* " POLITICS " *

[Terry]

@ was suppose to be 2

[Terry]

Bring me an aspirin, Keith Olbermann: We watch, because we're paid to
By Ruth Graham - The Daily Caller | Published: 9:13 AM 11/05/2010 | Updated: 2:07 PM 11/05/2010

******************************************************************************Election week******** on "Countdown"! I'll give you three guesses as to whether it ended in elation or a splitting headache. Or perhaps it ended with the revelation just this morning on Politico that Olbermann made three $2,400 contributions in the recent election, violating both NBC policy and basic principles of journalism. One donation, to Arizona representative Raul Grijalva, took place on the same day Grijalva appeared on "Countdown." The other donations went to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and another Arizona representative, Gabrielle Giffords. (You will definitely want to read this.) But meanwhile, here's the week that was:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29: Tonight, a final, desperate interview with soon-to-lose Florida candidate for Senate, Kendrick Meek. Meek dropped the words "KendrickMeek.com" at least twice into the conversation, which must have made Keith very angry since he cares so deeply when Republican candidates go on Fox and share their websites over and over to encourage fundraising. He must have been so mad! But since he is a paragon of professionalism, he didn't show his anger at all.
Next a segment about how the economy is actually doing a lot better than many Americans suspect. Finally, some optimism around here! The economy is growing, though 61 percent of Americans think it's shrinking! Much of the TARP money will be recovered! And federal taxes have actually gone down recently, Keith reports. These are interesting points!

Then he pivoted immediately to a conversation with Arianna Huffington, author of the totally reasonable book "Third World America," about how America is a sinkhole of poverty and economic despair. I guess she regrets immigrating here from ... Greece?

At the end of the interview, Huffington plugged her free shuttle bus from New York down to Washington, D.C., for the weekend's "Restoring Sanity" rally. Keith must been so mad!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31: Yes, SUNDAY. Oh, "Countdown," why do you persecute me? Why would you add a special weekend show? Is this what we get now that Keith isn't busy with Sunday Night Football? There is no god.
Or at least that's what I thought before this show began, when it came abundantly clear that this particular episode needs to exist. So much breaking news! So many fresh observations! And most of them happened during a riveting interview with Speaker-for-now Nancy Pelosi. Behold the brilliance:

"They [the Chamber of Commerce] want to buy these elections."

Zing! You used that one last week on this show, Ms. Pelosi, but it's such a good line, I can understand why!

"Elections are always about the future."

Brilliant!

"We're going forward. We're not about going backward. We're fighting for the middle class. This election is also about our democracy."

Oh, dear. The Pelosi-bot is broken! It's shorting out! It's spitting out cliches faster than we can process them! Call 911!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1: On election eve, a grim conversation with Howard Fineman, in which Keith worried, "I'm not sure if my language was sufficiently apocalyptic to convey these late polls." When Keith "The World Is Ending and I Really Mean It This Time" Olbermann is worried about his insufficiently apocalyptic language, you know the polls are bad.
A little later in his conversation with Fineman, he mused that "both houses of Congress can be won or lost depending on whether people who already favor the Democrats will take half an hour, an hour, two hours out of their day, whatever it is, to bother voting."

You know what they say: If your election lasts more than two hours, you should consult with a doctor. Rimshot!

But seriously, two hours? It took me 15 minutes on Tuesday, and that included dealing with a line, an unfamiliar ballot, and the sterling competence of America's poll workers.

Then, the most significant moment of the week to Keith's 17 loyal fans: The END of "Worst Persons!" Seems Keith was guilted into suspending the nightly segment by Jon Stewart's "Rally for Sanity." He disputes the "false equivalence" between the partisans on MSNBC and Fox. (Confidential to Jon Stewart: You were right; Keith is wrong.) But Keith nonetheless thinks it's time to put the segment aside. "Satire and whimsy have gradually gotten lost in some anger," he said, which is the biggest understatement since Mel Gibson tried the same line.

But regardless, "Worst Persons" is gone! (I got into this in a little bit more depth in my review earlier this week of Keith's new book "Pitchforks and Torches.") Good riddance!

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4: Election night! That means no traditional "Countdown," just hours and hours and hours of Keith jockeying for air time with Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell and the rest of the crew. It was fun! It just wasn't as ... what's the word ... "good" as Fox's coverage.

In related news, you may be interested in this survey by Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky, who stepped into my personal hell and watched every episode of "Countdown" for one week, along with every episode of Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." Bykofsky was curious about which show featured a wider ideological variety of guests. The shocking result, when he tallied up both shows' guests for the week:

"'The O'Reilly Factor' welcomed 20 guests from the right, 11 from the left and seven who were neutral. Left and neutral voices combined almost equaled those from the right. 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' had 20 guests from the left, two neutral and not a single voice from the right. Zero voices of dissent."

