"FOR ME, THIS DOES IT" Bob Schieffer Has A Walter Cronkite Moment

[kpete]

The last I heard, that is how American troops are spending their August in Iraq.

For me, this does it.

Those were the words of Bob Schieffer this morning as he tossed in the towel on Iraq and specifically the Iraqi government.



God help the Iraqi people because there is not much America can do to help a government that leaves Americans dying in the streets while the parliament escapes to cooler climes.
Does this mean we should pull out immediately?

No. A sudden withdrawal could set the entire region aflame. The truth is there are no good options left. But from here on, we need to put aside the dream of building a democracy in Iraq and focus solely on what is in our national interest.

It won't be pretty, but for all our good intentions, about all we can do now is try to contain this mess, pull our troops back from the middle of this civil war, and concentrate instead on the terrorist threat that this country faces around the world.
As for what kind of government Iraq needs, let their parliament figure it out. They can get right on it when the Baghdad weather turns cooler. - Bob Schieffer July 15, 2007

more at:
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/15/133450/707

[Myrina]

1. ... the Iraqi govt is just following vacation-boy's lead ...

... leaves Americans dying in the streets while the parliament escapes to cooler climes ...

What would we expect, given the "role model" their gov't was built upon? :shrug:

[RufusTFirefly]

26. Exactly!

[Merlot]

38. you know, I laugh when I see these pictures...before I want to cry again...

[ooglymoogly]

92. These pictures put the real meaning of this administration

in perspective.

[bananarepublican]

81. They're vacationing in Crawford, aren't they? n/t

[WillyT]

2. Does It For Me... Another Link Here:

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/15/opinion/schieffer/main3058990.shtml

K & R!!!

:kick:

[rodeodance]

37. and bush will be inTX??

[Rockholm]

80. Wow.!

[Alexander]

3. Bob Schieffer, who golfed with the Bushes?

[havocmom]

8. and whose brother was appointed Ambassador to Australia by bush

[Soulshine]

41. Even friends can disagree.

Are you proud of everyone you've associated with?

[Skittles]

51. he's just another bush whore seeing the light way WAY too late

:puke:

[Carolina]

95. exactly, Skittles

and I love how he blames the Iraqi people and the US installed puppet Iraqi gov't. Puhleeze. Iraq was bothering no one and posed no threat when *co, aided and abetted by the media, invaded, destroyed and wreaked havoc ...

Schieffer is no Walter Cronkite and this is no Walter Cronkite moment.

You're so right, just another rat abandoning ship.

[xxqqqzme]

73. no but then not one single person I know

has ever sent Americans off to die for a lie nor has a single one ever committed genocide against the Iraqi population.

[redqueen]

98. Surely not the ones that destroy entire countries on a whim. n/t

[book_worm]

42. yeah, but hey even Bill Clinton has golfed with the Bush's

[AZBlue]

57. Great! I'm glad he's seen the error of his ways!

How would you like every mistake you've ever made held against you and being unable to change your mind or take it back??

[SharonAnn]

59. Change my mind? I do, when I receive new information. What do you do with new information?

[AZBlue]

94. Huh? My name's not Bob Schieffer.

This post isn't about me. WTF?

[Diane R]

71. Bob Schieffer who tossed bush the 'christianity' questions during the debate to get the church vote?

[Supersedeas]

77. media complicity with the Admin should never be forgotten

[Swamp Rat]

4. God help the Iraqi people

because there is not much the world can do to stop America from killing them.

[EFerrari]

10. This whole "blame the victim" spin makes me as mad

as I've been in years. :mad:

[Swamp Rat]

16. Exactly

We must re-frame the debate at every opportunity.

Remember, the ones who are setting this war policy are not much different than rapists and killers, but instead do most of their harm vicariously through victimized soldiers, and then rake in the cash.

Classic example:

[EFerrari]

18. Agreed. It's not good enough to call this Bush's "war"

when Harry Reid or others who shall remain nameless continue to blame the very people we purport to be helping as WE KILL THEM EVERY DAY, just as we have been passively undermining their survival for so many years. :mad:

[Bluerthanblue]

40. you both really get it-

that isn't very common in this world.

thank you!.

