Not "Corrupted" by DLC, Says Obama

Source: http://www.blackcommentator.com/47/47_cover.html

Illinois State Senator Barack Obama rejects any “suggestion” that “inclusion of my name” on a Democratic Leadership Council/New Democrats membership list amounts to “an endorsement on my part of the DLC platform.”

In a June 13 letter to The Black Commentator, the Black candidate for U.S. Senate defended his civil liberties, anti-war, and social welfare legislative record, and requested “that folks take the time to find out what my views are before they start questioning my passion for justice or the integrity of my campaign effort.”

 

Specifically, State Senator Obama maintains that an October 2002 anti-war speech was removed from his campaign web site because “the speech was dated once the formal phase of the war was over, and my staff's desire to continually provide fresh news clips.” The speech was returned to the site following Associate Editor Bruce A. Dixon’s June 5 commentary, “In Search of the Real Barack Obama: Can a Black Senate candidate resist the DLC?” in which Mr. Dixon remarked, style='mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing:0pt'>“Somebody else's brand of politics appears to have intruded on Obama's campaign.” mso-hansi-font-family:";mso-bidi-font-family:";
letter-spacing:0pt" class="bc_2">

 

mso-hansi-font-family:";mso-bidi-font-family:";
letter-spacing:0pt" class="bc_2">The “somebody” Dixon had in mind was, of course, the DLC/New Democrats.

 

mso-hansi-font-family:";mso-bidi-font-family:";
letter-spacing:0pt" class="bc_2">Dixon, a Chicagoan currently living in Atlanta, also authored ’s June 12 Cover Story, “Muzzling the African American Agenda – with Black Help: The DLC’s corporation dollars of destruction.” Dixon traced the DLC’s founding in the mid-Eighties as a mainly southern white response to minority and union influence in the Party, to its current dominance in the party’s national structures, based largely on the DLC’s role as broker of corporate contributions to candidates and incumbents. Dixon wrote:

“The DLC's mission is to erase the last vestiges of social democracy from the Democratic Party, so that the corporate consensus will never again be challenged in the United States. Acting as a Republican Trojan Horse in the bowels of the Democratic machinery, the DLC claims the "real" party lives somewhere off to the right, where George Bush dwells, and that minorities, unionists, environmentalists, feminists, men and women of peace - virtually every branch of the party except corporatists - must be purged or muzzled.”

 

State Senator Obama says he “didn’t object to the DLC's inclusion of my name on their list.” That is precisely the problem, from which all suspicions reasonably flow. As we wrote in our September 19, 2002 “Trojan Horse Watch”:

“Every African American politician associated with the DLC should be considered suspect, and closely watched. There is no reason for them to be there except to make deals with the party's right wing - which believes that Gore lost the 2000 election largely because he became too closely identified with Blacks and labor.”

 

Rather than tiptoe around the edges of the issue, we are presenting State Sen. Obama with three “bright line” policy questions that will determine definitively if he has any good reason to belong to the DLC. But first, his letter in its entirety:

Dear Black Commentator:style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>

style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"'>

I read with interest, and some amusement, Bruce Dixon's recent article regarding my campaign, and his suggestion that perhaps my positions on critical issues facing this country are somehow being corrupted by the influence of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).  Given that Bruce [and I] worked together back in 1992 to empower communities through organizing and the ballot box, I wish he'd taken the time to give me a call and check out his facts.

To begin with, neither my staff nor I have had any direct contact with anybody at DLC since I began this campaign a year ago.  I don't know who nominated me for the DLC list of 100 rising stars, nor did I expend any effort to be included on the list beyond filling out a three line questionnaire asking me to describe my current political office, my proudest accomplishment, and my cardinal rules of politics.  Since my mother taught me not to reject a compliment when it's offered, I didn't object to the DLC's inclusion of my name on their list.  I certainly did not view such inclusion as an endorsement on my part of the DLC platform.

As for Bruce's larger point --that I've begun to water down my criticisms of the Bush administration during this early phase of my campaign -- I'd invite him to join me on the campaign trail here in Chicago for a couple of days.  I'm proud of the fact that I stood up early and unequivocally in opposition to Bush's foreign policy (and was the only U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois to do so).  That opposition hasn't changed, and I continue to make it a central part of each and every one of my political speeches.  Likewise, I spend much of my time with audiences trying to educate them on the dangers of both the Patriot Act, Patriot Act 2, and the rest of John Ashcroft's assault on the Constitution.  The only reason that my original anti-war speech was removed from my website was a judgment that the speech was dated once the formal phase of the war was over, and my staff's desire to continually provide fresh news clips. The "bland" statement that Bruce offers up as an example of my loss of passion wasn't an official statement or speech at all, but a 30 second response to a specific question by Aaron Brown on CNN about the mood of Illinois voters a few days after the war started.

In sum, Bruce's article makes nice copy, but it doesn't reflect the reality of my campaign.  Nor does it reflect my track record as a legislator.  In the last three months alone, I passed and sent to Illinois governor's desk 25 pieces of major progressive legislation, including groundbreaking laws mandating the videotaping of all interrogations and confessions in capital cases; racial profiling legislation; a new law designed to ease the burden on ex-offenders seeking employment; and a state earned income tax credit that will put millions of dollars directly into the pockets of Illinois' working poor.

As Bruce may tell you, I've always preached the need for elected officials and candidates to be held accountable for their views.  I don't exempt myself from that rule.  I'd simply ask that folks take the time to find out what my views are before they start questioning my passion for justice or the integrity of my campaign effort.  I'm not hard to reach.

In the meantime, I'll talk to my staff about sprucing up the website!

