Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Palin Interviewed by FOX's Van Susteren: Transcript (11-10-08)
Sarah Palin was interviewed by FOXNews' Greta Van Susteren ('On The Record'). Read the complete transcript.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Let me clarify some loose ends here. The clothes -- what is the story on the clothes?
PALIN: The clothes. When I arrived at the convention, there were clothes waiting for me and clothes being ordered for me and for the family, for eight of us. And ever since then, those clothes, knowing that they didn't belong to me, many of them had been returned, many of them were put in the belly of the airplane, and some of them were returned home with me. We boxed them all up, sent them back to the rightful owners, the Republican National Committee. And that's the story on the clothes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you order the clothes?
PALIN: Did not order the clothes. Did not ask for the clothes. I would have been happy to have worn my own clothes from day one. But you know, that turned into kind of an odd issue, an odd campaign issue as things were wrapping up there, as to who ordered what and who demanded what.
But you know, I was happy to get to come home to my own closet and put my own clothes on again, which we had done, of course, through most of the campaign also. But the convention clothes were belonging to the RNC.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know whose idea that was or how that even evolved?
PALIN: Haven't really heard how all that evolved and hadn't really pursued it until we started getting criticized for supposedly asking for all these clothes, my family and me. And still don't have all of the answers. But it just, at this point, especially seems so irrelevant, unless the criticism continues in regards to my family or me demanding anything.
But it just seems like such an irrelevant issue when you consider what's going on in the world today and how a new administration is being ushered in and people being concerned about the direction of the nation and policies that will be adopted, and also at the same time being excited about this historic moment in our nation's history. Clothes just seem irrelevant.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, I agree with you they're irrelevant. It's just that the number was so horrific. I mean, $150,000 was a giant number. And it seemed, you know, that all of a sudden, you got hammered with it. And I was trying to figure out, you know, it is fair, is it unfair, or you know, why is it that this became an issue? And I don't mean to harp on it, but why did this become an issue?
PALIN: Well, that is a good question. Again, arriving at the convention, being told that along with staging and lighting and everything else was wardrobe for my family and me to wear during the convention, and you know, just kind of going with the flow. OK, sounds -- that sounds fine. If that's the way that they do this, that's good, wearing the clothes during that time.
There's no way it could have been $150,000 worth of clothes, though, not unless every jacket and pair of shoes were $10,000, $20,000. I don't see how it added up.
But it was for eight people, not just for myself. And my understanding is right off the bat, about a third of the clothes had been returned because they just weren't going to work. Another third of the clothes that we were wearing all got returned to the RNC. And another third of the clothes -- we never did see them. Evidently, they were in the belly of the plane, and those got sent back also.
CBS' Couric, Schieffer on Obama White House Visit
This video shows yesterday's Obama visit to the White House for first time as President -elect.
Sarah Palin on the 'Today Show': Video (11-11-08)
This video is of Matt Lauer's interview of Sarah Palin on the Today Show shown this morning. Complete Transcript.
Excerpt:
LAUER: There is this feeling -- and some of this comes from leaks and other just perception, people getting a gut -- that there was increasing tension between you and Senator McCain in the final stretch of this campaign. Tell me what the relationship was like.
S. PALIN: We have a great relationship. Had from day one. Had the first time that I met him last year, he and his wife. I just have been great admirers of them, of their family, of all that Senator McCain has accomplished. Never once was there any inkling of tension between the two of us. Perhaps within the campaign there were campaign staffers who...
LAUER: Well, describe that for me. Who was butting heads?
S. PALIN: You know, I don’t even know. That inside baseball stuff regarding the way a campaign works on that level -- I certainly didn’t get bogged down in any of the potential skirmishes or perceived problems.
LAUER: Have you listened to some of the leaks that have come out since the election where -- where they’re saying that the McCain people leaked anonymously -- are saying, “We couldn’t control her, she was a rogue, she didn’t want our consultants around her and it became tense.”
Where did stories like that come from?
S. PALIN: I honestly do not know, because it’s not true, Matt. And Senator McCain and I, we have a great relationship. I have nothing but honor and admiration and love for him and for his family, and I think that is mutual. In fact, I talked to him just today, again, and we -- touching base nearly every day.
LAUER: So, it’s a warm and friendly relationship even to to this day?
S. PALIN: Very warm and friendly and professional. And I -- I -- again, I have nothing but honor and admiration and love that I will show for this great American hero.
LAUER: According to a recent article in Newsweek and some other reports, on election night, you showed up at the Biltmore in Phoenix...
S. PALIN: Yes.
LAUER: ... and things weren’t going well. And you had some copy in your hands. You had some remarks that you would have liked to have given to that audience, and, in effect, to the nation, prior to Senator McCain giving his concession speech. And you were told, “No”.
S. PALIN: Well, I had a speech that, you know, I was going to give that we’d worked on about a week. And the speech was...
LAUER: Had you cleared with anyone? Had anyone -- anyone said it might be an opportunity for you to speak?
S. PALIN: Oh, certainly, the -- the speech was written in -- in cooperation and conjunction with a couple of the speech writers in the campaign -- and had written that as an introduction to this great American hero. And of course, we had two speeches in our back pocket.
LAUER: Right.
