June 2-3, 2008
Jun 02 02:20 Barack's Greatest Gaffes Jun 02 03:58 Pipe Bombs Found In St. Cloud Home Jun 02 09:40 Pray for Ted Kennedy Jun 02 10:30 Norm's Accepance Speech Jun 02 15:34 Rivers: Obama Leaving TUCC Inevitable Jun 03 04:45 Israel Will Soon Disappear Jun 03 14:06 AP Does It Again Jun 03 21:17 McCain Defines Obama
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Barack's Greatest Gaffes
About a year ago, I appeared on Pundit Review Radio on WRKO in Boston to talk about the Haditha Marines. Tonight, Kevin sent me a parody of Barack Obama's gaffes that his producer put together. Think of it as Barry's greatest hits.
Sunday night marked the start of PRR's 4th year on the air. Congratulations, Kevin . If you haven't listened to PRR, you definitely must start. Kevin is committed to talking about the events of the day through the blogosphere's eyes. Here's WRKO's description of their show:
Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as "Groundbreaking" by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm.Follow this link to their web site. I strongly recommend you bookmarking their website so you can listen in on the show. Make sure you visit PRR's blog, too.
Posted Monday, June 2, 2008 2:37 AM
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Pipe Bombs Found In St. Cloud Home
The St. Cloud Times is reporting that the Bloomington bomb squad found two pipe bombs in a St. Cloud home. Here's what they're reporting :
The Bloomington bomb squad removed two pipe bomb-style explosive devices from a house at 217-10th Ave. N in St. Cloud on Sunday. A similar device exploded in a man's hand inside the residence earlier that day. A large amount of bomb-making material also was removed from the residence, St. Cloud Police Sgt. Lori Ellering said.This is bizarre, not to mention stunning, news. What this man was intending on using the bombs for is a key question that St. Cloud residents will want to know about. Stop back for more updates.
The 42-year-old St. Cloud man remains hospitalized. He could face charges involving possession of incendiary devices, Ellering said. A bomb squad member was treated and released from St. Cloud Hospital for a flesh wound received while detonating the explosives at the police department's gun range.
Ellering said the home's resident seemed to be making the devices by himself, but she did not know why he was making them. Officers responded to a call about an injury at the duplex at 12:20 p.m. The house was cleared and houses on either side were evacuated, she said.
The man was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with substantial but non-life-threatening injuries to his left hand and arm.
UPDATE: The St. Cloud Police Department has identified the man injured in a pipe bomb explosion. Scott James Johnson was injured when the bomb accidentially went off. Here's what the Times is reporting:
St. Cloud police have identified Scott James Johnson as the man who was injured after a pipe bomb exploded in his hand at his duplex Sunday afternoon. Johnson injured his hand and was taken to St. Cloud Hospital after the explosion about 12:20 p.m. Sunday at 217-10th Ave. N. He is in fair condition today.What's most appalling is that this man's child was asleep in a nearby room when the bomb went off.
Johnson, who is 42, could be charged with three counts of possession of an incendiary device, Sgt. Jerry Edblad said this morning. Police have not had the chance to talk to him because his injuries were being treated. Police would like to know what Johnson intended to do with the pipe bombs.
"That is one big question we have for him," Edblad said.
Emergency responders were called to the home Johnson shares with his wife and two children for a report that a man had shot his fingers off, Edblad said. When police arrived, they discovered the two additional pipe bombs and the one that exploded. Police got people out of the house and from homes nearby. A child was asleep in the house at the time of the explosion, Edblad said. The man's wife and another child were outside at the time.
Posted Monday, June 2, 2008 10:41 PM
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Pray for Ted Kennedy
Yes, I've said that alot lately but it's especially worth repeating this morning because he's in surgery as I write this . Here's what's being reported:
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was set to undergo surgery Monday at Duke University Medical Center for his cancerous brain tumor and then faces chemotherapy and radiation treatment, his office said.There are few politicians I disagree more with than Ted Kennedy. In fact, I don't think that there is a politician I disagree more with. That said, Sen. Kennedy is created in God's own image. That's reason enough to pray for him.
The 76-year-old senator was diagnosed last month with a malignant glioma, an especially lethal type of brain tumor. A statement from the Massachusetts Democrat's office said the surgery would take place on Monday morning in Durham, N.C., by one of the nation's top neurosurgeons, Dr. Allan Friedman, followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
Anthony Coley, a Kennedy spokesman, said the surgery is scheduled to begin around 9 a.m. and expected to last about six hours. He expects to remain at the North Carolina facility for one week to recuperate and then will begin further treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital and start chemotherapy.