Sincerely,

State Senator Barack Obama

Candidate for U.S. Senate   

 

replies style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>

 

From: The Publishers of The Black Commentator

To: The Honorable Barack Obama

Dear Sen. Obama:

 

We appreciate your willingness to respond to Bruce Dixon’s June 5 commentary. As the publishers of , we have taken it upon ourselves to reply to your letter in order to make it clear that Dixon’s views are completely in line with our own, and to place the exchange in the context of the central question our publication has raised since its inception: What possible reason could a Black progressive have for joining the DLC?

 

There is no doubt that you joined of your own accord. Although you minimize the weight of your decision to be listed in the New Democrat Directory, and treat your being featured as one of the DLC’s “100 to Watch” as a simple compliment that even a mother would enjoy, we give you credit for knowing better than that. Al From and the DLC leadership are claiming you as one of their own, for their purposes. We assume that, as an intelligent man and an astute politician, you have your own reasons for linking your name with the DLC. We respect you, and take it as a given that you give a great deal of thought to such public associations.

 

Dixon did make several calls to your office, although he readily admits that he did not treat the matter as urgent. The fact at the heart of the story – that needs no verification – is that a Black activist/intellectual/politician with previously stellar progressive credentials has joined the main mechanism of corporate, rightwing influence in the Democratic Party. The publishers agree with Dixon that there was no need to justify the piece with a say it ain’t so telephone exercise.

 

Regarding the comings and goings of the October 30 anti-war speech on your campaign site: Collectively, the publishers of have been in the news business about two-thirds of a century. We are fully aware that campaign sites and literature feature those items that the candidate and his handlers choose to highlight. Placement is reflective of the candidate’s campaign posture, and the subject of intense staff discussion. That’s political journalism 101, not tealeaves.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  As Bruce Dixon remarked in his response to one of your supporters (“…you Obama basher!“)
in ’s June 12 e-Mailbox column, we were “happy” to discover that the truly rousing speech had been restored to the site. “We think this is good news and hope that it still reflects candidate Obama's views,” said Dixon. He looked forward to seeing the text of speeches on the Patriot Act, “secret detentions, summary deportations and the like” featured on the site, especially in light of your renown as a professor of constitutional law.


 

In your letter, you write that you often speak to audiences on “the dangers of both the Patriot Act, Patriot Act 2, and the rest of John Ashcroft's assault on the Constitution.” We do not doubt that this is true. However, as veteran political observers we also know that the candidate’s most carefully crafted public persona is reflected in his literature. If it’s not on the site, then experience tells us that the campaign is downplaying the issue.

 

You should be neither “surprised” nor “amused” that a progressive Black publication puts you, a former “top notch, progressive political organizer,” under scrutiny. You have joined the DLC! What else could you have possibly expected?

 

Rather than dither on the periphery of the matter, we are posing three “bright line” questions to you, that should determine whether you belong in the DLC, or not:

1. Do you favor the withdrawal of the United States from NAFTA? 
Will you in the Senate introduce or sponsor legislation toward that end?

 

2. Do you favor the adoption of a single payer system of universal health care to extend the availability of quality health care to all persons in this country?  Will you in the Senate introduce or sponsor legislation toward that end?

 

3. Would you have voted against the October 10 congressional resolution allowing the president to use unilateral force against Iraq?


 

We believe you are likely to answer, “Yes” to all three of these questions. If that is true, you favor positions that are anathema to the leadership of the Democratic Leadership Council, and have misplaced yourself.

 

We call these “bright line” questions because DLC leadership has been unequivocal in their support of NAFTA, opposition to anything resembling national health insurance, and fervently in support of the Iraq war – basic issues of war and peace, life and death, and livelihood.

NAFTA:

 

The DLC was the principal voice inside the Democratic Party advocating the North American Free Trade Agreement, which led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. A majority of Democrats opposed DLCer Bill Clinton’s treaty in 1993. The DLC minority joined with Republicans, insisting that “NAFTA will create jobs…” (New Democrats Online, September 13, 1993) and would not “…substantially alter the existing rules of investment for U.S. companies seeking to lower their costs with cheap labor” (NDOL, October 1, 1993).

 

Unrepentant, the Democratic Leadership Council has been unmoved by the spectacle of corporations extorting zoning, tax, pollution and regulatory breaks from their host communities and gutting wages, benefits and pensions of US workers under the threat of relocation. As recently as last year the DLC continued to champion “fast track” authority for a Republican president, and objected strenuously to even the tiniest weakening (see American Prospect, July 2002) of NAFTA’s infamous Chapter 11, which lets corporations invalidate union contracts or the zoning, banking, wage and hour, safety or environmental regulations of any state or country it deems “inconsistent with free trade” in secret international courts where the public is not represented.

Universal health insurance/care: 

The Democratic Leadership Council unequivocally opposes anything that smells like a national health insurance plan, let alone single payer.  Here’s what DLC founder and chief honcho Al From thinks of Rep. Dick Gephardt’s proposal to let private insurers extend health care coverage to everyone, financed by federal tax credits:

"Every primary season unleashes the pander virus. Dick Gephardt's $2.5-trillion health care plan is the latest case in point. While Gephardt is right to base his candidacy on 'big ideas,' his health plan only underscores the folly of appealing to Democratic activists instead of the Democratic rank-and-file. When activists think big, they always do so with the rank-and-file's money."

notes with approval your sponsorship of the Bernardin Amendment in the Illinois Senate. Authored by Dr. Quentin Young of Physicians for a National Health Care Plan, and Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, the legislation would enshrine a constitutional right to quality health care for everyone in that state. Needless to say the amendment has yet to pass.

