Obama Announces New National Security Members

Chuck Hagel and David Boren will co-chair the President's Intelligence Advisory Board:

Chuck Hagel Says Cheney's Eight Years are Over

Republican Chuck Hagel says the hysteria of having Gitmo detainees in U.S. prisons is irrational. Yay for Hagel. It is completely irrational. Fear the neighborhood sex offender(s), not the terrorist, essentially a coward, safe in a super max prison. Democrats were completely irrational to vote down funding closure of Guantanamo. Even with the power, they're wimpy. 

James Moran, congressman of Alexandria, Virginia, says Alexandria would take detainees as well. See the video here. He says sometimes our limbic system gets the better of us. We've been fear mongered to for so long, we've been trained to be irrational.
Frank Wolf, republican congressman, then comes on to offer some more fear mongering. Man, they're good. Actually, he droned on and nearly put me to sleep.

Hagel Criticizes Rush Limbaugh

Now we're talking. It's about time republicans step up to reject these blowhards who contribute nothing to the conversation. The only purpose they serve is to encourage nitwits to be nitwitty haters.

(CNN) — As his Senate career nears its end, Republican Chuck Hagel isn't holding back when it comes to criticizing members of his own party — including conservative talk radio hosts.

"We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," Hagel said Tuesday during a speech in Washington, according to the Huffington Post.

"You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office," a sarcastic Hagel continued. "They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly. [The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers."

Hagel has increasingly become critical of his party in the aftermath of the Iraq War and notably held back endorsing his longtime friend John McCain during the presidential campaign. He's reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post in the Obama administration.

More Obama Staff Speculation

So far we have Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff, known as "the enforcer"; Robert Gibbs, press secretary, David Axelrod, presidential adviser.

MSNBC:
SECRETARY OF STATE

Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights.

ENERGY SECRETARY

Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

EPA ADMINISTRATOR

Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.

Kathleeen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

Howard Dean, chairman of Democratic National Committee, physician, former Vermont governor.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of House transportation committee.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.

Lugar: One of Obama's Republican Pals

Republicans spend so much time smearing Obama for people who have nothing to do with his campaign. Here's an example of someone who Obama really palls around with.

MSNBC: Dick Lugar may not be a household name, but he's well known within international security circles. And he's famous to world leaders who are trying to protect their countries from nuclear attack.

In 1991, Lugar teamed up with Sam Nunn, then a Democratic senator, to create a program aimed at securing and dismantling the nuclear, chemical and biological weapons inside the former Soviet Union.

And it was a success. The Nunn-Lugar Act facilitated the destruction of more than 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles and the deactivation of some 7,000 nuclear warheads.

Obama would later find a way to link his name to this legislation — connecting himself to its authors’ global security efforts.

Fighting loose nukes together
As a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004, Obama frequently spoke of the need to keep “loose nukes” out the hands of terrorists and rogue nations. He often cited the accomplishments of the Nunn-Lugar Act. And that caught the Indiana senator’s attention.

The day after Obama was elected to the Senate, Lugar wrote him a letter. At the time, he was the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and advised Obama to ask the Democratic leadership for a spot on panel.

Obama's other pals: Austan Goolsbee. Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed. Here's a whole slew of Obama's advisers. Here are Obama's top economic advisers.
Meanwhile, McCain's advisers are peeps like this.

Hagel Weighs in on Palin

The McCain charade goes on as more and more people feel more confident in calling out Palin for what she is -- a really bad choice and an insult to Americans. That's exactly how I felt -- insulted. Here was a presidential candidate choosing someone to help him win an election as opposed to choosing someone with the credentials needed to tackle serious problems.
That sense of being hoodwinked is the reason there has been so much backlash against McCain-Palin and hiding Palin from the press has only fueled the outrage.

Omaha WH: Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation's most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president.

"She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials," Hagel said in an interview. "You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."

Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 and before that was the mayor of a small town.