I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3: The day after a rough night for Keith and pals, tonight's show was mostly a post-mortem — hashing out the poll numbers, wondering aloud if Democrats were liberal enough, and a segment blaming the whole thing on the Chamber of Commerce. He also spent a lot of post-election time making fun of John Boehner for tearing up in public. Hahaha, only girls cry! Very progressive, Keith. Very cool.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4: The rough week continues. Tonight, poor Keith had to break from an interview with long-suffering Howard Fineman to massage his own temples on air, saying he had to get rid of a headache immediately. (And this was before the whole world found out he made those campaign donations.) You know, Keith, some of us have a headache during every minute of every episode of your show, and we manage to keep it together. Surely we can expect the same silent misery from you.
'i' that it was interesting & funny!

ought

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/05/bring-me-an-aspirin-keith-olbermann

[mr.willy]

Keith Olbermann needs more then one aspirin right now. ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D:

[Terry]

[Terry]

From Voters if Pelosi Stays Leader

Published November 07, 2010
| FoxNews.com
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., heads to a television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 3.
House Democrats "didn't get the message" from last Tuesday's election if they re-elect Nancy Pelosi as Democratic Party leader next year, the expected No. 2 Republican in the House said Sunday.

Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., told "Fox News Sunday" that Pelosi's decision to run as the party's No. 1 suggests Democrats aren't listening to voters who rejected the Obama administration's agenda.

"If Democratic members in the House elect Nancy Pelosi as their leader, it's almost as if they just didn't get the message from the voters this election. I mean, the voters outright rejected the agenda that she's been about," he said. "I mean this is the woman who really, I think, puts ideology first, and there have been no results for the American people. And that seems the direction they want to take again. It just doesn't make sense."

Cantor argued that Pelosi has refused to meet with House Republicans for nearly four years, even though Americans have been making clear that they are not in accord with the Democratic agenda.

"I don't think there's any question that this says to the voters, 'We're not listening to you.  We think we're right. We're going to continue the same path,'" Cantor said.

'I Am Running for Democratic Leader',Peposi said                                                                                                                    "It hasn't produced results," he said, suggesting that he plans to go into the White House meeting offering to work on mutual solutions, but unwilling to continue on the path the administration is headed.

President Obama said Sunday that the election means that he's going to have to make some "midcourse corrections." Over the weekend, he gave an Internet and radio address in which he said the "message was clear."

"You're rightly frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery. So am I. You're fed up with partisan politics and you want results. I do, too," he said.

But those "midcourse corrections" apparently do not apply to the Democratic leadership.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who is vying to become House minority whip in the next Congress -- which could put him in a race against Rep. Steny Hoyer for the Democrats' No. 2 spot -- said Pelosi has a place in the Democratic leadership next year.

"I am perfectly satisfied with Nancy Pelosi's leadership and I don't have any problems with that," he said.

Clyburn added that he disagrees with the argument that squeezing out Hoyer, who is considered a moderate by many, means that the Democratic leadership will be seen as even more liberal than if Hoyer were to retain his post as No. 2 in the caucus.

"I would ask anybody to look at my record of 18 years, look at my record here in South Carolina and tell me why you'd classify me as being liberal or conservative," said Clyburn, the highest ranking African American ever in the House.

"Everybody tells me it's very hard to pinpoint exactly where I am on the political spectrum. And I think that people are doing that by making some assumptions because of the way that I look."

[Terry]

He said,  "because of the way that I look."
How's he look to "U"?

[Terry]

Does that look like a person 'woman' that should be incharge of anything to "U"?

[Terry]

'i'd love to here "U"r comments on what "U" think of the healthcare plan!
Please don't be bashful, be general or specific
zzzzzzzzzzThank You  :smile:

[Terry]

HE said;  I don't mind "U" republicians joining "US", but "U" gotta set in back!

SHE said; that's fine with me, as long as you listen to & take me where I want to go.

[mr.willy]

Rachel Maddow Blasts Fox from her Glass House at MSNBC!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txjXBx9-2c0&feature=player_embedded#!

As on person posted 'Liars will always be exposed', Shame on you Rachel and MSNBC  ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D:

[Terry]

Democrats pressing Pelosi to step aside
            WASHINGTON – In a fresh sign of turmoil among defeated Democrats, a growing number of the rank and file say they won't support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a politically symbolic roll call when the new Congress meets in January.

"The reality is that she is politically toxic," said Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, one of several Democrats who are trying to pressure Pelosi to step aside as her party's leader in the wake of historic election losses to Republicans last week.

Pelosi startled many Democrats with a quick postelection announcement that she would run for minority leader. She has yet to draw an opponent for the post.

Party elections are scheduled for next week, although a postponement is possible.

In the interim, Pelosi's critics have become more vocal in their efforts to retire her from the party leadership.

There's "starting to be a sense that this may not be as much of a done deal as people might have thought," Rep. Jason Altmire said of Pelosi's quest to remain the top Democrat.

"If enough people come out and voice a little discomfort with the idea of her continuing on, maybe she would reconsider," said the Pennsylvanian, one of a handful of Democrats who said he won't cast a ceremonial vote for her.

The election of a party leader occurs behind closed doors. A separate election for speaker to be held on Jan. 5, a few hours after the House convenes for the first time, is a very visible one. One member of each party is typically nominated, and each lawmaker is then called by name to stand and declare a choice. The event is customarily televised live.

Defections from party discipline are rare in such circumstances, but several Democrats said they would not support Pelosi. They did not specify how they would vote instead.

Despite the criticism, one prominent ally, Rep. George Miller of California, said Wednesday night that Pelosi enjoys the support of the "overwhelming number of members of the caucus" for a new term as party leader.
She's definitely got him in her pocket; can "U" guess why?

"There has always been in the caucus and there always will be in the caucus people who want to distance themselves from the leadership. That's not new. I think that's a very small percentage," Miller said.

Pelosi's spokesman, Brendan Daly, added that the speaker has strong support throughout the caucus and "is grateful for the confidence that her colleagues have placed in her to become House Democratic leader."

Most of the Democrats who say they would not support Pelosi are moderates from conservative districts who have toiled to distinguish themselves from their "liberal leader", and who watched dozens of like-minded Democrats go down in defeat after Republicans savaged them in TV advertisements as lapdogs of the San Francisco congresswoman.

Quigley stopped short of saying he would oppose Pelosi on a public vote, but others did not.

"You would find an unusual number of people not voting for the nominee of their party" if Pelosi were the choice, said Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah.

"There's a growing number of people in the caucus saying, 'Why's she running for minority leader in the first place?' We just got thumped in this election in a major way, and to act like we can just go back and do the same thing over again. It just seems like a very obvious situation when change is called for," Matheson said.

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., another conservative, said through a spokesman that he, too, plans to vote against Pelosi in public and private.

Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., strongly suggested as much in a statement in which he said he wouldn't back Pelosi "for House Democratic leader or any other leadership position in the Congress."

Democrats lost at least 60 seats in last week's elections, with a handful of races yet to be settled. Many of the defeats came in conservative or swing districts, and many of her critics are lawmakers who survived narrowly.

Altmire won re-election by little more than 2 percentage points, but Quigley ran up more than 70 percent of the vote in his Chicago-area district. Pelosi has "probably been made the scapegoat in all this," he said in an interview, but he added that keeping her as the top Democrat "would make recruitment very difficult and winning back the House in two years nearly impossible."

The prospect of substantial Democratic defections from Pelosi on the first day of the new Congress comes amid a heated debate between liberals and conservatives about the party's future. Many liberals assert Democrats must reinvigorate core supporters by refusing to compromise with Republicans on key principles, while centrists argue they must tack to the middle to win over independent voters.

The divide is complicated by the fact that the party's losses disproportionately hit moderates, purging the ranks of conservatives who call themselves "Blue Dogs," a coalition that lost more than half of its members. Liberals who are Pelosi's natural constituency now make up a greater percentage of House Democrats.

Her decision to seek a new term as party leader has also set off a messy struggle between Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, currently the No. 2 Democrat, and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the current No. 3.

Hoyer is widely viewed as the voice of moderate Democrats in leadership, although his list of public supporters includes powerful liberals. Clyburn is the most powerful African-American in Congress. The two are competing for the second-in-command position in the minority in a contest that has taken on racial overtones in recent days with the decision of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Clyburn.

Democratic officials say Pelosi has urged Clyburn to bow out of the race and run for a lesser leadership job, with an additional promise of a newly created face-saving position on a key committee. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss private discussions.

Kristie Greco, a spokeswoman for Clyburn, declined to confirm Pelosi's move, but said her boss remains a candidate and "The CBC wants to see this come to a vote."

Other Democrats, eager for a smooth transition, note that if Pelosi were to withdraw, it would avoid a face-off between Hoyer and Clyburn.

"It's still in play," Matheson said. But, he added, "without an alternative stepping up and saying, 'Vote for me instead,' it makes it a little more difficult."