 

We imagine that you’d want to advance the same goal in the U.S. Senate.  Should you do so – or support any form of national health insurance – you will then become an object of scorn to the DLC, as a vector of “the pander virus.”

 

Iraq resolution:

 

In the April 15 issue of the DLC house organ Blueprints, DLC founder Al From starts off likening the arguments of antiwar Democrats to what he calls the “blatantly anti-American sentiments of student radicals and the hard left” of the Vietnam era, and warns Democrats that they will suffer “guilt-by-failure-to-disassociate” with such types. 
He next endorses the president’s illegal war and occupation of Iraq and summons Democrats to do the same:

“Democrats must overcome both their own and the opposition's partisan instincts…. The president's decision to prosecute this war without explicit authorization from the United Nations was a close call, but it was the right call.”

 

This is the company you have chosen to keep. The DLC will gather hundreds of “New Democrats” for display at its “National Conversation” in Philadelphia, July 19. You are among the DLC’s “100 to Watch” in 2003. They are doubtless expecting you.

 

Your record gives no indication that you are compatible with this “Mother of All Trojan Horses” inside the Democratic Party, as Bruce Dixon puts it. Early in your letter, you say that you did not “style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>expend any effort to be included on the [DLC] list beyond filling out a three line questionnaire asking me to describe my current political office, my proudest accomplishment, and my cardinal rules of politics.” This is quite a different DLC affiliation process than the one described by Robert Dreyfuss in his American Prospect article:

To ensure that liberals don't slip through the cracks, NDN requires each politician who seeks entree to its largesse and contacts to fill out a questionnaire that asks his or her views on trade, economics, education, welfare reform, and other issues. The questions are detailed, forcing candidates to state clearly whether or not they support views associated with the New Democrat Coalition, and it concludes by asking, "Will you join the NDC when you come to Congress?" Next, [the DLC] interviews each candidate, and then NDN determines which candidacies are viable before providing

Trusting your word and knowing Dreyfuss to be a very good reporter, we must conclude that Al From and his crew value your presence in the DLC very highly, and therefore spared you the full corporate shakeout.  Apparently, they were quite eager to recruit a Black progressive willing to step across some very “bright lines” to adorn the literature of an organization that opposes his own core political positions.

Should you answer our questions on NAFTA, universal health care and the Iraq war in the affirmative, there is no honorable option available to you but to publicly withdraw from the DLC.

We respectfully await your reply

 

- The Publishers of The Black Commentator

Off Prompter, Obama Can't Speak by Rush Limbaugh

Source: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060908/content/01125107.guest.html

June 9, 2008

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT


RUSH: Over the weekend, the guy that runs the Little Green Footballs blog, Charles Johnson, found a bunch of things on Obama's website. One of them was the truth of the Jewish lobby and it was one of the most anti-Semitic posts that you've ever seen, and it was still up there, and finally the Obama website took it down. There was also praise from some Muslim militant that was on the website. There are a lot of things -- and I told you this during the primaries and the superdelegates know this -- they are worried silly here. Right now Obama's riding on a wing and a prayer, riding on pure image, the messiah business, but he has five months to go with this stuff.

Let me just give you an illustration. This is audio from last Thursday in Bristol, Virginia, at a campaign event. I've constantly noted, ladies and gentlemen, you take the prompter and the written speeches away from Barak Obama and you have nothing. You have nothing like the guy with the soaring rhetoric and the inspiring and sermon-like quality. You have nothing like that, and this is why I don't think Obama will do as many of these town hall meetings with McCain as his camp is saying. In fact, Bloomberg in New York got together with ABC and they offered the Federal Hall in New York for the first of these this coming Thursday night with ABC telecasting it. And both campaigns turned it down. Both campaigns turned it down. The McCain camp said, (doing McCain impression) "No, not one network. Every network or I don't do it." They didn't want to give it to one particular network, and Obama, his comfort level is doing things on CNN and MSNBC. So anyway, you listen to this. This is last Thursday in Bristol, Virginia, and this is Obama talking about Iraq. I just want to preference this by telling you, if this were George Bush that you were listening to, this would have been commented on since it happened. You would have had people all over the country saying, "Gosh, can't we get a guy that can talk? Can't we get a guy who can put two thoughts together?" Listen to this. This is Obama.  



OBAMA: What they'll say is, "Well it costs too much money," but you know what? It would cost, about... It -- it -- it would cost about the same as what we would spend... It... Over the course of 10 years it would cost what it would costs us... (nervous laugh) All right. Okay. We're going to... It... It would cost us about the same as it would cost for about -- hold on one second. I can't hear myself. But I'm glad you're fired up, though. I'm glad.

RUSH: Ted Kennedy could do a better job. This was Barak Obama Thursday in Bristol. You want to hear this again? I have seen this. This is the worst example of it, but I have noticed this and I have seen this throughout these town hall debate situations. You take the script and the teleprompter away from him, you take away all this BS about change and hope and grunge away from him. Listen one more time, and then we have his explanation for why he muffed it so bad.

OBAMA: What they'll say is, "Well it costs too much money," but you know what? It would cost, about... It -- it -- it would cost about the same as what we would spend... It... Over the course of 10 years it would cost what it would costs us... (nervous laugh) All right. Okay. We're going to... It... It would cost us about the same as it would cost for about -- hold on one second. I can't hear myself. But I'm glad you're fired up, though. I'm glad.

RUSH: Now, there was a lot of crowd noise going on, and we just took it out so we could hear -- (interruption) no, I'm not kidding you. That's Obama. Now, this is how he explained it.

OBAMA: Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer, or inhalator, not a breathalyzer. (crowd laughing) I haven't had much sleep in the last 48 hours.

