find middle ground, listen to their concerns, and try to modify where needed? Condemn and Condemn, has a Republican come forward with an alternative package? George was handing out money o the banking pirates before he left office, remember?
Built into this plan, which is very complex, are social programs for schools, which are going down fast, health aid, food stamps for those who have lost their jobs and need to eat while looking for new jobs that Obama is tring to create, funds to build companies to work with alternative energy and green solutions to get us less dependent on foreign oil and stop poisoning our earth.....
There is no quick fix!!! Just like the Great Depression, it is going to take time to reap all the benefits from this package, but they are meant to be real, lasting jobs and benefits to our society, not a quick boo-boo bandaide,which is all that Bush could provide with his quickie tax rebates!!!! Take off the jaundiced glasses and blinders, forget party lines and affiliations, and just go to MSN or CNN and read the copious outlines there.
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His true colors are coming through bright and clear. "Spread the wealth" came out of his own lips. He didn't even need an advisor for this one. Yea, he is going back to redo his economic plan which means all those who like being led by a nose ring and singing the praises of Obama's economic plan will now have to watch for a new and NOT improved plan. Same old, same old. Only the next one will be bigger taxes, more programs, more freebies and their little paychecks will be getting even smaller.
I have no doubt at all that Republicans would have defended the sitting President.
You are way out of touch with the Democrats, but I guess that's because you are a leftist. That does not surprise me.
Those agreements are Constitutional law
Bush ignored Constitutional law to invade Iraq. (That's the very definition of corruption, by the way). You seem to think that's just hunky dory.
Why do you hate America?
Let's face it, with the fighting going on on this board, if we cannot come to agreements here....
How are all those politicians with not only different ideologies, but so many constituents and special interests, going to play nice, put the people and America first, put their Harvard/Yale educations to work, and vote compassionately, intelligently, and with fore-thought??? If the fighting here is any barometer as far as partisan politics goes, boy are we ever in for it!
Perhaps had she attended the meeting
When she voted for Obama, may she missed the part where he repeatedly and emphatically said he would close Gitmo. Of maybe she bought into all the fringe rhetoric calling him a liar, saying he would never live up to his campaign promises, could not be trusted, etc and felt reassured that Gitmo would not be closed.
BTW, did you see the video interview of the mother who decided not to attend the meeting...you know, the one Fox tacked on the headline that read, "Mother of USS Cole Victim BLASTS Obama...?"
Here's what she said. she is upset. She is disappointed. She is disillusioned. She THINKS she MAY have made the wrong decision. Despite the reporter's best efforts to provoke a stronger, more emotional response from her, she maintained that calm and rational demeanor throughout the interview. No place in the interview did she state she "wished" she hadn't voted for Obama.
Sorry. What I saw was a mother in grief. What I did not see was anybody anywhere BLASTING Obama over this decision. I respect her decision not to attend the meeting, but at the same time, I think if she had attended the meeting, she MAY have come away from it feeling reassured.
Beyond that, it is WAY too much of a stretch, to conflate this report into such inane assertions as Obama supporters are changing their minds in droves and "finally seeing the light," as the propaganda meisters on this forum have been attempting to do.
I voted for Obama. I fully expect he will not march lock-step with me through the next 4 years and do my bidding. I expect to be disillusioned and disappointed along the way. This does not mean that I "wish I hadn't voted for Obama." It means I am no child and don't throw temper tantrums every time I don't get my way and will not be packing up my marbles and going home anytime soon.
...and all this before most of the $$ are even out the door.
This has nothing to do with Hannity. If you can't look past the messenger and get to the message, you'll miss the point. The dollars being wasted here are not conservative or liberal dollars - they're everyone's dollars.
And, it's probably much worse than this because none of this addresses the fraud and corruption that inevitably follow massive government spending that it can't really control. This was just about the stupidity of the projects themselves - not the other problems that can confidently be expected to follow. And it assumed that these projects really will cost the dollars cited, when we can also predict that there will be massive cost overruns in many of them.
Given the fact that we don't even know where a lot of the money is going (there's NO transparency here), I think it would be a pretty safe bet that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Your mind is closed.
