Public option ignorance

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is typical of the uninformed left:

[..] ultimately, if the president decides that he's going to go with a reform effort that doesn't include a public option, what he will have done is spent a ton of political capital, riled up an incredibly angry right wing base who's been told that this is a plot to kill grandma, grandma, and he will have achieved something that doesn't change health care very much and that doesn't save us very much money and won't do very much for the American people. It's not a very good thing to spend a lot of political capital on.

Ezra Klein knows his stuff:

The public option is not now, and has not ever, been the core of the argument for heath-care reform. It is the core of the fight in Washington, D.C. It is an important policy experiment. But it was not in Howard Dean or John Kerry or Dick Gephardt's plans, and reformers supported those. It was not in Bill Clinton's proposal, and most lament the death of that. It is not what politicians were using in their speeches five years ago. It is a recent addition to the debate, and a good one. But it is not the reason were are having this debate.

Of course Ezra thinks the public option is a good idea because, like so many on the progressive left, he supports single-payer and anything that moves us in that direction.

But at least he's cognizant that other aspects of reform are much more important than this "policy experiment".

Joe Scarborough

Can save the GOP? Dieu aie pitié.

Olbermann flunks econ 101

The point, Mr. Olbermann, was never that an average GM employee's take home pay (pre tax) was $70, but that, due to their total labor benefits package (including what they pay out to former employees), GM's costs per worker has long put them at a competitive disadvantage with the transplant auto companies in right to work states, whose totals are considerably less than that.

Elementary economic analysis tells us that companies at a competitive disadvantage will either lose money or lose market share.

Of course, Olbermann's job is to manufacture outrage. In this he's no better than an O'Reilly or a Michele Malkin. They're all right about things some things some of the time, but at least as likely to be peddling nonsensical outrage.

The reality is that to be competitive GM and Ford, due to their higher unionized labor costs, have been obligated continue constructing big-ticket vehicles with lower per-unit labor costs, i.e. pickups and SUVs. Smaller, fuel-efficient cars like the Ford Focus are actually built and sold at a loss in order to bring the companies' average fuel efficiencies within federal standards.

Their competitors, on the other hand, can have lower labor costs and can actually produce small cars at a sufficiently low price point while remaining rlatively profitable.

Heir to the revolution?

Yoda voice: Sigh. Told you, I did. Senior citizen is he. Now matters are worse.

Obi-Wan: That geezer was our last hope.

Yoda: No. There is another.

Dr. Ron Paul's son, Dr. Rand Paul, 46, may run for Senate in Kentucky...



Polling numbers... we need polling numbers!  If it takes off, I pledge to follow this race with only a moderate degree of obsession.

Because, well, seriously, it's exactly what the GOP needs... something to get more young people excited and interested in shaping the party's direction again.

Link blag

I endorse Will Wilkinson's ramblings on libertarian democraphobia.

Daily Beast looks back at the wackiest moments of Michele Bachmann, batshit crazy extraordinaire. Spoiler: She sees this as her divine calling!

Also, a manifesto for young voters.

TPM: Et tu, DeMint? Cato has more thoughts.

(video) Obama gets more respect from the press than Bush did. My guess is reporters stood for Bush during his first term. After 2005, not so much. I'll further speculate it's in part because they'd grown very accustomed to him by 2008, he seldom had anything bright to say, and at this point by any reasonable standard his presidency was a terrible failure.

Criticizing Obama shuts down conversations? I guess it's like how those of us who objected to Bush's policies when they were popular were said to hate America, etc.

WSJ: Meet Desirée Rogers, keeper of the Obama brand.

Ordinary Mark Thompson is serious about American exceptionalism, in a good way. William Brafford objects to the term.

It's official: The Obama administration loves MSNBC.

How I learned to stop worrying and love me some systemic failure

More from Philip Zelikow

"...The White House wants all the copies of your memos collected and destroyed."

"...Not only was the piece of paper 'wrong', it was inconvenient to have it around."

President's statement on releasing torture memos

The remaining Bush memos related to torture will be released, with only the names of CIA officers redacted. Here is Obama's statement:

The Department of Justice will today release certain memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005 as part of an ongoing court case. These memos speak to techniques that were used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects during that period, and their release is required by the rule of law.

