Condi Rice nonsense
Petty and stupid behavior from our Secretary of State:
The night before presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) left for Afghanistan, Iraq and Western Europe for a tour of US bases overseas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a cable to US missions forbidding them from holding events for presidential candidates or arrange meetings for them.Rice issued no such cable prior to foreign excursions by presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
and this . . .
Rice made an effort in her cable to distance herself from claims that her decision might have been influenced by politics.
which of course explains this:
BLITZER: Have you decided who to vote for?RICE: Wolf, yes.
BLITZER: Do you want to tell us?
RICE: No.
--
. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
- Bill White's blog
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the text of the Obama telegram and the McCain telegram and we verify that they say essentially the same thing.
However I will merely amend "stupid" to "foolish" for a failure to anticipate the need to document the appearance of even-handedness in advance of the Washington Times piece.
Of note: Raw Story largely parroted Washington Times which is a noted Right leaning propaganda operation.
But then again, Condi Rice does not anticipate well, does she?
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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)The only words from the diary that survived the news cycle are:
petty
stupid
nonsense
Just not as originally intended.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )...is petty and stupid? She used "bad timing"? Jeez, maybe she should have sent her cable after Obama's trip was over. That would've been much better timing, no?
The Hatch Act forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity, and according to CNN, the same directives were given when McCain was traveling around a few months ago. But what does CNN know. Just to be clear, you are saying that a truth is revealed because Condi Rice refused to break the law. I think a truth was revealed, but not the kind of truth you insinuated. I thought Hank's diaries on McCain crashed and burned, but this one incinerated before it even got on the runway.
I have to echo Mac on this, Bill. You should think twice before linking to liberal partisan hacks like RawStory. Or at least do your own homework.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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)(1) The night before presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) left for Afghanistan, Iraq and Western Europe for a tour of US bases overseas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a cable to US missions forbidding them from holding events for presidential candidates or arrange meetings for them.
Is the above true or false?
(2) Rice issued no such cable prior to foreign excursions by presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Is the above statement true or false?
(3) Rice made an effort in her cable to distance herself from claims that her decision might have been influenced by politics.
Is the above statement true or false?
We can argue the inferences all day (and night) but my diary simply states these facts.
Also, why was Secretary Rice worried that her staff might not already know the law? Why did they need a last second reminder?
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )(1) is true.
(2) is false
(3) is a matter of opinion, not fact
I suggest you get your facts straight, and I suggest that you make a better effort at distinguishing between what is fact and what is opinion. It makes for better diary writing.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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| parent )where does it say Condi sent a similar message before McCain's last trip?
As for getting "my" facts straight, I haven't claimed anything to be true or false, at least within my own personal knowledge. I report what is being said and we discuss.
(1) - True
(2) - You say false but your link does not back you up (at least without the text of the other telegram)
(3) - Opinion? Sure and isn't that fair game?
And I still don't see how the "facts" set forth in the diary are clearly erroneous.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )The last sentences:
As for "fair game", you tried to portray opinion as fact. I don't call that "fair game", I call it a disingenuous and a dishonest form of argument. In retrospect, you would have been better off if you puts "facts" in scare quotes to begin with.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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| parent )2nd to last paragraph.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )If they are indeed substantially the same, then this was blown out of proportion, except that Condi could have pre-empted all of this by adding
"Fully consistent with my prior communication concerning John McCain" at the beginning of her Obama telegram.
If they are substantially the same I will stand down from "petty" even if she handled the entire matter in a clumsy fashion.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )but something tells me I'm not going to get it. You can either believe the State Department spokesman or not, but even if the other telegram never existed the one cited in the Times does not in itself prove the 2 candidates were treated differently. It only alleges a cable went out for one and not the other, which the State Department says is not true.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )told to hand a US Senator the Yellow Pages so he can rent a bus isn't going to help very much.
I can just see Barack on those embassy phones. "Yeah, um, Hallo? Ich möchte ein Reisebus mieten? Ja? Werden Sie Amex akzeptieren ? Nein? Warum? Denn ich kein Deutscher bin? Nein, Ich Bin Ein Berliner! Ja freilich!"
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| parent )no sitting US Senator, former US Senator, or future US Senator arranges their own bus rental. That's why they have people.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )telegram from Condi Rice. That would make for better responses.
C'mon, this De Minimis business sounds like some idiot trying to do his own divorce work pro-se. It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing. It's partisan. Tell them where to rent a bus, as if Obama doesn't already have the mayor of Berlin clearing the Tiergarten for him. She sure didn't say "De Minimis" about McCain's visit.