:grouphug:
blu

[EFerrari]

53. I think I just had a head explosion, Blu.

:hug:

[orleans]

63. (i'm not really posting back to your comment--although i do agree

and did you read that 22 page article in the nation?)

i'm actually testing the little pic i "borrowed" from your post. (i saw it last night and am wondering how it will look with the cindy pic. so let's find out)

on edit: (i have two windows open) and i see i am allowed only one picture. shit! decisions, decissions....

another edit here: guess i'll just have to past it on tonight. like this:

[OwnedByFerrets]

69. If I could K & R your post, I would......

You hit the nail on the head.

[Caretha]

44. You're spot on one more time SwampRat n/t

[Swamp Rat]

45. I wish I was completely wrong.

:(

www.swamp-rat.com

[Caretha]

49. I hear you

kinda sucks to be us, huh?

[PassingFair]

64. YOU PEOPLE are so cynical!

:sarcasm:

Why I saw this SMART gentleman on FOX this morning, talking SMARTLY on
this very subject! His name was Mr. Kagan and he is COLLEGE EDUCATED.
He even works for an INSTITUTE! (Of American Enterprise!)

Anyway, HE said that there IS no "civil war". That the Shiites (SHEE-ITES)
and the Sunnis (SOO-NIS) are fighting because Al-Queda (AL-KAY-DUH)
bombed some mosque last year, causing those two loving religious groups
to fight each other.

Now IRAN is supplying Al-Queda with guns and money (and probably lawyers)
and causing US Soldiers to DIE, so we MUST fight Iran. It is the only
way to bring peace in Iraq.

Don't you SEE! We must FIGHT THEM IN IRAN, so we don't have to FIGHT THEM
IN IRAQ, so we don't have to FIGHT THEM HERE, in our BACKYARDS.

Have a nice day, AMERICA HATER!

:)

You KNOW I love you, Pat!

:hi:

[EFerrari]

66. The spin is enough to make you dizzy, isn't it?

:hi:

[PassingFair]

67. Do they HONESTLY believe that people NEVER pick up books?

That Saddam Hussein existed and operated in a VACUUM?

If I were a religious sort, I'd be content knowing that
there is a special place in "hell" for the likes of
Britt Hume and "Mr." Kagan.

[EFerrari]

91. They talk about Saddam as if he was dropped here by Martians.

:shrug:

[EFerrari]

5. Hello? McFly? The Iraqi government is trying to defend itself

from American oil companies' predations by stalling.

Oh, and they're also hoping to run out the American public's patience clock so we'll get the hell out of their country.

They didn't invite us to put Saddam in power, to arm him and look the other way while he abused them. They didn't ask us to starve them with sanctions or to bomb them for more than a decade.

They didn't beg us to bomb the f#ck out of their country, or to impose the most brutal occupation of this century.

So, cry me a river, you effen' mendacious idiot. And hope your complicity won't be folded into your karma.

:nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke:

[Richard Steele]

9. Yup. That seems like a pretty evenhanded assessment. nm

[EFerrari]

13. Considering that both parties are spouting this cR@P!

sometimes, I have no idea what I'm doing here. And I don't mean at DU but here, on this soil, being complicit in these crimes.

[FogerRox]

14. What sfexpat2000 said.....

MF'in, CS'in SOB.

[EFerrari]

15. Assault on reason, indeed. n/t

[acmavm]

19. Wow! That was sure short, sweet, and to the point (as they say).

[EFerrari]

23. Once you become aware of the pattern of US corporations'

predations, it's really hard not to see them and it's really, really hard to just chug the propaganda.

[burythehatchet]

27. reality check. check. check

[EFerrari]

29. Thank you for helping my head not to explode. n/t

[wiggs]

46. I agree with you 100%. But I see today that the Iraqi PM took less than 24 hours to

eat crow and reverse himself after suggesting that Iraq could handle its own security if the US were to leave. His "clarification" is transparent and embarrassing. Since the rhetoric blaming Iraq for continued disaster there is coming from both sides of the aisle and is increasing in frequency, and since I believe the Iraqi government will do anything the WH says it must do, I suggest it might be worth considering that the Iraqi parliament is taking vacation with full consent of the WH. Frustration with the Iraqis (however ironic and immoral that is) may be part of the formula of finding someone to blame for failure and announcing a strategy change. And few of us here believe that the WH really wants Iraq to stabilize, self-govern, and quiet, right?

In any case...the point is that the public, journalists, and at least dem leaders should find it morally offensive and wrong to get on a high horse and look down on the ingrate Iraqis for not getting their democracy act together and for passing on this fine opportunity we've given them.