"I am deeply grateful to the people of Massachusetts and to my friends, colleagues and so many others across the country and around the world who have expressed their support and good wishes as I tackle this new and unexpected health challenge," Kennedy said in the statement. "I am humbled by the outpouring and am strengthened by your prayers and kindness."
Posted Monday, June 2, 2008 9:41 AM
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Norm's Accepance Speech
Janet is right in calling Norm's acceptance speech a stemwinder . Here's the text of that speech :
Thank you, dear friends for the tremendous honor of your nomination. I accept it with a challenge to each one of you; let's be a party and a people willing to take bold, adventurous risks, so we can pass a better world to our kids than we received from our parents.I'm told that Senator Coleman's speech got enthusiastic applause. I hope he continues campaigning on his accomplishments, not on his opponent's deficiencies. That's how you get people to run through walls for your re-election.
81 years ago last week a 25 year old Minnesotan did something the world had never seen: he flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Listen to the words of that adventurous, young Minnesota hero, Charles Lindbergh: "It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you've wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane."
I want you to know, friends I am flying today.
And my wings are this great Republican Party and the bold vision we can bring to America's future.
We love America. We believe in America. We thank God for America.
And we know the deepest threat to our nation is not terrorism or globalization or disease but the cynical voices of defeatism, anger and doubt. Times are tough. The issue of the day is: are we tougher?
Now the presumptive nominee of the other party, in a candid moment, told a cocktail party crowd in San Francisco that folks like us cling to our faith and our guns out of bitterness over our lives.
Well the heartland has a message for Senator Obama:
We don't cling to our faith like a security blanket, we cherish it. For those who believe, it's a proper response to a just and loving Creator.
And we cherish our Constitutional rights to bear arms, to worship as we please and to seek redress of our grievances not as a reaction to anything but because that's what free people do.
Their script may be all sweetness and light, but their vision is of a bitter, declining America.
With one voice we say: never has the opposite of the truth been so precisely stated.
My friends, let me say something about my friend and colleague John McCain.
He's a genuine American hero. In tough times, you look for people of courage and strength to lead.
The two greatest issues of our time are 1) winning the war on terror, so we can be secure and 2) cutting wasteful Washington spending, so we don't burden our children with debt.
On these two fundamental issues, he has been a leader without equal. He needs and deserves our heartfelt and enthusiastic support. America needs John McCain to lead us all.
We are going to win in November because we have to: because we still dream, we still hope and we have been proud of America all our lives.
The founder of our Party Abraham Lincoln said what we all believe: that America is the "last best hope of earth." And that's what we're fighting for.
With the help of a lot of good Minnesotan friends here I have been preparing for this job in the Senate, personally and professionally, for three decades.
Thirty two years ago the enthusiasm and idealism of Hubert Humphrey drew me to this place. I married a beautiful Minneapolis girl as Minnesotan as butter sculptures at the State Fair. It's the best decision I ever made.
We brought four children into the world. Two are with us, Jake and Sarah, two, Adam and Grace are with God in Heaven, leaving us soon after their births. That experience gave us passion for protecting all life.
We've lived in the same St. Paul house for twenty years. We're empty nesters come September when Sarah heads off for college. So to process my impending sadness I spent 2 days cleaning out our garage, a full dumpster's worth of proof I didn't just arrive on the latest plane to run for office.
My family faces the same challenges we all face. We're spending down our 401K to finance higher education for our kids. When we go to the gas station we wonder: which will top off first: the tank or the credit card?
Laurie and I are caught in the common squeeze between the financial responsibility for aging parents and ambitious children.
If you've been coming to these events for years you'll notice someone is missing by my side, my Dad Norm, Sr. We laid him to rest in Arlington Cemetery this year, but his inspiring spirit is right here.
I'd like to ask all the veterans, all the active duty military and guard and reserve members who are with us to stand so we can show our appreciation. Please remain standing.
This is the week of Memorial Day, when we honor those who have died for our country. Let's all stand and have a moment of silence as we remember in our own hearts those who made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. Thank you.
Everything we enjoy, the freedom to meet here, to enjoy this beautiful land and the chance to dream for the future, we owe to generation after generation of young Americans who laid down their futures so we could have ours. God has blessed America that we are the land of the free because we have been the home of the brave.
I never wore my nation's uniform, but I've had a life-calling to public service of a different kind. For seventeen years, I worked in the Minnesota Attorney General's office, traveling the state prosecuting criminals and working on legislation like the DARE program.
For eight years I was mayor of our capital city. Bringing its citizens together, never raising taxes, we reduced crime, we added 18,000 new jobs and we brought the NHL back home to the state of hockey where it always belonged. And we built the Xcel Center where in September we will welcome the world to Minnesota for the first time in 116 years to our great Republican National Convention.
