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Cornelius
Sweden
1051 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jan 2007 : 23:50:15
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Here’s a supplement to whatever has been said so far about Obama in Obama’s own words:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=The+Audacity+of+Hope%2C&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
Well, the black angel angle and the black thang, sure, but it’s not only the black thang, or the black American thang, when it comes to Obama it’s the black African American American thing with some roots stretching back to Mau-Mau in Kenya.
And issues in his own Site:
http://obama.senate.gov/
When it comes to empathizing with the dream yes, OBAMA is most black men and coloured women’s surrogate politician on the plane of vicarious living: Constitutional Law Professor he is, but his major credibility problem even in Bible Belt America, is that his name OBAMA rhymes with OSAMA and the name OSAMA and other such names resonate with the same connotative repulsiveness and distrust that has taken deep roots in post 911 America. It is easy to understand the association that lurks in the national subconscious that’s constantly fanned and kept aflame by a media that records the daily atrocities committed by sectarian violence either in Baghdad or Darfur, Gaza or Eilat; tomorrow, Ashura is celebrated in Iraq and Iran and the media vigilantes will surely keep us abreast with the annual photos - of the passions of mourning Imam Hussein ( a.s.)
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=3773#comments
Media awareness keeps us informed about fighting in Islamic lands and no reformed Muslim can seriously dream of occupying the oval office while the war against terror is still raging at the top of the national agenda.
Reagan asked his opponent “Which Side are you on?” during a presidential debate and the race was all over.
Islam has entered American living space, through TV and The Washington Times and has impinged on our consciousness - whether we like it or we support it not, at such a constant level that the American public is drowning in it at the subterranean level of awareness today. Now that Radical or fanatical Islam has replaced the old enemy and today they say that Islamophobia is now somewhat akin to what Communism and was in the McCarthy era – fanned by media and home security paranoia which is not wholly unwarranted.
Watch out!
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Edited by - Cornelius on 29 Jan 2007 23:56:35 |
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Cornelius
Sweden
1051 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2007 : 04:58:43
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PS. It's been said time without number : Watch out - Now that the new enemy ( Radical or fanatical, militant or terroristic Islamism/Islamists)has/have replaced the old enemy(Communism/Commies ) and the 4th world war ( on terror errors) has only just begun so soon after the cold war came to an end.
Some wars are prosecuted to some more secure conclusion and the other saying is about not changing horses in mid stream. If you saw Wolf Blitzer interview a very tough, decided and committed stay-the-course Dick Cheney on yesterday’s “Late Edition” you understand what I mean. (Personally I always prefer the good, the tough and the bad, to the mealy-mouthed)
Osama or Hallam, here's a famous run of lines speaking not just continuity (as Kabbah giving the baton to Berewa) but also renewal:
” And slowly answer'd Arthur from the barge:
"The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
I have lived my life, and that which I have done
May He within Himself make pure! but thou,
If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
But now farewell. I am going a long way
With these thou seëst--if indeed I go--
(For all my mind is clouded with a doubt)
To the island-valley of Avilion;
Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies
Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard-lawns
And bowery hollows crown'd with summer sea,
Where I will heal me of my grievous wound."
http://www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/britlit/tenn/morte.html
Meanwhile, back at The Ranch from the horse’s mouth:
Transcript of the relevant Late Edition:
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/28/le.01.html
BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: The fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The vice president speaks out on the war in Iraq, Iran, and the race for '08.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: Wolf, I simply don't accept the premise of your question. I just think hogwash.
BLITZER: That what, there were no blunders?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: You won't want to miss my exclusive interview with Dick Cheney.
President Bush on Tuesday spoke about a tragic escalation of the violence in Iraq, and he asked for bipartisan support for his new strategy in the war. The next day I sat down with Vice President Dick Cheney for a wide-ranging interview about the war, terrorism, and lots more.
BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: You're moving forward no matter what the consequence?
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are moving forward. We are moving forward. The Congress has the control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding, but in terms of this effort, the president's made his decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And joining us now, the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney.
Mr. Vice President, thanks very much for doing this.
CHENEY: It's good to see you again, Wolf.
BLITZER: We heard the president mention Osama bin Laden last night in his State of the Union Address. Why can't you find this guy?
CHENEY: Well, obviously, he's well hidden. We've been looking for him for some time. I think the fact is he's gone totally to ground. He doesn't communicate, except perhaps by courier. He's not up on the air. He's not putting out videos the way he did oftentimes in the past.