So...seems the upper echelon doesn't give a darn about cutting back. Their dinner consisted of
"fruitwood-smoked quail with quince gastrique; quinoa risotto; thyme-roasted rack of lamb; tomato, fennel and eggplant fondue; a salad course of endive, baked brie and walnuts; and a pear torte to cap the meal.
Among the wines: bottles of Shafer Cabernet "Hillside Select" 2003 — about $300 per bottle — for the main course and the much cheaper Landmark Chardonnay "Damaris Reserve" 2006 for about $40 per bottle with the appetizer course. The Chandon DEtoile RosDe sparkling wine that accompanied dessert runs around $30 a bottle.
Presidents pay for their own groceries, even while living in the White House. But during official or state dinners, such as Friday night's, U.S. taxpayers foot the bill.
Bush's guests for the dinner included Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper; Chinese President Hu Jintao; French President Nicolas Sarkozy; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. About two dozen leaders in all attended the dinner in the White House's State Dining Room."
It must be nice. Oh, and BTW, since my DH is self-employed and work as been so slow this year, does he qualify for a bailout??? Of course not.
November 14, 2008 World leaders dine in style as they discuss financial crisis
(CNN) – The global economy may be undergoing a significant downturn, but the White House's dinner budget still appears flush with cash.
After all, world leaders who are in town to discuss the economic crisis are set to dine in style Friday night while sipping wine listed at nearly $500 a bottle.
According to the White House, tonight's dinner to kick off the G-20 summit includes such dishes as "Fruitwood-smoked Quail," "Thyme-roasted Rack of Lamb," and "Tomato, Fennel and Eggplant Fondue Chanterelle Jus."
To wash it all down, world leaders will be served Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003, a wine that sells at $499 on Wine.com.
The exceedingly pricey wine may seem a bit peculiar given leaders are in Washington to discuss a possible world financial meltdown, but Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush, said it "was the most appropriate wine that we had in the White House wine cellar for such a gathering.
McDonough also said the White House purchased the wine at a "significantly lower price" than what it is listed at.
"Of course the White House gets its wine at wholesale prices," she said. "Given the intimate size of the group, it was an appropriate time for The White House to use this stock."
The leaders of the U.K., France, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and 11 developing economies have all come to Washington at the behest of President Bush in an effort to express confidence in the fundamental underpinnings of the world's economy.
As we read the marketing copy for The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us by Martha Stout, Ph.D (Broadway Books, March, 2006), we were reminded of an essay last year that the author E.L. Doctorow wrote on Bush. It included the following sentence: He [Bush] cannot mourn but is a figure of such moral vacancy as to make us mourn for ourselves. But is there more to what ails Bush from a mental health stand point?
Maybe the forthcoming book, The Sociopath Next Door, can help explore that question. Here is how the Broadway Books (a Division of Random House) catalogue describes the content:
We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, clinical psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people have an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. They can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt.
One of their chief characteristics is a charisma that makes them more charming or interesting than other people, and tricky to identify. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others' suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.
We all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already. To arm us against them, Dr. Stout teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she warns, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game.
Ah yes, it appears, as Cindy Sheehan and countless others who have been on the receiving end of a sympathize publicly and smear privately Bush campaign know, this is a man who is truly disassociated from honest grief, pity or sympathy. He sees no relationship to his errant, narcissistic actions and their impact on people.
So we looked further into the issue and found out that the contemporary clinical term for being a sociopath is called APD (Antisocial Personality Disorder.) One can appear to be the most gregarious person in the world, but still be detached from sincere concern for the plight of others.
Just examine some of the essential characteristics of the APD/sociopath: It is under the DSM-IVÂT Associated Features and Disorders [scale] that individuals with APD are described as lacking empathy and being callous, cynical, and contemptuous of the feelings, rights, and suffering of others. They may have an inflated and arrogant self-appraisal, display a glib, superficial charm and The fondest APD image of self reflects unrealistic notions of superiority. When they encounter evidence that they are only human, they will attempt to restore self-esteem by exerting power. Individuals with APD have learned that they can, or should be able to, ignore the needs of others, do whatever feels compelling, and seduce or bully others to avoid adverse consequences.