I love this job of being Senator. Like Lindbergh, I get a shot of adrenaline every day because I am doing what I've wanted to do my whole life: help people achieve the better life they hope for and experience a fresh fulfillment of the American Dream.
After 32 years of public service, I've learned a lot from thousands and thousands of Minnesota teachers. I seek your help and support to keep doing what I do best: bring people together to get things done.
I have traveled to every corner of this state for more than three decades, listening and learning and finding ways to help. The people of this state have given me an immeasurable gift: the chance to be involved in helping them fulfill their own dreams.
I remember the farmers I met in Lake Bronson, Minnesota up in Kittson County. They were hurting deeply from serious flooding. Not only did we get them help that year, but the new Farm Bill that just became law contains permanent disaster assistance for farmers, instead of the ad hoc approaches of the past. They changed federal policy that day because the ideas that really help people don't come from the U.S. Capitol; they come from regular folks like the farmers of Lake Bronson.
I remember talking to a mom on Main Street in Walker, Minnesota. She has a son with severe asthma and expressed great anxiety that the nearest emergency room was an hour away. We got them federal approval for a critical access hospital for Walker and they look forward to breaking ground on that new facility.
I remember the worry of the folks of New Auburn whose town was faced with an unfunded federal mandate to upgrade their water system. As a former Mayor, I bristle at unfunded federal mandates. I was able to help the folks of New Auburn meet those requirements and improve their quality of life.
I remember the concerns of small businesses, hockey families and anglers all along our Canadian border over the potential cost of new travel restrictions. We were able to make key changes in those rules, but also won a new U.S. Passport office for Minnesota, which will help Minnesota travelers for decades to come.
I could go on and on.
And when it come to International Relations, I want you to know that no problem is too big or too small when it comes to defending Minnesotans' interests, right now we are stepping up for folks up at Lake of the Woods in their struggle for that fundamental right: their ability to bring minnows into the Northwest Angle. No resolution yet but I am taking this to the highest levels of the Canadian government, warning them not to come between Minnesota fishermen and their minnows.
I always thought being Saint Paul's mayor would be the best job of my life, but I have cherished the opportunity to be Minnesota's Mayor in Washington.
When I hear the rhetoric of other candidates, I wonder: what job are they running for? Being a U. S. Senator is not about being a celebrity or slaying ideological dragons. As a Senator I'm in the customer service business: 95% of what I do is helping people.
When the 35 W bridge fell down or flood waters poured into Roseau or Browns Valley or Rushford, people don't need an ideologue or a divider: they need someone who can make government work for them.
There is a special group of guests over here on the risers. Many of them have come to my office for help with a specific problem and we were able to deliver. You know I got into public service in the 1970s because I wanted to change the world. Now I'm getting the chance to do that: one person at a time.
Bill Gilger is trying to get a meat packing plant back in business in Hutchinson. We worked with the USDA on his behalf to help keep 190 people at work, adding $100 million to the local economy.
Tom Shilling is a member of the famous Minnesota Red Bulls National Guard unit that served with such great distinction in Iraq. He wanted to come home to walk his daughter down the aisle. His commander said no. We intervened and he was there. He told me "dresses never looked so pretty and flowers never smelled so sweet."
Michael and Tracy McGarry wanted to adopt two kids from Guatemala. With our help the process that usually took months was completed in one day. Now their kids get the enormous privilege to grow up Minnesotans.
And now I want to introduce you to a special young man, my friend: Wyatt Rech of Montgomery, Minnesota. Come on up here Wyatt. He may be the most powerful person in the room, today. In my mind he is young Lindberg, and he inspires me with his belief in a better future.
When he was two it was discovered that Wyatt has a rare cancer of the liver called a Wilms tumor.
Wyatt and his family didn't just sit back, commiserate and take care of themselves.
What they've done instead is become crusaders to the millions of kids who have cancer all over the country. We spend billions on medical research each year but what they realized is: we have no special effort to help kids like Wyatt.
I'm helping Wyatt and his family change that. With their help I introduced the Conquering Childhood Cancer Act to help kids like Wyatt.
He had a big day when he turned six: a Senate subcommittee passed out the bill he inspired to have the National Institute of Health specifically expand childhood cancer research. So on his birthday, he gave families of the whole country a present. We've still got a ways to go before it's the law of the land, Wyatt here isn't taking no for an answer, are you buddy?
Let's say thanks to Wyatt and his family for their incredible example of compassion and public service.
What's so outstanding about being around young people like Wyatt is: they believe in miracles.