My judgment on the content of these memos is a matter of record. In one of my very first acts as President, I prohibited the use of these interrogation techniques by the United States because they undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer. Enlisting our values in the protection of our people makes us stronger and more secure. A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these methods of interrogation are already a thing of the past.

But that is not what compelled the release of these legal documents today. While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release.

First, the interrogation techniques described in these memos have already been widely reported. Second, the previous Administration publicly acknowledged portions of the program – and some of the practices – associated with these memos. Third, I have already ended the techniques described in the memos through an Executive Order. Therefore, withholding these memos would only serve to deny facts that have been in the public domain for some time. This could contribute to an inaccurate accounting of the past, and fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions taken by the United States.

In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution. The men and women of our intelligence community serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world. Their accomplishments are unsung and their names unknown, but because of their sacrifices, every single American is safer. We must protect their identities as vigilantly as they protect our security, and we must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs.

Going forward, it is my strong belief that the United States has a solemn duty to vigorously maintain the classified nature of certain activities and information related to national security. This is an extraordinarily important responsibility of the presidency, and it is one that I will carry out assertively irrespective of any political concern. Consequently, the exceptional circumstances surrounding these memos should not be viewed as an erosion of the strong legal basis for maintaining the classified nature of secret activities. I will always do whatever is necessary to protect the national security of the United States.

This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the strong views and emotions that these issues evoke. We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Our national greatness is embedded in America’s ability to right its course in concert with our core values, and to move forward with confidence. That is why we must resist the forces that divide us, and instead come together on behalf of our common future.

The United States is a nation of laws. My Administration will always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakeable commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos, and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions described within them never take place again.

Ambers:

[..] alongside the release of Bush-era documents justifying the CIA torture program, the Justice Department will make clear that no CIA officers or officials who relied on the memos to interrogate prisoners will be subject to criminal prosecution, according to the AP. This is a victory for the CIA, which had been seeking a formal, public statement for its case officers, and which had been worried that the document's disclosures could subject many of them to future prosecution. Now, even if Congress launches investigations, the CIA will be, more or less, safe.

I think this an effective compromise. "I was just following orders" is a defense that was used at the Nuremberg trials, and it's no more valid here than it was then. But a rebellious and resentful intelligence community would be a disaster for the Obama administration and national security, so this had to give. Here's former CIA Director Michael Hayden protesting:



Aaaand here are the memos:

http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_08012002_bybee.pdf -- a Top Secret memo by OLC's Jay Bybee to CIA counsel John Rizzo about torture techniques used on Abu Zubaydah, August 1, 2001.

http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_05102005_bradbury46pg.pdf -- a Top Secret/SCI memo from the OLC's Steven Bradbury to Rizzo about waterboarding and other techniques, 1995

http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_05102005_bradbury_20pg.pdf -- a Top Secret/SCI memo from Bradbury describing the techniques that could be used in combination with each other.

http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_05302005_bradbury.pdf

Fox News wonders why it's biased

Firstly, MSNBC and others aren't the originators of teabagging references:


But check out the doozy that follows:

You know Brent, it's been interesting because Fox News covered these Tea Parties, and we were one of the only organizations to give it any publicity or p.r. prior to the fact that it happened, and it was so under-covered by virtually every news organization. Why is that?

Hmm, yes, why is Fox the only network doing public relations for protesters?

Rachel Maddow explains teabagging

Andrew calls the tea parties tea tantrums and found a particularly dumb transcript:

Woman: [Shouts] “Burn the books!” [applause]

Man: “I don’t think you were serious about that, were you?”

Woman: “I am too.”

Man: “Burn all the books?!”

Woman: “The ones in college, those, those brainwashing books.”

Man: “[laughs] Brainwashing books?”

Woman: “Yes.”

Man: “Which ones are those?”

Woman: “Like, the evolution crap, and, yeah...”

Liberals can be racist and sexist, too

(meme)

Obama does a pre-game interview

READ TRANSCRIPT...

Matt Lauer: We’re here in the Map Room at the White House with the 44th president of the United States, President Obama. It’s great to be with you. How you doing?

Obama: I’m doing great, Matt. Thank you.

Matt: So you’ve been President 12 days. So — so let me ask the question that’s on everyone’s mind right now.

Obama: Right.