RUSH: Okay, that's it. He hasn't had much sleep in the last 48 hours. It's inhaler. There's no such a thing as an inhalator. And a breathalyzer? A breathalyzer is what they give you if you've been overserved adult beverages and you're driving around and the cops catch you. So let's listen to these two back-to-back. Obama last Thursday in Bristol, Virginia, two days before -- and by the way, when did he have that meeting with Mrs. Clinton at DiFi's house, was that Wednesday night or Thursday night? I thought it was Thursday night. Can you imagine if he's still talking this way when he got together with her?

OBAMA: What they'll say is, "Well, it costs too much money," but you know what? It would cost, about... It -- it -- it would cost about the same as what we would spend... It... Over the course of 10 years it would cost what it would costs us... (nervous laugh) All right. Okay. We're going to... It... It would cost us about the same as it would cost for about -- hold on one second. I can't hear myself. But I'm glad you're fired up, though. I'm glad.

OBAMA: Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer, or inhalator, not a breathalyzer. (crowd laughing) I haven't had much sleep in the last 48 hours.


BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I want you to hear two sound bites from the Democrat Party standard-bearer, Barak Obama, who 30 years ago would not have survived one sermon being seen publicly by the American people. If anybody running for president 30 years ago had said "Goddamn America" in a sermon, that's the end of the candidate who had been a 20-year member of the church. If the American people had learned 30 years ago that a presidential candidate of any party can number as one of his best friends a terrorist who blew up the Pentagon, he would be finished. Today he's the nominee of the Democrat Party for president of the United States, and this is a man of change and this is a man of hope and dreams. This is a man who is finally going to bring about the federal government fixing everything that's wrong in healthcare. This is from last Thursday in Bristol, Virginia, no teleprompter, no written notes, speaking off the cuff. By the way, when he makes his remark here about the audience being loud and distracting, we didn't edit any of the audience out. The audience was not making a sound because the audience is as perplexed as you will be listening to this.

OBAMA: What they'll say is, "Well, it costs too much money," but you know what? It would cost, about... It -- it -- it would cost about the same as what we would spend... It... Over the course of 10 years it would cost what it would costs us... (nervous laugh) All right. Okay. We're going to... It... It would cost us about the same as it would cost for about -- hold on one second. I can't hear myself. But I'm glad you're fired up, though. I'm glad.

RUSH: Nobody was saying a word. There was no cheering; there was no fainting. There was just disbelief. I have warned you people several times, you get this guy away from the teleprompter and the David Axelrod-written speeches. This guy doesn't even write his own speeches. Mario Cuomo and Malcolm X write these, but the bottom line is, you get this guy away from them, and I don't care, he blames it on lack of sleep. Hey, get used to it, man, you want to be president. Remember that phone call that's going to ring at 3:00 in the morning? It's going to be Hillary saying, "Have you seen Bill?" And he'll say, "Yeah, the last time I saw him was in the Oval Office and I couldn't get rid of him so I came up to bed." This is the guy who wants to run your healthcare. Listen to the next bite. Listen to him talk about the condition of asthma.

OBAMA: Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma, they end up taking up a hospital bed, it costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early and they got some treatment, and a, a breathalyzer, or inhalator, not a breathalyzer. (crowd laughing) I haven't had much sleep in the last 48 hours.

RUSH: It's not an inhalator either. How much does an inhalator cost? Where do I go to get an inhalator? Where do I find one? Yeah, right, next to a disgronificator. What if I want a breathalyzer? If I have asthma, I should be able to demand a breathalyzer? I'll tell you something else. Any preacher 30 years ago, who in a sermon said: "Goddamn America," wouldn't have a church, either.


END TRANSCRIPT

Read the Background Material...

• Gateway Pundit: More Obama Gaffes- Including Kids Getting "Breathalyzer" Tests - VIDEO
• LittleGreenFootballs: Obama Campaign Throws Antisemitic Blog Down the Memory Hole
• NewsBusters: Will Media Report Anti-Semitic Article at Obama's Website?
• NewsBusters: Will Media Ignore Obama-Khalidi Connection?
• American Thinker: Too Bad this Didn't Come Out BEFORE Obama Spoke to AIPAC

Tim Russert warmly remembered on 'Meet the Press'

Tim Russert warmly remembered on 'Meet the Press'

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer
47 minutes ago



Tim Russert's chair was empty on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, two days after his unexpected death.

But Russert was very much present on the full-hour tribute to this giant of political journalism who hosted NBC's public-affairs program for more than 16 years.

"His voice has been stilled," began Tom Brokaw, who led the conversation, "and our issue this sad Sunday morning is remembering and honoring our colleague and our friend ...."

Brokaw and a half-dozen others were seated in front of the "Meet the Press" set and its angular table, left vacant, where Russert had presided as recently as last week.

Brokaw noted that Russert had a large wooden sign in his office that read: "Thou Shalt Not Whine," which Brokaw then supplemented with "Thou shalt not weep or cry this morning. This is a celebration."

But a bit later he choked up, recalling Russert's words of awe at how far a working-class kid from Buffalo like himself could rise: "What a country!" he would marvel.

Among those gathered were presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and political pundit Mary Matalin, with Maria Shriver — the former NBC News correspondent and currently California's first lady — on a remote hookup.

All agreed that Russert was tough but fair in his interviewing, and that he, as a former political operative himself, loved politics and politicians.

What he didn't like, said consultant-pundit James Carville, was an elected official or anybody else who wasn't prepared to face him.

"The biggest insult to him was someone who came on and ... didn't take the show seriously," Carville said.

It was a mistake they quickly regretted, because Russert took his stewardship of "Meet the Press" as a sacred trust.

"He would spend all week preparing," said executive producer Betsy Fischer.

