May 6, 2002
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Dear BuzzFlash,
There's a lesson to be learned here. Dukakus learned it. When will other Democrats, and when will Al Gore?
"Dukakis was pigeonholed as a northeastern liberal by aggressive Republican strategists that year. But Dukakis, now a political science professor at Northeastern University, said his background in heavily Democratic Massachusetts was not to blame. Instead, it was his decision "to blow off the Bush attack campaign."
Democrats must attack back, just like Carville and Begala and Clinton do, or we are doomed.
John
Kerry Plots Presidential Run
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=
story&u=/ap/20020503/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_2004_3
MEB
Hiya, Buzz -
Re: NYT article about Army Secretary White (probably losing his gig.)
The Rumsfeld quote was:
"I have a minimum of high regard for that kind of behavior."
Sheeeeeya! The guy already looks and acts like someone straight out of the central casting recommendations for Dr. Strangelove. Is it mandatory that he embraces the genre and recites the lines (on cue) as well?
Perhaps I am being foolish. Maybe it's too much to expect that we might actually ask our so-called leaders to speak basic conversational English.
Well, anyway -- "I have a maximum of low regard for that kind of SecDef."
Randy Kirchhof
Dear BuzzFlash,
Subj: Bush and the French Elections
Regarding your news link titled "Bush Has No Comment on French Elections," Of course he has no comment, He'll just wait to see who wins the popular vote, and then assist the losing candidate in with a coup to overthrow them.
After all, there's more to being elected president than just a majority of the votes.
Adrian
Johansson
Ocala, Florida
Dear Buzz,
DOES ANYONE FIND IT INTERESTING THAT THE PERSON WITH THE GREATEST ENRON CONFLICT IS NOW IN DANGER OF LOSING HIS JOB BECAUSE HE TRIED TO SUBVERT RUMSFELD ON CRUSADER. IS THIS A SLICK WAY TO GET RID OF ENRON BAGGAGE WITHOUT LOOKING LIKE THEY ARE DOING IT? IT SEEMS TOO CONVENIENT TOO ME.
~~~Stevie G~~~
dear buzzflash,
anti-government domestic terrorists? what do you want to bet this is the work of radical right-wingers? which means, of course, that the justice department will go slowly on the investigation when it becomes clear that some right-fringe entity is responsible like the anthrax terrorist. this administration has no enemies to its right, regardless of what laws they violate or how nefarious they may be.
Daniel R. DeJoode
Dear Buzz,
Will
Clinton Talk?
http://opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan
Nah, he is too lazy, Noonan says which irks the hell out of me. Clinton worked hard, but Bush with his naps, his trips to the ranch, his trips to Camp David, his T-Ball diversions and playing around with the pro athletes, his exercise routine, his campaigning on behalf of every Repub who is even thinking of running makes him a hard worker? (And what do his frequent trips to the ranch cost us so he can have a weekend there? Plenty, just flying AF One is expensive enough-Clinton stayed at the White House mostly and worked! Course I do not want this one to work-it only means bad news for us when he does.) I hate reading this kind of trash this woman puts out and normally do not do it, but the headline caught me. The WSJ has turned into the worst kind of rag. I used to take it religiously, but I won't buy it now since it turned to these kinds of idiotic Opinions. They are dangerous to democracy.
Henry
Dear BuzzFlash,
I think we need to send MSNBC a strong message before they try to embark on being the anti-FOX network. Earlier today I heard Rick Sanchez say how "enormously popular" bush is. I emailed them to point out that there is no such thing as a "popularity" poll – bush’s job performance numbers are high, but this has nothing to do with "popularity". I also pointed out that bush’s re-elect poll numbers are at 55% and dropping. Then tonight Brian Williams said how "popular" bush is! Ok, I give up! Maybe we should all send an email to MSNBC (cable@msnbc.com) urging them to correct their errors. What do you think?
Chris in CA
DEAR BUZZFLASH:
The news media has been full of reports in the last couple of months about the GOP's efforts to make W's economic stimulus package -- corporate tax cut -- permanent. W touts how well the economic stimulus is working so far, even though the recovery is at best anemic and faltering as we speak, and little brother Jeb is pushing the Florida legislature to pass legislation to give the state's major corporations a $262 windfall this year (with over a $1 billion deficits currently totaled up).
