« June 2008 | Main | August 2008 »
July 20, 2008
Maliki Supports Obama Withdrawal Plan
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: "US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business," he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain's more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems."
Iraq, Maliki went on to say, "would like to see the establishment of a long-term strategic treaty with the United States, which would govern the basic aspects of our economic and cultural relations." He also emphasized though that the security agreement between the two countries should only "remain in effect in the short term."
The comments by the Iraqi leader come as Obama embarks on a trip to both Afghanistan and Iraq as well as to Europe. Obama was in Afghanistan on Saturday to, as he said prior to his trip, "see what the situation on the ground is … and thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing." The exact itinerary of the candidate's trip has not been made public out of security concerns, but it is widely expected that he will arrive in Iraq on Sunday to meet with Maliki.
Posted by Mike at 01:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 17, 2008
"Where is that marvelous ape?"
"I don't recall?" Where have we heard that before?
Irreverence in the abstract is one thing. But McCain's specific jokes can be harder for some to stomach. Liberal bloggers have recently revived what is by far the most offensive of McCain's reported jokes, one that his aides say he doesn't recall telling, but which was reported in the Tucson Citizen, an Arizona paper, during his 1986 Senate campaign:"Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, 'Where is that marvelous ape?'"
His spokeswoman said at the time he didn't recall telling the joke, something his current spokesman, Brian Rogers, reiterated to Politico.
The president of the National Organization for Women, Kim Gandy, however, suggested that a series of McCain jokes about women, the rest uncontested by the campaign, suggest a serious lack of respect.
Posted by Mike at 01:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 14, 2008
About damn time
Of course I wish they were sending tanks not lawyers but it's a start.
Posted by Mike at 09:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 10, 2008
When fake outrage goes wrong
The system for funding Social Security is "a disgrace" because it forces young workers to pay into a program that is unlikely to benefit them in its current form, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said this week, wading into politically touchy territory.
Like many other politicians, McCain often questions the long-term viability of the government retirement program. But he raised eyebrows with an unusually harsh assessment Monday at a town-hall forum in Denver.Asked by a young woman if she is likely to receive Social Security benefits someday, McCain said it was unlikely "unless we fix it."
"Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today," he said. "And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed."
Some Democrats criticized the remarks because McCain basically was describing how Social Security has always worked. Current retiree benefits are supplied by payroll taxes from current workers.
In a conference call organized by the Democratic Party, Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said Social Security has "always been pay as you go, with today's workers paying for today's retirees. What's a disgrace is that this is news to John McCain."
Posted by Mike at 06:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)