S. PALIN: One was a concession speech that would introduce him, and it would do what John McCain just can’t seem to do for himself -- bless his heart, because he’s not that kind of man -- where I was going to brag him up and say, “You know, truly he’s an American hero, has faced great adversity, knows how challenges are overcome. And let us -- let us be thankful for this man, who with a servant’s heart had offered himself up to...
(CROSSTALK)
LAUER: So that sounds like a good idea. Why weren’t you allowed to do it?
S. PALIN: I don’t know. It was a great speech because it also then, also said, “OK, but American voters have spoken, so now, let’s all come together. I know Senator McCain wants to lead in an effort of unity here in our nation, and let’s work with President-elect Obama and let’s go forward.”
LAUER: So you walked up and you said to somebody in the campaign, “Look, I’ve got these comments I’d like to make. I want to,” as you say, “brag on him a little bit?”
S. PALIN: Yes.
LAUER: Who said no?
S. PALIN: Somebody said no, they said that it would be unprecedented, that a V.P. candidates wouldn’t introduce someone in a concession speech. And you know, all I could say was...
Monday, November 10, 2008
8-year-old Boy Shoots Father, Co-Worker: Video
An 8-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting his father and another man is set to appear in court Monday.
The boy is being charged as a minor with two counts of premeditated murder, but St. Johns police are hoping a judge will agree to try him as an adult, even though they say it's unlikely.
The boy's father, Vincent Romero, and a co-worker who rented a room from him were found dead inside Romero's home last week.
Police say the boy planned and methodically carried out the killings, and confessed to them.
But the boy's attorney, Benjamin Brewer, says police overreached in questioning the boy without representation from a parent or attorney and did not advise him of his rights.
St. Johns is a 4,000-person community 170 miles northeast of Phoenix.
Palin Blames Defeat on Bush: Transcript, Video
In an interview with an Alaskan newspaper, Sarah Palin blames her campaign's defeat on George W. See the video of the interview here. Partial transcript below.
Q. Why do you think your campaign lost?
A. I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a 10 trillion dollar debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change I think went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It's amazing that we did as well as we did.
Q. There's been an enormous amount of information about you that Alaskans have been exposed to the past couple of months -- and lots of it very critical. What are Alaskans supposed to make of all this?
A. Regarding information regarding my record, that is now out there, much of it that was based on misinformation was a very, very frustrating thing to have to go through when the record was never corrected. And we would try to correct the record and too many in the media chose not to make those corrections. ! Q. What misinformation are you talking about?
A. Some of the goofy things like who was Trig's mom. Well, I'm Trig's mom (raises her hand) and do you want to see my medical records to prove that? ... And banning books. That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation. But just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn't even been written when I was the mayor. So, gosh, we have so many examples, I mean every day, especially the first few weeks, every day something that was thrown out there.
Q. One of the things that came up during the campaign is that you charge the state per diem for time spent here in Wasilla. Is that something you are going to continue to do?
A. We've always followed the law and fully disclosed all that. The choice there in many months of the Juneau mansion being re-plumbed and all the improvements being made in the infrastructure of the Juneau house, where we weren't going to be there anyway. Knowing that in the end it would have cost the state more money to do what other governors had done and that is either charge the state for hotel rooms. Or the state rents you an apartment like they did for Governor Murkowski. We said no, we just won't sell our house, knowing that we're going to spend quite a bit of time here, especially those months where the remodels were taking place in the governor's mansion. And we would disclose my per diem, we wouldn't try to hide it ... trying to go above and beyond, not accepting any per diem for the kids or Todd at all, they've lived outside of the governor's house. Trying to follow the rules and doing what is legal and ethical and full disclosure.
Same with the family's travel. That's baffled me that all of a sudden two years later, again, never having tried to hide anything with either traveling back and forth to Juneau for first family events that were outside the capital city, in bringing Piper and, once in a while, Willow with me also, that anybody would think that I was trying to hide that they came with me ... just trying to do my job and part of my job is with the first family, having them with me at some of these events.
Q. What was it like running for vice president?
A. It was amazing. It was amazing and very, very busy and energizing. Every day was an amazing experience and I loved it ...
And I truly believe it was good for Alaska. I believe that, with tens of millions of people seeing kind of a different face of Alaska, and again, not me personally but what it is that we represent. Hardworking, unpretentious, conservationists, all these things that our administration and my family, all that we embody, has been good for Alaska because it's shown that up here we do work hard and we do want to produce and we want to contribute more to the U.S. ... And the eyes of the nation are on Alaska, they're going to be on us for a long time.
Q. They, of course, will be on you, governor. Rasmussen Reports said 64 percent of Republicans see you as their top presidential choice in 2012.
A. Oh, look how fickle poll numbers are. Look where I've gone, up and down, up and down, even in the state of Alaska the last couple of months. We can't pay attention to those numbers.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
John Podesta on 'FOX News Sunday': Transcript (11-9-08)
The head of Obama's transition team, John Podesta, was interviewed by Chris Wallace. Read the full transcript.
WALLACE: President-elect Obama made it clear in his Friday news conference that job one is the economy, but he left it unclear how active, how involved, he's going to get before his inauguration.
Will he give congressional Democrats clear direction about what he wants them to do in a lame duck session on economic stimulus?
