, Photographer Gjon Mili

The morning news shows are leading with today's message from Al Qaida threatening and insulting President-Elect Barack Obama. I am greatly amused to see the corporate media identify "house negro" as a racial insult, as Rush Limbaugh has been calling Obama "Barack the Magic Negro" for over a year and they have ignored his blatant racism.

Obama will appoint Eric Holder as his Attorney General, the first black AG in history. Pros: Holder has come out strongly in favor of the Geneva Conventions and against torture and Guantanamo. Cons: His corporate work, with Scooter Libby to get Marc Rich a pardon, and getting Chiquita Brands a slap on the wrist for hiring death squads to kill union organizers in Columbia. As I always say of defense lawyers, he's the best lawyer money can buy, so hopefully he will bring his prodigious skills over to the light for Obama. Here's a dailykos diary on the value of corporate lawyers.

Much gnashing of teeth from the corporate media about Hillary Clinton as SOS. Must be a good appointment then, if David Broder and David Ignatious and Thomas Friedman and Maureen Dowd are all wailing "Not Hillary!" They might get their way anyway, as Hillary is said to be unsure whether or not to accept the appointment.

Headline of the day: Texas grand Jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales

Rich, heartless bastard Mittwit Romney says: Let the auto companies go bankrupt. Yeah, let hundreds of thousands of workers eat cake. The progressive policy must be precisely the opposite. Here's a more responsible solution: The Right Way to Bail Out the Auto Industry

The Minnesota Senate recount starts today, with Norm Coleman holding a 215 vote, .008% lead. As Franken's spokesperson said, the score is 0-0 with 2.9 million votes to be counted. And as an aside, Traitor Joe Lieberman wrote an editorial for a Minnesota paper defending his pal Norm Coleman. The Senate Democrats should be ashamed of letting Judas Joe keep his committee chairmanship.

Looks like Missouri is no longer the nation's election bellwether, as McCain will take the Missouri electoral votes with a 4355 vote margin.

Guardian Reports: It's Hill for State

Hillary Clinton will be Barack Obama's secretary of state. Photographs: AFP/Getty Images

Guardian (uk):
Hillary Clinton to accept Obama's offer of secretary of state job
President-elect Barack Obama reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration

Let's hope it's true.

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy: November 14, 2008

BBC: A visitor runs by a painting of US President-elect Barack Obama dressed as Uncle Sam by Russian artist Farid Bogdalov at a gallery in Moscow.

Much gnashing of teeth over the number of former Clinton staffers being hired by Obama. I am perplexed. Who else should he hire? Former Bush administration staffers? Or naifs to Washington who would have a huge learning curve? The best source of experienced Democratic operatives for the White House are obviously the vets of the Clinton Administration. It's not like there a lot of people around from the Jimmy Carter (1976-1980) Administration to tap.

To infinity, and beyond! Obama will YouTube his weekly radio address, starting this weekend. This makes total sense. Not a lot of people listen to the radio anymore, compared to the audience getting their news online. I only ever heard the weekly radio address if I happened to be driving somewhere on a Saturday. Now I'll post it on this blog weekly. I bet the audience multiplies by more than 100-fold.

George W. Bush is such an international joke that world leaders are using him as a punch line. Sarkozy capped an argument with Putin during the Georgia crisis in August: "But do you want to end up like Bush?" Putin's response "Ah - you have scored a point there."

Republican governors not to happy with the Palin press conference yesterday. Governors trashed her anonymously to CNN: "One called it awkward: 'I’m sure you could see it on some of our faces.' Another Republican governor eyeing a presidential run in 2012 told CNN the event was 'odd' and 'weird,' and said it 'unfortunately sent a message that she was the de facto leader of the party.'"

The Catholic Church continues to drift towards religious extremism. A Catholic priest in Columbia, South Carolina has advised his parishioners that no Catholic who voted for Obama should receive communion. If he wants to empty the pews, he should ban parishioners who practice birth control. That would get rid of 80% of the faithful.

Hillary for State?

Politico: Hillary Clinton could be named secretary of State and Clinton is among those being strongly considered.
Photo: AP

This would be a great appointment. Hillary would have been wasted as Veep, and she should be in a powerful position. I've been hoping that she would overthrow Harry Reid to lead the Senate, but the State Department might be even more influential. Appointing her Secretary of State might even win back the hardcore PUMAs.

Politico: Hillary Clinton could be Sec. of State

Reading List

Flickr: Election Night 11-04-08

From firedoglake, why Joe Lieberman really wants to keep his Homeland Security Committee gavel: So he can investigate Obama to death by a thousand "...gates".

Ta-Nehisi Coates, WaPo: The Man of Tomorrow
King trusted whites to stand up. Obama showed me he was right.

Frank Rich, NYTimes: It Still Felt Good the Morning After

The Newsweek series (embargoed news, stuff they've known for weeks but did not deign to tell us until after we voted) is a must read:

Hackers and Spending Sprees
Highlights from NEWSWEEK's special election project.

Chapter One: How He Did It
A team of NEWSWEEK reporters reveals the secret battles and private fears behind an epic election.

Chapter Two: Back From the Dead
By late spring of 2007, John McCain's campaign was adrift, if not sinking. Then the candidate found a new narrative: the comeback.