This is more than Matter of Opinion. It's just squawking from Condi Rice with her panties in a bunch, making sure her underlings extend no more courtesy than is absolutely necessary. Throwing him a copy of the International Yellow Pages. Eet eez to larf.
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| parent )The CNN cite said this:
Condi's not a lawyer, so I don't know what context she meant to convey "de minimis", and neither do you. The State of Department may have its own nomenclature and jargon and definitions. I don't know one way or the other, and neither do you. Without knowing more, it seems reasonble to me that the definition should be taken broadly. But it was interesting looking up the term, and I'm finding your whole line of argument to be bordering on de minimis, or trivial to be more basic about it.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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| parent )I'm tired of you sending me off on wild goose chases to document my claims.
As for this "De Minimis" doctrine, stop with the sophistry already. I've laid out the case for this malapropism completely. De Minimis applies to fringe benefits or to miniscule infractions of any sort.
What she wanted to say, but lacked the vocabulary was "ne quid nimis"
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| parent )because I didn't ask you to back up anything.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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| parent )...is never a good idea.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/21/rice.candidates/
Notice also, the cables were only reminding the embassies:
“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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)Wow. Just wow.
From his bio:
I dunno if fighting "aggro" drug criminals is part of his job at the State Department, but it looks like enlightening haters is.
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| parent )Boy, this one's deteriorated from supposed proof of official State Department favoritism to analysis of the background of its spokespeople. A mudslide, IOW. Mac said it best: relying on lefty attack dog sites (or rightie ones, for that matter) for facts to build a diary on is alwasy a risk.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )who seems to be over in sunny Yalta, enjoying himself.
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| parent )but the relevance to this diary is - what?
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| parent )Here he is, Spreadin' Democracy to the Rubes, getting quite the write-up. It's really quite nauseating, but I suppose we can sneak this one in under the wire, in Karl's role as newly-minted private citizen and intrepid Foreign Policy Dude over at Fox News.
It's entirely relevant. There's Karl, with the U.S. Ambassador William Taylor, chatting up Pinchuk. But then again, Pinchuk isn't much on hard hitting investigations either, which may explain Karl's presence over in the Ukraine.
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| parent )You let loose with a diatribe against Rove; when I questioned it's relevance, you come up with some new cites to show he attended a Ukrainian conference that Harper's doesn't like, and that a US Ambassador was also there. So what? This diary is about Bill White's attempt to shore up a leftie blogpost against Rice, and how the tide is dissolving his sandcastle. I get that you don't like Rove on Fox, but that's irrelevant here. And anyone who's seen him knows that Rove sucks as a broadcaster, so it's not even news.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )Especially since the official senate.gov website of Chuck Hagel (NE-R) has stated that the trip is CODEL.
And of course, finding a State Department staffer to say:
"Nope, we did nothing wrong. Move along quietly."
Establishes beyond all doubt that State in fact did nothing wrong. ;-)
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Just wow.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )to send that mesage the day before Obama's trip was horrible political theater, with no upside I can see either for Condi, State, John McCain or the GOP.
It's like fouling a player while he dunks the basketball, but not stopping the dunk.
A month before, or immediately after Obama's return? Hey, no problem.
Or, if she had said over the weekend "These rules will take effect August 1, 2008" perhaps the media narrative would have been her graciousness and Obama getting unfair assistance while abroad.
Condi's actions here were NOT illegal, unethical or perhaps not even inappropriate.
Just utterly tone deaf concerning the political theater aspects of all this.
And a politically tone deaf Secy of State is a bug, not a feature.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )No, now it's beyond 'wow'.
[shakes head]
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )It seems to be cropping up here with indecent frequency. What does it mean, precisely? Nothing, of course. It's just what people say when they don't have a valid response.
Yeah. Wow. So surprising, that Condi Rice would resort to the Latin de minimis in her telegram. It is, of course, typical of her to misuse the term, the whole phrase is "de minimis non curat praetor", the lawmaker does not concern himself with trivial things.
But then again, Condi Rice didn't take Latin. She's a Russian scholar, from the old school which found itself suddenly irrelevant with the fall of the Soviet Union. Under her wise guidance, the de minimis doctrine was applied to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, a matter too trivial to be accounted for while she was National Security Advisor. Now she's been promoted, in some recapitulation of Twain's old story "Luck", the tale of Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby, V.C., K.C.B., etc., etc., etc. rise to the top.