Will he actively engage with the Bush administration on the financial bail-out, or is he going to wait until he takes the oath of office?
PODESTA: Well, we have one president at a time, as President- elect Obama said on Friday, so it's up to — the job is up to President Bush to move that legislation forward and try to keep economic recovery moving today.
But I think what the president-elect wanted to do — he sent a strong signal that we need an economic recovery program moving forward. He'd like to see the stimulus that's pending on Capitol Hill pass.
He wants to see unemployment insurance extended, aid to the states that are struggling with medical insurance — and try to fix their problems and their own budgets so they don't need to lay people off, and try to get job growth going again.
He hopes that will happen during this lame duck session, that the — that President Bush will cooperate. If it doesn't, it would be the first item of business when he comes back.
WALLACE: But for instance, on the financial rescue plan, there are some decisions that are going to be made over the course of the next two months on things — various financial institutions, how to spend that $700 billion, even talk about appointing a permanent head of the — to deal with the rescue.
If the Bush administration asked President Obama — President- elect Obama, "What do you think of this? Will you sign off on this person," is he going to say, "Yes," or, "I'll wait?"
PODESTA: Well, I think that he's going to put his own people in place when he comes to office, and we're moving very aggressively to select both people at the top for cabinet secretary, treasury secretary in particular, but we're also looking at people below the level of cabinet secretary — the undersecretary for domestic finance, the head of the TARP, the so-called TARP, et cetera.
So he's going to put his own team in place. In the meantime, he's designated Dan Tarullo as one of his senior economic advisors to — to have discussions, to be fully informed, fully briefed, with what's going on right now.
Mr. Tarullo has reached out to Secretary Paulson. They've already spoken. They're meeting tomorrow. And we'll have other people who are available to be at the Treasury to understand the decisions that are being made.
But we have one administration at a time. And those are decisions that the Bush administration needs to make while they're in office.
WALLACE: Does the president-elect feel some pressure to name his treasury secretary and his economic team first and quickly to reassure the financial markets?
PODESTA: Well, I think across the board, whether it's national security, the economy, the senior leadership that will manage health care, energy and the environment, I think he intends to move very quickly.
And you know, he's beaten a lot of records during the course of the campaign. I think people probably don't know this, but with the exception of President Bush 41, which was an intraparty transition, no new president has named a cabinet secretary before December, going back through the Kennedy administration.
And I think we're moving aggressively to try to build out that core economic team, the national security team, and you'll see announcements when they're ready.
But again, I'll reference back to what he said on Friday. He said he wants to move with all deliberate haste, but he put the emphasis on deliberate. So he's deliberating what — the strongest team that he could put in place to manage the very, very difficult problems the country is facing, and there will be announcements forthcoming.
Monks Brawl in Jerusalem: Video
From FOXNews:
Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergymen after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.
The clash broke out between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
It began as Armenian clergymen marched in an annual procession commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus. It ended with the arrival of dozens of riot policemen who separated the sides, seizing a bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead. Both men were taken away in handcuffs.
Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.
The feud revolves around a demand by the Greek Orthodox to post a monk inside the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — during the Armenian procession. The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way.
"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," said a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye. The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.
Father Pakrat of the Armenian Patriarchate said the Greek demand was "against the status quo arrangement and against the internal arrangement of the Holy Sepulcher." He said the Greeks attacked first.
Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, said his monks had not initiated the violence. "I'm sorry that these events happened in front of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the most holy religious monument of Christianity," he said.
After the brawl, the church was crowded with Israeli police holding assault rifles and equipped with riot gear, standing beside Golgotha, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, and the long smooth stone marking the place where tradition holds his body was laid out.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.
The feud is only one of a bewildering array of rivalries among churchmen in the Holy Sepulcher.
The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit in the church, which regularly fills with thousands of pilgrims and has only one main door, but the plan is on hold because the sects cannot agree where the exit will be built. In another example, a ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down. More recently, a spat between Ethiopian and Coptic Christians is delaying badly needed renovations to a rooftop monastery that engineers say could collapse.
Rahm Emanuel on 'This Week': Transcript (11-9-08)
Obama's recently selected Chief of Staff appeared on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Read the complete transcript.
STEPHANOPOULOS: On Tuesday night, Senator McCain pledged to do everything he could to help President-elect Obama. And in your book that you wrote with Bruce Reed, “The Plan,” you had special praise for Senator McCain’s ideas on taking on corporate welfare.
Is that one specific idea that President-elect Obama and Senator McCain can work together on? And what are some others?
EMANUEL: First of all, they had -- as you know, they had a very good phone call. It would be presumptuous of me to say, that’s where they’re going to work. Obviously, President-elect Obama reached out to him.
As I said, they had a good call. They’re going to be talking about a series of things, not only domestically but internationally, on where they can work together.
And the good news is that John McCain has said, you know, as a total patriot throughout the campaign, and cares about his country, he’s going to be supportive of what we’ve got to do.
Because the challenges, as you noted in the introduction, George, whether on the national security front or on the economic, are looming large, and they’re going to require both parties and leaders of both parties, as well as independents, to offer up ideas to how to meet those challenges.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s get to...
