tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27472994671601619432024-03-13T01:39:47.830-07:002012 American PoliticsMary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-18333043399082590812014-01-26T17:02:00.000-08:002016-01-28T08:44:47.451-08:002013 & beyond American Politics<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "gabriola"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For more recent posts, please see <a href="http://2013americanpolitics.blogspot.com/">2013 American Politics</a> , <a href="http://2014americanpolitics.blogspot.com/">2014 American Politics </a>, <a href="http://2015americanpolitics.blogspot.com/">2015 American Politics</a>, and <a href="http://2016americanpolitics.blogspot.com/">2016 American Politics</a>.
Thank you. </span></div>
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— Mary Claire Kendall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-27417430654801394212012-12-25T18:24:00.002-08:002013-07-23T08:26:41.403-07:00Stunning lack of intellectual curiosity vis-a-vis Benghazi<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 30px;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1Rwr9wztdBiJKr9Jn-lu6Uif4PAL0vuf0v4aRwoF1nkLLFX4yRsaXSgaRhDmz4EP8Bv2OfNcu5Hgmczx6ivc6ddCpjKDoNdXnTtSRVdVJtJuh1Wa3ByO8-ISZATcAbluhmXVxldUKYGa/s1600/Coffins+of+Stevens+et+alia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1Rwr9wztdBiJKr9Jn-lu6Uif4PAL0vuf0v4aRwoF1nkLLFX4yRsaXSgaRhDmz4EP8Bv2OfNcu5Hgmczx6ivc6ddCpjKDoNdXnTtSRVdVJtJuh1Wa3ByO8-ISZATcAbluhmXVxldUKYGa/s320/Coffins+of+Stevens+et+alia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Associated Press</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;">The stunning lack of curiosity vis-à-vis Benghazi has fortunately not
infected everyone in Washington. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), ranking
member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, for one, called for a Pentagon
investigation at a press conference on Friday, December 21, which is exactly
right. The Pentagon has lots of answers that will dwarf the State Department’s
report. A day after Senator McCain’s remarks, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) said
the scandal is</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/22/inhofe-benghazi-cover-bigger-watergate-iran-contra/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;">worse
than Watergate and Iran-Contra</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">It seems
clear there are many unanswered questions and this story will not go away in
2013. For, as President Lincoln famously said, “You can fool some of the
people all of the time and all of the pe0ple some of the time, but you cannot
fool all of the people all of the time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">The first
two questions to ask are this:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;">Why did
Ambassador Chris Stevens go to the Benghazi consulate on 9/11 of all days when
NGOs are not even allowed into this and similar consulates –and embassies –
given the security situation?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22.5pt;">What was
President Barack Obama doing while Ambassador Stevens was suffering his final
hours? </span></li>
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<i style="line-height: 22.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt;">For more
about Senator McCain's call for a Pentagon investigation, see<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/23/doubts-raised-on-time-to-reach-benghazi/">December
23 report from Washington Times</a>.</span></i></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-29162810555789807212012-11-21T07:53:00.000-08:002012-11-25T19:04:01.207-08:00Classified Petraeus Testimony: What We Learned (Part III)<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwC_rtKOfjfFeiPQObRAM8OmO29ufgRbTrLXwBOy19B4EwCPHXXtaNBGWLHnue0NU_685XZysIIGmohMd0e5dVvnfmZQ-Narxiv3uTFglhSjd5-VPvo0_7K-63X-ubi8n5O9Iz_T6nvfZ/s1600/Coverup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwC_rtKOfjfFeiPQObRAM8OmO29ufgRbTrLXwBOy19B4EwCPHXXtaNBGWLHnue0NU_685XZysIIGmohMd0e5dVvnfmZQ-Narxiv3uTFglhSjd5-VPvo0_7K-63X-ubi8n5O9Iz_T6nvfZ/s1600/Coverup.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source:<br />
<a href="http://www.authentichistory.com/1961-1974/6-nixon/3-watergate/popculture/index.html">http://www.authentichistory.com/1961-1974/6-nixon/3-watergate/popculture/index.html</a> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now—five days after General David Petraeus’ testimony where he
said, as head of the CIA, <a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/classified-petraeus-testimony-what-we.html">he always thought the 9/11 Benghazi attack was terrorism</a> and the CIA talking points the House Intelligence Committee requested
initially reflected this fact, but were changed afterwards, <a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/classified-petraeus-testimony-what-we_17.html">but he does not know who changed them</a>—<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/20/gop-riled-at-intels-early-edits-on-libya/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS">National Intelligence Director John Clapper has suddenly stepped forward</a> to say, it’s me.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">I did it. I changed the talking points.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s not what he told Congress under oath last Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">I smell a cover-up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The ghosts of Watergate hover all over Washington this Thanksgiving eve.</span><br />
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<i style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></i>
<i style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 22px;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based writer. She writes a regular column for Forbes.com, most recently <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2012/11/11/doolittles-raiders-and-the-miracle-that-saved-them/" style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #ff9900;">"Doolittle's Raiders And The Miracle That Saved Them."</span></a></i></div>
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<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-85004538134047619292012-11-17T14:23:00.001-08:002013-07-23T08:00:27.179-07:00Classified Petraeus Testimony: What We Learned (Part II)<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;">This is getting confusing.</span><br />
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<br /><a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/classified-petraeus-testimony-what-we.html">What we thought we learned</a> from leaks about yesterday’s classified
congressional testimony by former CIA Director General David Petraeus, USA
Retired, was clouded by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/africa/benghazi-not-petraeus-affair-is-focus-at-hearings.html?ref=todayspaper"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">today’s</span></a><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/africa/benghazi-not-petraeus-affair-is-focus-at-hearings.html?ref=todayspaper"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> <i>New York Times</i></span></a>, which reported Petraeus said the
rationale for changing the talking points requested by the House Intelligence
Committee he and the CIA prepared in advance of his September 14 testimony was