BLITZER: His number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is.
CHENEY: Zawahiri's much more visible, yes.
BLITZER: I mean, he's on television almost as much as I am.
CHENEY: Well, I don't know if anybody's on as much as you are, Wolf, but, no, he's more of a public figure than Osama is. But if you've ever been in that part of the world, it is some of the most rugged territory imaginable.
I've flown over it and been on the ground in Afghanistan, Pakistan, up along the Khyber Pass and so forth, and that general area is a remarkably difficult area to get people into. Parts of it have never really been...
(CROSSTALK) BLITZER: Is bin Laden still alive?
CHENEY: I think so.
BLITZER: And you think he's in Pakistan, Afghanistan, on the border someplace?
CHENEY: I don't want to be that precise.
BLITZER: Because this is so frustrating to so many people more than five years after 9/11, not only that bin Laden is out there, but that his deputy pops up every now and then on television and makes these threats.
CHENEY: Yes, but look what we have done. We have not gotten Osama bin Laden, obviously, because he's very careful. I mean to say he doesn't communicate and he's not in direct contact on a regular basis. But we've taken out several times that whole layer of leadership underneath Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri.
One of the most dangerous jobs in the world is to be number three in the Al Qaida organization because a lot of them are now dead or in custody. So we've done a lot of damage to that senior leadership including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and many others, as well.
BLITZER: The criticism is that you took your eye off the ball by going into Iraq and, in effect, reducing the focus of attention on Al Qaida and bin Laden.
CHENEY: It's just not true. I've heard that charge. It's simply not true, Wolf.
The fact of the matter is, we can do more than one thing at a time and we have. And we've been very successful with going after Al Qaida. They're still out there, they're still a formidable force, but they're not nearly as formidable as they once were, in terms of numbers and so forth. We have...
BLITZER: There are some experts who think they're an even greater threat.
CHENEY: We have successfully defended the country for five years against any further attacks. They've tried. We know repeatedly -- the president talked about it last night in his speech.
We know they tried last summer to capture airliners coming out of the U.K. and to blow them up over the United States or over the Atlantic. There have been numerous attacks that have been disrupted. It's been an enormous performance by the U.S. military, by our intelligence services and everything else.
If you had asked, shortly after 9/11, what the odds were that we could go better than five years without another attack on the homeland, I don't think anybody would have been willing to take that bet. The fact is we've been enormously successful in that regard. We still, obviously, want to get Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri. But we've had great success against Al Qaida.
BLITZER: Here is what the president said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We can expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by Al Qaida and supporters of the old regime. The contagion of violence would spill out across the country and, in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict. For America, this is a nightmare scenario.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He was talking about the consequences of failure in Iraq.
CHENEY: Right.
BLITZER: How much responsibility do you have, though -- do you and the administration -- for this potential scenario?
CHENEY: Well, you know, this is the argument that there wouldn't be any problem if we hadn't gone into Iraq.
Now...
BLITZER: Well, Saddam Hussein would still be in power.
CHENEY: Saddam Hussein would still be in power. He would, at this point, be engaged in a nuclear arms race with Ahmadinejad, his blood enemy next door in Iran.
BLITZER: But he was being contained as you well know...
CHENEY: He was not being contained.
BLITZER: ... by the no-fly zones in the north...
CHENEY: He was not being contained.
BLITZER: ... and in the south.
CHENEY: Wolf, the entire sanctions regime had been undermined by Saddam Hussein.
BLITZER: But he didn't have stockpiles of weapons of...
CHENEY: He had corrupted the entire effort to try to keep him contained. He was bribing senior officials of other governments. The Oil For Food Program had been totally undermined. And he had, in fact, produced and used weapons of mass destruction previously, and he retained the capability to produce that kind of stuff in the future.
BLITZER: But that was in the '80s.
CHENEY: You can go back and argue the whole thing all over again, Wolf. But what we did in Iraq in taking down Saddam Hussein was exactly the right thing to do. The world is much safer today because of it.
There have been three national elections in Iraq. There's a democracy established there, a constitution, a new democratically- elected government. Saddam has been brought to justice and executed. His sons are dead. His government is gone and the world is better off for it.
You can argue about that all you want. That's history. That's what we did and you and I can have this debate. We've had it before.
CHENEY: But the fact of the matter is, in terms of threats to the United States from al-Qaida, for example, attacks on the United States, they didn't need an excuse.
We weren't in Iraq when they hit us on 9/11. The fact of the matter was...
BLITZER: But the current situation there is...
CHENEY: The fact of the matter was that al-Qaida was out to kill Americans before we ever went into Iraq.
BLITZER: The current situation there is very unstable. The president himself speaks about a nightmare scenario right now. He was contained, as you repeatedly said throughout the '90s after the first Gulf War, in a box, Saddam Hussein.
CHENEY: He was, after the first Gulf War, had managed to kick out all the inspectors. He was providing payments to the families of suicide bombers.
He was a safe haven for terrorism, one of the prime state sponsors of terrorism, designated by our State Department for a long time. He'd started two wars. He had violated 16 U.N. Security Council resolutions. If he were still there today, we'd have a terrible situation.
Today, instead...
BLITZER: But there is a terrible situation there.
CHENEY: No, there is not. There is not. There's problems -- ongoing problems -- but we have, in fact, accomplished our objectives of getting rid of the old regime...
BLITZER: And... CHENEY: ... and there is a new regime in place that's been there for less than a year, far too soon for you guys to write them off. They have got a democratically written constitution, the first ever in that part of the world. They've had three national elections. So there's been a lot of success.
BLITZER: How worried are you, Mr. Vice President...
CHENEY: We still have more work to do to get a handle on the security situation...
BLITZER: How worried...
CHENEY: But the president's put a plan in place to do that.
BLITZER: How worried are you of this nightmare scenario, that the U.S. is building up this Shiite-dominated Iraqi government with an enormous amount of military equipment, sophisticated training, and then, in the end, they're going to turn against the United States?
CHENEY: Wolf, that's not going to happen. The problem is you've got...
BLITZER: They're very -- very -- warming up to Iran...
CHENEY: Wolf...
BLITZER: ... and Syria right now.
CHENEY: Wolf, you can come up with all kinds of what-ifs. You've got to be deal with the reality on the ground. The reality on the ground is, we've made major progress.
We've still got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of provinces in Iraq that are relatively quiet. There's more and more authority transferred to the Iraqis all the time.
But the biggest problem we face right now is the danger that the United States will validate the terrorists' strategy, that, in fact, what will happen here, with all of the debate over whether or not we ought to stay in Iraq, with the pressures from some quarters to get out of Iraq, if we were to do that, we would simply validate the terrorists' strategy that says the Americans will not stay to complete the task...
BLITZER: Here's the...
CHENEY: ... that they don't...
BLITZER: ... Nouri Al-Maliki...
CHENEY: That we don't have the stomach for the fight.
BLITZER: Here's the problem we have...
CHENEY: That's the biggest threat right now. BLITZER: Here's the problem that I see, and tell me if I'm wrong: That he seems to be more interested right now, the prime minister of Iraq, in establishing good relations with Iran and Syria than he is with moderate Arab governments, whether in Jordan or Egypt or Saudi Arabia.
CHENEY: I just think you're wrong, Wolf. He's been working with all of them. They're all in the neighborhood. He's got to develop relationships with all of them, and he has. BLITZER: Because he's a Shia, and these moderate Arab governments are Sunni.
CHENEY: He's also an Iraqi. He's not a Persian. There's a big difference between the Persians and the Arabs, although they're both Shia. Now, you can't just make the simple statement that he's Shia, therefore he's the enemy.
The majority of the population in Iraq is Shia. And for the first time we've had elections, and majority rule will prevail there. But the notion that somehow the effort hasn't been worth it or that we shouldn't go ahead and complete the task is just dead wrong.
BLITZER: Here's what Jim Webb, the senator from Virginia, said in his Democratic response last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. SENATOR JIM WEBB, D-VIRGINIA: The president took us into this war recklessly. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable and predicted disarray that has followed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And it's not just Jim Webb. Some of your good Republican friends in the Senate and the House are now seriously questioning your credibility because of the blunders, of the failures. Gordon Smith -- Gordon Smith...
CHENEY: Wolf, Wolf, I simply don't accept the premise of your question. I just think it's hogwash. Remember...
BLITZER: What, that there -- there were no blunders?
CHENEY: The -- remember...
BLITZER: The president himself says there were blunders...
(CROSSTALK)
CHENEY: Remember me -- remember with me what happened in Afghanistan. The United States was actively involved in Afghanistan in the '80s, supporting the effort against the Soviets. The Mujahedeen prevailed. Everybody walked away.