EMANUEL: So there will be places, a lot of places to work together. and Senator McCain, I think -- obviously, I wasn’t privy to the conversation -- he has, throughout his career, when the campaign is over, the work of solving the problems of the country begin.
And, I’m sure, will be a partner in helping do that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s get to some of the news on those economic challenges. Just last night, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leader in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid , sent a letter to the administration, urging the Treasury secretary to tap that $700 billion rescue fund in order to help the auto industry.
The White House has already signaled they’re opposed. Is President-elect Obama for using that fund to help the auto industry?
EMANUEL: George, as President-elect Obama has said throughout the campaign, and as I think as recently as Friday, first, the auto industry is an essential part of our economy, an essential part of our industrial base.
Second, they should look at accelerating the $25 billion that was offered for retooling for the industry, going forward.
Third, there are other authorities within the administration they should use at this immediate time.
And, fourth, President-elect Obama has asked his economic team to look at different options of what it takes to help bridge the auto industry so they are a part of not only a revived economy but part of an energy policy, going forward, where America is less dependent on foreign oil.
Those are the parts that is necessary for...
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: So the administration...
EMANUEL: ... both the auto industry and the economy.
STEPHANOPOULOS: ... it does have the authority to tap that rescue fund. Do you think they should?
EMANUEL: Well, he has been very clear that they’re part of any sustained economic activity in this country. They’re an industrial base. They employ 3 million Americans. And it’s very, very important that they -- that anything that’s been done, A, you’ve got to tap the $25 billion that’s been offered.
B, there’s all this other authorities within the administration and within the government that they should do to help the industry.
And, fourth, he has asked his own economic team to come up with proposals, at this point, that would help the industry bridge toward a point in the future where they have a restructured, retooled auto industry that is part of not only our -- an essential part of our economy, essential part of our energy policy, which is less dependent on foreign oil.
And that is the most important thing to be done. And I think that the administration needs to -- and Congress -- work with the auto industry, at this time, to deal with the problems.
But, remember, it’s all toward an eye of a very important part, as he has said throughout the campaign, an important part of our economy; that is, the auto industry.
Meet The Press Transcript (11-9-08)
Read the complete transcript.
MR. BROKAW: I thought I would begin by sharing with our audience and with you as well a Gallup and USA Today poll taken the day after the election, "Does this describe your reaction to Barack Obama being elected president?" Sixty-seven percent of the people said they were proud, 67 percent said they were optimistic, 59 percent said they were excited. Those are very high numbers. How do you hold on to that in the face of this deteriorating economy and all the uncertainty that's still ahead of us, Congressman?
REP. CLYBURN: Well, I think the first thing we have to do is respond to the American people with a economic recovery package that will restore jobs, that will, once again, stand up our infrastructure: roads, bridges, water, sewage. I think we have to respond by saying to the children we are going to have a state children's health insurance program. I think we need to respond with a stem cell program, stem cell research. I think that the campaign told us a whole lot about what's on the minds of the American people, and I think that you keep that excitement by responding immediately to that. And I think that's why the president-elect made it very clear in his first press conference that he wants an economic recovery package and he would like to have it right now. And I would hope that the leadership of the Congress and the White House can get together on such a package in the near future.
MR. BROKAW: We want to get to the specifics in just a moment.
Senator Martinez, what about the Republican Party and keeping its place prominent after this pretty resounding defeat?
SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R-FL): Well, the first thing we have to do is to celebrate the moment. And I think I agree with the sentiment of so many of those people in the polls, this is a historic moment. It's one that I thought Senator McCain properly recognized in his very gracious concession speech. And so we need to keep that kind of spirit of pulling together and finding common ground. However, I think the important thing for this new administration and for the leadership in Congress to do is to find the common ground agenda items. You know, when you look back to Florida, we have a lot of problems in the state of Florida. Unemployment parallels the national average, in some counties it's 10 percent, which is dramatically high. Find ways in which we can put people back to work and we can get our economy running again. Look for that checklist of things where there can be common ground, stay away from those items where, frankly, there'll be division and there'll be rancor and there'll be acrimony. So look for the common ground, and I think that'll be a prescription for us getting some things done.
MR. BROKAW: OK, we want to get to those specific things that may divide you more than unite you. But let's hear, first of all, from President-elect Obama, his first radio address in this new position yesterday, because he kind of laid out a general agenda of what he'd like to achieve.
[...]MR. BROKAW: He did not specifically mention a stimulus program. There's a good deal of talk about that on Capitol Hill when you come back into session.
Would you be in favor of $100 billion stimulus program at this point, Senator Martinez?
SEN. MARTINEZ: I think it needs to depend on the specifics that might be included in that program, but I think some sort of stimulus is appropriate. I, I would love to see it focused on, on home ownership, on, on getting back to the basics of what got us into this financial crisis in the first place, which is displaced homeowners, continuing rising foreclosures, things of that nature. We need to focus it on creating job opportunities for American families that are today out of work and extending unemployment benefits and things of that nature that I think, frankly, are appropriate. But we need to see what's in the package before we can just sign on. And I hope, frankly, part of this bipartisan spirit will be to be consulted in how we get to the package, inclusive in how we get to the decisions so that we can move forward in a united way, in a bipartisan way.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sarah Palin Press Conference Addresses Allegations: Video (11-7-08)
Sarah Palin has an impromptu press conference and addresses allegations of her overspending on clothes, and all the other stories floating around surrounding her disastrous campaign. She seems to be calling the press "stinkers" in the video.
