September 22, 2006
Hotline After Dark -- Pelosi Unplugged
The new season may have started on the broadcast nets, but cable seemed to be in repeats. Most of the discussion last night remained the interrogation debate, on Hugo Chavez's remarks about Pres. Bush and on Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
FNC's O'Reilly, in his "Talking Points" memo: "As we predicted, the Senate has made a deal with the Bush administration about how the USA can question suspected terrorists" ("O'Reilly Factor," 9/21).
NBC's Viqueira, on the deal: "Interrogations can go forward under the deal that they have reached today, but the issue all along, of course, was would we have to reinterpret, would this legislation reinterpret the Geneva Convention Article 3 that deals with the treatment of prisoners? They got around that by dealing with the treatment of prisoners through the War Crimes Act" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 9/21).
FNC's Angle: "It's important to note this is only an agreement between the White House and the Senate Republicans you saw there. Most Republicans and all the Democrats have yet to see the details" ("Special Report," 9/21).
CNN's Koppel: "We are far from out of the woods at this stage. It still has to go through the Senate and it faces a tough battle in the House where the House Armed Services chairman, Duncan Hunter, made very clear tonight that he is not signing off right now on the classified intelligence part of the deal that these Republican senators have struck with the White House" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 9/21).
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), on the deal: "What the American people can be assured of is they're as aggressive as necessary, but short of the prohibitions against torture, cruel, and inhumane treatment" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 9/21).
PELOSI'S NOT HAPPY WITH CONGRESS EITHER
House Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi was on "NewsHour" last night.
On the interrogation deal: "I haven't seen the particulars of it, but the principles that we have heard in the news report sound very much like legislation proposed by the Democrats last week in the House Armed Services Committee."
On Congress: "This is really a do-nothing rubber-stamp Congress for the president. In a few days, we'll reach the end of the fiscal year, and this Congress has still not passed a budget."
More: "We are doing bits and pieces of an immigration bill without approaching it in a comprehensive, bipartisan way, which is necessary in order to manage the immigration issue. Again, we haven't passed a budget; we haven't even passed all of our appropriation bills. So there's much unfinished business."
Asked if she is surprised by Congress' low approval ratings: "No, I would be among those who would not approve."
Asked if she wants to be Speaker: "I want to have a Democratic speaker."
On the '06 elections: "I think targeting me -- most people don't even know who I am -- is an act of desperation on the part of the Republicans. We're going to keep the focus in a very optimistic way on our new direction" (PBS, 9/21).
MOM'S THE WORD
Sen. George Allen (R-VA) was in the "Situation Room":
On his heritage: "I always knew my mother was Italian and French and a little Spanish, and so I was with my mother across the table. And I asked her. I said, you know, there's these rumors flying around here that you're Jewish or, you know, Jewish bloodlines and so forth. And I asked her, is there anything to this? And I saw her reaction. And she said, yes, there are. And I said, well, why didn't you ever tell? I didn't want to tell you. Do you love me? You won't love me as much. I said, oh, ma, why would that make -- I love you even more. I respect you even more."
Asked if his father knew: "Yes. I found that out, too."
More: "This is more than any sort of political campaign. This is so personal. To think that a person 70 years, 60 years since the Nazis is still having that pain in her, it's still paining her; she still lives in fear of that intimidation, that bigotry, that prejudice, that anti-Semitism, still is fearful in my mother."
He continues: "I'm very proud of my heritage. I'm learning more and more about it. I want to teach this to my children."
More: "I have been a leader for fighting against anti-Semitism and intolerance, but now it's personal. And I'm going to use my time here on Earth to continue to fight for freedom and justice, and to make sure intolerance never rears its ugly head in this country or anywhere else in the world, because it causes a great deal of fear, intimidation, and lessening the opportunities for people in life."
On his reax to the ancestory question in the debate: "I was thinking of my mother. I was thinking as a son, and I wanted to protect my mother and her wishes and the promise I made to her. And I'm glad that she has now released me from that promise. And we, as a family, the Allen family, can now search our records of our history and the lineage" (CNN, 9/21).
BILL'S PICKS
And ex-Pres. Clinton was asked what races besides NY SEN he's watching for '06: "I'm looking at that Senate seat in Virginia between Jim Webb, President Reagan's former navy secretary and now running as a Democrat for the Senate against George Allen. And Harold Ford in Tennessee, that's an interesting race. He's recently pulled even or a little bit ahead. There is a House race in Pennsylvania where Curt Weldon, a 20 year veteran is being opposed by Admiral Joe Sestak, who was a career military man who served in that capacity on my National Security Council staff" ("On the Record," FNC, 9/21). [EMILY GOODIN]
Posted at 08:16 AM
Comments
10 More Questions for George Allen (as seen in the Forward)
1) Corned beef with Russian dressing: Kosher or kosher-style?
2) Christmas dinner: Ham, turkey or Chinese?
3) Madonna and Kabbalah: What’s not to like?
4) Feith, Wolfowitz, Libby: Cabal, patriots or killer infield?
5) Hank Aaron or Hank Greenberg?
continued at http://www.forward.com/articles/10-questions-for-george -allen/
Sonny Goldreich | 09.23.06 11:58 AM
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