Bill Clinton facilitator-in-chief
Tina Brown of the
Washington Post offers an effusive tribute to former President Bill
Clinton and his recent world leader facilitation effort:
Welcome to Planet Clinton, an interconnected world that's a solar system and
a wormhole away from Bush country. Here Shimon Peres and Oprah Winfrey are
just members of the audience. Barbra Streisand looks like any peppy matron
taking an extension course. Brad Pitt's staccato hair and Angelina Jolie's
duvet lips (sighted in the audience of Jeffrey Sachs's poverty panel) are
reduced to a responsible human scale.
Wandering out of a kitchen exit I found myself in a milling informal think
tank with the former president expounding to the two guys who founded Google
and a sprightly "Planet of the Apes" figure who turned out to be Mick Jagger.
Unlike Davos and other high-octane gabfests, however, Clinton's conference
wasn't just about elephant bumping. For every VIP there was some earnest
activist or intellectual who has caught his eye.
Clinton seems to have found his role as facilitator-in-chief, urging us to
give up our deadly national passivity and start thinking things through for
ourselves. Commandeering the role of government through civic action
suddenly feels like a very empowering notion -- the alternative being to
find oneself stranded in a flood waving a shirt from a rooftop.
Iowa 2008 Hopefuls Update
The activity in Iowa has not slowed with Katrina or Rita. Iowa’s own Tom
Vilsack has taken to blaming oil companies for high gas prices. Here is
part of his comments on the
Democrat Leadership Council:
All too often, conservative ideologues who now honeycomb the halls of our
great public buildings in Washington have promoted the idea that government
is an alien institution that illegitimately confiscates and redistributes
resources to no great purpose other than sustaining our armed forces at the
absolute minimum of effectiveness. These ideologues have viewed government,
even the federal government they control from top to bottom, as a necessary
evil to be tolerated, an obstacle to be overcome and undermined, a "beast:"
to be starved. And worse yet, when their plans to dismantle government are
thwarted, they tend, not surprisingly, to view federal agencies as little
more than a vast patronage opportunity for fellow-partisans who don't much
believe in the missions they are supposedly pledged to perform.
The federal government is reporting that Iowa’s Department of Human Services
needs to repay $6.2 million in misspent mental health dollars.
Former Sen. John Edwards (and former Democrat V.P. candidate) was in
Iowa as the featured speaker at Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual Steak Fry
fund-raiser. Edwards brought his war on poverty message to the faithful.
There was a lot of talk that Katrina could highlight his issue and give him
a boost towards the presidency. Edwards also addressed the AFL-CIO
convention and the Farmers Union convention. By all accounts, Edwards is in
the best shape in Iowa at this time.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will be the Democrat
Party’s keynote at their November fall fund-raiser. Yes, Daschle is
considering running for President. Here is what big-time Democrat Ed Skinner
of Des Moines said, "I think he’s doing exactly what he ought to be doing.
He ought to be keeping his options open."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TEN) will be the keynote speaker
at the Iowa Republican Ronald Reagan Dinner Oct. 22.
Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MAS) will be stopping by the Iowa Christian
Coalition on Oct. 29th.
Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) was in Iowa on his second visit recently
reminding Iowans that the response to 9-11 was better than Louisiana’s
response to Katrina. Diane Crookam Johnson a prominent money raiser in Iowa
Republican circles has signed up with Pataki.
Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-ARK) recently was in Iowa and made a trifecta
of addressing the Polk County fund-raiser; made Iowa Press on public
television; and T.V. Anchor John Bachman’s NBC Des Moines affiliate’s "News
Maker Show." He is the first to make both Iowa Press and the News Maker
Show.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KAN) while attending the Polk County Republican
fund-raiser capped off his showing by jamming with the band at the event.
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-COL) was back in Iowa and in the news. Tancredo
also attended the Polk County fund-raiser. He also made the news because of
his pension to "sound off’ like Iowa Rep. Steve King. Tancredo said that he
has the advantage that a lot of times the public thinks that when he says
something outrageous that it was Rep. King that said it because they look a
lot alike.
Roberts approved, full Senate to vote
With a vote of 13 to 5, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved John
Roberts' nomination as the next Supreme Court chief justice. Full Senate
vote will take place next week.
The five opposing votes were: Diane Feinstein (CA), Joseph Biden (DE),
Edward Kennedy (MA) Charles Schumer (NY) and Dick Durbin (IL).
According to the AP news article Roberts is a shoe-in for Chief Justice [LINK]:
Roberts' confirmation as the 109th Supreme Court justice is all but assured
because most of the Senate's 55 Republicans are supporting him and Democrats
have decided not to filibuster his nomination.
Hillary Clinton will vote 'no' on Roberts
As the Senate Judicial Committee sends Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee
John Roberts to the Senate floor for a vote, Sen. Hillary Clinton has
already declared she'll vote no. Excerpted below is Clinton's statement
[courtesy of
DrudgeReport.com]:
The nomination of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United
States is a matter of tremendous consequence for future generations of
Americans. It requires thoughtful inquiry and debate, and I commend my
colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee for their dedication to making
sure that all questions were presented and that those outside of the Senate
had the opportunity to make their voices heard. After serious and careful
consideration of the Committee proceedings and Judge Roberts's writings, I
believe I must vote against his confirmation. I do not believe that the
Judge has presented his views with enough clarity and specificity for me to
in good conscience cast a vote on his behalf.
[click
here to read full statement]
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