Friday, November 7, 2008
President Elect Obama's First Press Conference: Transcript, Video (11-7-08)
Read the complete transcript.
This morning, we woke up to more sobering news about the state of our economy. The 240,000 jobs lost in October marks the 10th consecutive month that our economy has shed jobs. In total, we've lost nearly 1.2 million jobs this year, and more than 10 million Americans are now unemployed.
Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes. Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime, and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it.
Now, the United States has only one government and one president at a time. And until January 20th of next year, that government is the current administration.
I've spoken to President Bush. I appreciate his commitment to ensuring that his economic policy team keeps us fully informed as developments unfold. And I'm also thankful for his invitation to the White House.
Immediately after I become president, I'm going to confront this economic crisis head on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity.
And this morning, I met with members of my Transition Economic Advisory Board, who are standing behind me, alongside my vice president-elect, Joe Biden.
They will help to guide the work of my transition team, working with Rahm Emanuel, my chief of staff, in developing a strong set of policies to respond to this crisis. We discussed in the earlier meeting several of the most immediate challenges facing our economy and key priorities on which to focus on in the days and weeks ahead.
First of all, we need a rescue plan for the middle class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provide relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear.
A particularly urgent priority is a further extension of unemployment insurance benefits for workers who cannot find work in the increasingly weak economy.
A fiscal stimulus plan that will jump-start economic growth is long overdue. I've talked about it throughout this -- the last few months of the campaign. We should get it done.
Second, we have to address the spreading impact of the financial crisis on the other sectors of our economy: small businesses that are struggling to meet their payrolls and finance their holiday inventories; and state and municipal governments facing devastating budget cuts and tax increases.
We must also remember that the financial crisis is increasingly global and requires a global response.
The news coming out of the auto industry this week reminds us of the hardship it faces, hardship that goes far beyond individual auto companies to the countless suppliers, small businesses and communities throughout our nation who depend on a vibrant American auto industry.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Rachel Maddow Show: Transcript, video (11-5-08)
Read the complete transcript.
Excerpt:
MADDOW: Nice to hear. There is, however, already an extra to that plan. Responding not to an offer, but just to rumors that he would be asked to be part of the Obama administration`s State Department, Republican Senator Richard Lugar made it known that he doesn`t want the job. So what will become of President-elect Obama`s bipartisan plans? Is bipartisan foreign policy even possible?
Joining us now, Sen. Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia. Sen. Webb, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
SEN. JIM WEBB (D-VA): Nice to be with you, Rachel.
MADDOW: First of all, let me congratulate you on a very deep blue Virginia. You must be proud as a Virginia Democrat today.
WEBB: I think it was really a great day for the country and I - hopefully, this is going to drive a stake into the heart of the Karl Rove type of politics that is really taking country in the wrong direction over the last eight years.
When I look back on this election, what I saw out of John McCain last night is the John McCain that I`ve known for 30 years. He was gracious. He was funny. He`s self-deprecating. And once the Karl Rove machine moved into his campaign in June, that, plus his nomination of Sarah Palin, I think, ruined his campaign.
So this is a good day. It was a good day in Virginia. And it was a good day in the country. And we need to now go forward and solve the country`s problems and have ourselves be held accountable in a couple years.
MADDOW: Do you see a future for bipartisan foreign policy? Do you think that foreign policy has been irretrievably politicized in the last eight years in a way that we won`t be able to treat it in the way that we did in the years before the Bush administration?
WEBB: The last eight years has been - has given us two different types of problems. One is the very partisan nature of the administration and the way that it required many Republicans to align themselves with an administration that was off base.
And then, the second part of it was this incredible transfer of power after 9/11 to the executive branch, away from the legislative branch. This is a much different Congress than it was 30 years ago when I was a young committee counsel up here.
MADDOW: Between now and the end of the year, something needs to be sorted out in Iraq in terms of the legal framework that governs the presence of our troops there. The Status of Forces Agreement that`s being worked on right now does not seem to be coming to a place where it`s going to be tightly wrapped up by New Year`s Eve and if it`s not wrapped up by New Year`s Eve when that U.N. mandate expires at midnight, it will be essentially illegal for our troops to leave their bases in Iraq?
What do you think will happen there? What do you think should happen there? And has Sen. Obama telegraphed what he wants to do about that issue?
WEBB: What I would suggest - and it looks like from the Iraqi side, this is starting to move forward - is that we extend the authority under the security council of the United Nations for a sufficient period of time that the Obama administration can come forward, go through this agreement and then bring it to the Congress so that we can give our proper constitutional approval of the document.
And it`s a very serious issue, as you said, because as of December 31st, we have no authority under international law to be operating in Iraq.
MADDOW: Last night, in his first speech as president-elect, Barack Obama said, "To those who would tear this world down, we will defeat you." He said it bluntly and with a sort of calmness that is the characteristic of his oratory. I wonder if you feel like President-elect Obama needs to convey a sense of toughness? A sense of national security focus and interest, in a way, not just for domestic political purposes because he`s won the election, but internationally.