Democrats have raised questions about Palin since Sen. John McCain picked her as his vice presidential running mate. Most national Republican officeholders have rallied to Palin's candidacy.

Palin has cited the proximity of Alaska to Russia as evidence of her international experience.

Hagel scoffed at that notion.

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,'" he said. "That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Republicans Hagel, Lugar, Specter Praise Biden Choice

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel: U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel issued the following statement today following Senator Barack Obama's selection of Senator Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential nominee: "Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America," Hagel said.

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar: U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar made the following statement today en route to Tbilisi. "I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate. I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy…"

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter: Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, a Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee with Biden and often rides Amtrak with him to Washington, also offered praise. "No one on the Democratic side knows more about foreign policy than Sen. Biden," Specter said. "He's been an articulate spokesman on the subject. He also knows about domestic policy. He's been a leader on crime control."

More Obama Vice President Clues

The announcement could come as late as the weekend, says his peeps, which doesn't really say anything at all. That's just a tease. I'm rolling with Joe Biden for today.

Politico: “I just get the sense with Obama that he has a clear set of priorities in his own mind that have nothing to do with ups-and-downs of the campaign,” said Democratic consultant Dan Gerstein, who thinks Obama’s focus on generational change doesn’t preclude his picking an older, more seasoned running mate.

“It won’t be dictated by age,” Gerstein speculated. “He doesn’t need someone who is young, but it’s got to be someone who is not part of the baby boom, partisan culture wars" of the past two decades.

At the same time, though, Obama has a more immediate concern: reassuring voters who might cast ballots for him — such as older working-class white Democrats, independents and some Republicans — but who have thus far remained skeptical of his candidacy, that he is a safe, acceptable choice.

“The vice presidential pick is always more about telling voters what kind of a potential president the nominee will be, and it’s even more important for Obama than it has been for past nominees,” said Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant. “Obama's central challenge in this election is to make a certain group of voters comfortable with him in terms of who he is as it relates to being able to do the job. And the vice presidential pick — along with the convention and debates — stands as one of the three tent-foundation events in the general [election] to connect with voters about who he is.”

All the people on the shortlist, aren't necessarily on Obama's shortlist. The only person known to be vetted is Chris Dodd. Hagel's most certainly out. He said he wasn't attending either convention. Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder have done a great job at keeping the process under wraps:

Despite a steady drone of speculation, little is actually known about Obama’s considerations. Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is the only aspirant to confirm he’s being vetted by Obama’s search team, led by Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder. Kaine has told associates he’s being vetted but has not publicly confirmed it. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius at first denied it, then ceased denying it — which was seized on as evidence that she is being considered. Biden and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh have declined to comment on whether they’re being vetted, but both are widely thought to be under consideration.

Two Republicans who are close to Obama, Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar and Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, have also been mentioned, and Lugar — whom Obama cited along with Nunn at the nationally televised candidates forum on Saturday as someone whose counsel he would value if elected president — drew attention on CNN on Sunday by defending Obama against attacks from Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman. Read more.

Hagel Won't Be Obama's Vice President

Today his spokesperson said Chuck Hagel doesn't plan to endorse anyone. I guess all the talk about him being a possible Obama running mate forced him to say something. Who's left for Veep? Jack Reed? Sam Nunn? Tim Kaine? Kathleen Sebelius?

CNN: "Sen. Hagel has no intention of getting involved in any of the campaigns, and is not planning to endorse either candidate," Hagel spokesman Jordan Stark said.

The two-term senator from Nebraska is leaving office after his current term and will be overseas on official business during this year's party conventions, Stark said.

Hagel is a longtime friend of Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and briefly mulled a 2008 presidential bid of his own. But he has butted heads with McCain and other leading Republicans over the war in Iraq and sharply criticized McCain's campaign in July for its attacks on Obama.

Tuesday, after endorsing Obama, former Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, a Republican, said he hoped the Illinois senator would consider Hagel as his running mate or for "a serious position in an Obama administration."

