Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates Push Russia Treaty Ratification

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates push for the ratification of the START treaty. Standing in the way: republicans. Same old story.

For decades, American inspectors have monitored Russian nuclear forces, putting into practice President Ronald Reagan's favorite maxim, "Trust, but verify." But since the old START Treaty expired last December, we have relied on trust alone. Until a new treaty comes into force, our inspectors will not have access to Russian missile silos and the world's two largest nuclear arsenals will lack the stability that comes with a rigorous inspection regime. WaPo

The republicans' beef, per Lindsey Graham who was on This Week Sunday, is that they want the ability to "modernize" our nuclear arsenal. I'm sure there is a Halliburton of the nuclear arsenal world waiting in the wings for its payday. Heck, maybe it is Halliburton.

By voting in more republicans, we also voted for more war, more neanderthal thinking on foreign policy. But for some strange reason, Americans believe the government can create jobs and when the government created it's own jobs, everyone got mad. Yes, I'm bitter.

Update: to get the treaty done, and this ought to do it, Obama offers $4 billion extra for the nuclear arsenal:

The administration is scrambling to get enough Republican support in the Senate to ratify the New START treaty before the Democrats' majority shrinks by six in January. In a sign of the urgency of the administration's pitch, government officials traveled to Kyl's home state of Arizona to brief him on the proposal, the aide said. Officials also briefed Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.
"This is a huge increase," said Daryl Kimball, head of the private Arms Control Association. He noted that it is not certain that Congress will approve the funding, which will in any case have to be appropriated over time for each of the years in the proposal.
The aide said that the administration has also conveyed to Republican lawmakers that its offer is contingent on passing the treaty before the end of the year and that Democratic support for the increased funding would likely evaporate, if the treaty stalls.msnbc

Gibbs: Both Climate and Immigration Reform Bills Can Get Done

Precisely what I was wondering--why can't both bills be done? At today's press briefing, Robert Gibbs says it's not an either or thing:

Frustrated by repeated questions about how he would prioritize immigration and climate change legislation, Gibbs said “whichever bill has the support it needs to be passed” will be passed first. “You all see this as an either-or, but this administration does not,” he said. Politico

Kerry, Lieberman and Graham are meeting to get climate legislation back on track.
Lieberman explains Graham's actions:

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Lindsey Graham Slams Beck and Birthers

Yay for Lindsey Graham! It is so about time. More please.
Graham, however, appears to equate Beck's looniness, the birther movement and other rightwing attacks with attacks on Bush. No way were attacks on Bush in the same league as to what's going on today. No way. The attacks today are more personal, more vile, more hateful and more dangerous.

More:

Rahm Emanuel New Obama Chief of Staff

Update: McCain's ally Lindsey Graham praises the choice. 
Rahm Emanuel, a tough pragmatic feather ruffler, has accepted the position of Obama's chief of staff.
What does the chief of staff do?

Wiki:The White House Chief of Staff is the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President. Some individuals who have held the position, including Sherman Adams, have been dubbed "The Second-Most Powerful Man in Washington" due to the powerful nature of the job.[1]
The current White House Chief of Staff is Joshua B. Bolten, who has served in this position since April 14, 2006. The next White House Chief of Staff will be Rahm Emanuel under Barack Obama. He accepted this position on November 6, 2008.

History:

The duties of the White House Chief of Staff vary greatly from one administration to another. However, he/she is responsible for overseeing the actions of the White House staff, managing the President's schedule, and deciding who is allowed to meet with the President. Because of these duties, the Chief of Staff has at various times been dubbed "The Gatekeeper" and "The co-President".

Duties:

The roles of the Chief of Staff are both managerial and advisory and can include the following duties, depending on the President's style of conducting business:
Managerial
Select key White House staff and supervise them
Structure the White House staff system
Control the flow of people into the Oval Office
Manage the flow of information
Advisory
Advise the President on issues of politics, policy and management issues
Protect the interests of the President
Negotiate with Congress, other member of the executive branch, and extragovernmental political groups to implement the President's agenda

CNN: After leaving the Clinton White House, Emanuel was an investment banker on Wall Street and later was elected to the House of Representatives from a heavily Democratic Chicago district. He quickly rose to become the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House.

It is Emanuel's combination of experiences -- plus his strong personal relationship with Obama -- that would make him a strong chief of staff, said CNN political analyst Paul Begala, a fellow Clinton veteran.

"He has spent more time in the White House than President-elect Obama has. That matters a lot. It is a special place with its own rhythms," Begala said.
"But, maybe, most importantly, he's got the relationship. He has known Barack and Michelle Obama for a number of years."
"Rahm is high energy. He's direct. He's a tough-minded pragmatist. So I think the years have been good to him in that regard," McLarty said. "I think the high-energy directness will serve him well.

"Rahm, like a lot of us, made mistakes, but he quickly corrected them."

However, the lawmaker's direct style has ruffled a number of feathers in Washington, and Emanuel is known as one of the toughest partisan fighters on Capitol Hill.

After reports that Emanuel had agreed to be Obama's chief of staff on Thursday, the top Republican in the House, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, questioned the president-elect's pick.

"This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center," Boehner said.

Rahm Emanuel

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.