I love David Ben Gurion's statement at the birth of the modern state of Israel: "Around here, if you don't believe in miracles, you're not being realistic."
I am that kind of realist.
We didn't turn Saint Paul around and bring back the NHL and build "the Ex' by listening to the naysayers; we did it by believing in the miracle of free people working together.
Minnesota is only 150 years old. As a young state we need to listen to the fresh, enthusiastic voices all around us.
In the book of Joel, the Scripture talks about a Golden Age when:
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
The young of Minnesota and America are speaking. Are we listening? They want us to care for the planet they grow old on. They want us to get over our partisan bickering and our stubbornness against change. And they want problem-solvers, not angry sloganeers.
Let us show them-the young people of America-that we have the political courage to be fiscally responsible today so they won't be buried under a mountain of debt tomorrow.
For the sake of Wyatt and his generation and the generations after, that's the kind of leaders we must be.
We have to be ready to fly without the plane.
I want to say to my fellow Republicans here in this room, we have a lot of work to do. We have to restore our credibility and our relationship with the American people.
People are really hurting all around us. Gas prices break our family budgets. Foreclosures are at an all time high. The cost of health care and higher education are getting beyond reach. And debt loads for student loans and real estate with depressed values are putting so many families on the brink. But we have to tell them what Churchill told his people, "When you are going through hell, keep going."
We have to be straight with the American people.
Let me illustrate a point. When I graduated from High School I was 5'5" and 135 pounds. This dates me, but I had dreams of being the Jewish Dr. Julius Erving. My coach pulled me aside and said, "Coleman, you may be short, but you can't jump." A Republican party that can't do fiscal discipline and national security is in trouble.
As Republicans in Washington we cut taxes but we increased spending and violated the fiscal discipline that is supposed to be our identity. Some thought we could buy a permanent majority and that was a mistake.
But getting on the right track means putting up a fight against those who want to raise your taxes so we can have an even bigger, more intrusive and more wasteful government. And things have changed. I was part of an almost united Republican Senate that opposed the recent Democrat budget with the largest tax increase in history, over a trillion dollars.
In foreign policy we stuck with a flawed strategy in Iraq for far too long: not seeing a growing insurgency and trying so hard to avoid the "war for oil" label that we failed to push Iraqis to use their oil production to pay for their defense and redevelopment.
And the security situation has also changed dramatically.
Two years ago Al Qaeda owned Anbar Province in Iraq and had plans to establish a new Islamic Caliphate there. But thanks to our outstanding young men and women in uniform, we took it back. I know because late last year I walked through the streets of Ramadi in Anbar without body armor. With improved security, the Iraqis are producing over 2.3 million barrels of oil a day and they can now pay for their own reconstruction.
Minnesotans want to see our troops brought home safely, without surrendering the gains we've made at a tremendous cost. Violence is down. Al Qaeda is on the run. One by one the provinces of Iraq are being turned over to Iraqis and Americans are moving into a strategic support role.
General David Petraeus should have been Time Magazine's Man of the Year.
Here is our challenge today. If I asked for a show of hands, most of us would say we are better off than our parents. But most of the people inside and outside this room are afraid that their children will be less well off than they are.
The other side plays to that fear. We need to offer a hopeful alternative and a pathway to a better future for our kids. To do that, we have to return to and better communicate our core conservative Republican principles:
We believe that the future of our society depends on individual rights, free enterprise, small business and job creation, not federal programs, mandates, regulations or tax increases to pay for them. We believe in a dynamic economy which thrives on entrepreneurship, on free and fair trade and on letting people keep the reward of the risks they take.
We believe every child, every child is a gift from God and that all life must be protected from conception to natural death.
We support traditional marriage because we know that every study shows that kids with moms and dads have a better shot at achieving a successful life. It's about the kids.
We believe in a strong national defense. We have learned the lessons of history: we believe in peace through strength. And yes, Senator John Edwards, there is a daily, ongoing War on Terror and we must fight it and win it.
And most of all, we believe our best days are not behind us, that the American dream has no expiration date.
Now when you listen to our opponents, they are for change, change, change. But when you listen to their policies, it sure isn't change for the better. For Viking fans in the room, sometimes change means going from Bud Grant to Les Steckel.
Their talk of change may be set in flowery language but the bottom line is always the same: they want to raise your taxes. This is what makes people mad. Regular folks work extremely hard for their money and spend it very, very carefully, budgeting it down to the penny. And then government comes along, takes more and more and wastes it.
What the spendthrifts in Saint Paul and Washington need to realize is that Minnesotans still clip grocery coupons, they still shop garage sales and they still keep a change jar.
Our message to the DFL is: keep your hands out of our pockets and keep your hands off our change!