Matt: How’s it going living with the mother-in-law? (laughter)

Obama: Fortunately, I love my mother-in-law. And —

Matt: I’m — I’m just asking. I’m not trying —

Obama: — and — oh —

Matt: — to start trouble.

Obama: She is actually — she defends me whenever I screw up. So, Michelle, you know, she’s about to come down hard, my mother-in-law comes in, intercedes. So —

Matt: Everything’s copacetic.

Obama: It’s — the — the longer she stays, the better off I’m gonna be.

Matt: I was driving over here, Mr. President. I was thinking about this enormous transition that you’ve been through —

Obama: Right.

Matt: — taking on the reins as commander-in-chief, Mrs. Obama becoming the First Lady. But you’ve got a daughter ten and a daughter seven. And this is a — huge game changer for them as well.

Obama: Yeah.

Matt: How they doing?

Obama: You know, they — I said this I think in an earlier interview. People think I’m cool. Nobody’s cooler than my two girls. They just seem to take whatever comes with, you know — happiness and — steadiness. And they’re loving school. They’re making friends. In fact, they’ve got a — they’ve got some friends from school over — today and — they’ve already joined some clubs. And Sasha, you know — I think maybe to endear — myself to her, she — she decided she wanted to join a basketball team. So — what more could I want?

Matt: Are you getting to take part in some of the routines? So I was thinking, you know, you’ve been on the road basically for two years, although you got home a lot.

Obama: Right.

Matt: Now you’re all under the same roof basically for 12 days. Are you there for breakfast? Do you — do you get to read them a story at night, tuck them in bed? How’s it going?

Obama: It’s the best deal — of — of this whole thing is it turns out I’ve got this nice home office. And — at the end of the day, yeah, I can come home, even if I’ve got more work to do, I can have dinner with them. I can help them with their homework. I can tuck them in. If I’ve gotta go back to the office, I can. But — I’m seeing them now more than anytime in the last two years. And — and that’s been great for the whole family.

Matt: President Bush said in his last press conference here at the White House, he said he wasn’t sure when it would happen for you. But there would be a moment.

Obama: Right.

Matt: And perhaps in the Oval Office when you would stop and realize, “I am the president of the United States.” (laughter) I’m curious, have you had that moment?

Obama: There have been a couple of times — some wonderful, some sobering. You know, whenever you take that walk down the colonnade and you — you go to the Oval Office, you know, I — I do think you get this sense of the history — that you’re now a part of — some sobering moments. Having to sign letters for troops —

Matt: Right.

Obama: — who — who have died and — and sending letters to their family, where you realize every decision you make counts. And, you know, you don’t have time to — you — you don’t have time to spend a lot of time on inconsequential stuff. You’ve gotta focus on, at this point, putting people back to work but also reminding yourself that you’ve got hundreds of thousands of people — around the world who are putting themselves in harm’s way and you are the commander-in-chief.

Matt: You talk about sobering moments. Even as a Senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, you were getting intelligence briefings on the campaign trial also and during the transition. But now, from what I understand, every day you go down there and there’s that intelligence briefing on your desk. And it’s gotta contain some pretty sobering stuff.

Obama: Right.

Matt: There are millions, tens of millions of people watching this broadcast right now, Mr. President. If they were to have access to the same information you have now on a daily basis, how much less sleep would we all be getting?

Obama: Here’s what I think is important for everybody to understand. We’ve got real threats. And we have to remain vigilant. But the quality of our armed — forces has never been better. When you meet the people who are charged with keeping America safe, it gives you enormous confidence. They are on the case day in and day out with extraordinary profess — professionalism. But there is no doubt that — we have to make sure that we don’t let up because there are people who would be willing to do us harm.

Matt: Let’s talk about some of those men and women who are serving this country overseas in Afghanistan, other locations, in Iraq. And I’m sure they’re watching today. It’s a big event for the armed services. And a lot of those people have a vested interest in one of your campaign promises to end this war and get them home as soon within 16 months or so as humanly possible. So when you look at them, can you say that a substantial number of them will be home in time for next Super Bowl Sunday?

Obama: Yes. I mean, we’re gonna roll out in a — in a very formal fashion what our intentions are in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan. But in conversations that I’ve had with the Joint Chiefs, with — people — the commanders on the ground — I think that we have a sense, now that Iraq has just had a very significant election with no significant violence —

Matt: Right.

