The Sunday talk shows open thread
If you’re home this morning watching the presidential front-runners on the Sunday gabfests and want to vent here, feel free.
I’m watching McCain on Fox News Sunday. He forced some jovial giggles when Chris Wallace played the clip of his mother’s “hold your nose” soundbite on C-SPAN. He said he loved her, but that she wasn’t an “expert” on politics, which makes one wonder why he allowed her to sit down with C-SPAN. He also invoked “Jack Kemp” and “Phil Gramm” a gazillion times. Which I suppose is his idea of “conservative outreach.”
Wallace brings on Hillary Clinton to say hello to McCain. They smiled warmly at each other and the friendly McCain turned into Miss Congeniality–he’s looking forward to a “respectful, but spirited” contest with her. They take her off. McCain’s back on.
He’s strong on Iraq–condemning the recent suicide bombings using mentally disabled women as evil.
No discussion of immigration or homeland security, as usual. But Wallace did ask him about the Super Bowl.
9:20am. Hillary’s turn. She’s got her trademark Mao-style jacket. She starts in on her Housing Rescue Plan. “At some point, we’ve got to have government action to solve these problems.”
When does she ever believe we don’t need governmet to solve problems?
Wallace moves to Iraq and plays the CNN debate soundbite where she answers “Bring the troops home” when asked if she wants to end the war or win it.
She sniffs at the surge. Wallace plays her soundbite trashing reports of success and asks: “Why are you so determined to declare defeat?” Hillary reels off all the problems in Iraq: “I personally believe there is no military solution.” Strawman. All of the architects of the surge have ALWAYS emphasized that the solution cannot be military alone.
Wallace asks about Bill Clinton’s role in her presidency. “How would you set up the White House to make clear who’s in charge?” HC: “Oh, I don’t think there would be any doubt about that.”
Wallace cites the NYT story on Bill Clinton’s dealings with Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra and the Kazakh government. Hillary gets rattled a bit. “That’s a one-sided story.” Snippily points out that “Dick Cheney also went to Kazakhstan and praised the regime.”
Ending on a chummy note, Hillary hopes “the New York team” wins both the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday.
Panel time. They’re discussing Obama-mentum, the Democrat dead heat, and whether he’s got enough juice to hold on. Juan Williams is trashing Obama’s chances.
They move to the Democrat VP game.
On the GOP side, Brit Hume blames conservatives/talk radio hosts for not rallying around Romney sooner. Bill Kristol rubs it in that now we have to live with McCain. There was good reason not to rally around Romney too soon. See here, for example. There may be a grain of truth in what Hume and Kristol say. But the Romney campaign also shares ample blame. As many of you pointed out during the Reagan Library debate, Romney passed up many ripe opportunities to slam McCain on core conservative issues. He hasn’t come through.
Related: Check out Mitt Romney’s interview with The Glenn and Helen podcast. FWIW, he promises to veto any gun control that comes across his desk.
***
Switching to Meet The Press. They’re showing Uncle Teddy’s Obama endorsement. Agh.
The talking heads are discussing Hillary’s war resolution vote and Wolf Blitzer’s gotcha moment. Mary Matalin rightly mocks Hillary for arguing that Bush is a dope and then taking the position on the Iraq war that she was “duped by The Dope.”
Makes a great Hillary ‘08 bumper sticker.
***
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos e-mails highlights from its Romney interview:
Romney on whether or not he would spend more of his personal fortune past Tuesday: “Of course. You know, I recognize that I’m not as well known as Senator McCain or Mayor Giuliani, or, for that matter, Fred Thompson.”
Romney on the McCain campaign: “McCain campaign does its very best to try and characterize what I believe, and I think you’ve found time and again that they have stretched, twisted or completely walked away from the truth.”
Our headliner this Sunday: former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) weighed in on his chances in the Super Tuesday races and how he plans to beat Sen. John McCain in these important states. Also, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). With Super Tuesday just days away, the ’08 Democratic presidential candidate joined George Stephanopoulos to discuss her prospects and strategy for these pivotal, final days.
On our roundtable, The American Prospect’s Robert Reich, Vanity Fair’s Dee Dee Myers, ABC News consultant Torie Clarke, and ABC News’ George Will joined Mr. Stephanopoulos to debate the week’s politics.
Here are some transcript highlights. Sunday snort-worthy: Hillary calling her illegal alien driver’s license position “consistent:”
STEPHANOPOULOS: Another issue in the debate, the other night, was this issue of a driver’s license for illegal immigrants. You now say that you are not for it. Senator Obama is for it.
And, yesterday, the largest Spanish language paper in the United States, in Los Angeles, “La Opinion,” cited it when they endorsed Barack Obama.