to avoid tipping off terrorists. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The report by the <i>New York Times’ </i>Eric Schmitt
says Congressman Adam B. Schiff, a California Democrat, said “The General was
adamant there was no politicization of the process, no White House interference
or political agenda.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet, Schmitt reports a few paragraphs earlier
Petraeus said he could not say who changed the talking points: “At some point
in the process—Mr. Petraeus told lawmakers he was not sure where—objections
were raised to naming the groups, and the less specific word ‘extremists’ was
substituted.” </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Either Petraeus knows who changed the talking
points or he doesn’t. And, if he doesn’t, it can’t be said the White House had
no role in what was a patently political decision. These talking points were
not being prepared for a policy wonk gathering but for the most political of
all bodies, the U.S. House of Representatives</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 16.5pt;">—</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;">later to be used by Ambassador Susan Rice for her appearances on five Sunday TV shows explaining the attack. Both forums were not exactly benign exercises politically, coming as they did just weeks before the presidential election.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sensing their vulnerability, even the
White House took the extraordinary step today of refuting the
testimony, through</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="background: white;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Rhodes_(speechwriter)"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhoades</span></a>,</span> <i><span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/17/white-house-says-it-didnt-edit-benghazi-talking-po/"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Washington Times</span></a></span></i><span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/17/white-house-says-it-didnt-edit-benghazi-talking-po/"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> reported</span></a>. Rhoades, no political virgin, is a former
Obama campaign staffer. He has served as President Barack
Obama’s speechwriter since 2007 and has written all of <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22588.html"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Obama’s</span></a><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22588.html"><span style="color: #436590; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> key foreign policy speeches</span></a>. </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, wait, I thought Cong. Schiff said Petraeus
was “adamant” the White House was not involved.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Congressman Peter King, Chairman of House
Homeland Security Committee, a New York Republican, reflecting the obvious fact
that changing the talking points was a political act, not an intelligence-related one,
came out of the testimony and said it was clear to him there was interference
outside the intelligence community: “We need to find out who did this and why.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My head is spinning. If they would just say who altered the Talking Points, we might be
able to resolve this inconsistency. (And, it does not work to say an
inter-agency process did.) </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
Instead, the committees will have to call all in the chain of command and the
obvious ones outside the chain of command, starting with Valerie Jarrett and
David Axelrod, to testify under oath about their involvement, or lack thereof,
in altering the talking points. A</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;">bsent the Administration voluntarily identifying</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;"> who altered, or ordered the alteration of, the talking points, a </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Special Prosecutor needs to be appointed</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 16.5pt;"><br /></span>
<i style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">See also <a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/classified-petraeus-testimony-what-we_21.html">Classified Petraeus Testimony: What We Learned (Part III)</a>.</i></div>
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<i>Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based writer. She writes a regular
column for Forbes.com, most recently <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2012/11/11/doolittles-raiders-and-the-miracle-that-saved-them/"><span style="color: #ff9900; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Doolittle's Raiders And The Miracle That Saved Them."</span></a></i></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-45528470736384158792012-11-16T12:52:00.000-08:002013-07-23T07:58:38.605-07:00Classified Petraeus Testimony: What We Learned (Part I)<br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Mary Claire Kendall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, WHAT we now know, according to leaks from General David
Petraeus’ top-secret, classified testimony—only in Washington!—is that U.S.
Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice’s talking points for her appearances on five
news shows on Sunday, September 16, including <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpZ6U-OLXQY&feature=related">Fox News Sunday</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHAIl7_ITE0">Meet the Press</a>, </i><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oOxAyU8QwM&feature=player_detailpage">Face the Nation</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma6pMrMOIQ8&feature=related">This Week</a> </i>and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tjqc-lKotc&feature=player_detailpage"><i>State of the Union</i></a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">explaining what happened in Benghazi on 9/11, differed
from what the CIA had provided. Indeed, General Petraeus made clear that he thought, from the outset of the attack on the consular affairs office in Benghazi, it was terrorism, pure and simple</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">—</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">not a spontaneous uprising over a video.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht83CqEVuklzYe1ZdUxT3vU7gTJlJnQxxXQeDJu5fuf3qb8rCWiGpbVKaBPACEL_yfx2vHAfAIZo0SQdvRPWL2xcKYTeAcV6hJ93Spzg0dHubNpGiRSm-b4MfY0wEyi_uohp6inVS-Pgdu/s1600/David+H.+Petraeus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht83CqEVuklzYe1ZdUxT3vU7gTJlJnQxxXQeDJu5fuf3qb8rCWiGpbVKaBPACEL_yfx2vHAfAIZo0SQdvRPWL2xcKYTeAcV6hJ93Spzg0dHubNpGiRSm-b4MfY0wEyi_uohp6inVS-Pgdu/s1600/David+H.+Petraeus.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/16/petraeus-to-testify-knew-libya-was-terrorism-from-start-source-says/"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">what we don’t
know</span></a>—what is more top-secret than Petraeus’ classified testimony—is
WHO changed the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">Petraeus CIA talking points and report</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">. Cong. Peter King believes the White House
changed them. As </span><a href="http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/16/full-video-rep-peter-kings-exclusive-interview-with-megyn-kelly-on-gen-petraeuss-libya-attack-testimony/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">he told Fox
