Video: Secretary of State Clinton... she really does have a great laugh

If you have bit heard John Bolton's remarks which elicited such hearty laughter from Secretary Clinton, you can view it here.

Video: President Obama, and former Presidents talk about the 'All-Stars Among Us'

From The White House Blog:

Before the game, President Obama appeared in a video with all five living former presidents celebrating "All-Stars Among Us," exceptional men and women who are dedicated to service in their communities:

Serve.gov

Love and Mercy, Walking Humbly, Doing Justice

Judge not least ye be judged. The judging has commenced. Interesting.

Micah Chapter 3:

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Hmmmmmm. From Think Progress:

While serving as a U.S. congressman, Sanford was incredibly critical of his colleagues’ marital misdeeds, including the affairs of former congressman Bob Livingston and President Bill Clinton:

“The bottom line, though, is I am sure there will be a lot of legalistic explanations pointing out that the president lied under oath. His situation was not under oath. The bottom line, though, is he still lied. He lied under a different oath, and that is the oath to his wife. So it’s got to be taken very, very seriously.” [Sanford on Livingston, CNN, 12/18/98]

“We ought to ask questions…rather than circle the wagons for one of our tribe.” [Sanford on how the GOP reacts to affairs, New York Post, 12/20/98]

“I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign). I come from the business side. If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.” [Sanford on Clinton, The Post and Courier, 9/12/98]

“The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representatives government, because it undermines trust. And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything.” [Sanford on Clinton, CNN, 2/16/99]

What's good for the former President (and others) according to Mark Sanford, is apparently not good for Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina.

Video: Real Time with Bill Maher: Opening

Hoosier News: Indianapolis --Jefferson Jack Day fundraiser will have a big name

The Jefferson Jackson Day fundraiser for the Indiana Democratic Party will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2009, according to The Herald Tribune.

The keynote speaker for this event will be former President Bill Clinton.

The opening remarks will be made by Representative Andre Carson, who is notable for being the second Muslim to be elected to Congress .

Senator Evan Bayh will be giving an after-dinner speech

PAYGO Attempting A Comeback: 'When you're in a hole, stop digging.'

Click here to find out what Republicans, and conservative Dems have recently said about reinstating PAYGO.

Here is a little more on the history of PAYGO from The Tax Policy Center.

Video: Bush/Clinton - Cash for Clash or Presidential Love Fest?

Radio City Music Hall: Carville and Rove with referee Charlie Rose

Stories a Peon might be watching

• Former President Bill Clinton stated the economic benefits of focusing on cutting back greenhouse gas emissions, but also warned of the future based upon inaction in South Korea.

He said if greenhouse gases aren't reduced in the range of 80 percent by 2050, "bad things are going to happen."

• It is being anticipated that 19 of the banks who received TARP funds will begin to repay the government assistance in June. There are however conditions. Banks can only begin to repay if they can prove solvency and that repayment "that repaying the capital injections will not jeopardize their safety and soundness'.
  

• I recently attended a presentation and discussion on child soldiers at a newly established international center in my community so this story is of interest to me today.

• This story is dear to my heart. I'm a fair weather Cubs fan. I jump on the band wagon towards the end of a winning season for the Cubs. I'm not ashamed of it. Well OK. Sometimes I'm ashamed of it.

My parents were National League folks -- former Pirates fans having hailed from around Pittsburgh before the Westward expansion of the 1960s from the PA steel industry to the emerging steel plants in Northwest Indiana on Lake Michigan. A prospsective buyer of the Cubs is recruiting some well-known celebrity Cub's fans to chip on on the purchase. Go Cubs!

Jesse Ventura takes on Hannity

2009 Jefferson Jackson Day Celebration

The Day in 100 Seconds

friday, banana republica, it's time to move on, put the toothpaste back in the tube, defuse the emotion, atomic boms, dresden, forward and not backward, reflection but not retribution, alarmist claims, bad information, greed, threatens the entire american economy, your ideas are not bold, scare tactics, i love and respect my daughter, future maverick in training, maybe

President Obama signs the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

From The White House Blog:

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 4:31 pm

A Call to Service

The President has just signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, joined by Senator Kennedy, President Bill Clinton, the Congressional leaders who supported the legislation, and countless others dedicated to passage of the bill at the SEED School, where service is a core part of the curriculum. Appropriately, the President announced a major call to service:

A week from tomorrow marks the 100^th day of my administration. In those next eight days, I ask every American to make an enduring commitment to serving your community and your country in whatever way you can. Visit WhiteHouse.gov to share your stories of service and success. And together, we will measure our progress not just in number of hours served or volunteers mobilized – but in the impact our efforts have on the life of this nation.