If there is a sense that the rest of the world is looking to the new president to find out if we should be tested, if he could be tested, if the American - if we could be pushed around in a way that we couldn`t before.
WEBB: Well, I think that he should and will bring strong people around him and he doesn`t need to proceed forward with any sense of false bravado anymore than he need to during the campaign. I thought he conducted himself in a very remarkable way during the campaign but we will have these issues and the best thing to do as a leader is to get good people around you who can give you the right sort of the counsel and to make the right decisions and that`s what we`re going to be looking for from President Obama.
Expose on Palin Stupidity, McCain Campaign Meltdown: Video
Carl Cameron (video) of FOXnews does a postmortem on the McCain campaign and the mess that it was. We learn more about the incredible ignorance of the Alaska Governor. Newsweek also does reporting on the McCain/Palin soap opera. They didn't even talk to each other. Read the Newsweek article that broke the story.
Here's part of the Newsweek expose:
NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
[...]McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama Victory Speech: Transcript, Video (11-4-08)
Read the complete transcript of Barack Obama's speech (video below) after being projected as the historic winner last night before a massive crowd in Chicago. Also read John McCain's gracious concession speech.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.
Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.
And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.
And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.
To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Obama Interview with CBS' Katie Couric: Transcript (11-3-08)
Read the complete transcript.
Katie Couric: Let's talk about single-party rule for a moment. Some critics describe it as all accelerator and no brakes. There are fears that perhaps an unbridled, unchecked, filibuster-proof Democratic majority will overreach and move the country too far to the left. How do you assuage people's concerns about that?
Barack Obama:Well, look, I mean first of all, I think it's important to point out that the critics who make this claim are Republicans. (laughter)
Couric: But you know, against one-party rule.
Obama: I understand. I understand. But they weren't making those same complaints a few years ago. On the other hand, we've seen the example of a Republican Congress and President overreaching …
Couric: And a Democratic one in the Clinton administration.
Obama: And so I think the concerns are legitimate. Look, the benefit of having a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress will be that hopefully you can actually move on some big issues like energy or healthcare that have been sitting there for decades. We know they're huge problems. We know we've got to change how we do business there. But we just haven't been able to round up consensus to get it done.
The flip side of it is if Democrats come in and say to themselves, "it's our turn and we're just going to go crazy doing whatever it is that we feel like - I think then their majority won't last very long.
Couric: The Economist, while endorsing you, has also said there are some legitimate criticisms of you that John McCain should be focused on. They say that you are one of the least business-friendly Democratic candidates in a generation, that you have no experience in the business world aside from year as a consultant, and that you're too close to unions and trial lawyers.
Obama: Well, it is The Economist. And the fact that they endorsed me, how about reading all the good stuff they said about me? (laughter)
Couric: Well, that's in another issue. (laughter) That's later.
Obama: You know, I think there's a reason why people like Warren Buffet have endorsed me. I think that if you look actually at our business support, it's pretty remarkable. People like Eric Schmidt, the head of Google who … has said that, you know, I understand how the global economy works, how we have to adapt to a new 21st century competitive environment. Now, what is also true is that I think our economy works best when it grows from the bottom up, when everybody's benefiting. And that's one of the lessons I think of the last 16 years. We really had an experiment. We had Bill Clinton who was, you know, accused of, you know, raising taxes on business and so forth. But, in fact, what happened was the whole economy grew at every sector.
And businesses did well because their customers were doing well. On the other hand, you had George Bush who figured let's cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Let's deregulate to the hilt. And, you know, what we now see is that when Main Street is hurting, when its wages and income isn't going up, then businesses are hurt as well. So I actually think that the approach that I take is very business-friendly.
I think that capitalism and the free market is the best economic system ever devised to create wealth. But I also think there has to be some basic rules to the road. And, you know, we have learned that lesson during this latest financial crisis.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
CBS' 'Face The Nation' Transcript (11-2-08)
Campaign surrogates David Axelrod and Lindsay Graham appeared on FTN with Bob Schieffer. Read the complete transcript.
SCHIEFFER: If Obama does win, what do you think the one thing will be that tipped it toward Barack Obama?
Mr. AXELROD: Well, I mean, I think that we started with the theory of the case, which is that we really need change from the Bush policies, that they've led us in the wrong direction here and abroad and that we need a new direction; and not just in our policies, but in our politics, that we had to get beyond the big divisions in our country and start actually solving problems. One of the heartening things about what's going on right now, Bob, is that we're campaigning in states that were so-called red states. We're spending all our time there because we feel we have a chance to win many of them. And one of the things that we wanted to do from the beginning was shatter this red state/blue state paradigm and emphasize the fact that we have a common--we have a common destiny, common interests, and we have to work together to solve these things. So it would be a healthy thing if we could do well in these states on Tuesday.
SCHIEFFER: Well, let's talk about one that the Democrats won the last time, and that is Pennsylvania. John McCain...
Mr. AXELROD: Mm-hmm.
SCHIEFFER: ...and Sarah Palin have spent a lot of time in Pennsylvania. They still believe that they can take it, that Pennsylvania would be key if they do put together a coalition that gets them to 270 votes. What do you think about Pennsylvania right now?
