Perhaps.
Given the cautious approach that Team Obama is taking to the events unfolding in Iran, one can't help but wonder if they have been blindsided.
For an election that was held (and called) on a Saturday, it was definitely disappointing to hear the Vice President say, in a Sunday morning interview, that they (the administration) were going to review what occurred.
(Unfortunately the interview wasn't all that it was cracked up to be -- Biden invited David Gregory over to his house afterwards. I could never imagine Russert and Cheney yukking it up after a MTP episode. )
Biden's tepid response suggests that our layers of intelligence didn't list that the election would be stolen for Mahmoud Amhadinejad and tens of thousands would protest as a probability.
There is, of course, the political calculus. President Obama, doesn't want to be in a position where his support would diminish the standing of the protesters, nor does he want to be seen as losing a chance to nudge an internal reformation of the Iranian regime. There's a reason why he voted "present" so often as a state senator.
In any event, it seems that he had to start at square one or somewhere close to it.
As to the way forward -- it seems that they believe that flexibility is the key to indecision.
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
What Biden Is Really Saying...
I'm looking forward to this Sunday's Meet the Press with Joe Biden as the guest.
I expect that David Gregory will be as easy on the Vice President as Lesley Stahl was a few weeks back. If Joe errs, it won't be Gregory's fault. After all he probably enjoys the DC cocktail circuit as much as anyone.
But I will be disappointed if the Veep doesn't say something stupid which will probably be the story of the day on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Joe, there is now the expectation that he will say something silly. His track record demonstrates a proclivity to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Or simply a politically tone-deaf notion. Go here and here and here to check out a few.
Despite the gaffes, Biden is not a stupid man. He's been re-elected a few times to represent the folks of Delaware in the Senate.
By my lights, he's not being served well by his staff. It is a bit of a surprise since his staff was considered to consist of political heavyweights. If so, these heavyweights don't know the first rule of staff work -- don't make the boss look bad. (Somebody should have prepped the Veep on the nature of the new Hudson River Tunnel.)
Of course, the fact that Biden has kept these under-performing staffers says plenty about Joe.
And it will say a lot about Obama if he keeps Biden on the ticket in 2012.
I expect that David Gregory will be as easy on the Vice President as Lesley Stahl was a few weeks back. If Joe errs, it won't be Gregory's fault. After all he probably enjoys the DC cocktail circuit as much as anyone.
But I will be disappointed if the Veep doesn't say something stupid which will probably be the story of the day on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Joe, there is now the expectation that he will say something silly. His track record demonstrates a proclivity to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Or simply a politically tone-deaf notion. Go here and here and here to check out a few.
Despite the gaffes, Biden is not a stupid man. He's been re-elected a few times to represent the folks of Delaware in the Senate.
By my lights, he's not being served well by his staff. It is a bit of a surprise since his staff was considered to consist of political heavyweights. If so, these heavyweights don't know the first rule of staff work -- don't make the boss look bad. (Somebody should have prepped the Veep on the nature of the new Hudson River Tunnel.)
Of course, the fact that Biden has kept these under-performing staffers says plenty about Joe.
And it will say a lot about Obama if he keeps Biden on the ticket in 2012.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Ruminations
SCI-FI: I gave it a couple of viewings but like most of America, I realized that Life wasn't worth watching. They lost me when the hot chick started sleeping with her shmoe of a boss. Another NBC success story.
A GREAT JOB IF YOU CAN GET IT: Seems our National Security Advisor has the time to bike home for lunch. I would guess that all told it probably takes three hours out of his day. Good thing he's unimportant, otherwise he'd be missed.
EXILED: At first, I thought Joe Biden, given his latest goof, was sent to Siberia. He's actually in Serbia.
CAFE CHIP: Something tells me that President Obama's move to increase vehicle fuel mileage is nothing more than a bargaining chip to be used sometime down the road.
RUNNING: I know of some registered voters in New York City getting three to four mailings from the Bloomberg campaign. It's safe to say, he's not taking chances.
SNOWED: Marc Ambinder is keeping an eye on the meme that Obama is easily cowed by his generals. Perhaps, but Bush was swayed by his defeatist brass -- Pace, Casey, and Abizaid. Success in Iraq came when he finally got rid of two and kicked the other upstairs.
IMPOTENCE: As the Senate Majority leader, things can't get any worse for Senator Reid given his erroneous reports, his poor polling numbers, and a President who disses his state's leading source of revenue.
A GREAT JOB IF YOU CAN GET IT: Seems our National Security Advisor has the time to bike home for lunch. I would guess that all told it probably takes three hours out of his day. Good thing he's unimportant, otherwise he'd be missed.