Republican Jim Leach: Hagel Good Obama Veep

Update 8-13: It won't be Chuck Hagel
Sen. Chuck Hagel would be a brilliant vice presidential choice. Now that's change. Choosing Hagel would illustrate Obama's intentions to get things accomplished in Washington, regardless of party affiliation.

CNN writes that Hagel's opposition to abortion and gay marriage may offend democrats. Hmmmm.

Aren't those just personal opinions? What Obama needs is someone who will help him govern. Abortion and gay rights are traditional wedge issues meant to divide people. This country has more serious problems. 

I'm tired of the two extremes on the left and right.

CNN: Speaking on a conference call with reporters to announce a new effort among Republicans in support of Obama's candidacy, Leach said he thought Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel should join the Democratic ticket.

"There are a number of impressive potential vice presidential candidates and this is a singular decision for one person, and that is Barack Obama," Leach said. "But personally I'd be hopeful in the list of serious candidates to be considered would be Chuck Hagel, whether it be for the veep position or a serious position in an Obama administration."

Listen to Republicans for Obama endorsing Obama's foreign policy.
Hagel on Iraq. He said the next president needs to enhance alliances around the world.

Hillary is Not a Keynoter at Convention

Update: Mark Warner is the keynoter.

She's won't be THE keynote, just one of four speakers who will be speaking on Aug. 26. Too bad. Wonder who'll keynote? Caroline Kennedy?

Politico: Contrary to some early reporting, Hillary Clinton's Tuesday night speech at the Democratic National Convention won't be the event's "keynote speech," a defining convention role occupied in 2004 by Sen. Barack Obama.

Here's the speaker schedule, so far, during the convention.

Hagel Nunn Reed Obama Vice President?

Hagel, Obama, Reed

Update: Obama veep won't he Chuck Hagel.

The theme of the speech on the night Obama's vice president is to speak is national security. 

 
Okay, now it's looking like Obama is going for a national security heavy hitter. At this point, it's a good move. 

In early August, Chuck Todd, on Meet The Press, suggested that Chuck Hagel might be a keynote speaker. Looks like he could keynote the night Obama's vice president speaks.

Looking for clues on Barack Obama's pick for a running mate? Consider the Democratic convention's theme for the night the vice presidential candidate speaks: national security.

Political tea leaf readers would argue that bodes well for Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del.; Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who accompanied Obama on his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan; and Sam Nunn, former Georgia senator and one-time Armed Services Committee chairman.

What Hagel said in June. 

More interesting tidbits on Hagel.
Speakers and themes at the convention:

The theme for the Aug. 25 opening night will be "One Nation," with a speech by Michelle Obama. The Aug. 26 theme is "Renewing America's Promise" with a speech by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's chief rival for the presidential nomination.

On Aug. 27, the theme is "Securing America's Future" with an acceptance speech by Obama's still-unannounced vice presidential candidate.

The theme for Aug. 28, the night Obama formally accepts the nomination at the Denver Broncos' football stadium, is "Change You Can Believe In."

Hagel and Reed Tout Obama

It's judgement not military experience, they say.

CNN: Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) spoke to media this morning in Washington after appearing on CBS’ "Face the Nation." The two accompanied Obama to the Middle East last week.

“Each candidate has strengths and weaknesses, and experience does matter,” Hagel said. “But what matters more in my opinion is character and judgment. And judgment meaning who is it that you bring around, who is it that you listen to? Can you make the right decisions for the right reasons on behalf of your country and the world?”

Both Hagel and Reed spent years in the military. Reed attended West Point and retired as an Army captain, and Hagel earned two Purple Hearts fighting in the Vietnam War. Reed recounted the experience of traveling to military posts with Obama.

