:: Cheney denies perverting the constitution.
In an on-air interview with Rush Limbaugh [gag], via Politico, Cheney says that he believes that "the next president" will thank him for expanding presidential authority, and denies exceeding their constitutional authority.
"We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested," Cheney added. "The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster." POLITICO
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:: IPD Daily Cartoon Find
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:: The Relevant Rhino targets the economy in another brilliant op-ed.
Can you say "hypocrisy"? The hypocrites I am referring to are members of the GOP, not Relevant Rhino. ;)
We all know the patriotic, American way is to set up an offshore account for your business so that you don’t have to pay any of those damn liberal, commie taxes. It’s fulfilling your duty to your country (that you love so much you put a flag sticker on the back of your SUV to prove it) to outsource your jobs because 13 year-olds in third world countries don’t care about the bennies as much as they do that $1.26 a week. The Relevant Rhino
Image credit: Warner Brothers
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:: Colin Powell talks Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh and more or less said that they suck.
I don't know how I missed this last week, but I did. Take that, Palin and Limbaugh!
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has turned down another challenge to Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president because of his citizenship.
The appeal by Cort Wrotnowski of Greenwich, Conn., was denied Monday without comment.
Wrotnowski argued that Obama was a British subject at birth and therefore cannot meet the requirement for becoming president.
He wanted the high court to halt presidential electors from meeting to formally elect Obama as president.
Echoing an appeal that was rejected by justices last week, Wrotnowski said that since Obama had dual nationality at birth _ his mother was American, his Kenyan father was a British subject _ he cannot possibly be a "natural born citizen." ABC News
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:: The Supreme Court denies another Obama citizenship challenge without comment.
As could have been predicted. I hope that this finally settles the matter.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has turned down another challenge to Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president because of his citizenship.
The appeal by Cort Wrotnowski of Greenwich, Conn., was denied Monday without comment.
Wrotnowski argued that Obama was a British subject at birth and therefore cannot meet the requirement for becoming president.
He wanted the high court to halt presidential electors from meeting to formally elect Obama as president.
Echoing an appeal that was rejected by justices last week, Wrotnowski said that since Obama had dual nationality at birth _ his mother was American, his Kenyan father was a British subject _ he cannot possibly be a "natural born citizen." HUFFPO
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:: Caroline Kennedy will seek Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant senate seat.
For years I have wondered if she would ever succumb to the political legacy of her family, and I have often thought that she would be one of those rare pols that we so need more of -- honest and truly interested in public service. This is getting ahead of myself, but can you imagine another president with the name of 'Kennedy'?
The decision came after a series of deeply personal and political conversations, in which Ms. Kennedy, who friends describe as unflashy but determined, wrestled with whether to give up what has been a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight.
Ms. Kennedy will ask that Gov. David A. Paterson consider her for the appointment. The governor was traveling to Utica today could not immediately be reached for comment.
If appointed, Ms. Kennedy would fill the seat once held by her uncle, the late Robert F. Kennedy. NYT
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:: Sec. Gates stands up Bush in favor of a meeting with Obama transition team.
Not a big deal, but amusing, nonetheless. :)
What was originally conceived as a goodbye tour for a lame-duck defense secretary instead offered a preview of the president-elect’s strategy for winding down one war, building up another and tackling the issue of Iran. Mr. Gates acknowledged that effectively working for two commanders in chief created certain strains.
“I’m not forgetting at all, for a second, who is the president until noon on Jan. 20,” Mr. Gates told reporters on his plane en route to Afghanistan. Nonetheless, he said, the transition “does create some occasional awkwardness.”
For example? “Well,” he said, offering a sampling of apparent recent conversations with schedulers in the West Wing, “ ‘I would love to come to this meeting at the White House, but I actually have a meeting with the transition.’ ” NYT
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:: President-elect Obama to take a train to his inauguration.
A president of the people.
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will kick off his inaugural celebration on Jan. 17 _ the weekend before his swearing in as the country's 44th president _ by traveling on a train to the nation's capital.
He and his family will start their daylong journey with an event in Philadelphia before boarding the train and picking up Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family in Wilmington, Del. The president-elect and his group then will make a stop in Baltimore before making their way to Washington. HUFFPO
Image credit: Railway Gazette
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:: How Barack Obama changed politics via his use of the internet.
By being tech savvy, Mr. Obama forever changed the way of the political world. Off the top of my head, the thing I saw re the use of the net during the campaign, the thing that most impressed me, was the Obama campaign's ability to engage millions of people on the net, a largely untapped source. People who might not otherwise have become a part of his grass roots campaign, participated in huge numbers.
Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,” said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post..
Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign -– which was run by Mr. Trippi –- was groundbreaking in its use of the Internet to raise small amounts of money from hundreds of thousands of people. But by using interactive Web 2.0 tools, Mr. Obama’s campaign changed the way politicians organize supporters, advertise to voters, defend against attacks and communicate with constituents. NYT
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:: Barack Obama's performance during the transition, has the approval of 7 out of 10 Americans, including a majority of Republicans.
The poll indicates the confidence that the American people have in Mr. Obama, bolstered by his cabinet choices, and probably not hurt by his engaging smile. It speaks to that thing called "H O P E" that we all need, and that has been in such short supply during the past 8 years of the incompetent, deceitful, and unlawful reign of the Bush Cheney administration.
Before the age of polarization, Americans often swung behind new presidents in overwhelming numbers. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter also received approval ratings comparable to Mr. Obama’s in their first weeks in office.
Today’s sharper partisan differences make that much harder to achieve. Ronald Reagan, the first President Bush, Bill Clinton and Mr. Bush all made their debuts at more-modest approval levels. NYT
Image credit: Ozier Muhammad/NYT