Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul said Friday that President Barack Obama's criticism of BP in the wake of the Gulf oil debacle sounds "really un-American." MSNBC
Really? He says BP shouldn't be blamed because it was just an accident. I'm sitting here in disbelief. Rand Paul is wacky and when someone uses the "un-American" crutch when talking about Obama, it makes them all the less believable and more wacky.
In an interview Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Paul says the president's response is part of the "blame game" that's played in the United States. Paul said that leads to the thinking that tragic incidents are "always someone's fault" and added, sometimes accidents just happen.
Rand Paul says he's suffered from all the criticism as of late and wonders where his honeymoon is:
Paul is a tea partier through and through. He believes in the dismantling of government, the elimination of oversight agencies. He believes business should rule the roost and that left on their own, business owners will make the right decisions. Here is Paul talking about eliminating EPA and OSHA and his comments on Obama. Paul will continue to sink any chance he might've had to win the general election because his ideology is so rigid, he'll continue to say things that sound normal to him, but off kilter to most people.
Most people are never ever going to understand why the Obama administration bailed out the banks. Many people don't understand the connection between their 401Ks and Wall Street. Obama's getting a lot of criticism because he's taken on a lot, which is politically risky. Most people don't realize that health care has to be reformed because Medicare will be bankrupt soon. But it doesn't look like democrats are going to make compromises on behalf of the American people. Howard Dean says if Obama was more liberal then all would be swell. Evan Bayh says liberals have hijacked the party. If democrats can't get it together and republicans can't get it together, and no one is thinking about the American people, then it seems smaller government is better. People don't believe that government can solve problems. That's why we got Scott Brown. See video of the full interview here.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But even your allies are saying you're going to have to listen to the message of the voters in Massachusetts? Listen to Evan Bayh, yesterday.
He says, "If you lose Massachusetts," and that's not a -- and that's not a wakeup call, "there is no hope of waking up."
He says basically Democrats have to reach out -- especially independents and moderates. Slow down the agenda. Because Americans just aren't buying what the Democrats are selling."
OBAMA: Well, look. I have tremendous respect for Evan, and he comes from a very tough state in Indiana. STEPHANOPOULOS: He was on your short list for Vice President.
OBAMA: Well, he was -- which is why I say I've got a lot of respect for him.
And what is absolutely true is, during the course of this year, what you have is a situation in which we've got to take a lot of steps quickly that we know are unpopular, but were necessary.
And if you ask the average person what was our stimulus package, they'll tell you, "The bank bailout."
And I can say, "Well, no -- actually that started before I was sworn in, and we've managed it very well." But it doesn't negate that sense on peoples' part that nobody is looking after them in an extremely tough situation.
So the reason I say that we are not surprised by what happened in Massachusetts is because I'm frustrated, too.
I'm frustrated by the fact that over the last decade, we have not seen the kind of progress for middle class families that are needed. That's what I promised to deliver in the campaign.
It's not something that I believe we can get done in a year. But it is something that I think we are starting to make progress on. read the whole transcript here
Apparently, George Stephanopoulos was negotiating to do more hard news as GMA anchor:
As the discussions have dragged on for weeks, Stephanopoulos has pushed for a role reshaped to spotlight his interest in politics and hard news rather than feature segments. The sources, who declined to be identified discussing internal personnel matters, cautioned that the negotiations are complicated and the two sides might fail to reach agreement. WaPo
George Stephanopoulos is a contender for the GMA co-hosting slot. As part of the negotiations, George is pushing to do more hard news as opposed to fluff. Good for George. We need more credible journalism. I bet GMA would excel if it got back to basics and then the Today Show and the Early Show would have to follow suit.
As the discussions have dragged on for weeks, Stephanopoulos has pushed for a role reshaped to spotlight his interest in politics and hard news rather than feature segments. The sources, who declined to be identified discussing internal personnel matters, cautioned that the negotiations are complicated and the two sides might fail to reach agreement. WaPo
Stephanopoulos used to have Gibbs' job. He says Gibbs hasn't mastered "the wink" yet, which is advocating for the president, but letting the press know that he's in a prickly situation and might not be able to answer the question outright. Well, I don't know if Gibbs ought to be winking. Check out Gibbs' daily press briefings posted here. They're usually posted a day behind.
Politico: ABC News' Chief Washington Correspondent George Stephanopoulos said Friday that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has the ability to be one of the best.
“Gibbs is good,” Stephanopoulos, a former press secretary in the Clinton White House, said during a conference sponsored by Georgetown University and Politico.
“[Gibbs] has several things I didn’t have,” Stephanopoulos said, joking that unlike himself Gibbs is “easygoing.”
The moderator of ABC’s “This Week” said that Gibbs reminds him of Clinton Press Secretary Mike McCurry (“the best,” Stephanopoulos said) and George H.W. Bush’s top spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, both of whom had a talent for diffusing tension in the room while still defending the White House.