So you have to imagine my hearty belly laugh when I read the following article in BuzzFlash today: "Government to borrow $1 billion this quarter to cover shortfall." Golly gee, I'm not the brightest bulb, but the tax cut seems to me the same misbegotten thinking as the supply-side economics of the Reagan era, which led to a terrible recession. The Reagan policy was termed "voodoo economics," wasn't it?
I recall that in the past month and a half, two separate efforts have been made to raise the debt ceiling -- unsuccessfully. Hmmm. The fact is, the cat's out of the bag. Dang it, W and O'Neill must be athinkin'. Try as it might, the administration now can't cover up the fact that "(t)he government, in a sharp reversal of earlier borrowing plans, said Monday that it plans to tap $1 billion from the credit markets this quarter to compensate for lower-than-expected income-tax payments and to cover the cost of this year's economic stimulus package." Excuse me, borrowing to cover the cost of this year's portion of the economic stimulus package? Ahem. Isn't that an oxymoron?
It's remarkable that "(i)t marked the first time since 1995 that the government needed to borrow in the April-June quarter. That quarter is generally flush with cash because of a flood of income tax payments flowing in Treasury's coffers." Do you suppose that's because the rich and political patrons of W are paying a lot less in taxes? Or maybe it's because so many taxpayers have been laid off. The layoffs continue. That's confusing, isn't it. In an upturn hiring ramps up, but we see layoffs continue, and businesses are very, very slow to hire or call back those that it already laid off.
Well, I'm no economist, so maybe I'm just confused. Must be one of those tricky Chinese puzzles.
Sharon Andrews
Dear
BuzzFlash:
Does everyone remember that it was only three years ago that help wanted
signs were visible in nearly every retail business in the company. The
want ads and the internet were overflowing with ads searching for workers
in all sectors. Corporations were raiding employees from their competitors.
Even fast food businesses were offering bonuses to entice applicants.
Today we read:
"I've been saying all along that the growth number for the first quarter of this year was very positive. But I said, look, I'm not confident. We've got more work to do,'' Bush said.
"So long as anybody's looking for work, we've got a problem,'' he added."
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-bush-economy.html
If
the recession was so very, very mild and the trillions of dollars "given"
away in the name of economic stimulus were purportedly the irrefutable
solution, why is the U.S. now faced with the highest unemployment figures
in eight years and a real turnaround still months away?
Just curious,
Sharon Andrews
Dear Buzz,
CNN screws MWO again! At the end of Friday's show, Begala gave MWO a plug as Carville had done the previous week. Last week Carville's recommendation was transcribed "mediahorseonline.com" and this week Begala's words are transcribed "mediahorizon.com" which leads to a womens' health website. Either CNN is engaging in an infantile conspiracy against MWO, or there is no one at CNN that can spell!
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0205/03/cf.00.html
David Warren
Dear BuzzFlash,
Oh,
how I wish it would be true that Bill Clinton would have a talk show.
Everyone would watch, even those who hate him. It would be wonderful.
You have to read Peggy Noonan's column on the subject. She said he wouldn't
do it because "he's too lazy," The GOP would absolutely have
a hissey-fit Even Ken Starr said "William Jefferson Clinton was the
most brilliant politician of our time, bar none." The thought of
it just makes me laugh. Can you imagine, can't you just see all of them,
Delay, Lott, Hastert, Armey, Rove huffin and puffin, turning all red in
the face every time Bill's poll shot up higher and higher.
Bill Clinton explaining the Middle East problem, Bill Clinton explaining
the environmental problems and corporate welfare. Bill Clinton helping
us understand how the top 10 percent get all the money. Bill Clinton explaining
how Enron could have happened. All he would have to say, to cover his
tail from more criticism, is "yes ladies and gentlemen I have been
guilty of taking money, not looking in depth at the problems in big business,
etc, etc, etc," and the people will forgive him anything and believe
every word out of his mouth. No one can turn on the humility like he can.