Never in the history of the State Department have we seen a more tone-deaf, arrogant and incompetent Secretary of State. Under her wise guidance, and against the will of Colin Powell, L Paul Bremer ruined Iraq for all practical purposes. That she would not turn around like some sea lawyer with a copy of Blackstone to use "de minimis" as if she understood the term is worthy of a "Wow" all its own.
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| parent )"Wow" is...
...well, it's the only possible response to your post.
Just wow.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )Here's my last remark about "de minimis":
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.
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| parent )It's just about the only response to a guy with his pants down around his ankles, who then insists on betting his shirt.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )And I'm calling you on it.
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| parent )“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )Cheers!
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Senator Hagel's official web site
Not CODEL was the purported basis for Secretary Rice being petty, right?
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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)Your diary didn't even raise this issue - I did. You posted the simple claim that Rice (who I'm no fan of) was singling out Obama for mistreatment, based on the fact that she didn't send a memo to the embassies etc. before McCain's last trip. Then dwelled on the fact that she wouldn't say who she is voting for, as if that were some form of indictment.
In your own cite Rice refers to "candidates", meaning both of them. In all of the huge pre-trip publicity for what apparently is now being called Obama's "Tour of Duty" (I am not making this up), I never saw it referred to as a Congressional delegation; if fact, I didn't even know he was taking Hagel and what's-his-name along - did you? We could go back and see when McCain went to Iraq last, who was with him, and whether it was in fact a congressional delegation (I recall that it was), etc. Or you could come up with some proof that McCain was treated then better than Obama is being treated now by the State Dept. Got any of that?
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )with the added advantage the dog will not eat the truffle.
Smear, smear, smear. We know you don't like Obama. Give it a rest. Lots of people do like Obama, I consider myself more circumspect than to outright attack McCain, though I've pointed out dumb things he's said. Condi Rice and the WH have treated Obama's trip differently than the McCain trip, that much is beyond doubt. McCain's come out publicly to yell at Obama for trying to use the Brandenburger Tor as a backdrop, though he never wanted to use it, knowing its historical import. The Brandenburger Tor is a goddamn non-issue, Angela Merkel knows it, McCain knows it, everyone seems to know it but you.
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| parent )Pointing out that Obama is travelling to give a major campaign speech in Germany as part of a supposed congressional delegation to examine the tactical situation in Iraq is, according to you, "smear, smear, smear", and an"outright attack on Obama"? When did you become so sensitive? IIRC, some of your posts contain viscious, cutting descriptions of various pols you dislike - posts I like reading for the creativity of characterizations.
The whole Condi favoratism meme dissolved into dust with Mac's quote above. Anyone who bit on it should remember his point about buying into stories spun on left-wng blogs without doing the backgrounder. IOW what you said was"beyond doubt" was flat wrong. Live and learn.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )and nothing gets said. McCain twits Obama about not going over to see the situation on the ground. Duly noted. Now that he's going to draw a crowd, something McCain didn't manage, but then again, he's perceived rightly or wrongly as in the Bush camp.
Now this isn't quite fair. McCain is not in the Bush camp. Bush smeared him within an inch of his life, way back when in South Carolina, remember that whole mess? I do. Look at McCain, the poor old guy, wincing every time he gets within rock-throwing distance of GWB. He clearly detests George Bush, and he's not getting a fair break. McCain and Obama are their own men, we need to get past lumping Bush and McCain together. As I understand it, before the campaign, Obama and McCain were on good terms, especially when you consider they're two of the most bipartisan members of the Senate.
Look, we have the telegram. We know Condi used this legalism "de minimis" inappropriately. I think you're a lawyer, aren't you? If so, you understand the doctrine of "de minimis", it's mostly used to round off small issues. But more importantly, it's used in copyright and patent law: I can't just rephrase Lincoln's Inaugural and copyright it as BlaiseP's Wonderful Speech.
Are you getting the drift here? This De Minimis telegram was an embarrassingly stupid thing to send to our diplomatic mission.
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| parent )The diary claims that Obama has been singled out for the cold shoulder treatment, in a way that McCain never was. IOW, a claim of favoritism for the Republican candidate. That claim was bsed on a misstatement in a liberal blog to the effect that a telegram was sent when Obama went on tour, but not when McCain did several months ago. That turned out to be false, so the claim of different treatment fails, and so does the premise the diary was based on.