The DFL activists are for a government take-over of health care. We don't want the folks who did Katrina relief and run the IRS to manage our health care. To those who want a Canadian style, single-payer, national health program please show us the Mayo Clinic or the Medtronic of Canada. They don't exist.
The DFL Activists want a new isolationism, restricting trade and pulling back our security presence around the world. And our opponents say the world will be better if we sit down with everybody. Our question for Jimmy Carter and those who embrace his amateur diplomacy with Hamas: what part of 'We are committed to the destruction of Israel' don't you understand? The terrorists understand only one thing: strength. They are strengthened when we legitimize them. You don't control a bully by inviting him to lunch.
That's where they are coming from. "Change you can believe in?" How about: "Change that will cost you an arm and leg,and that cost us economic growth, opportunity, freedom and security." No. America shouldn't believe in it.
Let's show Minnesota what we're for, not what we're against.
And we also need to be ready to say our problems are bigger than one party and be ready to work with everyone to find solutions.
Here is my eight point action plan that will help our children inherit a better world than we received.
1. We must grow jobs by cutting taxes, getting capital into the marketplace and unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of America. The 2003 tax cuts must be made permanent.
Jobs are our best health care access provider, retirement provider, community builder and human dignity creator. Jobs grow when we get government off people's backs and allow job creators to keep the rewards of the risks they take.
2. We must cut wasteful Washington spending. On the Permanent Investigations Subcommittee I have uncovered more than $14 billion in waste and fraud. Government credit cards will no longer be used to pay for custom made suits and online dating services. And government contractors will not be able to take the taxpayers money with one hand and skip out on their tax obligations with the other.
3. We must end our addiction to foreign oil. We need to overcome environmental extremists who force us to leave a generation of coal in the ground and stonewall new nuclear facilities left and right. They are using fear, not sound science.
There are some problems, in this country, that are too big for one party to solve. Energy independence is one of them. The Democrats pass an energy bill with renewables and conservation, but not a drop of increased production. That's simply wrong when gas is close to $4 a gallon.
It's absurd that China can now drill closer to our shores than Americans can. We need to do deep water offshore drilling. America needs more nuclear power and we should begin right here: Minnesota should lift its nuclear power expansion moratorium now. And we need to press full speed ahead on renewable fuels like cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen fuel cells, new battery and hybrid technology, coal sequestration, and farmer-owned wind production.
4. We must make progress toward providing Health care for all Americans. But we must do it without bureaucrats coming between our doctors and our families. We don't want to lose our coverage when we change jobs. We want choice, portability and control of our health care decisions. And we can only do that by restoring a genuine health care marketplace that empowers consumers, focuses on prevention and rewards wellness rather than sickness.
5. We must win the global economic competition. I will not surrender the new century to India and China: we must compete and we must prevail. Protectionism won't work. Free and fair trade makes Minnesota a winner, and, in a fair fight, I believe we will win every time. Americans just need a level playing field. That means we must hold the Chinese to their WTO obligations.
We must open markets for our products. And, we must not become an island to ourselves. We will win the global economic competition because we are smarter, more creative, more innovative and economically and politically more free and robust than anywhere else in the world.
I am for laying out an American welcome mat to the best and brightest in the world. If any international student who earns a graduate degree in science, math, engineering and technology wants to stay here and help us grow jobs, I'd staple a green card to their diploma.
6. We must protect our environment; it's our heritage as Minnesotans and Republicans. My greatest enjoyment is the hours I spend fishing on pristine Lake Ada in North Central Minnesota. It's where my five year old- who is now my 22 year old- and I learned to enjoy and appreciate the great outdoors of Minnesota. I want my grandkids to enjoy it as much as Jake and I do.
Republicans began our system of national parks and created the EPA. In our environmental stewardship we must, as Reagan said, "plant shade trees we ourselves will never sit under." And we can do it without sacrificing job growth and understanding that farmers are good stewards of the land they want to pass on to their kids.
7. We will secure our borders. National sovereignty begins and ends with border security. Period.
And finally 8. I am for peace through strength. First, we will never ask the UN for a permission slip to defend our national interests. And toward that end, we must be strong for our cherished ally Israel. And we must make sure that Iran never obtains nuclear weapons.
In closing, I'd like to ask you to think, once again about young Wyatt down here, or your own kids and grandkids.
What kind of country will they grow up in?
One of more liberty, or more government regulation?
A country that stands up for freedom, or backs down when the going gets tough?
A country that respects public service, or turns it over to the most negative among us?
A country that comes together, or divides further and further apart?
What we do over the next 157 days here in Minnesota will push us in one of those directions or the other.
