Barack Obama Larry King Interview Transcript 3-20-08

Read the entire Larry King transcript of Obama's interview yesterday:

KING: All right, let's get first to the news of the day. Michigan apparently is not going to recount its already-held primary. Florida apparently is not going to do it. What's your solution to this?

OBAMA: Well, you know, we're going to abide by whatever rules the Democratic National Committee puts forward, as we've done from the start. You know, we were told it wasn't going to count and so we didn't campaign there. In fact, my name wasn't on the ballot in Michigan.

But I think it's important to make sure that the people of Michigan, the people of Florida, that their delegates are seated. And so, you know, we're committed to making sure that that happens in a fair and equitable way. And I'm confident that they will be participating fully in the Democratic convention. And I'm looking forward to hopefully campaigning there as the nominee.

On the Iraq War:

KING: All right. He's saying that al Qaeda will run rampant under your plan and plans to withdraw.

How do you respond?

OBAMA: Look, the -- you heard, I think, the other day, Senator McCain confuse al Qaeda with Shia radical militias inside of Iraq. The president makes the same error. He keeps on conflating al Qaeda with all that's going on inside of Iraq. In fact, Iraq is a majority Shia country that is violently opposed to al Qaeda. The Sunnis inside of Iraq are now opposed to al Qaeda.

There's no doubt that al Qaeda would try to get another foothold in there. But to the extent that we've brought Sunnis in and got them to buy into the central government, we can start making some progress.

In fact, that's part of the reason that violence is down. Not only have our troops performed magnificently and done everything we've asked them to do, but you've also got Sunni tribal leaders who have rejected al Qaeda and, in fact, are trying to cooperate. So the notion that al Qaeda would run roughshod over Iraq is just not correct. In contrast, you do have safe havens for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That we know. We know for certain. The Taliban has strengthened itself. They're using the funds from the heroin trade in that region to help finance much of what they're doing. And we're seeing more suicide bombs, more violent attacks. It's starting to creep into the rest of Pakistan.

We know that's where the people who killed 3,000 Americans are located. And we have not been focused on that because of our obsession with Iraq.

So my argument about withdrawing out of Iraq is not because I don't think that we can sustain this current burden indefinitely -- although, the fact is that will break the bank eventually. We can't keep on spending $200 billion a year or $150 billion a year in Iraq.

It's not just because it is straining our military and military families in extraordinary ways. It's also because it's not the best strategy to deal with terrorism, which should have been our focus from the start and has unfortunately been diverted into an effort in Iraq that has been counterproductive to that effort.

Governor Bill Richardson Endorses Barack Obama

Big endorsement and a slap at Hillary. Richardson was part of President Clinton's administration. In theory the New Mexico Governor should help Obama with Hispanic voters:

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who sought to become the nation’s first Hispanic president this year, plans to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination on Friday at a campaign event in Oregon, according to an Obama adviser.

Mr. Richardson, a former congressman and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, dropped out of the Democratic race in January after finishing behind Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the first nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Since then, both Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton have aggressively courted Mr. Richardson for his endorsement. Mrs. Clinton had also deployed her husband, and Mr. Richardson’s former boss, to seek the governor’s political support; former President Bill Clinton watched the Super Bowl in February with Mr. Richardson, and both Clintons had spent time on the phone trying to persuade him to back her candidacy.

CNN: Bribes Not Surge Reduced Violence in Iraq?

This report makes a credible argument that cash did more to dramatically reduce violence in Iraq than the surge. We bought-off many in the insurgency. But for how long.

First Lady Records Show Clinton Promoted NAFTA

So now we know for a fact that Hillary Clinton lied when she says she opposed NAFTA:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton now argues that the North American Free Trade Agreement needs to be renegotiated, but newly released records showed on Wednesday she promoted its passage.

The press keeps forgetting to mention those documents were released because she was forced to do so because of a lawsuit:

The National Archives and the Clinton presidential library jointly released more than 11,000 pages of Clinton's daily schedule as first lady from 1993 to 2001.

The release came in response to charges that she is overly secretive, and also allowed her campaign to promote her argument that she gained valuable White House experience during her years as first lady.

[...]The documents clearly indicated that Clinton had a powerful role at the White House, frequently meeting foreign leaders and presiding over meetings.

