Sunday, July 20, 2008

Whoops!


I was listening to Howard Fineman on "The Chris Matthews" show this morning, and he said something that almost caused me to fall off my sofa. I don't know why I didn't think about it before. But In essence (and I am paraphrasing here) he said that after two terms in the White House, with a shady run up to the war, and who knows what kind of secrets with the oil companies, the last thing republicans will want in the White House is a democratic administration with subpoena powers. I agree. I mean can you imagine all the skeletons in those vast closets? The repubs desperately need another republican administration after the frat boy leaves, and the prospect of an Obama presidency has to be absolutely terrifying to them.


Which leads me to another reason for this post: Did you see where Mr. Morton breached some serious security protocol by giving away security details of the "O" man's trip to the Middle East? Yep, he did it. And you really have to wonder just what the hell he was thinking. Well, you can wonder, but I know what he was thinking.


"'I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators who make up a congressional delegation,' MCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon."



Translated: If any of you hostile Iraqis or Al Qaeda folks want to take out that narrow Negro, let me see if I can help you with that...


"If it is true that Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, it is a very serious mistake for McCain to have disclosed it publicly. Even for run-of-the-mill CODELs the military gives guidance like, "Please strongly discourage Congressional offices from issuing press releases prior to their trips which mention their intent to travel to the AOR and/or the dates of that travel or their scheduled meetings. Such releases are a serious compromise to OPSEC." If Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, I can not begin to imagine how much this is complicating the security planning for the trip.


It's known that Obama is leaving on his foreign trip this weekend and the Journal OpEd page this morning said that Obama could arrive in Iraq "as early as this weekend." And with a slew of reporters in tow, it's not exactly highly classified information. But there is a reason definite information about these sorts of trips aren't released in advance.


Hypothetically, maybe McCain was just guessing. But even so it would still be a serious lapse of judgment on his part."





"Lapse of judgement"? Don't be so sure. I mean I know Mr. Morton is old, but come on now, he is a military man, he understands how sensitive this kind of stuff is. Especially when he went through the exact same thing. Didn't Mr. Morton get pissed off at the press for outing his son?


Yes, I think he did.


And somewhere in Chicago Michelle Obama is sitting there thinking; that maybe she shouldn't have given her husband her blessings to run for Prez. Not when his political opponent is giving away his location to the enemy for all the world to hear. "Oh field, stop playing into fears and reckless paranoia. Obama will have plenty of protection from the secret service and the U.S. military. America will make sure that he is well protected.... "




Yeah, I am sure they will. And I am sure that everyone of the republicans are praying for his safe return.





32 comments:

  1. facepalm.jpg

    Not if, but when, Obama comes back alive, you owe me a Philly Cheesesteak Field.

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  2. McCain been to Iraq more than once, his comment was not a lapse in judgment...he knew exactly what he was doing.

    We all know what THEY WANT to happen while Obama travel in the Middle East; it would not surprise me if THEY have a secret force attempt it.

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  3. Bah. It would be better if it was a complete surprise as when Condi Rice or Sen. Clinton landed there, but I just don't see the security breach. That would have to involve landing/takeoff times, his agenda while there, and a description of the security detail assigned to him. Obama is taking a ton of well known reporters with him and they have made it known he will be going to Germany and have given the exact location where. If Obama could keep a secret, how would McCain even know about this anyhow?

    Just wondering. Links to huffington are just lame IMHO.

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  4. Anonymous9:33 PM

    Well.....I guess McCain figured, "hell, Hillary threw it out there already..I can just run with it a little further."

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  5. Translated: If any of you hostile Iraqis or Al Qaeda folks want to take out that narrow Negro, let me see if I can help you with that...


    Al Qaeda couldn't take out a pizza in a Iraq, they are a broken force and nor have they been able to get to any top U.S. officals. Security precautions are extreme and incoming U.S. flight are flown in a zig zag pattern close to the ground to avoid shoulder fired missles.

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  6. "Not if, but when, Obama comes back alive, you owe me a Philly Cheesesteak Field."

    Woozie, don't I already owe you a cheesesteak?

    "Al Qaeda couldn't take out a pizza in a Iraq,..."

    classical one,I like that line, but disagree. I bet over 4,000 dead American soldiers would disagree, if they were alive to tell you so.