Although not every possible characteristic of the APD/sociopath may apply to George W. Bush, some ring so true, you feel your head is clanging inside a bell: These individuals are untroubled by guilt or loyalty and may develop a talent for pathological lying. Individuals with APD place their personal desires against those of others; they believe that they alone deserve every advantage and become adroit at feigning innocent victimization to absolve themselves from blame.
We might add that the emotional/interpersonal scale for assessing APD/sociopathology looks for indications of:
glibness and superficiality
egocentricity and grandiosity
lack of remorse or guilt, lack of empathy
deceitfulness and manipulativeness
shallow emotions
It is always nothing more than speculation to be an armchair psychoanalyst, but sometimes you just got to go with the evidence at hand. Bush is a guy who is packaged as the compassionate conservative, but acts like the mob boss who sends out his minions to stick shivs in the backs of anyone who crosses him, even if they are doing it in the service of America, of which he is supposed to be the leader.
Yes, there are sociopaths among us. One of them, it would appear, has weaseled his way, twice, into the presidency.
Afternote: Of course, APD/sociopathic behavior lacks subtlety, depth, and modulation. Individuals with severe APD appear to live in a presocialized emotional world; feelings are experienced in relation to self but not to others. Such individuals are unable to experience emotions such as gratitude, empathy, sympathy, affection, guilt, or mutual eroticism that depend on the perception of others as whole, real, and meaningful. Dominant emotions are anger, sensitivity to humiliation, envy, boredom, contempt, exhilaration, and pleasure through dominance.
I think we've brung' em on and found our man's true nature.
As for the rebellious side against the status quo that sometimes manifests itself in an APD/sociopathic personality, one need only remember that the mission of the Bush Administration, as one insider told the New York Times, is to mold reality to the will of the Bush/Cheney worldview through the use of unrestrained power. They don't accept reality; they seek to alter it as they wish. Furthermore, Bush's contempt for working with the world community is an indication of sociopathic behavior on an international level. His disregard for the standard conventions, courtesies and rules of governance is also an indication of rebellion against existing institutions and organizational precedents.
Finally, his unrelenting willingness to descend into the gutter and embrace the treasonous and slanderous activity of Karl Rove is a clear indication that he is among the 4% of Americans who hide their sociopathic pathology behind a thin veneer of cordiality and amiability.
Just remember how he sneered and smirked every time he put someone to death in Texas. This guy gets high off of having the power to send people to die, and even higher off of using it.
they're on these boards, too, sans the charm that was described in the article you posted.
I was particularly struck by the following and how it applies to so many on these boards:
...the mission of the Bush Administration, as one insider told the New York Times, is to mold reality to the will of the Bush/Cheney worldview through the use of unrestrained power. They don't accept reality; they seek to alter it as they wish.
Again, I'm holding up three fingers, visible to the entire world. Thankfully, most people are reasonable-thinking, intelligent, non-delusional people who see what is there: THREE FINGERS.
The people we really have to fear are the ones who only see one finger, the bad finger, and they invent a reality of their own, and then accuse and attack based on their twisted reality of that one finger that they KNOW is aimed at them in a negative way.
They're not only next door. They're among us right here.
Dont let the door hit ya on the way out!
Well, sweetie pie, if this liberal posting on a liberal board is bothering you..why dont you just mosey on back to the conservative board and then I wont be disturbing you? No one is forcing you to come over here. The disturbing thing, however, is that I fight back and debate and will not let the neocon gang of three bully me. Maybe it bothers you that you have met your match and that quite a few liberals are standing up to your nonsense..Getting to ya, huh? Goooooooood..
You were just shown the door
by the weakest link...
If Bush were the guy next door I'd probably
I can see your point about him being personable to some people - I just don't think he is a good leader. He doesn't seem to focus on the issues that mean the most to my family and myself, and therefore I will never support him. I also heard he was a C student or something, and I think Presidents should be more intelligent than that.