[EFerrari]

55. Is that our noose around his neck?

I'm surprised he issues any dissenting statements at all.

We're building up militias to the point where they will shortly be more powerful than the government. Maybe they are, already.

So much for spreading "democracy". Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

[Kolesar]

60. The NY Times editorialized that the Iraqi gov't is stalling and playing political games

The editorial did not go on at length about it.

I don't recall that America installed Saddam and/or the Bath party.

[EFerrari]

61. They did. n/t

[MADem]

6. Wow, what does this mean, I wonder?

Would that be short or long-term national interest? Hang around and pump 'em dry, from heavily fortified bases? Use those fortified bases as launching points for other regional adventures?

Turn the oil fields and surrounding areas into Empty Quarters?

I've noticed that this past week, BushCo and the GOP (Sens. Graham and Bond, specifically with others, including Holy Joe) are out there in EARNEST trying to "sell" the shopworn "staying the course" theme again, with the usual "Democrats are cut n runners, the troops hate us and they want to stay, blah blah, blah, they want to throw more blood on the sand, yeah, right..." What a load of horseshit. I'd like to see those fat bastards squeeze themselves into some body armor and drive around aimlessly on Iraq's streets, playing the Moving Target to the Al Qaida Sharpshooting Class of 2007.

[ananda]

7. Schieffer is an eejit!

What he actually said in response to his shock moment
is totally in line with propaganda.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. "The dream of building a democracy in Iraq"

Oh, yeah. That's why we invaded and occupied Iraq. Sure, Bob.

He has a way to go, yet.

[Tansy_Gold]

12. "The truth is there are no good options left."

Well, Bob, if NONE of the options are "good," why don't we take the ungood, i.e. bad, option that would at least get "our" people out of harm's way? Why NOT bring them home now, ASAP, yesterday?

". . . all we can do now is try to contain this mess." We aren't containing it, Bob, and we CAN'T contain it. If we COULD contain it, we would have. Use your brain, Mr. Schieffer: If someone or something CAN do something and DOESN'T do it, either they don't want to do it or -- Duh -- they in fact CAN'T.

We can't contain the raging inferno we ourselves unleashed. Iraq and the entire region are far more unstable, far more chaotic, far more dangerous, far more filled with "terrorists" than before booooosh's insane invasion. We cannot make it better; we can only -- maybe -- get out.

That, at least, is an option we haven't yet tried. Maybe we ought to give it a chance???

Tansy Gold

[rabies1]

84. I agree with your take on this.

I say, if we keep fighting the war, soldiers and civilians are just going to continue to die. The damage to Iraqi land will just grow and grow. I say leave now. They say our very presence there is making it worse. It's bound to set off some sort of angry burst initially when we leave, but probably no more than if we continued to stay. We MUST clean up what this disastrous administration has done. Elect people who care. Then set up a way to help Iraq rebuild. It would be great to send money that would allow the Iraqis to rebuild their own land. We owe them so much because our country started this war. We also need to show the world we care about people - our own by helping our vets, giving all of us health care, global warming, finally helping the Katrina victims etc. and communicating with other countries for a change.

[JDPriestly]

17. Bit late for an epiphany on this.

We've been trying to get the MSM to admit that Bush's policies in Iraq were doomed from the get go. Now the weasels in the MSM are jumping on the righteous bandwagon that we built, fueled and put on the road. Schieffer and the rest should resign in shame and give room for better qualified, better educated, more courageous journalists who will apply their critical thinking skills to what they report and search for the truth. The rule used to be "all the news that's fit to print." Schieffer and friends have only been reporting "all the news Rove considers fit to print" since before Bush grabbed power. They are as much to blame as the Bushies for the horror of Iraq and the failure of Afghanistan.

My thanks to Michael Moore who had the courage and rectitude to speak straight to the press. Without his speech, Schieffer would not have dared to make the statement he made today.

The Germans paid huge war reparations for the damage they did in their rampage before and during WWII. I hate to think what price we will pay . . . .

It is Sunday. My prayer today is:

God help our nation to take responsibility for its blindness and the deceit and crimes of the Bush administration around the world. Help us to become a nation of blessed peacemakers. Amen

[Disturbed]

22. It's the Iraqi Govt.'s fault that Iraq is in such a mess!

Yeah, that is the correct lie to go with. The entire US Corp Media will help spread this lie ad nauseum.