EXILED: At first, I thought Joe Biden, given his latest goof, was sent to Siberia. He's actually in Serbia.
CAFE CHIP: Something tells me that President Obama's move to increase vehicle fuel mileage is nothing more than a bargaining chip to be used sometime down the road.
RUNNING: I know of some registered voters in New York City getting three to four mailings from the Bloomberg campaign. It's safe to say, he's not taking chances.
SNOWED: Marc Ambinder is keeping an eye on the meme that Obama is easily cowed by his generals. Perhaps, but Bush was swayed by his defeatist brass -- Pace, Casey, and Abizaid. Success in Iraq came when he finally got rid of two and kicked the other upstairs.
IMPOTENCE: As the Senate Majority leader, things can't get any worse for Senator Reid given his erroneous reports, his poor polling numbers, and a President who disses his state's leading source of revenue.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Ruminations
GAFFE-IN: What was the purported upside when Barack Obama selected Joe Biden as his Veep? Delaware's dirty secret is now America's headache.
LUXURY: Recession, war(s), pandemic are in the headlines but our Congress is focused on, well, college football.
STRESSED: Rather than eyeing a college football championship -- perhaps Congress should be performing a "stress-test" on the government's ability to meet its current obligations? I can imagine why they would want to keep those results secret.
GHOSTS: There is probably more than meets the eye on Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party. Clearing the decks to permit a primary-free race for a 79 year old cancer survivor probably doesn't come cheap. So much for the Keystone State's youth vote, huh? Moreover, who told Specter that he was the indispensable man of the Senate?
SCARE FORCE ONE: Louis Caldera, was once a policymaker as the Secretary of the Army back in the Clinton era answerable to the Secretary of Defense Now, he's an overpaid order-taker and fall guy as the chief of the White House Military Office. Maybe he can't sell is DC-area home? It will be interesting to see if anyone gets fingered, much less, fired for the Air Force One photo op in New York.
OLD MATH: The dead tree version of the New York Daily News boasted 2.5 million readers. I suspect that they used the New Math that was popular in the 1960s. However, real numbers like 600K don't lie.
WEAK: Given the hype surrounding the book, I can't help but be unimpressed by the charges levelled against A-Rod. I'm not a member of the Alex Rodriguez fan club, but the author would have been better served going after real miscreants.
LUXURY: Recession, war(s), pandemic are in the headlines but our Congress is focused on, well, college football.
STRESSED: Rather than eyeing a college football championship -- perhaps Congress should be performing a "stress-test" on the government's ability to meet its current obligations? I can imagine why they would want to keep those results secret.
GHOSTS: There is probably more than meets the eye on Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party. Clearing the decks to permit a primary-free race for a 79 year old cancer survivor probably doesn't come cheap. So much for the Keystone State's youth vote, huh? Moreover, who told Specter that he was the indispensable man of the Senate?
SCARE FORCE ONE: Louis Caldera, was once a policymaker as the Secretary of the Army back in the Clinton era answerable to the Secretary of Defense Now, he's an overpaid order-taker and fall guy as the chief of the White House Military Office. Maybe he can't sell is DC-area home? It will be interesting to see if anyone gets fingered, much less, fired for the Air Force One photo op in New York.
OLD MATH: The dead tree version of the New York Daily News boasted 2.5 million readers. I suspect that they used the New Math that was popular in the 1960s. However, real numbers like 600K don't lie.
WEAK: Given the hype surrounding the book, I can't help but be unimpressed by the charges levelled against A-Rod. I'm not a member of the Alex Rodriguez fan club, but the author would have been better served going after real miscreants.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Softballs for Joe
Given the batting practice that Lesley Stahl tossed (in the guise of an interview) with Barney Frank, I had the bar set pretty low for her interview with Vice President Joe Biden.
It wasn't low enough.
If she threw any more hanging sliders for Joe to hit out of the park, I was convinced that she would be the #5 starter for the New York Mets -- who will take just about anybody.
Curiously, most of the interview with Joe was was done standing up in his office. Why?
Was the seated, or more formal, aspect of the interview was unwatchable? (If memory serves there was only one question -- about the Hugo Chavez handshake -- shown when they were seated.) Did Joe comitt any gaffes or was it -- heaven forbid -- the fact that Joe Biden is a fairly conventional thinker and boring speaker?
It wasn't low enough.
If she threw any more hanging sliders for Joe to hit out of the park, I was convinced that she would be the #5 starter for the New York Mets -- who will take just about anybody.