Mr. AXELROD: Well, I agree that it would be a key. I think it's a state that we've both worked very hard to win. I feel good about what I see in Pennsylvania, starting with the fact that we have a registration edge that's twice as large as we had four years ago. It went from 300,000 in favor of Democrats to 600,000. So that right away gives me encouragement. But everything we see from the state is encouraging. And I know that there've been a couple of late polls that suggest otherwise, but I've seen many more that work in our direction. And beyond which I just feel, based on the organization we have on the ground, the reaction that we're getting, that we're going to do very well in Pennsylvania. We're going to work really hard at it. And we've got great supporters like Ed Rendell and Bob Casey and others working day and night there for us. But I feel good about Pennsylvania. That's a state, Bob, that's felt the lash of these Bush economic policies very, very harshly, and they understand we can't keep doing the same thing. We can't keep doing the same trickle-down deregulation policies that have really led us into a ditch and that John McCain wants to continue. They know that. I think they're going to come out for Barack Obama on Tuesday.
SCHIEFFER: Do you really believe these polls that--we hear all this stuff about the Bradley effect. Do you believe, David, that there is a Bradley effect, and that is people telling pollsters one thing and then going into the voting booth and doing something else when a minority candidate is on the ticket?
Mr. AXELROD: Look, I don't want--I don't know about 1982, when that happened in California. There are a lot of pollsters who tell you that was sort of an illusory interpretation. But--and I--and I don't deny that there are some voters who are motivated by race yet in our country. But the big story is not how much race has been a factor, but how little it's been a factor. We're--I mentioned we're in Springfield here. This is not a very racially diverse area, and yet, you know, 40,000 people out last night. I think people are recognizing that we have bigger issues in this country to tackle and they're--they affect all of us, and they want to come together and solve these problems. In the primaries, Bob, I--we didn't see any of that. In fact, we never under polled our number in any primary that I can think of. And so I see no reason to believe that's going to happen on Tuesday, and I think it'll be good to shatter that myth once and for all.
SCHIEFFER: All right, David Axelrod, thank you so much.
Mr. AXELROD: Thanks for having me.
Meet The Press Transcript (11-2-08)
Read the complete transcript.
MR. BROKAW: All right. Thanks, Chuck. We'll see you later on MEET THE PRESS in our roundtable.
We're joined now by former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has been a surrogate and an advocate for his friend John McCain.
I hope you understand the spirit in which I say this, but when I was a kid hanging around Bud's pool hall, you're the kind of guy I thought I probably would encounter. So you, you know the meaning of the phrase "run the table."
FMR. SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R-TN): I've heard of it, yes.
MR. BROKAW: Your senator have to run the table?
SEN. THOMPSON: Well, he has to get several of these, these battleground states, there's no question about it. Some people liken it to an inside straight. I think that's probably making it too tough, tougher than it is. It looks to me like it pretty much boils down to the undecided vote, which a lot of experts think will break heavily for John McCain. If they're decided, they're probably already for Obama. And so he's got a shot. He's, he's closing. I think the direction things are going in is, is equally important as where the numbers are today. And the direction is, is--they've been pretty much--seems to be going in John's direction.
I've been in Ohio and Pennsylvania recently and I've seen the turnout. I think Sarah Palin had about 25,000 in rural Missouri the other day. The enthusiasm is tremendous. People are really focusing now on what's at stake. And John's a closer, he always has been. He often is given up for dead, you know, literally and politically. People have been wrong about him before. He's in his element now, and he's, he's feeling good about it. So I would not count him out by any stretch of the imagination. I think the, the election is yet to be decided.
MR. BROKAW: The Economist has described a group of voters that has crossed over to vote for John McCain. They call them "Obamacans." These are disaffected Republicans and Libertarians. A couple of very prominent conservative columnists have commented on all this. We want to share with our viewers this morning what Charles Krauthammer in The Washington Post had to say on Friday.
"The National security choice in this election is no contest. The domestic policy choice is more equivocal because it is ideological. McCain is the quintessential center-right candidates. Yet the quintessential center-right country is poised to reject him. The hunger for anti-Republican catharsis and the blinding promise of Obamian hope are simply too strong. The reckoning," he says, "will come in the morning."
And then Michael Gerson, who was a speechwriter for President Bush said, "Yet there is little doubt, given a likely (though not certain) McCain defeat, that the conservative movement would enter a period of intense soul-searching. The issues that have provided conservatives with victories in the past - particularly welfare and crime - have been rendered irrelevant by success. The issues of the moment - income stagnation, climate disruption, massive demographic shifts and health-care access - seem a strange, unexplored land for many in the movement. And McCain, though a past reformer, did little to reaffirm that reputation during his campaign."
The senator is at the head of a ticket in a--of a party that's been in power eight years now. The president, who's the head of that party, has historically low approval ratings. The country is saying, 85 percent, we're off on the wrong track. Isn't he swimming against a tsunami?