Obama: — that we are in a position to start putting more responsibility on the Iraqis. And that’s good news for — not only the troops in the field but their families who are carrying an enormous burden.

Matt: The economy. I mean, people are gonna watch this game today. They’re gonna blow off some steam. They’re gonna have a good time.

Obama: Right.

Matt: And a lot of them are gonna go to bed. They’re gonna wake up tomorrow morning and the worry’s gonna start again. They’re gonna worry about losing their jobs and their homes and putting their kids through school and making ends meet. How much worse is the economy going to get, Mr. President, before it gets better?

Obama: Well, it — I think we’re gonna be in for a tough several months. We’ve got to get this economic recovery plan passed. We’ve gotta start putting people back to work. We’re gonna have to straighten out the credit markets and make sure that credit is flowing to businesses and individuals so that they can start investing and — hiring people again.

And, you know, as soon as Congress moves forward on the recovery plan, we are gonna be also releasing our plan for — the financial sector and regulating the financial sector. I have confidence we’re gonna be able to get the economy back on track. But it’s gonna take — a number of months before we stop falling and then — a little bit longer for us to get back on track.

Matt: And when it comes to the stimulus plan, the — the House passed its version last week but without one Republican vote. That disappointed a lot of people. The Senate takes up their version of the measure starting tomorrow. How — how important is gaining some more Republican support for that, how big a test of your leadership at this early stage of your presidency?

Obama: Well, look, the — the important thing is getting the thing passed. And — I’ve done extraordinary outreach I think to Republicans because they had some good ideas. And I wanna make sure that those ideas are incorporated. I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor that we are gonna see substantial support. And people are gonna say this is a serious effort. It has no earmarks. We’re gonna be trimming up — things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now.

Matt: Can you predict a number of Republican votes?

Obama: No. Of course not.

Matt: You wouldn’t do that, no?

Obama: No, I wouldn’t. But — but I’m confident that — well, look, I — I — I think that — the House Democrats — actually adopted a number of the ideas that the House Republicans had offered. Obviously the House Republicans wanted to make a statement. Now it moves to the Senate. We’ve got 535 people who feel it’s their responsibility to represent their constituents and make their voices heard.

So if this is — democracy is always a somewhat messy process. But the thing I want all of them to remember and the thing I’m thinking about every single day is the thousands of people who are being laid off of their jobs right now. They can’t afford politics as usual. And old habits are hard to break. But now is the time to break them ’cause we’ve got an urgent situation.

Matt: Let’s lighten up a little bit. Let’s — let’s move towards sports, okay? You — you came out and you said, “Look, in college football, I’m not crazy about the current system to determining a national champion.”

Obama: This is true.

Matt: “I’d rather see a playoff system like in professional baseball or professional football.”

Obama: Right.

Matt: So will you look into the camera right now and talk to the people of Florida and their 27 electoral votes and tell them that the Gators are not the national champions of football?

Obama: I — where’s the camera? Right here?

Matt: (laughter) Yeah, there you go.

Obama: Congratulations, Gators, on an outstanding season. (UNINTEL) Bowl is great. Wouldn’t you feel better if you had beat — every team that was out there through a playoff system?

Matt: Twenty-seven electoral votes.

Obama: Yeah, the — (laughter) I love you. But — I — I think they could have — I — they could have taken on anybody through the — the playoff system. By the way, one of our Secret Service guys — his son — is a tackle on the — on the Florida Gators. So, you know, I’ve got a soft spot for —

Matt: You got a connection.

Obama: Absolutely.

Matt: Let’s talk about this game today. You came out. Most presidents don’t pick a team. You — you came right out and you said, “Look, I know the Rooneys. They’ve been good friends of mine. They endorsed me. I think you got the AFC championship ball.”

Obama: I did.

Matt: So you said, “Other than my dear Bears, they’re closest to my heart.” But I’m having a hard time understanding how you of all people wouldn’t associate with the Cardinals. I mean, it is —

Matt: — the Cinderella story, the team that came from nowhere to the big game. The audacity of hope!

Obama: Not to mention the fact that Kurt Warner’s close to my age.

