• Glenn Beck,  John McCain,  Sarah Palin

    Sarah Palin to Be Glenn Beck’s First Guest on Fox News Channel

    Alaska’s Governor, Sarah Palin, talks about her state and resource development.

    John McCain and Barack Obama may be DISSING Sarah Palin but she is back in the spotlight as Glenn Beck’s first guest as his show debuts next Monday on the Fox News Channel.

    The interview will be live and Palin will appear via Satellite from Alaska. Glenn Beck’s show starts on Monday at 5 PM EST which will be BEFORE Obama’s tribute dinner for McCain. A dinner to which Sarah Palin was not invited.

    Looks like the ‘CUDA is upstaging John McCain in the media again.


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  • Barack Obama,  John McCain,  Sarah Palin

    Sarah Palin Snubbed for Obama Inaugural Dinner Honoring John McCain?

    McCain and Palin

    The word is out that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will NOT be attending President-Elect Barack Obama’s dinner for GOP opponent John McCain this next week.

    But, why?

    On the night before Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation’s 44th President, his inaugural committee will host a series of dinners honoring public servants it deems champions of bipartisanship. To be feted are Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Colin Powell, and John McCain, whom Obama vanquished last November. At the McCain dinner, the GOP senator, who managed to suppress his bipartisan tendencies during the hard-fought 2008 campaign, will be introduced by one of his closest Senate confidants: Senator Lindsey Graham. But McCain’s No. 1 booster during the last year will not be among those hailing McCain. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his controversial running-mate, will not attend the dinner, Bill McAllister, a Palin spokesman tells Mother Jones.

    Here is the official Palin office explanation:

    According to McAllister, Palin will spend next week in her home state preparing for the legislative session, which begins on Tuesday, and for her State of the State address on Thursday.

    Was she even invited? “I don’t know if she was invited,” McCallister says. Don’t know? How could that be? It’s hard to miss an invitation from a presidential inauguration committee. For its part, Obama’s inaugural committee has declined to say whether an invitation was sent to Palin. Repeated phone calls to its press office produced no answer to this simple question.

    So, is there still bad blood between the McCain and Palin camps of the Republican Party? Is McCain pissed off about Palin’s latest attack on her media handlers and the MSM in general. And, what about McCain’s daughter refusing to discuss Sarah Palin for the blogs?

    Or is McCain just being “The Maverick,” deferring to “The One” and being politically correct while not having that bible thumper, “UNQUALIFIED” HICK around? Part of McCain’s political rehabilitation with the media and Washingtonians, perhaps?

    If Palin was left off the guest list, it’s not clear whether the snub came from McCain or the Presidential Inaugural Committee. But it’s not terribly hard to imagine why she might not make the cut. There appears to be lingering bad blood between the McCain and Palin factions, over such issues as the profligate spending spree to attire the vice presidential candidate and her family (Silk boxers for the first dude?) and the McCain campaign’s botched media roll-out of Palin. The Alaska Governor still appears to be holding a grudge against the McCainiacs, as evidenced by recently released excerpts from her interview with conservative filmmaker John Ziegler, whose forthcoming documentary explores the “media malpractice” that supposedly paved the way for Obama’s election. In the interview, she lashed out at the media, but also criticized her McCain campaign handlers for allowing her to become a campaign punchline in multiple disastrous interviews with CBS News’ Katie Couric.

    Flap bets it was McCain who deemed it unwise to invite Sarah Palin. After all, isn’t after “The One,” isn’t it all about McCain?


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  • Barack Obama,  Joe Biden,  Samuel Alito,  Supreme Court

    Justice Samuel Alito Snubs Obama/Biden Visit to the Supreme Court

    Obama and Biden visit the Supreme Court

    U.S. President-elect Barack Obama (L) and Vice President-elect Joe Biden (R) visit the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington January 14, 2009. Also pictured are Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. (2nd L) and justices John Paul Stevens (3rd L), Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas (rear), and David Souter (2nd R)

    At least there is one American conservative who is NOT AMOURED with “The One” and his VP, Joe Biden.

    President-elect Barack Obama paid a visit Wednesday to the Supreme Court and chatted in front of a fireplace with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., a fellow Harvard law graduate whose confirmation he opposed three years ago.