That's really all there is to it; Rice's niceties or lack of same are irrelevant. If you want to claim she's been a mediocre or even a terrible SoS, be my guest; I won't defend her. Though I might contrast her to Madeleine Albright. nor am I going to claim that State has any class, regardless of the Administration it "serves" under. the rare glimpse of honor and strategic thinking over there only highlights the general incompetence and feather-bedding that's an institutional legacy. A few steps up from the UN maybe, but only a few.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )It may well be that McCain's junket got the same shabby treatment from Ms. Rice, but that's not been demonstrated. And frankly it doesn't matter much in the larger scheme of things. Someone leaked the sleazy De Minimis telegram.
Rice's behavior is relevant here, if only because I say it's relevant to me. Rice sounds like Ko-Ko:
And that Nisi Prius nuisance, who just now is rather rife,
The Judicial humorist — I've got him on the list!
All funny fellows, comic men, and clowns of private life —
They'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed.
And apologetic statesmen of a compromising kind,
Such as — What d'ye call him — Thing'em-bob, and likewise — Never-mind,
And 'St— 'st— 'st— and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who —
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.
But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list,
For they'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!
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| parent )Obama.
Who was hurt by the memo leak?
Rice, Bush and to some degree, McCain.
Who leaked the memo to benefit Obama and hurt the others?
[blank for you to fill in]: __________________
Rice's behavior is relevant here, if only because I say it's relevant to me.
OK, sure.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )Some folks think leaking the names of CIA operatives is also a great idea. Others fall on their swords, like that poor schnook Scooter Libby, to protect their superiors. To be sure, that's not exactly an answer to your question, it's just me doing the Tu-Quoque Dance around the subject of who leaked this and why. It's obvious why this memo got leaked, and frankly, I wouldn't have done it. I despise tale-tellers of all sorts. I sign 85P forms and non-disclosure agreements and I abide by them. A "leak" could land me in jail.
And yes, it is relevant to me. It might not be relevant to you, and you've been good enough to admit you carry no water for Ms. Rice. Fair enough. I find the "de minimis" phrase very silly. I believe you're an attorney, therefore I imagine you hear a bushel of nonsense from self-styled lawyers. As an aficionado of Latin and all its derived languages, I have no patience with those who would affect Latin-isms, as if they had a Juris Doctor.
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| parent )He just did what Presidents do-
“It is not going to be a political speech,” said a senior foreign policy adviser, who spoke to reporters on background. “When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech, it is not a political speech or a political rally.
“But he is not president of the United States,” a reporter reminded the adviser.
“He is going to talk about the issues as an individual … not as a candidate, but as an individual, as a senator,” the adviser added.
So you see, talking about issues as an individual and as a Senator isn’t political, and in case that doesn’t clear it up for you-
“The answer is that, of course, any event outside of a (congressional delegation trip) is a campaign event. But it is not a political rally. He will not engage his American political opponents. It is a speech to our allies and the people of Europe and the world. And as such, we wanted it to be open to the public and not just invited guests.”
So it is a campaign event, but not a political rally. Any questions?
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )Let's not carry this too far: Hatch Act doesn't prevent anything even close to what Obama's doing. Stop acting as if this is anything other than exactly what it is, Obama acting like a US Senator on a junket.
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| parent )the ones carrying this too far are the ones who assert McCain received different treatment than Obama.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )a bar code scanner worked or was that merely an urban legend that stuck?
Or did Saddam's soldiers rip premature infants from Kuwaiti incubators or was that fabricated by a Washington PR firm?
Did Bill Clinton's staff really steal all the "W" from White House keyboards (IIRC, OMB later said there was no evidence of that)
Did Condi violate protocol? I dunno but her timing in sending that cable was lousy (unless the text of the McCain cable truly is comparable).
And of course who can forget forged Niger yellow cake memos.
Yum! Delicious yellow cake!
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )according to an OMB audit, which is the final word AFAIC regardless of what people claim they saw back then. I think no.2's been proven to be a fabrication but can't be sure. The Niger memos are still being translated from the original East Kalahari click language they were composed in.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )So Washington is run by a bunch of incompetent boobs, film at 11. But I don't see how your laundry list proves that the State Department treated the two candidates differently. In fact, all we have is a State Department official who leaked the cable saying one thing, and the spokesman for the State Department saying another. It's he said/she said + some wild imaginations.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )and we can talk.
Otherwise, Condi conduct help create an appearance of un-even handed-ness whether or not any actual un-even handed-nedd occurred.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )I lost the matchbook with Condi's number written on it, aand the Foggy Bum phone system is in French.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )It's your credibility, not his.