And what we do here matters a lot. John Roberts sat in my office in advance of his confirmation to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He said to me, "If it weren't for you I wouldn't be sitting here." He went on to say his nomination to the DC Circuit Court had been stalled for months. But when you, the people of Minnesota made me Republican Senator Number 51, the nomination came off the shelf and Roberts was on his way to his spot on the highest court in the land.
The Spanish Rabbi Maimomedes once wrote: "Each of us should view ourselves as if the world were held in a balance, and a single act of goodness on our part could tip the balance."
As you choose to knock on one more door, make one more phone call to a neighbor or friend to seek one more vote-those single acts of goodness could tip the scales of this election,and make America stronger.
A 77 year old Benjamin Franklin described the day when our Constitution was completed and signed in Philadelphia. He said that during debates, he often looked at the Chair where the presiding George Washington sat. The high back of the chair was painted with a sun low to the horizon. He said he could never tell if it was a rising sun or a setting sun. As he saw each member, one by one go up and sign the document on which our nation is built, he became certain that: yes the sun on the seat was rising.
When the faithful people of the Mayflower came ashore, our sun was rising.
At Ticonderoga and Yorktown, our sun was rising.
Our sun was rising when Harriet Bishop, our first Minnesota school teacher, opened a school in the frontier village of St. Paul.
At Gettysburg ; where Minnesotans fought so bravely, our sun was rising.
And so it was when Teddy Roosevelt came to Minnesota and said, "Walk softy and carry a big stick."
And when Lucky Lindy stepped out of his plane on the Paris airfield and said, "Well, I made it." The sun was rising.
And at Iwo Jima where our recently-departed hero Chuck Lindberg helped raise the flag.
And our sun was rising when Hubert Humphrey called us to "walk forth-rightfully into the bright sunshine of human rights."
Some may wonder if the American sun is rising or setting today. Not me. And not you.
We believe that hope, confidence and optimism are America's DNA.
Lincoln looked frankly at his times. He saw a nation violently divided and at war ; a war that was going badly. He saw terrible destruction and millions held in slavery.
And yet he chose that moment to call this place, "the last best hope of earth."
As an article of faith we say: America is still rising. We're getting stronger every day.
With our prayers, our ideas, our dreams, our hard work and our public service we can pass that hope along.
With the adrenaline of freedom, we too can fly without the plane.
For Wyatt and millions of kids like him, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work to make their world better than ours, by bringing people together to get things done.
Thank you and God bless you all.
I thought the section where he talked about Wyatt Rech and the legislation his health condition inspired. That's more than taking lemons and turning them into lemonade. That's what Minnesotans, and Americans, have historically done. Cando might be a town in North Dakota but it's also Minnesota's attitude.
More than anything else, that's why re-electing Norm Coleman is important.
Posted Monday, June 2, 2008 10:30 AM
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Rivers: Obama Leaving TUCC Inevitable
Rev. Eugene Rivers told the Boston Globe that it was inevitable that Sen. and Mrs. Obama would leave TUCC. I agree, though I suspect for different reasons. Here's what Rev. Rivers said:
Rivers said on MSNBC that it must have been a "very difficult, heartwrenching decision" for Obama, who announced over the weekend that he and his wife Michelle are leaving Trinity United Church of Christ, where he became a Christian, where they were married, and where their two daughters were baptized.I agree with Rev. Rivers that it must've been a "very difficult, heartwrenching decision." What I don't get is what "the current political context" had to do with Sen. and Mrs. Obama leaving. They shouldn't have stayed there in the first place, regardless of the current political context. Rev. Rivers doesn't explain why politics should play a role in choosing a church. The fact that it was a consideration speaks loudly about the Obamas' decisionmaking process.
"It was inevitable given the current political context," said Rivers, who has added his commentary to many of the religious controversies this presidential campaign.
Posted Monday, June 2, 2008 3:35 PM
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Israel Will Soon Disappear
Iranian President Ahmadinejad wasn't looking for common ground with presidential hopeful Barack Obama when he predicted that Israel will disappear. Here's what AFP is reporting:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted on Monday that Muslims would uproot "satanic powers" and repeated his controversial belief that Israel will soon disappear, the Mehr news agency reported. "I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel), with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene," he said. "Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started."It'll be interesting to hear Sen. Obama explain why he thinks there's any common ground to be found with President Ahmadinejad. Anyone with that hateful an ideology can't be reasoned with.