I also heard he got 2 DUIs - I think only a selfish person would drive drunk and put other peoples' lives in danger. I just don't trust the man in my gut. Simple as that. If he were my dopey neighbor next door who made corny, insensitive jokes I would probably like the man well enough, but I definitely don't like him representing America.
And only those with completely closed minds would
Years ago, it might have seemed ridiculous and been dismissed as a conspiracy theory that there were terrorists living amongst us right here in the USA, learning how to fly our planes, and being groomed for YEARS to attack and kill us on 9/11. Based on that alone, I would not for one second put it past a crazed bunch to groom someone from birth to serve their purpose.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
No one is trying to change your closed minds...
we are discussing, just like you are. O, as you call him, is the candidate of change...right down the slippery slope further into socialism. That is change I DON'T believe in. No amount of spin on his part is going to change that fact.
Actually you are proving that YOU have the closed mind here - sm
You know absolutely nothing about me. I hate Survivor and so-called reality TV - nothing more than the dumbing down of America, as far as I'm concerned.
Actually I don't know much about Mr Icke; granted he may be a deep thinker, in some ways. However, I think he is slightly off-kilter for that single book / theory about the reptilians. Can we judge his credibility regarding other ideas because of that book? Yes? Unless he's just spouting theories to make some $$ off the gullible public?? Possible, no?
Just because someone does not come on after your final barb, doesn't mean I think you're right.
You are largely non-debatable anyway, and one-note choir.
Typical closed-minded, my-way-or-the-highway,
(which means, "Waste of Our Time").
Actually, I find YOUR post closed-minded
nm
Romney is a joke, he tried meeting w/black folks
if you all had seen it - it was very_inappropriate..........showed us all he has little to no interaction with people of color.........isolationist in my mind..........
Obama can't do a town hall meeting...he needs his teleprompter so he can
remember what to say on that given day.
Maybe they'll be serving up Sunday-go-to-meeting dinner
all the fried chicken, ribs, hog jowls, chit'lins, collard greens, fried okree, black-eye-peas, conebread, hush puppies, Aunt Jemimas, buttermilk biscuits, fried grits, watermelon and sweet potato pie (O's favorite) you can eat....and save you from slaving over that hot stove all day. Keep us posted on the minutes.
It isn't just how she talks. s/m
Doggone it I talk just like her. LOL She doesn't put herself forward (IMO) as being a person of great substance. She is the "pit bull with lipstick." Aside from the fact that she doesn't seem to know a lot about Russia, she just doesn't come across (to me) as being very intelligent. Alaska has a pretty small population. I don't care about her inexperience. I do care about the "troopergate," which it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know she would do whatever was within her power to come to the aid of her sister, wouldn't you? I would. Especially if it involved a custody battle involving my nieces and nephews. She says she was cleared of any wrongdoing and that is just not exactly true. So I don't care if she DID try to get her ex-brother-in-law fired, just don't lie about it. All I hear her do is rail against Obama, nothing about what she and her running mate are going to do to improve this country. So if she has any level of intelligence I wish she would display it. I for one would still be willing to listen.
Bush opened the door to socialism...
I'll admit that.
And your Obama will take full advantage of it.
You're the one that can't understand, and it's useless to even talk to you at all about it.
Won't even try anymore, just let you go merrily on your way down the socialist path Obama has you on, and he has you right where he wants you.
hinkelm@phillynews.com 215-854-2656
A federal judge in Philadelphia last night threw out a complaint by a Montgomery County lawyer who claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was not qualified to be president and that his name should be removed from the Nov. 4 ballot.
Philip J. Berg alleged in a complaint filed in federal district court on Aug. 21 against Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission, that Obama was born in Mombasa, Kenya.
Berg claimed that the Democratic presidential standardbearer is not even an American citizen but a citizen of Indonesia and therefore ineligible to be president.
He alleged that if Obama was permitted to run for president and subsequently found to be ineligible, he and other voters would be disenfranchised.
U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick had denied Berg's request for a temporary restraining order on Aug. 22 but had not ruled on the merits of the suit until yesterday.