Chapter Three: The Long Siege
The fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama turned into a grinding stasis that played out until the very last primary day.

Chapter Four: Going Into Battle
McCain's inner circle altered the style, feel and direction of the campaign. The candidate's best hope was to bring down Obama.

Chapter Five: Center Stage
Obama's aides worried the Clintons might steal the show. McCain revved up his campaign with an impulsive choice—Sarah Palin.

Chapter Six: The Great Debates
McCain bridled at reducing his opinions to sound bites. Obama prepped as if he were taking the bar exam—nothing was left to chance.

Chapter Seven: The Final Days
Obama was leading in the polls, even in red states like Virginia. But McCain almost seemed to glory in being the underdog.

Hillary: "Mavericks In Washington And On Wall Street Got Us Into This Mess"

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy: October 7, 2008

McCain doubletakes -- then smiles -- as supporter calls Obama a terrorist.

Angry/Hater '08 are whipping their crowds and their supporters into a hate-filled, racist frenzy. John McCain asked the crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday "Who is the real Barack Obama?" and a man shouted "terrorist". Watch the video above; McCain clearly heard the man yell terrorist, his facial expression changes to one of "whoops", but he does not denounce the statement. Just like when a supporter asked him "How do we beat the bitch" about Hillary Clinton in the primaries, and he didn't denounce that, either. He laughed it off, just like he did yesterday.

At Sarah Palin's rally in Florida, she claimed that Obama "palled around" with terrorists, and said nothing as one of her supporters yelled "Kill him!". At the same rally, Palin complained about the mainstream media at a campaign event, and her supporters:

...hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."

The head of the Pennsylvania Republican Party called Barack Obama "a terrorist's best friend".

Associations, associations, does the McCain camp really want to play that game? Palin held a fundraiser yesterday at the home of a corrupt Wall Street investment company exec, whose company paid a $72 million dollar fine in 2005. She and her husband belonged to a secessionist political party. She was blessed in church by a witch-fighting pastor who prayed to protect her from the "spirit of witchcraft" in 2005 (not 1605). She sat and listened in church while the founder of Jews for Jesus lambasted "Israelites".

McCain has his own set of unsavory affiliations. For one, G. Gordon Liddy, the convicted Watergate burglar, is an old friend of McCain's, and McCain appeared on his radio show in November of 2007. Liddy is a convicted felon who spent 4 1/2 years in jail for Watergate, and who has admitted plotting to kill, firebomb, and kidnap American citizens who disagreed with his radical conservative views. In addition, during the 1980s, McCain "served on the board of a far-right conservative organization that had supplied arms and funds to paramilitary organizations in Latin America", the U.S. Council for World Freedom, an organization with ties to Nazi sympathizers.

The debate tonight will be interesting to say the least. If I were Obama, I would be tempted to put McCain on the spot and ask him, "Do you think I am a terrorist?" Because McCain is a coward. He says these things behind Obama's back, but never has said them to his face. Even if he says yes, McCain won't dare look at Obama, and we will see who the real Alpha Dog in the race is. The fear of looking his opponent in the face betrays McCain's weakness.

Will McCain continue his angry rants in front of a group of undecided voters? I doubt it, but my record as a prognosticator isn't very good. We'll see tonight.

Chris Rock on Bill Clinton's Problem With Obama

Big Dog hasn't exactly been burning up the airwaves with his love of Obama. He's stayed pretty much on the fence, all nonpartisan and professorial. Where did Bill Clinton's Democratic political skills go? Comedian Chris Rock was on after Bill on Letterman's show a few days ago & lets him have it:

You Won't See This On Brain-Dead Cable TV

Joe Biden & Hillary Clinton webcast on women's issues. Well worth the 32 minutes:

"I Can See Russia From My House!"

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton:

Now That's An Analogy

Thank you Hillary Clinton!

Asking the Republicans to clean up the mess they made is like asking the iceberg to save the Titanic.

Obama campaign: More analogies, please! That's memorable. You need more like it.

I *Heart* Jed

Check out this very short (35 second) piece skewering McCain's newfound "love" for Hillary Clinton, from the JedReport. Obama should hire this guy:



McCain loves Clinton like I love Republicans: NOT!

Beware of Anonymous Sources

Well-known liar; columnist at Time magazine. Crime pays.

The press has hated Bill Clinton for years and never misses an opportunity to smear him. The blogs coined a term for the media obsession with the Clintons: the "Clinton Rules".

The anonymous sources in the article in the Telegraph (below) claiming Bill is angry at Obama are referred to variously as "campaign insiders," "loyal allies," "a senior Democrat," "a second source," "his friends," "another Democrat," and "a party strategist". The only source on the record in the whole article is Joe Klein, who wrote the venomous book about the Clintons, Primary Colors, and then lied about being its author for two years afterwards. (So Joe, if you were lying then, why should I believe you now?)

And Joe Klein isn't even a primary source, as he says "he has heard" that Clinton is bitter.

Expect to see this tissue of lies on the front pages of the major U.S. papers tomorrow, because now it's "out there".

And what kind of friends and allies would give off-the-record interviews about this kind of garbage? Not really your friends, I wager.

Journalism is dead; long live the vulturous corporate media.

Telegraph (uk): Bill Clinton says Barack Obama must 'kiss my ass' for his support