Since taking the presidency in August 2005, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly provoked international outrage by predicting Israel is doomed to disappear. "I tell you that with the unity and awareness of all the Islamic countries all the satanic powers will soon be destroyed," he said to a group of foreign visitors ahead of the 19th anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Tom Friedman isn't a partisan Republican by any stretch of the imagination. Here's what he recently wrote about Sen. Obama's foreign policy:
Barack Obama is getting painfully close to tying himself in knots with all his explanations of the conditions under which he would unconditionally talk with America's foes, like Iran. His latest clarification was that there is a difference between "preparations" and "preconditions" for negotiations with bad guys. Such hair-splitting word games do not inspire confidence, and they play right into the arms of his critics. The last place he wants to look uncertain is on national security.EXACTLY RIGHT, MR. FRIEDMAN!!! I commonly refer to that as the Reagan Principle.
The fact is, Mr. Obama was right to say that he would talk with any foe, if it would advance U.S. interests. The Bush team negotiated with Libya to give up its nuclear program, even after Libya had accepted responsibility for blowing up Americans on Pan Am Flight 103. Those negotiations succeeded, though, not because Mr. Bush was better "prepared," but because, at the time, shortly after the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Bush had leverage . Iraq had yet to fall apart.
Ronald Reagan exuded confidence that he would prevail against the Soviets because he wasn't worried about being everyone's friend. He worried more about making certain that the Soviets were worried sick about what he might do and/or what he had the capability of doing.
Democrats worry far too much about being liked by the world. Bill Clinton worried about being liked. So did Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama apparently shares that mindset. The last thing that'll bring Iran into submission is talking with them. Talks are what we've done for the past few years. Democrats say that President Bush' policy is a failed policy. Yet they don't like admitting, at least in public, that their policy isn't dramatically different than the policy they now call failed.
Ahmadinejad wasn't finished when he predicted that Israel would disappear, either. Here's something else he said:
Ahmadinejad also again expressed his apocalyptic vision that tyranny in the world be abolished by the return to earth of the Mahdi, the 12th imam of Shiite Islam, alongside great religious figures including Jesus Christ. "With the appearance of the promised saviour...and his companions such as Jesus Christ, tyranny will be soon be eradicated in the world."Sen. Obama doesn't dare exlain why he thinks there's common ground with Iran and Ahmadinejad. What's scary is that Ahmadinejad is the sanest person in that government. The mullahcracy are crazier than he is.
Voters who put Israel's security as a high priority don't have reason to trust Sen. Obama's judgment on foreign policy, especially with regard to Israel. You can't make deals with a nutjob, no matter how many good intentions you have.
That's why you shouldn't send a Toy Messiah to do a man's job . That's why I believe that Sen. Obama won't be inaugurated in January, 2009.
Posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008 4:47 AM
Comment 1 by shirley at 04-Jun-08 11:34 AM
i am so sick of our pandering to isreal. they need to disappear. why should they have nuclear weapons and arabs countries not have them. we need to blast israel off the map. that will save billions in foreign aid n, and stop unnecessary meddling n into countries who mean us no harm.
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 04-Jun-08 01:09 PM
Shirley, Israel should have nuclear weapons because they're responsible. Arab nations shouldn't because they're just a jihad away from using those weapons on a number of countries, not just Israel. As for "meddling into countries who mean us no harm", that's an awfully naive picture of the world. +
AP Does It Again
The AP is reporting that Hillary Clinton will today announce that Barack Obama has the delegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination . The bad news for the AP is that Hillary just issued a statement saying it has no such intention. Here's what the AP is reporting:
Hillary Rodham Clinton will admit Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president. A senior Clinton campaign official confirms to CBS News that Hillary Clinton will "acknowledge but not concede" the race tonight. The official says "she has no plans to concede the race tonight."Here's Hillary's statement:
"The AP story is incorrect. Senator Clinton will not concede the nomination this evening."The AP is an embarrassment. Not surprisingly, MSNBC is reporting that Hillary will concede tonight :
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials told the Associated Press, a move that would effectively end her bid to be the nation's first female president.MSNBC and the AP are crafty enough to throw in a caveat but their headlines show their pro-Obama bias. What they don't know is that they're handing the GOP their best shot at keeping the White House. Had MSNBC and the AP done their due dilligence on Sen. Obama, he wouldn't be on the verge of being the Democratic presidential nominee. Had the Wright tapes come out before Super Tuesday, this race would've been entirely different.
The report, which cited two campaign sources, said the former first lady would stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City, but that for all intents and purposes the campaign was over.
Jim at Gateway puts it succinctly about an Obama administration would mean:
The two Far Left Democrats are so alike it's scary. Barack Obama even chose Jimmy's Anti-Israeli National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski as an advisor with his campaign .It isn't a stretch to say that Obama would be Carter's second term. That isn't a flattering portrayal of a candidacy considering the fact that Carter is the worst president in history.