Obama and the Democratic National Committee had asked Surrick to dismiss Berg's complaint in a court filing on Sept. 24.
They said that Berg's claims were "ridiculous" and "patently false," that Berg had "no standing" to challenge the qualifications of a candidate for president because he had not shown the requisite harm to himself.
Surrick agreed.
In a 34-page memorandum and opinion, the judge said Berg's allegations of harm were "too vague and too attenuated" to confer standing on him or any other voters.
Surrick ruled that Berg's attempts to use certain laws to gain standing to pursue his claim that Obama was not a natural-born citizen were "frivolous and not worthy of discussion."
The judge also said the harm Berg alleged did "not constitute an injury in fact" and Berg's arguments to the contrary "ventured into the unreasonable."
For example, Berg had claimed that Obama's nomination deprived citizens of voting for Sen. Hillary Clinton in November. (Berg backed Clinton in the primaries.)
Berg could not be reached for comment last night.
Obama was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, and the campaign posted a document issued by Hawaii on its Web site, fight thesmears.com, confirming his birth there.
Berg said in court papers that the image was a forgery.
The nonpartisan Web site FactCheck.org examined the original document and said it was legitimate.
According to the article linked below and others I have read, the two of the three auto makers who will be receiving these emergency loans will be required to either show a viable plan for their industries by March 31, 2009, or face repayment of the loans. While I agree with the premise of this requirement, I have to wonder if, given the amount of time that it took them to get into this situation in the first place, will 3 months, more or less, be enough time for them to find a way to save their dying companies? Is this bailout/loan just a temporary fix to a more permanent problem? What happens, if on 03/31/2009, the automakers have spent the money fronted them, are unable to come up with a plan to satisfy the stipulations, and can not repay the loan? Is it fair for taxpayers to bear the burden of this as well as the other bailouts that have been given and are likely yet to come?
Even Obama talks about God a lot.
Not just republicans, folks! Religion and politics go hand in hand.
As anywhere else...money talks.
do you have any idea of the combined wealth of Buffet and Soros? Keep sipping.
And almost every job that Obama talks
about being created by this stimulus package is being created by a special project which means a temporary job. How long will that last? then what? Will that money be paid back by the time the project is completed? Of course, most projects are not creating any jobs.
Money talks
Only when the other networks see that unbiased reporting pays will anything like fair reporting be considered. Maybe not even then; today's *journalists* are such a direct product of leftist journalism professors. I doubt we could field a large enough team of non-liberal reporters to staff any network in addition to Fox.
Methinks we have another one who talks to himself...
.
Secret Service Shows Up At Texas Mom's Door...
Quote:
They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Quote:
Last week, here in America, they came for Jessica Hughes, and I will not be silent. I will not turn away, hoping, in the end, they will not come for me.
Jessica Hughes of Lufkin, Texas, former Marine, mother of three, answered her cell phone in the car, coming home from the emergency room. Her 9-year-old had suffered a mild concussion, but was OK.
The caller was a female Obama volunteer who asked if Jessica would support Obama for president.
Jessica replied, "No, I don't support him. Your guy is a socialist who voted four times in the state Senate to let little babies die in hospital closets; I think you should find something better to do with your time." Then Jessica hung up.
The next day, a man and a woman in suits showed up at the door of her home, identifying themselves as members of the Secret Service.
The Secret Service agents stated that the Obama campaign had complained of a death threat. They had quoted Jessica as saying, "I will never support Obama, and he will wind up dead on a hospital floor."
Jessica's husband had heard Jessica's side of the original phone call and verified the actual quote. To which the female agent replied, "Oh? Well why would she (the Obama volunteer) make that up?"
Jessica replied that the Obama volunteer was probably unhappy about what Jessica had said about her candidate. The female agent then said "That's right, you were rude!"
The male agent then displayed a file with Jessica's full name prominently printed on it and asked her how she felt about Obama. At this point, the former Marine told the agent "in no uncertain terms" (as she later recounted) that this was America and that the last time she checked, she was allowed to think whatever she wanted without being questioned by the Secret Service. And was being "rude" a federal crime now too?