    "running with it" that's all Mr. Morton is doing. Just "running with it" to see where it takes him :)

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  7. you know the saying, no press is bad press.... McCain is just trying to stay on the radar... Obama has the media at his feet, literally, and unless he stumbles, this will be great press for him.... it already has been, what with Maliki saying he agreed with Obama.... I am looking forward to seeing him in Europe.. they LOVE him there and he will be greeted in a way that McCain can only dream of.....

    I agree with Szechuanpork... the word was out that he would be there... his own people put it out and invited the media.....

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  8. Ah, McCain is just suffering from professional jealousy. Maybe it was on his mind, and it "slipped" out his mouth because he was too disappointment with himself.

    You know. At his age it's risky to travel for longer hours.

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  9. Most of the 4,000 killed were killed by either non Al Qaeda Sunnis and former Baathists or by Shiites. The most dangerous people in Iraq now are the people running the government and their allies.

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  10. "The most dangerous people in Iraq now are the people running the government and their allies."

    Well, I won't totally disagree with you there. But didn't the frat boy say that we were fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq? So do they (the republicans) really believe it? Or do they think, like you, that we are fighting the poeple you mentioned?

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  11. Field todays, Gallup reported that Obama has a 3 point edge over John McCain. Gallup’s daily tracking from July 17-19th, just prior to the start of Obama’a overseas trip, reports “Obama maintains a slight advantage over John McCain, 45% to 42%.”

    Also will voters see the trip as a campaign stunt or will it add to his foreign policy credentials? Obama’s camp are hoping it will show him as a leader respected world-wide.

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  12. If something horrible happens to Obama during his excursion to our newly acquired colonies, it will be the government doing it, then blaming Al Qaeda.

    The pseudo-retraction of Maliki's statement in support of Obama's withdrawal plan came through CENTCOM, not a press agency. Think about that, people.

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  13. Field,
    Mr. Morton doesn't have any judgement and he knew exactly what he was doing. He's crazy, but he's not stupid.

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  14. But didn't the frat boy say that we were fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq? So do they (the republicans) really believe it? Or do they think, like you, that we are fighting the poeple you mentioned?

    Field,

    I really wish I could tell you what goes through these people minds but alas, I have some common sense. In my opinion they really have drank the kool aid and believe the nonsense they spout off about Al Qadea. But hey, these are the same folks who didn't believe in global warming or evolution, so anything is possible!

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  15. Nelson, what would you have done post 2001 besides not attacking Iraq? Can you think of anything? I'm just wondering.

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  16. Hey there Field Negro,

    I hardly think the travel plans were top secret if his political rival knew about them...granted...members of the delegation COULD HAVE leaked the information to the McCain camp...I just don't think it was a security breach that he mentioned it....clearly...if that dude had the info then it has been publicized in the Washington circles EVEN if the media was not covering the story.

    Alas, Obama goes to see about his Muslim brethren... *smile*

    {shaking my head}
    Lisa

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  17. All McCain had to say was, "I won't speculate." Everything McCain does & says is a reaction to what Obama does & says. Which means Barack is controlling the flow of the game. Whenever he loses control, he finds a way get it back. He learned something from basketball.

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  18. Szechuan

    That's a broad question. I'm guessing you mean foreign policy wise about the threat of terrorism. If that's the case, I'd say be multilateral rather than unilateral. Work with countries rather than tell them you're with us or against us. Get our allies behind us, so we can go to nations where extremism exists and collectively offer carrots or impose sticks, with trade incentives, information, whatever. We haven't done enough about wahhabi schools in Saudi and cooling anti-American sentiment. (On this front, I know Obama has promised public diplomacy, and investing in aid and education to potentially vulnerable areas.) We haven't done enough to get the moderates in the Muslim world to side with us politically and isolate extremists. And we haven't done enough about Israel. None of these suggestions are particularly novel, but they haven’t been implemented (or implemented adequately). And Iraq was counterproductive to them. It hurt us massively in the ideas war--and that's what this is all about.

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  19. Damn nelson m for Secretary of State. That was a great outline!

    bob, I agree with you, I think Mr. Morton is letting the "O" man control the game. The "O" man must like playing point guard.