[Amonester]

83. Make Schit-fer, his m$m clone$, and all the neo-cons' "institute$" pay.

Strip 'em all of their possessions (catch 'em before they all escape to Paraguay, or even then: get 'em there).

Make sure nobody else of their "kind" ever try to repeat their "lessons" in the future...

[Gidney N Cloyd]

20. Typical Schieffer. All gravitas and no sense.

I have to admit he does a great impersonation of a journalist while spinning for the GOP.

[EFerrari]

21. Does this SOB have a site that takes comments? n/t

[EVDebs]

24. Are we still paying for those Permanent Bases and that Grand Embassy ?

Enquiring minds want to know. Maybe during the Presidential Debates someone can bring this up.

BTW this is why the NSA was spying on the Quakers,

If the US is leaving Iraq, why are they building permanent bases ?
http://www.fcnl.org/iraq/bases.htm

and is a major factor in why the insurgency zoomed in supporting anti-US-troops sentiment,

"Polls conducted in June 2005 suggest even more anti-occupation sentiment; most alarming to U.S. policymakers is rising support for the Resistance. According to the Boston Globe (10 June 2005): "a recent internal poll conducted for the U.S.-led coalition found that nearly 85 percent of the population supported the Resistance attacks, making accurate intelligence difficult to obtain. Only 15 percent of those polled said they strongly supported the U.S.-led coalition."<31> A later 2005 poll by British intelligence said that 45% of Iraqis support attacks against coalition forces, rising to 65% in some areas, and that 82% are "strongly opposed" to the presence of foreign troops.<32> Demands for U.S. withdrawal have also been signed on by one third of Iraq's Parliament.<33> These results are consistent with a January 2006 poll that found an overall 47% approval for attacks on US-led forces. That figure climbed to 88% among Sunni Resistance. Attacks on Iraqi security forces and civilians, however, were approved of by only 7% and 12% of respondents respectively. 87% favored a U.S. withdrawal, but only 23% believe the U.S. would actually withdraw if asked. 80% believed the U.S. plans permanent bases in Iraq.<27>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency#Analysis_and_polls


and Bush's lies are highlighted once again,

Bush "As Iraqis stand up US will stand down"
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=16917

[young_at_heart]

25. I wish the GOP congress felt the same!

"concentrate instead on the terrorist threat that this country faces around the world."----this is what should have always been the case!

[stephinrome]

28. "terrorist threat that this country faces around the world" ?! n/t

[Hissyspit]

30. "all the good intentions?" Lots of people didn't have any good intentions at all.

Starting with the President, the Vice President...

[sandnsea]

33. An epiphanette

apparently - he still doesn't quite get the whole picture. *sigh*

[malaise]

31. Ask Bob for me

God help the Iraqi people because there is not much America can do to help a government that leaves Americans dying in the streets while the parliament escapes to cooler climes.

------
Where were Bush, Cheney, Condi et al when he people of New Orleans were left in that nasty water?

[blondeatlast]

35. Vacate, bunker, shoe shopping--and that was just dandy with the media.

It wasn't like there was anything important going on.

:mad:

I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I may have to log off of DU for a very long while. If we can't climb the dungeon walls, I may need to be oblivious to what is coming. My son is 10--:wtf: have I left him? :cry:

[malaise]

39. Hopefully we'll collectively clean up this mess

before he grows up.

Bushco and MSM can't fool me.

[wiggs]

47. Great point for dem candidates. Instead of blaming Iraqis for the misery

that is Iraq, would be nice for them to mention Bush's vacation in August 2001 (Bin Laden pdb) and during Katrina. Would be devastating. Probably won't happen.

[Octafish]

32. Vacation? The Little Turd from Crawford has been on vacation since August 2001.

For me, that sealed it.

Bin Laden determined to strike in US

Then, he turned around and said to the CIA briefer:

"All right. You've covered your ass now."

The crazy monkey is a traitor, too.

[wiggs]

48. Great point. Sure would like to hear some dem leaders point that out. nt

[EFerrari]

58. Imho, we'd all be better off if he just stayed at the pig farm. n/t

[alfredo]

34. An e-mail inspired by Schieffer's comments.

The Subject "For me, this does it."

