Because Only Women Get STD's

Not sure I agree with Booman here about Mark Steyn's reasoning to not include $335 million in the stimulus bill to help states treat/prevent STD's. First off let me say Mark Steyn is some sort of parasite that has leeched itself onto the internet, it's not that I agree with him either. I just don't think Steyn is actually inferring only women are to blame for STD's like Booman does. See for yourself.

Makes a lot of sense. If we have more STD prevention, it will be safer for loose women to go into bars and pick up feckless men, thus stimulating the critical beer and nuts and jukebox industries.

I think what Steyn is saying is that only loose women frequent bars, which obviously isn't true. Most are rather unloose until alcohol sets in. So really what we ought to to do is ban alcohol. Then we won't have to worry about loose women spreading STD's so there will be no need to spend 0.41% of the stimulus bill on loose women. Listen, this alcohol ban could really catch on. I don't know why America hasn't thought of banning alcohol sooner.

[editor's note: none of the women pictured above are known to be loose or carry STD's]

New Era for America, New Era for GOP

After six tries the RNC just elected its first black Chairman. Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele promises to lead the GOP to "something completely different." I'd say he's probably already accomplished that much. Check out the signs Steele's failed U.S. Senate campaign printed in 2006 (h/t TPM).

"Completely different" leans to the left. I give him a year and he's out.

Don't Forget

Somebody should probably tell Kent that a post like this just a mere 10 days ago would have qualified as blatant anti-Americanism.

Fitting Remembrance

Conservatives/neocons/Republicans, whatever you want to call them, can't figure out for the life of them why George Bush doesn't have a statue or at least a park in Iraq named after him. Well, he finally got his statue.

But the American-occupied government of Iraq forced authorities to take it down. I'm sure it will be back up once the occupation ends.

Stimulus Bill Passes House

Stimulus bill passes without a single Republican vote. Like I've been saying for six months, once they are out of power Republicans will all of a sudden become worried about government spending again. The GOP-controlled government passed every single spending bill George Bush delivered to it. Not one time did they tell George Bush no. In fact, they added so much pork to every spending bill they ran up the largest deficit in American history. But now that they have absolutely no power they have returned to their so-called fiscally conservative ways. It's a Fantasy World. Trust the GOP as far as you can throw 'em.

No one can say that President Obama didn't go out of his way to make this a bipartisan solution to a very real economic crisis. But bipartisanship to the GOP is an entirely Republican George Bush bill. Those days are over, thank God.

Elections Have Consequences Don't They?

As the stimulus bill comes to the House floor today it appears Republicans are going to oppose it en masse. Like I say below, that's fine. Not a single Republican vote is needed to pass this thing. But why are Republicans opposing it? Mainly because they want it to be an all Republican bill full of George Bush policies such as no stimulus spending but entirely made up of tax cuts. And this is where it all goes down hill for the GOP, if only the media would catch on that is.

Let's see here. The current stimulus bill grants $285 billion in tax cuts. President Obama's original proposal was for $300 billion, nonetheless. The $285 billion range is still larger and deeper than anything George Bush ever did. And when George Bush cut taxes his proposal was passed in full by the then GOP-controlled Congress. Bush's tax cuts were his only claim to the conservative movement his entire 8 years of power. Still to this day all we hear is that George Bush cut taxes and saved our nation from an even larger recession than what it was in 2001. But the current stimulus bill triples anything George Bush did in terms of tax cuts and the GOP opposes it. How come when a Republican was president tax cuts in the $50-100 billion range was the greatest thing ever but when a Democrat is president $285 billion isn't enough? It's called politics full hypocrisy and the media is letting it slide by.

I actually support the $300 billion range tax cut but would settle for $285 billion just to get this thing passed. Tax cuts are not stimuli, they do nothing to create jobs. Infrastructure spending, however, is stimulus spending and should be hurried through. The media can't for the life of it realize Republicans are getting away with total hypocrisy by saying the country can't afford more spending but can afford larger tax cuts. Stimulus spending is investment spending. Tax cuts are not. When we cut taxes we are cutting the government's income. How many people would want their income cut and then turn around and say they can actually buy more things and invest in assets because their income was slashed?

Stimulus Bill, Obama, Media

How Things Are Going

I probably don't need to explain to anyone how happy I am that Barack Obama is President of the United States of America. If there was anyone I could pull out of thin air and wish they were president it would have been him. So the zen feeling about it is very real to me. So far I'm very pleased with his executive orders that present a direct change from the last 8 years. I still have my Obama List of which I'm willing to be patient as well.

With all the good feelingness stuff out of the way, there is a point of confusion towards what exactly the strategy is with the Obama administration wanting so much GOP support for his policies. I can understand the desire to want a drastic approach from the Bush years of 'my way or no way.' There's nothing wrong with wanting not to be George Bush. But there is such a thing as giving too much credit to a Party that is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

Here's my deal. Obama does not need one single Republican vote in the House to pass the stimulus plan. And despite popular myth, Obama does not need one single Republican vote in the senate either. In other words, Obama's stimulus bill, which I believe is now the House Dems' stimulus bill, can pass without a single shred of Republican support. Would it be nice to have a few Repubs break and make it a somewhat bipartisan effort? Sure it would. If the GOP sees it differently then so be it. Why give them more power than what they deserve or were given by the American people two months ago? We shouldn't. Definetely President Obama shouldn't.

I'll go just a little deeper even. For some reason there's a 60 vote myth floating around about bills being passed in the senate. It does not require 60 votes to pass anything in the senate. I'll repeat again because for some reason people can't grasp this law. A simple majority is required to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate! Simple meaning 51 votes. The Democrats currently have 58 votes, 59 if you include Senator Al Franken who will be seated any day. The 60 vote myth is a rule set up by Republicans in 2006 when they lost their majority, and agreed upon by the Dems. It requires 60 votes for cloture or force a filibuster. Guess what? Make the Republicans filibuster the stimulus bill. Make them do it. Make the tough, macho, Rush Limbaugh circle jerkers actually filibuster it.

I don't see any point in conceding to the Republicans more George Bush policies. Why henge this bill on the inclusion of the same failed Republican policies that got us into this mess? And where is frank talk about all this in the media-- talk about not one single Republican vote is needed to pass the stimulus bill. Why is none of this being said?

