The performance now of Barack Obama as he staffs up the national security team for the second term is dismal. Frankly, what he has appointed are second-rate people. ~ Dick Cheney at a Republican Conference in Wyoming
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If anyone knows second-rate people, it's Dick Cheney.
Dick Cheney Is Not Impressed
Oh, Dick Cheney. How we miss your first-rate handling of 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, the capture of Bin Laden, the torture of captive human beings, and all that first rate fear-mongering and war profiteering you brought to the office.
Stay classy.
~ BobCesca.com
Well, if he had a sense of shame, he wouldn't be a sociopath. And if he was a human being, he'd have a pulse.
~ NCSteve on Talking Points Memo
Dick Cheney, who is unquestionably the worst, most evil, & nefarious vice-prez America has ever known, has the AUDACITY to criticize Obama??
— Path2Enlightenment (@Path2Enlighten) February 10, 2013
Dick is the absolute authority on second rate. Wonder if he's shot any friends lately?
~ fairiedust on The Hill
Translation: "I don't see any of these nominees giving no-bid contracts to Haliburton."
~ VTer on The Hill
Cheney calls Obama's Cabinet picks "2nd rate." VP search chief who rejected qualified picks to select self should know 2nd rate. @wegoted
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) February 10, 2013
This guy is like Gollum in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, the creature who has lived underground in canes for so long that he can't stand sunlight anymore. After the Bush-Cheney rampage of incompetence and arrogance I am surprised this man dares show his face in public. By the way, have you and Scooter Libby revealed any more national security secrets for your political benefit lately, Dick?
~ Brehon21 on Huffington Post
Still dreaming of all that oil, this withered tin man with the black ticker still has his gnarled hand around his drumstick, beating his war call on Iran. He will go to his grave sick at the thought that Dubya didn't drop a bomb or two on Tehran before he slunk back to Texas. Thanks to him and his fellow Chickenhawks, he goes on in his hubris to lament that the Middle East is still a mess in large part due to his own disastrous foreign policy.
~ Steveningen on Daily Kos
Nobody can sneer like Dick Cheney.
On a scale of sneeritude, Chuck Hagel is like a 27, Cheney a 98.
~ boran2 on Daily Kos
The Teabag...er...Tea Party,is NO match for Secretary Clinton.Rand Paul and John McCain, she owned you today.
— Abraham Lincoln (@Mr_Lincoln) January 23, 2013
GOP Don't Give a Shit About the 4 People That Died in Banghazi, They just Know a Good Witch Hunt Opportunity When They See it. #p2#tcot
— TheNewDeal (@TheNewDeal) January 23, 2013
"With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans," Clinton responded, raising her voice at Johnson, who continued to interrupt her. "Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk last night who decided to kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."
Clinton continued, defending the State Department's efforts in the wake of the assault. "Honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the fact is people were trying their best in real time to get to the best information," she said.
Why did RonJohnson bumble so badly? Sounded like WI senator decided to ? Clinton w/out reading #Benghazi report. @thenation @wegoted @edshow
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) January 23, 2013
This morning, R-Sen Ron Johnson got pwned by Hillary.He's now on television, whining, "Not fair, her uterus attacked me using emotion!"
— RiskyLiberal (@RiskyLiberal) January 23, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Clinton that if he were in Obama’s shoes, he would have fired her for what he described as her “culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11.”
“Had I been president at the time, and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post,” said Paul during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Wednesday. “I think it’s inexcusable,” he continued.
. . . “Their lives could have been saved had someone been more available, had someone been aware of these things, more on top of the job,” said Paul.
Almost immediately after the hearing, Paul began to face heavy criticism himself for what some viewed as too brash an approach. “I can’t remember another time during a hearing when a senator referred to himself, ‘If I were president,’” said NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O’Donnell on Andrea Mitchell Reports Wednesday. “You do hear it on the campaign trail. That is really going beyond what we would normally hear.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer pointed out that the intelligence failures and casualties involving the invasion of Iraq seemed like a greater blunder.
“Yeah, I agree with you,” Paul said. “There is no comparison to a beginning of a war in Iraq as well as the war in Afghanistan. The tragedy of those wars is of a different scale, and I guess we are talking more about a diplomatic mission than we are talking about a beginning of the war.”
But he insisted Clinton was still culpable for ignoring intelligence reports.
Hillary Clinton has a 61% approval rating & is a favorite for the next president, but Rand Paul would've fired her?!?! #thebubble#Benghazi
— Chelle Cleveland (@chellegaylor24) January 23, 2013
#RandPaul looked silly saying that he would have fired #Hillary he been president. It was more about his fantasy than her actions at State.