SEN. THOMPSON: Yeah. Yeah. He is--he's going into the strongest headwinds that I've ever seen for a candidate in a presidential race. Some might say that it's, it's amazing that he has a chance to win this race. You mentioned the factors, plus the fact that in this country, you know, we swing the pendulum. We, we have one side in for a while and then another side in for a while. The president gets credit or blame for anything that's happening. We know the numbers, we know the generic ballot and all those kinds of things, and then, you know, shortly before the election, the bottom seems to drop out of the economy. I mean, just to, you know--in case we hadn't gotten the point yet, it seems, that fate's playing with us. So, yeah, it's, it's remarkable. We nominated the, the only fellow that'll have a chance, I think, under these circumstances. And it's because of, of several things. But, but because of the character of, of the man. Here is a guy who has spent his entire life demonstrating courage, honor, dedication, duty, putting his country first, sacrifice. Someone who has been willing to stand up to power, whether it be Democratic or Republican power, whose entire life has equipped him to be the leader of the free world. Charles is right about the national security part. It's really no question. Here's a man who has been involved one way or another in the major issues facing this country for the last 25 years.
On the other hand, you have a fellow who is the most inexperienced and least qualified from a national security standpoint of any Democratic candidate I've seen in my lifetime.
Sarah Palin Gets Punked by Canadian Radio Comedians (Audio)
Listen as Sarah Palin gets duped by canadian radio station hosts posing as French President Sarkozy. Palin shows what a dope she really is. How does a campaign allow a vice-presidential candidate be conned this way. This is without a doubt the most incompetent presidential ticket in American history.
McCain on Saturday Night Live: Video, Transcript (11-1-08)
John McCain spoofs himself on SNL with Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin again. Transcript and video below (Transcript for McCain's 'Weekend Update' segment):
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN - "Good evening, my fellow Americans, I'm John McCain.
TINA FEY AS GOV. SARAH PALIN - "And, you know, I'm just Sarah Palin."
MCCAIN - "The final days of any election are the most essential. This past Wednesday, Barack Obama purchased airtime on three major networks. We, however, can only afford QVC."
FEY AS PALIN - "These campaigns sure are expensive. (She strokes the rich fabric of her jacket's lapel)
MCCAIN - "They sure are. So tonight, we come before you to give you some final remarks on our campaign."
FEY AS PALIN - "And, as part of our agreement with the QVC folks, we're gonna try and sell you some stuff."
MCCAIN - "This has been an historic campaign, so why not remember it with our line of collectible products. Such as ten commemorative plates that celebrates the ten Town Hall debates between Senator Obama and myself. They're blank, he wouldn't agree to those debates. Too bad. They're still nice plates.
FEY AS PALIN - "And who wouldn't want the complete set of limited edition 'Joe' action figures? There's 'Joe the Plumber,' 'Joe Six-Pack,' and my personal favorite, 'Joe Biden.' If you pull this cord, he talks for forty-five minutes.
(SHE pulls cord)
JASON SUDEIKIS AS SEN. BIDEN (O.C.) -- "I take the Amtrak to work every day. Then -- after work -- I take it home. Let me tell you something about Joe Biden..."
MCCAIN - "It's great if you want to clear out a party."
FEY AS PALIN - "Or keep deer out of your yard."
MCCAIN - "But we're not just here to sell products. We're here with a message. We are at a crossroads in American history. The leadership of the next four years will have many challenges and I believe my experience and my leadership will make a difference.
FEY AS PALIN - "Also too - sorry -- I need to remind you that there are just two minutes left in our 'Washington outsider jewelry extravaganza.'"
MCCAIN - "Are you someone who likes fine jewelry and also respects a politician who can reach across the aisle? If so, you can't go wrong with McCain Fine Gold.
(CINDY MCCAIN displays the "McCain Fine Gold" like a game show model)
MCCAIN (CONT'D) - "It commemorates the McCain Feingold Act -- and also looks great with evening wear. Thank you, Cindy."
FEY AS PALIN - "And what busy hockey mom wouldn't want to freshen up her home with Sarah Palin's 'Ayers Fresheners.' You plug these into the wall when something doesn't quite smell quite right. Also too, it's good because it reminds people about William Ayers."
MCCAIN - "Having trouble cutting through a tough piece of pork? Not anymore, with John McCain's complete set of pork knives. 'They Cut The Pork Out!'"
FEY AS PALIN - "So instead of going to one of those elite department stores with their liberal agendas and over-priced items and their gotcha return policies that violate your First Amendment rights, why not do your holiday shopping with us? (SHE turns to a different camera) Okay, listen up everybody, I am goin' rogue right now so keep your voices down. Available now, we got a buncha' these 'Palin in 2012' T-shirts. Just try and wait until after Tuesday to wear 'em okay? Because I'm not goin' anywhere. And I'm certainly not goin' back to Alaska. If I'm not goin' to the White House, I'm either runnin' in four years or I'm gonna be a white Oprah so, you know, I'm good either way."
MCCAIN - "What's going on over there, Sarah?"
FEY AS PALIN - "Oh...just talkin' about taxes." (SHE winks)
MCCAIN - "Look, would I rather be on three major networks? Of course, but I'm a true maverick -- a Republican without money. And I'm not like my opponent; my only showbiz connections are Jon Voight and Heidi from 'The Hills.' So, I'm here on QVC, and like QVC, this campaign promises you three things: quality, value and convenience."
FEY AS PALIN - "And great deals on juicers."
MCCAIN - "So when you go to the polls on Tuesday remember, 'Country First,' as a reminder all undergarments are non-refundable and Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