The NAFTA agreement, linking trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, was considered a major accomplishment by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

But now many Americans blame the agreement for the loss of thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

NAFTA has become such an issue on the Democratic presidential campaign trail that both Clinton and rival Barack Obama have vowed to renegotiate it.

The former first lady's records showed first lady Clinton worked on behalf of the accord.

Among the thousands of details of daily life for Clinton, there was a November 10, 1993, entry -- a "NAFTA Briefing drop-by," in Room 450 of the executive office building next door to the White House, closed to the news media.

Approximately 120 people were expected to attend the briefing, and Clinton was to be introduced by White House aide Alexis Herman for brief remarks concluding the program.

Dick Cheney: I Don't Care What the People Think About the War

It was a shocking display of contempt for the American people. Then again what would you expect from George Bush's VP? Both have been totally indifferent to the will of the American people since they set foot in the White House in 2001. Nonetheless it is shocking to hear it from the mouth of the Vice President:

Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney offered a positive assessment of the war today and called last year's troop surge a "major success."

"On the security front, I think there's a general consensus that we've made major progress, that the surge has worked. That's been a major success," Cheney told ABC News' Martha Raddatz.

When asked about how that jibes with recent polls that show about two-thirds of Americans say the fight in Iraq is not worth it, Cheney replied, "So?"

"You don't care what the American people think?" Raddatz asked the vice president.

"You can't be blown off course by polls," said Cheney, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East. "This president is very courageous and determined to go the course. There has been a huge fundamental change and transformation for the better. That's a huge accomplishment."

Hillary Clinton Forced to Release First Lady Records

We've forgotten about Hillary's stonewalling with all the press coverage over the Obama-Wright scandal. I guess the press fell for the Clinton propaganda that they were soft on Obama. Now they've decided to go overboard. What happened to the Ferraro scandal? It disappeared a day later. What a gift for Hillary. And what about McCain's hate-preacher? Is it any less scandalous? We need to get back to why the Clinton's continue to stonewall on the releasing of information. Unfortunately because of the Obama scandalmania we won't hear too much today about why it took a lawsuit to get Hillary to release her records from her White House days:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's activities while U.S. first lady will be made public on Wednesday, the National Archives said on Tuesday, in response to legal pressure by a watchdog group.

The records, some 11,000 pages in all, document nearly all of the meetings, trips, speaking engagements and social activities Clinton engaged in while her husband, Bill Clinton, served as president between 1993 and 2001, the National Archives said.

The records are being released in response to a lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group.

Poll: 64% Say Iraq War "Not Worth It"

At this point it is clear the American people will never support the Iraq War. Surge or no surge. In fact, as things continue to worsen with the war, again, those polls will worsen. What makes it worse is that the hundreds of billions spent on the Iraq War has accomplished nothing. Just ask the Iraqi people:

Today 29 percent of Americans say the results of the war were worth it; 64 percent say they were not.

In August 2003, less than six months after the beginning of the war, Americans were divided as the whether or not the results of the war were worth it. Opinion reached a low point in March 2006 - when only one in four Americans said the war was worth the costs.

Support today breaks heavily along partisan lines. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say the results of the war with Iraq were worth the costs, while only 10 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of Independents agree. In fact, belief among Republicans that the war was worth it has risen 11 points since March 2006, while support among Democrats and Independents has remained largely the same.

Not only is the war not worth it but it's hurting the economy:

More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States, according to results of a recent poll.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last weekend, 71 percent said they think U.S. spending in Iraq is a reason for the nation's poor economy. Twenty-eight percent said they didn't think so.

The weekend poll, timed to coincide with the Iraq war's fifth anniversary, also showed little U.S. support for the conflict. Fewer than one in three respondents -- 32 percent -- said they support the war, while 66 percent said they oppose it.

Sixty-one percent of those polled said the next president should remove most U.S. troops from Iraq "within a few months of taking office."

Only 36 percent of those polled said the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over -- down from 68 percent in March 2003, when the war began.

Obama Philadelphia Speech Transcript 3-18-08

Read the full transcript . Here are some excerpts:

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

[...]Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

[...]I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

Obama Camp: Hillary Clinton Will "Do Anything to Win"

There should be no doubt at this point that the Clintons are total scoundrels, capable of anything. They've succeeded for so long stealing they want to try and steal this election:

Is it possible to win the Democratic nomination in such a way as to make winning not worth it?