The agents then admitted they had no tape of the conversation, just the quote from the Obama campaign.
Responding to Jessica's questions, the agents would not identify themselves by name, nor reveal the name of the Obama volunteer who had made the complaint. The agents did indicate that Jessica was not in a court of law yet, and that they were trying to not embarrass her "by going to all her family and neighbors."
To these implied threats, Jessica invited the agents to speak to whomever they wanted, and stated she would happily go to court since she had done nothing wrong.
Jessica asked the agents, "Look, someone calls me unsolicited on my cell phone to ask me to support their candidate, and I can't tell them why I don't?"
The Secret Service left Jessica that day, but she could not get the "visit" out of her mind.
By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 30, 2008; A01
Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went unarmed into his first meeting with the new commander in chief -- no aides, no PowerPoint presentation, no briefing books. Summoned nine days ago to President-elect Barack Obama's Chicago transition office, Mullen showed up with just a pad, a pen and a desire to take the measure of his incoming boss.
There was little talk of exiting Iraq or beefing up the U.S. force in Afghanistan; the one-on-one, 45-minute conversation ranged from the personal to the philosophical. Mullen came away with what he wanted: a view of the next president as a non-ideological pragmatist who was willing to both listen and lead. After the meeting, the chairman "felt very good, very positive," according to Mullen spokesman Capt. John Kirby.
As Obama prepares to announce his national security team tomorrow, he faces a military that has long mistrusted Democrats and is particularly wary of a young, intellectual leader with no experience in uniform, who once called Iraq a "dumb" war. Military leaders have all heard his pledge to withdraw most combat forces from Iraq within 16 months -- sooner than commanders on the ground have recommended -- and his implied criticism of the Afghanistan war effort during the Bush administration.
But so far, Obama appears to be going out of his way to reassure them that he will do nothing rash and will seek their advice, even while making clear that he may not always take it. He has demonstrated an ability to speak the lingo, talk about "mission plans" and "tasking," and to differentiate between strategy and tactics, a distinction Republican nominee John McCain accused him of misunderstanding during the campaign.
Obama has been careful to separate his criticism of Bush policy from his praise of the military's valor and performance, while Michelle Obama's public expressions of concern for military families have gone over well. But most important, according to several senior officers and civilian Pentagon officials who would speak about their incoming leader only on the condition of anonymity, is the expectation of renewed respect for the chain of command and greater realism about U.S. military goals and capabilities, which many found lacking during the Bush years.
"Open and serious debate versus ideological certitude will be a great relief to the military leaders," said retired Maj. Gen. William L. Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations. Senior officers are aware that few in their ranks voiced misgivings over the Iraq war, but they counter that they were not encouraged to do so by the Bush White House or the Pentagon under Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"The joke was that when you leave a meeting, everybody is supposed to drink the Kool-Aid," Nash said. "In the Bush administration, you had to drink the Kool-Aid before you got to go to the meeting."
Obama's expected retention of Robert M. Gates as defense secretary and expected appointment of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser have been greeted with relief at the Pentagon.
Clinton is respected at the Pentagon and is considered a defense moderate, at times bordering on hawkish. Through her membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee -- sought early in her congressional career to add gravitas to her presidential aspirations -- she has developed close ties with senior military figures.
Some in the military are suspicious of "flagpole" officers such as Jones, whose assignments included Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, Marine commandant and other headquarters service, and who grew up in France and is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. But Jones also saw combat in Vietnam and served in Bosnia.
"His reputation is pretty good," one Pentagon official said. "He's savvy about Washington, worked the Hill," and at a lean 6-foot-4, the former Georgetown basketball player "looks great in a suit."
Although Jones occasionally and privately briefed candidate Obama on foreign policy matters -- on Afghanistan, in particular, as did current deputy NATO commander Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry -- he is not considered an intimate of the president-elect.
But as Obama's closest national security adviser, or at least the one who will spend the most time with him, Jones is expected to follow the pattern of two military predecessors in the job, Brent Scowcroft and Colin L. Powell, who injected order and discipline to a National Security Council full of strong personalities with independent power bases.