I remember a person asking about when will our news anchors have a "Walter Cronkite moment." It appears that Bob Schieffer did this morning on Face The Nation. Below are the comments by Bob Schieffer then below his comments are the comments of Walter Cronkite on February 27, 1968. At the end, I add my comments.

Baghdad Is Too Hot For Iraqi Leaders?
Bob Schieffer: The Iraqi Parliament's August Vacation Is Too Much
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/15/opinion/schieffer/main3058990.shtml

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2007

(CBS) Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

I am still not sure that I believe it: The Iraqi parliament is going on vacation during the month of August.

The White House offers the lame excuse that, after all, Baghdad is hot in August – sometimes 130 degrees.

May I ask a follow-up?

How much hotter do you suppose it is if you are a wearing a helmet, full body armor, carrying ammunition and walking foot patrols through Baghdad?

The last I heard, that is how American troops are spending their August in Iraq.

For me, this does it.

God help the Iraqi people because there is not much America can do to help a government that leaves Americans dying in the streets while the parliament escapes to cooler climes.

Does this mean we should pull out immediately?

No. A sudden withdrawal could set the entire region aflame. The truth is there are no good options left. But from here on, we need to put aside the dream of building a democracy in Iraq and focus solely on what is in our national interest.

It won't be pretty, but for all our good intentions, about all we can do now is try to contain this mess, pull our troops back from the middle of this civil war, and concentrate instead on the terrorist threat that this country faces around the world.

As for what kind of government Iraq needs, let their parliament figure it out. They can get right on it when the Baghdad weather turns cooler.


Jump back to February 1968

http://www.richmond.edu/~ebolt/history398/Cronkite_1968.html

WALTER CRONKITE'S "WE ARE MIRED IN STALEMATE" BROADCAST, FEBRUARY 27, 1968



Tonight, back in more familiar surroundings in New York, we'd like to sum up our findings in Vietnam, an analysis that must be speculative, personal, subjective. Who won and who lost in the great Tet offensive against the cities? I'm not sure. The Vietcong did not win by a knockout, but neither did we. The referees of history may make it a draw. Another standoff may be coming in the big battles expected south of the Demilitarized Zone. Khesanh could well fall, with a terrible loss in American lives, prestige and morale, and this is a tragedy of our stubbornness there; but the bastion no longer is a key to the rest of the northern regions, and it is doubtful that the American forces can be defeated across the breadth of the DMZ with any substantial loss of ground. Another standoff. On the political front, past performance gives no confidence that the Vietnamese government can cope with its problems, now compounded by the attack on the cities. It may not fall, it may hold on, but it probably won't show the dynamic qualities demanded of this young nation. Another standoff.

We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds. They may be right, that Hanoi's winter-spring offensive has been forced by the Communist realization that they could not win the longer war of attrition, and that the Communists hope that any success in the offensive will improve their position for eventual negotiations. It would improve their position, and it would also require our realization, that we should have had all along, that any negotiations must be that -- negotiations, not the dictation of peace terms. For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. This summer's almost certain standoff will either end in real give-and-take negotiations or terrible escalation; and for every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the North, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to the battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster.

To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.

This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.

Source: Reporting Vietnam: Part One: American Journalism 1959-1969 (1998), pp. 581-582.



It won't matter to the White House what anyone thinks or does, the war is a means to an end. That end is imperial powers through perpetual war, or as they call it, a "Unitary Executive." They are using the war, a compromised Justice Department, a compliant Judiciary, and the fear of terrorism to shift power to the executive. Every news reader in America could have their "moment" it won't matter if it isn't backed up by real punitive actions against the bush administration. If the corrective action of impeachment is not used, the powers bush has claimed as his own, will be passed (along with his war) to the next president. If congress does not act, they will become like the Duma under Nicholas II: powerless.

If our system falls, we can't blame the architect Cheney, Bush, the media, or Congress, it is our fault for not paying attention, and not caring about our basic freedoms. We still may be able to stop them, but I have little faith that the American people really care if they are free or not.

[rodeodance]

36. a Gen who was first gulf war it will takp- 1-2 years to get all of our people and Equio

ment out

[Algorem]

43. even the great bush can't save these no-good iraqis right bob?

it's all those iraqis fault rght bob?

