Vice President Cheney for the Defense

On Thursday, May 21, we were treated to a remarkable event.  President Obama presented his view on certain national security issues, speaking from the National Archives with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence on display behind him.  Following the President’s speech, Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at the American Enterprise Institute (Mr Cheney is on the Board of Trustees) with his view of current national security issues from his perspective as a participant in the Bush Administration process on these same issues.

The press was somewhat in awe of this event (and yes, I was watching Fox News).  The more rhapsodic commentators talked about this Clash of the Titans but the best description was that “this was the debate we wanted to hear last year in the election”.  But Candidate Obama was, at that time, acting like a moderate and Candidate McCain was not to be accused of being a conservative.  Now we have a far left liberal revealed in President Obama speaking on his own policies – and a strong, un-apologetic conservative in Mr Cheney speaking on his policies during the Bush administration. 

It was great political theater.  But it was also more than that.  In my view, the problem with many of the Bush policies was not bad policy, it was a failure by the administration to explain and sell the policies to the public (having the press in the opposition camp didn’t help either). Now we have Mr Cheney offering a strong presentation in defense of the policies that he feels kept our nation safe at home following the attacks of 9/11.  I believe that Mr Cheney is speaking out because of the Democrat threats to prosecute Bush administration officials.  But, whatever the reason, I am pleased to have the Vice President speaking out at last. 

Mr Cheney pulls no punches.  He describes what was done, why it was done, what the authority was for the actions and what the result was.  It would be a rare prosecuting attorney who could have stated a better case.  There is no apology.  He supported the policies at the time and he supports the policies now. 

Those who have read my posts will already be aware that I am a fan of the Vice President.  So I have a bias here.  I believe that Dick Cheney has been a remarkable and valuable public servant under both Bush Presidencies – as wartime Secretary of Defense under one and wartime Vice President under the other.  He performed his oath of office to defend the Constitution from all threats, foreign and domestic, with dedication and excellence.  And I believe this speech is an outstanding example of this man’s performance under difficult circumstances.

I will attempt to embed his speech in its entirety.  The blogging platforms where I publish have very different ways of handling embedded files – so I hope this is successful.  If there is any problem with the embedded player, click on my source to see the file on my source page.  The speech is 35 minutes – but worth every minute. 

My source: http://www.blogcatalog.com/search.frame.php?term=dick+cheney.+cheney+aei+speech&id=9c821378bdff087720fca9926faf2c11

 

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Florida Senate Race - 2010

Florida has an open Senate Seat in 2010 with the announced retirement of Senator Martinez.  Our Governor, Charlie Crist, has announced his candidacy – but I find myself very impressed with another candidate – Marco Rubio of West Miami.  Marco received high marks as the Speaker of the Florida House, perhaps the highest legislative office in Florida – but has never been elected to a state wide office. 

Governor Crist’s high polling numbers state wide (something of a mystery to me) are the reason that Crist is the choice of the smart money.  I recognize the importance of keeping the seat in the Republican family, but I would like to elect a conservative to the Senate from Florida.  On that question, I believe Marco’s credentials are more impressive.

What follows is a video of Marco Rubio, Speaker of the Florida House, in his farewell address to the legislature at the conclusion of his term of office as Speaker. 

The clip is 7.5 minutes and is worth a listen. 

My Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yc-qRFpAM4

On this Memorial Day - Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

From time to time on appropriate national days of remembrance, I like to repeat the words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  I am always struck by the simple truth and beauty of Lincoln’s words and by the fact that at the time of the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield, which was the occasion for the address, the final result of the Civil War was not yet clear.  Mr. Lincoln knew that the Battle of Gettysburg had been a significant victory for the federal forces – but the war was not over yet and he knew how terrible the cost of war had been and how close the conflict remained. 

The address was given November 19, 1863, almost five months after the battle. Like today, the public reaction was divided according to party lines.  I doubt that our current political system could agree on the Sermon on the Mount. 

But President Lincoln’s words have endured.  After Lincoln’s death, Senator Charles Sumner in his eulogy for the slain President commented with foresight that “the battle itself was less important than the speech.”