Matt: Right, exactly. (laughter)

Matt: How can you turn your back —

Obama: I — I love Kurt Warner’s story. I love — Larry Fitzgerald seems like just a — a wonderful young man. It’s a great story. But Rooney didn’t just endorse me. That guy was out going to steel plants campaigning for me. Frank O’Harris (PH) was out waving towels at my rallies.

Matt: You have a terrible tie —

Obama: I — I do actually.

Matt: So you’re gonna be —

Obama: I’m — I’m — I’m not gonna be rubbing it in. There’s — we’ve got some — Arizona — congressmen here. And I may need their vote on the — recovery package.

Matt: Give me a score. (laughter) What’s the score gonna be in this game?

Obama: You know, it’s — it’s tough to predict. But I — but I think the — the Steelers are gonna eke it out in a close one.

Matt: All right. Well, last year you predicted the Patriots over my Giants.

Obama: Yeah.

Matt: I don’t have a question here. I just wanted to rub that in a little bit.

Obama: Yeah. I’m still wondering how that guy made that catch.

Matt: — Manning?

Obama: Huh?

Matt: — they just dissected that play in about a five-minute segment on the show.

Obama: It was one of — one of the greatest plays in pro football history.

Matt: Let’s talk about the BlackBerry. You got to keep it.

Obama: I did.

Matt: Can I see it? Do you have it?

Obama: You know, I didn’t bring it down here.

Matt: No?

Obama: No, it — it — it’s like — Inspector Gadget, you know? We — the — if you touch it, it might blow up.

Matt: But that’s — I kind of envision that. It’s like Q in the James Bond movie. (laughter) Did they give you, like, fingerprint recognition technology or something?

Obama: The works. The works. It turns into a car — (laughter) if I have to make a quick getaway.

Matt: How many people have that e-mail address?

Obama: I handful. Look, there are security issues involved. And so we’ve gotta make sure that I’m not — creating a situation where — you know, potential people can compromise our —

Matt: — can they contact you on that BlackBerry?

Obama: Typically, world leaders are gonna be contacting me through the Oval Office. They know how to reach me there.

Matt: Sasha and Malia?

Obama: Sasha and Malia can always contact me.

Matt: Oprah?

Obama: Well, the —

Matt: (laughter) Maybe.

Matt: You’re not gonna hook me up, are you?

Obama: Matt, do you want one?

Matt: I — no, I — I want your e-mail address. (laughter)

Matt: — during the game.

Obama: I like your son. I might give it to him. I’m not gonna give it to you.

Matt: Let me end on something — not only did you just become president, obviously that carries a certain amount of fame — with it. But — but you have achieved a — a certain rock star status outside of that.

Obama: Outside of my house. (laughter)

Matt: Yeah, well — let — let me show you. This is the — the current issue of — of Us Weekly.

Obama: Right.

Matt: And here’s a great picture —

Obama: Oh, it’s beautiful.

Matt: — of — of you and — and Michelle and — and your daughters. Now, the — the reason I bring this up I think is funny. It’s a great picture.

Obama: Yeah.

Matt: But I wanna show you the cover. Look what they did. They — they took you off the cover.

Obama: Yeah.

Matt: They took you out of it.

Obama: It — it’s — it’s a little hurtful.

Matt: You got replaced by Jessica Simpson.

Obama: Yeah, who’s losing a weight battle apparently. (laughter) Yeah. Oh, well.

Matt: What would you like to say to the tens of millions of people who are watching this game today?

Obama: Well, listen, have a wonderful time. The Super Bowl is — is — one of the finest American traditions. I wanna give a special shout out to our troops overseas who are gonna be watching this because — you know, you allow not just this game to take place but — our liberties to be preserved. And we’re very grateful to you.

Matt: President Obama, it’s a pleasure. Thanks for welcoming us to the White House.

Matt: Enjoy the game. Have a great time.

Matt: Thank you. We certainly will.

Obama: I’ll — I’ll see if I have to eat my words again.

Matt: We’ll — we’ll see. We’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I’ll e-mail you. (laughter)

Great moments in popular diction

Via TPM:



"Even fisting with one another."

I will not link to the Wikipedia page, I will not link to the Wikipedia page...

They should have paid attention to MSNBC's educational video, back in June:



But while we're on the subject of the Obamas' affection...