And, in Afghanistan, within relatively short order, the Taliban came to power. They created a safe haven for al-Qaida. Training camps were established where some 20,000 terrorists trained in the late '90s.
And out of that, out of Afghanistan, because we walked away and ignored it, we had the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, the attack on the embassies in East Africa, and 9/11, where the people trained and planned in Afghanistan for that attack and killed 3,000 Americans. That is what happens when we walk away from a situation like that in the Middle East. BLITZER: But there were blunders that were made.
CHENEY: Now, you might -- you might have been -- you might have been able to do that before 9/11. But after 9/11, we learned that we have a vested interest in what happens on the ground in the Middle East. Now, if you are going to walk away from Iraq today and say, well, gee, it's too tough, we can't complete the task, we just are going to quit, you'll create exactly that same kind of situation again.
Now, the critics have not suggested a policy. They haven't put anything in place. All they want to do, all they have recommended is to redeploy or to withdraw our forces. The fact is, we can complete the task in Iraq. We're going to do it. We've got Petraeus, General Petraeus, taking over.
It is a good strategy. It will work. But we have to have the stomach to finish the task.
BLITZER: What if the Senate passes a resolution saying this is not a good idea. Will that stop you?
CHENEY: It won't stop us. And it would be, I think, detrimental from the standpoint of the troops, as General Petraeus said yesterday. He was asked by Joe Lieberman, among others, in his testimony, about this notion that somehow the Senate could vote overwhelmingly for him, send him on his new assignment, and then pass a resolution at the same time and say, but we don't agree with the mission you've been given.
BLITZER: So, you're moving forward no matter what the Congress does?
CHENEY: We are moving forward. We are moving forward. The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding.
But, in terms of this effort, the president's made his decision. We have consulted extensively with them. We'll continue to consult with the Congress.
But the fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done. I think General Petraeus can do it. I think our troops can do it. And I think it's far too soon for the talking heads on television to conclude that it's impossible to do, it's not going to work, it can't possibly succeed.
BLITZER: What was the biggest mistake you made?
CHENEY: Oh, I think in terms of mistakes, I think we underestimated the extent to which 30 years of Saddam's rule had really hammered the population, especially the Shia population, into submissiveness. It was very hard for them to stand up and take responsibility, in part because anybody who'd done that in the past had had their heads chopped off.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Coming up on "Late Edition," more of our exclusive sit- down interview with the vice president. I'll ask him if he trusts the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. And we'll also get his early word on the presidential candidates.
Then, Lewis "Scooter" Libby on trial here in Washington. We'll ask the vice president about his former top aide.
And later, will Democrats try to cut funds for additional U.S. troops for Iraq? My live interview with Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Chris Dodd. That's coming up as well. Stay with "Late Edition." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to "Late Edition." I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Here now is more of my exclusive interview with Vice President Dick Cheney. Issue number one, the war and the ability of the Iraqi government and its prime minister to take on more of the fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Do you trust Nouri al-Maliki?
CHENEY: I do. At this point, I don't have any reason not to trust him.
BLITZER: Is he going to go after Muqtada al-Sadr, this anti- American Shiite cleric who controls the Mehdi Army?
CHENEY: I think he has demonstrated a willingness to take on any elements that violate the law.
BLITZER: Do you want him to arrest Muqtada al-Sadr?
CHENEY: He has been active, just in recent weeks, in going after the Mehdi Army. There have been some 600 of them arrested within the last couple days.
BLITZER: Should he be arrested, Muqtada al-Sadr?
CHENEY: That's a decision that's got to be made...
BLITZER: Because, as you know, the first U.S. general there, Ricardo Sanchez, said this guy killed Americans, he has blood on his hands, he was wanted basically dead or alive. Whatever happened to that?
CHENEY: Wolf, you've got to let Nouri al-Maliki deal with the situation as he sees fit and I think he will.
BLITZER: You think he's going to go after the Mehdi army?
CHENEY: I think he will go after all of those elements in Iraq that are violating the law, that are contributing to sectarian violence. There are criminal elements, there are Baathist, former regime elements. All of them have to be the target of the effort. He'll have a lot of help because he'll have 160,000 U.S. forces there to work alongside the Iraqis to get the job done.
BLITZER: Here's the problem that you have, the administration, credibility in Congress with the American public, because of the mistakes, because of the previous statements, the last throes, the comment you made a year-and-a-half ago, the insurgency was in its last throes.
How do you build up that credibility, because so many of these Democrats and a lot of Republicans now are saying they don't believe you anymore?
CHENEY: Well, Wolf, if the history books were written by people have -- so eager to write off this effort, to declare it a failure, including many of our friends in the media, the situation obviously would have been over a long time ago.
Bottom line is that we've had enormous successes and we will continue to have enormous successes. It is hard. It is difficult. It's one of the toughest things any president has to do.
It's easy to stick your finger in the air and figure out which way the winds are blowing, and then to try to get in front of the herd. This president doesn't work that way. He also will be very clear in terms of providing leadership going forward for what we need to do in Iraq.
Now the fact is, this is a vitally important piece of business. It needs to be done. The consequences of our not completing the task are enormous.
Just think for a minute, Wolf, in terms of what policy is being suggested here. What you're recommending or at least what you seem to believe the right course is, is to bail out...
BLITZER: I'm just asking questions.
CHENEY: No, you're not asking questions.
BLITZER: Yes, I am. I'm just asking questions...
CHENEY: Implicit in the criticisms.
BLITZER: ... your critics are asking.
CHENEY: Implicit in what the critics are suggesting, I think, is an obligation of saying well, here's what we need to do, or, we're not going to do anything else, we're going to accept defeat. Defeat is not an answer. We can, in fact, prevail here and we need to prevail. And the consequences of not doing so are enormous.
BLITZER: You've said that Iran as a nuclear power is unacceptable.
CHENEY: Right. BLITZER: Are you ready to go to war to stop that from happening?
CHENEY: Come on now, Wolf. You know I'm not going to speculate on something like that.
BLITZER: Well, how are you going to stop that?
CHENEY: Wolf, we've got a policy in place that, I think, is producing results. We've gone to the United Nations. We've got a unanimous agreement to a sanctions resolution that's now in place with respect to the Iranian uranium program. And we're continuing to work the problem.
We want to solve the problem diplomatically. We'll do everything we can to achieve that, but we've also made it clear that all options are on the table. Now, no administration in their right mind is going to answer that question you just asked.
BLITZER: Because you've heard Senator Biden, Senator Rockefeller say they think you need more congressional authorization if you're going to take any military steps again Iran. Do you?
CHENEY: I'm not going to speculate on military steps, Wolf. You can ask that question all day long.
BLITZER: All right. There's a lot of good questions we can ask. Let's move on to some other domestic issues.
BLITZER: The whole notion of your long-time aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- he's in the papers, his lawyer now suggesting on opening day of the trial that he was basically set up by people in the White House to protect Karl Rove, the president's political aide.
What do you make of this?
CHENEY: Now, Wolf, you knew when we set up the interview, you can ask all the questions you want. I'm going to be a witness in that trial within a matter of weeks. I'm not going to discuss it. I haven't discussed it with anybody in the press yet, and I'm not going to discuss it with you today.
BLITZER: But you are very close friends.
CHENEY: Wolf, you've got my answer. You've got my answer.
BLITZER: Have you contributed to his legal defense fund?
CHENEY: I'm a strong friend and supporter of Scooter's. I have not contributed to his legal defense fund. I think he is an extraordinarily talented and capable individual. BLITZER: Let's talk about illegal immigration right now, because a lot of your conservative Republican base, they're upset at the president and at you for supporting a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants right now. What do you say to them who are worried that you're going to team up with a lot of Democrats and moderate Republicans and pass this legislation?
CHENEY: Well, we think we need immigration legislation passed. I think it would be irresponsible for us not to try to deal with that problem. It's a serious problem. It's very important from the standpoint of the millions of illegals who are already here, from those segments of the economy that depend upon them, but it's also important that we have secure borders and we have control over our borders.
And we've done a lot already to move in that direction. We've doubled or tripled the size of the Border Patrol force in the budget. We've got border security measures adopted in the last Congress. What we need now is a temporary guest worker program, a comprehensive solution that will regulate that flow.
I think we can do it. I believe that, in fact, there's sufficient support on both sides of the aisle, and I think we'll get the legislation passed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Still to come, the final part of my interview with Vice President Cheney. I'll ask him about some sensitive subjects, including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi and his own daughter, Mary Cheney. That's coming up.
But up next, we'll get a quick check of what's in the news right now, including the latest on another very deadly day in Iraq. Stay with "Late Edition." We'll be right back.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to "Late Edition." I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Here's the final part of my exclusive interview with Vice President Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good president?
CHENEY: No, I don't.
BLITZER: Why?
CHENEY: Because she's a Democrat. I don't agree with her philosophically and from a policy standpoint.
BLITZER: Do you think she will be president, though?
CHENEY: I don't.
BLITZER: Who do you think will be?
CHENEY: I'm not going to speculate.
BLITZER: Won't be you?
CHENEY: It won't be me.
BLITZER: John McCain?
CHENEY: I'm not going to speculate.
BLITZER: Rather critical of you, John McCain, lately.
CHENEY: Well, John's a good man. He and I have known each other a long time, and we agree on many things and disagree on others.
BLITZER: He said the other day, he said, "The president listened too much to the vice president. Of course, the president bears the ultimate responsibility, but he was very badly served by both the vice president, and, most of all, the secretary of defense." That was John McCain. CHENEY: So?
BLITZER: You want to react?
CHENEY: Well, I just disagree with him.
BLITZER: He said about the former defense secretary, "Rumsfeld will go down in history, along with NcNamara, as one of the worst secretaries of Defense in history."
CHENEY: I just fundamentally disagree. You heard my speech when Don retired. I think he's done a superb job.
BLITZER: Your daughter, Mary. She's pregnant. All of us are happy. She's going to have a baby, you're going to have another grandchild. Some of the -- some critics, though, are suggesting -- for example, a statement from someone representing Focus on the Family, "Mary Cheney's pregnancy raises the question of what's best for children. Just because it's possible to conceive a child outside of the relationship of a married mother and father doesn't mean it's best for the child." Do you want to respond to that?
CHENEY: No, I don't.
BLITZER: She's, obviously, a good daughter...
CHENEY: I'm delighted I'm about to have a sixth grandchild, Wolf. And obviously I think the world of both my daughters and all of my grandchildren. And I think, frankly, you're out of line with that question.
BLITZER: I think all of us appreciate... CHENEY: I think you're out of line.
BLITZER: ... your daughters. No, we like your daughters. Believe me, I'm very, very sympathetic to Liz and to Mary. I like them both. That was just a question that's come up, and it's a responsible, fair question.
CHENEY: I just fundamentally disagree with you.
BLITZER: I want to congratulate you on having another grandchild. Let's wind up on a soft note. Nancy Pelosi. What was it like sitting up there with her last night, as opposed to Dennis Hastert?
CHENEY: I prefer Denny Hastert, obviously. I liked having a fellow Republican in the speaker's chair. Nancy's now the speaker of the House. We had a very pleasant evening.
BLITZER: But it's different to have a Democrat in control.
CHENEY: Sure, it's different. They have -- yeah, but it's the way it's been during most of my career in Congress. So I didn't find it all that surprising or startling. BLITZER: How do you feel?
CHENEY: Good.
BLITZER: Good. Mr. Vice President, thank you.
CHENEY: Thank you.
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/28/le.01.html |
Edited by - Cornelius on 30 Jan 2007 06:18:32 |
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Cornelius
Sweden
1051 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2007 : 08:06:36
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Just in case you had some trouble accessing my son’s little essay on the web, here it is. It is in fact a spontaneous response to a discussing we had about another posting (“ As a historian” etc ) although he decided to not deal with the more complex ambiguities in race relation perceptions –perceptions that bedevil Osama’s campaign trail and remarkably all based on the success that come from America’s ( US) diversity and in this case, so it would seem, ancestry. Within a half hour it was done.
I post it as contrast with this latest take on Obama at Israpundit:
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=3925#respond
“Much Ado about Obama”
© Nathan Hamelberg 5th February 2007
“Disclaimer: by popular demand, (got like sixty views so far!) or rather so that my family and a few other likeminded can peep what I write, my blog will as from now go on in English. Feel free to comment in Swedish, jag talar flytande.
The leading democratic presidential candidate apart from Hillary is black (both of whom are probably a bit funkier than Bill) and by historic comparison, it's not unique, but still nothing short of miraculous and I guess, kinda fresh. America is still so plagued by racism in general and even more still divided along racial lines when it comes to social policies in particular. (In both reactionary and radical ways, from police racial profiling to affirmative action. In less acute ways, urban radio has become as boring as country and rock radio).