We are today besieged, as Lincoln was, by forces which threaten to tear this nation apart.  Political divisions, uncertainty and the echos of war are all around us.  But we must all agree that our freedom has a price that has been paid by others on our behalf and that we owe our way of life to the men and women who have proudly worn the uniforms of our military forces and have sacrificed their lives so that we could enjoy the freedoms provided by our society.

President Abraham Lincoln – his Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

 

A NIght on the Town with the President

President Obama attended the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday and demonstrated that he may have better comedy writers available than the Republicans, what with his Hollywood ties and such.  He directed jokes at the Republicans, the Vice President, his cabinet and at himself.  A few that I remember – possibly paraphrased by my memory…

• Mothers Day is a tough holiday for Rahm Emmanuel.  He is not used to saying the word “day” after the word “Mother”
• David Axelrod has been with the President for a number of years.  I recall talking with him before the campaign saying that they could do wonderful things together.  Axelrod replied, saying what so many partners are saying these days, “Let’s go to Iowa and make it official”.
• The President spoke of Michael Steel, in the audience, reminding him that the Republican Party does not qualify for a government bailout.
• The President has been busy in the first 100 days.  After all, no other President has named three Secretaries of Commerce in that time period.
• Just last week, Car and Driver named Mr Obama as Auto Executive of the Year.
• The President appreciated Larry Summers attending the dinner – as it is 7 hours past his bed time.
• The administration has also grown the Democratic Party with energy and bringing in fresh, young, new faces… like Arlen Spector.
• In the next hundred days, we will design, build and open a library dedicated to my first hundred days.  In the next hundred days, I will learn to go off the teleprompter.  Joe Biden will learn to stay ON the teleprompter. 
• As change is occurring, and change is difficult, I have brought a new friend to the White House – warm and cuddly – he must be kept on a tight leash, however, as ne has a tendency to run off on the wrong direction and get into trouble… but enough about Joe Biden. 
• I believe that my next 100 days will be so successful, I will be able to complete them in 72 days.
• Thomas Jefferson stated that if he had to choose between government without the press or the press without government, he would know to choose the latter – of course he die not have the cable news news networks to contend with. 

So thank you Mr. President for the good humor for the evening and the thought that you are having dinner and we, the taxpayers, are not picking up the check.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax and Spend - Doom and Gloom

In discussing the social liberal tendencies of Jack Kemp with our friends in another post, we seemed to be moving to an area of disagreement.

Ronald Reagan used a simple analogy to describe a tax and spend liberal - he compared them to the alimentary canal of an infant - a happy appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. He did not say that liberals did not like children nor did he deny the needs of a child for food.  

I would not disagree with President Obama that there are legitimate needs and social imbalances that should be addressed in our society.  But we have different views of the role of government and the priority of those needs and in the manner that they should be addressed.  These are questions about which reasonable men may disagree.  

Under the current administration, our government is, in my view, writing checks that, again in my view, we cannot pay.  And President Obama is not backing away from or delaying any of his agenda items which suggests that he will continue to write these checks in the near term without having a plan to pay for them.  As China and the Middle East stop buying our government debt, and while the President continues to run the printing presses at Treasury and at the Federal Reserve, the impact on our economy and our currency is likely to be unpleasant for generations to come.  

Further, the President has, in my view, used the pressing nature of our economic difficulties to pass into law a number of, shall we say, unrelated programs which relate more to the far left political agenda than to the emergency - which suggests a level of intellectual dishonesty that I find disquieting.  

I fear that the time will come in the short term that many, liberal or not, including the Jack Kemps, if any remain, will stand with me to condemn the lack of fiscal responsibility of this President and will seek to unwind the actions of this administration without regard for the “good” intentions that drove him.  We are less than 10% into the term of this administration.  I hope that I am wrong in my assessment.  But my concern is that the light at the end of the tunnel, in the words of the cliche, is an oncoming train and we do not have long to wait to begin to evaluate the actions that have been put in place in terms of their social and economic cost in addition to their claim of benefit.

We’ll see said the zen master.

Part of the Reagan Revolution is Gone

I don’t normally pay much attention to sports figures but a 13 year professional football Quarterback has died.  His Name is Jack Kemp.

Jack Kemp is also a remarkable figure in American politics – which explains my interest. 

Jack Kemp served in Congress from New York from 1971 to 1989.  He became an early proponent of supply side tax cuts.  A fiscal conservative, he championed liberal social causes – but usually incentive based programs rather than welfare/giveaways.  He described himself as a “bleeding heart conservative”.  In addition to supply side tax programs, Kemp innovated with Enterprise Zones – a proactive plan for the inner cities.  Kemp was extremely influential during the Reagan administration for his economic plans,  and was partly responsible for Reagan’s successes.

Kemp was also Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Bush 41 from 1989 to 1993.  In 1996, Kemp was the Republican candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with Bob Dole.  Dole-Kemp, something of a political odd couple, lost to Bill Clinton.

Jack Kemp has continued to be active and to address his social and economic concerns.  He died at his Bethesda, MD, home last Saturday at the age of 73 after a long illness.  He is survived by his wife, two children,  17 grandchildren and a grateful nation.

 

 

 

Obama to pick successor to Justice Souter

I had a chance to watch part of the news briefing today at the White House where the President entered, startling the reporters who were sleeping through Press Secretary Gibbs presentation.

President Obama announced that he had spoken directly with Justice Souter, after receiving his letter of resignation effective at the end of the current term of the Court, and he could now officially confirm the resignation of the Justice.

As the President spoke of Justice Souter, he praised the Justice for his legal philosophy, his view of the limited role of the judiciary and his refusal to pursue a political agenda from the Bench.  But when he spoke of the qualities he would seek in a replacement, his focus was different – discussing the importance of understanding how the decisions of the Court impact ordinary citizens.  It is my view that while praising Souter for not being an activist judge – he then described the qualities of judicial activism as the values he will seek. 

It has been my experience that the Justices who have served in elected political office outside of the judiciary tend to be more sensitive to the role of the people in the process and may come closer to the values that the President mentioned.  Justices Souter and O’Connor both had that political background – and it may have served them well on the Court.

The other impression I had of the President and his merry men in the briefing room was that they showed unrestrained glee that they were going to have a chance to appoint a new Justice of the Supreme Court.  I thought that was a bit shabby since we are seeing the end of a distinguished career of public service from David Souter.  I did not always agree with Justice Souter’s legal opinions – but I respected his position on the Court and his public service on the Court and in his previous positions.  I thought a little more decorum in the announcement would have been nice.  I think if I were one of the other Justices remaining on the Court, I would be hiring food tasters for the next few years. 

The President will be able to get his pick for the Court approved by the Senate, with 60 Senators on the Democrat side.  I hope and recommend that he should seek out a qualified jurist who is left leaning, but not an ideologue.  He should seek to gain favor with the Republicans with a moderate to left leaning appointment to build political capital for the next one.  Probably a woman and/or a minority, but not someone who wouldn’t fit into Souter’s shoes and ideology. 

We’ll see said the zen-master.

Supreme Court Justice David Souter to Retire

President Obama will have his first opportunity to appoint an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court soon.  Justice David Souter is expected to announce that he will retire at the end of the current term of the Court this summer.

Justice Souter, 69, who was appointed in 1990 by Republican President George H. W. Bush, is considered to be one of the four liberal leaning Justices of the Court. 

Justice Souter served as Attorney General for his home state of New Hampshire, as a Superior Court Judge and State Supreme Court Justice in New Hampshire.  He was appointed as a Federal Appellate Judge (DC Circuit) in 1990 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in the same year.

He will be eligible to sit as a Senior Judge on Federal Appellate Courts after his retirement if he wishes to do so.  Currently, the only other living retired Associate Justice is Sandra Day O’Connor.

Justice Souter’s decision to retire is a bit surprising to me.  He is one of the younger members of the Court.  Justice Stevens, 89, Justice Ginsburg, 76, had been mentioned as possible candidates for retirement during President Obama’s term.  Justices Scalia, 73 and Kennedy, 72, are also older than Souter. 

Since Justice Souter is already considered to be liberal in his decisions and views, it would seem that President Obama’s first pick will not influence the make-up of the Court significantly.  But it will give us an opportunity to see how his mind works in the process.  There is certainly an opportunity to put an additional woman or minority Justice in place. 

It also appears with Senator Spector’s defection from the Republicans and the likely placement of Al Franken as Senator from Minnesota in the near future that the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 in the Senate. 

Justice Souter has served as Associate Justice for 18 years and is known to prefer life in his native New Hampshire to life in Washington DC.