Find the right opportunity for you, or tell us your story of service – then come back in the coming days and weeks and we will highlight some of the best of what we hear.

He spoke to Senator Kennedy, and his entire family, commending them as an icon of service and self-sacrifice in America. He spoke to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch for his role in conceiving of the bill. And he spoke to those in Chicago who taught him the virtues of service as a community organizer.

He spoke to the youth, and all those who are already engaged:

I’ve met countless people of all ages and walks of life who want nothing more than to do their part. I’ve seen a rising generation of young people work and volunteer and turn out in record numbers. They’re a generation that came of age amidst the horrors of 9/11 and Katrina; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; an economic crisis without precedent. And yet despite all this, or more likely because of it, they have become a generation of activists possessed with that most American of ideas – that people who love their country can change it.

He spoke to those who are not yet engaged:

It’s as simple as that. All that’s required on your part is a willingness to make a difference. That is, after all, the beauty of service. Anyone can do it. You don’t need to be a community organizer, or a Senator -- or a Kennedy – or even a President to bring change to people’s lives.

And he spoke to the larger moment our country faces:

We need your service, right now, at this moment in history. I’m not going to tell you what your role should be; that’s for you to discover. But I’m asking you to stand up and play your part. I’m asking you to help change history’s course. Put your shoulder up against the wheel. And if you do, I promise you – your life will be richer, our country will be stronger, and someday, years from now, you may remember it as the moment when your own story and the American story converged, when they came together, and we met the challenges of our new century.

As the President explained, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act is about "connecting deeds to needs" – it will open tremendous new avenues of opportunity for Americans to help their country get back on the right track in those many areas where government cannot do it all.

Get involved, and let us know what you’re doing.

A failed State south of the border?

Very dangerous times South of the border that will have a huge impact not only on Mexico, but the United States if not brought under control.

Morning Edition, February 27, 2009 · Drug-related violence in Mexico is escalating at an alarming rate and threatening the government of President Felipe Calderon.

CIA and U.S. military planners now fear a worst-case scenario — that the country could implode.

The American military is quietly stepping in with more training.

It seems that every night in Mexico there are reports of drug-related violence — murders, kidnappings, armed battles with police, narco-traffickers who outgun even the Mexican army with their rocket-propelled grenades.

"Thousands [have been] murdered this year," says retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who served as U.S. drug czar under President Clinton. He visited Mexico recently and painted a desperate picture.

"I mean squad-sized units of police officers and soldiers abducted, tortured to death, decapitated. So the violence is simply shocking and we've got to help," he says.

The violence led the CIA to add Mexico to its list of crises to watch over the next year, alongside longstanding problems like al-Qaida. And U.S. military planners fear Mexico could become a failed state. source: NPR Morning Edition - read more here

So, what would that mean for the United States?

President Obama needs to take a trip to King County, Texas where 8 people voted for him

John McCain walked away with 93.2% to Barack Obama's 4.9% of the vote in King County, Texas. I think it would be a real hoot if President Obama made a stop one of these days to visit the folks in King County, Texas.

King County has more voters registered as Democrats, but still a landslide voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Some of the residents said it was a matter of trust and the McCain-Palin ticket was deemed to be more trustworthy.

Maybe the 8 people who actually voted for him would come out of the closet if he paid them a visit.

Former President Clinton critiques President Obama's performance thus far

CNN's John Robert's interviewed Bill Clinton in Texas over the weekend.

Roberts: What do you think of the job that President Obama did on steering the stimulus plan through Congress, and does he in fact have the experience necessary to be a good president, reach across party lines and craft a bipartisan bill?

Clinton: Well first of all, he has reached across, and it takes two to tango. I find it amazing that the Republicans who doubled the debt of the country in eight years and produced no new jobs doing it, gave us an economic record that was totally bereft of any productive result are now criticizing him for spending money. You know, I'm a fiscal conservative, I balanced the budget, I ran surpluses. If I were in his position today, I would be doing what he's doing. Why? Because the problem with the economy is the housing decline led to the general decline in values. Assets are going down. This stimulus is our bridge over troubled waters till the bank reforms kick in. He did the right thing, he did everything he could to get Republican support. He took some of their tax-cutting ideas.