    The two will meet again at noon Tuesday, when the chief justice gives the oath of the office to the incoming president.

    Wednesday’s meeting was described as a relaxed, get-acquainted session. It included Roberts, seven associate justices and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

    The absence of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was at the court Wednesday morning for arguments in two cases, was a mystery. He has, however, voiced lingering anger over Senate Democrats, including Obama and Biden, who voted against his confirmation three years ago. When walking on Capitol Hill, Alito has said, he crosses to the far side of the street whenever he nears the Senate Office Building.

    Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is anything but a hypocrite. Obama and Biden gave him a rough,difficult time during his confirmation and Biden even for a time supported a filibuster of Alito’s nomination. So, why bother with even being pleasant? They were not very kind to Alito who when nominated was already a federal appellate justice.

    Flap wrote many pieces about Alito’s fight for confirmation and can be found in the Alito Archive here.

    Exit question: Wonder what Alito thought of George Will’s little dinner party the other night?

    Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito


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  • Caroline Kennedy,  David Paterson

    Caroline Kennedy Fades In Yet Another New York Poll – Andrew Cuomo Up By 15 Points

    Caroline Kennedy

    Caroline Kennedy responds during an interview, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 in New York

    If Caroline Kennedy was running in a contested Democrat Primary election in New York state for Hillary Clinton’s soon to be vacant U.S. Senate seat, she would be in deep trouble. But, she is not.

    Even so……

    The latest polling has has New York voters preferring New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo being appointed to the seat by 15 percentage points.

    The tides of support have changed in the contest over who voters think should fill Hillary Clinton’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. 40% of registered voters in New York State say Governor David Paterson should appoint New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to the position while 25% believe Caroline Kennedy should assume the role. That’s a marked difference for Cuomo from just one month ago when the Marist Poll showed him and Kennedy in a tie with each receiving 25% of New Yorkers’ support. Kennedy’s backing remains at a standstill.

    Cuomo’s allies span party lines. 39% of New York Democrats say Cuomo is the right person to succeed Clinton while 31% report that Kennedy should replace her. GOP members in New York are pulling for Cuomo 40% to Kennedy’s 16%. Non-enrolled voters follow suit. Cuomo receives the support of 42% of New Yorkers who are not enrolled in a political party while 24% favor Kennedy. Geography doesn’t play a big role either. Cuomo is the favorite across the state. However, the margin is tightest in New York City where Cuomo has the backing of 36% of voters compared with Kennedy’s 31%.

    Cuomo and Kennedy aren’t the only contenders in the running to succeed Clinton. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi places a distant third with 6% of New Yorkers saying he’s the right fit for the job. Long Island Congressman Steve Israel and New York City Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney are close at his heels. Each receives 5% of voters’ support. 3% of New Yorkers think Hudson Valley Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand should be picked.

    New York Governor David Paterson will soon make his selection of Hillary’s replacement. In light of today’s poll and yesterday’s, Caroline Kennedy may be a risky choice for the Democrat Governor.

    Previous:

    Caroline Kennedy Fades In New York Senate Poll – Andrew Cuomo Now Preferred

    New York Governor David Paterson Pulling Away From Caroline Kennedy as Hillary Clinton’s Replacement Senator?

    Caroline Kennedy Sinks in the Polls But Does it Matter?


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  • Barack Obama,  John McCain,  Lindsey Graham

    John McCain’s Political Rehabilitation Through Barack Obama?

    Obama and McCain

    Senator John McCain and President-elect Barack Obama

    Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum sounds the warning bells about John “MAVERICK” McCain and what the Senator might WILL do to politically rehabilitate himself before the MSM.

    McCain was once the mainstream media darling, back when he joined Democrats on a host of issues. He prized his maverick moniker and used it to propel himself onto the national scene in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. Early in the Bush years, he shored up his status as the media’s favorite Republican by opposing Bush on taxes and the environment.

    But this love fest came to a halt when McCain became the front-runner for the GOP nomination. First he began to sound more like a conservative by altering his stands on immigration, the environment and taxes. Then he named Sarah Palin his running mate. It was too much for a media that had fallen head over heels for Obama. The media had a new darling.

    In McCain’s mind, however, losing the presidency will not be the final chapter of his life story. He knows the path to “Big Media” redemption. Working with the man who vanquished him in November will show them all the real McCain again.