News:</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> “(These talking points) specifically mentioned al-Qaida, and that al-Qaida
was involved in the attack. Somewhere along the line, that was taken out... someone
in the administration had to have taken it out.” Echoing Senator John McCain,
he called for a special congressional committee to investigate the
matter. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, what we always knew is that the notion that the
attack on the Benghazi consulate on 9/11 was a spontaneous demonstration is
patently absurd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I will <i>never forget</i> the moment I heard Ambassador Rice spouting this nonsense shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 16—two months
ago today—as I was driving downtown, turning onto Garfield just past the
National Cathedral to join my friend Jeff for some much-needed R&R. It
was a moment akin to JFK’s assassination that will forever stay seared in my
memory. I was aghast that the Administration actually thought they
were going to get away with this preposterous claim. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Commonsense tells you when RPGs and mortars are being
used—expertly so—that this is no spontaneous demonstration. Unless, by some
amazing coincidence, all the spontaneous demonstrators just happened to have
these tools of warfare in their houses—maybe under their bed ready to run
out at the first news of an offensive video trailer—and every last one of these
demonstrators happened to have perfectly mastered the use of these weapons,
to boot!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, what we don</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">’</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">t know is the WHY—why the Mickey Mouse
explanation.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">See also <a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/classified-petraeus-testimony-what-we_17.html">Classified Petraeus Testimony: What We Learned (Part II)</a>.</i><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif";">
<br />
<i style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="background: white;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based
writer. She writes a regular column for Forbes.com, most recently <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2012/11/11/doolittles-raiders-and-the-miracle-that-saved-them/"><span style="color: #ff9900; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">"Doolittle's
Raiders And The Miracle That Saved Them."</span></a></span></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-91709015752629344092012-11-15T19:27:00.002-08:002013-01-15T20:34:14.549-08:00David Petraeus Testimony Will Be Historic<br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">There are two theories in
Washington:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">#1 David Petraeus was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/15/silencing-general-petraeus/">fired from the CIA</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">#2 David Petraeus was pressured to toe the
line, with his affair dangling over his head, which was an open secret in
Washington. Then, he said 'Enough! I won't be party to this charade any
more. I'm going to tell my wife.' The next part is he's going to tell
the Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">My
reporting tells me it’s #2.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">●●●●●●●</span></i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hurricane
David is about to hit Washington. If you thought Sandy was bad, just
wait. Well, that might be overstating the case. But make no mistake, Petraeus<o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">’ testimony, as Senator John Kerry is fond of saying will </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">“change the dynamic.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Senator
Diane Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee,</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/13/feinstein-says-shell-push-for-petraeus-to-testify/"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">told </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">CNN’s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #436590; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">Wolf Blitzer</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> on Tuesday,
November 13: “It’s also my intention… to talk with General Petraeus, Director
Petraeus. This ties in to his trip that he made just before all of this broke
(i.e., his resignation putatively over the Paula Broadwell affair), to some
Middle Eastern countries including Libya.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">After
meeting with her Vice Chair, Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), “to go over the
plan,” both then meeting with Acting CIA Director Mike Morell, she said, “We
will proceed.” Her face during the interview showed she’s quite troubled
by the whole Benghazi matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">On
Wednesday, however, the White House jauntily announced through spokesman Jay
Carney that Morell would be testifying at the Benghazi hearings in lieu of
Petraeus. Shortly thereafter, it was reported, in fact, Petraeus would be
voluntarily testifying—before the Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed
doors on Friday at 7:30 a.m. He will only address events leading up to the
Benghazi massacre, not the Broadwell affair. <i>(11/16 Update: He first testified before the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors at 7:30 a.m. Then, around 9:30 a.m., he headed for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Separately, after Petraeus volunteered to testify, it was announced that the CIA Inspector General had launched an investigation of the former Director, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/world/africa/cia-investigates-petraeus-as-lawmakers-press-inquiry-into-libya-attack.html?ref=todayspaper">the New York Times reported late last night</a>. 11/19 Update: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/petraeus-hires-elite-political-attorney-article-1.1204057">Petraeus has hired</a> super lawyer <a href="http://www.wc.com/attorney-RobertBarnett.html">Bob Barnett</a> to represent him.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">It’s a
sure bet the committees will be greatly enlightened on events leading up to the
deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, at the Benghazi
consulate on 9/11, and the aftermath. Also, General Petraeus will perhaps address
who gave the “stand down” order and how he was pressured to keep silent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Feinstein</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/49792846"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">told
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">on Monday the matter is “like peeling an
onion.” “One person tells me he has read (the Petraeus trip report).
And then we try and get it and they tell me it hasn’t been done. That’s
unacceptable.” She also said “I don’t know what took (the Administration) ten
days, candidly” to figure out the Benghazi attack was terrorism and not a
spontaneous demonstration over a video, given that RPGs and mortars were used.
