Thursday, February 03, 2005
Going to the Mattresses?
I was watching the SOTU yesterday and, as the President made his way out of the chamber, I looked down to my laptop to begin reading some of the reactions to the speech.
And then I heard Peter Jennings say something to the effect of, "The President there, greeting Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman with a kiss."
"Wha-What?" I thought, as my head jerked up.
You see, I recently had a conversation with a moderately conservative friend of mine who said he has been more than impressed over the past few weeks by many of the public comments he's made. Not to worry, dear readers, I set him straight (or so I like to think). But this conversation has kept some Lieberman related issues top of mind for me.
First of all, the rumors abound of possibilities for Lieberman's future in a Bush administration, such as Supreme Court Justice or Secretary of Defense. These rumors have been out there for a few months, especially the Sec. Def. rumor, all as examples of possible olive branches the President could offer the Democratic Party (as if the President has ever shown any inclination to be bi-partisan). They are, in the end, rumors.
But these things were going through my head when Peter Jennings spoke of the affectionate gesture between the President and Senator Joe.
Imagine my lack of surprise, then, when I read this today:
One has to wonder if, as he was being kissed by the President last night, he thought back to a moment when he was told that, someday, he may be called upon to perform a service. He certainly performed one today.
Hopefully, Senator Joe doesn't plan on going fishing anytime soon.
And then I heard Peter Jennings say something to the effect of, "The President there, greeting Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman with a kiss."
"Wha-What?" I thought, as my head jerked up.
You see, I recently had a conversation with a moderately conservative friend of mine who said he has been more than impressed over the past few weeks by many of the public comments he's made. Not to worry, dear readers, I set him straight (or so I like to think). But this conversation has kept some Lieberman related issues top of mind for me.
First of all, the rumors abound of possibilities for Lieberman's future in a Bush administration, such as Supreme Court Justice or Secretary of Defense. These rumors have been out there for a few months, especially the Sec. Def. rumor, all as examples of possible olive branches the President could offer the Democratic Party (as if the President has ever shown any inclination to be bi-partisan). They are, in the end, rumors.
But these things were going through my head when Peter Jennings spoke of the affectionate gesture between the President and Senator Joe.
Imagine my lack of surprise, then, when I read this today:
Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) expressed their support for Presdient Bush's Attorney General on the Senate floor mid-afternoon today."Progressive" and "Remarkably Just." When speaking about a nominee who's entire career has now been clouded by the fact that he justified torture, that is pretty high praise .
Sen. Salazar's support for Gonzales is not unexpected; he introduced and recommended the nominee to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Lieberman, however, went above and beyond Gonzales to offer support for the U.S. policy of deny rights to Guantanamo Bay detainees. He called the decision "progressive" and "remarkably just," citing the fact the Bush Administration opted to provide the inmates with food, water, shelter, blankets and the ability to practice their religion.
Lieberman is one of the most conservative members of the Democratic caucus, and was Al Gore's choice for vice president during his failed presidential bid.
The senator said that Gonzales' defense of torture memos had to be understood in the context of September 11, 2001. "You've got to appreciate the context," Lieberman said, "post-Sept. 11."
One has to wonder if, as he was being kissed by the President last night, he thought back to a moment when he was told that, someday, he may be called upon to perform a service. He certainly performed one today.
Hopefully, Senator Joe doesn't plan on going fishing anytime soon.
# posted by Dylan @ 6:15 PM 
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Hi, I operate the blog Maryland Political Perspective where I have posted much about a Boxer run for President and have linked to all of her sites including this blog. I have changed my blog name to 2008 Political Perspective because I am really focusing on the 2008 Presidential race for both sides and how the 2006 elections effect that. the new url is 2008politicalperspective.blogspot.com
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