They said, “We were disappointed with Senator Clinton’s calculated opposition to driver’s licenses for the undocumented, which contrasts markedly from the forceful argument in support made by
Obama. We understand that this is an extremely controversial issue, but we believe there is only one right position and it is that of the Senator from Illinois.”Are you worried that this is going to hurt you in the Latino community?
CLINTON: No, because I think I have the right position. I think this is a diversion from what has to be comprehensive immigration reform. And I think, again, it is not a fair statement.
You know, I attempted to support my governor as he tried to do something that is, admittedly, controversial, but I said at the time it was not something that I supported.
When that didn’t work, it was very clear that, you know, my position has been consistent. I don’t think we should be giving driver’s licenses to people who are not documented.
You put so many difficult obstacles in the way here. You’re going to ask people in motor vehicle departments to basically overlook the immigration laws of America. You’re going to ask people to turn a blind eye and accept this form of identification.
I think that is not the right way to go. I believe we should be putting as much pressure on comprehensive immigration reform as possible.
And my supporters in California and in New York and across the country, Latino and others, understand exactly why this is the position we should be taking. And I intend to push for comprehensive immigration reform upon taking office as president…
…
And here’s Romney:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Now we turn to the Republican trying to defeat
John McCain, former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. He joins
us from Minneapolis this morning.And, Governor, let me begin by congratulating you. You won the
Maine caucuses last night. But we also see, in our new ABC News poll,
that John McCain is pulling away, nationally, 48 percent to 24
percent. He’s got big leads in the big states.How do you stop him from building up an insurmountable delegate
lead on Tuesday night?ROMNEY: Well, I think the answer is that you make sure, as you
go across the country, that you build the support among the base of
our party to remind them that this is a battle, in some respects, for
the heart and soul of the Republican Party, that, frankly, if we want
a party that is indistinguishable from Hillary Clinton on an issue
like illegal immigration, that we’re going to have John McCain as a
nominee. That’s the wrong way to go.Instead, I believe that you’re going to want to have somebody who
can show a contrast on issues like campaign finance reform, like
illegal immigration, like global warming. Senator McCain wants to add
about a 50 cent per gallon charge to gasoline for everybody in
America. I think those are the wrong directions.I think the mainstream members of my party are going to choose
somebody who stands for the same kind of principles that — well, that
built the house that Ronald Reagan built.And I think the voices of conservatism across the country, radio
talk show hosts, magazine columnists and so forth, who are
conservative mainstream Republicans, are coming out for me in record
numbers. And I think that’s what you saw in Maine yesterday.The kind of support that came from the caucus attendees, I think,
had to shock the McCain folks. Because they had both senators — both
Senator Collins and Senator Olympia Snowe were fighting very hard for
John McCain. And they were shocked that Republicans came out in
record numbers in the caucuses and said, no way, we’re not taking the
left turn in the Republican Party; we’re staying in the house that
Reagan built.STEPHANOPOULOS: You write about Rush Limbaugh and a lot of other
conservatives on talk radio, but many other conservatives are starting
to close ranks behind John McCain.STEPHANOPOULOS: There was a story in the New York Times just the
other day that showed Grover Norquist of American for Tax Reform
saying “McCain has moved in the right direction strongly and forcibly
on taxes.” Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, “I have no
residual issue with John McCain.” Richard Land, Southern Baptist
Convention — “He is strongly pro-life.”So it does seem the conservatives — and it’s backed in our poll
as well — are coming around to John McCain.ROMNEY: Well, he’s not wrong on every single issue. And of
course, there are going to be conservatives that point out the places
where he is within the mainstream of our party. On Iraq, for
instance. He and I agree on Iraq. So, of course, you’re going to
have positive comments. I made positive comments about Senator
McCain.But if you look at the issues that have defined our party over
the last several years, and particularly defined Senator McCain, they
range from drilling in ANWR, which he opposed; the Bush tax cuts,
which he opposed; campaign finance reform, which frankly was a huge
blow to the First Amendment and to our party, which fought for;
McCain-Kennedy on illegal immigration, which is an amnesty bill for
illegal aliens, and something I guess just over the weekend Barack
Obama said that his position and John McCain’s are the same on illegal
immigration. That’s not I think what you want from the nominee of our
party.And then this most recent bill, the McCain-Lieberman bill, which
says we’re going to place a charge on American consumers for global
warming. We’re not going to require that of the Chinese and the
Indians and others around the world that are actually emitting more
co2 than we are. Look, that kind of posture, I think, is going to
continue to cause many, many conservatives to rally to my camp.And you know, we’re going to get a test on Tuesday. We’ll see
how it goes. I expect to win a bunch of states and a bunch of
delegates.