Senator John McCain, who’s made this point from day one, has called for a
Watergate-style panel to investigate the attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s
review some relevant recent history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">On
Thursday, October 25, we discovered that officials had watched the attack on
real-time video, leaving America to wonder, what gives? Why didn’t they
immediately call in military assets—including those the Libyan government had
in their possession, many of which we provided to help in their fight to topple
Muammar Gaddafi—to the tune of nearly one billion dollars?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/a-covert-affair-petraeus-caught-in-the-honeypot/5311657">Justin Raimondo reports</a> that </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">“Petraeus was only informed of the (FBI) investigation on October 25 or 26.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">”</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">Then, l</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">ike clockwork, on
Friday, October 26, on the presidential election eve, the effort to shift blame
from State to CIA began accelerating. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Petraeus
was being targeted big-time. The discussion that day was all about who gave the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">“stand down” order. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, the CIA Director showed refreshing
spine: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">“No one at any level in the CIA told
anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply
inaccurate,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">” he said through his CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood. (On Friday, November 2, <a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/1942924482001/cias-timeline-of-response-to-libya-attack/">Petraeus released a timeline</a> of the CIA response to the attack and resigned days later, the announcement made on Friday, November 9. Immediately preceding his resignation he traveled to Libya to found out exactly what happened on 9/11.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
same day, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/president-obama-begs-off-answering-whether-americans-in-benghazi-were-denied-requests-for-help/">President Obama twice refused to respond to Denver KUSA-TV reporter Kyle Clark’s question</a> regarding whether the four Americans were denied help,
asserting the investigation needs to play out first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">He
even had the temerity to suggest “the election has nothing to do with four
brave Americans getting killed and us wanting to find out exactly what
happened.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But,
Clark wasn’t satisfied, asking, “Were they denied requests for help during the
attack?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Well,”
the president reiterated, “we are finding out exactly what happened… as I’ve
said (repeatedly)… the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very
clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and
doing whatever we need to. Number two, we’re going to investigate exactly what
happened so that it doesn’t happen again. Number three, find out who did this
so we can bring them to justice. And I guarantee you that everyone in the state
department, our military, the CIA, you name it, had number one priority making
sure that people were safe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Oh
really?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ironically, Obama
screened Steven Spielberg’s film <i>Lincoln</i> tonight at the White House. As
Abraham Lincoln famously said, “<span style="background: white;">You can fool
some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but
you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.</span>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ambassador Stevens and the other three Americans might not
have been rescued by the hapless Obama crowd. But, something tells me, as
with the Iraq Surge, it’s Petraeus to the rescue, and this won’t be his
last. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">●●●●●●●</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">11/19 Postscript: As <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/18/curl-petraeus-schools-white-house/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS">Joseph Curl writes</a> in
today’s</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Washington Times</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">, “Friday’s
testimony changed everything. Out there now is that the director of the CIA
told whoever would listen that there was ‘al Qaeda involvement’ in the
September 11 attack.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based writer. She writes
a regular column for Forbes.com, most recently <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2012/11/11/doolittles-raiders-and-the-miracle-that-saved-them/">"Doolittle's Raiders And The Miracle That Saved Them."</a></span></i></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-84603336212945826032012-11-11T06:10:00.002-08:002013-07-23T18:17:28.589-07:00“General Combat Fatigue Syndrome”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">By Mary Claire Kendall </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw7jd1ZvxLXLpCAE7qu_qHj3QPQAUU7d2xTRulVzq4nAwtSdF2l5lrdYg-5xYuqPzoYpRDHm5P_XMRhF9be1WDBAxnLdQmC4AnS_ikoFg4bOSo9hA4wVNNVZFjxQXYqh2v0xPMNIVOnzC/s1600/Marlene+Dietrich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw7jd1ZvxLXLpCAE7qu_qHj3QPQAUU7d2xTRulVzq4nAwtSdF2l5lrdYg-5xYuqPzoYpRDHm5P_XMRhF9be1WDBAxnLdQmC4AnS_ikoFg4bOSo9hA4wVNNVZFjxQXYqh2v0xPMNIVOnzC/s320/Marlene+Dietrich.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Marlene Dietrich</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> so
interesting to see everyone piling on General David H. Petraeus, USA Retired,
now former head of the CIA, for his affair, when the founder of the OSS (the
CIA predecessor organization), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan">“Wild Bill” Donovan</a>,
was known for his affairs, along with so many other high military
officials. Not to mention our presidents. Thomas Jefferson, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton leap to mind. Some had
better taste than others. For instance, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Gavin">General James “Jumpin’
Jim” </a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Gavin">Gavin </a>famously
had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. Bill Clinton... Not so much. (For
more, see <a href="http://wtop.com/862/3111171/A-scandalous-tour-through-DC#idx1">The
American Scandal Tour</a>.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s not
something to emulate or aspire to—and obviously Petraeus weakened and should
not have. But, in our sex-drenched culture where women go practically naked and
sex without consequences (biological, that is), is the norm, to suddenly strike
this pose of “Shock, shock, gambling going on in Casablanca” is the height of
hypocrisy and stupidity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">T</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">he only
thing I would say is that he showed phenomenally poor judgment in allowing
Paula Broadwell to worm her way into his life. Marlene Dietrich she is not! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, think of the timing. It was
2006. The Iraq war was at its bloodiest. He was developing the surge plan,
which President George W. Bush would ask him to command in early 2007, and then
a seductive woman came into his orbit. He was a sitting duck—especially if this
area of his life, ahem, was in need of some fortification. And, let’s
face it, for a normal man, that area always needs fortification.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBPMp0oPQzwLbCRdM49ImWoOp8kDAYun6LfugOnDW83CKHmQMPekugedFq19q_r1lmNVhNBThm8lYsT6GJf8oTDA_xGrSvL_dnFMsNzIaeappLsqFDQMVc6JCjrx5OXsnFtV4umEe7wsq/s1600/Petraeus+++other+photos+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBPMp0oPQzwLbCRdM49ImWoOp8kDAYun6LfugOnDW83CKHmQMPekugedFq19q_r1lmNVhNBThm8lYsT6GJf8oTDA_xGrSvL_dnFMsNzIaeappLsqFDQMVc6JCjrx5OXsnFtV4umEe7wsq/s320/Petraeus+++other+photos+013.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">The author with General David H. Petraeus, then CENTCOM Commander, shortly after </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">"The Conversation" </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">with him </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">at the American Veterans Center Conference, November 13, 2009... </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">here's the link to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">resulting </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">article,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/20/positive-petraeus-lessons/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/20/positive-petraeus-lessons/</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Call it </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 20px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">General Combat Fatigue Syndrome.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 20px;">”</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> He is very attractive. I know from personal
experience interacting with him. But the woman has the main responsibility to
maintain propriety, if the attraction is mutual, and to not do anything that would cause the man to weaken.