Republican Concentration Camp (*Update)

Three days ago, and continuously since then, on his Fantasy World Show Super Patriot Sean Hannity repeated the false claim that President Obama wants to endanger Americans by closing down Gitmo. Hannity falsely asserted "[s]ixty-one people we know now were released [from Guantánamo] and now they're back on the battlefield." The only thing wrong with that statement is it's not true.

But don't let facts stand in the way of a perfectly good fear tactic by the Republican Party. Put aside for a second that Hannity is lying through his teeth and focus on what he's really saying. There's no doubt by government accounts some prisoners from Gitmo have been released and believed to have returned to operative status but do you blame them?

What would you do if you were horded to a concentration camp, tortured and kept in solitary confinement for an unknown period of time? Once and if released would you go gleefully back to your home singing the praises of the country responsible for your captivity? Or would you be a little peeved about the whole thing and vow to forever kill those responsible?

Seems to me the purpose of the Republican Concentration Camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba defeats itself entirely.

*Update:

Who you gonna believe?? Defense Secretary Bob Gates just today said that the "recidivist" rate for Gitmo is four or five percent. As Spencer Ackerman notes, that's no where near the 61 Sean Hannity and Fox News keep lying about. Beyond proof this is nothing but a total right wing fear tactic, just like the one they used to invade Iraq and just like the one the used to hold onto power for 8 long, miserable years.

Republican Socialism At Work

It seems that Super Capitalist and staunch anti-socialist government bailout guru Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor's wife runs a branch for Emigrant Bank who just so happened to receive $267 million in socialist tax payer money used to nationalize buy stock in the failing bank. A Cantor aide said that it was unfair to suggest any quid pro quo "since no experts, soothsayers or former U.S. Treasury secretaries at any point or time have predicted the changes in how the bailout money would be used..."

Geez, it doesn't take a soothsayer to see the hypocrisy in all this. The issue isn't whether or not Cantor intervened to see that his wife's bank received socialist money or not, I'm sure he probably didn't. The issue is the fact that without such money his wife's job would be in jeopardy. In normal, every day, reality-world opposing such programs while you personally benefit from them is hypocritical. But remember, it's only socialism when Democrats do it or when poor people benefit from government programs. When Republicans do it it's such a rare occurrence that not even "soothsayers" can predict exactly who benefits from government entitlement programs.

The End of the Movement

Obama: "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done."

I'll add, you can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and expect to know anything about anything. A party's whose political intellect that comes from a drug-addicted, hate-filled entertainer can't be taken seriously on anything. It's over.

The Bush Legacy

Since Bush has officially left office the numbers can now be crunched. No president in history has ever had the Dow lose so many points. No president in modern history has ever had such a low GDP growth. No president in modern history has ever had such a poor job growth rate. And Bush offers 8 government bailouts and 2 federal takeovers to Clinton's zero on both accounts.

I could not possibly imagine what would have happened if Clinton gave George Bush the country he is now giving to Obama. But in the Republican Fantasy World this is how they view the last 8 years (Yes this is actually a screen shot of the RNC website this evening).

That's right, thanks to George Bush and the Freedom Fighting Republican Party the U.S. economy is stronger than ever and everything is just splendid. Only those who are not real and "good, decent, reasonable and patriotic" Americans don't see the excellent job George Bush has done. They really believe it. They just don't understand why the rest of us don't believe it too. Their World is one of frolicking fantasy and now they are demanding that they be included in our new government. Keeping them as powerless as possible is the best hope for this nation.

(h/t image via TPM)

*Late Update:

I couldn't make this stuff up. I wish I was making it up because the stakes are as high as they have ever been but in all my facetiousness I couldn't come close to making this stuff up.

On Thursday three House Republicans donated 40 minutes on the House Floor for a tribute to former President George W. Bush. The three men compared Bush to Lincoln and Churchill and said one day we will wish that the Lion George Bush would be walking amongst us again. They said our nation owes a bit of gratitude to Bush and that he made the country "brighter" and "more hopeful" for our children. Oh please!

This is the ultimate Fantasy World. These are the same people who said Clinton ruined the country and that Barack Obama is a terrorist. In every performance indicator for the presidency George Bush ranks as the worst president ever, except for household income where he is tied for third worst ever. Despite clear reality and despite clear indications that George Bush is the most unpopular president ever, the Republican Party states, proudly on their website, and in the halls of government, that George Bush was a great president and that our country has benefited greatly-- no performed better than ever before-- from Bush's 8 year reign. Fantasy doesn't really do this justice. These people are mentally impaired and completely incapable of any benefit to society.

Pathetic

Kent at Right From Left calls President Obama "dumb and weak" and a "little boy president" because the president included one of his White House counsels in a conference. Kent has always been one of the most ardent name callers to anyone who did not fully support President Bush, routinely questioning anyone's patriotism that did not agree with George Bush. He even makes mention in the post that Bush would have been hounded by the press if he had asked a question on a topic. That's just Fantasy thinking on Kent's part. Kent forgets that not one time did Bush ever try to explain the order or bill he was signing into law. Instead Bush issued hundreds of signing statements explaining that he was not bound by the law he was signing. The only thing dumb and weak are people who just 72 hours ago were running around calling Bush the greatest president ever and calling anyone who didn't support him immature names.

Oh By the Way, The Sun Revolves Around the Earth

I think I'm on record all over the internet saying there is no need for President Obama to consult Republicans on anything he wants to do. I say this from a purely political standpoint. Let me explain. In addition to the White House, the Dems control both the Senate and the House by very strong margins. And it's not as if the Repubs just barely lost power, they were overwhelmingly thrown out of power. The American people have rejected the GOP ideology, their agenda and their governance. As president, Obama has every right to do as he wants when it comes to executive power.

Granted someone who runs his campaign on unity and collective burdenship is bound to live up to his stump speeches. No doubt Obama has done such. He dined with right wing "thinkers," and held a dinner in honor of his former opponent John McCain, plus I'm sure in the coming days he'll meet with Republican leaders. The only reason the GOP has any breath in it whatsoever is because Obama has allowed it. Call it class or whatever you like but it's more than any president has done in a very long time to bring the country together. So when I say Obama doesn't need to consult the GOP I mean it from a very political viewpoint. He doesn't need them for anything but he's reaching out to them anyway

Aside from politics I see no reason to consult a Party whose agenda is built around the anciently discarded notion that climate change is a farce and one that is excitedly pro-torture. Take a look at what the GOP is currently doing to prove my point. They are holding up Lisa Jackson's confirmation to the EPA because Jackson believes in a scientifically proven fact that humans are contributing to climate change. They are also holding up Eric Holder's confirmation as Attorney General because he is against torture. Why breathe life into a political party that is as unpopular as it is immoral?