Seriously, this diary should have been updated 4 hours ago (well really about 20 hours ago if you bothered to check). This is getting beyond ridiculous.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )I linked to Raw Story which lifted from the Washington Times which got a leak from the State Department.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )I can just base diaries off links to Michelle Malkin or Hugh Hewitt as proof of Obama's malfeasance, and when ever an Obama supported calls the facts in the links into question I can can just respond-
whut? I just linked to the story, it's got nothing to do with me.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )that fact changes the story. I agree with that.
But prior to that being asserted by the State Department staffer, what evidence was there concerning the existence of a second telegram? And if there was a previous McCain telegram, where is it? What does it say? When was it sent?
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Objectively it would be a step below half-baked and far below well done. RS didn't paraphrase the WT story; it was used as a poin of departure for a rant. Which you expanded by acting as if Rice's refusal to state who she will vote for was proof of guilt.
Anyway, time to move on, eh? I know you've got a long ammo belt, so let fly.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )or is this simply your offering up a lesson learned?
In which case I would agree that a diary based on factual evidence emanating from the Washington Times is perhaps always going to be off to a shaky start.
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )posted in wrong place
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )The fact that the 550 tons of yellowcake was shipped from Iraq to Canada was never remotely contested. Nice to know you're thinking of me, though.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )of your source links for the Yellowcake!! diary is all.
And why haven't you fixed the front page vote thingie yet? I didn't expect the election of a conservative majority to result in the place falling apart quite so quickly.
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )See - I'm learning politics in this crucible.
Heh - you got a lot more out of those links than I did.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )take into consideration the sources for one claim (a leaker passing information through the Washington Times and Raw Story) and the sources for the other (a State Department spokesman quoted in CNN) and decide who you're more comfortable believing.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )over Obama's foreign travels seems perfectly plausible to me.
Related, the idea that Condi Rice might respond in a petty and foolish fashion also seems perfectly plausible to me.
The truth - in this case - awaits the release of the prior McCain telegram.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )the diary doesn't read as if the 'truth awaits'.
It reads as if the info. + sources are unassailable.
When serious + reasonable doubt is shed on the factual basis of a diary it's been SOP to throw in an edit.
Personally I think that's a good thing in general + would be in this case in particular.
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| parent )that if your own biases are confirmed by less than reputable sources then that should give you pause, but maybe not.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )The appearance was only visible to those predisposed to look for it in the first place.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )is this: Bush41 was astonished by the signature recognition software, not the bar code scanner.
I like Bush41. Not a perfect man, but an honorable man. I also like Jeb Bush, too, for many of the same reasons. This business about Liberals hating Republicans on principle just isn't true. Jeb and his dad are good people, don't agree with about half they do, but they're just decent men. I don't like Poppy's other kid, he's trouble and always was.
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| parent )It explains the scanner episode rather well. I also agree with your assessment of Bush the Wiser
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Talk about bad timing.
--“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
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| parent )to support- "Condi Rice and the WH have treated Obama's trip differently than the McCain trip, that much is beyond doubt."
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )as evidence of different treatment. That's straight from the horse's mouth.
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| parent )the State Department Spokesman from Mac's link-
He said it had "pretty much the same" information as the latest cable.
Granted, Mac's link is just CNN, but I have yet to see anything (apart from wild speculation) that there was in fact different treatment.
--"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )I never said (IIRC) "illegal" or "unethical" and while Condi Rice did Obama no actual harm, the timing of all this (even using the more recent State Department explanations) further fuels the appearance of petty use of the bureaucracy to send a spiteful signal.
Condi's actions here very probably are entirely within proper protocol however they do constitute a minor "own goal" in the realm of political theater.
The truth of this is revealed by Condi's refusal to openly endorse John McCain:
Illegal or unethical? I never said that and have no desire to defend that ground.
Petty and stupid? I stand by those words, no backing or filling needed.
To prove me wrong, you need to explain how McCain benefits from her actions and the timing of the message sent to State Department employees world-wide.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Do you think it's appropriate for a member of the State Department to openly endorse a presidential candidate? Could it be that the State Department has an explicit policy that prohibits such overt political endorsements? Assuming there is such a policy (and I think there is), why would the Secretary of State flout it? Also, since we're talking about federal employees who serve and act under the president's direction and policy, couldn't Petraeus make an endorsement? Maybe you could write a diary and conclude that the truth of this is revealed by Petraeus' refusal to openly endorse McCain.