— Howard Fineman (@howardfineman) January 23, 2013
Rand Paul is a such a pompous moron, disrespecting a brilliant woman like Hillary. Just your basic #TeaParty redneck I guess!
— Twilight Zone (@DaTwilightZone) January 23, 2013
Rand Paul has his nerve. Talk about someone who should be relieved of his post!But please proceed Senator.
— Anna (@TallyAnnaE) January 23, 2013
Hillary faces down the angry men: From Ron Johnson to Rand Paul, GOP senators swung at her and hit themselvessalon.com/2013/01/23/hil…
— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) January 23, 2013
McCain and Rand Paul are giving Hillary Clinton a hard time on Benghazi. I only hope she doesn't hold it against them when she's president.
— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) January 23, 2013
The GOP #Benghazi grasping is becoming so intense, I'm waiting for my biggest Hearing Drinking Game word: "WHITEWATER" #BringItOn
— TeachaCari (@teachacari) January 23, 2013
. . . Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., asked why the secretary of state herself did not appear in Rice's place to give those televised explanations to the country.
"Well, I have to confess here in public [that] going on the Sunday shows is not my favorite thing to do. There are other things that I prefer to do on Sunday mornings," Clinton replied. "And I did feel strongly that we had a lot that we had to manage, that I had to respond to. And I thought that should be my priority."
Rep Joe Wilson chastises Hillary for not going on the Sunday shows. #WTF? Stooooooopiiid #Benghazi
— Ima Khivar (@AntarianRani) January 23, 2013
I think what the Republican Party needs to do now is take a very hard look at itself and understand that the country has changed. The country is changing demographically. And if the Republican Party does not change along with that demographic, they’re going to be in trouble. And so, when we see that in one more generation, the minorities of America, African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans will be the majority of the country, you can’t go around saying we don’t want to have a solid immigration policy. We’re going to dismiss the 47 percent. We are going to make it hard for these minorities to vote as they did in the last election. What did that produce? The court struck most of that down and most importantly, it caused people to turn out and stand in line because these Republicans were trying to keep us from voting.
There’s also a dark-- a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the Party. What I do mean by that? I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that? When I see a former governor say that the president is shuckin’ and jivin’, that’s a racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow, he was tired, he didn’t do well, he said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans but to those of us who are African-Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with it Birther, the whole Birther Movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the Party?
I think the Party has to take a look at itself. It has to take a look at its responsibilities for health care. It has to take a look at immigration. It has to take a look at those less fortunate than us. The Party has gathered unto itself a reputation that it is the party of the rich. It is the party of lower taxes. But there are a lot of people who are lower down the food chain, the economic chain, who are also paying lots of taxes relative to their income and they need help. We need more education work being done in this country. We need a solid immigration policy. We have to look at climate change. There are a lot of things that the American people are expecting and the Republican Party, as they get ready for the next election, really has to focus on some of these issues and not ignore them.
Everybody wants to talk about who’s going to be the candidate. You better think first about what’s the party they’re actually going to represent. If it’s just going to represent the far right-wing of the political spectrum, I think the Party is in difficulty.
~~~~~~~~~~
Pow! Right in the kisser!
Yesterday a day of infamy for the Republican Party. General Colin Powell told the vivid nasty truth. He blasted his party, especially its leaders, for engaging in what he called flagrant race baiting. . . . The indictment has now been made by this country's most celebrated African American Republican.
~ Chris Matthews on Hardball
My question after that interview, which was really incendiary and a line in the sand, is when will a Republican Party admit they have a problem? Because every time something like this happens, there is a doubling down, there is a deep defense, there is an attack on the messenger.
~ Alex Wagner on Hardball
(Powell) went directly to the most common liberal meme these days in defending a radical left president: Republicans are racist. It’s a bully tactic that has become all the rage these days – Republicans don’t oppose Obama on policy, and they don’t have a good rationale for standing against liberalism. It’s just that they secretly hate black people.
. . . Powell labels it racist because it serves his political ends.
Is the word “lazy” racist? If so, half the media hates white folks, because presidents going back to Dwight D. Eisenhower have routinely been labeled lazy.
As for the birthers, nobody in the mainstream of the Republican Party has ever given credibility to them. Only in Colin Powell’s opportunistic mind is the GOP linked with birtherism.
~ Ben Shapiro on Breitbart
The idea that the Republican Party’s problem is that the party is inherently racist, or led by racists, or has a core of racists in it, is just patently absurd.