[stillrockin]

50. Schieffer Runs Out in Front of Parade

In the immortal words of Janeane Garofalo, "He can kiss my fat black ass."
:+

[defendandprotect]

52. The "entire area wasn't aflame" before we got there --

and estimates are that the quicker we leave -- ALL TROOPS -- the faster they will all be able to reclaim their lives and peace.

While this is about control of the Middle East and and its OIL with plans of permanent occupation by Busco, there is no doubt that there is also an aspect of religious "crusade" also tainting the picture....Christians vs the Muslims. Did anyone notice that Blair revealed himself to the Pope in his recent visit as soon to be converting to Catholicism?

Chertoff is also a religious fanatic --

These religious fantasies of "world's end" and Bibical prophesies are dangerous and should be kept in mind.

[everydayis911]

54. Another Bagdad Bob

Damn Iraqi's leaving Americans in the street to die while their country is being bombed by Americans. When are those Iraqi's going to get their shit together. Because if we leave now as Bob says "A sudden withdrawal could set the entire region aflame" I'm glad it's going so well while were there to bring Democracy. Better to fight Democracy there so we won't have to fight it here. Nobody seems to care here anyway.

[autorank]

56. "for all our good intentions," What intentions would those be Bob?

Sorry, the intention was to lie to the country, have the COMPLICIT Corporate Media echo and reinforce
the lie, and they take over Iraq because * and the PTB are too fucking lazy and decadent to develop
a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Give me a break. We'll keep doing idiotic stuff like this until we get the real lesson - our
government consists of a bunch of scam artists with a bunch of weaklings looking on who should
be intently monitoring and controlling the situation.

The people were scared half to death with tales of a nuclear Iraq which it was implied very cleverly
was somehow part of the 911. AND nobody spoke up, nobody in a position of leadership. They rolled
over and snored.

Sorry Bob, have your moment and then have it again. Maybe you'll convince yourself that you
weren't part of the whole scam.

[Horus Krupkey]

62. Bingo!!! Here's the Mp3

As for what kind of government Iraq needs, let their parliament figure it out. They can get right on it when the Baghdad weather turns cooler. - Bob Schieffer July 15, 2007

CBS_FaceNationSpecialCommentTheCronkiteMomentTimeToGO_2007_07_15.mp3 ( 178.15k )

What was the trigger I wonder?

http://graphics.boston.com:80/bonzai-fba/AFP_Photo/2004/10/13/1097718127_1145.jpg

It definintly wasn't cheney puting a gun to his head, or:

A controversial new film on Henry Kissinger, whose return to government has set off a firestorm.
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/kissinger.html

Director Eugene Jarecki, on the man the president named to root out the secrets of September 11.

WALTER ISAACSON, KISSINGER BIOGRAPHER: Kissinger had a very conspiratorial and sometimes manipulative character. He really liked to please various sides, he liked to ingratiate himself and in the Paris peace talks, he was willing to talk to both the Johnson/ Humphrey camp as well as the Nixon camp. Kissinger told the Nixon campaign that the Johnson team was close to an agreement with North Vietnam. Until the deal was final, the Johnson team wanted to keep the negotiations secret from South Vietnam.

http://www.pbs.org/now/printable/transcript146_full_print.html



Could it have been he was told to move the dialog away from IMPEACHMENT???????????



http://polstream.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9wb2RjYXN0LWJsb2ctYXVkaW8tdmlkZW8tbWVkaWEtZmlsZXMvYmxvZ3MvMTM1ODIvdXBsb2Fkcy9QQlNfTW95ZXJzLUltcGVhY2htZW50X0JSVUNFX0ZFSU5fX0pPSE5fTklDSE9MUy0yMDA3LTA3LTEzLm1wMw/PBS_Moyers-Impeachment_BRUCE_FEIN__JOHN_NICHOLS-2007-07-13.mp3"> PBS_Moyers-Impeachment_BRUCE_FEIN__JOHN_NICHOLS-2007-07-13.mp3 ( 7MB Listen or DL )

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1114.mp3"> pbs.org/... moyers/BMJ-1114.mp3 ( Podcast 20MB )

Well, let's try a metaphor. Let's say that-- when George Washington chopped down the cherry tree, he used the wood to make a little box. And in that box the president puts his powers. We've taken things out. We've put things in over the years.

