Rachel Maddow Proves How Much Brown Stuff is Coming Out of Rudy's Mouth

According to the GOP, the timeline for Obama's response to the terror incident keeps getting longer, 4 days, 10 days, 13 days, 100 days 1,340 days. Facts don't matter. I've drawn up the timeline here. I'm sick to death of the GOP. It's unnerving that they're messing around with our President who is trying to deal with a national security issue.

They're threatening the security of our nation with their bad behavior.
Rachel Maddow proves Rudy Giuliani is better off keeping his mouth shut.

You gotta watch here.

Let's Break Down Rudy's Lies With a Timeline

I usually ignore this stuff because it gets monotonous after a while. I'm sick to death of republicans because they've politicized national security. But let's break down Rudy Giuliani's blatant lies, shall we?

Obama did not wait 10 days to respond.

The day of the failed attack, Dec. 25, Obama ordered tighter security.

Dec. 28, Obama spoke to the press.

Dec. 29, Obama gave an update.

Dec. 31, Obama receives preliminary report.

Jan. 1, Obama speaks on fighting Al Qaeda.

Jan. 5, Obama meets with intel, speaks on counterterrorism reforms.

Jan. 7, Obama speaks on the security report. Here are the corrective actions.

What's worse about this video is Larry King doesn't even know enough to counter Rudy, who's speaking from another orifice.

Giuliani Calls Hasan a Terrorist

Rudy Giuliani is afraid of KSM being tried in New York. BBC reported this morning that families of the 9-11 attacks are pleased that KSM will be getting a transparent trial.
Guiliani also calls Hasan's rampage a terrorist act.

Republicans and the odd man out Joe Lieberman have already labeled Nidal Malik Hasan a terrorist because it fits their political agenda. It fits their belief that Islam, by its nature, is bad. It's their good guy, bad guy simplistic way of thinking. How does labeling Hasan a terrorist fix anything? Label him a terrorist and that's that. Ignore everything else. Many republicans would like to see Muslims kicked out of the military. They make no distinction between Islam and radicals who commit acts of terror in the name of Islam. Look at all the killing that has been done in the name of Jesus Christ.

How dare they make politics out of a mass rampage. I contend that all terrorists are psychopaths but not all psychopaths are terrorists. Terrorism is an act for political gain. I don't see that Hasan was trying to gain anything. He seemed meek and very troubled. Why did he turn radical? All signs point to a psychopath, not a terrorist. The simplest lesson learned here is that when someone says radical things, believe them. If it turns out that he was ordered to kill or was part of a cell, then we could call him a terrorist. Shrinks and others say the republicans, as usual, are trying to gain politically:

It’s being “politicized,” said Harvard Middle East expert Stephen Walt in an Arena post. “There is no issue that is immune to exploitation by politicians and media commentators. The problem is that there are an infinite number of ‘lessons’ one can draw from a tragic event like this — the strain on our troops from a foolish war, the impact of hateful ideas from the fringe of a great religion (and most religions have them), the individual demons that drove one individual to a violent and senseless act, etc. — and so no limits to the ways it can be used by irresponsible politicians and pundits.”

“Speaking with my other hat on, as a psychopathologist,” said Emory University’s Drew Westen, “I've been concerned that the coverage of this case, and the whole question of whether it was a terrorist act, has been really uninformed by the psychiatric issues involved, and we're not privy to records that could help us understand that. We don't know, for example, if the gunman was in a psychotic episode or had a serious personality disorder, in which case, this whole discussion of whether it was a terrorist act could really be misplaced. The media would do well to focus on some missing college student or the ‘Octomom’ for now if they have nothing more enlightening to do than speculate on matters about which they lack the necessary data to inform until more data are available.” Politico

Ford: Liberals Will be Disappointed With Obama's Speech to Congress

Harold Ford, one of my favorite politicians, says liberals are likely to be disappointed by Obama's speech. The public option isn't being considered the end-all to health reform. People don't understand that unless the democratic party grows some more democrats, the votes aren't there for a public option. People such as Sen. Claire McCaskill don't believe the public option is the only means to get reform, the way liberals have laid it out. So Obama has to find other ways to get enough votes to pass some kind of reform. Something is better than nothing. Once you have something, you can build on it. But if liberals are willing to throw it all out as a complete FAIL, we could all lose.

In this video, Ford takes on Rudy Giuliani.

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Robert Gibbs says Obama will talk about the value of a public option on Wednesday. Gibbs makes it sound as though Obama will continue to make a case for the public option but not demand it:

Wingnuts Quest to Further Dumb Down America

On Meet the Press, Tom Friedman says that the objections to Obama speaking to schools is "flat out stupid." People need to stand up to stupidity. A toast to Friedman.