~ Conservative Talk Show Host, Laura Ingraham
If Republicans Have a ‘Deep Vein’ of Intolerance in Them, You Couldn’t Prove It By His Career
~ Brit Hume on Fox News
. . . he’s really quite the schmuck. I’m just being honest with you. He’s an egomaniac. He was a terrible secretary of state. But I would ask Mr. Powell this question: Ronald Reagan plucked you from obscurity, specifically [former Secretary of Defense Caspar] ‘Cap’ Weinberger did, Mr. Powell. What do you think ‘Cap’ Weinberger would think of what’s happening to the United States Navy, in general the United States Armed Forces, Mr. Powell? ‘Cap’ Weinberger, who was behind the 600-ship navy, that is just now going to be under 300? What do you think about that, Mr. Powell?
Ronald Reagan would be repulsed by Obama, by his conduct in the Oval Office, by the way he campaigns, by the way he lies, by his philosophy, by his policies, by what he’s done to this nation and the private sector, Mr. Powell. So why did you endorse Barack Obama, Mr. Powell?
. . . I think nobody gives a damn what you think.
. . . You know what you are? You’re a partisan hack. Get out of my party.
~ Radio Host Mark Levin, via Daily Caller
I disagree with General Powell’s assessment of the Republican Party today. The Republican Party is the party that [has] placed two Hispanics in the U.S. Senate, and we have an African-American senator in the United States Senate.
~ Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
I mean, you've got Colin Powell on TV yesterday saying Republicans did not use to be this way. The GOP looks down on blacks, minorities. Look at the Senate. The only black senator is a Republican. The only two Hispanic senators are Republicans, but here's Colin Powell saying Republicans look down on minorities. And they're racists, and they're using code, dog whistle language now. The titular head of the Republican Party. The Republican that everybody in the media says we all should emulate, Colin Powell, that's what he went on TV to say yesterday.
~ Rush Limbaugh
How can a serious interviewer let a comment like that, so sweeping and so egregious, slip by?
It is a serious and deeply wrongheaded comment. Gregory could have pressed Powell in any number of ways. Didn’t some Democrats accuse Obama of being lazy (on MSNBC, no less) ? Who else is a racist in the GOP? Is there anyone in the U.S. Senate? Wasn’t it an ex- governor (Sarah Palin) who holds no office whom he quoted? Does he think everything MSNBC hosts say is reflective of the Democratic Party? Is a single ex-governor the best he can do?
Was the George W. Bush administration intolerant? Are House Republicans intolerant? Has he ever met Sen.Tim Scott (R-S.C.)? Are the 48 percent of Americans who voted for Mitt Romney intolerant?
I suspect Gregory let it slide with no hint of disagreement because he saw nothing objectionable to labeling the GOP (or “some parts” — which ones?) as racist. It is such an accepted part of the liberal media group think that it doesn’t even merit notice, it seems. It is interesting, isn’t it, that Hagel, who has an entire record of utterances, gets a pass, yet Powell is ready to indict the entire GOP on the basis of such scrawny evidence?
~ Jennifer Rubin on Washington Post
The Republican Party is not listening to General Colin Powell, or anyone else who deviates from the party line. Instead, their response to him is a doubling-down of their viciousness against opponents and to frantically restructure the way they communicate their toxic message to their base. From their "conservative" media echo chamber, including first and foremost Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham to actual Republican officeholders like Sen. Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.), etc., etc., the message is the same: Powell is a tool of the "Democrat Party." He has, they tell themselves, once again played the race card, and in doing so, he betrayed them just one time too many. This is a classic example of "shoot the messenger."
It is also the beginning of the end of the Republican Party. It is in its death throes now; and it is sad to witness the demise of this once great party.
~ Herbert Dyer, Jr. on AllVoices
During her appearances on the Sunday talk shows Sept. 16, 2012, Ambassador Rice's comments were prefaced at every turn with a clear statement that an FBI investigation was under way that would provide the definitive accounting of the events that took place in Benghazi. At every turn Ambassador Rice provided — and said she was providing — the best information and the best assessment that the administration had at the time, based on what was provided to Ambassador Rice and other senior U.S. officials by the U.S. intelligence community.
~ Erin Pelton, spokeswoman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
The one way I really think [moderate Republicans could have a voice] is to get off this Benghazi thing. To me, this would be the clearest signal from sane conservatives that they have turned this corner, because I still do not know what the scandal is, I do not know what the point of it is, I do not know what Obama’s fiendish plot was.