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Categories: 2008 campaign, Hillary Clinton, John McCain
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A small victory considering that immigration – the subject about which McCain’s POV is most heinous- was ignored, but yes. The trouble is, McCain will say anything to get elected. This means the man who voted against the tax cuts will certainly raise taxes, as is his wont. And he’s certainly arrogant enough not to care if people object. That question didn’t really do anything except allow him to lie if Wallace didn’t challenge him further. It would have been much better for Wallace to expose him; Juan Hernandez, for instance.
But the poll numbers are turning slowly, so yes, as you say, LET THE WAR BEGIN.
Let’s see if McCain, the bad pilot and POW who probably told his captors whatever they want to hear (the habit had to start somewhere), let’s see if he has the belly for a real fight.
KEEP EXPOSING MCACAIN WHENEVER AND WHEREEVER YOU CAN.
Hmmmm. That gives me an idea….
Hey Desertlover; I saw a poll over at RCP where McCain led Arizona by +16, but Romney led Mass by +25.
I think it would be “just desserts” if that lead in Arizona narrowed even more, since McCain made such an “in your face” snub to Romney about watching the Super Bowl from Boston and campaigning there on Monday. Any possibility of that happening? Is it a closed Primary in AZ?
I am sick and tired of people calling Romney a flip-flopper, because he changed his mind on abortion. Many people have done that,including myself (I used to be pro-it). People who become pro-life should be applauded for it, NOT told they are some kind of loosers or their change is illegit. I resent that. very much and I wish Mitt would come out and say something like that, he is way too nice. Mitt has not changed his mind on most important issues. A man who changes for good reason is a wise man, when he changes towards the right way. If anyone should be called a flip flopoer it is BOTH Huckster and McCain: Huckster has changed positions just during the primaries on taxes, illegal immigration, criminals and pardons, etc.: that is fli-flopping. McCain has supposedly (and lying) changed on illegal immigration again just before theh primaries. He also changed on taxes (he voted against the tax cuts) and on judges (he did not like Sam Alito) and even on abortion (he has previosuly stated that he thinks Roe should not be overturned). So who are the liars and con-men here? Also, why is McCain attacking Mitt for his hard earned $? McCain, that skum married a RICH woman and left his poor crippled wife for that woman. By the way, didn’t Huckster’s son hang a dog or something? So much for teaching your kids values, wow, what a Christian? Oh, and what about Huck’s ethics violations? How come no one is talking about that? Mitt Romney plastic, PPPleaseee. No, he is the most real of all; some people jsut cannot handle to see a man who is all together. How sad.
Well said…your exactly right…the problem is too many people watch and read left wing MSM that includes the prior Fair and Balanced Fox News.
I tried to watch the Sunday Fox Juan Wallace Show…stomach turned and I had change the channel before it was too late…I was feeling queasy.
This will gwt get a lot of going…after all the bs and bickering Mitt is a lot closer to Reagan than most people think. Hard and positive in some areas relaxed and cautious in others. Seems the guy has picked apart and he has more character than the Hunkapoo an McCenndy put together.
Why I don’t understand but you gloss over Mc Cain’s record…he’s a liberal and has been for 2 decades. get over it and vote for the only man with dignity left in the race before it’s too late.
Eli Rocks! Congrats to the Giants! what a finish!
Mississippi boys, they get it done.
I’ve been able to even look at that weasle, so I never followed his personal life. Was his ex-wife really a cripple?! No wonder even his own mother said she’d have to hold her nose to vote for him. This is insane!
I cannot believe that as a country, and as conservatives, we’re allowing this guy to get ahead in the polls.
RIC: You need to cut and paste this post of yours everywhere. It’s one of the best arguements against McCain I’ve ever read. Hard-htting and to the point. Well done.
I do think that Romney is somewhat like REagan, but I think itis time he took on his own mantle and became a leader himself. I am kind of tired of all the Reagan talk, only because I think these men need to ne their own men. I love REagan, coming from a commie country, he was such an inspiration, such a wonderful strong man. I just think Mitt needs to simply talk about his accompishments, and start palying rough a bit. I like him when he smiles less, when he is just tough. He needs to get down and dirty a bit, I think. Go Mitt. By the way, I just heard Arnold and I want to puke. He is such a joke. He ruined CA and I can’t believe I voted for him (when I lived in CA).