The Democratic movement that President Obama has created should be talking at every possible venue what it is the GOP actually stands for: global pollution and torture. That's why there's no need to consult them on anything, it's like giving credence to someone who believes the Sun revolves around the Earth.

Deep Thoughts

Remember back in the day, nay very long ago, when it was unpatriotic to not support the President of the United States? Remember when you were called anti-American and a terrorist sympathizer if you didn't bow down to the president? That seems like so long ago but it was only Monday. Seems National Review's the Corner has forgotten how things were just 48 hours ago as well. I told ya this would happen.

Obama Orders Gitmo Closed

Cross that one off my list.

• Safe, careful and timely withdrawal from Iraq
• Stimulus bill that is real and on par with the New Deal. One that will create millions of new jobs; that will repair and enhance our crumbling infrastructure and will provide new money and initiative for green technology and high-speed commuter rails.
• Broadband access universally.
• Obama’s health care plan passed in full.
• Close down Gitmo.

Let the Obstruction Begin

President Obama has bent over backwards to accommodate the weakest major political party in history. He attended a right wing "thinkers" dinner at George Will's house. He held a dinner to honor his former opponent and GOP candidate for president John McCain, something that has never been done before. The president has also allowed extreme leeway in their criticisms of him. And what do the Republicans do in return? Hold up Eric Holder's Senate confirmation as Attorney General and Lisa Jackson to the EPA.

I Was There

What an incredible adventure the last four days have been. Unfortunately our Ball routine was cut short due to the fact that it took five hours or so to get back to our hotel. But I would do it all again. I'm back in Southern Illinois now and I'll get the blog going again here soon.

Inaugural Blogging II

What a long day. It was total chaos riding the Metro into the District. We left the hotel at 8am and didn't get to the National Mall until almost Noon. We had less than six miles to go too. Lots of walking, very slowing walking. If anybody sees on the news about a woman falling onto the tracks at Gallery Point, that was my train. Luckily for me it didn't slow us down anymore than what things already were. I believe it shut down the orange line for over an hour. But it was our stop and we moved out of the way for the firefighters to respond, who by the way were there in seconds.

It was very cold but once we got to the Mall the cold was the last thing on anybody's mind. My guess is there had to be 2 million people just at the Mall. It was incredible. When it was over it took hours, I mean hours to get back out of the District. So we called it an early night and I'm here at the blog about to crawl into bed. Everything, the whole experience, has been so exhausting but well worth it.

The best part about the whole day besides watching Obama take the oath was watching Bush get booed as he made his appearance. What he's done to this country is despicable. A mere goodbye song by millions and millions of people is nothing compared to the disrespect he has shown the this country and the world.



I have my own video of the booing and singing also but it's too late to find the chords to hook up my video recorder to the laptop. I'll do it when I get back to Illinois. Until the video above is really worth a brief watch.

Bush Booed

Inaugural Blogging

This place is electric! I don't know how else to describe it. I've been to Washington many times in the past and I've never seen it like this. People are happy, proud, hopeful, cordial and best of all, celebrating America. Going to meet up with some friends for lunch today and probably do a round of drinks this evening. The weather isn't the best ever. Cold, snowy and could really do without the wind. But it's not stopping the crowds. For the first time ever I'm going to march on Washington. A revolutionized democracy has to be the greatest spectacle of mankind.

Road Trip

My trek to Washington has begun. This will be my first time driving. Usually I fly but there were no flights left out of St. Louis or Nashville. So a twelve hour drive it is. I have a full four days planned but I will try to squeeze in a post or two. I'll be at the Obama Home State Illinois Ball on Tuesday night if anyone wants to look me up. I'll also be at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Convention Center that airs live on ABC if any readers will be there. Let me know. Also, I think I'll be at the Be The Change Inaugural Ball as well. That's the one that will be live on MTV. Look for me!

He Kept Us Safe, Oh So Safe

How safe did he really keep us? Got this fancy chart via Matt Yglesias. If we actually stop and think about which president has the worst record of mass casualty terrorist attacks it's George W. Bush. But in the Republican Fantasy World, he's the only president to ever keep us safe.

Also, as Yglesias points out, Bush is the only president who killed bin Laden.

Bush Final Approval Rating: 22%

The most unpopular president in modern American history just got a little more unpopular. The last CBS News/NYT poll of Bush's reign has him at 22% approval and 73% disapproval.

Mr. Bush's final approval rating is the lowest final rating for an outgoing president since Gallup began asking about presidential approval more than 70 years ago.

[...]

Harry Truman had previously had the lowest end-of-term approval at 32 percent, as measured by Gallup.

Views of Mr. Bush's popularity are highly partisan. Only 6 percent of Democrats approve of the job he has done as president, while 57 percent of Republicans approve. Eighteen percent of independents approve.

To me what's amazing is that there are people who think he's done a good job. But then again, The Fought For Stalin Too.

Truer Words Never Spoken

The other day Josh Marshall had a reader write in and describe the challenge President-elect Obama is going to face with the media and ultimately right wing pundits. I've read the excerpt a hundred times and I'm convinced it's the best summation of our current political discourse I've ever read.

From TPM:

From the WashPost homepage comes a vivid illustration of the opportunities and challenges facing the new administration:

"Adviser's Plan Would Alter Financial System: A top Obama adviser proposes measures that would dramatically expand government control over the free market in the United States."

The article itself details a report from a Group of 30 panel chaired by Paul Volcker, not from the Transition. It does, indeed, call for a thorough regulatory overhaul, including limiting the size of banks so they won't be too big to fail. But the entire point of the report is that we presently do not have a functioning free market. Insisting upon transparency, accountability, and oversight is the necessary precondition for restoring the health of the free market.

I expect this kind of distortion from AEI and Cato. But the panicked press reaction to this proposal helps explain why Obama seems so intent on retaining the capacity to communicate directly with the public. Even with the financial world teetering on the brink, the prospect of Change is deeply frightening to its denizens. This is going to get interesting.