But Stephanopoulos said that while Gibbs shows promise, he has yet to master “the wink,” an indication that he knows the press has caught the White House while still advancing the president’s message. Until he hones that skill, Stephanopoulos said, Gibbs will fall short of being one of the best to hold the post.
Biden gives a post election interview to George Stephanopoulos, to be aired tomorrow on This Week. Joe used to train shepherds. In this video, he talks about his new puppies. Here is a preview of Biden on the economy:
Ah, now I see what people meant by "the real McCain." The real John McCain is a reasonable, practical man, one who was diluted in the campaign. But it was his own fault. Had he been a strong leader, he would've shoved the garbage aside. McCain's right. The RNC is acting the fool, not doing anything to help its cause. The days of tearing down your opponent: OVER:
Politico: ON ABC's 'This Week,' SENATOR McCAIN TAKES UP FOR THE PRESIDENT-ELECT AND THROWS THE RNC UNDER THE BUS, telling George Stephanopoulos about Blago: 'I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody -- right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me.'
Here's what he has to say on This Week With George Stephanopoulos about Palin: "My corpse is still warm."
Update: video below Obama appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos this morning. Here’s some of what he said. I'll post video when it's up. Taxes: McCain has been peddling the story that I will raise taxes. Obama will cut taxes for 81% of individuals, 95% of families.
McCain will continue the Bush tax cuts, he said.
Is it wise to raise taxes in a recession? It is wise if you have a trillion dollar deficit. Realistically, we won’t be able to eliminate the deficit, he said. But we can stop it from getting bigger.
On Palin: She’s a skilled politician. Her performance at the convention showed that.
He chose somebody who may be even more aligned with George Bush than John McCain himself. Supposedly, he thought about picking Lieberman but the right wing would have a riot.
What you haven’t heard from the republicans is how are they going to put people back to work? Education, healthcare...
George, still pushing the Palin response, showed a clip of Palin’s foreign policy experience: Alaska is right next to Russia.
Obama said I knew Alaska was next to Russia as well. Obama questions that she made any decisions regarding the national guard.
George asked about the republican put down of community organizing.
Obama said it was a puzzling thing. Obama was 24 when he went to work as a community organizer. He worked with churches, setting up job training programs for the unemployed and after school programs. McCain is extolling the virtues of national service and that’s what I did, he said. It’s curious to me that they would mock me.
George: Some supporters heard racial code. Obama: I didn’t hear that.
George: Did you consider military service: I actually did.
I had to sign up for selective service in Hawaii. There were a lot of military bases there. I graduated in 1979, the Vietnam war had ended by that time. It was not an option I decided to pursue. But for those who do, they should be treated with dignity. McCain hasn’t funded veteran services.
Obama also said there are other ways to serve the country other than militarily, such as community organizing.
George: You voted with the democrats most of the time. Obama: There are two arguments here, one is bipartisanship and the other is change. The point is if you believe Bush has run the country into the ground, you’ll vote for change. We’re going to change those policies.
George: Have you broken with your party. You can get testimony from people who say that I have.
On McCain’s bipartisanship, Obama said McCain wasn’t listening to the speakers at the convention.
George said isn’t that just part of the campaign?
Obama: How you campaign foreshadows how you’re going to govern.
Obama supports charter schools and pay for performance. We need to increase the size of our military. On healthcare, we need to reduce litigation costs. Finding ways where we could have doctors can communicate with patients that doesn’t
We’re going to do an audit of big government spending. (Obama has always contended this. McCain has made this the crux of his new “reform” campaign). We’ll eliminate waste.
Medicare has to be reexamined. Fee for service doesn’t measure service or quality.
George: Is victory is in sight for Iraq?
Obama: They have yet to define victory. Bush and McCain, Rumsfeld and Cheney, drove the car off in the ditch. That doesn’t signify that we’re better off than if we hadn’t gone.
Why is McCain still resistant to get out of Iraq.
On the surge, yes it worked. But the judgement was wrong.
George asked about the Rick Warren question: When does life begin. (Obama said it was above his pay grade).
Was it too flip? Obama said probably. As a Christian, I don’t presume to answer when the soul enters the body. Abortion is a moral issue. I don’t think criminalizing the choices people make is going to help. We have to look at prevention and supporting teens who do get pregnant.
George said McCain’s Rick Davis was offended that Obama blamed them for the radical Muslim smears, that are still rampant on the Internet.
Obama: These guys love to throw a rock and hide their hands. When you look at what is being promulgated on Fox news and others close to McCain.
There is a double standard. The minute Palin was forced to talk about her daughter, I said that families were off limits.
What was the first thing McCain did? He attacked liberal blogs who support me, Obama said.
Coming out of the republican camp, there have been efforts to say I’m a Muslim. It’s been going on for a long time.
George asked what he needed to do in the next 60 days. Obama: I have to make the choice clear to the American people. They understand we’re in a bad place. They have to see the difference between the parties.
McCain has adopted the Bush economic platform. I have a different platform.
George: Would you go one on one with Palin (basketball). I wouldn’t do target shots with her but I could go one on one.