But if you look at this bill, it is designed do three things. And it does all three. It puts money in the hands of people who need money to survive -- unemployment benefits, food stamp benefits, tax cuts. Second thing it does is to give money to state and local governments so they don't have to lay a million people off or raise taxes. Either one would be bad for the economy. The third thing is it does is create new jobs. Given the Congress he had and the environment and the speed with which they had to move, I think he did a fine job with this. source: CNN

Bridge over Troubled Water. The guy knows his way around a metaphor.

Outrage: President Obama's lax dress code in The White House aka much ado about nothing

The photograph that stirred up an imaginary controversy

I came upon this story by way of The Political Carnival

Is that who I think it is down there, signing some official looking papers and what? No tie. No dress coat.

Woa.

I don't really mind that he isn't wearing a coat and tie. But former Bush 43 White House Chief of Staff Andy Card is very concerned about it because it represents disrespect of the Office of the President of the United States and he's speaking out about it.

Mr. Card said this to Inside Edition:

Card also told "Inside Edition":

"The Oval Office symbolizes...the Constitution, the hopes and dreams, and I'm going to say democracy. And when you have a dress code in the Supreme Court and a dress code on the floor of the Senate, floor of the House, I think it's appropriate to have an expectation that there will be a dress code that respects the office of the President." source: The Huffington Post

But wait. Isn't that Andy Card's former boss down there? My God. He doesn't have a suit coat on.

And Mr. Card, give it a rest.

Sometimes a man just thinks better with his jacket off.

Phtograph: Five Living Presidents Stand Together

This doesn't happen real often. Rarely. It really is extraordinary, and you don't have to like all of them to feel that way. It really is a beautiful photograph. History. History isn't always pretty though, but it is indeed 'History'.

My mistake in the headline. Four living Presidents and one almost. I'm sticking with five though, mostly because I am hopeful that we are going to make it to January 20, 2009, and I don't want to jinx it.

The Living U.S. Presidents And Their Successor: From left, George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter. AFP/Getty Images

NPR.org, January 7, 2009 · President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," the

Picture This: Five Presidents, One Photo Op

by The Associated Press

NPR.org, January 7, 2009 · President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," the Democratic president-elect said, flanked by two Republicans — former President George H.W. Bush on one side and President George W. Bush on the other.

Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both smiling broadly, stood with them. source: NPR - read more here

Clinton expected to be confirmed as Secretary of State prior to inauguration day on January 20th

Some Republicans are expected to confirm the nominee, but not without posing tough questions to Hillary Clinton regarding donors to former President Bill Clinton's foundation.

Donor disclosures to said foundation are expected to be forthcoming on an annual basis.

Clinton is expected to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, with a committee vote two days later, before the start of a separate confirmation hearing for Susan Rice, President-elect Barack Obama's pick for U.N. ambassador.

If approved by the panel, Clinton could be confirmed by the full Senate before Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

In advance of the hearing, Clinton has been reaching out to individual senators through telephone calls and lengthy sit-down meetings, including an hour-long meeting last month with Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.

On Wednesday, Clinton attended the Democrats' weekly policy lunch at the Capitol. She declined to talk with reporters afterward.

source: MSNBC

President Bush got an iddy biddy score with me

I was just watching the opening photo op with the press before the luncheon with the President-elect, the current President, Carter, Clinton and H.W. Bush. President Bush made a few remarks and it was very good.

I also believe it was sincere. I feel queasy saying it, but it was my impression.

If only we could have passed up the last eight years and simply beamed him forward to being a 'former' President, that is to say if he had to be President at all.

OK Meg. Back to reality. We have to deal in reality. There was no 'President Gore'. Get over it. I'm so over it. Moving on.

I think it is fairly obvious that there will be no criminal prosecutions of W. It simply is not going to happen. All you have to look at is the demeanor of the dudes as they stand together before breaking bread together. It's a club and the President-elect is part of that club.

W. will be a better former President by a long shot that he was a President.


I am hopeful that for Obama, it will not be the other way around, but more like both. A good President and eventually, a good former President.

It also to looks like the era of 'The Pastey White Guy' might be coming to a close, or at least on hiatus. No offense to pastey white guys though.