The Barack Obama campaign thinks so. It thinks Hillary Clinton’s campaign is willing to take any road to the White House, including the low road.

“They would do anything to win, and that means anything,” David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, told me Monday. “There is a frenetic energy around them to commandeer this election in any way they can.”

[...]Another Obama senior aide told me he believed Clinton was willing to “destroy the party” just as long as she ends up with the nomination.

This is what a prominent pro-Democratic blog had to say on the Clinton question:

Hillary won't win the nomination without some machination - Markos calls it a coup, and he's right - that will result in a Democratic Party civil war. And, that seems fine by her as Markos explains:

It is Clinton, with no reasonable chance of victory, who is fomenting civil war in order to overturn the will of the Democratic electorate. As such, as far as I'm concerned, she doesn't deserve "fairness" on this site. All sexist attacks will be dealt with -- those will never be acceptable. But otherwise, Clinton has set an inevitably divisive course and must be dealt with appropriately.

To reiterate, she cannot win without overturning the will of the national Democratic electorate and fomenting civil war, and she doesn't care.

Subprime Mortgage Pioneer, Profiteer Dies

This man is why we are in the financial mess we're in. But Arnall's practices point to a government that was bought off by the sup-prime charlatans. Individuals are commonly appointed ambassadors because they are major contributors to the President at the time. Arnall made his fortune by preying upon the poor and poorly educated whom sought the American dream of owning their own home. What is more criminal is that the government allowed these predators to operate at all:

Roland Arnall, founder of subprime pioneer Ameriquest Mortgage Co, died of cancer on Monday morning in Los Angeles, his family said in a statement.

[...]A major political donor with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.5 billion, Arnall faced opposition from Senate Democrats to his 2005 confirmation as ambassador to the Hague after accusations that his company had preyed on mortgage seekers with subprime credit.

In January 2006, Ameriquest agreed to pay $325 million to settle predatory lending investigations by state attorneys general throughout the United States.

The company admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to several reforms, and Arnall was confirmed later that year.

The allegations against Ameriquest were not the first to surface in connection with an Arnall-owned business.

How Many Child Prostitutes Is Bush Responsible for?

Just another example of the horrific Bush legacy:

George Bush has been tied to a prostitution ring involving as many as 50,000 women and girls. The prostitutes, some as young as 13, are among the 1.2 million desperate Iraqis who fled to Syria after Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to the U.K. Independent.

Bush's invasion destroyed the Iraqi government and unleashed a wave of political and sectarian violence that has killed over 1 million Iraqis and forced 4 million to become refugees, according to the UN.

Facing starvation, as many as 50,000 women and girls have been forced into prostitution in Syria alone, according to Hana Ibrahim of the Women's Will Association.

"70 percent to 80 percent of the girls working this business in Damascus today are Iraqis," 23-year-old Abeer told the New York Times. "The rents here in Syria are too expensive for their families. If they go back to Iraq they'll be slaughtered, and this is the only work available."

According to the Times, "inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourists from wealthier countries in the Middle East. In the club's parking lot, nearly half of the cars had Saudi license plates."

MSNBC Blog: "CLINTON'S NAFTA-GATE?"

It is clear that the downright dastardly Clinton campaign was behind NAFTAgate as a way of derailing Obama's campaign leading up to the Texas and Ohio primaries:

Per the Toronto Globe and Mail, in a story that was the lead on the paper’s front page today, that call to the Canadian embassy was actually from the Clinton campaign, not Obama’s:

“Mr. [Ian] Brodie, [PM Harper’s chief of staff], during the media lockup for the Feb. 26 budget, stopped to chat with several journalists, and was surrounded by a group from CTV. The conversation turned to the pledges to renegotiate the North American free-trade agreement made by the two Democratic contenders, Mr. Obama and New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

“Mr. Brodie, apparently seeking to play down the potential impact on Canada, told the reporters the threat was not serious, and that someone from Ms. Clinton's campaign had even contacted Canadian diplomats to tell them not to worry because the NAFTA threats were mostly political posturing. The Canadian Press cited an unnamed source last night as saying that several people overheard the remark.

How Bad is the Mortgage Crisis Going to Get?