Curiously, most of the interview with Joe was was done standing up in his office. Why?
Was the seated, or more formal, aspect of the interview was unwatchable? (If memory serves there was only one question -- about the Hugo Chavez handshake -- shown when they were seated.) Did Joe comitt any gaffes or was it -- heaven forbid -- the fact that Joe Biden is a fairly conventional thinker and boring speaker?
The fact that both Biden and the President chose to stand for their interviews suggests that they weren't going to give the 60 Minutes team any more time than was necessary.
Granted, the interview was a puff piece designed as a link in with the totally arbitrary notion that Obama's first 100 days are of some consequence but that doesn't mean that she couldn't ask a tough question or two.
For instance, Biden is notoriously tight-fisted when it comes to giving to charities yet yet professes that paying taxes is patriotic. What would he say to that allegation?
Biden supported the Iraq War and when the political winds shifted voted against the surge. Now that the winds have changed again, does he think that the Obama plan is working?
As he is in charge of the middle class task force -- what does he plan to do, if anything, in that capacity?
Lastly, Biden noted, when talking about his son who is currently deployed in Iraq: "ridden home with too many dead young men and women in caskets and it's just impossible to not associate with that."
Given the respect that the military takes with the remains of the fallen, it seems unlikely that they would be flown as cargo on a flight ferrying VIPs. If true, how many times has he flown out of Iraq or Afghanistan? Or, was this a case of Joe Biden, stretching the truth to fit his purposes?
Alas, that wouldn't have been much news either.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Ruminations
Lost in the brouhaha in the White House vs. Rush battle is the fact that George Stephanopoulos participated in daily conference calls with the White House chief of staff and other Clinton-era operatives. Maybe, I'm old school, but I think it was wrong for these events to be held with a network anchor. However, if you do need a media representative, shouldn't they have partnered with Keith Olberman?
Joe Biden convenes secret meetings with a powerful interest group. I'm holding my breath for the Congressional inquiry.
Too bad the White House doesn't have anybody on staff who knows the protocols of dealing with European heads of government. If they did, then Obama's gift to Gordon Brown wouldn't have been so insulting. Further proof that General (Ret'd.) Jones is window dressing.
If Obama is so insistent that we don't torture, why does he insist that Robert Gibbs be his press secretary? C'mon, there are only so many "umh's" a person can tolerate without breaking.
Just when I thought that Joe Biden was the second coming of Dan Quayle, it dawned on me that he's actually the return of Spiro T. Agnew.
Larry King thought he was funny last night when he remarked that those who voted against the stimulus bill hadn't read it either. There's no shame in retirement, Larry.
The jobless crisis claimed another victim this week -- a State Department Russian translator.
UPDATE: Further proof that General Jones is a potted plant.
Joe Biden convenes secret meetings with a powerful interest group. I'm holding my breath for the Congressional inquiry.
Too bad the White House doesn't have anybody on staff who knows the protocols of dealing with European heads of government. If they did, then Obama's gift to Gordon Brown wouldn't have been so insulting. Further proof that General (Ret'd.) Jones is window dressing.
If Obama is so insistent that we don't torture, why does he insist that Robert Gibbs be his press secretary? C'mon, there are only so many "umh's" a person can tolerate without breaking.
Just when I thought that Joe Biden was the second coming of Dan Quayle, it dawned on me that he's actually the return of Spiro T. Agnew.
Larry King thought he was funny last night when he remarked that those who voted against the stimulus bill hadn't read it either. There's no shame in retirement, Larry.
The jobless crisis claimed another victim this week -- a State Department Russian translator.
UPDATE: Further proof that General Jones is a potted plant.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Musings
Sooner or later, the media is going to have to conclude that Joe Biden is a bigger embarrassment than Dan Quayle. The Daily News pathetically runs cover for the Veep by claiming he's got a great resume. They spend one paragraph on that great resume the rest of the article discusses various Bidenisms. Geez.
When President Obama signs the spending (er, stimulus) package. It will be his recession, depression, whatever.
Now that the New York media has beaten up Alex Rodriguez -- what can they do for an encore? It's going to an awkward baseball season, that's for sure.
Timmy Geithner had a bad week last week with his poorly planned TARP II plan. Geez, he had gone a whole week without having a bad week. A country of 300 million and he's the best we can do for a Treasury Secretary?
I like a winter thaw as much as the next guy, but there's something about winter bodies trying to fit into summer clothes that just isn't right. There's a reason why we have a spring, after all.
Maybe the movie, Shopaholic, is a year too late?
Those "Brett's going to do two years with the Jets" stories were only half right after all.
