The war in Iraq? My bad.

Bush’s conscience finally kicks in.

During an interview, President George W. Bush said his biggest regret is intelligence failure in Iraq.

A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration; a lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. And, you know, that's not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess.

Golly, his southern drawl and cute grandpa face makes my heart smile…until I actually listen to what comes out of his mouth. Of course it was a lot of people who said a lot of nonsense about WMDs, but it was Bush who signed off on it and it is he that should have fired someone for this lapse in intelligence.

This interview was the first in a series of what the White House calls “exit interviews,” which will continue throughout the next several weeks. I give the man props for trying to exit with a little humanity and remorse, but it’s too little too late. He will always be remembered as the president who couldn’t put a sentence together, who justified every mistake (until the very end) and who declared an unsuccessful war.

Bush never really seemed to be a thoughtful man, but this isn’t unusual behavior near the end of a president’s term. Lyndon Johnson had this same introspective attitude because he was haunted by the Vietnam War. He never acknowledged that it was a mistake, but you definitely saw remorse at the end of his term when he decided not to run.

I suppose Bush will head to his ranch in Texas to hide out until he keels over. Goodbye, good luck, good riddance.

Hillary has to go somewhere

Let's stick her in the cabinet.

It’s official. Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to be Obama’s Secretary of State, according to a New York Times article.

Is this a joke? The SOS deals with foreign policy. Hillary’s minimal foreign policy experience includes voting for war in Iraq and threatening to “obliterate” Iran if it uses nukes against Israel.

The last three people to hold this position had a smidgen of foreign policy experience.

• Madeleine Albright studied at the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University and was the US ambassador to the United Nations before becoming secretary.


• Colin Powell held many military ranks, was awarded numerous foreign decorations, was National Security Advisor to Ronald Reagan, and was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


• Condoleezza Rice was on the Council of Foreign Relations, served as Special Assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was a Senior Director on the National Security Council, and was National Security Advisor.

Hillary’s appellations include First Lady, healthcare nut, and New York senator.

Why, Obama, why? I knew he would put her on his cabinet, but in a position for which she had experience such as secretary of education or of health and human services. Maybe Obama picked her for SOS to avoid any potential conflict regarding healthcare, given their very different ideals on the matter.

The only good to come of this is that Hillary might help the US get its relationships in the international community back to a respectable state; much like it was during Bill’s presidency.

Obama also announced Robert M. Gates to be his Defense Secretary and Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser. Republican senator of Virginia, John W. Warner, applauds Obama's picks:

The triumvirate of Gates, Clinton and Jones to lead Obama’s national security team instills great confidence at home and abroad and further strengthens the growing respect for the president-elect’s courage and ability to exercise sound judgment in selecting the best and the brightest to implement our nation’s security policies.

Atleast someone is happy about this. The rest of Obama's choices for his adminstration will hopefully excuse this poor/bizarre decision. All I can say is SOS.

The economy is sinking, but hasn't drowned yet.

Everyday the DOW gets lower, the unemployment rate gets higher and middle class families are sitting in limbo awaiting their fate. What is to come of America: The Greatest Country on Earth?

President-elect Barack Obama named his top economic team who may not save the day Mighty Mouse-style, but will hopefully rescue our economy from complete catastrophe.

Obama:

Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand - if we act swiftly and boldly. That's the mission our economic team will take on...Our financial markets are under stress. While we can't underestimate the challenges we face, we also can't underestimate our capacity to overcome them.

Since the $700 billion bailout was announced, I was in favor of putting people in charge who knew about the economy, not about the government. Why put senators in charge of the economy and not someone like Bill Gates? He seems to know how to manage his money well.

Okay, maybe not Bill Gates, but someone who knows a little bit about money.

Obama named Timothy Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, to be the next US treasury secretary and oversee the bailout plan. Now, that’s what I’m talking about. The New York Federal Reserve is the largest and most important regional federal reserve bank and who’s in charge of it? Our new US treasury secretary.

Obama said Geithner would offer "an unparalleled understanding of our current economic crisis, in all of its depth, complexity and urgency".

The top priority for Obama is to create 2.5 million new jobs by 2011 to help stimulate the economy. Some of these new jobs will put people to work building wind farms, solar panels and fuel-efficient cars.

This is a phenomenal plan: our economy goes to the crapper and we build it back better than before. If we move the US toward a more energy independent lifestyle while fixing the economy, we can break free of the hold the Middle East has on us in terms of oil and become more powerful in our own right.

This makes me happier than Hillary in a pantsuit.

Everyone's a critic

Iran, Israel, Russia, Europe and even the Taliban all have their own ideas of how Obama should handle foreign policy issues.

Iran has been a U.S. foreign policy “issue” for some time now. The country poses no immediate threat, but keeps inching its way up to our very last nerve and is likely to tick the U.S. of so bad that we have to retaliate with force…unless America gets some kind of new leader that is willing to be diplomatic instead of ignorant.

The Bush-method for dealing with Iran is to whine about what bastards they are while refusing to talk to them and, instead, send the country threats, nuclear weapon investigators, and the finger.

Obama, on the other hand, wants to sit down and talk with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I’m not saying they should be BFF—in fact, we probably shouldn’t even trust him—but, I think dialogue is a good start.

Wednesday, Iran tested a new missile that is capable of reaching southeastern Europe, as well as Iran’s nearby enemy, Israel. Obama’s not even sworn in and they’re already pushing his buttons because, God, knows this isn’t directed towards Bush. He quit caring about 2 years ago.