Absolutely correct. There is nothing to suggest that we currently have a laissez faire system. That ended a long time ago. We can dream all day long about how capitalism is the greatest thing ever but our system is anything but unregulated. No one did more to regulate socialize our system than George Bush. But he gets off the hook. It will be Obama the media and the right wing will paint as "dramatically expand[ing] government control over the free market in the United States." That's such a lie. George Bush can nationalize entire industries but never gets a headline inferring the socialist takeover of our economy. Obama has a transition team that wants to increase transparency and accountability and he's expanding government into our free market system.?. There is no free market system. It's long gone. No one deserves more credit for it than George Bush. Welcome to reality people.

The Biggest Fantasy World Article Ever Written

Republican Fantasy World Captain and War Cheerleader Fred Barnes has the biggest Fantasy World Article ever written in the Weekly Standard detailing the manifest success of the Bush era. Remember these people believe that everything has been splendid these last 8 years. George Bush, to them, is the greatest president to ever serve. Their Fantasy World, where Iraq had WMD and Saddam had something to do with 9/11, is built around the macho notion that only Republicans who fully support George W. Bush and his neoconservative government are "good, decent, reasonable and patriotic" Americas. And Kent couldn't be happier.

Farewell

Didn't watch it. Don't care. Good riddance. Leave. Please, resign. Immediately. Go away.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009

House Dems are circulating $825 billion stimulus plan.

Some quick highlights that I already like about the bill.

• Lots of oversight
• No earmarks
• $32 billion to transform the nation's energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.
• $6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.
• $30 billion for highway construction.
• $6 billion for higher education modernization (personal stake in this one).
  
• $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training (personal stake in this one too).
  
• $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding (personal stake in this as well).
  
• $11 billion for research and development, pilot projects, and federal matching funds for the Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity grid making it more efficient, secure, and reliable and build new power lines to transmit clean, renewable energy from sources throughout the nation.
  

Quick items I don't like:

• Only $275 billion in tax cuts. I much prefer Obama's $300 billion in tax cuts.
• No stipulation for high-speed rails, not that I can find at least.
• I still want more for broadband access.
• I would also like to see something in there about relief for businesses.

The Lone Dissent

Moral Crusader and the man who ran his 1998 House race on the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and also the same man who paid prostitutes for sex while morally crusading against Bill Clinton, is the lone vote against Hillary Clinton today in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Coward Is Too Nice

On his way out the door, and believe me America can't wait, draft-dodger Dick Cheney again falsely and habitually lying states Saddam Hussein had something to do with bin Laden. Sigh. Don't let that door hit your ass you coward.

Is This a First?

Something to consider: never, not once, did George Bush have a positive approval rating throughout his entire second term. It's fair to state that he is the most unpopular two-term president in American history. But has any two term president had an entire term filled with four years of negative approvals? I really don't think there is another. I know Clinton didn't, Reagan didn't, Ike didn't, Truman didn't, FDR didn't...I think this is a first. On top of that, however, has any president, two-terms or not, had an entire term at negative approval? I really don't believe that's ever happened either. Not only was Bush unpopular, he was extremely, long-termly unpopular.

My List

As I make my trek this weekend to D.C. for the inauguration, I wanted to provide my Obama wish list to the public. Too many times I see people blindly following politicians and acting as if they can do nothing wrong. I try not to take that concept when it comes to political parties. All have their faults and none are perfect. I voted for Barack Obama for a reason. Well, reasons to be exact. I felt like he was the best candidate that matched my goals and aspirations for this country. I believe in this 21st century we have to progress as a people and lead the world once again as we did in the last century or we will forfeit our vanguard to another nation that we cannot so easily trust. We have to start now. The items I would like to see achieved during the next four years are important to me and I think will put this country back on track to being a world leader once again.

• Safe, careful and timely withdrawal from Iraq
• Stimulus bill that is real and on par with the New Deal. One that will create millions of new jobs; that will repair and enhance our crumbling infrastructure and will provide new money and initiative for green technology and high-speed commuter rails.
• Broadband access universally.
• Obama’s health care plan passed in full.
• Close down Gitmo.
  

This is my list, in no particular order. If the Obama administration can do half of them I’ll be very content. This is where I stand publicly. Let’s see what happens.

He Kept Us Safe

President Bush granted the biggest non-journalist in American history a full access farewell interview talking points stint to none other than Super Patriot and Fox News Host Sean Hannity.

I don't care what anyone says and Hannity can claim that he is all day long, but Sean Hannity is not a journalist. He is a Republican talk show host/entertainer and he should never be granted such access to an American president. Or if he is granted access, it should be portrayed as the spoof that it is. The journalistic equivalent to an interview by Sean Hannity is George Bush granting the same access to Jon Stewart of the Daily Show. That is Hannity's level of expertise. That is the same objectivity Hannity produces.

I watched some of the make-believe Fantasy World interview last night while at the gym working out. It was filled with make-believe patriotic innuendo about 9/11 and keeping America safe. Then this morning I read where Bush says the American president's biggest priority is keeping America safe, as if he's the only president to ever keep America safe.

If I recall correctly, every president has kept us safe. Not since 1814 have foreign troops occupied the American homeland. And even then the invasion was repelled. In comparison George Bush has done what every other president has done, kept us safe. Also in comparison, the worst attack on the American homeland came under George Bush's watch. If we consider that as keeping us safe then he failed worse than any president in history. The right-wing Republican talking point that Bush has kept us safe is easily debunked when we realize that every president did that, even the bad ones.

In the World of the right-wing, we need strong, macho men to keep us safe because people are not able to provide for their own security and are vulnerable to attack by evildoers. Without these tough, cowboy, Dick Cheney types America will cease to exist. The only thing wrong with that train of thought is that it defies every historical episode in American history. George Bush did no more to keep us safe than Millard Fillmore.

Retail Sales Plunge

December retail sales were way worse than expected.

The nation's retail sales have fallen for six months in a row now -- the longest decline on record -- with the declines accelerating as the economy weakened in the final quarter of the year. Sales data were revised lower for both October and November, to declines of 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively. Read the full government report.

A lot of this has to do with falling prices too. The recession is full-fledged.