For instance, working on a book alone with the General was the height of
imprudence. Sure it might have helped her career, so she thought, but the
primary concern should be protecting your virtue and that of the man, who has
much less control. OK, so, I am hopelessly old-fashioned. But, that’s what I
believe. If you really love a man, you will not put him in a compromising
position. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">As for the
FBI investigation, the security issues were overblown, I believe. A West Point
grad and Army reservist is not a national security risk. It was a personal matter, plain
and simple, which is why, my sense is, the matter was not reported to Senate
Intelligence as required by law. But let</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px;">’s be clear. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The investigation began in the summer. The notion that the President, and other key officials in the administration, did not know about it until 5 p.m. the night of the election, strains credulity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Still,
Petraeus did the right thing in resigning. As the saying goes, God brings good
out of evil. He is very blessed to be in his current position, where he will do
a lot of good.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">As for
being the scapegoat for what happened in Benghazi on 9/11, Petraeus is nobody</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">’s fool. He may have shown incredibly poor
judgment vis-à-vis Broadwell, but on national security he’s a pro. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">In a short time, in comparison to Benghazi 9/11, L’affaire Petraeus will seem a quaint matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><b>Postscript:</b> </span><span style="color: #666666;"><i style="background-color: white;">The Washington
Post</i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666;">had a page one article
on Sunday, November 18, titled</span> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/petraeus-scandal-puts-four-star-general-lifestyle-under-scrutiny/2012/11/17/33a14f48-3043-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.html">“The Fog of More: Do Perks Color Generals’ Expectations”</a> <span style="color: #666666;">which led with
this quote: </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There is something about a sense of
entitlement and of having great power that skews people’s judgment.”</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> – </span></i></span><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Robert M. Gates, former defense secretary. </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In response, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_W._Chiarelli">General Peter Chiarelli</a> said, <i>“I find it
concerning that he and others are not focusing on the effect on our guys of
fighting wars for 11 years. No one was at it longer than Petraeus.”</i></span></span></div>
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<i style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 26px;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based writer. She writes a regular column for Forbes.com, most recently <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryclairekendall/2012/11/11/doolittles-raiders-and-the-miracle-that-saved-them/" style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #ff9900;">"Doolittle's Raiders And The Miracle That Saved Them."</span></a></span></i>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-58600704359356598072012-11-08T13:05:00.002-08:002014-02-01T18:54:52.768-08:00"A Nation... Cannot Survive Treason from Within"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0QgSNOuZALj-o2yOTalXjKWgyWxeKd6iTP5UrT6YaSY90zAucCGqJfifNJ0qzBoU9A2Y4bi4dhAQd9pwmRpMLrOm8xgEx8-fVQvdY2xA5FRGTwW29dSBYlKi2TTxGi05Qsn5HBv-hynj/s1600/cicero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS0QgSNOuZALj-o2yOTalXjKWgyWxeKd6iTP5UrT6YaSY90zAucCGqJfifNJ0qzBoU9A2Y4bi4dhAQd9pwmRpMLrOm8xgEx8-fVQvdY2xA5FRGTwW29dSBYlKi2TTxGi05Qsn5HBv-hynj/s1600/cicero.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #f0efef; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, TeXGyreHerosRegular, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 15.383333206176758px;">Marcus Tullius Cicero (January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC; akai Tully), <br />Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and constitutionalist.</span>
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<a href="http://www.adinnerguest.com/60-minutes/what-have-we-learned-in-2066-years/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.adinnerguest.com/60-minutes/what-have-we-learned-in-2066-years/</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> ~Marcus Tullius Cicero</span>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-26142511262820002072012-11-03T08:36:00.003-07:002012-11-06T05:11:21.650-08:00Presidential Endorsements from Retired Officers (Army/Navy)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm0O-1a8WbBBAvo-Hm5SPJZO7hfA3X1hyizfkP7LqkJsA5DV3vKZr__JfFKMFRvomwU9li5DjLpfFn5wgLZLImKk9zKu2rYq6VCgkPD1gXcESKdntkF6EzxkhxeUXtx9MHMVECAHyk_Cv/s1600/US+Joint+Service+Color+Guard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm0O-1a8WbBBAvo-Hm5SPJZO7hfA3X1hyizfkP7LqkJsA5DV3vKZr__JfFKMFRvomwU9li5DjLpfFn5wgLZLImKk9zKu2rYq6VCgkPD1gXcESKdntkF6EzxkhxeUXtx9MHMVECAHyk_Cv/s1600/US+Joint+Service+Color+Guard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px;">The United States Joint Service Color Guard on parade <br />at </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Myer,_Virginia" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px; text-decoration: none;" title="Fort Myer, Virginia">Fort Myer, Virginia</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px;"> in October 2001. Credit: Wikipedia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b>OBAMA</b> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b>(5 members)</b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;">General Colin Powell </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;"><span class="apple-converted-space">General Wesley Clark </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Admiral John Nathan, co-chair of Obama campaign </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Major General Paul Eaton </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Rear Admiral Don Gutter</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span>
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;">ROMNEY </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;">(359 members. Source: "Romney Military Advisory Council," October 13, 2012.)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;">Note: <a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2012/11/04/romneymacad-500final4nov12b.pdf" style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">"Generals and Admirals for Romney,"</a> independent of the campaign, has about 500 members. It was drawn up by Carl Smith, former Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel on the Senate Armed Services Committee, now in private practice with McGovern & Smith, LLC. He drew up a similar list in 2008 for John McCain, whom he flew with at Cecil Field, Florida when the Senator was Executive Officer to the Commanding Officer of VA-174. The additional members on <a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2012/11/04/romneymacad-500final4nov12b.pdf" style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">this list</a> were added after October 13.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14px;">Admiral James B. Busey, USN, (Ret.)<br />General James T. Conway, USMC, (Ret.)<br />General Terrence R. Dake, USMC, (Ret)<br />Admiral James O. Ellis, USN, (Ret.)<br />Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, USM, (Ret.)<br />General Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, (Ret)<br />General Tommy Franks, USA, (Ret)<br />General Alfred Hansen, USAF, (Ret)<br />Admiral Ronald Jackson Hays, USN, (Ret)<br />Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward, USN, (Ret)<br />General Chuck Albert Horner, USAF, (Ret)<br />Admiral Jerome LaMarr Johnson, USN, (Ret)<br />Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN, (Ret)<br />General Paul X. Kelley, USMC, (Ret)<br />General William Kernan, USA, (Ret)<br />Admiral George E.R. Kinnear II, USN, (Ret)<br />General William L. Kirk, USAF, (Ret)<br />General James J. Lindsay, USA, (Ret)<br />General William R. Looney III, USAF, (Ret)<br />Admiral Hank Mauz, USN, (Ret)<br />General Robert Magnus, USMC, (Ret)<br />Admiral Paul David Miller, USN, (Ret)<br />General Henry Hugh Shelton, USA, (Ret)<br />General Lance Smith, USAF, (Ret)<br />Admiral Leighton Smith, Jr., USN, (Ret)<br />General Ronald W. Yates, USAF, (Ret)<br />Admiral Ronald J. Zlatoper, USN, (Ret)<br />Lieutenant General James Abrahamson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Edgar Anderson, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Marcus A. Anderson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Buck Bedard, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral A. Bruce Beran, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Lyle Bien, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Harold Blot, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum, USA, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Mike Bowman III, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Mike Bucchi, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Walter E. Buchanan III, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Richard A. Burpee, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General William Campbell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General