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McCain Supports Defense Budget

John McCain throws his support behind defense secretary Robert Gates' defense budget that he announced today. Watch it here. 

Transcript here. Read more about the budget at the Department of Defense here.
The budget cancels the presidential helicopter project that McCain suggested Obama axe and Obama was all too happy to oblige, saying the helicopter he had was fine.

The secretary also would like to end other under-performing programs, such as the VH-71 presidential helicopter. “This program was originally designed to provide 23 helicopters to support the president at a cost of $6.5 billion,” he said. “Today, the program is estimated to cost over $13 billion, has fallen six years behind schedule, and runs the risk of not delivering the requested capability.”

The new budget also cancels the F-22 in favor of the F-35.
But expect a lot of Boo Hoo-ing from Boeing, Lockheed and other defense contractors, lawmakers and hard right extremists, Fox "News" and Rudy Guiliani. Much was cut and priorities were shifted. There will be a lot of complaints about jobs lost and security risks....

Gates said he didn't take politics into account:

I set out here to develop a budget and a program, really, that I thought best served the national security interests of the United States. And I, frankly, decided that I would not take the political issues associated with any of these programs into account; I would just do what I thought was best for the country. And my hope is that in the months ahead, that, first, the president will approve this budget, and then second, that the Congress, after careful deliberation, will support as much of it as possible.

There will be a new competition for a new presidential copter:

Q Then, just -- did I understand correctly that you want to restart the presidential helicopter competition, write new requirements, or --

SEC. GATES: Yes. We will -- we need -- there needs to be a new presidential helicopter. There's still good service life left in the ones that are in the fleet right now. So we have time to do this. And so we will begin a review of the requirements with the White House as soon as the FY '10 budget is submitted.

Guiliani: Defense Spending Cuts Means We're Not Tough

I'd like to know which organ these guys are thinking with. Power = A big missile. Come on guys, get a grip. This makes ZERO sense to me. It's so foolish that it tops Newt's Cheney and it's precisely the reason that republicans are sidelined, a condition that could be permanent.

Swamp: Giuliani says the administration, whose defense secretary proposed a series of defense spending cuts today, is moving in the wrong direction: "Here they're looking at a picture of massive social spending and a cut in military spending -- that sends the wrong message."

McCain Enlists Other Icky Guy for RoboCalls

McCain's ick circle includes Rudy 9-11, Joe Lieberman, Lindsay Graham and Tom Ridge. To me they're all loathsome. Something about all of them gives me the willies. Rudy took his turn being RoboCall man. Now Ridge is terrorizing voters, saying Obama consorts with terrorists.

The Obama - Not Hillary Ticket

That's what the republicans are selling.
Mr. 9-11 was on This Week this morning criticizing the Obama-Biden ticket as a choice based on weakness. Obama didn't pick Hillary because he's weak is the logic. Seems brave not to choose Hillary, so forgive me for not following that logic. Spin at its spiniest

WaPo: "Senator Obama has made a choice more out of weakness than strength," Giuliani said today on ABC's "This Week."

Giuliani, who ran for the Republican nomination, said the presumptive Democratic nominee should have chosen Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Obama's chief rival in the nomination process.

"She had 50 percent of the Democratic vote. Obama has 50 percent of the Democratic vote," the former mayor said. "You almost have to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid her as the vice presidential pick of the party."

Giuliani was the only Republican to appear on the five interview shows.

This is from the man who dogged on Hillary throughout the primary:

RCP: It doesn't take a political genius to realize that Barack Obama needed to nominate a woman for vice president. Obama's key problem is that there is no gender gap. In the most recent Zogby poll, he runs only 2 points better among women than among men. A Democrat should be running 10 to 15 points better among women.

This is all just bluster. I'll point to the lifetime survey and the fact that most of Hillary's supporters support Obama. The remaining diehards are likely to be republicans in the first place and the media is playing them and they are playing the media. I can't wait until the conversation moves past Hillary.

Republicans Pull Out Mr. 9-11

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Rudy Giuliani is now defending McCain. This is what we'll get while Obama's overseas.

Hillary Clinton For Governor of New York

on the chris matthews show, nyt columnist david brooks says that behind the scenes arrangements are in the works for clinton to become the next governor of new york.

well, that would explain why she pushes on.

apparently, she could replace david paterson (who replaced eliot spitzer) in november if paterson continues on his scandalous path, or she could run against rudy giuliani in 2010.