“There was something that was really dynamic,” he said. “We were trying to leave the headquarters of the 101st and we couldn't get down to the car because soldiers were flocking out of their duty positions to get autographs, to say hello, to take a picture, and it was just genuine, spontaneous and very, very enthusiastic throughout the entire trip.”

Hagel and Reed on the Trip Video

This video speaks for itself.

Hagel Says Quit Arguing About the Surge

Indeed. All this politicking around, for what? To prove that McCain or Obama is the better choice? Meanwhile, what's accomplished while people are dying? Sen. Chuck Hagel is back from his trip to Iraq with Obama.

Time: Hagel mentioned both candidates, but his comments seemed directed at Republican John McCain. McCain, while Obama traveled the Middle East, attacked Obama for opposing the military escalation last year that increased security in Iraq.
"Quit talking about, 'Did the surge work or not work,' or, 'Did you vote for this or support this,'" Hagel said Thursday on a conference call with reporters.
"Get out of that. We're done with that. How are we going to project forward?" the Nebraska senator said. "What are we going to do for the next four years to protect the interest of America and our allies and restructure a new order in the world. ... That's what America needs to hear from these two candidates. And that's where I am."
Hagel, too, opposed the troop increase strategy, though he acknowledged Thursday it brought about positive changes. "When you flood the zone with superior American military firepower, and you put 30,000 of the world's best troops in a country, there's going to be a result there," Hagel said.
....

Whether the surge worked, though, can't be measured, Hagel said, arguing the small gains came at a high price. He said President Bush's decision last year to dispatch an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq has cost more than 1,000 American lives and billions of dollars.
Though Hagel is a Republican, his name has been floated as a potential vice presidential running mate for Obama. Like McCain, he is a Vietnam war veteran, but Hagel is a fierce critic of the war in Iraq. He has said he would consider running with Obama on the Democratic ticket but that he doesn't expect to be asked. He is not running for reelection.
Hagel joined Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island in traveling with Obama to the Middle East. Reed said the trip was productive. "It wasn't just a photo op and social chit chat," Reed said in a telephone interview.

Obama/Hagel!
Obama/Edwards!
I can't decide.

Obama Reed Hagel in Basra Video

Obama shakes hands with everybody.

Obama In Iraq

Update: Obama to meet with Gen. David Petraeus. It's now early eve in Iraq. Obama has kept quiet in Iraq so far. Nice move. McCain and Lieberman and the rest have enough to chew on. What's funny, is Obama's hardline critics are having a tough time coming up with things to criticize him about. Here's William Kristol saying virtually nothing. 

Out of Afghanistan, on to Iraq, where it's noon already (check out my Obama time in the sidebar). I'm getting tired of the line that the media has settled on: "seeking to boost his foreign policy credentials."

The U.S. embassy said Obama, who is visiting Iraq as part of a U.S. congressional delegation, would meet senior Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders.

Seeking to boost his foreign policy credentials, Obama will travel to other countries in the Middle East and also visit major powers in Europe this week.

Obama courted controversy on July 3 when he said he might "refine" his views on withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within 16 months but later said his stance had been unchanged for more than a year and that he intended "to end this war."

McCain says a U.S. troop buildup last year helped boost stability in Iraq and has criticized Democrats' vows for a quick withdrawal as "reckless."

But with violence down dramatically, Baghdad has become increasingly assertive about its own security capabilities.

Indeed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President George W. Bush agreed late last week to set a "time horizon" for reducing American forces in Iraq.

It was the closest the Bush administration has come to acknowledging the need for a timeframe for U.S. troop cuts. Bush has long opposed deadlines for troop withdrawals.

Maliki earlier this month suggested setting a timetable for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, although he had given no dates.

More on Karzai: Obama would be a strong partner:

Bloomberg: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai came away from a meeting today with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama expecting he would have a ``strong partner'' in the White House no matter who wins the U.S. election, his spokesman said.