    Remember, it was this onetime prisoner of war who led the charge to open diplomatic relations with Vietnam. If that past is prologue, and McCain’s legislative record is any guide, he will not just join with Obama but lead the charge in Congress on global warming, immigration “reform,” the closing of Guantanamo, federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research, and importation of prescription drugs.

    But McCain won’t stop there in his effort to rehabilitate himself in the media’s – or maybe his own – eyes. He will forge common ground on a long list of initiatives that go far beyond where he has gone before, including the stimulus package.

    Alas, the two White House rivals now stand positioned to help secure each other’s place in history. The next mainstream media blockbuster could be Barack Obama and John McCain: The Movie.

    John McCain will have to tread very softly since he is OLD and up for re-election in 2010. A health problem or a conservative issue faux paus could lead to a divisive Republican primary challenge in Arizona. A challenge McCain could lose.

    Now, will that deter the maverick from making nice with the Democrats and President Obama and capitulating on key policy issues that differentiate the parties?

    Perhaps. But, beyond this alarm is an event that occurred yesterday. Senator Lindsey Graham (McCain Maverick Lite) was cozing up to Obama and Joe Biden.

    To look at President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. Lindsey Graham sitting side by side Wednesday and to hear them passing out praise, you wouldn’t know that scarcely 10 weeks ago they were at political war.

    Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is a close friend of Sen. John McCain and crisscrossed the country with him during his losing presidential bid.

    “I think this is a good way to get started,” Graham said as he sat with Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden before a throng of journalists at the Obama transition headquarters in Washington . “The campaign is over. I’m disappointed in the outcome, but like every American I’m excited about what awaits our country in the future.

    During a 45-minute private meeting, Biden and Graham briefed Obama on their just-completed five-day trip to Afghanistan , Iraq , Pakistan and Kuwait .

    The three men then met reporters against a backdrop of five American flags.

    Graham told Obama that the foreign leaders they’d met are extremely enthusiastic about his inauguration on Tuesday.

    “There’s a moment in time for this country to re-engage the international community, and to make sure that we have international support to stabilize Afghanistan , Pakistan and Iraq ,” Graham said.

    “(Obama’s) popularity and the respect he has earned throughout the world give America a chance to re-engage not only in the region, but in a way that in the long run makes his job easier and takes the pressure off our troops,” he said.

    Graham turned to Obama and added:

    “That’s a compliment to you and the way you have campaigned, and the goodwill you have generated.”

    McCain and Graham will be watched over the next few months. If they surrender the GOP’s ideals, the fur will fly and Flap knows who will be the chief furrier – Sarah Palin.

    Stay tuned……


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  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day By Day by Chris Muir January 15, 2009 – Out In Left Field

    day by day 011509

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Barack Obama when inaugurated next week will CHANGE his rhetoric from the campaign trail to the reality of governance. He is trying to emulate a Ronald Reagan vs. Jimmy Carter Iran hostage moment with his Executive Order regarding Guantanamo Bay.

    But, the GITMO closer order falls way short since President Bush wanted to close the Cuban prison base but then there was the reality as to what to do with the terrorist prisoners. Obama has not solved this dilemma either. His Executive Order is the symbolism of the campaign. Obama must now evolve actual governing positons and be held accountable for more than his ever-changing rhetoric.

    In another example of symbolism over substance revisionism , look at Obama’s position on capturing or killing Osama bin Laden. He is changing his goal from the campaign.

    In both instances, Mr. Obama emphasizes bin Laden’s role as operational leader of a terrorist group, but in November he said capturing or killing OBL was “critical.” Today he said it would be his “preference” though cutting OBL off from communication with his operatives would meet his goal.

    The “Change We Can Believe In” may fall way short of American’s expectation for the new President. Then, the honeymoon for “The One” will be over.