PBS' Gwen Ifill, a former NBC correspondent, called the program "The Church of Tim."

"I would actually get a pass from my own pastor to not be in church on Sunday if I was gonna be on `Meet the Press,'" she said with a smile.

MSNBC commentator Mike Barnicle added that Russert's son, Luke, had told him the day before that the program was "Tim's second son."

However fitting Sunday's tribute, it was a cruel irony that Russert had become the big story, particularly in the midst of a like-no-other presidential race that he was covering with his customary gusto. Guests he had planned to grill Sunday were senior officials from both campaigns.

All that changed with Russert's death from a heart attack Friday. He was stricken while preparing for the broadcast at his network's Washington bureau.

NBC aired a prime-time tribute Friday night, then devoted Saturday's "Today" show to his life and career. His passing dominated rival cable-news networks and news-talk shows.

St. Albans School in Washington said a wake was scheduled there Tuesday evening.

Wednesday at 4 p.m. EDT, a private memorial service from Washington's Kennedy Center will be televised by MSNBC and made available for airing by other outlets, the network said.

Russert was the face of political news for NBC as well as cable sibling MSNBC, serving as chief political analyst, a frequent correspondent and an election-night fixture, besides his off-camera duties as NBC News' Washington bureau chief.

He had become almost synonymous with the top-rated "Meet the Press," the TV institution he reinvented while becoming an institution himself. He had been its host since 1991 when the show, the longest-running on television, already was in its 45th year.

Several tape montages on Sunday's tribute displayed Russert in action, pressing subjects from Ross Perot to Louis Farrakhan. Politicos including John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton were seen telling Russert they had no interest in running for the White House.

The abrupt void Russert leaves is unprecedented in network TV news. Even the tragic death of ABC News anchor Peter Jennings in 2005 followed his much-publicized battle with lung cancer and his four-month absence from the airwaves.

There was no immediate word on who would host "Meet the Press" next week, or in the weeks after that.

Drawing the program to a close, Brokaw observed "this would not have been just another Sunday for Tim: This is Father's Day." Any regular viewer of "Meet the Press" knew Russert was a devoted son (of "Big Russ," about whom he wrote in a best-selling memoir) and father (to Luke).

But the final moments — eerily yet aptly — were of Russert signing off from his host's chair, proud and cheery, with Father's Day greetings to all. For an instant, viewers might have wondered: Who will Russert be grilling next week?

___

On the Net:

NBC: http://www.nbc.com/



Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Tribute in Russert's studio

Tribute in Russert's studio

Mike Allen, Amie Parnes
Sun Jun 15, 11:25 AM ET



On a memorial edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” moderator Tim Russert was remembered in his studio as a friend of politicians who prepared rigorously for the powerful show and was “offended” when they didn’t do the same.

The show, with just one commercial interruption, consisted of brief highlights of Russert’s tenure, interspersed with loving memories from friends and frequent guests.

With the moderator’s chair empty in tribute, the guests gathered around the famous Nebraska Avenue table with Tom Brokaw, the former “Nightly News” anchorman, who began the show by urging them not to cry.

But the show was a largely joyful recollection of wild, loving times with Russert, who passed in his prime on Friday, at the age of 58.

“When you were out of office, he still called you,” Mary Matalin, the Republican strategist, recalled.

“He was ambitious for the interns, he’s ambitious for his friends. If you had a book, he’d put you on one of his shows. He tried to help everybody. He wanted everybody to do their best. … He enjoyed everyone’s success.”

Funeral arrangements are not complete, but a public memorial service is planned for Wednesday afternoon in Washington at a location that hasn’t been finalized. Tentative plans call for a service at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, friends said. A wake is planned for Tuesday at St. Albans School, and a private funeral Mass is to be held Wednesday morning.

MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle said Russert’s son, Luke, had recently told him “that this program was Tim’s second son.”

Betsy Fischer, Russert’s executive producer, said he would spend all week reading up for the show and “never once sat in that show unprepared — he would prepare for a three-hour show.”

“The way he would structure the questions was very lawyerly,” she said. Fischer added that as soon as the show was over, “he would grab me and say, ‘What do we have for next week?’”

Fischer said that because of Russert’s enthusiasm, he “did not want that primary season to end” and “loved every minute of it.”

“We would say, ‘OK, this is the last Tuesday night — there can’t possibly be …, ’” she recalled. And she said Russert interjected; “No! Bring on more, more, more, more!”

Others said Russert would sit in front of the camera and actually rehearse questions.

James Carville, who said the two of them talked just about every day except Friday, said consultants and their bosses did not need to fear “Meet.”

“You could predict the questions the highest on ‘Meet the Press’ because they were fair questions,” Carville said. “But he really was offended by people who didn’t prepare. He was glad that the candidate did much better.”

Brokaw, noting Russert’s “civilized but persistent” fashion of questioning, said: “It would have been helpful to the candidates if they would have said from time to time: You know what, Tim? You got me there.”

Mary Matalin said Russert “genuinely liked politicians — he respected politicians.”

“He knew that they got blamed for everything, got credit for everything,” Matalin said. “He never treated them with the cynicism that attends some of these interviews. So they had a place to be loved. He understood who they were. So if you messed up on this show, it was nobody’s fault but your own.”

PBS’s Gwen Ifill complimented Russert for actually listening to his guests: “If someone said, ‘I killed my wife,’ Tim heard that. A lot of journalists kept going.”



Doris Kearns Goodwin, the historian, said Russert helped network news make the transition from the Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite style of the voice of God, talking from the screen, to “the world of relationship talking.”

“That’s what so much television is now — talking,” she said. “Think about how [there’s] no razzle-dazzle in this show. What it had were people sitting around a table and talking — talking like you might have talked 200 years ago, but with civility in a time of [a] polarized country.”