On January 20th, 2009, if George Bush and Dick Cheney are not appropriately held to account this administration will hand off a toolbox with more powers than any president has ever had, more powers than the founders could have imagined. And that box may be handed to Hillary Clinton or it may be handed to Mitt Romney or Barack Obama or someone else. But whoever gets it, one of the things we know about power is that people don't give away the tools. They don't give them up. The only way we take tools out of that box is if we sanction George Bush and Dick Cheney now and say the next president cannot govern as these men have.




http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/watch.html

There are political crimes that have been perpetrated in combination. It hasn't been one, the other being in isolation. And the hearings have to be not into this is a Republican or Democrat. This is something that needs to set a precedent, whoever occupies the White House in 2009. You do not want to have that occupant, whether it's John McCain or Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani or John Edwards to have this authority to go outside the law and say, "I am the law. I do what I want. No one else's view matters."

Nancy Pelosi is wrong. Nancy Pelosi is disregarding her oath of office. She should change course now. And more importantly, members of her caucus and responsible Republicans should step up. Impeach is a useful word. It is a necessary word. The founders in the Constitution made no mention of corporation or political parties or conventions or primaries or caucuses. But they made six separate references to impeachment. They wanted us to know this word, and they wanted us to use it.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/transcript2.html?print

They're doing these for optical purposes. They're trying to create the appearance that they're tougher than all of their opponents 'cause they're willing to violate the law, even though the violations have nothing to do with actually defeating the terrorism. And we have instances where the president now for years has flouted the Foreign Intelligence Act. He's never said why the act has ever inhibited anybody. Remember, this act has been around for over a quarter of a century, and no president ever said it impaired his gathering of foreign intelligence. And suddenly the president's, "No, we have to violate it and flout it because it doesn't work." Well, why? He's never explained it. He's never explained why this act stopped gathering of all the intelligence that was needed to fight the terrorists.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/transcript2.html?print

YET UNFUKKING BELIEVABLY Arianna Huffington and Katrina vanden Heuvel argue Nancy Pelosi's position that STOPPING the WAR IS MORE IMPORTANT which is a NON SEQUITUR!!!
http://polstream.podbean.com/medias/play/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhMS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9wb2RjYXN0LWJsb2ctYXVkaW8tdmlkZW8tbWVkaWEtZmlsZXMvYmxvZ3MvMTM1ODIvdXBsb2Fkcy9BQVJfN2QtR3JlZW5IdWZmSG91dmFsLU5vSW1wZWFjaG1lbnQtMjAwNy0wNy0xNC0xMWsubXAz/AAR_7d-GreenHuffHouval-NoImpeachment-2007-07-14-11k.mp3">AAR_7d-GreenHuffHouval-NoImpeachment-2007-07-14-11k.mp3 ( Listen or DL )

The "DISTRACTION" is an OBLIGATION of the OATH OF OFFICE to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. At a minimum you will be denied reelection if you don't do your job!
http://www.answers.com/topic/president-of-the-united-states-oath-of-office
http://www.answers.com/topic/oath-of-office


Congress is polarized and paralyzed. And down at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Bush still was insisting Congress should stay out of the war. he and Vice President Cheney are holding out for better news from Iraq in September. But when September comes, you can count on more appeals for delay or excuses. that's the formula for perpetual war -- what our founders most feared, because it would turn our Constituion on its head, throwing off the checks and balances so crucial to liberty, and leaving all power in an imperial executive. Already the war in Iraq is in its 5th year, costing $10 billion a month, with the casualties mounting. All week a line from the poet Marvin Bell floated through my mind:

"What/shall we do, we who are at war but are asked/to pretend we are not?"

What shall we do? impeachment hearings are one way to go, as you heard Fein and Nichols say. In the meantime, those of us in public television have an obligation to make sure viewers like you stay in the loop.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/transcript3.html?print





Bob Schieffer is a DISTRACTION. Nobody's leaving Iraq until Barney the DOG says so!!!

And here's why:
http://www.airamericaplace.com/boards/lofiversion/index.php/t22223.html

[regnaD kciN]

65. In other words...

Does this mean we should pull out immediately?

No. A sudden withdrawal could set the entire region aflame. The truth is there are no good options left. But from here on, we need to put aside the dream of building a democracy in Iraq and focus solely on what is in our national interest.

..."take the oil and run." :eyes:

[Mind_your_head]

68. Did America ever have 'good intentions' towards Iraq?

Stealing Iraqi oil....That's what was intended!

I don't think anybody's "God" blesses thieves.

