First thoughts: Cheney strikes back
Posted: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 9:22 AM by Mark Murray
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First Thoughts
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Cheney strikes back, again: The political back-and-forth over the Obama administration’s release of those interrogation memos now seems like something out of a “24” episode. Conservatives argue that the interrogations, including waterboarding, made the country safer. Some Democrats, on the other hand, want to prosecute the authors of those memos. And a former controversial vice president -- Dick Cheney -- who previously has contended that the current administration has made the country less safe, now says he has asked the CIA to declassify interrogation memos that apparently show successful results from the interrogation techniques. Indeed, in his interview last night on FOX, Cheney not only called for those memos to be declassified, he blasted Obama for “cozying up” to Hugo Chavez (“I think it's not helpful… I think it sort of sets the wrong standard”), and for what he said was Obama apologizing “profusely” overseas for America’s past actions (“The world outside there … will be quick to take advantage of a situation if they think they're dealing with a weak president or one who is not going to stand up and aggressively defend America's interests”). Wow, did a former vice president just suggest that a sitting American president is weak? Is there a precedent to this in modern American history?
*** Firing up both bases: Politically, as we’ve said before, Democrats are probably more than happy for Cheney to be back in the news as the defender of the Bush administration. As one GOP strategist tells the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, Cheney “is a face of the past. A face of conflict and too polarizing. So, not a good face of the party." In fact, a December 2008 NBC/WSJ poll showed Cheney with a fav/unfav rating of 21%-58%. But this entire Cheney vs. Obama debate on interrogation fires up both bases -- and thus makes for perfect cable chatter. Yet what are people in the middle thinking? The answer to that question will tell you the short-term winner of this debate. One other question we have: Does Cheney actually have the ability to declassify CIA memos?
*** Obama’s Project “Dave”: Republicans yesterday had a field day with Obama’s request for his cabinet secretaries to cut $100 million from their budgets. As the Republicans pointed out, that request amounted to just .0025% of Obama’s budget. “Budget analysts promptly burst out laughing,” the New York Times writes. “A reporter declared at the White House briefing that the initiative would become fodder for late-night talk show hosts.” (Couldn’t have Obama had asked each department to cut $100 million, pushing the total request above $1 billion?) But as Republicans laugh at Obama’s paltry request, the DNC fires back with a Web video showing GOP leaders supporting increased spending during Bush’s presidency.
*** Bill and Ted’s national service adventure: After Ted Kennedy endorsed Obama for president during the Democratic primary season last year, Bill Clinton became furious at his old friend. But the two men will be back together today when 1) they meet with President Obama in the Oval Office at 2:45 pm ET to discuss national service, and when 2) Obama signs the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (which reauthorizes AmeriCorps) into law at 4:00 pm. Unlike the debates over interrogation and spending, national service is a feel-good subject that crosses party lines. And just askin’, but if Obama can’t get young people involved in national service, then who can? Melody Barnes of the White House, Alan Solomont (chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service), and Stephen Goldsmith (the corporation’s vice chair) hold a conference call at 10:00 am to discuss the national service legislation. Also today, Obama meets with King Abdullah of Jordan and presents the Commander-in-Chief trophy to the Naval Academy’s football team.
*** Geithner back on the Hill: On Capitol Hill beginning at 10:00 am ET, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testifies before the congressional panel looking at TARP. Per excerpts of his prepared remarks, Geithner will say: "Our central obligation as your government is to ensure that the financial system is stable, that there is no bank run and that confidence remains in our long term outlook. To that end we have made significant progress. But that is not enough. We must also ensure that a financial system which may be stable is not hurting the economy and deepening the recession. And we must ensure that the pace of recovery is not constrained. It must come about as quickly as possible.” Geithner’s testimony comes, the AP says, as the special inspector general for TARP “concluded in a 250-page quarterly report to Congress that a private-public partnership designed to rid financial institutions of their ‘toxic assets’ is tilted in favor of private investors and creates ‘potential unfairness to the taxpayer.’” With Geithner on the Hill today, we ask again: Why isn’t there a commission -- a la the 9/11 Commission -- investigating what happened to the U.S. economy?
*** No surrender: For a losing politician, the concession speech -- if gracious -- provides an opportunity to rise above the normal back-and-forth associated with a close and bitterly fought election and to look like a statesman. Whether it was Al Gore after losing by a few hundred votes in Florida, or John Kerry after losing by thousands of votes in Ohio, or John McCain after losing a race that forced him to run a more negative campaign than he probably planned, the concession speech prompted a similar reaction: If Gore/Kerry/McCain acted this way during the campaign, he might have won. But Norm Coleman isn't going to have that opportunity now that he's appealing his case to the Minnesota Supreme Court, further extending a contest that has lasted 168 days (24 weeks!) since Election Day. Coleman argues he's appealing to enfranchise 4,400 Minnesota voters; his critics contend he's doing it only to delay the inevitable. It's politics as usual -- something a concession speech rises above.
Countdown to Obama’s 100th day: 8 days
Countdown to NJ GOP primary: 42 days
Countdown to VA Dem primary: 49 days
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 196 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 560 days
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