Anyway, Europe wants Obama to reject the idea of “regime change” in Iran, which he has yet to do openly. Israel wants to be assured that Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons, which is a legitimate concern, given President Ahmadinejad’s sinister threats against the tiny American ally. In one speech he said

With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine… By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future.

What a creeper.

As for the Taliban, they urged Obama to pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and said he needs to "respect the rights of the people to independence and observe the norms of human rights."

Oh okay, Taliban, because you are so awesome with human rights, independence and equality for women, and religious freedom. Freakin’ hypocrites.

Godspeed, Obama. The next four years might really suck.

Peace Out, Politics.

I need a break, but we can still be friends.

After 11 months of anticipation, 9 potential presidential candidates, and many exhausting hours of campaign participation, I’m spent. I have voluntarily absorbed unthinkable amounts of political news analysis and now that we have a president-elect, I deserve my own honeymoon period.

Obama won and, yes, I cried as he gave his acceptance speech. I am so happy I could puke rainbows.

Even though I need a political siesta, I can’t help but blog. Obama gave his first news conference as president-elect on Friday and did a mighty fine job.

With the economy going to hell in a hand basket, Obama has a tough road ahead of him and I don’t think he’s going to be able to please everyone with each decision he makes. He has promised inspiring messages of hope, but he cannot perform miracles. So don’t expect sudden huge changes, people.

Obama recognizes this challenge:

Well, I think that a new president can do an enormous amount to restore confidence, to move an agenda forward that speaks to the needs of the economy and the needs of middle-class families all across the country. I've outlined during the course of the campaign some critical issues that I intend to work on… So there are some things that we know we're going to have to do, but I'm confident that a new president can have an enormous impact. That's why I ran for president.

He made a statement at the news conference about the dog his family intends to get. “Obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me,” he said. This one comment illustrates how dramatically different his administration is going to be.

Apart from his mostly skillful discussion with the press, he did make one mistake when asked which former presidents he talked to.

“I've spoken to all of them that are living…I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any séances.”

He did get a chuckle from the crowd, but poor Ms. Nancy...that was a little uncalled for.

Obama apologized, of course, and all is well. Actually, all is not well. Palin is back in Alaska, but is still on my damn TV. This time, she called the media “jerks” and said they were being mean. Boo hoo. There is one gift only she can give that is critical to my sanity: her absence.

Knock, knock. Who's there? Sarah Palin. Ha-Ha.

We’re not laughing with you, Sarah…

This moose-hunting maverick just can’t seem to avoid being the butt of a joke. Palin made the world chuckle once again Saturday when a Canadian radio DJ pretended to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a 6-minute prank phone call to the VP hopeful.

It’s hard to feel sorry for her when the prankster, Marc-Antoine Audette, gave ample indication that this was a joke. He referred to the Prime Minister of Canada as Canadian singer Steph Carse, to which Palin replied

Well, he's doing fine and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder.

Palin sure is doing a good job of proving everyone wrong.

If that wasn’t enough, Audette told Palin that he enjoyed her “documentary” and referred to a porno made by Hustler starring a Sarah Palin lookalike. "Ohh, good, thank you, yes," she replied.

Palin and her campaign camp must share the same naivety and inexperience. Did she really think the French President would contact her instead of McCain? She’s not worthy of (serious) international attention just yet. I mean, there are congressional districts with more people than she has in her entire state. This proves that Palin’s people put as much effort into screening her calls as she puts into carrying that big brain of hers:

“As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?”

Am I the only person wondering why McCain picked this lady? Out of all the conservatives in America, he picked this one. I think it was a rash decision made, at least initially, to target women voters and soft liberal Hillary Clinton supporters. Or maybe it was McCain saying, “Look at me! I’m for change, too!”

Either way, choosing her is like buying 25 cent tacos in Tiahuana --a good idea at first, but then you find out what they’re made of: 75% horse meat and 25% horse shit.

On behalf of Obama supporters: thank you, McCain, for committing campaign suicide with this first-rate VP.

Sharing the wealth....

Why is that such a bad thing? You have $100 and I have $10. Can’t I just have $1? Pretty please?

We are fortunate enough to live in a country thriving with opportunity for the average American. You could be born in a pig pen and die the CEO of Halliburton. Doesn’t it make sense that if you actually achieve and exceed the American Dream, you should give a little more back?

Oh wait—that might mean you can’t buy seat warmers for your hummer this year. Darn.

Imagine how hard it is to live paycheck to paycheck because you have no choice. Or not being able to buy your kid a basketball for Christmas because $20 is just too much. Yes, there are some who take advantage of the system and live off welfare and unemployment, but why punish hard-working lower class Americans for the fault of a few?

I like Obama’s tax plan: take away tax cuts for those making $250,000 a year or more and leave the tax cuts for everyone else. This allows the lower and middle classes to thrive and move into the upper class, as a result paying more taxes to keep the system going.

McCain and Palin have made Obama out to be a socialist, which is clearly not the case. Socialism means common ownership of the nation’s resources and, last I checked, Obama doesn’t want to control the oil rigs and coal mines.

On the other hand, McCain and Palin want to leave tax cuts for the wealthy--and by “wealthy” I mean upper class AND the big businesses that already make millions a year.

The other day Palin said this:
“I and John McCain tend to want to trust the American people with their income, their businesses, their things."

By golly, her gots my vote.