July 02, 2007
Sunday Snapshot
Most of the Sunday shows led with the latest news in the British bomb scares. Our roundup will concentrate on the political news from the weekend:
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), on the subpoenas he's issued: "Nobody on my committee, Republican or Democrat, is trying to subpoena the operations of what's been done in wiretapping terrorists."
More: "I don't want us to ever go back to the situation that we had 30 years ago when we put into place this FISA court, as you called it, where they were wiretapping somebody who disagreed with the government on the Vietnam war."
On the admin response: "They've chosen confrontation rather than compromise or cooperation. ... They say executive privilege. That means something that the president has said. The president has already said publicly he's not involved in this, the things that we're looking at. So I don't know where the executive privilege claim comes in."
Asked if he'd hold the WH in contempt of Congress: "If they don't cooperate, yes, I'd go that far" ("Meet the Press," NBC, 7/1).
THERE'S ALWAYS IRAQ TALK
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), on reax to his speech: "Most of my Republican colleagues were very interested in the speech. Some indicated they agreed with most of it. Some really wanted to say they'd like to take some action."
More: "I've also talked to Democrats after this speech, and asked them would they be prepared to work with some Republicans and the president if the president were so disposed. I've suggested this to Steve Hadley the national security adviser, and he's taken notes and is going back to the president. Now, I hope something will come of this now, not punting the ball down to September when these reports all come in and we have some good news, some bad news."
Asked if GOPers would ever consider joining with Dems to cut funding, Lugar: "The money is not going to be cut, as a matter of fact. So as a result, the president probably has the authority, if he wishes, to pursue right out to the end of his term a full-blown surge or whatever he wants to do, although my guess is the constraints of the presidential campaign, the congressional campaign are likely to bring pause even to the president if he were to have that idea" ("Face the Nation," CBS, 7/1).
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT): "The time may be running out politically in Washington, but it's not running out in Iraq, and that's the tragedy here. The fact is that the surge has just been fully implemented in terms of personnel being there. On the facts, reduced violence in Baghdad and incredibly reduced violence in Anbar province to the west which al Qaeda in Iraq was in control of about a few months ago. The surge is working. So you might say that, in Iraq, we've got the enemy on the run, but for some reason, in Washington, a lot of politicians are on the run to order a retreat by our troops even as they are beginning to succeed. ... Let's wait until September, which we said we would do" ("This Week," ABC, 7/1).
THE AVERAGE JOE
Lieberman, on who he'll endorse in '08: "I'm not going to make my selection of who to support for president in '08 based on party. I'm going to choose to support whichever of the candidates I think will be the best president of the United States to protect our security against the threat of Islamist terrorism and to rebuild America's economy, health-care system, environment and education system."
More: "It does seem to me now that the leading Democratic candidates for president are competing with each other to see which one can more quickly pull more of our troops out of Iraq, while our troops are there fighting and now succeeding with a lot on the line. ... So, yes, I'm disappointed by it, but when I make my decision, it's only a personal decision. It's going to be based on questions that are both foreign and domestic, but so far I would say that Democratic candidates, in the larger questions of American security, have been disappointing, and I hope things will get better as this goes on" ("This Week," ABC, 7/1).
THE WAIT AND SEE GAME
DHS Sec. Michael Chertoff, on future immigration reform: "I'm not going to start to speculate about pieces of legislation that haven't even been filed or haven't even moved through the process. ... Earlier this year, we tried to deal with a problem by bringing everybody together and coming up with a comprehensive solution. That is now stalled in Congress. I think now the burden is on those who think there's another approach to come forward and get that approach under way. And then we'll see what it is they have to offer" ("Late Edition," CNN, 7/1).
ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP
The "Fox News Sunday" roundtable discussed the recent SCOTUS decisions and immigration reform.
The "Meet the Press" roundtable discussed immigration reform and WH '08.
NBC's Todd, on Obama's fundraising: "Financially Obama's won it. He has caught up to [Clinton]. He has made up the $10 million transfer that she had from her Senate account. It is stunning." More: "I'm always struck at these debates how cautious he is. He's afraid go for a knockout. He's trying not to lose. He's not trying to win yet."
The "This Week" roundtable discussed the recent SCOTUS rulings, VP Cheney, and WH '08 [EMILY GOODIN].
Posted at 11:15 AM
Comments
NBC's Todd, on Obama's fundraising: "Financially Obama's won it. He has caught up to [Clinton].
The media need to be reminded that money is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for winning. How much of that money comes from die-hard support and how much of that money comes from media buzz? Someone may contribute $15-20 but it doesn't mean they support him.
The first real test will be Iowa.
"I'm always struck at these debates how cautious he is. He's afraid go for a knockout. He's trying not to lose. He's not trying to win yet."
Beyond the flashy smile and buzzwords like "hope" and "change" we know very little about what an Obama presidency would look like. At this point, he's running a personality campaign and perhaps he feels he can since the first primary is months away.
But I have to ask: Are voters so desperate for change that they're willing to risk the next presidency on the nebulous promise of hope? If so, what does that say about the current state of American politics? Obama talks a lot about change but what exactly is his campaign about? For someone who has presented himself as a "transformational" candidate, he's relying on lots of insiders like Bob Rubin, Jamie Rubin, Bill Burton, Robert Gibbs, etc. I can't say for sure that Barack Obama truly represents a change that will substantively transform American politics.
corinne | 07.02.07 12:25 PM
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Liberman has no credibility left and is making a laughing stalk of himself. Infact all the democrats should refuse to take any endorsements from him. Liberman is a lap dog of Bushies and loves to sned our young kids to die in Iraq for no reason.
You can imagine Liberman as a family dog that Bush/Cheney like to strap on the roof of their car and go around showing it as an exhibit. Poor joe!
Joementum | 07.02.07 01:19 PM
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Republican Sentors failed the country last week with ducking immigration. They will pay dearly next year come election time. Not a single minority will ever vote Republican after the hateful rhetoric of people like Sessions. And that monster will have to answer his creator for the suffering of millions of illegals who can't go to their home country for a funeral because of their inability to come back here. Senator Sessions, God will punish you.
And immigration reform is inevitable-it is coming back in 2009.
Dimitre | 07.02.07 04:49 PM
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