Obama Attends Right Wing Social

Kenneth Bazinet of the New York Daily News reports Barack Obama attended a right wing party at WaPo op-ed columnist George Will's home in Maryland.

The PEOTUS departed Hay-Adams at 6:17 p.m. and at arrived at 6:34 p.m. at No. 9 Grafton St., Chevy Chase (right off the circle). Thanks to the good work of Hans Nichols (of Bloomberg and "Daily Show" fame), Montgomery County property tax records showed this is the home of conservative columnist George Will (valued at $1.9 million, according to the 2008 levy).

We're still awaiting confirmation that this is indeed Will's house from the transition, but your pool is satisfied with the documentation.

Your pool has been told it's a dinner party.

And, thanks to an enterprising photographer, a shot through a window showed op-ed stalwarts William Kristol and David Brooks are also part of this unlikely gathering of tight, right suits.

Transition mouthpiece Tommy Vietor was also spied inside the manse.

Good for Obama. I hope the reports are true. There isn't any way on God's green Earth George Bush would be making the same gestures. Change has come.

Get Rid of Him

I don't care if he paid his back taxes or not, Geithner doesn't need to be in charge of other people's money.

Obama = Drastic Change

Over the weekend President-elect Obama's economic team made considerable verbal concessions on his economic-stimulus proposal. The Politico writes:

Emerging from a two-hour meeting in the Capitol with Obama advisers Lawrence Summers and Jason Furman, Senate Democrats praised the President-elect's team for agreeing to make changes to its stimulus proposal based off of concerns senators raised last week at a meeting with the president-elect's senior aides.

The Obama team made a proposal, listened to criticisms and agreed to make concessions for its plan. Drastically different behavior from anything of the last 8 years. Probably most telling, a few days ago Obama himself said when discussing his plans for an economic stimulus: "This is not an intellectual exercise, and there’s no pride of authorship,” Obama said. “If somebody has an idea for a tax cut that’s better than we’ve proposed, then we’ll embrace it.” I could not imagine George Bush ever saying anything similar to those words.

Never did such cooperation happen under George Bush. It was either his way or no way. Anyone who dared speak out against a George Bush plan was called anti-American or a socialist or a terrorist sympathizer.

I'm encouraged by Obama's openness and frankness with the American people. I'm also encouraged by his willingness to work together on solutions. There is no 'with us or against us' chest pumping macho man talk. Just by reading this site you can see (here and here and here) that I currently don't support the initial Obama plan he submitted; however, in REALITY people are allowed to disagree about plans and proposals and not be called a "hater" or have their patriotism questioned.

Those days are gone, forever I hope.

Historical Accuracy

A little something rare happened today in D.C. No it wasn't Bush giving a press conference, it was the Smithsonian acknowledging an inaccuracy in the caption to the George W. Bush portrait.

Currently on view at the Smithsonian is the presidential portrait of George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush. The caption to the president's portrait read something like "Bush's term was marked by 'the attacks on September 11, 2001, that led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.'" No big deal to most visitors. But not entirely accurate. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and the American invasion in 2003 was purely a war of choice by George Bush.

Thanks to pressure by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) the Smithsonian has agreed to revise the label and delete the words "led to." A small but crucial revision.

Senator Burris it is.

Reality and Fantasy

The Washington Post has a very easy read on the legacy of the George Bush economy. Easy for a number of reasons. One it's just easy to read. Two, it's easy on the scale of letting Bush off the hook. I find it very hard to believe that if Bill Clinton left the economy in the state George Bush has the media would be as easy on him as they have Bush. Subsequently, the Post's article closes like this.

The highest praise Hassett offers for Bush's economic legacy is that "the economy was caught up in a storm while he was president, but it wasn't his fault."

"In the end, to the extent there ends up being a defense of the Bush presidency" on economic issues, "that's about the best you can get."

Wasn't his fault? Would they (the MSM and the right wing) really be saying it wasn't Clinton's fault if he handed over to Bush an economy in the shape that it's in currently? I think not.

In the end, there are no excuses. All of it is Bush's responsibility-- win or lose, good or bad, like it or not-- it's Bush's.

But how bad has it been? Comparing Bush to modern American presidents his record is rather abysmal.


In historical perspective Bush's Legacy, in all economic indicators, is as bad as it gets.

But remember, none of this is his fault. It's all part of a media driven hysteria to paint the greatest president ever as a failure. The Bush haters refuse to see the last 8 years as a positive direction for this country. Everything has been splendid. Only "good, decent, reasonable and patriotic Americans" understand this.

Tags: Bush Legacy

Special Prosecutor

I'm going to break with a lot of my Democratic friends here and step up and admit that I see no reason for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate Bush crimes.

This morning on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, President-elect Barack Obama was asked the question most Democrats are wanting answered.



Obama said he's more concerned with looking forward than backwards. We all know George Bush was the worst president in modern American history. He has screwed up so much that it's going to take years to pull out of his recession. Spending millions on an investigation that tells us George Bush lied to us about Iraq, illegally approved of torture techniques, spied on American citizens without a warrant and botched his oath to protect this country is a waste. His entire presidency is a crime, let's just move on. That doesn't mean we ought to forget about it and not hold Bush and the GOP responsible, that just means we don't need a special prosecutor spending millions telling us what we already know.

I Hope Not

Josh Marshall pretty much mentions my worst fear about Obama's stimulus bill. I'll post much of what he says below but keep it under a fold since it is rather lengthy. It does, however, deserve a read since it sums up one of my biggest concerns about this bill.

"Late Update: Nate Silver has an interesting and at least partly persuasive political interpretation (thanks to TPM Reader EW for flagging it for me) of what's going on here: namely, that Obama is trying to start low and let the bidding run higher, leaving it mainly to the Senate Dems to do the heavy lifting of bidding the thing up. Remember, Obama himself did seem to hint at such a strategy earlier last week.

If we assume for the sake of the conversation that this or something like it is Obama's strategy, my reaction is two-fold.

First, the legislative process is always messy. But this is a case where you want it to be as little messy as possible. We're spending a staggering amount of money here -- and for both political and policy reasons, you want it to be focused, efficient (in terms of delivering stimulus) and focused on spending projects that will not only employee people in the medium term but spur efficiencies, economic growth and other good things for the long term. If you get deep into a lot of bidding and horse-trading you get more parochial interests in the mix which cuts against those goals. I don't say that makes it a bad idea necessarily. But it's a real concern.

Second, when I write stuff critical of Obama, either on the policy or political fronts, there's always a rush of emails saying, 'Give him a chance!' 'Leave Obama alone!' 'He's probably got a plan you don't know about!' and so on. He may. I hope he does. But all of these debates are dynamic. You never assume anything. If Nate's right about what Obama's plan is, having people pushing for something better from the outside is part of it. So under either scenario, holding your tongue makes no sense, in addition to being unethical."

Leaving it to the Senate, to me, is the worst thing that could happen. There's no reason to do that. There's also no reason to include the GOP on this, or to hope for majority Republican support. It really doesn't matter what Republicans think. They lost. It's Obama's turn to do what he thinks is right and not what the Senate thinks is right. I hope mine and Josh's assumptions are wrong. I hope Obama takes ownership of this.

The Plan

After reading nearly every thing I could get my hands on about Obama's stimulus/economic plan, I've decided I know just enough to not be too thrilled about it.

For starters, the real economic stimulus of this plan is only $400 billion or so. I think that's too small. I'm not tickeled to death about the tax cuts, but Obama did run his campaign promising to cut taxes for 95% of Americans and this plan does that and then some. So I see the political necessity for the tax cuts. But tax cuts are short-term stimuli. Actual economic stimulus comes from long-term investment in job creation, new industries, infrastructure and other sustainable projects. I don't think Obama's plan goes far enough in this area. I think real economic stimulus should be in the $900 billion-$1 trillion range. A government investment into broadband access for everyone, huge infrastructure improvements, high-speed rails for commuter trains, and finally, green technology is what we desperately need. There has to be more investment in these areas because this is the 21st century's TVA equivalent. This is where tax money yields the greatest return for our future.

Worst Year for Jobs in 64 Years

Doesn't get any better than this.

• Unemployment rises to 7.2%.
  
• I'm guessing that's a generous number.
  
• Over 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 alone.
• Under employed at record high.
• Two of the top five worst jobs year ever recorded occur under Bush
  

But let's all remember George Bush is a great president. None of this is because of him. Every "good," "decent," "reasonable," and "patriotic" American realizes Bush is a great president. Things have never been better.

Time To Impeach

Illinois House Panel recommends impeachment. Vote could come tomorrow.

I've never been a fan of impeachment. I would rather see a recall law than an impeachment. I think the nation got a taste of just how silly impeachment is during the Clinton saga. Even during Bush's two terms I never once supported impeachment. My reasoning is because impeachment plays politics while a recall law gives power to the voters. But in this instance the only option available to the people of Illinois is impeachment. And I've never seen anyone more fitting for impeachment than Rod Blagojevich.

"Profound Irresponsibility"

At his press conference this morning, Obama labels the last eight years of Republican rule as "The Era Of Profound Irresponsibility." Considering the situation he's inheriting I'd say that's an understatement.

The Tax Cuts

Obama's $300 billion tax cut is larger and deeper than anything George Bush ever instituted. For I don't know, seven years now, the right wing-led GOP has claimed Bush's tax cuts constituted his largest claim to "conservatism." Along with pledging endless war, the only other talking point the right wing had to define Bush as a "conservative" were tax cuts. What will they now say about Obama?

Even though I absolutely reject any notion that attempts to portray Obama as a conservative, I have always maintained that he's rather moderate in terms of ideology. Throughout the entirety of the last year's presidential campaign we were mindlessly reminded just how liberal and socialist Obama was. Once again the right wing depiction just doesn't flow with reality.

Obama to Inherit Record Trillion Dollar Deficit

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicted a $1.2 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year. This estimate from the CBO adds in "hundreds of billions of dollars in spending tied to the government’s existing bailout programs, which the Bush administration has thus fare treated as 'investments' it would recoup rather than 'spending' or 'costs' that are down the drain." In other words, George Bush doesn't add in his multi-billion bailouts to the budget. He figures them to be investments rather than spending. What a genius. Republican math is always misleading.

Mark my words, Republicans will now all of a sudden become "extremely worried" about the national deficit once again. For 8 solid years not a single gripe about Bush's budgets but once Obama inherits this mess the GOP will return to being "fiscally responsible" again.

Just to demonstrate the degree to which George Bush has ruined this country, consider this: In 2001 George Bush inherited a $560 billion surplus. He leaves his successor with a Trillion Dollar deficit. I couldn't imagine if Clinton had done that to our country.

Are Republicans at The Corner really blaming Bush?

*Updated after The Fold

Maybe I spoke too soon. Seems here right winger Steven Spuriell alludes on The Corner that Bush is largely to blame. I mean he never comes right out and says it but there is no other conclusion to draw from this post.

Disgusting But Legal

The point of the whole Roland Burris spectacle is that it didn’t need to happen. There isn’t much Harry Reid or any other Democrat can do to stop Burris from taking his seat in the U.S. Senate. This is all the fault of Blagojevich. Had he resigned the day he was arrested like any decent human being that is concerned with the world would have done, none of this would be going on. Instead Blago thinks himself above the law. He always has. He wants to show people he’s still in charge, and that above all else, he’s innocent until proven guilty. He’s scum and as egotistical as any God-created human has ever been. Eventually he will be impeached and removed from office but until then look for him to keep reminding us that he’s still governor. What a jerk. He’s so proud. It’s amazing his head hasn’t exploded from the constant flow of vanity gushing towards it.

Refusing to the Bitter End

As the least popular president in American history prepares to leave office, a jubilant nation awaits his successor. Whatever support Bush may have remaining, which can almost be counted on one hand as he has a 72% disapproval rating, they will try their hardest to repair and cloak his legacy in some of the most outlandish lies ever told. Today’s example is chickenhawk Hugh Hewitt.

Hewitt writes of Bush’s Grand Presidency:

“Bush quickly rallied the country’s confidence at Yankee Stadium, spoke to its sorrows at the National Cathedral and announced its firm resolve to the world in his address to the Congress. He then directed the takedown of the Taliban and, with it, the support structure and command-and-control capabilities of Al Qaeda, which began the complete overhaul of the national security apparatus of the United States.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly 8 years later we are still trying to “takedown” the Taliban. Even right wing newshound Matt Drudge carried a lead link on his front page just two a weeks ago proclaiming the resurgence of the Taliban.

