Obama Picks Bob Graham To Probe Oil Disaster. Bob Graham Does Not Do Cover Ups

[KittyWampus]

wiki:

As a result of his service as the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in 2004 Bob Graham authored the book "Intelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia and the Failure of America's War on Terror." Shining much-needed light on areas the 9/11 Commission preferred to keep dark, Intelligence Matters chronicles the efforts of a historic joint House-Senate inquiry to get to the bottom of our intelligence failures on that infamous day in 2001. Originally published in 2004 amid the media circus surrounding The 9/11 Commission Report, the book provides an unflinching exposé of failure, incompetence, and deceit at the highest levels of our government.

[NJmaverick]

1. Kick and Rec! Thanks for posting the important facts

[vanbean]

56. I can't wait to hear what Randi has to say!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rudy23]

84. Your immediate kick and rec is exactly what causes me to suspect Graham.

I just believe the exact opposite of whatever you guys post. At least it helps us to know where the admin's head is.

[jobycom]

2. Good pick. nt

[emulatorloo]

3. Recommending to get the word out. Graham is a tough SOB and will get to the bottom of this

[NJmaverick]

15. Yes he will

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. Promising! KnR

[rzemanfl]

Bob Graham knows something about 9/11 that he has kept his

mouth shut about for years. I suppose he wants to stay out of prison.

On edit, not for anything he did, but for disclosing classified info.

[closeupready]

12. I read his book, and I think you are probably correct.

He kind of held back in it. This must be why.

[rzemanfl]

114. I read the book too. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

13. He certainly did pick an interesting morning to have a breakfast date

with a known terrorist funding scumbag, didn't he?

[bertman]

71. Please elaborate, Sebastion. I don't know what you're referring to. Thanks. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

86. On the morning of 9-11-01

Senator Bob Graham happenned to be eating breakfast in Washington DC with Bush Crime Family/CIA flunkie Porter Goss and Pakistani ISI General Mahmoud Ahmad. The ISI and specifically Ahmad have links to both Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban.

Of course it isn't as odd as Poppy Bush attending a champagne brunch with his Carlyle Group buddies - including one Shafiq Bin Laden - that very same morning, but it's probably a close second.

[EVDebs]

122. Yes indeedy. Wonder what could have been discussed. nt

[Iggo]

107. So then he does do cover-ups?

[ellenfl]

5. woo hoo! good choice. we lost a lot when he left government. eom

[Snotcicles]

6. Nobody has more integrity than Bob Graham. imo. nt

[Celebration]

7. Perfect

Now put a similar kick ass person in charge of the cleanup. Coast Guard=not up to the job.

[Dennis Donovan]

8. OUTSTANDING choice!!!

Bob Graham is one of the more honest and honorable men in politics, not to mention that the spill is threatening his beloved Florida.

Slightly OT: a Bob Graham fun fact - when he was a three year old boy, he planted a loogie on future Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, who was his half-sister-in-law (Bob's much-older half-brother was Philip L Graham). One of the funnier excerpts from Kay Graham's autobiography "Personal History".:rofl:

[Dawson Leery]

9. k/r

Bob has some unorthodox commentary on various things.

[polichick]

10. This is a choice I feel good about - Graham will do us right! nt

[NJmaverick]

14. Yes he will

[closeupready]

11. Yes, he's a good one.

n/t

[FLPanhandle]

16. Graham has credibility in Florida

I have as much trust in him as I can have in a politician.

[Lochloosa]

34. +1000

[PassingFair]

59. He's one of the good guys, for sure.

He's got cred with me, too.

:hi:

[rhett o rick]

17. I rec this thread for hope. We need something. BP has shown they are not able to

fix this mess. So far we have put all our faith in BP.

[Captain Hilts]

18. I always underestimated Graham. Probably a good choice. nt

[On the Road]

19. That is a Damn Good Appointment

[sad sally]

20. Along with Mr. in the pockets of big oil, William Reilly,

who happens to be a board member of Conco Phillips and was head of the EPA under Bush 43 - during the Exon Valdez spill/cleanup. Said something like so, oil's going to spill sometimes - no problem. Twenty-one years later and the oil is still on the beaches of Valdez. Suppose he's opposed to cover ups?

[Moochy]

58. Exactly ...

That's why Obama appointed the republican, because Graham doesn't do coverups.

[TheKentuckian]

21. Bob Graham does big biz so he isn't beyond reproach. He was on 9/11 which means he isn't beyond

reproach. The whole truth hasn't come out on that by any stretch.

[walldude]

27. True.. but he tried...

I'm sure he's bound by law to keep his mouth shut but I remember him dropping all kinds of hints to the press, trying to push people in certain directions but no one wanted to hear it. They wanted it over and done with and buried.

I personally don't fully trust any politician but Graham is a decent choice. Given Obama's track record for appointments I think this is one of the better ones.

[TheKentuckian]

129. Fair enough. As long as you know you're grading on a curve.

[Inuca]

49. What does

"He was on 9/11" mean?!?!?

[TheKentuckian]

128. On the committee to investigate 9/11

I don't think the truth all really came out and as such don't see anyone on it as beyond reproach.

[jpak]

22. The Corporatist Facist Obama strikes again

oh the huma...

:D

[spanone]

23. k&r

[saltpoint]

24. Bob has an eye for detail. All the details. Every last one of the little

buggers.

The BP people have reason to be concerned. Graham will get it done.

Excellent choice.

[suzie]

111. "Every last one." How true.

[saltpoint]

124. - - -

:thumbsup:

:hi:

[Angry Dragon]

25. Kick & Rec

[proReality]

26. K&R n/t

[Scurrilous]

28. K & R

:thumbsup:

[meowomon]

29. Bob Graham is the best of Florida politics. The best Governor and Senator!

I admire him. He is honorable and has integrity. This is great news for the Gulf coast. I wish him God speed and good health through this horrible tragedy.

[Waiting For Everyman]

30. Is that a joke? "does not do coverups"

Dayum!

Does he "chronicle" in his book, what his breakfast meeting on 9/11 was all about, with the Pakistani ISI "money man" for Atta (along with Porter Goss, and Jon Kyl)?

I'd bet he doesn't. If he does, there's a prime example of coverup for you. Personally, I wouldn't believe one word that man had to say, or write.

[Prometheus Bound]

35. That's the first thing I think of whenever I see his name. Breakfast with the moneyman.

[stevenleser]

88. Yeah, arent you the person that posted a link to that conspiracy website that puts forth every

conspiracy ever conceived as truth? HAARP, Vaccines, 9/11, etc., etc., etc. Willyloman at crazy.com is what it is

[Prometheus Bound]

115. The "experts'" theory about the Cheonan sinking is a conspiracy theory.

Their report must have driven you into a rabid frenzy.

[pberq]

50. a "small" fact ignored by many on DU

Thanks for reminding us

[stevenleser]

89. Yeah, a fact that means nothing except to the tinfoil hat set. But thanks anyway

Not.

[Waiting For Everyman]

96. Yeah... and ya got nothin' but ad hominums to rebut that, I see.

Check.

Why are you working so hard to whitewash this guy? What's in it for you? Is he a relative, or something? Or are you just a "do-gooder", defending this "white knight"?

:roflmao:

[stevenleser]

97. I lived in Florida for 12 years and met him twice, speaking to him at length on both occasions

But more than that, I cannot stand the conspiracy mindset.

How about you? What's in it for you? Have you spoken to Graham? Have you examined the totality of his time as Governor of Florida and his time in the Senate?

I have a theory about the conspiracy minded. I think that believing in conspiracies satisfies a number of things for you. I think it is an adrenaline rush to think about the "big bad powers that be". I think it strokes your ego to think that you "get things" that other people don't seem to get. How about it?

[Waiting For Everyman]

105. Ah, more "facts", I see...

in support of your "argument". So you LIKE him -- well goody for you. That makes him ok, then, I guess.

But "time will tell" about this, your applause for him notwithstanding.

I'll bet you like Specter's "magic bullet" too. There's another "great guy" for ya! I get it now... Maybe you're one of those who chooses presidents by who you'd like to have a beer with?

[stevenleser]

119. As opposed to all the facts YOU have included in this exchange? LOL

What a joke

[Waiting For Everyman]

126. Yes, I started off making a statement, i.e., citing a fact.

See my first post. And it's not even a disputed fact.

This OP statement, that Graham "doesn't do coverups" is the joke. Again, see first post.

[Name removed]

104. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rudy23]

53. Thank you. n/t

[Lorien]

76. Yeah, that claim just about made me lol

like we've had full disclosure on 9/11? I guess some people here WILL believe anything!

Nice political move, but how is it going to help stop the gusher and clean up our Gulf?

[stevenleser]

87. Bullshit. Graham was a member of Senate intelligence oversight committee. As such, breakfasts with

heads of Intel from other countries is something to be expected.

To suggest that this was part of a conspiracy is stupid. Do you honestly think that if there was a conspiracy going on that they were involved with that these two would be having breakfast together on the morning the operation occurred? Is anyone here REALLY that obtuse????

[Beam Me Up]

31. 9/11 wasn't an intelligence failure. It was an intelligence success. Still is.

Bob Graham and many others have made sure of that.

[lark]

73. Graham made the statement that he could not tell the truth

He was on the Intelligence Committee and they see a lot of confidential information that they by law cannot share. He was beating the drum that the admin. was hiding facts and not telling the truth, he just wasn't allowed to say what. That's why he left government.

[Beam Me Up]

134. Some information is so highly classified the fact that it is classified is classified.

This leaves the bureaucracy having to deny the existence of the information (on national security grounds).

For example, FOIA's were submitted requesting information from the NTSB (National Transportation and Safety Board) regarding the (standard) procedures used to cross reference plain debris with maintenance logs, thus, among other things, positively identifying that the parts came from a specific aircraft. See, for example:

?t=1216804736

?t=1218714517

?t=1218715382

Apparently the FBI did not request positive identification of plain debris from the NTSB.

Imagine that.

[AsahinaKimi]

32. k/r

eom

[Truth2Tell]

33. Ahhh, the master of the limited hang-out.

Don't like the official version of something? Don't worry, Bob Graham has an acceptable alternative version for you.

[Beam Me Up]

51. ^^ Phrase for the day, folks "Limited Hangout" +1000 n/t

[Truth2Tell]

85. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout

A limited hangout is a public relations or propaganda technique that involves the release of previously hidden information in order to prevent a greater exposure of more important details. It takes the form of deception, misdirection, or coverup often associated with intelligence agencies involving a release or "mea culpa" type of confession of only part of a set of previously hidden sensitive information, that establishes credibility for the one releasing the information who by the very act of confession appears to be "coming clean" and acting with integrity; but in actuality, by withholding key facts, is protecting a deeper operation and those who could be exposed if the whole truth came out. In effect, if an array of offenses or misdeeds is suspected, this confession admits to a lesser offense while covering up the greater ones.

A limited hangout typically is a response to lower the pressure felt from inquisitive investigators pursuing clues that threaten to expose everything, and the disclosure is often combined with red herrings or propaganda elements that lead to false trails, distractions, or ideological disinformation; thus allowing covert or criminal elements to continue in their improper activities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout">More...

Genesis:

NIXON: You think, you think we want to, want to go this route now? And the--let it hang out, so to speak?

DEAN: Well, it's, it isn't really that--

HALDEMAN: It's a limited hang out.

[EVDebs]

123. ^^^^^^^

[JCMach1]

36. A truly great Democrat who would have been a great President in the age before media

He will do the right thing.

[bobburgster]

37. Oh lordy!

Misread the title at first and thought it said Billy Graham :crazy:

[hay rick]

38. No, it's Billy Bob Graham.

That cracker.

[ChiciB1]

39. Bob Graham... ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITE!! Spill NOW Reaching

Pensacola... THIS IS really hitting the APEX of REALITY!! Florida IS a TOURIST STATE, and while the devastation going on in LA is horrendous, and MIND NUMBING, IMO... THIS state being hit is going to "eye-ball" this spill even more!

People from EVERYWHERE come here and when OUR beaches start getting "gunked up" many, many people here will GO VIRAL! Yes, I KNOW, it's already OUT OF CONTROL... but this is a HIGHLY political state that has been in the mix for years and years!

Living right here on the Gulf, I can walk to the beach or ride my bike easily, I've ALREADY seen just in the past week the DECLINE of tourism! I realize this isn't "season" but the beaches are generally very populated. Gone to the beach THREE times in about 8 days and attendance is down already!

News commentators are saying cancellations are down by around 40 to 50 percent and as I've been saying for weeks now... ONCE it got HERE, Floridians are going to be screaming bloody murder!!!

BOB GRAHAM is an excellent choice, he's is MUCH LOVED by so many, and one can only PRAY that he can be an effective BUFFER! The news I heard yesterday about Crist taking BP money has given me GREAT pause about him and now I don't think I have any choice but to back MEEK! I CAN'T vote in the Repuke Primary, but had been "thinking" of going with Crist in the General. Several factors held me back, but this BP thing doesn't sit well with me!

I can only say this much, words can't describe my animus regarding BP the fact that it is so close to a state that I've lived in for 30 years, OUR BEACHES may be ruined FOREVER! We have been known for having the WHITEST beaches in the WORLD and this will NOT sit well no matter how ANYONE tries to spin this!

I don't have a business here, but I'm hearing grumblings already! Where I live, people have money (not me) but many high profile people live here or have vacation homes here and THEIR voices WILL be heard! At least that's my take on this!

We've been waiting and waiting for some recovery because my husband and I bought 5 acres of land close to Port Charlotte and we've been wanting to sell! Now, I'm having to pay taxes on my home, the 5 acres and since my mother-in-law just passed away, we have to pay there too! Her place is about 2 hours away up close to Ocala and we still need to maintain the place and pay the bills too! We do own the acreage and the place in Hernando, but the TAXES still need to be paid! Also, insurance on her place is going to cost a bundle!! And the money we saved is dwindling as I write! I'm getting more and more depressed as time goes by!

AND HURRICANE season is upon us!! My husband is a native and this thing has caused a HURT that can't be defined!!

[tomp]

40. ah, good, another commission!

bob graham will shed as much light here as he did on the 9/11 commission...zero. and corportist government will continue on.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. Bob Graham was warned about 9/11 months before attacks - Must See Video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ-gj1AsYB0

In this video, Randy Glass, a private US citizen working as an undercover agent in a government sting operation, discusses how he learned about a threat to the World Trade Center and tried to warn various officials in government before 9/11. Florida State Senator Ron Klein and US Senator Bob Graham admit being given a warning by Randy Glass in the months before 9/11. What was the warning, who else knew about it, and why wasn't it acted upon?

[Myrina]

44. +1000

Reading all the comments of folks falling over themselves to kiss Graham's ass, I gotta ask: why do we almost want to be so gullible?

[rudy23]

55. I don't blame people for not wanting to be as cynical as I am. But I can't believe how trusting

everyone is towards Graham. I think cynicism is healthy in an investigation like this.

[Enthusiast]

75. I agree.

That is the problem with the 9/11 investigation. I don't believe their findings. Same with the Warren Commission. Fabrications, lies and distortions.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

77. I think it's grasping at straws. I find it so frustrating that there are so

many with eyes wide shut.

[flyarm]

47. +1000..I even asked Graham about this warning in 2004 as a Delegate and fund raiser in Fla

he couldn't get away from me fast enough..and he was shocked..shocked I tell you that anyone would ask him about this!!

Oh and I was a Flight crew for one of the airlines involved and Flight Attend of the year for that airline for the entire NY base for my airline..

And when I asked him this question it was in front of 2000 People..Bob was loving me...until I asked him the question and he would not answer..he defered that the answer would be in his book..it was not.

This is a very bad choice people..and please never in front of me say he can not be bought..he has been and always will be!

fly

sorry i can't respond to this as I am going away right now..but I wanted to comment on this appointment..a very bad one ..in my educated opinion!

[nashville_brook]

52. the notion that a FLORIDA pol cannot be bought is magical thinking.

sheer madness.

[stevenleser]

92. The notion that Graham was bought is the magical thinking...

but keep thinking you know something that you don't.

:tinfoilhat:

[robertpaulsen]

66. Wish I could rec a post within a thread.

Thanks for sharing, flyarm. Your experience speaks volumes about what kind of investigation we should expect.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

78. +1000! Fly, of course he's a very bad choice for Us/US but Perfect

for the corporate masters.

See how easily the people are duped by his so called honesty? Look at the recs on this thread. This is the same man that had breakfast with the money man for 9/11 on 9/11.

Either DU has become dumbed down or people are just hoping beyond hope that this President can make at least one good choice. Perhaps it is all of the above? :shrug:

[rudy23]

83. I think it's all of the above. But why would Graham have to be sold as Mr. No-CoverUps...

if there were no concerns about cover-ups attached to his name.

This is extremely fishy.

[stevenleser]

93. This is the problem with the conspiracy minded. Only the OP is putting him forth as "Mr. No-Coverups

And yet you are asserting that this is the official reason for him being chosen.

This is typical conspiracy-minded thinking. One person says something somewhere and all of a sudden, its the truth and the reason for everything regardless of whether that person is in a capacity to really know whether something is fact or whether that person simply mispoke.

The "facts" put forth regarding the 9/11, HAARP, Vaccines, etc., conspiracies are mostly if not completely explained by this kind of "evidence".

[rudy23]

95. Fair points. I was taking the OP as being part of the admin's sales pitch on Bob Graham.

Didn't realize that was just an opinion. I totally hear what you're saying.

[emulatorloo]

102. The OP is responding to other threads that focus solely on the Repub co-chair

and claim that this will be a "cover-up" because of him.

[Truth2Tell]

127. Jesus. There's a Repub co-chair? I thought it was bad enough

just Graham. What a joke.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

116. It's called cutting off the debate before it even starts. In other words, good old

fashioned propaganda.

[rudy23]

130. That's what it read like to me. That's what caused my suspicion--the OP seems like just that.

An attempt to control the debate before it even began. NO COVER UP TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG.

[Moochy]

133. thats exactly what this worthless thread is

A bunch of uncritical dittoheads

[chimpymustgo]

94. Thanks for sharing, flyarm. People WAKE UP!!!!!!!! Just OPEN YOUR EYES.

[The Backlash Cometh]

42. Good choice

[uponit7771]

43. Buh but... Obama = corporatist pony!!!!

[myrna minx]

45. K&R n/t

[depakid]

46. He does not do cover ups and yet he was Chairman of the Intelligence Committee in 2004?

:rofl:

Someone has a very short memory.

[rudy23]

54. Yes---this THREAD is a coverup of Graham's rep, IMO. n/t

[stevenleser]

90. Only for the Tinfoil hat contingent, IMO n/t

[G_j]

57. disconnect.... nt

[Moochy]

60. These threads come with complimentary Amnesia

[lib2DaBone]

48. Our Government is so corrupt from top to bottom....

... it's hard not to be cynical... if not downright P.O'd.

But former Florida Governor Bob Graham is a good man. I feel good (that of all the picks..) he is on the job.

I'm sure he knows something about 911.. but one man is not going to say anything. Can you imagine.. the media alone would tear him apart. We are not even allowed to mention 911 here on D.U. or the thread will be locked.

Anyway...I met then Governor Bob in the early 80's during his "Work Days".. that's where he would pick an industry.. and go to work along side the workers for a day. That was back in the "Old Days", when there were some politicians who actually cared about the people, not just the $$$.

After St. Ronny and the Repukes came in.. it was all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, all downhill.

[emulatorloo]

109. Interesting story - thanks for posting it n/t

[Bragi]

61. Only thing off the table: ban deepwater drilling

I posted on this here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x323655

Basic point: the only option Obama took off the table in his remarks was the possibility that the review would find that the impact of uncontrolled spills from deepwater wells is so catastrophic that deepwater drilling should be banned until the government and industry can do this with "zero risk" of uncontrolled blowouts.

[pberq]

62. Sen. Graham's breakfast on 9/11

One of the people at that breakfast was Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed - head of Pakistan's ISI

Here is some info from Paul Thompson's timeline:

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a091101mahmoodmeeting#a091101mahmoodmeeting

Around 8:00 a.m., on September 11, 2001, ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed is at a breakfast meeting at the Capitol with the chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) and Representative Porter Goss (R-FL), a 10-year veteran of the CIA’s clandestine operations wing. Also present at the meeting are Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and the Pakistani ambassador to the US, Maleeha Lodhi, as well as other officials and aides. (Goss, Kyl, and Graham had just met with Pakistani President Pervez Mushrraf in Pakistan two weeks earlier (see August 28-30, 2001)).

Graham and Goss will later co-head the joint House-Senate investigation into the 9/11 attacks, which will focus on Saudi government involvement in the 9/11 attacks, but will say almost nothing about possible Pakistani government connections to al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks (see August 1-3, 2003 and December 11, 2002). Note that Senator Graham should have been aware of a report made to his staff the previous month (see Early August 2001) that one of Mahmood’s subordinates had told a US undercover agent that the WTC would be destroyed. Some evidence suggests that Mahmood ordered that $100,000 be sent to hijacker Mohamed Atta (see October 7, 2001).

October 7, 2001. ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed is replaced in the face of US pressure after links are discovered between him, Saeed Sheikh, and the funding of the 9/11 attacks. Mahmood instructed Saeed to transfer $100,000 into hijacker Mohamed Atta’s bank account prior to 9/11. This is according to Indian intelligence, which claims the FBI has privately confirmed the story. The story is not widely reported in Western countries, though it makes the Wall Street Journal.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

80. Thank you for posting this. I've known about this information for years

but it is an "open secret". The thought that Graham is going to lead this commission is making my skin crawl.

BTW...I have a post above this with a video of a news report centering on a man named Randy Glass. He was a DEA informant and found out about an imminent attack with details months before 9/11. He was living in Florida and gave the information to Bob Graham......... This info is at Paul's site too.

[pberq]

81. That's some important info. Thanks.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

117. Your welcome. Important and infuriating.........

[SledDriver]

63. Patrick Fitzgerald speaks for me!!!

I'll wait to see what, if anything, comes out of this.

Merry Fitzmas everyone!

[Cha]

64. Thanks for OPing this,

Kitty!

[Marr]

65. Are we talking about the same Bob Graham?

The one I'm familiar with is not a synonym for transparency.

[ChiciB1]

69. Well, NOW My Cynicism Has Returned In Full Force Again! So Sad To Hear

this about Graham. Having contacted him quite a few times when he was in office I got the impression he was pretty much on the up and up! I felt he left politics because he was sick of what he saw happening and I knew he was upset about what wasn't being covered regarding the Intelligence Committee.

For those of you who I DO respect and know how many times I have agreed with your posts, I'll have to say that perhaps I didn't do my homework!

Of course, it WAS a long time ago and politics DID seem different back then, even though I knew so much went on that I was unaware of. Still I felt Graham was more honorable than most! But nothing surprises me anymore and thinking ahead perhaps Obama pegged him BECAUSE so many here in Florida seemed to LOVE him! Because of my disillusionment with many things that have happened during this administration, I will remain skeptical once again!

But IT IS true that many Democrats here in Florida respect Graham to this day, and gullibility is pretty much what our political system has devolved into!

So my antennae is up and I'll wait and see what "shakes" out and withdraw my "blinders on" assessment of Bob Graham. I do know that he's always been more to the "right" than me, but in comparison to Bill Nelson, I would have gone with Graham first!

To my more Liberal friends here, THANK YOU for your posting about this and the "heads up!" I feel I can trust most of you more than what I've been seeing from the WH & our Democrats since they took over power. There are so few Democrats that I have any respect for anymore!

And RAHM is on the TIPPITY-TOP of my list for the AX!!

And I DO realize that Obama is only ONE man, and his "cool hand luke" approach was meant to be a sign that "I got this one," however that approach wore off some time ago for me! Calm is good, and pounding tables isn't the best either, but something in between would make me feel so much better! Obama, please... even if it's just a photo op to you, I believe it would make many feel MUCH BETTER! If The Idiot mastered it so well, I would think you would KNOW how to do it 10 times better!

Just not seeing it! And it's NOT my fault, many AREN'T seeing it either!
:shrug:

[emulatorloo]

67. Thanks again for posting, I am sensing some "Bob Graham Derangement Syndrome" around here

[JPZenger]

68. He voted against Iraq War

Graham was ranking Dem on the intelligence committee and voted against the Iraq invasion resolution. A year later, he said that, unlike most members of Congress, he had access to the raw intelligence and knew it was cooked.

If Al Gore had picked Graham as VP, he would have won the 2000 election without question. Graham was extremely popular in Florida and would have given Gore a larger margin of victory in that state. Instead, Gore, in a childish act of rebellion against Clinton, picked Lieberman, who added nothing.

[lib2DaBone]

112. Yes! So true. God... why did he pick Lie-berman of all people?

[matt819]

70. Hey, I have a question

There is little question that this spill is going to spawn decades of legal disputes, criminal and civil, and the payouts are going to be in the billions.

I know there are those of us here who would like to see criminal proceedings against BP management and others. That's fine.

Here's my question. Since the Supreme Court has essentially ruled finally and definitively that corporations are individuals, how does that affect the prosecution of BP as a corporation? Sure, the management might be found liable. And the corporation can be fined. But what other penalties become available now that corporations are deemed persons? Maybe it's moot, but I thought I'd ask.

[lark]

72. Graham is one of the very few good and honest pols

While so many look good and then flame out (hint, current President)and disappoint, Graham was not that way - he was honest, upfront, and didn't fall for the government BS.

However, being the pessimist, I'm very concerned about Reilly. I think I heard that he was on the board of some oil industry group? Will he thwart Graham's attempt to get to the truth? I'd be 100% happier if Graham was in charge by himself. I'm so sick of Obama's attempt at bipartisanship, just means that the right things don't happen because they are eliminated from the outset and the result if half measures at best.

[bertman]

74. If he's such a great choice and an honest guy why didn't he resign from the 9/11 Commission

like Max Clelland did? Surely Bob Graham could tell from the gitgo it was going to be the whitewash that it became.

But, hey, maybe he's repentent that he let so much of the 9/11 coverup go unchallenged and wants to make amends.

Whoever commented about Katherine Graham being his half sister-in-law just cemented my feeling that he's part of the oligarchy, no matter how "honest" he might appear to be. Former Senator from a family with huge media connections. Big money. Big interest in the status quo.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I'm not betting on it. These things usually turn out the same way.

Call me pessimistic, but I'm still looking backward in hopes that we'll see some Criminal Investigations into the REAL CRIMES of the Bush-Cheney Cabal.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

79. Apparently the 9-11 twoofers don't like him.

Good enough for me.

[stevenleser]

91. Yep, me too. I've never been fitted for a tinfoil hat, so...

'nuff said.

[suzie]

113. Even with the tinfoil hat crowd, does it seem reasonable that as polished and successful

a politician as Graham would have met with co-conspirators on the very morning of the attacks?

Wouldn't he have been as far away as possible?

[stevenleser]

125. See, there you go making sense again Suzie.

That's not playing fair you know? ;-)

[florida08]

82. I like Graham too

Blaming him for a cover up is not really fair. This informant Glass was about to go to jail for fraud but Ron Klein was told first.
http://tinyurl.com/32bkebr

According to Sen. Bob Graham (D), co-chair of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry, during this time Omar al-Bayoumi has an “unusually large number of telephone calls with Saudi government officials in both Los Angeles and Washington.” Graham will note this increased communication corresponds with the arrival of hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar into al-Bayoumi’s life. He will see this as evidence of Saudi government involvement in the 9/11 plot. ......

Randy Glass, a former con artist turned government informant, later will claim that he contacts the staff of Senator Bob Graham and Representative Robert Wexler at this time and warns them of a plan to attack the WTC, but his warnings are ignored.

Glass was a key informant in a sting operation involving ISI agents who were illegally trying to purchase sophisticated US military weaponry in return for cash and heroin. He later claims that in July 1999, one ISI agent named Rajaa Gulum Abbas pointed to the WTC and said, “Those towers are coming down.”

Most details apparently remain sealed. For instance Glass will claim that his sealed sentencing document dated June 15, 2001, lists threats against the WTC and Americans. Florida State Senator Ron Klein, who had dealings with Glass before 9/11, later will say he is surprised it took so many months for the US to listen to Glass: “Shame on us.”
Klein will recall getting a warning from Glass, though he cannot recall if it mentions the WTC specifically. He will say he was told US intelligence agencies would look into it.


http://www.911myths.com/index.php/Randy_Glass
The meeting is secretly recorded, and parts are shown on television in 2003.
The MSNBC special here said they'd obtained an audio copy of the meeting, but there's no mention of this comment, or even the World Trade Center.

A Washington Post article said that the program "shared some material, including undercover audiotapes" with them, but they also failed to mention the World Trade Center at all.

I'd say the jury is still out on Glass

[Recursion]

98. Err... wait

His service on the 9/11 commission means he does do cover-ups, he just complains about them later.

Which is better than not complaining, I guess.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

99. I will never, ever forget how when he appeared on MTP, he told the story of how he begged

members of the Senate Intelligence Committee--namely, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and others--to READ THE DAMNED official National Intelligence Estimate, which would have demonstrated that Hussein has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with what happened in this country, he was ignored. One reason why he ultimately resigned is because many Democrats--scared of Republicans--failed to do their jobs even though they knew that the dots weren't connecting. I met Senator Graham at National Airport one year, and he told me that Washington is so corrupt that he'd just assume never stepping afoot on D.C. soil again. The corruption flows through BOTH political parties, too! So sad.

Bob Graham is another in a long line of true American heroes who dared to speak truth to power.

[politicasista]

101. Yep. That sucks

and hate that Dems went along with that mess. They all should have said "NO" period and because of that, they are forever branded as Pro-War warmongers and sellout corporatists.

[Hannah Bell]

100. bob graham, half-brother of phil graham, former publisher of the washington post &

husband of katherine graham, whose father eugene meyer was first president of the world bank. died under interesting circumstances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Graham

phil was born in south dakota. my the political classes get around. almost like they send out farm teams to manage the burbs.

[emulatorloo]

103. And this should scare me how? WaPo used to be a pretty good paper

Did Bob Graham ever work for the WaPo?

[Hannah Bell]

106. i didn't say it should scare you. but bob is not just some random ex-governor.

he's connected to the highest circles of power.

[emulatorloo]

108. One of the things he was known for in Florida was his excellent environmental record

So, absolutely, he is not just some random ex-governor.

EDIT: spelling like always.

[Hannah Bell]

110. that's great. he's still connected to the highest circles of power.

and his family got its start in florida by managing plantations for the sugar trust, so the connections are long-standing.

and the sugar trust was not environmentally-friendly. nor labor-friendly.

[emulatorloo]

121. So far most of the Floridians in the thread seem happy with the choice

I'm not from Florida though.

I'm sure you realize that there are other very good public servants who are linked to powerful families, of course.

[Moochy]

132. Benevolent Oligarchs All!

All Praise to those leaders selected for us by the elites!

[Moochy]

131. A Kinder Gentler Plutocrat

[pscot]

118. Graham's a straight shooter

This is good news.

[jae1227]

120. I liked that Obama chose Graham

Maybe because I'm from Florida and he also went to University of Florida. But I like him mostly because his vote against the War in Iraq.