I can't blame Hillary for pushing back. If she hadn't run a terrible campaign early, she'd be the nominee by now.
Posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008 2:07 PM
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McCain Defines Obama
Now that Sen. Obama has gathered enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination, Sen. McCain has trained his sights on Sen. Obama. In a speech just delivered, Sen. McCain repeatedly challenged Sen. Obama . I suspect that it'll get underneath Obama's skin just a little because McCain ridiculed Obama's slogan of "Change You Can Believe In" against him.
Here's how Sen. McCain challenged Sen. Obama on Iraq:
I disagreed strongly with the Bush administration's mismanagement of the war in Iraq. I called for the change in strategy that is now, at last, succeeding where the previous strategy had failed miserably. I was criticized for doing so by Republicans. I was criticized by Democrats. I was criticized by the press. But I don't answer to them. I answer to you. And I would be ashamed to admit I knew what had to be done in Iraq to spare us from a defeat that would endanger us for years, but I kept quiet because it was too politically hard for me to do. No ambition is more important to me than the security of the country I have defended all my adult life.I strongly suspect that Sen. McCain will use this line repeatedly as he hopes to paint Sen. Obama into a corner on national security. Everyone knows that that's Sen. Obama's weakpoint. The sooner that Sen. McCain can paint Sen. Obama as unprepared for the role of commander-in-chief, the faster people question Sen. Obama's qualifications.
Senator Obama opposed the new strategy, and, after promising not to, voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job of carrying it out. Yet in the last year we have seen the success of that plan as violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to Sunni and Shia extremists; and the Iraqi Government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation.
None of this progress would have happened had we not changed course over a year ago. And all of this progress would be lost if Senator Obama had his way and began to withdraw our forces from Iraq without concern for conditions on the ground and the advice of commanders in the field. Americans ought to be concerned about the judgment of a presidential candidate who says he's ready to talk, in person and without conditions, with tyrants from Havana to Pyongyang, but hasn't traveled to Iraq to meet with General Petraeus, and see for himself the progress he threatens to reverse.
When he talked about energy policy, he got in a great shot at Sen. Obama as a uniter. Here's what Sen. McCain said:
With forward thinking Democrats and Republicans, I proposed a climate change policy that would greatly reduce our dependence on oil. Our approach was opposed by President Bush, and by leading Democrats, and it was defeated by opposition from special interests that favor Republicans and those that favor Democrats. Senator Obama might criticize special interests that give more money to Republicans. But you won't often see him take on those that favor him . If America is going to achieve energy independence, we need a President with a record of putting the nation's interests before the special interests of either party. I have that record. Senator Obama does not.That paragraph casts Sen. Obama's postpartisan credentials into doubt. It's one thing to rail against the other party's special interests. It's another to rail against your party's special interests. The more Sen. McCain emphasizes this point, the more hollow Sen. Obama's claims will ring. People know that it's easy to challenge the other guy's friends. It's another to challenge your own friends. In this instance, Sen. McCain can legitimately claim that he's the true postpartisan candidate.
Here's Sen. McCain's challenge to Sen. Obama on health care:
Senator Obama thinks we can improve health care by driving Americans into a new system of government orders, regulations and mandates. I believe we can make health care more available, affordable and responsive to patients by breaking from inflationary practices, insurance regulations, and tax policies that were designed generations ago, and by giving families more choices over their care. His plan represents the old ways of government. Mine trusts in the common sense of the American people.Any economist worth their salt will tell you that government mandates are a big driver of rising health care costs. What Sen. McCain did with this portion of his speech is remind people that the Democratic Party's health care plan is HillaryCare, which is anything but forward-looking.
That isn't to say that this was a great speech. Sen. McCain hurt himself by reminding his base that he's with the Democrats on MMGW. Cap and trade, or as Robert Samuelson called it, Cap and Tax , won't bring us to energy independance. It'll only raise our taxes while doing next to nothing in increasing energy supply.
The speech wasn't particularly well-delivered, either. That will improve, though. Most importantly, Sen. McCain has framed the differences between Sen. Obama and himself very effectively.
There is no doubt that Sen. Obama, or the DNC or both, will deride Sen. McCain's speech as negative. It's a tired old ploy that's usually used when you've scored a direct hit. The contrasts Sen. McCain made were on the issues. He wisely avoided making personal attacks.
If Sen. Obama can't take constructive, issues-oriented, criticism, then he isn't tough enough to be the next commander-in-chief. I suspect that that's the exact corner Sen. MCCain wanted to paint Sen. Obama into.
Posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008 11:26 PM
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