. . . Let’s talk about the other Rice, Condoleezza Rice. She’s the National Security adviser when 3,000 Americans are killed on American soil by Al Qaeda while she is still locked in her office talking about Russia being the biggest threat. She gets to be the Secretary of State after that. Susan Rice just goes out there and says exactly what the CIA told her they knew at the time, but somehow she is the most evil person ever
~ Comedian Bill Maher
There must be a leftist, government cover-up going on! But honestly, the engine that is and has been driving the crazy for the Republican Party and the conservative movement, it’s still Sen. John McCain.
~ MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, via Raw Story
Attacks on U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice:
. . . to me a terrible mistake to make whether it was done intentionally or unintentionally and to show the significance of that, I believe she should resign, yes.
Either way it was wrong. It was intentionally or it was done through ignorance, but in either case I think we have to show that there is a price to be paid for such a gross misstatement of reality and of the facts. . . . She was the one who was sent out by the administration. She was the one who went from show to show. She was the one who was out front. She was the one who was there. And therefore she was going to get the glory of that. Now she should pay the consequences.
~ Rep. Peter King R-NY, Homeland Security Committee Chairman via CNN
She is responsible to the Senate of the United States...I was on 'Face the Nation' the morning she came on and told that incredible story and right after the president of the Libyan National Assembly said it was al Qaeda...and yet she never changed her story."
. . . Rice is not very bright, because it was obvious that this was not a 'flash mob' and there was additional information by the time she went on every news show...in America."
~ Senator John McCain R-AZ on CBS This Morning
Somebody has got to start paying a price around this place. I don't think she deserves to be promoted. There are a lot of qualified people in this country the president could pick, but I am dead-set on making sure we don't promote anybody that was an essential player in the Benghazi debacle.
. . . This is about the role she played around four dead Americans, when it seems to be that the story coming out of the administration - and she's the point person - is so disconnected to reality I don't trust her. And the reason I don't trust her is because I think she knew better, and if she didn't know better she shouldn't be the voice of America.
~ Senator Lindsey Graham R-SC
If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after someone they should go after me. When they go after the U.N. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me.
. . . she made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. ~ President Obama in his first press conference via CNN
The president of the United States did not tell the American people the truth about the attacks that took four brave Americans' lives that went on for eight, seven hours, for which we were totally unprepared. Mr. President, four brave Americans died. It has now been eight weeks. The American people have received nothing but contradictory statements from all levels of our government," he said, pounding his hand on the lectern.
. . . this president and this administration has either been guilty of colossal incompetence or engaged in a cover up, neither of which are acceptable to the American people.
~ Senator McCain after the President's remarks
Mr. President, don't think for one minute I don't hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi. I think you failed as commander-in-chief before, during, and after the attack.
. . . I'm not asking (Rice) to step down. I'm just not going to promote anybody that I think is up to their eyeballs in the debacle.
~ Senator Graham after the President's remarks
House Foreign Affairs Meeting on Benghazi 11-15-2012 Heated Up
This is not simply a cover up of a third-rate burglary. We have four of our personnel dead, and it is not a McCarthy-era tactic to demand accountability and to demand that American people are not misinformed about it to the point that they don't know what the threat is.
. . . What is clear is that this administration, including the president himself, has intentionally misinformed, read that LIED, to the American people in the aftermath of this tragedy. Now President Obama has the gall to float the name as possibly secretary of State, the name of the person who is the actual vehicle used to misinform the American people during this crisis.
~ Rep. Dana Rohrabacher R-CA
Let's just hang the guilty parties. . . .
The stench of hypocrisy that hangs over this city today emanates from this room. I've listened to my colleagues talk about the President of the United States and others in the administration using [the] terms 'deliberate', 'lies', 'unmitigated gall', 'malfeasance,' which is malicious and knowing evil-doing, 'disgust', 'coverups'.
If you want to know who is responsible in this town, buy yourself a mirror!
. . . (The Administration requested) $440 million more than you guys wanted to provide. And the answer is that you damn didn't provide it! You REDUCED what the administration asked for to protect these people. Ask not who the guilty party is, it's you! It is us. It is this committee, and the things that we insist that we need have to cost money.
~ Rep. Larry Ackerman D-NY
Smear, character assassination, judgment before all the facts are in is McCarthyism. and that's an attempt to besmirch, in my opinion, the reputation of a very talented and capable public servant. I want no part of it.
. . . The election is over. The president won reelection. The voices of the public were heard. They want us to cooperate. If you want an honest investigation of this tragedy, we will join you. But if you want to persist in trying to put this, lay this somehow at the doorstep of the president or the secretary of State or the United Nations ambassador, you will find us ready and willing to resist to the teeth.