Oh the thought of it is too good, too funny. If politics is a game, and
it seems to be just that, William Jefferson Clinton is indeed the best
of all the players and he knows how to control the boards. All he has
to be careful of is over exposure.
Would that this dream come true.
Sally McDonald
Dear
BuzzFlash,
I received this nutshell description of Geo. W. Bush the other day in
an email and want to share it with the Mailbag Gang because it is so dead-on
and brief:
G.W. Bush: the selected pResident with Reagan's brains, Nixon's morals, Marie Antoinette's compassion & Elmer Fudd's articulation.
Ah-ba-dee... ah-ba-dum... eh, eh... dat's all folks!
~ Cathy
Dear Buzz,
God help us all!
How many Oval Offices are there? I thought there was only one.........however this article says Dick Cheney " appears to be urinating on the door of his Oval Office." So, just who 's Oval Office is it, anyway? Cheney or Bush?
I suppose they figured this was funny, but Dick Cheney pissing on the door to the Oval Office is a national disgrace. It does, however, sum up exactly their attitude towards the Nation. It is very symbolic of what they are doing to this country.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020505/
ts_nm/bush_dinner_dc_1&e=5&ncid=578
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) treated journalists to never-before-seen pictures of the White House on Saturday, including one in which Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) appears to be urinating on the door of his Oval Office.
"Dick, I hope you're not doing what it looks like you're doing," Bush quipped as he narrated a slide show at the 88th annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association.
Linda Kekumu
Dear Buzz,
About that press club dinner: Drew Carey, the paid entertainer for the evening, compared Arabs who refuse to believe bin Laden is guilty, to Democrats who refuse to believe Bush is legitimate.
"You know, those Arabs out there, they're not gonna believe anything you do. They don't believe the other tapes we got of Osama bin Laden. They all say it's fake."
Then Carey added, "Isn't that annoying. You get these tapes, here's Osama and they go, 'No, you faked it. The United States faked it.' It's like trying to convince the Democrats they really lost the election."
The camera panned to Carville and Matalin, showing Carville apparently mouthing an expletive. Drew Carey's reply was:
"He won. They lost. That's what happened. There was no theft or rigging or none of that crap. He won! You lost!"
I looked on the web to find these quotes, and amazingly, the only place I could find them was Newsmax...apparently it's a secret in major media.
Unfortunately, I missed the replay on C-Span1...I urge everyone to catch it, if it comes on again.
CR
Dear BuzzFlash,
Here's CNN's version of GWB's remarks about (and to) Ozzy Osbourne at the Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday:
"The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings -- "Party With the Animals," "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," "Face in Hell," "Black Skies" and "Bloodbath in Paradise,"' said the president.
"Ozzy. Mom loves your stuff."
Now, here's the AP version: (Identical to CNN except for punch line)
"The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings — "Party With the Animals," "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," "Face in Hell," "Black Skies" and "Bloodbath in Paradise,'" said the president.
"Ozzy. Your mom loves your stuff."
I saw the video on TV news, and know the CNN version to be correct. I wonder why they made that seemingly innocuous alteration? Did Bush's Mom raise a fuss?
Frank Calandra, Webster, NY
Dear Buzz,
RE: "Understanding the Difference Between Strategy and Tactics." Can you discuss that a little?
PAUL BEGALA SAID: One of the problems we saw in the last presidential election in our party is that our nominee, while winning the election, which we ought never to forget, often lost sight of the difference between strategy and tactics. So his campaign had these daily, almost, reinventions….All of which allowed Bush, I think unfairly, to characterize Al Gore as a phony. And I think that's what made the election so close that Bush was able to steal it. And I think that's unfortunate.
What's unfortunate is that the Democratic Party no longer knows how to speak to PRINCIPLES--Justice, Fairness, Honesty, Democracy, Labor, Law--
You guys are so embroiled in the technicalities of soil recycling that you can't see you left the forest, the savannah and the human communities themselves, behind.
We're all going to KEEP LOSING unless these principles of governance, self-discipline and delayed gratification are placed back on the stage and in the planks of American politics.
mecragg
