John F. Kennedy believed that being passed over for vice president by the Democratic convention in 1956 saved his political career. That year, Adlai Stevenson, the presidential nominee, had left the selection of his running mate to the convention delegates—the last time a nominee did so. The choice came down to Kennedy and his Senate colleague Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, who had lined up too much early support even for the attractive young war hero to overcome. In the end, Kennedy had it both ways. He benefited from the television exposure and was spared the blame—which as a Catholic, he would have shared—for Stevenson's walloping by President Eisenhower that November. As for Estes, except for crossword puzzlers, nobody much remembers him.
Running and losing for vice president has never been a promising route to the Oval Office. Yet Sarah Palin, even before this week's book tour mediathon, has been touted by some as the heir apparent of the Republican Party, if not its de facto leader. Right-wing devotees cheer her on, liberals writhe in fear lest she come within 3,000 miles of the White House, and the news media lavish her with attention that's out of proportion to her actual chances of a political future. In fact, only one defeated vice presidential candidate ever achieved the feat that Palin would like to duplicate, and to date she shows no signs of resembling Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Straight talk from the VP, simple enough even Fox viewers have the opportunity to get it. Although you can lead a horse to water...Straight talk from the VP, simple enough even Fox viewers have the opportunity to get... more
Americans today are searching for the dictionary definition of 'dithering' after former VP accused present President Obama of doing exactly that on Afghanistan.
"Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission....
It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise. The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.
Make no mistake, signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries. Waffling while our troops on the ground face an emboldened enemy endangers them and hurts our cause.
Now they seem to be pulling back and blaming others for their failure to implement the strategy they embraced. It’s time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity."Americans today are searching for the dictionary definition of 'dithering' after... more
William Landers interviews Greenwich Democratic Chairperson outside Congressman Jim Himes fundraiser at L & M builders CEO Ron Moelis residence on Cliffdale Rd. Greenwich Connecticut.
Vice President Joe Biden attended as well as many Wealthy contributors.William Landers interviews Greenwich Democratic Chairperson outside Congressman Jim... more
The media is debating why Sarah Palin stepped down as Governor of Alaska.
Ben Hoffman has the answer in these week's infoMania Editorial.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.The media is debating why Sarah Palin stepped down as Governor of Alaska.
Ben Hoffman... more
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON VIDEO OF DICK CHENEY TALKING TO CBS' FACE THE NATION. THIS IS WHAT A PERSON'S BRAIN LOOKS LIKE WHILE WATCHING DICK CHENEY TALK ABOUT COLIN POWELL AND RUSH LIMBAUGH ON FACE THE NATION. This video shows the reaction--of the axial, sagittal planes--of a subject's brain while watching video of Former Vice-President Dick Cheney on Face the Nation talking about Colin Powell and Rush Limbaugh.
*Red means activating.THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON VIDEO OF DICK CHENEY TALKING TO CBS' FACE THE NATION. THIS IS... more
Starting with shouting 'asshole' at Chief Justice Roberts for fluffing Obama's oath of office, Biden reached the 100 milestone by calling the administration's $789 billion stimulus package 'heap of bullshit' during a conference call with reporters.
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he told an audience at the University of Minnesota that the military was running an "executive assassination ring" throughout the Bush years which reported directly to former Vice President Dick Cheney.Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he told an... more
This morning Vice President Biden went on the CBS early show to promote Recovery.gov, the website that will detail where all of the money in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be going. Unfortunately, he forgot the actual address of the site during the interview, explaining that he was embarrassed that he didn’t have the “website number”.This morning Vice President Biden went on the CBS early show to promote Recovery.gov,... more
Vice President Joe Biden is warning that if states don't use federal stimulus money as intended, the Obama administration may take the money back or mount a public campaign to embarrass them.Vice President Joe Biden is warning that if states don't use federal stimulus money as... more
"I couldn't attend the Inaugural events in person because my school scheduled our final exams for this week, starting Tuesday but January 20th has significance to me (us) all the same.
Obama's election has brought great Hope to America and with it an awakening among its electorate of the Purpose and Opportunity born of the seeds of Hope that made this country the envy of many around the world and that brought them here with visions of attaining their greatest potential."
(read the whole article at the link)
Adults have made their feelings about the Inauguration well known. What about the scores of teens across the country who may not have been old enough to vote this time around? What do they think about this Inauguration? Are they paying attention? Does it have significance for them as the young man in the article above asserts? Let's hear more comments from the generation that will vote in 2012 for the first time on how they feel about this year's Inauguration of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden as President and Vice President."I couldn't attend the Inaugural events in person because my school scheduled our... more
Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back while moving boxes and will be in a wheelchair for Tuesday's inauguration ceremony.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday that Cheney was helping to move into his new home outside Washington in McLean, Va., when he injured his back.
His doctor recommended that he needed a wheelchair for the next couple of days.Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back while moving boxes and will be... more
With great significance for an incoming President with the burden of a war to bare, PEOTUS Obama and VPEOTUS Biden stopped by Arlington National Cemetery to pays their respect to fallen troops from the past.With great significance for an incoming President with the burden of a war to bare,... more
Tuesday January 20th, 2009 promises to be a momentous day in history and yet lots of children will have to settle for re-runs of the events and Obama's speech. Why? There are schools that will be in session on Tuesday even as many adults have taken the day off from work; even more have traveled thousands of miles (some from other countries) to DC to bear witness to history.