When President Obama signs the spending (er, stimulus) package. It will be his recession, depression, whatever.
Now that the New York media has beaten up Alex Rodriguez -- what can they do for an encore? It's going to an awkward baseball season, that's for sure.
Timmy Geithner had a bad week last week with his poorly planned TARP II plan. Geez, he had gone a whole week without having a bad week. A country of 300 million and he's the best we can do for a Treasury Secretary?
I like a winter thaw as much as the next guy, but there's something about winter bodies trying to fit into summer clothes that just isn't right. There's a reason why we have a spring, after all.
Maybe the movie, Shopaholic, is a year too late?
Those "Brett's going to do two years with the Jets" stories were only half right after all.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Things that Obama Will Not Be Known For...
...the "smart policy" president. When his political capital was at its height, he outsourced his stimulus package to a pair of big-government types. Then he "campaigned" on it by offering its chief virtue -- it's something. You may call it pragmatism -- I call it indecision. (BTW, his pick of Joe (Loose Lips) Biden hasn't gotten better with age.)
...the "post-partisan" president. Sure there were a couple of photo ops with the GOP as the stimulus was winding its way through Congress but Obama spoke as it the Republicans didn't have a plan to revive the economy. His denunciations of GOP criticism wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that his campaign was all about crossing the aisle. I suspect when 2011 comes around, he may regret his clenched fist.
...the "ethical" president. When it comes to waivers for erstwhile lobbyists to work in his administration -- well, let's just say they've become "tidal waivers." When you have way too many exceptions, you really don't have a rule. And as long as poor Timmy Geithner is the Treasury Secretary, he'll remain the poster child for tax-dodgers everywhere.
The good news is that it's only the first month in office. The bad news, I suspect, is that it won't get any better.
...the "post-partisan" president. Sure there were a couple of photo ops with the GOP as the stimulus was winding its way through Congress but Obama spoke as it the Republicans didn't have a plan to revive the economy. His denunciations of GOP criticism wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that his campaign was all about crossing the aisle. I suspect when 2011 comes around, he may regret his clenched fist.
...the "ethical" president. When it comes to waivers for erstwhile lobbyists to work in his administration -- well, let's just say they've become "tidal waivers." When you have way too many exceptions, you really don't have a rule. And as long as poor Timmy Geithner is the Treasury Secretary, he'll remain the poster child for tax-dodgers everywhere.
The good news is that it's only the first month in office. The bad news, I suspect, is that it won't get any better.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The General is Overturned
I wondered as to why the Obama Team selected retired Marine Corps General James Jones to be the national security advisor.
At first, I thought it may be the case that none of the inner circle Obama, Biden, and H. R. Clinton had any military expertise. (Dr. Gates of the DoD, if memory serves, was a reservist in the Air Force -- but how long will he stay in the administration?) I suspected that they wanted their own "in-house" military perspective rather than being dependent upon the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The second point in his favor was the fact that he publicly turned down a deputy national security position (with responsibility for on-going military operations) in the in the Bush Administration due to what he believed was their poor prosecution of the war in Iraq. Bush-bashing is always OK with Team Obama.
Perhaps.
The news that career diplomat Christopher Hill has been chosen to be the new Ambassador to Baghdad suggests that Jones was hired because he can be rolled.
A host of reports indicate that Jones (who coordinated this move with Clinton) informed retired Marine Corps general Anthony Zinni that he was the administration's choice to be the Ambassador. (I'm not sold on the wisdom of the former CENTCOM commander being the ambassador but I'll let that slide for now.)
However, it seems that Richard Holbrooke went behind the back of Jones and lobbied -- successfully with Secretary Clinton -- for Hill to be the new envoy.
Tellingly, Zinni had to call Jones in order to find out that the job offer was no longer on the table. While this may be a slap in the face for Zinni it certainly makes Jones look just as foolish.
In late November, when Team Obama's vetting process was thought to be a well-oiled machine, a "senior advisor" praised Jones as a "...a strong player who isn't dwarfed by any of the other personalities around the table."
Well if this incident doesn't make him look small, what does?
At first, I thought it may be the case that none of the inner circle Obama, Biden, and H. R. Clinton had any military expertise. (Dr. Gates of the DoD, if memory serves, was a reservist in the Air Force -- but how long will he stay in the administration?) I suspected that they wanted their own "in-house" military perspective rather than being dependent upon the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The second point in his favor was the fact that he publicly turned down a deputy national security position (with responsibility for on-going military operations) in the in the Bush Administration due to what he believed was their poor prosecution of the war in Iraq. Bush-bashing is always OK with Team Obama.