Obama and U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed spent an hour and 45 minutes with Karzai and his top aides in the presidential palace in Kabul, including a lunch of Afghan rice, lamb and chicken, spokesman Humayun Hamidzada told reporters.

The Illinois senator, 46, is on a six-day tour that also will include stops in Iraq, Israel and Western Europe. Obama said in a CBS News interview in Afghanistan that that nation ``has to be our central focus, the central front of our battle against terrorism.''

``Losing is not an option when it comes to Afghanistan,'' Obama said in the interview. ``One of the biggest mistakes we've made strategically after 9/11 was to fail to finish the job here,'' he said, referring to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, which harbored the al-Qaeda terrorist network that launched the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Obama's Criticism of Afghanistan Has Merit

That's according to Hamid Karzai's spokesman:

WaPo: The meeting with Karzai took place a few hours after Obama, Reed and Hagel met with U.S. troops at Camp Eggers, a heavily fortified U.S. base in the center of the Afghan capital.

Karzai and Obama came face to face over a traditional Afghan meal of rice, chicken and mutton at the presidential palace a little more than a week after Obama pointedly criticized Karzai's leadership in the face of deteriorating security conditions. In an interview with CNN, Obama said Karzai had "not gotten out of the bunker" to help the country develop.

Karzai's spokesman declined to say directly whether the two touched on the senator's recent remarks, but he said Obama's comment was not without merits.

"We didn't see that as a criticism per se because there is a degree of realism in that statement and that is the fact that while we are making significant progress in rebuilding our country, we are also facing a significant threat of terrorism that is imposed upon us and the Afghan people," Hamidzada said. "So the fact that we are spending a lot of our resources and energy fighting terrorism that is exported from the south is a reality."

The high-level meeting Sunday came as Afghan officials reported that eight Afghan police were killed and six wounded in a "friendly fire" incident involving NATO forces and Afghan police at an Afghan checkpoint in the western province of Farah. Provincial police chief Khalilulah Rahmani said the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday when Afghan police mistakenly fired on a NATO convoy in the district of Anar Dara. The eight police officers were killed after NATO forces called in an air strike during the firefight.

There seems to be a lot of natural alignment happening with Obama and foreign leaders.

Obama Breakfasts in Kabul with Troops

Well, it is 9:45 a.m. Kabul time and Obama is eating with the troops.

AP: Traveling with Obama were Sens. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, and Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island. Both are military veterans and have been mentioned as potential Obama vice presidential running mates, although Reed has said he is not interested in the job and Hagel would be an unlikely cross-party choice.

Obama and others in the delegation received a briefing Saturday inside the U.S. base in Jalalabad from the Afghan provincial governor of Nangarhar, Gul Agha Sherzai, a no-nonsense, bullish former warlord.

"Obama promised us that if he becomes a president in the future, he will support and help Afghanistan not only in its security sector but also in reconstruction, development and economic sector," Sherzai told The Associated Press.

The area where the meeting took place is not far from where Osama bin Laden escaped U.S. troops in 2001 after his al-Qaida network led the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

More photos

Reed and Hagel Join Obama in Iraq

Senators Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel will accompany Obama in Iraq. Either of these guys would be great vice presidents. I like Jack Reed. Very straightforward guy.

CNN: Sen. Barack Obama is heading to Iraq later this month with two Senate colleagues, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Jack Reed, according to two sources familiar with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's plans.

The sources said the official Congressional delegation trip, known as a CODEL, will occur around the time Obama heads overseas for a previously-announced campaign trip to France, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, and Jordan to help beef up his foreign policy credentials. Officials are keeping the precise dates of Obama's trip under wraps, however, for obvious security reasons.

The inclusion of Hagel on the official portion of the trip is guaranteed to further fuel speculation that Obama might pick a Republican as a running mate on a presidential ticket aimed at winning over independents. Hagel, who privately discusses foreign policy matters with both Obama and Republican presumptive presidential nominee John McCain, has publicly left the door open to a possible bipartisan ticket.