Monday is Martin Luther King Day and a national holiday. Perhaps it's time we declare Inauguration Day a national holiday as well so kids like mine won't be sitting at a desk taking final exams while the next President of the United States is delivering his speech and taking the oath of office. And parents will miss the speech and oath as well because it's an early release day due to exams so we will be in the car retrieving our children from school while the majority of the country and the world bear witness to history.
For those children not lucky enough to get to witness this event in person, being able to watch it LIVE through broadcast media lets them share the moment nonetheless and feel a part of history. Once it's over, they won't want to sit down and watch a recap which is like watching home movies of someone else at an event you didn't attend. Besides, mine will will need to be studying anyway for their next exam on Wednesday. Aside from being really bad planning on the part of my kids' school Administrators, I suspect it never entered their minds to close school on Tuesday because they didn't support Obama anyway in the November election and are bitter about the loss of their candidate.Tuesday January 20th, 2009 promises to be a momentous day in history and yet lots of... more
In a moving and often amusing delivery, VP Elect Joe Biden bid his Senate colleagues goodbye today (10 AM) as a fellow Senator.
In recounting the advent of computers and how some in the Senate felt it was a waste of taxpayer money to put computers in their offices, Biden said, "I'm almost embarrassed to admit that; it means I'm a pretty old dude."
In another vignette, Biden recounted the great friendships he had developed with Senators now deceased whose positions were in opposition to his own. As he lay dying in hospital Strom Thurmond, former Governor of South Carolina and staunch Conservative had his wife call Senator Biden to ask him to deliver Thurmond's eulogy when he passed. In remembering this moment, Biden told his listeners, "Friendship and Death are great equalizers."
Biden's history with former Senator John C. Stennis, a courtly Mississippi Democrat and staunch opponent to civil rights provided another moving moment. He recounted their introduction when Biden was a new, young Senator who told the Old Guard Senator that he had come to the Senate for Civil Rights, realizing only after he's said it just whom he was addressing. He then recollected his encounter with Stennis as Stennis was retiring and Biden was taking his office and how his parting words to Biden were that "Civil Rights did more to free the white man than the black man" and when Joe asked him why Mr. Stennis replied with a tap of the heart, "It freed my soul. It freed my soul."
Biden's more touching remembrance came as he talked of the deaths of his first wife and infant daughter shortly after being elected to the Senate. After a period of grief and standing watch at the bedside of his sons also injured in the accident that took his wife and daughter, Biden returned to the Senate. He said that he they became his second family and that he would forever be grateful to them for that comfort and support.
It seems the state of Delaware will be losing a fine, dignified and dedicated Senator respected by colleagues from both sides of the aisle. If he serves his country as Vice President even half as well as he served the state of Delaware as Senator, the country can surely only benefit from his sacrifice.
(Author: "Barkway")In a moving and often amusing delivery, VP Elect Joe Biden bid his Senate colleagues... more
Joe Biden is laying plans to significantly shrink the role of the vice presidency in Barack Obama’s White House, according to an official familiar with his thinking.
It’s not just that Biden won’t sit in on Senate Democrats’ weekly caucus meetings - a privilege Republicans afforded outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney. He won’t have an office outside the House floor, as House Speaker Dennis Hastert gave Cheney early on.
Biden will not begin every day with his own intelligence briefing before sitting in on the president’s. He will not always be the last person Obama speaks to before making a decision.
He also will not, as a transition official calls it, operate a "shadow government" within an Obama administration.
One of the few ways he will resemble Cheney is in making clear his future ambitions, or lack thereof: Biden doesn’t expect to run for president after leaving the vice presidency, according to a transition source who was not authorized to speak on the record.Biden sounds like hes doing this Job Part Time
Joe Biden is laying plans to... more
Sarah said: "After saving a turkey during the Thanksgiving Day Holiday she felt she should do something for Christmas as well." Playboy made her an offer but she told them: "Thanks but no thanks."
She has decided to try out for a lingerie modeling position with Fredericks of Hollywood. When asked if she thought she would get the position she remarked: "I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody let's me know. She continued saying: "I'll have to get back to ya."
She went on to say that if she doesn't make it to the finals, the least she could do would be to represent an Alaskan Style Christmas for all of her Palin Junkies out there. She wished all of her fans a Merry Christmas and said she would be rearing her head in America come 2012.
She said she is keepin one eye open for Putin this season as she goes wassailing in Wasilla?Sarah said: "After saving a turkey during the Thanksgiving Day Holiday she felt she... more
This is a great clip with President George Bush and The Three Stooges throwing things at one another. A play off the the Iraq Shoe Throwing incident.This is a great clip with President George Bush and The Three Stooges throwing things... more
Technicians at the National Security Agency (NSA) and the United States Secret Service (USSS) have teamed up both departments Research and Development (R & D) labs to protect the President Of The United States (POTUS) from future attacks from Incoming Flying Shoes (IFS) or Improvised Flying Devices (IFD’s). This is a new threat to the safety of future sitting presidents.
Representatives for the United States Secret Service (USSS) have indicated that future public speaking events where the President is scheduled to appear, shoes would more than likely be banned.Technicians at the National Security Agency (NSA) and the United States Secret Service... more