James E. Chambers, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Edward W. Clexton, Jr., USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, USA, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Terry M. Cross, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral William Adam Dougherty, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Brett Dula, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Gordon E. Fornell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral David Frost, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Henry C. Giffin III, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Peter M. Hekman, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Richard D. Herr, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Thomas J Hickey, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Walter S. Hogle, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Ronald W. Iverson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Donald W. Jones, USA, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Douglas J. Katz, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Jay W. Kelley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Tom Kilcline, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Timothy A. Kinnan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Harold Koenig, M.D., USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Buford Derald Lary, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Frank Libutti, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Stephen Loftus, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Michael Malone, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral John J. Mazach, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Justin D. McCarthy, USN, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral William McCauley, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Fred McCorkle, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Thomas G. McInerney, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Joseph S. Mobley, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Carol Mutter, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Dave R. Palmer, USA, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral John Theodore “Ted” Parker, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Garry L. Parks, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Charles Henry “Chuck” Pitman, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Steven R. Polk, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Clifford H. “Ted” Rees, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Edward Rowny, USA (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Dutch Schultz, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Charles J. Searock, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General E. G. “Buck” Shuler, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Alexander M. “Rusty” Sloan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General David J. Teal, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Billy M. Thomas, USA, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Donald C. “Deese” Thompson, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Herman O. “Tommy” Thomson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Howard B. Thorsen, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General William Thurman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Robert Allen “R.A.” Tiebout, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral John B. Totushek, USNR, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General George J. Trautman, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Garry R. Trexler, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Vice Admiral Jerry O. Tuttle, USN, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Claudius “Bud” Watts, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General William “Bill” Welser, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Thad A. Wolfe, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General C. Norman Wood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Michael W. Wooley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Lieutenant General Richard “Rick” Zilmer, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Major General Chris Adams, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Henry Amos, USN (Ret.)<br />Major General Nora Alice Astefan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Almon Bowen Ballard, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General James F. Barnette, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert W. Barrow, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John R. Batlzer, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Jon W. Bayless, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General John E. Bianchi, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General David F. Bice, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Linda J. Bird, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James H. Black, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Peter A. Bondi, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General John L. Borling, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Major General Tom Braaten, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert J. Brandt, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Jerry C. Breast, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Bruce B. Bremner, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General David P. Burford, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John F. Calvert, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Jay A. Campbell, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Henry Canterbury, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James J. Carey, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Stephen K. Chadwick, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral W. Lewis Chatham, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Jeffrey G. Cliver, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Casey Coane, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Isaiah C. Cole, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Stephen Condon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard C. Cosgrave, USANG, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert Cowley, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General J.T. Coyne, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Tommy F. Crawford, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James P. Davidson, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Kevin F. Delaney, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General James D. Delk, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert E. Dempsey, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Jay Ronald Denney, USNR, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert S. Dickman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James C. Doebler, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Douglas O. Dollar, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Hunt Downer, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Thomas A. Dyches, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Jay T. Edwards, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General John R. Farrington, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Francis L. Filipiak, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Charles Fletcher, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Bobby O. Floyd, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Veronica Froman, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Vance H. Fry, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral R. Byron Fuller, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral George M. Furlong, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Frank Gallo, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Ben F. Gaumer, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Harry E. Gerhard Jr., USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Daniel J. Gibson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Andrew A. Giordano, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard N. Goddard, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Fred Golove, USCGR, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Harold Eric Grant, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Jeff Grime, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert Kent Guest, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Tim Haake, USAR, (Ret.)