ATIT Reheated (from 2005) George W. Bush's scandalous speech in Israel

By Pablo Fanque, Foreign Relations Ed.

[Listening to President Obama's "historic" speech in Israel today, which has received much acclaim  we remember back to a far less well-received speech by his predecessor]

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), has joined the flood of Democratic complaints about President Bush’s speech in Israel:

“This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset ... and make this kind of ridiculous statement.”— Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee

Speaking at the Knesset, The President said “some people” believe the United States “should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

"We have heard this foolish delusion before," Bush said. "As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Barack Obama joined in, accusing President Bush of "a false political attack" Thursday after Bush warned against appeasing terrorists.

Speaker of the House Pelosi tore into the President, saying Thursday that Bush's remarks were "beneath the dignity of the office of the president and unworthy of our representation" at the celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary.

Even Senator Hillary Clinton took the time to lambaste POTUS: "President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is both offensive and outrageous on the face of it, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy. This is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address and certainly to use an important moment like the 60th anniversary celebration of Israel to make a political point seems terribly misplaced. Unfortunately, this is what we’ve come to expect from President Bush."

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Vice Presidential debate: A net win for Biden, and a resurrection for Sarah Palin

By Pablo Fanque,

All This Is That National Affairs Editor

The Senator and Governor clashed in last night's debate on energy, drilling in Alaska, global warming, the wars in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, income taxes, The Failed Presidency (although they both took shots at 43 and Dick Cheney), corporate tax breaks and a number of other issues. They agreed on Israel (they're our peace-loving buddies) and same sex marriage (neither of them support it...the idiots).

Sarah Palin made a few minor mistakes, mispronounced the Afghanistan commander's name, and ignored many questions, but she absolutely outperformed expectations. It was like this was hardly the same woman we saw fumbling questions as harmless as what magazines she read in her Katy Couric interview.

Biden was clearly in better command of the facts and figures. He was less irritating, more charming, and yes, Presidential.

Palin brought up Alaska, her mayorship over and over, drilling and energy probably too often. She used the word "Maverick" about McCain and herself at least ten times during the debate. Finally, Biden explained at the end, how they weren't really mavericks at all on the issues that mattered, but were really just parading around in Maverick costumes.

Biden did not go over his time limits, did not bully or intimidate her, and made no verbal gaffes or infelicities. He was prime-time Smilin Joe, courtly, respectful and engaging. Unlike John McCain in the last debate, he often looked at the Governor and smiled (Palin to be fair also looked at him; she also mugged for the camera and winked). Biden was acidic in his excoriation of McCain's position on the Iraq war, and called him the "odd man out" for his refusal to accept a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Joe was good.

Sarah Palin, apparently at the urging of McCain officials, pronounced Nuclear Nukuler numerous times. She dropped the G from almost every gerund, and often used folksy vernacular like "betcha" instead of bet you, and even dog-gone-it.

They were mostly very civil, and spent their time attacking the other guy's Presidential candidate. Palin said Obama had voted to raise taxes 94 times. Biden's rebuttal disagreed with that number and trumped it: "by the same reckoning," he said, McCain voted "477 times to raise taxes."

I don't think The Governor changed anyone's mind. Biden may have changed a few. For either side, there was no net harm. With McCain-Palin slipping steadily in the polls, this can only mean real fireworks for next week's town hall Presidential debate at Belmont College in Nashville, and the October 15th domestic debate.

Finally, for all the talk about Gwen Ifull being a partisan and in the OPbama camp, she performed masterfully, treated each candidate very well, and did not lob any bombs Palin's way she wasn't tossing at Biden too. Unfortunately she never lobbed the gotcha bomb at Palin. I wonder if she felt constrained after all the controversy over her book and politics.

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Was it a tie? Obama and McCain survive to fight another day?

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

I hoped for more from the first Presidential Debate of the 2008 season. In the end, you'd have to call it a tie/dead heat/stalemate. The very fact it was a tie undoubtedly translates to a loss for McCain, who needed the win.

In this first, "foreign policy" debate it took over 30 minutes for the candidates--admittedly facing a national and world economic crisis--to actually get around to foreign policy issues. And when they did, Senator McCain failed to expose any real weakness in Senator Obama's grasp of foreign policy. McCain, now trailing in the tracking polls, needed a big win tonight. No cigar. McCain never seemed in control of his message; Obama never seemed to waver. McCain almost conceded the change issue to Obama. He never brought it up.

McCain accused Barack Obama of compiling "the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate" and accused him by my count seven times, in various forms, of being naive and clueless. For his part, Obama praised McCain too many times. And he let McCain's jabs stand when he should have counterpunched. He let McCain's comments on his 900 million in earmarks stand, when this was clearly one more case of inside baseball. McCain came off as an arrogant and cranky professor lecturing a clueless student. . .while Obama proved time and again his mastery of the facts of numerous and complex foreign policy issues. The new kid on the block relentlessly rattled off facts and figures on the devastating and costly war in Iraq. He didn't just say the war was wrong: he showed how the war was wrong, by proving we were fighting the wrong war.



Obama scored big points for accusing McCain of being wrong on Iraq, and for fighting the wrong war by ignoring the real issue of the growing presence of al Qaeda in Afghansitan and Pakistan. McCain did not rebut him.

Early in the debate, Obama refused to address an arcane point about the inner -workings of Senate committees because it was "inside baseball." However he left several of McCain's inside comments about earmarks stand, and didn't go after McCain on any of his own spending troubles when McCain tried to take the high road.

On the podium, they both looked fine (even McCain, who can look pretty spooky...he had an expert makeup job). It was mostly a tie, but McCain often came off as snarky, and was generally hunched over his podium in what came off--to me at least--as a hostile, closed off posture, while Obama was open and warm. He often turned and looked over at McCain, who refused to ever look directly at Obama.

Both candidates refused to take advantage of the nation's economic woes, and did not differ on much of substance, and, in fact, agreed that greed and deregulation that brought us to this lamentable state of affairs.

It was close to a stalemate...I'd give McCain a few more points for getting in unanswered jabs, and I'd give Obama points for showing grace an charm under fire. Obama absolutely looked Presidential, and I suspect that, even if you'd score this as a tie, Obama clearly showed he would be every bit--if not more--Presidential than John McCain. Following this debate, the populace now understands that Barack Obama could clearly hold his own with the likes of Putin, Chavez, or any foreign leader. This raises the stakes on the next debate. . .right through the roof!




Joe Biden made the rounds post-debate of numerous talk shows. Sarah Palin was, as is often the case, absent, under wraps, and silent. Their turn comes this upcoming week.
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A public service announcement from All This Is That

click to enlarge
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Sarah Palin blows an air kiss and Joe Biden catches it!

...Click to enlarge image...

If you look at the current (as of 3 PM PDT) Drudge Report page, you'll see Governor Palin blowing an air kiss. If you look at a photo of Senator "Smilin" Joe Biden on the same page, you'll see that it appears he caught the kiss. . .and loves it.
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