McCain’s wife became crippled in an accident. He met his current wife while still married to his old wife. They were separated but apparently McCain was going thru a id life crisis and some think he wanted a wife that looked a certain way (and had the bucks) for his political career. His wife also admitted to be adicted to pain killer (the current one) and was stealing drugs from a charity he ran. McCain was involved in the Keeting 5 scandle. So, McCain dumped his cripple wife and he will dump all conservatives that think he has changed. Wait till this guy gets more power than he already has. I watched him in the Senate and it was scary. He really hates us, he loves the dems. His venom will not stop. Watch out republicans, watch out for this Manchurian candidate.
P.S: Mr. Conservative CAt, you can use this post anywhere you want (the ones above). I am so depressed and almost tired of fighting. Any suggestions for posts? I only participate here.
On February 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 pm, ajmontana said:
Eli Rocks! Congrats to the Giants! what a finish!.
It sure was aj rite to the end. Myself I am a Cowboys fan from way back. Tom L, Roger S, Walt G, Leroy J, etc. Yet I live and grew up in NY. Love the Yanks, Rangers not big on basketball until the final two minutes. Now just waiting for Shillary to start cackleing about how much she is a Giant fan. It was some game though the best I have seen in years. Rite down to the final seconds. I guess it goes to show you, do not count all your eggs until they are well in your basket. Right Tom Brady perfect season NOT…
I was a little ambivalent to the two (east coast) teams until I saw the video over at HotAir about how the Giants brought in this wheelchair bound soldier from Walter Reed who gave them a “Teamwork” pep talk, back when they were 0-2. The permanently disabled soldier said there was no place he would rather be than back in Iraq with his (team) soldiers. I became a Giants fan for the Superbowl because if a team has enough character to admire and listen to a guy like that, then they have my vote.
Didn’t Tom Brady say in one of his recent interviews that “everyone should drive a Hybrid.”
No Gesele in a Che bikini for Tommy boy Brady tonight! rofl….
mngirl
Yes … AZ is a closed primary … as for the polls … a week ago they were claiming it was double that difference you just quoted … so there is hope … it will be interesting to see what happens on Tuesday …
WHO WANTS TO BE A FOOTSOLDIER IN THE REAGAN REVOLUTION?
Reagan would be aghast at McCain’s current voting record and the company he keeps. Remember when Reagan was shot, how Reagan said to the doctors, “I hope you’re all Republicans”
Remember how he continually called out the democrats by name and challenged them on television? Remember how he did those things with an unassailable authority that reduced the Dems to nothing?
WANT TO BE A FOOTSOLDIER?
CUT AND PAST THE FOLLOWING INTO WORD, PRINT OUT A FEW HUNDRED (A REAM OF 500 COSTS ABOUT $5.00) AND LEAVE SMALL STACKS EVERYWHERE. DO IT TOMORROW. PUT THEM UP AT POLLING PLACES WELL BEFORE THE ENTRANCEWAY. LEAVE STACKS AT THE SUPERMARKET. BOOK STORES AND LIBRARIES HAVE CORK BOARDS.
CUT AND PASTE THIS AND POST IT ON INTERNET MESSAGE BOARDS. THE MESSAGE NEEDS TO BE FAST AND SHARPENED NOW. WE HAVE A LITTLE OVER A DAY LEFT. KEEP THE POLL TREND MOVING AWAY FROM MCCAIN!
If you have Microsoft word, the headlines in CAPS on the top and bottom should be in “IMPACT” font at 18 point; the main text should be in “GEORGIA” font at 12 point (this will help the margins to instantly line up)
***************************************
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT JOHN MCCAIN?
1. Did you know that he has no experience whatsoever to become President of the United States? The President is not the same as a Senator. Governors, like Ronald Reagan, have the executive experience needed to be President. Senators like McCain who only write and vote on compromise deals in Congress do not.
2. Ever hear of Juan Hernandez? He’s a regular guest on the Fox News channel and has consistently supported dismantling all US restrictions against illegal immigration. Juan Hernandez has even said that the United States should not be thought of as a separate county from Mexico. Juan Hernandez is an active advisor to John McCain’s election camp, often working with McCain directly. McCain has often said he was for open US borders with Mexico. With Hernandez under his tent, it appears he means it.
3. John McCain was one of only two Republican Senators who voted against the Bush tax cuts, which were widely seen as saving this country from a recession. McCain will raise your taxes again if he gets the chance. He’s made that clear.
4. Only a few years back as a Senator, McCain almost changed party affiliations to become a Democrat. How confident are you that given McCain’s personal closeness to extreme left wing Democrat Senators like Ted Kennedy, that McCain wouldn’t follow through and change party affiliation and become a Democrat as President? It could and may happen.