Paul Krugman is another leading economist who thinks things are going to get worse:

What started in subprime is likely to continue cascading into the markets and keep the economy down until 2010, economist Paul Krugman forecasts. Bottom line for homeowners: An average drop of 25%.

If the government could bail out Bear Stearns why can't they bail out the American people:

Fortune: By year-end, 15 million Americans could have mortgages worth more than the value of their homes. What happens then?

Krugman: Actually, I think home prices will fall enough for us to produce about 20 million people with negative equity. That's almost a quarter of U.S. homes. If home prices are rising, or if there's positive equity, you can refinance or sell. But if you have negative equity, you can end up being foreclosed on, and then some people will just find it to their advantage to walk away. We're probably heading for $6 trillion or $7 trillion in capital losses in housing. Some fraction of that will fall on owners of mortgages. I still think the estimates people are putting out there - $400 billion or $500 billion in losses - are too low. I think there'll be $1 trillion of losses on mortgage-backed securities showing up somewhere.

What if it isn't enough:

Not since the 1930s. They didn't have the Fed funds target rate back then, but effectively we had a zero-interest-rate policy for a good part of the '30s. If the Fed responds this time with as much cutting as it did in the last two recessions, we get to zero. And then the problem is, What if that isn't enough? And there's a pretty good chance it won't be.

But what about the government stimulus plan:

I wasn't happy with it. Most of the money is given to people who are not much inclined to spend it, people who are not in financial difficulty. And therefore they will just put it in the bank or pay down credit card debt. I've been trying to make the case that since this thing is going to go on for a long time, effectiveness is more crucial than speed. I'm actually for public investment now - repairing bridges, building infrastructure. Normally people say if you try to do any public investment to stimulate the economy, the recession will be over before it can come online. But I don't think that's a problem this time.

- Read the entire article...

Greenspan: Economy Worst Since WWII

It is clear at this point that we are in a full fledged crisis. Unfortunately we are still acting as if this were just a typical temporary downturn in the economy, as the President is arguing. There are some prominent persons whom are responsible enough to tell the truth. Will it be enough? Are we in denial? Has anyone heard from the Presidential candidates lately on the crisis?:

Today's economic condition could likely be seen as "the most wrenching since the end of the second world war," wrote former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan in the Financial Times on Monday.

The U.S. financial crisis won't end until housing prices stabilize, but that won't happen for months, wrote Greenspan.

The models used by the finance industry to determine risk and measure economic strength are too simple to fully account for human responses, he said. "We cannot hope to anticipate the specifics of future crises with any degree of confidence," he wrote.

Many Voting for Clinton to Boost GOP

Just another reason not to vote for Hillary Clinton:

For a party that loves to hate the Clintons, Republican voters have cast an awful lot of ballots lately for Senator Hillary Clinton: About 100,000 GOP loyalists voted for her in Ohio, 119,000 in Texas, and about 38,000 in Mississippi, exit polls show.

[...]Spurred by conservative talk radio, GOP voters who say they would never back Clinton in a general election are voting for her now for strategic reasons: Some want to prolong her bitter nomination battle with Barack Obama, others believe she would be easier to beat than Obama in the fall, or they simply want to register objections to Obama.

Millions of Iraqis Lack Water, Healthcare: Red Cross

Just another reason why the surge failed and why we should get out. And guess who gets blamed for this failure. Our troops do:

Five years after the United States led an invasion of Iraq, millions of people there are still deprived of clean water and medical care, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday.

In a sober report marking the anniversary of the 2003 start of the war, which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and unleashed deep sectarian tensions, the humanitarian body said Iraqi hospitals lack beds, drugs, and medical staff.

Some areas of the country of 27 million people have no functioning water and sanitation facilities, and the poor public water supply has forced some families to use at least a third of their average $150 monthly income buying clean drinking water.

"Five years after the outbreak of the war in Iraq, the humanitarian situation in most of the country remains among the most critical in the world," the ICRC said, describing Iraq's health care system as "now in worse shape than ever."

John McLaughlin: Prostitution Good Thing, Should be Legal

Here is the former Jesuit priest and Conservative host of The McLaughlin Group making arguments for the legalization of prostitution. He even insists that it will save marriages.