Even the timetable for the selection of leaders has become embroiled in the controversy

[Terry]

My wife & 'i' could live a whole year on this amount, yet she spends it monthly on rent for an office.   Is "SHE" that much better than "US" considering it's "OUR" money paying for it!!!???House of Representatives
Pelosi's New District Office Costs $18,736 a Month

The House Speaker's district office in the new federal building in San Francisco costs a whopping $18,736 a month -- the highest rental paid by any member of the House -- or, more precisely, the highest rental paid by taxpayers on behalf of a member of the House. The rental price was reported by Roll Call on Monday.

The Democratic congresswoman moved last fall from her old office in the Burton Federal Building, which she occupied for 20 years, to a "greener" space in the city's new federal building -- a move and a high price that her spokesman, Drew Hammill, says was amply justified.

Hammill cited the new building's increased security
measures and the new office's larger size as reasons for the move -- and the expense. "The new office space is 3,075 square feet, nearly a third larger than the old space, which was of inadequate size," he told FoxNews.com.

"As speaker, the security needs are different," then get rid of her and get someone else, 'i' say!. "The new San Francisco Federal Building offers enhanced security features, which were a major factor in the decision to move offices."


Pelosi's constituency hasn't significantly expanded in size, but her San Francisco staff has increased to a size that requires a larger space for files and storage, he said -- though he did not provide a precise number. The difference in office size is approximately 1,000 square feet, he said.

Roll Call reported Monday that Pelosi's new office space costs almost double that of the next-highest rental office held by a House member. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., reportedly pays just under $10,600 a month for his office in New York's Soho neighborhood.

The newspaper, which cites a database produced by the Sunlight Foundation, also reports that other lawmakers, like Democratic Reps. Stephen Lynch of Boston and Diane Watson of Los Angeles, pay exorbitant rental fees for their offices -- $9,000 to $10,000 a month

[mr.willy]

Wasn't about Eighteen months ago,  President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised immediate relief through an economic stimulus package and They pledged that their so-called stimulus would keep the national unemployment rate below 8 percent. Don't ask questions, they told Americans. There's no time. Spend the money now and the jobs will come. ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D: ::D:

[Terry]

Recovery.gov

...what a whoot!


$787,ooo,ooo worth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Terry]

& how much it it cost http://[glow=red,2,300]"us"[/glow] tax payers?

President Obama Falls Short on G-20 Goals
Failure to Deliver on Key Trade Goals Reveals Limits of American Influence

President Obama began his trip to Asia with hopes of increasing exports and boosting American jobs, but he ends it with modesty being forced upon him, having failed to deliver in several key areas.

The president concluded the summit of the G-20 economic superpowers with an acknowledgement of the limits of American influence.

"Part of the reason that sometimes it seems that the United States is attracting some dissent is because we're initiating ideas. We're putting them forward," Obama said.

It's a remarkable admission for a president who won the office by running against leaders who set their sights only on what he called "incremental change."

"Instead of hitting home runs, sometimes we're going to hit singles," Obama said. "But they're really important singles."


Obama Fails to Achieve Key Trade Goals
But on this trip, the White House has made plenty of strikes.

Related
Lose-Lose Already for Obama at Start of G-20Obama's Visit to India Spotlights Both Prosperity and Dire NeedObama Backs India for Permanent Seat on U.N. Security CouncilStrike one: Obama failed to convince the South Koreans to open their market to American beef and cars, which could have amounted to $10 billion in exports and 70,000 American jobs.

Strike two: The president failed to successfully push Chinese President Hu Jintao to change policies that make it cheaper to manufacture in China by artificially building up the dollar and holding down Chinese currency.

"[Chinese currency] is undervalued, and China spends an enormous amount of money intervening in the market to keep it undervalued," Obama said in his sharpest and most accusatory language about the controversy to date.

The president's case could not have been helped by the Federal Reserve announcement of plans to inject $600 billion into the U.S. economy, prompting some G-20 nations to accuse the U.S. itself of currency manipulation.


Trade Decisions Could Hurt American Growth
With a $227 billion trade deficit with China, Obama was unable to convince the other G-20 leaders to agree to use stronger language on currency manipulation in the joint declaration, or take any firm actions on trade imbalances.

Obama argues that these failures are not a sign of political weakness, and he defended his economic record when asked if he could promise the American people that they would see noticeable job growth before he runs for re-election.

"We've grown the economy by a million jobs over the last year, so that's pretty noticeable," Obama said. "I think those million people who've been hired noticed those paychecks."

Geting pretty deep isn't it?  better wear hip boots & a clothes pin!