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  20. Did you see where Mr. Morton breached some serious security protocol by giving away security details of the "O" man's trip to the Middle East?

    I blogged about it Friday.

    McBush is a total douche. If something bad had happened to Obama resulting from the old coot's piehole flapping, the shit would've hit the fan.

    Apparently, Obama's safety is a low concern: the Secret Service is too busy to perform regular security checks of 20,000 people gathered to see Obama in Dallas, the Borg Queen says she's sticking around because "we know what happened to Bobby Kennedy in June," and now McBush reveals Obama's travel itinerary.

    It's an outrage and proves what I have said for the good part of the past year: Obama is expendable. He's an outsider playing an insiders game and he's expendable.

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  21. Anonymous7:30 AM

    Bush is letting the O'man control the game as well. Recently he sent a negotiator to the Iran talks with the EU, and his state dept is beginning plans to open an office in Tehran.
    It's like Bush is clocking out early and handing the foreign policy keys to Obama.

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  22. Anonymous8:36 AM

    Field

    When you write that the neo-cons are nervous about a Democratic administration with subpoena power, I once would have totally agreed with you. But I don't think that is a problem for them. Because as we have seen in the last eight years, they have been using the short memory defense with tremendous success. I don't think a change to a liberal administration is going to improve their short memories one bit. Do you?

    BTW Doesn't Obama look confident and presidential in those photos?

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  23. Anonymous9:04 AM

    I do agree with the poster who stated if Obama's trip was top-secret then why would McCain know about it? That said, I do agree with your general point of view that the last thing the Reps want is a Dem in office.

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  24. Looking at the picture at the beginning of this post made me think.

    What the right hates most, that there isn't a vibrant, charismatic, youthful person in their ranks that can represent their ideology as fresh. The title "No Country for Old Men" seems to fit their party.

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  25. Field, i watched Chris show yesterday too. Fineman's point is not new--every administration upon its exodus laments the unknown agenda of the next administration. Frankly, the GOP has nothing to worry about. Obama is not pursuing "the old way of politics" -- he's above that remember. Plus if the Dems make the mistake of witchhunting the GOP and gas does average $5/gallon and we actually do enter a recession, the American people will be livid. And the GOP will find thier footing again. Trust me.

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  26. I have to admit how there is a little part of me which keeps thinking to myself that 'there is now way America is going to allow a black man to be president. Since it doesn't appear likely that McCain can defeat Obama, I think it's fair to say that his chances of living in the Oval office are tremendous.

    With that said, I can't help but feel how the pressure to 'get rid of him' is on, for certain interest.


    Hopefully he will reach his goal of being the 44th President of, as you say, A-Merry-Ca.

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  27. Glad it didn't slip by you, FN.

    Yeah, that mofo had a ' slip of the tongue'.

    Complete, utter, and absolute bullshit. To the nth degree.

    Been praying ever since Obama's plane took off, and won't sigh again until he's back on US Soil.

    Then, I can begin to worry about our homegrown crazies again.

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  28. "Frankly, the GOP has nothing to worry about. Obama is not pursuing "the old way of politics" '

    bellini, that's too bad. Frankly I would love to see someone hold these clowns accountable.

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  29. Initially, I worried about this trip. You know with the possibility of sniper fire and planes falling out the air - anything is possible...remember Ron Brown? But Obama is shrewd and smart. What does he do? He takes a whole lot of folks in Congress, bunches of newscasters from the major networks, and don't forget about the SS. So that kinda rules out anything "happening" to the plane - so all we got to worry about is the sniper fier and I really don't think Petreaus wants that on his hands. Hey, if he can't protect the presumptive nominee (president) he might be hard pressed to find another gig. So the Bushmen might as well get ready for the knocks on the door and their days in court.

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  30. Anonymous7:03 PM

    You mean to tell me that those Bush criminals may get there day in court? This is the most positive political news I heard in a long while after all the bullshit I hear daily. And know the Rethuglicans are trying to kill Obama through John McCain stupid ass. Repuglicans have no shame.

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  31. This is sarcasm. But as menacing as the democrats have been since 2006, I really do not think that the republicans have anything to worry about with the O'man. Keep in mind, Bush is still president.

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