Although exit polls did not break out active-duty voters, it is virtually certain that McCain won the military vote.
In an October survey by the Military Times, nearly 70 percent of more than 4,000 officers and enlisted respondents said they favored McCain, while about 23 percent preferred Obama. Only African American service members gave Obama a majority.
In exit polls, those who said they had "ever served in the U.S. military" made up 15 percent of voters and broke 54 percent for McCain to 44 percent for Obama. "As a culture, we are more conservative and Republican," a senior officer said.
Obama has said he will meet with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs as well as the service chiefs during his first week in office. At the top of his agenda for that meeting will be what he has called the military's "new mission" of planning the 16-month withdrawal timeline for Iraq. Senior officers have publicly grumbled about the risk involved.
"Moving forward in a measured way, tied to conditions as they continue to evolve, over time, is important," Mullen said at a media briefing four days before his Nov. 21 meeting with Obama. "I'm certainly aware of what has been said" prior to the election, he said.
The last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, clashed with the chiefs during his first sit-down with them when they opposed his campaign pledge to end the ban on gays in the military. The chiefs, some of whom held the commander in chief in thinly veiled contempt as a supposed Vietnam draft dodger, won the battle, and Clinton spent much of his two terms seen as an adversary.
But Mullen came away from the Chicago talk reassured that Obama will engage in a discussion with them, balancing risks and "asking tough questions . . . but not in a combative, finger-pointing way," one official said.
The president-elect's invitation to Mullen, whom Obama previously had met only in passing on Capitol Hill and whose first two-year term as chairman does not expire until the end of September, was seen as an attempt to establish a relationship and avoid early conflict. While some Pentagon officials believe an Iraq withdrawal order could become Obama's equivalent of the Clinton controversy over gays, several senior Defense Department sources said that Gates, Mullen and Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of the military's Central Command, are untroubled by the 16-month plan and feel it can be accomplished with a month or two of wiggle room.
These sources noted that Obama himself has said he would not be "careless" about withdrawal and would retain a "residual" force of unspecified size to fight terrorists and protect U.S. diplomats and civilians. The officer most concerned about untimely withdrawal, sources said, is the Iraq commander, Gen. Ray Odierno.
Even as the Iraq war continues, defense officials are far more worried about Afghanistan, where they see policy drift and an unfocused mission. With strategy reviews now being completed at the White House and by the chairman's office, an internal Pentagon debate is well underway over whether goals should be lowered.
Although Gen. David McKiernan, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has requested four more U.S. combat brigades, some Pentagon strategists believe a smaller presence of Special Forces and trainers for Afghan forces -- and more attention to Pakistan -- is advisable.
Bush's ideological objective of a modern Afghan democracy, several officials said, is unattainable with current U.S. resources, and there is optimism that Obama will have a more realistic view.
A number of senior officers also look with favor on Obama's call for talks with Iran over Iraq and Afghanistan, separating those issues from U.S. demands over Tehran's nuclear program.
One of the biggest long-term military issues on Obama's plate will be the defense budget, currently topping 4.3 percent of gross domestic product once war expenditures are included.
Obama has said he will increase the size of the Army and the Marine Corps, finding savings in the Iraq drawdown and in new scrutiny of spending, including on contractors, weapons programs and missile defense.
"They know the money is coming down," a Pentagon official said of the uniformed services, and many welcome increased discipline.
But it's neither the military's nature nor its role to volunteer the cuts, the official said. "It's for Congress and the administration to say 'Stop it.' "
Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta and research Editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Rush Limbaugh is the Obama Presidency place holder for Clinton's Iranian Asprin Factory, only this time the folks getting screwed are We the People, not the “woman in the blue dress.”
I can't help but think that the Bumbling Buffoon with the Teleprompter is laughing all the way to his goal of ruining America and setting himself up as our Dear Leader.If BO is a 'puppet' and an “empty suit,” who has his hand up his backside?