Maria Shriver, coming in from Sun Valley, Idaho, said that Russert “always carried a rosary around, and he would always say to you, you know, ‘I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to pray for your family. I’m going to pray for your uncle.’ And you knew he meant that — that he actually would really do it.”

The show included humorous insights, including Maria Shriver’s recollection that when she scored an interview with Fidel Castro in Cuba, Russert said he needed to go to produce her and cheer her up.

“He actually wanted to just meet Castro,” she quipped.

At one point, Brokaw joked that the oft-rumpled Russert’s tailor was L.L. Bean, the outdoors outfitter.

Brokaw said as the show wound down: “In memory of Tim, happy Father’s Day, which is best expressed by honoring your father. And if you are a father, by being a good dad, this Sunday and all of the days to come. God bless our friend Tim, son and father.”

The show closed with a Russert montage accompanied by video of Bruce Springsteen — “The Boss” — this weekend dedicating “Thunder Road” to Russert, who was described by Brokaw as “his number-one fan.”

That was followed by a tape of Russert closing a previous show with his trademark:

“That’s all for today. We’ll be back next week. If it’s Sunday, it’s ‘Meet the Press.’ Happy Father’s Day, especially to Big Russ up in Buffalo. And Luke — I’m real proud to be your dad.”

Meanwhile, the other Sunday shows also spent time remembering Russert.

“I spent 11 years at NBC and for most of that time, Tim was my boss," said Chip Reid, filling in for Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation. "He was one of the best bosses anyone could ever hope for. His passion for news and especially politics was infectious, and I caught the bug."

Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday, told viewers that, “Before the terrible events Friday, I never would have said it in public, but Tim Russert was the king of Washington reporters. He reinvented Sunday morning talks shows, and he had an authority and insight in covering politics that the rest of us could only aspire to,”

Wallace added: “As a competitor, Tim’s sign-off used to drive me nuts. But like all of you, how I would love to hear Tim say it again today.”



Copyright © 2008 Capitol News Company, LLC.


Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

Bush recalls Russert as 'thorough, decent man'

Bush recalls Russert as 'thorough, decent man'

Sat Jun 14, 12:46 PM ET



President Bush mourned NBC correspondent Tim Russert at a news conference Saturday with France's president, calling the veteran newsman who died of a heart attack "a hard-working, thorough and decent man."

Bush said that he, Laura Bush and the American people have Russert's widow, Maureen, and son Luke in their thoughts and prayers, saying "I know they're hurting right now," and saying the 58-year-old Russert loved his job, his family and his country.

"America lost a really fine man yesterday," said Bush, who appeared with President Nicolas Sarkozy for a question-and-answer session with American and French reporters in Paris amid their talks on a host of country-to-country and global issues.

"We're going to miss him," Bush said of Russert, saying he had been privileged to be interviewed by the NBC correspondent and Washington bureau chief for the network.

Russert died of a heart attack Friday while at work at his network's Washington studios Friday.

Vice President Dick Cheney called his passing "a great tragedy."

Cheney, who has suffered from heart ailments in recent years, said, "I remember many occasions when we did the show when he would ask me about my health. But he never commented on his own; I was unaware that he had coronary artery disease. We could have compared notes. But it's a tremendous loss."

"One of the great things about 'Meet the Press' and the way Tim ran it was that you got an hour sometimes, if you had a big subject like we did in September of '01, where you could devote the whole hour to getting into a subject in depth," Cheney said in an NBC interview Saturday. "And Tim was never into 'gotcha' journalism. He would ask you tough questions, he would remind you of quotes you made previously in other settings or on earlier shows, so you never got away with anything going up vis-a-vis Tim."




Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Russert Mourned After Collapsing in NBC's Washington Newsroom

Russert Mourned After Collapsing in NBC's Washington Newsroom

Kristin Jensen and Julianna Goldman
Sat Jun 14, 12:01 AM ET



June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Tim Russert, NBC News's Washington bureau chief, who collapsed and died in his Washington newsroom yesterday, was remembered as a skilled political analyst whose gregarious nature charmed his audience and the politicians who were subjected to his relentless questioning. He was 58.

Russert became famous for his penetrating interviews on the Sunday morning talk show ``Meet the Press,'' a program he hosted longer than anyone else, according to former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. Russert was also a best-selling author whose books included a tribute to his father, ``Big Russ and Me.''

Brokaw announced the death on the air, telling viewers about Russert's childhood growing up in Buffalo, New York, his love for his family and his work ethic. Brokaw said Russert was ``one of the premier political analysts and journalists of his time'' and a beloved colleague.

``This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice,'' Brokaw said.

Michael Newman, Russert's doctor, said plaque ruptured an artery, causing a sudden coronary thrombosis, according to NBC.

Russert set the ``gold standard'' for moving from politics to journalism, said Albert Hunt, executive editor for Washington at Bloomberg News and a close friend. Before becoming a journalist, Russert worked as an aide to former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1977 to 1982 and then worked for former New York Governor Mario Cuomo in Albany for two years.

Investigative Reporting

When Russert worked for Moynihan during the New York Democrat's 1982 re-election campaign, his research showed that Republican opponent Bruce Caputo's claims of Vietnam service were false. Caputo dropped out of the race.

``It was one of the most important moments in my life,'' Russert told the Washington Post in 1989, describing his research at the New York Public Library. ``It was investigative reporting at its best.''

Russert took over as anchor of ``Meet the Press'' on Dec. 8, 1991, and turned the show into the most-watched Sunday morning interview program in the U.S. and the most-quoted news program in the world, according to the network's Web site.