The fact that Obama is half Kenyan and "Kansan" is in itself of course smashing. With an apple-pie Kansan mom and Muslim father, the mix-up could not be more provocative in the face of the either-or thinking that is so heavily rooted in the American mindset, what with the one drop makes a n-gg-r thing and all. The special history of American blacks and that psycho obsession with blood, ancestry and racial hygiene that preoccupied slave owners (as if it was breeding horses when they actually were breaking up families), still influences today’s discussion. This is not specific to white Americans, Afro-Americans are just as particular about their diasporan roots. I guess that was what Paul Mooney was talking about on 'Ask a Black Guy' on Dave Chappelle Show, about 'Gone with the Wind': 'My favourite part was when Mamie said: "Get the white trash away off the porch"'. Even blacks want America clean. That REAL Africans voluntarily want to settle for a white Middle American, with jungle fever, straight outta Kansas, is, of course something that whites and blacks in their mental trenches have some silly issues with. But then again, America has always been picky about who f---ing who and who's getting fat.
For establishment whites, republican politicians and political commentators, Obama's articulateness is something to be praised, not only for the obvious racist and derogatory reason that they mean well-behaved, integrated; assimilated. But also for the frank reason that Obama has lots of other qualities that it is embarrassing to praise, mainly:
He has been outrightly opposed to the war in Iraq right from the onset, something few democratic politicians can say for themselves. Most other democrats' opposition has been opportunist, of the back seat driver kind, criticizing Bush for doing too little one time and doing too much the next. But he can also honestly say that he's not a part of the political establishment, something as rare as hens' teeth in a system where political funding is the basis of candidature, and where the political parties essentially are vehicles for that funding.
African Americans on the other hand, cannot, for historic reasons simply jump for joy without a hint of ambiguity. Here is the son, not of slaves, not the victim of 400 plus years of Amerikkkan racism, but the son of some merry go happy guest. And he apparently is welcome, the media darling! After the murders of Medgar Evers, Malcolm and Martin, after FBI Cointelpro and whatnot, and the jailings of Panthers, Muslims, Young Lords, after the persecution of Assata and hundreds of other political refugees, after the total cutting down of Jesse Jackson when once he stood up, here comes the Tiger Woods of the democratic party with a big smile and a background which virtually guarantees that he cannot address questions of the legacy of slavery, recompensation and Jim crow with anything close to the fervour of say Al Sharpton. Don't forget, it was old civil rights movement veterans and Talib Kwali looking brothers that went gung ho about 41 shots to Ahmado Diallo's dome. It's usually not the other way around, not the last African off the plane who goes beating down the door of San Quentin maximum security.
Here is a black who won't rouse up million men marches, but honestly will say thanks for dinner. He won't say 'Yes sir massa' or 'Yes boss', but he will say thank you to (white) America in a way that black America cannot say. The Cosby show, that ultimate form of family values, Reagan era approved entertainment addressed issues of racial injustice circa once every season, although it was separate but equal that was the order of the day every other programme of the season.
What is 'worst', for American blacks and I feel somehow for us all, is that the plight of American Blacks, whose historic struggle, art and movement is THE model and inspiration for struggles amongst people of color worldwide and somehow for myself, no matter how bad it is, it still is a lot better than the status of the people in most parts of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. And the entry of Obama and his father into magazines, talk shows and polls prove that beyond dispute.
We've almost lost our poor, proud blacks of the civil rights movement from our sight, those blacks that someone (I think it was Bill Adler) commented were the moral compass of America and the world. Now we're stuck with blacks on Larry King Live who're convenient above Latinos and Arabs in the American pecking order, but are still whining about 19th century ills and immigrant upstarts as to maintain their unique position in the sufferahs' pantheon. Every brother ain't a brother, hearing middle class blacks sobbing on prime time tv about not getting a cab 'cause they’re black whilst off to see La Boheme but never mentioning the plight of so called 'illegal immigrants', political prisoners whilst going on about the Spellman degrees is... not boring but depressing. A bit like Zionists sun bathing in the West Bank whilst whining about the holocaust all day so the real issues stay out of the picture. If Obama wants to matter, he better address the patriot laws and the war on terror, the prison industrial complex, poverty and a zillion other issues. In other words, he gotta come out mo' uncomfortable on Oprah before I get comfortable with him. But if he does, wouldn't it be sweet? The love-hate thing I got with America would be all love! “
© Nathan Hamelberg 5th February 2007
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Edited by - Cornelius on 07 Feb 2007 10:07:32 |
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