Meet The Press Transcript 3-16-08

Read the Meet The Press Transcript for 3-16-08

Huh?! Typical Clintonista logic:

MR. RUSSERT: The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll asked Democrats if a candidate loses among pledged delegates but wins the nomination by getting superdelegates, would it be legitimate nomination? Nearly four in 10 Democrats said it would not be legitimate if a candidate won the nomination on superdelegates after losing pledged delegates.[Representaive Nita Lowey][...]if, in fact, those people believe that they should abide by the wish of the pledged delegates, I would hope Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry would vote for Clinton because look what happened in Massachusetts.

Speaking of Clinton logic:

(Videotape)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): If you're a voter from Florida or Michigan, you know that we should count your votes. The results of those primaries were fair, and they should be honored.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: But back in October, Senator Clinton said this about Michigan: "You know, it's clear, this election they're having in Michigan is not going to count for anything."

I think former Senator Bradley is saying Hillary has something to hide:

(Videotape, March 5, 2008)

SEN. BRADLEY: I think Barack Obama has a much stronger chance of beating John McCain in the general election. I think Hillary is flawed in many ways and particularly if you look at her husband's unwillingness to release the names of the people who contributed to his presidential library. And the reason that is important, are there favors attached to $500,000 or million dollar contributions? And what do I mean by favors? I mean pardons that are granted, investigations that are squelched, contracts that are awarded, regulations that are delayed. These are important questions. The people deserve to know. And we deserve, as Democrats, to know before a nominee is selected because we don't want things to explode in a general election against John McCain.

(End videotape)

Answer the question...Nita:

MR. RUSSERT: Well, to the specific then--if the tax returns were income, but the $500 million he's raised for his foundation library, should those donors be made public?

REP. LOWEY: I do believe that, at the right time, they will be made public. Let me just say one other thing that I think is very important.

MR. RUSSERT: But at the right, should it be before the primary season is over?

REP. LOWEY: I do believe that we have to have a really constructive debate, a constructive discussion. You know, the kind of information that we're releasing, it reminds me, with all due respect, Senator Bradley, of--with the Bradley-Gore primary. And, and if we don't keep this positive, all we're doing is providing fodder for the McCain-Democrat race that will take place later on. This should be a real discussion of what we're going to be doing for the economy, what we're going to be doing for food prices, gas prices, what we're going to do about the housing/energy crisis. And I do think there is more information, and Clintons have been vetted certainly more than Senator Obama.

That doesn't answer the question.

Athletes Considering Beijing Boycott: IOC Official

This would be enormously courageous. They would be leading by example and hopefully shaming the world into action. I am pessimistic since the whoring politicians in the West will continue to remain silent. Also, the media will move on to other stories, as long as no videos come out of Tibet:

International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Thomas Bach says a number of top athletes are considering boycotting the games in China over the bloody crackdown on protesters in Tibet.

"Several sports stars are feeling ill at ease when they think about the Olympic Games. Some are even considering cancelling," Mr Bach, of Germany, told Sunday's edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

And will the UN investigate the atrocities being committed by the Chinese government. Once again, I am pessimistic that will be done:

The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama - the public voice of a region now largely sealed off from the rest of the world - called Sunday for an international investigation into the crackdown against protesters in his homeland, which he said is facing a "cultural genocide."

"Some respected international organization can find out what the situation is in Tibet and what is the cause," he told reporters in Dharmsala, the Indian hill town where his government-in-exile has been based since he fled Tibet in the wake of a failed uprising in the late 1950s. "Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place."

Pope: Enough With Slaughters in Iraq

Amen:

Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul.

The pope also denounced the 5-year-long Iraq war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life.

"Enough with the slaughters. Enough with the violence. Enough with the hatred in Iraq!" Benedict said to applause at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.

[...] Benedict said Rahho's dedication to the Catholic Church and his death compelled him to "raise a strong and sorrowful cry" to denounce the violence in Iraq spawned by the war that began five years ago this week.

"At the same time, I make an appeal to the Iraqi people, who for the past five years have borne the consequences of a war that provoked the breakup of their civil and social life," Benedict said.

He urged them to raise their heads and reconstruct their life through "reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and coexistence among tribal, ethnic and religious groups."

The Vatican strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. In its aftermath, Benedict has frequently criticized attacks against Iraqi Christians by Islamic extremists. Last year, he urged President Bush to keep the safety of Iraqi Christians in mind.