[cui bono]

70. With all due respect, I think you missed the most important line from the DK OP:

"The Iraqi parliament is going on vacation during the month of August."

Fuck them!

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[calimary]

72. Just taking their cue from their mentor back in DC. I'm surprised they

haven't delegated more. God forbid any of these schmucks do any actual work.

Why can't we pull our troops out of there for the month of August? If the Iraqi parliament is gonna go AWOL, why can't our guys and gals? They deserve to get out of that hellish heat, too.

[cui bono]

74. Yep. I think I'll write some of the M$M and tell them to report the Iraqi vacation.

If that, coupled with the refusal to take care of our own troops, doesn't stir up the public I don't know what will.

:shrug:

[Land Shark]

89. HOW ABOUT no vacations for Congress til all wars are OVER????? nt

[EFerrari]

96. No. This is their way to stall the theft of their resources.

Fuck BushCo for trying to blackmail these people to whom they told us we were bringing democracy -- an Orwellian term for "we're here to rape you, bend over."

[stlsaxman]

75. When I think "Cronkite Moment" i see one contemplatively taking off their glasses...

When i think of Bob Sheifer i just want to rip his eyes out!

So Bob... Got Epiphanous Moment?

[colorado_ufo]

76. Could it be?

Could the Iraqi government finally have found a way to force out the American troops - by the passive resistance of a vacation?

[saltpoint]

78. I have a lot of respect for Bob Schieffer.

I appreciate that the OP has put this in front of us and it is something of a Conkrite moment with Schieffer, maybe even a watershed in the kind of response the media will have from this point forward.

My guess is that everyone in Washington, DC knows Bush's Iraq occupation is an unmitigated disaster. The public relations impact of the Iraq parliament leaving town for vacation zones in August does not play well with anyone, especially with the friends and families of soldiers whose lives are on the line 24/7 in that part of the world.

Schieffer is often smeared on these boards. I wish he were not. He's an excellent journalist. He plays fair. And has this one right.

CBS ought not to have dumped him for Katie Couric.

[rodeodance]

79. Lets hope he has a few more moments like this.

[disndat]

82. Just another Bush Rat

jumping ship. But to look on the brighter side, it is probably a good sign that Bush's lapdogs think that the end is near for Buchco and they think it is a good time to save their behinds. Future scholars will write that Bushco is not only "worse than Watergate" but compares closer to the Holocaust in its avalanche of depravity, cheered on by the MSM.

[gasperc]

85. But Bob, you need to give Surge 11.0 time to work

Bob, you wimpy coward, it's only been 4.5 years and no where near enough time to defeat an enemy with no organized army, leadership, weapons, tanks, jets, navy, cell phones, pen and paper to scribble plans to insurgents in the field(ok maybe they have that)

But, Bob, you see my point, with an enemy as savvy as the international islamo-fascist insurgent squad one must have an unlimited amount of time, money, resources, weapons, hate, resolve and grit to win. Something you clearly do not have. Also, by insisting on silly things like goals and benchmarks you would just be letting the enemy win.

[brel1]

86. blame Iraq

Yea, it's all Iraq's fault

[ikojo]

87. Too little and about 36xx dead American soldiers and

TENS of THOUSANDS of dead Iraqis later.

The truth is that if the war on Iraq was going the US' way there would be little if any opposition to it. People need to ask themselves, are they against this war only because Americans are dying or because Iraq never posed a threat to the US and the invasion of a sovereign nation is WRONG?

[Land Shark]

88. What if it is in "america's interest" as Schieffer put it, to have Saddam-style dictatorship??? nt

[EFerrari]

97. They're auditioning candidates now. n/.t

[zehnkatzen]

90. Day late, dollar short...just like the rest of the war cheerleaders

Good for Bob. Really. Good for him.

Too bad he couldn't have seen this outcome, the same outcome less intelligent and less important people than him saw a long time back.

But we are the hoi polloi...what do we know?

Thanks a lot, Bob.

For nothing.

[Beelzebud]

93. Mr. Schieffer, your statements only show that you have one hell of a tolerance level for bullshit.

Am I supposed to be impressed by this Johnny-Come-Lately revelation by this Bush Family Friend?

[redqueen]

99. Kinda late for that, isn't it?

Took you till NOW, eh, Bob?

Hope you sleep well at night, asshole. YOU helped this along.

:puke: