Anyone remember Alexander Haig saying "he was in charge" of the government

[BeatleBoot]

I think it was the day Reagan was shot, but I remember a reporter asking him who was in charge of the government and instead of stating the pecking order in the U.S. Constitution, he responded..

"I am."


What an asshole!

:rofl:

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[rucky]

2. At the small office I used to work at,

my boss would call me Al Haig when he put me in charge while he was out of the office. Cracked me up every time.

[zeemike]

3. I remember it...and wondered if it were not really true.

After all Reagan was an actor and all he had to do was act like he was in charge....but who was the director?

[JohnnyLib2]

7. Same here.

[ngant17]

23. my guess is that the "MIC" was the director

after all, Raygun was always a willing shill for the military-industrial complex.

[Walk away]

4. He went on TV to say he was the next in line to be the acting President.

It was a big scandal. He just ignored the VP. He was the original Sarah Palin. I can easily imagine her doing the same thing.

[BeatleBoot]

6. Exactly.

Another Republican asshole died today.

Big whoop.

[harkadog]

34. Not really true

He didn't ignore the VP. The VP was in Texas at the time. He said he was in control of matters "here at the White House".

[Walk away]

40. I remember sitting with my Dad when it happened.

The way he said it implied that he was in control...not just in control of the White House. It was a big scandle at the time. My Dad was out of his chair with shock at his statement.

The chain of command thing was out the window.

[harkadog]

41. He was the highest ranking member of the Executive Branch

at the White House. Who should have been in control of the situation there since the VP was unavailable?

[Walk away]

42. You obviously need to defend him. At the time and even today...

most Americans who witnessed his speech, telling us all that he was in control of the country, remember it as a creepy and inappropriate attempt at seizing some power. Have you checked it out the video recently?

[KonaKane]

5. I remember it well.

In fact I was living and working in the Washington DC area at the time. I was driving out of Vienna VA toward the beltway and heard the comment relayed over the radio as I was checking out the aftermath of the Reagan shooting. I just about drove off the road at the thought of some military guy jumping at "control" during a leadership crisis. It was the only time I had a real shot of adrenalin go through my system at the thought of a US junta becoming a reality.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. Yes, I saw it live - Reagan was just shot, and he blurted out that he was in charge.

He was an asshole. But may he rest in peace.

[sarge43]

9. Remember it well and my hair stood up on end. n/t

[calimary]

12. I remember it too. Working in a newsroom at the time.

Stood transfixed during that news conference. When he said that - I remember thinking - "uh-oh... what's THAT gonna mean?"

[sarge43]

20. I was still in service at the time

General Al had a well established reputation among us Nam and Nam era vets (those of us who paid attention to such things) as a Dougie MacArthur wannabe, seriously ate up. It was an Ohshit moment; what's he going to fuck around with now.

[Sheltiemama]

25. Working in a newsroom now.

I was in eighth grade when Reagan was shot, but I remember that. Probably because my father was working in a newsroom at the time. Of course, we've all been declaring we're in charge in my newsroom the past 24 hours.

[Zoeisright]

10. I certainly do.

My only thought at the time was that Ray-Gun might change his mind on gun control.

I was wrong, of course.

[H2O Man]

11. Context is everything.

Haig did what he did that day, because he believed that forces within the Office of the Vice President were attempting to grab too much power. He understood fully that what he was doing was incorrect, but he did it in order to protect the Constitution as he understood it, and the threat to it.

I say this as a person who was not fond of Haig. In terms of a gross violation of the Constitution, one need look no further than his use of the US military at the community of Wounded Knee.

[BeatleBoot]

13. As I recall

He looked like he was working on his 3rd bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon for the day.

His speech slurred.

[H2O Man]

18. Respectfully disagree.

He looked mighty anxious, and sounded a bit less than stable. But not intoxicated (with alcohol, anyhow).

[midnight]

22. I might be reading more into this than you are saying, but are you implying

something about the V.P. office being compromised at that time?

[gulfcoastliberal]

14. I thought he said he was in charge of the white house, not the country... nt

[customerserviceguy]

17. That's what I remember

He wanted to assert that the government was not going to be in some sort of disarray, so he fell back on his command experience to utter a clumsy thing.

[kestrel91316]

38. Exactly. I don't think he had evil intentions, he just came off looking like an idiot,

and scared a bunch of people in the process.

[Cirque du So-What]

15. I remember that day very well

Haig stepped on his crank when he claimed to be 'in control':

Haig answered the reporter: “Constitutionally gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president and the secretary of state, in that order, and should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president, he will do so. As for now, I’m in control here, in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.”

Haig was wrong to say “constitutionally.” The constitution mentions the secretary of state only in an actual transfer of power and then it places him fourth in line.

“I wasn’t talking about transition,” Haig says now. “I was talking about the executive branch, who is running the government. That was the question asked. It was not, ‘who is in line should the President die?’”

Haig says he knew the order of succession better than anyone. In 1974 he was chief-of-staff when Nixon resigned. Haig insists the briefing room appearance was meant to reassure the world and ease the pressure on the nuclear trigger.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/04/23/60II/main287292.shtml

Even when I was a middle-schooler, I knew that the Speaker of the House and the Senate President pro tem were ahead of the Secretary of State. I find it hard to believe that he could really be oblivious to the true line of succession, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He shouldn't have used the word 'constitutionally,' however.

The article goes on to discuss how Cap Weinberger was asserting his authority in another part of the White House, ordering crews into nuclear bombers in case the assassination attempt was a part of a Soviet plot, and other aide-monkeys were all busily fucking the nuclear football. Further proof that Republicans have no business trying to run things.

[unblock]

39. haig got a raw deal for that quote.

and it could happen to a more deserving scumbag.

near as i can tell, it was the last time a republican got crap for a twisted quote. ever since then, it was reserved for democrats, like all the crap al gore got when he said he did more in congress than anyone in creating the internet.

[femmocrat]

16. Yes. Unfortunately.

I remember way too much about the reagan years.

[laughingliberal]

19. I remember. nt

[liberal N proud]

21. I remember very well

It was a :wtf: moment in American History

[Sheltiemama]

24. Oh, yes.

And it was the day Reagan was shot.

[Bitwit1234]

26. Yes he tried to take over

when Nixon resigned. They had to convince that the VP was in charge. He didn't want to believe it. Now this guy was Secretary of State and he didn't know the constitution.

[virgogal]

27. Of course I remember it. It was jaw dropping------a real "huh?" moment.

[niyad]

28. oh, how well I remember. I won't even bother saying RIP--I wish every single repuke everything they

deserve.

[naaman fletcher]

29. I don't see what the big deal is..

The press was freaking out, and one of the reporters yelled "who's in charge".

Haig blurted out "I am in charge here (here meaning the white house)" and then the often left out part of the quote "until the vice-president arrives".

So, the executive office of the presidency had no leader, and Haig announced he was in charge until the guy in charge showed up.


I really don't see the big deal. Somebody had to be in charge until the person in charge showed up.

I don't like Haig, I think he is a reactionary warmonger, but what he said was no big deal.

[niyad]

30. ever read "seven days in may"?

[naaman fletcher]

31. nope.

[niyad]

36. a most interesting book, scary as hell.

[winstars]

32. HELLO??? NIXON WHITE HOUSE

Yes, he did mess up that day Raygun was shot whether he meant to or not. But lest we not forget his start at the Nixon White House as a/or the "military guy"!!! Please forgive me for forgetting his exact title and not using the google on the internets... was he not a potential 'Deep Throat" suspect for years???

[BeatleBoot]

35. Nixon's Chief of Staff

:puke:

Yes, that motherfucker's Chief of Staff.

I hope he is sitting on the left side of Nixon in Hell.

With Lee Atwater at his right side.

[Walk away]

43. ....waiting for Karl Rove.....

to bring up the rear.

[tonysam]

33. Yep. It was unforgettable.

Unfortunately for Haig, the Reagan presidency was really the Presidency of the Two Bakers, James and Howard.

[kestrel91316]

37. He was an idiot. He did indeed say that.