If the Birth Certificate is irrelevant, why is BO spending over $800,000 and countless lawyers having it “sealed” along with his school records?
If BO is so “eloquent,” why does he need a teleprompter for a news conference? Is he interested in filling in for Tom Brokaw?
The most honest thing to come from Obama: "I will stand with the Muslims.”
It appears that being President is also above Obama's pay grade.
You're like a talking doll - braaaaaak - Bush caused katrina. braaaaaaaak - Bush made unqualified losers default on their morgages. braaaaaaaa - Bush can't walk on water.
So boring listening to you Obots jabber the same worn out phrases over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid record oil prices and soaring gasoline costs, Exxon Mobil's $400 million retirement package to its former CEO is a shameful display of greed that should be reviewed by Congress and investigated by federal regulators, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record) said on Tuesday.
Dorgan said he wants Exxon Mobil officials to appear at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to explain how the corporation justifies giving its former boss, Lee Raymond, such a huge retirement package.
There can be no more compelling evidence that the price gouging and market manipulation which has produced record oil prices is out of control, and is working to serve the forces of individual greed and corporate gluttony at the painful expense of millions of American consumers, Dorgan said.
Dorgan's criticism of Raymond's financial package came on the same day that U.S. crude oil prices hit a record high of more than $71 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Higher crude oil prices are helping to push of up gasoline costs. The Energy Department reported prices jumped 10 cents over the last week to a national average of $2.78 a gallon, up 55 cents from a year ago.
President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he was concerned about the impact high gasoline prices were having on families and businesses.
Exxon earned the wrath of many lawmakers when it reported more than $36 billion in profits last year as energy prices paid by consumers soared.
Dorgan said he will push to win passage of his legislation that would impose a windfall profits tax on big oil companies and rebate that money to consumers, unless the companies used their earnings to explore for and produce more energy.
I think a sensible public policy would insist that the big oil companies either invest those windfall profits in things that will increase our own domestic energy supplies, or we should return some of that money to consumers, Dorgan said.
Using them to drop $400 million dollars in the pocket of a big oil executive is simply unacceptable, he added.
Exxon Mobil has defended Raymond's retirement package, saying it was pegged to the rise in the company's profit and market capitalization that occurred during his tenure.
I'm also going to give those people who don't work for a living, or pay into the system, a $500 check too.
Oh, did I forget to mention.....
You're going to owe the govt. $10,000 in taxes, once I can get away with asking you all to foot the bill for my stimulus package.
Stimulus plan...the short version....no one talks about....
Obama: My trillion dollar stimulus package, very dire, we must do something NOW, right now, before it gets worse. Therefore I'm going to......
I'm going to give you a one-time $500 check.
I'm also going to give those people who don't work for a living, or pay into the system, a $500 check too.
Oh, did I forget to mention.....
You're going to owe the U.S. govt. $10,000 in taxes, once I can get away with asking you all to foot the bill for my stimulus package.
Mr. Dean talks thought the mouth of a horse
Yeah, like anything he has to say is valuable. This is the guy who screamed out all those states - HEEEEE-YAWWWWWW?
Mr. Dean is a spiteful crat to the bone and did not do his job properly. He didn't stand on the side of the people, who stood with the big money people.
If he's going to call anyone a murderer he best go back to Billy boy himself with those wars he started that he had no place involving the US troops. Lots of innocent people were slaughtered because of him back then and no he did not follow the Geneva code.
Stimulus plan...the short version (fine print)....no one talks about....
Obama: My trillion dollar stimulus package, very dire, we must do something NOW, right now, before it gets worse. (I can sell anything...just tell me what to say.....) Therefore I'm going to......
I'm going to give you a one-time $500 check.
I'm also going to give those people who don't work for a living, or pay into the system, a $500 check too.
Oh, did I forget to mention.....
Each one of you taxpayers are going to owe the U.S. govt. $10,000 in taxes, once I can get away with asking you all to foot the bill for my stimulus package. (2 years down the line or so.....when we have to become fiscally responsible)
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So...seems the upper echelon doesn't give a darn about cutting back. Their dinner consisted of 