    Previous:

    The Day By Day Archive


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  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2009-01-15

    • Although it has been dismissed by some observers as a “hiccup” in an otherwise smooth confirmation process, treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner’s failure to pay self-employment taxes during the years he worked at the International Monetary Fund is causing some Republicans on Capitol Hill to ask serious questions about his actions. First among those questions is why he accepted payment from the IMF as restitution for taxes that he had not, in fact, paid.
    • I have a new story up on Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner's tax issue. The news is that Geithner, like other International Monetary Fund employees, received an allowance from the IMF to make up for the taxes he paid. But in the case of self-employment taxes, Geithner accepted the allowance and didn't pay the taxes.
      ++++++
      Nice reimbursement if you can get it.
    • As Barack Obama builds his administration and prepares to take office next week, his political team is quietly planning for a nationwide hiring binge that would marshal an army of full-time organizers to press the new president's agenda and lay the foundation for his reelection.

      The organization, known internally as "Barack Obama 2.0," is being designed to sustain a grass-roots network of millions that was mobilized last year to elect Obama and now is widely considered the country's most potent political machine.
      ++++++
      Is this permanent campaign ripe for abuse?

      (tags: barack_obama)
    • The obvious question is why the IRS, and for that matter Giethner, didn’t look back at 2001 and 2002 after the 2003 and 2004 errors were caught. The answer may well be that by the time it found the 2003 and 2004 “discrepancies,” the IRS’s ordinary three-year statute of limitations for unpaid taxes from the date a return is filed had expired for 2001 and 2002.

      But there’s an exception to that three-year rule: “The statute of limitations does not apply in the case of a false or fraudulent return with intent to evade any tax.” Intent can be difficult to determine, but Team Obama must have concluded, “brilliant” financial guy that he is, that Geither should have known, and indeed may have known, that he was required to pay self-employment tax at the time he filed his 2001 and 2002 returns. So they told him to pay up.

    • 9:45 a.m., in the transition office, President-elect Obama, meeting with: the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, CNN's Roland Martin, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, the Washington Post's Gene Robinson, the Boston Globe's Derrick Z. Jackson, the one and only Maureen Dowd, the New York Times's Frank Rich, the Wall Street Journal's Jerry Seib, Atlantic political director Ron Brownstein, USA Today's DeWayne Wickham and columnist E.J. Dionne Jr.

      The Times's Paul Krugman was invited, but did not attend.
      ++++++
      Maybe they needed to balance off Rachel Maddow.

    • Finding a way around the two-thirds vote barrier on new taxes has been a holy grail for those on the political left, while preserving it has been a bedrock cause for those on the right. And while many business leaders might accept the particular plan that Democrats offered as a way to crack the budget stalemate, they fear it could lead to even more creative ways to impose new levies on business, such as a "carbon fee" that's been mentioned.

      The legality, however, remains very questionable.

      The business-supported California Taxpayers Association, in a recent editorial in its weekly bulletin, points out that the constitutional provision at issue requires a two-thirds vote on "any changes in state taxes enacted for the purpose of increasing revenues collected pursuant thereto whether by increased rates or changes in the methods of computation …"

      Given that wording, a scheme to skirt the two-thirds vote could have an uphill battle in the courts.
      ++++
      This scheme will never pass muster

    • The Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on Mr. Geithner’s nomination was postponed to next week after Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican from Arizona, objected to holding it on Friday, according to committee aides. A spokesman for Mr. Kyl, Ryan Patmintra, said on Wednesday that Mr. Kyl did not object because of the news of the controversy over Mr. Geithner’s late payment of taxes for 2001 to 2004 when he worked at the International Monetary Fund, but because of unrelated scheduling issues.

      Mr. Kyl invoked a committee rule requiring one week’s notice for hearings unless members decide otherwise, his spokesman said; the Arizona senator is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, and its confirmation hearing for Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general who is opposed by some Republicans, is expected to go into Friday.

    • Members of Obama's vast campaign foreign policy apparatus — reportedly including about 300 wonks — have been silent since the end of the campaigns on the grounds that being quoted might hurt your job prospects.

      But with Clinton heading to the State Department, some of their grumbles are getting picked up by Foreign Policy, which reports that Obama loyalists are aghast to see Clintonites taking the key foreign policy spots.
      +++++++
      Obama is not encouraging loyalty now is he?

    • I have a new story up on the pardon countdown for Scooter Libby. Will it happen? In Libby circles, that's The Thing That Cannot Be Spoken. "Nobody talks about it, nobody says anything," one prominent Libby supporter told me. "There's not much more to say," says another, "we just kind of wait and watch and hope."
      +++++
      Pardon is coming on the last day in office.