Perhaps.
The news that career diplomat Christopher Hill has been chosen to be the new Ambassador to Baghdad suggests that Jones was hired because he can be rolled.
A host of reports indicate that Jones (who coordinated this move with Clinton) informed retired Marine Corps general Anthony Zinni that he was the administration's choice to be the Ambassador. (I'm not sold on the wisdom of the former CENTCOM commander being the ambassador but I'll let that slide for now.)
However, it seems that Richard Holbrooke went behind the back of Jones and lobbied -- successfully with Secretary Clinton -- for Hill to be the new envoy.
Tellingly, Zinni had to call Jones in order to find out that the job offer was no longer on the table. While this may be a slap in the face for Zinni it certainly makes Jones look just as foolish.
In late November, when Team Obama's vetting process was thought to be a well-oiled machine, a "senior advisor" praised Jones as a "...a strong player who isn't dwarfed by any of the other personalities around the table."
Well if this incident doesn't make him look small, what does?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday's Musings
He may have been sworn in, but Barack Obama's mind is still on the campaign trail. That's the only explanation I have for his zinger directed at conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh. Bill Clinton also made the same mistake of attacking -- and thus elevating -- Rush Both gentlemen forgot the rule when dealing with a critic -- that's to ignore him.
Speaking of Clinton, it's curious to hear Obama & Biden claim that the economy is worse than they thought. Clinton made the same charge when he took command of the Oval Office. It wasn't like they were praising it during the campaign. But by claiming it's worse -- well, that gives them a whole lot of room to maneuver.
For a guy who cannot properly file his taxes, Timothy Geithner must have some other redeeming qualities to make him a must for Secretary of the Treasury. It's not like he did a bang up job at the New York Fed is it? When the economic stimulus fails -- and it will -- Geither's scalp will be the first to fall.
The rationale -- "we'll figure something out" -- doesn't wash when it comes to where are we going to put the Gitmo detainees in a year's time. Don't file the Gitmo matter under "decisiveness" any time soon.
The mediocre Mikes -- Daly & Lupica of the New York Daily News probably spent most of yesterday wiping the eggs off their faces. Both fawned over Caroline "You Know" Kennedy in her run up to what was supposed to be an inevitable selection by Governor Paterson. However, taxes, a nanny "issue", and a supposed extra marital affair ruined her chances. It may be best for Ms. Kennedy to return to a more private life.
It was interesting to see David Brooks on PBS last night and realize that he's in the employ of a Mexican businessman. I'm sure that some of the $250 million will be paying salaries for those working for The New York Times. We'll see soon what kind of coverage a quarter of a billion dollars can buy.
You know when we'll hit the rock bottom of this recession? When the gossip tabloids and magazines start laying off personnel.
Future mea culpas (or "what was I thinking?"):
Speaking of Clinton, it's curious to hear Obama & Biden claim that the economy is worse than they thought. Clinton made the same charge when he took command of the Oval Office. It wasn't like they were praising it during the campaign. But by claiming it's worse -- well, that gives them a whole lot of room to maneuver.
For a guy who cannot properly file his taxes, Timothy Geithner must have some other redeeming qualities to make him a must for Secretary of the Treasury. It's not like he did a bang up job at the New York Fed is it? When the economic stimulus fails -- and it will -- Geither's scalp will be the first to fall.
The rationale -- "we'll figure something out" -- doesn't wash when it comes to where are we going to put the Gitmo detainees in a year's time. Don't file the Gitmo matter under "decisiveness" any time soon.
The mediocre Mikes -- Daly & Lupica of the New York Daily News probably spent most of yesterday wiping the eggs off their faces. Both fawned over Caroline "You Know" Kennedy in her run up to what was supposed to be an inevitable selection by Governor Paterson. However, taxes, a nanny "issue", and a supposed extra marital affair ruined her chances. It may be best for Ms. Kennedy to return to a more private life.
It was interesting to see David Brooks on PBS last night and realize that he's in the employ of a Mexican businessman. I'm sure that some of the $250 million will be paying salaries for those working for The New York Times. We'll see soon what kind of coverage a quarter of a billion dollars can buy.
You know when we'll hit the rock bottom of this recession? When the gossip tabloids and magazines start laying off personnel.
Future mea culpas (or "what was I thinking?"):
- Overdoing the inauguration of President Obama. It was embarrassing. (Big Media)
- Betting on the Steelers in the Super Bowl. (Bettors)
- Thinking that government spending will revitalize the economy. (Democrats)
- Approving Eric Holder as Attorney General (Republicans)
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