Bill Clinton has been in hiding. Not literally, of course. But in practice–totally. Since his dispiriting turn in the 2008 elections–offending Ted Kennedy, calling Obama a “fairy tale,” bumbling in South Carolina–the former president made the hard call: He volunteered to leave the public spotlight so that his wife could become Secretary of State. And [...]
I’ve never been very interested in business news, always had difficulty remembering the difference between puts and calls, much less the definition of a credit-default swap. I did have a strong sense that high finance had wandered away from investing in things–in actual commodities, in new products and services–and had lurched toward creating paper profits…in [...]
A White House aide tells me that President Obama issued a clear order Tuesday night, just before 6 p.m., when his national security aide Denis McDonough told him there had been an earthquake in Haiti: He told McDonough that he wanted an aggressive and highly coordinated response. Aggressive it has been. He was briefed twice [...]
More publicity genius from the House of Ailes. After a nearly an hour spent commiserating about how hard it is to be conservative in the public sphere, Fox Hosts Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin announced that they want to co-host Saturday Night Live. “NBC, call us,” said Beck, during his 5 p.m. show. Beck bet [...]
Amy: Per your post below, Swampland commenter Trifecta55 has a proposal for how we should deal with this: Don’t you mean “radical cleric” Pat Robertson Michael? . I am semi serious. When crazy muslim preachers get that title, why don’t those of you in the media use that on Pat Robertson. I am serious, and [...]
Sigh. For years, I’ve been pleading with people to ignore Pat Robertson when he spouts off with his crazy-ass explanations for disasters (among other things). But because he can always be identified as a televangelist and former GOP presidential candidate (i.e., a guy with at least something of an audience), it doesn’t matter how many [...]
Pat Robertson, televangelist and former Republican candidate for president, explains why the earthquake happened in Haiti: A two-century old deal with the devil. Robertson made the comments on the 700 Club, after a report about helping victims in the island nation. A few years back, Robertson linked Hurricane Katrina to legalized abortion in the United [...]
This is not a good thing to be saying right before a closer-than-expected election: Despite that, there is a subdued, almost dispassionate quality to her public appearances, which are surprisingly few. Her voice is not hoarse from late-night rallies. Even yesterday, the day after a hard-hitting debate, she had no public campaign appearances in the [...]
There are a number of ways that you can give money to help the humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti. (The White House suggests giving to the Red Cross International Response Fund, or through groups recommended by the Center for International Disaster Information.) There are also a number of ways to get ripped off. From our [...]
Abu Muquwama, aka Andrew Exum, has a smart post about the rather defensive op-ed piece by CIA Director Leon Panetta earlier this week about the suicide bomber who penetrated Forward Operating Base Chapman at the end of last month. I’d add this: The system of After Action Reports (AAR) and Lesson Learned has really improved [...]