--"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead." -- Paris Hilton
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| parent )proves the truth of anything. And you're going to have to explain how the burden's shifted to me to prove anything. This is your diary, and it's melting, melting.refu
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )Useful for supporting any number of theories, including:
--Condi secretly is fanatically in favor of McCain;
--Condi secretly is fanatically opposing McCain;
--Condi is involved in a secret lesbian love triangle with Martina Navratilova and Michelle Wie, and why oh why haven't religious conservatives abandoned the Republican Party in a huff over it? ]:-)
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| parent )sorry, just wanted to see that show up in Recent Comments.
--I blame it all on the Internet
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| parent )If Condi were in a lesbian love triangle?
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Move Michelle to the front?
--Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio.
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| parent )Purely for investigative purposes, I'm gonna Google lesbian love triangle every 30 seconds just to see how long it takes for this comment to show up.
Hey; somebody's got to.
--Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham
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| parent )"I can no more disown him [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] than I can disown the black community"- Senator Barack Obama, March 18, 2008
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| parent )He's already got adoring throngs waiting to line up in the streets.
Obama ought to have a thorough housecleaning over at the State Department and I'm sure he will. It can't come soon enough.
Berlin's mayor entertains a delicious feud with that old trout Angela Merkel. Since the Brandenburg Gate was ruled out as the backdrop for Obama's one European speech, the mayor relocated the speech to the Siegessäule, just down the street in the center of Tiergarten, a far better location for the crowds sure to appear. I have provided a nice image for your benefit.
Since Obama's only public speech in Europe at Berlin's Victory Column is a public, free event without much prior notice, Berlin officials are not quite sure how many people to expect. Estimates range from 10,000 to one million. (If the weather is nice, my guess is the number would be closer to one million than to 10,000.) Officials are in a hurry to prepare the area around Großer Stern, which will be open to the public as of 4 pm.
Siegessäule... who would have thought? It is poetic justice, for it's one of the few Albert Speer monuments to survive WW2. It really is a lovely thing, and it's always been paired with the Brandenburg Gate, for both monuments feature statues of Victoria. There's no need to ape the speeches of Kennedy and Reagan, this is a new era. The Cold War is over. Germany's long since been reunited. Now Obama gets easily the nicest, most open space in all of Berlin, and Unter den Linden is the one of the handsomest streets in all of Europe.
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)No other president ever has. It continues to act like an independent duchy, free to spit in the eye of whoever's in the Oval Office rather than perturb the careers of the people there.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )over here
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| parent )Your link (complete with a "Take Back The White House!!!" banner) copped the story from the Washington Times, which said this:
Your response?
--Rust never sleeps.
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)my favorite Dilbert cartoon involving a salesperson selling office equipment. The final frame text is as follows:
This so-called explanation is finely spun nonsense.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Nuff' said.
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )"Senate office" - not "campaign"
"Congressional delegation" - not Rock Star Tour.
Thanks for the help.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )Senator Obama is traveling to Iraq and elsewhere with a Congressional delegation that includes "Sens. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska."
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| parent )apparently I look like someone who just fell off the turnip truck.
From your cite, which nowhere mentions a "Congressional delegation":
I'll keep playing if you guys will.
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )website.
--. . . and it looks as though they’ll punish the monkey and let the organ grinder go . . .
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| parent )Second link (there were two, you know):
Here are a few more with the phrase: Google News.
And just so's you don't get the idea the MSM is throwing that phrase around without any regard for official protocol, "CODEL" appears to be the term of art for these things. And for better or worse (but in this case, for the better!), the musical stylings of Obama and the Wannabee Veeps is, apparently, an actual, official CODEL.
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| parent )Seriously, when did you first hear that this was supposed to be a "congressional delegation"? And if the delegation is going to see what the situation is on the ground in Iraq, what are Obama (and Hagel, presumably) doing in Germany?
--Rust never sleeps.
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| parent )The Europe part of the trip is not a CODEL.
And here's where I get to reel you back in:
But then, McCain's trip to ColOmbia and Mexico, which didn't feature a Presidential Candidate Cable, wasn't a CODEL, either.
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| parent )http://theforvm.org/diary/bill-white/condi-rice-nonsense#comment-104437
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )"How is the world ruled, and how do wars start? Diplomats tell lies to journalists and then believe what they read." -- Karl Kraus, 1909
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| parent )SNAFU
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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)