These are serious questions. So far all of McCain’s endorsements have been from medium-to-far-left liberal sources: The NY Times, The LA Times, Geraldo Rivera, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not a single moderate Republican paper or commentator has endorsed McCain. McCain suggests we vote for him on the basis of the company he keeps. Good advice. We won’t vote for John McCain. And neither should you!
BE A PATRIOT. LEARN THE FACTS. VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE.
Well if the MSM can’t pick football team I guess they can’t pick a President either… onward to Super Tuesday.
I thought I pretty well explained the comparison between Mitt and Reagan, I did not say they were identical, besides there is nothing wrong with a conservative (republican) trying to emulate the image of Ronald Reagan. Politicians have been claiming to emulate other politicians since the beginning of political of times. Let me see…JFK ring a bell…point being it doesn’t matter which side of the fence your on…it’s human nature to have the desire to be compared to what you consider the best.
Since obviously most were watching the game … how about that stirring National Anthem from our hometown girl Jordin Sparks? …
Some of you may not know that her father is Phillipe Sparks, who played for the Giants but never got to a Super Bowl …
The NFL vetoed her request to wear here Dad’s old jersey for the National Anthem …
mngirl the gentleman would be Lt. Col Greg Gadson (USMA 89″) he along with Harry Carson were Honorary captins for the Giant game against the Packers. Try going to this site http://www.usma.edu/HomeArt/ the reason I know I work at West Point and it was in the post newspaper The Pointer View.
All I can say is a few weeks to Pitcchers and Catchers thank God. Which means spring and summer are rite around the corner.
As a Manning fan from Mississippi, YEAH Giants and Eli!
Also, GO MITT!
Have been out of town for a week, and am glad to see the momentum still going for Mitt in California, Maine, etc.
Still hoping for a McCain defeat, inspite of the mainstream media worship of him. I hope a McCain defeat will leave the TV talking heads as speechless as the sports announcers were tonight when the Patriots did not win!
RONALD REAGAN IS WATCHING YOU. QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!
Sure the fight is long and hard and tough. We have the MSM against us every inch of the way. But truth has a certain, undeniable ring to it which is instinctively understood and galvanizes groups to go forward and fight the good fight and ultimately win.
I know your feelings – we all do.
Exhaustion, frustration, exasperation: we make all the points in the world and some jerk posts a reply that makes it seem like we’re just knocking our heads together and shouting at brick walls. But that isn’t true. Conservative masses tend to move quietly as a larger, manifest force. There is no MSM trumpeting our little gains like they do the opposition, and that is dispiriting and that’s what they want it to be.
However, we’re turning the tide. The poll numbers are shifting. There is no denying that. Forget the liberal spin, parsing and gloom and doom for conservatives. That truth, with its undeniable and well-cited ring, is resonating.
It’s working. We have a chance to win this even with Huckabee siphoning votes. Do you know that that means? It means if Romney can win this thing with Huckabee still siphoning votes, then the primaries after Tuesday are a lock, particularly if Huckabee runs out of money.
And we need to start talking FAST to the Huckabee supporters, too. If Huckabee won’t get out of the race, we need his votes to switch over to beat McCain.
You sound like a smart, decisive, hard fighter, RIC. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps. No matter what happens right now we have a little over a day to go. Then you can rest for a day before getting on with the next job.
This is for God and country, RIC. Get up and get back to work, soldier!
I found this cite which is very heavily traveled. There are plenty of supposed McCainiacs there, many probably liberal shills, and little sense of community. But that’s okay. The traffic is what matters, so get in there and start fighting. You’ll see that I already have, since this handle is my one and only political one.
http://www.perspectives.com/forums/
I’ll see you on the front lines, RIC, and you can rely on me to be at your back.
McCain did not go to the Super Bowl … he is in MA … maybe those voters will give him a bad time tomorrow since the Pats lost tonight in AZ … (I can dream can’t I?)
Well, if McLame gets further ahead on Tuesday, we should write off the presidental race as hopeless and focus on giving whichever liberal wins the presidency a conservative Congress.
Then again, the Giants did pull off a last-minute come-from-behind victory over the heavily favored Pats tonight, so anything’s possible…
Jarhead 10 days not a few weeks for the pitchers and catchers and opening day I believe is the 25th, that is cool!
Had my doubts about Eli with 2:47 left down by four, but he did it! wtg Eli!
25th of march…
aj … more and more teams moving spring training from FL to AZ … didn’t know if you were aware of that …
Fabulous job with the National Anthem. She sung it as it should be…and she seemed very relaxed and sincere.
Oh…and GO MITT! My wife and I are headed out to vote for MITT!!
Eli’s coming better hide your heart girl:)
Parade tomorrow downtown Manhattan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xdqYZHAQmk