It also should be whole heartily mentioned that 2008 was the deadliest year yet for American troops in Afghanistan. The Taliban was never taking down. It melted into the population awaiting Bush’s incompetent invasion of Iraq.

Defying all forms of human logic, Hewitt goes on to call Bush’s post 9/11 plans as “remarkably successful.”

Since Sept. 11th, al Qaeda has reportedly committed over 10 attacks worldwide, possibly having some responsibility for the latest terrorist attacks in Pakistan last month. Does that sound like an operation whose support structure and command-and-control capabilities have been taking away? Only if you are one of the handful who still cling to the Greatness of George Bush could you call such failure and incompetence “remarkably successful.”

Hewitt, however, doesn’t stop with Afghanistan. In Hewitt’s eyes, the greatest achievement of the Bush administration is the invasion of Iraq, a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11 or al Qaeda.

“Removal of the threat can be by force of arms, as with Iraq, or by force of will, as with Libya, but there is no safe alternative to the Bush Doctrine if the regime is a menace with the means to strike the U.S. directly or through proxies. Bush’s doctrines have defined the choices ahead, and will be used to evaluate his successors’ policies via the jihadists and their ambitions for WMD.”

Let’s get this straight. We did not invade Iraq because of Saddam’s “ambitions for WMD.” We were told, point blankly, that he not only possessed WMD but would use them and/or give them to his buddy bin Laden. The invasion of Iraq was not over a matter of dictatorial ambitions. It was a war of choice by a bunch of madmen who spread lies and fear to an entire nation. Only cowards like Hugh Hewitt refuse to face a reality that is far different from their make-believe World.

Hewitt leaves us, hopefully for good, with a promise that he can be counted amongst Bush’s 30%, which will soon turn to 40 and then to 50 and so on forever climbing throughout the ages. But first the Greatest President Ever has to get to 30%. As nice as it is to see the right wing finally acknowledge that Bush has gutter approval ratings, they are still not accurate in their assessment of just how unpopular this man really is. The last time a consensus of polls showed Bush at 30% was in February 2008, almost a year ago. His disapprovals are the highest in recorded history and his agenda has not one single second-term accomplishment. Count me happily among the 72% of Americans who currently disapprove of this man and his Fantasy World full of lunatic War Cheerleaders.

The Hits: Updated (now with an update of its own)

As I noted the other day news coming out of Alaska that the arrest of Sarah Palin's teen daughter's baby's father's mother was delayed until after the election for political reasons was indeed a face value story. It's no secret the state police and Sarah Palin don't like each other, so anything involving the two should be treated carefully. As it turns out, the state trooper making claims of political interference is now backing down. This should be duly noted in treated with such regard.

*Update:

On the other hand, another Palin saga I mentioned the other day turns out to have been right on the money.

Levi Johnston, Sarah Palin's daughter's baby's papa, has resigned his position as an electrical apprentice. Turns out you gotta have a high school diploma, which he doesn't because he dropped out of school to pursue an online degree. Nevertheless, it's rather apparent Gov. Palin had to have had some influence on getting the unqualified Levi a highly sought after job.

The Circus Goes To Washington

And it's not allowed in.

What Do You Have To Do To Become RNC Chair?

Swear allegiance to Reagan and acknowledge Ron Paul. Poor saps. When asked who was their favorite Republican president all six men in line for the job answered Ronald Reagan. Guess they forgot about Lincoln. I suppose Lincoln did insist on equal rights for all Negros whether magic or not so I can see how Republicans easily forget about him.

The question would have been better asked to name their favorite Republican president who actually lived by the principles he claimed to so ardently believe in like fiscal responsibility, shrinking government and more personal liberties. I'm sure they would still answer Reagan even though that would be a flat out lie. Reagan never once shrunk government or created any sense of fiscal responsibility (he ran budget deficits every year) I wouldn't expect anything else from the Republican Fantasy World, however.

Yikes (*Update, **this post keeps going on)

Obama set to release economic plan filled with tax cuts and more spending? So says CNN. I couldn't agree more with both directions but when already faced with record deficit spending I'm a little hesitant to support an additional $300 billion in tax cuts and upwards of $1 trillion in stimulus spending.

*Update:

Jed Lewison has a quick breakdown of the numbers. Based on GDP, the "new" part of Obama's plan will be about 1.5%. A little small I think. But I guess if you add that in with the previous 2008 level spending, which was rather useless I think, it amounts to roughly 3% of GDP. As long as it's spent on actual stimulus areas this could really create some jobs.

**Later Update:

Looks like me and Josh Marshall are thinking along the same lines about Obama's plan. Like Josh, I'm not sure yet.


***Later, later Update:

Initial reaction has me a bit lukewarm for Obama's proposal. Like Krugman says, public investment is a much better way to provide economic stimulus rather than tax cuts. Krugman, however, brings up another good point that crossed my mind earlier this morning which is Obama's throwing in the tax cuts to back the Repubs into a corner. Maybe so. There's a really good chance the Republicans are going to claim that they are fiscally responsible and that they know what's best to get finances in order. But they had their chance. They are the one's responsible for this mess. While in power the GOP was anything but fiscally responsible. Believing that they have now, somehow, found their soul and they know how to lead this nation is mindless hogwash. They are today no more fiscally responsible than they were yesterday.

So why even bother playing ball with the Republicans. At best they can appear obstructionist but that gives them way too much credit. They are powerless, don't make them appear anything but.

The Hits Keep On Coming

If I didn't know any better I would think the people of Alaska didn't like their governor. I've been told numerous times of her extreme popularity in one of the scarcest populated states, but reading the largest newspaper in that state really begs to differ just how great and popular Sarah Palin really is.

I wrote the other day about Sarah Palin's advice to pregnant teens, if you talk to God about it then everything's okay. Also, Gov. Palin appears to have pulled some strings to get her teen daughter's baby's father a job as an electrical apprentice. And now it appears that the arrest of her teen daughter's baby's father's mother was delayed until after the election because of political meddling by Sarah Palin, or so says an investigator for the Alaska State Police.

Kyle Young, a troopers drug investigator who was involved in the case, wrote in an e-mail last week to all members of the Public Safety Employees Association, the union that represents troopers and other law enforcement officers around the state.