~ Rep. Gerald Connolly D-VA
TED BARRETT, CNN PRODUCER: I understand that you did miss this briefing yesterday…
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I’m not … No more comment.. I have no more commment.
CNN: I’m not sure… (Cross talk.)
MCCAIN: … My schedule, and I’m not gonna comment on how I spend my time in the Senate.
CNN: I mean, is there a …?
MCCAIN: I will not comment. I have no further comment..
CNN: Is there a legitimate reason…?
MCCAIN: I have no further comment. I have no further comment.
CNN: (Garbled.)
MCCAIN: How many times do I have to tell you? I have no further comment. CNN: Why can’t you comment on that?
MCCAIN: Why can’t I?! Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment. Who the hell are you to tell me whether I can or not?!
CNN: I’m a reporter, and I’m asking you a question.
MCCAIN: That’s fine, and I’m giving you an answer. For the tenth time… Get away from me, please.
CNN: Did you make a mistake by not attending that … You’re very mad about it, you must admit.
MCCAIN: I have no comment and I’m angry at you because …
CNN: (Garbled.)
MCCAIN: Why should I not … why can I not have a comment?
CNN: Because you missed an important briefing on a subject you are intensely upset about.
MCCAIN: I have no comment — I’m not upset. I’m upset that you keep badgering me.
CNN: You want a select committee. You want all of this…
MCCAIN: I want you to stop badgering me.>
The Senate Intelligence Committee Met with Petraeus Friday Nov. 16 to Clarify Things
I'm going to try to tell you what I can that's not classified. We had a meeting with Director Petraeus, giving us a chronological -- telling us in a chronological order exactly what we felt happened, how it happened and where we're going in the future.
In the beginning we feel that it was spontaneous. The protest -- because it went on for two or three hours, which was very relevant. Because if it was something that was planned, then they could have come and attacked right away.
~ REP. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER D-MD via CNN Transcripts
He (Petraeus) ... stated that he thought all along he made it clear that there was significant terrorist involvement, and that is not my recollection of what he told us on September 14.
. . . He was a strong soldier. Very professional, very knowledgeable, very strong," King said. "He's a solid guy. I consider him a friend, which made the questioning tough. You realize the human tragedy here.
~ Peter King, R-NY
We have seen wrong intelligence before and it all surrounded our going into Iraq, and a lot of people were killed based on bad intelligence. And I don't think that is fair game. I think mistakes get made. You don't pillory the person.
To select Ambassador Rice because she used an unclassified talking point, to say that she is unqualified to be secretary of state, I think, is a mistake. And the way it keeps going it is almost as if the intent is to assassinate her character.
~ Senator Dianne Feinstein D-CA, head of the Intelligence Committee, who read Rice's original talking points on Benghazi out loud to reporters, via CNN:
The three unclassified talking points that were used by Rice on September 16 were read aloud to reporters on the Hill Friday.
They are:
-- The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations.
-- This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated.
-- The investigation is ongoing, and the U.S. government is working with Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens.
During Thursday's closed-door briefing, the committee members saw a film put together by the National Counterterrorism Center of the events in Benghazi. Also testifying Thursday were FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, Under Secretary of State for Management Pat Kennedy and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen.
"The film is a composite from a number of sources. It is real-time and does begin from when before the incident started and it goes through the incident and the exodus," Feinstein said.
She added that the footage includes video shot from an unmanned aerial vehicle. But she did not answer whether the video showed the ambassador, who was killed in the assault on the compound.
Sen. Chambliss, said that viewing the real-time video of the attack is very sobering.
Does John McCain just want to be Chairman of a Benghazi Investigating Committee?
Ryan Grim of Huffington Post: . . . The facts are these - (McCain's) slide into irrelevance would be stemmed by a new committee. He's behind Tom Coburn on Homeland Security. He's not on Foreign Relations. ...He's off his current ranking seat on Armed Services (in Jan). He's already done the Indian Affairs committee. That's the perch he used to go after Jack Abramoff, so he couldn't really do that again. So yes, if they create a new committee and he's the top Republican on it, that allows him to keep going on Sunday shows, and he can continue to pontificate. Reverend Al Sharpton: And you have breaking news on that committee? Ryan Grim: That's right. Harry Reid just sent a letter back to (McCain) saying thanks for the suggestion, but no thanks. We're gonna do this through the normal channels and he's rejecting the idea. Rev. Al: So the Majority Leader is rejecting Mr. McCain's request for a special committee? Ryan Grim: Right.