``There was no one who studied, prepared and worked as hard on a story as Tim; his only agenda was to inform and educate his millions of viewers,'' Hunt said. ``There was no one more generous or supportive of friends and colleagues; there was no one more fun to talk politics with, or just to be with.''

`An Institution'

President George W. Bush hailed Russert as ``an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades.''

``Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman,'' Bush said in a statement issued by the White House. ``He was always well- informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it.''

Russert's effect on political journalism is evident almost everywhere. The Washington Post credited him with coming up with the phrases ``red states'' and ``blue states'' as a way of dividing the parts of the country that tended to vote Republican and those that aligned more closely with Democrats.

Russert's use of a white dry-eraser board from on election night 2000 is listed in TV Guide's ``100 Most Memorable TV Moments'' in history. He scribbled ```Florida Florida Florida'' and called the state the bellwether for that election.

This year, he was one of the first newsmen to declare Barack Obama the winner of the Democratic presidential nomination. After the May 6 North Carolina and Indiana primaries, he declared on the air, ``We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be, and no one is going to dispute it.''

`Grief-Stricken'

Obama, speaking to reporters yesterday in Columbus, Ohio, said he was ``grief-stricken'' by the news.

``There wasn't a better interviewer in television, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics,'' Obama said. ``And he was also one of the finest men I knew, somebody who cared about America, cared about the issues, cared about family.''

Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, called Russert's death a ``shocking loss'' and called him the ``preeminent political journalist'' of his generation.

Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton said Russert ``helped inform the American people and made our democracy stronger. We join his friends, fans and loved ones in mourning his loss and celebrating his remarkable contribution to our nation.''

When asked yesterday by reporters what it was like to be interviewed by Russert, McCain said with a smile, ``I once told him I haven't had so much fun since my last interrogation at prison camp.''

Born in Buffalo on May 7, 1950, Russert graduated from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. He earned a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland.

Russert's Technique

Russert used that training as an attorney to break down and examine public officials' comments, sometimes to their dismay.

At the Sept. 27 Democratic presidential candidates' debate, Russert quoted a ``guest'' on ``Meet the Press'' who said U.S. authorities should ``beat'' a terrorist who knew the location of a bomb set to go off. After Hillary Clinton disagreed with that view, Russert revealed that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had said it.

``So there is a disagreement?'' Russert asked.

``Well, I'll talk to him later,'' Clinton said with a smile.

On another occasion, Bill Clinton complained that the media had attacked his wife for saying she had been fired at when arriving in Bosnia during a civil war in the 1990s.

Bosnia Arrival

Russert showed video clips of Hillary Clinton repeatedly making the comment on the campaign trail during daytime hours and then showed the actual 1996 arrival in which she shook a Bosnian child's hand without a shot being fired.

``I'm sure I speak for all elected officials when I say he always asked the question we hoped he wouldn't,'' Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

Clips from his show often became part of history. Days before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney told him on ``Meet the Press'' that he believed U.S. troops would ``be greeted as liberators.''

Russert's colleagues and competitors offered universal praise for him yesterday.

``It is a tough day,'' CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer, moderator of ``Face the Nation,'' said in an interview with WTOP radio. ``Nothing pleased either of us more than to scoop the other. When you got one past old Russert, you felt like you had hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league.''

`Respected Colleague'

``This is a loss for the entire nation,'' NBC News President Steve Capus said in a statement. ``Everyone at NBC News is in shock and absolutely devastated. He was our respected colleague, mentor and dear friend. Words cannot express our heartbreak.''

Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive of NBC's parent company General Electric Co., called Russert ``a giant in journalism,'' praising his ``enduring honesty and integrity.''

Russert had just returned from a vacation to Italy with his wife, Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, and his son, Luke.

``He was a great journalist, an even better father, husband and dear friend,'' Hunt said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net ; Julianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net



Copyright © 2008 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.


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NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58

By DAVID ESPO and LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writers
3 minutes ago



Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network's Washington bureau chief was 58.

In addition to his weekly program, Russert appeared on the network's other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and wrote two best-selling books.

President Bush, informed of Russert's death while at dinner in Paris, swiftly issued a statement of condolence that praised the NBC newsman as "an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades. Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it."

NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert's death, and in the ensuing moments, familiar faces such as Tom Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.

Williams called him "aggressively unfancy."

Our hearts are broken," said Mitchell, who appeared emotional at times as she recalled her long-time colleague.

Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show in December 1991 and turned it into the nation's most widely watched program of its type. His signature trait there was an unrelenting style of questioning that made some politicians reluctant to appear, yet confident that they could claim extra credibility if they survived his grilling intact.

He was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Russert had Buffalo's blue collar roots, a Jesuit education, a law degree and a Democratic pedigree that came from his turn as an aide to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York.

One of his books, "Big Russ and Me," was about his relationship with his father.

On Sunday's program, Russert was to have interviewed Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a national co-chair of the McCain campaign, and Joe Biden, D-Del., an Obama supporter, in a debate format as surrogates for the two presidential candidates.

Praise flowed quickly from those who knew Russert across the television interview room.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Russert was "the best in the business at keeping his interview subjects honest."

"There wasn't a better interviewer in television," Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential contender, told reporters in Ohio.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's rival for the White House, hailed Russert as the "pre-eminent journalist of his generation."

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, said Russert was "one of the smartest, toughest television news journalists of all time .... I can say from experience that joining Tim on Meet The Press was one of the greatest tests any public official could face."

Carl P. Leubsdorf, president of the Gridiron Club, an organization of journalists, said in a statement, "It was a measure of the degree to which Tim Russert was respected in the journalistic world that he was the first broadcaster elected to membership in the Gridiron Club after the rules were changed in 2004 to end our century-old restriction to print journalists."