Young wrote that after it became clear who Johnston is, "this case became anything but normal."

"It was not allowed to progress in a normal fashion, the search warrant service WAS delayed because of the pending election and the Mat Su Drug Unit and the case officer were not the ones calling the shots," Young wrote.

I think it should also be pointed out that Gov. Palin and the State Police really don't like each other so all of this should immediately be taken at face value.

Richardson Out

Gov. Bill Richardson withdraws his nomination for commerce secretary due to an ongoing investigation in his home state of New Mexico. The investigation surrounds donations to three committees setup by Richardson.

Palin: Teen Pregnancy Turns Into a Joy When You Ask God To See You Through (*Update)

Defending her unmarried, teen, new mother of a daughter from accusations that she and her boyfriend are high school drop-outs, Sarah Palin also said in a statement released on Jan. 1st that teen pregnancy can be turned into a "joy" and a "blessing" when you ask God to help you through.

When Bristol and Levi first told us the shocking news that she was pregnant, to be honest, we all at first looked at the situation with some fear and a bit of despair. Isn't it just like God to turn those circumstances into such an amazing, joyful blessing when you ask Him to help you through?"

I wonder that means for teen mother's who don't ask God to see them through.

Palin also added that her teen daughter's boyfriend, whose mother was arrested last week on drug charges, was not a high school drop-out. Instead, Levi is taking online courses while he works as an apprentice electrician.

*Update:

Initial reports out of Alaska is that despite Sara Palin's grandson's father being a high school drop-out or not really doesn't matter. Dan Fagan with the Alaska Daily News is reporting that all electrical apprentices must have a high school diploma prior to entering the program.

...federal regulations require all members of apprentice programs, union or otherwise, to first obtain a high school diploma, something the governor's soon-to-be son-in- law does not have. Some apprentice programs even require the completion of high school level algebra or the post-secondary equivalent.

If that's the case, and I have no clue at all, but if it is then Palin's got some explaining to do.

All Fun and Games

I love watching Republicans and Fox News discuss whether or not calling the President of the United States a Magic Negro is a racist term. It's probably no worse than calling George Bush a Rich Cracker, which is something Fox News or the head of the RNC ever did. But, to me, the two have about the same connotation. I remember a time not too long ago, let's say...last year, when insulting and/or not supporting the president was viewed as unpatriotic and anti-American. It was completely impossible, Republicans argued, to support the troops but not the president. So to minimize our Great and Patriotic Leader, George W. Bush, was to minimize our glorious nation. I remember those days vividly. Of course now they are long gone as the next head of the RNC, the leading opposition party in America, distributes compact discs with show tunes calling our newest president a Magic Negro. And lest we forget one of the leading cable news channels bends over backwards to fully support any Republican's decision to use the phrase.

I fail to see how calling Barack Obama a Magic Negro is not derogatory even if it's not racist. This is what the Republican Party has succumbed to. All throughout John McCain's campaign with Sarah Palin at his side, Obama was called many worse things by gleeful and angrily violent crowds. And now we have that same realm of support passing along CD's entitled "We Hate America." How mature and progressive the RNC must be. As the country gets ready to swear in its first Black president, a president Americans overwhelmingly elected while simultaneously rejecting the intolerant, war crazy, Hooverist economists on the right, we can clearly see exactly what the GOP views as being important to this nation.

Franken Wins Another Recount

I have no clue about all the different directions the Minnesota Senate race has taken, I lost track a long time ago, but it appears with the final recount ending Al Franken has a 225 vote lead, making him the next U.S. Senator from Minn.

Why Is This Man Still Allowed To Speak?

War cheerleader and chickenhawk John Bolton has been popping wood over Israel's attack on Hamas this week. He has routinely called the move by Israel as presenting the United States a perfect opportunity to attack Iran.



In an op-ed today for the WSJ, Bolton cheers that the time to attack Iran is now and the perfect start to an Obama presidency would be an invasion of Iran.

Options on Iran are more limited, but meaningful efforts at regime change and assisting Israel should it decide to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities would be good first steps.

For people like John Bolton and the remaining remnants of George Bush supporters, war is an obsession. It's all they can do to strut their masculinity around and call anyone who doesn't support war without end an anti-American. But their war-craze has limits. It's war they don't have to fight and die in. Like Bolton said in the 60s when he was of prime fighting age and when his country needed him most, he didn't want to "die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy," but supporting the endless war in Vietnam gave him no such hesitations. The same is true today. War is to be cheered and romanticized just as long as he doesn't have to be the one doing the fighting and dying. War cheerleaders cannot get enough of watching on television war footage or reading on their computer screens how great war is.

More importantly, though, is the decision by the WSJ to allow such a low-ranking and peasantry of importance as someone like John Bolton to enter their op-ed pages. The American people overwhelmingly rejected the notions and ideology of Bolton, George Bush and John McCain. What they say and do does not matter. Their voice is but a lone distant sound in what now guides American policy. Giving them room on a national newspaper is like giving credence to people who believe the sun revolves around the earth-- it's a long ago, anciently discarded belief. Likewise, there's really no reason anything Bolton says should be of enough value to place in a national newspaper or on any cable television news channel. The right wing just can't quite understand how unpopular they are.

WaPo: Republicans Fearing Obama Admin.

The Washington Post has one of the dumbest stories ever written in a national newspaper. Reading it reminds me of something that I would see in my college newspaper when a die hard Republican student would try to write an unbiased report on politics-- usually such stories are transparent to the core. The gist of the story is that "conservatives"-- whatever that may mean-- are fearing "liberals" in the Obama administration.

Some well-known Democratic activists are advising Obama on how to steer federal agencies, including a few whom conservative Republicans fought hard to keep out of power in the Clinton administration. They include Roberta Achtenberg, a gay activist whose confirmation as an assistant housing secretary was famously held up by then-Sen. Jesse Helms (N.C.), and Bill Lann Lee, who was hotly opposed by foes of affirmative action and temporarily blocked from the government's top civil rights job.

Conservatives fear that some of these Obama transition advisers are too far left on the political spectrum and are a sign of radical policies to come.

The whole thing is a really sad story. Sad in a sense that it's all make-believe. It doesn't matter what Republicans think. They lost. They are out of power. They do not get to choose who is in the new president's cabinet. Win an election and then you can decide who to put where.