"He was an enthusiastic member and a willing participant in our shows. His fellow Gridiron members join with all of those who knew and respected Tim in mourning his untimely death."

"It is my sad duty to report this afternoon" that Russert collapsed and died while working in the network's Washington studios, Brokaw said when he came on the air.

"He'll be missed as he was loved — greatly," Brokaw said.

The network said on its Web Site that Russert had been recording voiceovers for this Sunday's "Meet The Press" when he was stricken.

Russert had dozens of honorary college degrees, and numerous professional awards.

He won an Emmy for his role in the coverage of President Ronald reagan's funeral in 2004.

He was married to Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair Magazine. The couple had one son, Luke.

___



Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Conservative Case for McCain By Mark Sanford

Stock Market Politics

March 15, 2008; Page A10

Last week, I asked David Walker, the U.S. comptroller general, why he is quitting his job to travel the country on a "fiscal wake-up tour." His answer: Because we have only five to 10 years to address the federal government's looming shortfalls before we're faced with a fiscal crisis.

In about a decade, the twin forces of demographics and compound interest will leave few options for solving the fiscal mess Washington has created. By then, our options will all be ugly. We could make draconian spending cuts, or impose large tax increases that will undermine our economy in the competitive global marketplace. Or we could debase the value of the dollar by printing a large amount of money. This would shrink the overall value of the federal government's debt. It would also wipe out the value of most Americans' savings.

Mr. Walker is right. And I join many others in saying that federal spending is now as significant an issue as the war on terror, federal judgeships and energy independence. The U.S. stands at a fiscal crossroads -- and the consequences of inaction, or wrongful action, will be real and severe.

Fortunately, the presidential election offers us a real choice in how to address the fiscal mess. To use a football analogy, we're at halftime; and the question for conservatives is whether to get off the bench for the second half of the game.

I sat out the first half, not endorsing a candidate, occupied with my day job and four young boys at home. But I'm now stepping onto the field and going to work to help John McCain. It's important that conservatives do the same.

It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of political perfection, and to assume that if a candidate doesn't agree with you 100% of the time, then he doesn't deserve your support. In fact, Mr. McCain is a lot closer to 100% than many conservatives realize. He has never voted for a tax increase in his 25 years in Congress. He holds an 83% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union. He is listed as a taxpayer hero by Citizens Against Government Waste. And he is supported by noted conservatives Phil Gramm, Jack Kemp and others.

The process of iron sharpening iron is good for the GOP. But now, I believe, the time has passed for focusing on what divides us.

There is a yawning gulf between the viewpoints of Mr. McCain and those of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Nowhere is this more evident than on the critical issue of the steady collapse of our government's financial house.

Since 2000, the federal budget has increased 72%, to $3.1 trillion from $1.8 trillion. The national debt is now $9 trillion -- more than the combined GDP of China, Japan and Canada. Add in Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security commitments, and as a nation we are staring at more than a $50 trillion hole -- an invisible mortgage of $450,000 for every American family.

Hope alone won't carry us through the valley of the shadow of debt. The fact that neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Obama has made cost-cutting a part of their political vocabulary is a clear indication that they would increase spending. In fact, Mrs. Clinton has already proven skillful at snagging pork. Over the past few years alone, she has attached some $2.2 billion in earmarks to federal spending bills. Mr. McCain has asked for exactly $0 in earmarks.

And while Mr. Obama's oratorical skills have been inspiring, his proposals would entail roughly the same $800 billion in new government spending that Mrs. Clinton proposes. To his credit, Mr. Obama admits that his spending proposals will take more than three clicks of his heels to fund. He would pay for his priorities with a bevy of tax increases which he hopes taxpayers won't notice.

But taxpayers will notice. Mr. Obama plans to raise taxes on capital gains, dividends and corporate profits. He wants to hike estate taxes by 50%. And he wants to eliminate the cap on payroll taxes. These tax hikes would increase the burden borne by individuals and decrease the competitiveness of our economy.

I was elected to Congress in 1994 as part of a Republican Revolution that captured control of both the House and Senate. A number of us tried to apply the brakes to the Washington spending train. We didn't succeed. Six years later, I left Washington convinced that only a chief executive willing to use the presidential bully pulpit could bring spending under control.

Now, in John McCain, the GOP has a standard-bearer who would be willing to turn the power of the presidency toward controlling federal spending. Mr. McCain has one of the best spending records in Congress, and has never shied away from criticizing government pork-barrel spending.

The contrast between the two opposing teams is stark. It is time for the entire conservative squad to step onto the field. Who will join me in helping our team get the ball and move it down the field?

Mr. Sanford, a Republican, is the governor of South Carolina.

Burlington County College John McCain Similcast

Source: http://www.bcc.edu/pages/360.asp?item=18828

BCC News

Senator John McCain to Hold Straight Talk Express at BCC 6/13

Released: 6/12/2008 4:51:46 PM

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain will hold a Town Hall meeting on Friday, June 13 on the Pemberton campus of Burlington County College.

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets or pre-registration are not necessary.

Doors to the Physical Education Building will open at 9:30 am and the event will begin at 11am.

Overflow crowds can watch a webstream of the event from other locations on campus, or from any internet connection. Click here to view the webstream beginning at 10:45 am.

The meeting will also be broadcast on the college radio station, WBZC, 88.9 FM. click here to hear the station’s webcast. WBZC will also rebroadcast the Town Hall meeting Sunday, June 15, 2008 at 10:00 am during the County Corner Segment. Tune into 88.9, 95.1 (Burlington & Bristol area) 100.7 (Mt. Holly & Lumberton) and streaming on the web.