<br />Major General Otto K. Habedank, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Thomas F. Hall, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Donald P. Harvey, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Leonard W. Hegland, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John Hekman, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General John A. Hemphill, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Major General Wilfred Hessert, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Don Hickman, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Geoffrey Higginbotham, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Major General Jerry D. Holmes, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Weldon F. Honeycutt, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Steve Israel, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General James T. Jackson, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Tim Jenkins, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Ron Jesberg, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Pierce J. Johnson, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Steven B. Kantrowitz, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John T. Kavanaugh, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Dennis M. Kenneally, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Michael Kerby, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral David Kunkel, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Arthur Langston, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Thomas G. Lilly, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General James E. Livingston, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Al Logan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General John D. Logeman Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Noah H. Long Jr, USNR, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Don Loren, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Andy Love, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Steven Wells Maas, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert M. Marquette, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Larry Marsh, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Clark W. Martin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General William M. Matz, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Gerard Mauer, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral William J. McDaniel, MD, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral E.S. McGinley II, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Henry C. McKinney, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert Messerli, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Douglas S. Metcalf, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John W. Miller, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Patrick David Moneymaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Mario Montero, USA, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Douglas M. Moore, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Walter Bruce Moore, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General William Moore, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Burton R. Moore, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James A. Morgart, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Stanton R. Musser, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John T. Natter, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert George Nester, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General George W. Norwood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert C. Olson, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Raymund E. O’Mara, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert S. Owens, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John F. Paddock, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Robert W. Paret, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert O. Passmore, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Earl G. Peck, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard E. Perraut Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Gerald F. Perryman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral W.W. Pickavance, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral John J. Prendergast, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Fenton F. Priest, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General David C. Ralston, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Bentley B. Rayburn, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Harold Rich, USN , (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Roland Rieve, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Tommy F. Rinard, USN , (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard H. Roellig, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Michael S. Roesner, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral William J. Ryan, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Loran C. Schnaidt, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Carl Schneider, USAF , (Ret.)<br />Major General John P. Schoeppner, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Edison E. Scholes, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert H. Schumaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral William S. Schwob, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Major General David J. Scott, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Hugh P. Scott, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard Secord, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral William H. Shawcross, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Joseph K. Simeone, USAF and ANG , (Ret.)<br />Major General Darwin Simpson, ANG , (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic, USN , (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral David Oliver “D.O.” Smart, USNR, (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard D. Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Donald Bruce Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Paul O. Soderberg, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Robert H. “Bob” Spiro, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Henry B. Stelling, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Daniel H. Stone, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General William A. Studer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Hamlin Tallent, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Hugh Banks Tant III, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Larry S. Taylor, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Major General J.B. Taylor, USA, (Ret.)<br />Major General Thomas R. Tempel, USA , (Ret.)<br />Major General Richard L. Testa, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Jere Thompson, USN (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Byron E. Tobin, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General Larry Twitchell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Russell L. Violett, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General David E.B. “DEB” Ward, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Charles J. Wax, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Donald Weatherson, USN, (Ret.)<br />Major General John Welde, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Major General Gary Whipple, USA , (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral James B. Whittaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Charles Williams, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral H. Denny Wisely, USN, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral Theodore J. Wojnar, USCG, (Ret.)<br />Rear Admiral George K. Worthington, USN, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Arthur Abercrombie, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General John R. Allen, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Loring R. Astorino, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Richard Averitt, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Garry S. Bahling, USANG, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Donald E. Barnhart, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Charles L. Bishop, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Clayton Bridges, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Jeremiah J. Brophy, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General R. Thomas Browning, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General David A. Brubaker, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Chalmers R. Carr, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Fred F. Caste, USAFR, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Robert V. Clements, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Christopher T Cline, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General George Peyton Cole, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Richard A. Coleman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Mike Cushman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Peter Dawkins, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Sam. G. DeGeneres, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General George Demers, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Howard G. DeWolf, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Arthur F. Diehl, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General David Bob Edmonds, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Anthony Farrington, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Norm Gaddis, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Robert H. Harkins, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Thomas W. Honeywill, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Stanley V. Hood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General James J. Hourin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Jack C. Ihle, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Thomas G. Jeter, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General William Herbert Johnson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Kenneth F. Keller, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Wayne W. Lambert, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Jerry L. Laws, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Thomas J. Lennon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General John M. Lotz, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Robert S. Mangum, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Frank Martin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Joe Mensching, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Richard L. Meyer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Lawrence A. Mitchell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Michael P. Mulqueen, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Ben Nelson, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Jack W. Nicholson, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Maria C. Owens, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Dave Papak, USMC, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Gary A. Pappas, USANG, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Robert V. Paschon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Allen K. Rachel, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Jon Reynolds, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Edward F. Rodriguez, Jr., USAFR, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Roger Scearce, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Dennis Schulstad, USAFR, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General John Serur, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Joseph L. Shaeffer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Graham Shirley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Raymond Shulstad, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Stan Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Ralph S. Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Donald Smith, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General David M. Snyder, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Michael Joseph Tashjian, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Richard Louis Ursone, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Ear’ Van Inwegen, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Terrence P. Woods, USAF, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Mitchell Zais, USA, (Ret.)<br />Brigadier General Allan Ralph Zenowitz, USA, (Ret.)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-59507270614452443782012-11-02T18:04:00.001-07:002012-11-06T05:13:57.302-08:00Worst Attack Since Wake Island. Who Knew?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;">Not everyone has ignored the historic attack on Camp Bastion and similar stories. Almost 75 times more retired </span></i></span></i><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;">Navy and Army
officers </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white;">have endorsed
Romney than have endorsed Obama. </span><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">See list below, or to bypass article and go right to list click <b><a href="http://2012americanpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/11/presidential-endorsements-from-retired.html">here</a></b></span><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By Mary Claire Kendall<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As Americans continue to digest eye-popping news of the circumstances
surrounding Islamist terrorists’ torture and killing of U.S. Ambassador Christopher
Stevens in Libya this 9/11 and three others including two retired Navy SEALS,
here’s one more to ponder.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JpO0ZzP7Y9804xlvxzRvQh5HSjAhVrBYjt8fwEbutw5JDnpufBuHu0sXcLYfxqfNVSrU7CavDczmYErztrdcj9MEbB1xZiMA5zp-wb5ODsdSWpSlgjiS4-cTYUbOjnWZLln-diNprkgK/s1600/Soldier+placing+flowers+on+USS+Cole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JpO0ZzP7Y9804xlvxzRvQh5HSjAhVrBYjt8fwEbutw5JDnpufBuHu0sXcLYfxqfNVSrU7CavDczmYErztrdcj9MEbB1xZiMA5zp-wb5ODsdSWpSlgjiS4-cTYUbOjnWZLln-diNprkgK/s1600/Soldier+placing+flowers+on+USS+Cole.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailor placing wreath of flowers on the <br />
USS Cole, honoring those killed in the Islamist terrorist attack<br />
on October 12, 2000, precursor to 9/11</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Three days later, on Friday, September 14th—one month before the anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attack on the USS
Cole in 2000—<span style="background: white;">the US Marine Corps experienced the worst loss of
airpower in a single incident since the 1968 Tet Offensive when Taliban
terrorists torched six Harrier “Jump Jets” at Camp Bastion, “significantly”
damaging two others. In so doing, they killed—also a first since Vietnam—
the Marine Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Christopher “Otis” Raible, who led
Harrier Attack Squadron 211 (VMA-211, “The Avengers”), the only such squadron
in Afghanistan with 10 fighter jets. </span> <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It was the worst day for VMA-211 since the Battle of Wake Island
in November 1941, just prior to Pearl Harbor—the last time this Marine squadron
was <a href="http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/attack-on-camp-bastion-the-destruction-of-vma-211/">“combat ineffective.” </a> <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The attack, seven weeks ago today, was strategic.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Just as navies can hide in open seas, Afghans can hide in
treeless deserts, unless aircraft or roving patrols detect them,” wrote Michael
Yon in Online Magazine. “The Taliban’s major vulnerability is our mastery
of the air, but if they can negate it, we are approaching tactical equality…” <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This terrorist attack came mere days before the Obama
Administration <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/us-officials-last-of-33000-surge-troops-leave-afghanistan/">announced</a> the last of the 33,000 “surge troops” deployed in
2010, had come home. Sixty-eight thousand American troops remain all the
while the Taliban, along with their allied Haqqani network, continues to mount
insider raids and bombings.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That Friday, just as the moon’s “red illumination” phase left
Afghanistan in near total darkness, some 15 Taliban insurgent sappers dressed
in U.S. military uniforms and armed with AK-47s, RPG-7s and explosive suicide
vests, breached Camp Bastion’s perimeter. Camp Bastion is the largest
British-run NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in
Southern Afghanistan, adjacent to Camp Leatherneck (the area’s primary USMC
base). One deployed his vest to blow a hole in the perimeter fence,
allowing five-man squads into the base’s secured areas. Within 12 minutes the
Royal Air Force established a MO-9 Reaper UAV orbit and launched a British
Apache helicopter that began killing insurgents. By the time the base was
secured five hours later, besides losing the eight fighter jets, three
refueling stations were demolished and six “soft-skinned” aircraft hangers were
damaged. <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prince Harry, stationed there, was about to celebrate his 28th birthday. That the Prince was saved is the brightest spot in an otherwise dismal day. <u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Did anyone notice that military history was made on September 14th at
Camp Bastion?<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Does anyone care?<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Wall Street Journal</span></i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443816804578002651859024198.html">reported</a>
this attack in six one-sentence paragraphs.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If a tree falls in a forest…<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek7gktvRbUVbTdGp5YPonFnzCv3JPtxYJ6BinnkSXknZz5tUdrnrNTwn6nHl4vcfkO3IzMjSVVaVXhN45N22WwzL-r9mmAYlAZvnqDPIOLP-C-RKGuiPhUKIXiHTl1ueQVkqVfRIMBGdy/s1600/LtCol.ChrisRaible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek7gktvRbUVbTdGp5YPonFnzCv3JPtxYJ6BinnkSXknZz5tUdrnrNTwn6nHl4vcfkO3IzMjSVVaVXhN45N22WwzL-r9mmAYlAZvnqDPIOLP-C-RKGuiPhUKIXiHTl1ueQVkqVfRIMBGdy/s320/LtCol.ChrisRaible.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lt. Col. Christopher "Otis" Raible, Commanding Officer,<br />
Harrier Attack Squadron 211, "The Avengers"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Just weeks away from retirement, Lt. Col. Raible was the best of
American military timber, if you will, fighting back and surrendering his life
to avert a greater military disaster. (Sgt. Bradley W. Atwell also died of wounds from the explosion.)</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="background: white;">His practice was to visit
and walk his squadron’s flight line every night after operations ceased at
2200. When the walk attack came, being closest to the enemy, he pulled
out his 9MM, holding his ground against some fourteen Taliban sappers whom ISAF
would kill in the attack, capturing one.<u1:p></u1:p></span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One would think such an historic attack would merit an Oval Office
address—to say just why we are fighting. It would be our
commander-in-chief’s third.<u1:p></u1:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Even better, would be electing a new President this Tuesday, November
6, who understands his responsibility to shape history <i>as it’s
happening </i>and the need for a strong, agile military. More than 75 times as many retired Navy and Army officers
have endorsed <span style="background: white;">Republican Presidential Candidate
Mitt Romney </span>than have endorsed President Barack
Obama. Among other improvements to our defense, Romney will f<span style="background: white;">ortify the Navy, including the Marine
Corps, as John Lehman, President Ronald Reagan’s “600 ship” Navy secretary, now
helping design Romney’s plans for the military, <a href="http://214.14.134.30/ebird2/ebfiles/e20121007908449.html">told</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Defense News </i>on Oct.
4. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Something to think about.</span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px;">Presidential Endorsements from Retired Officers (Army/Navy)</span></b>
<br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiIUvE1iFj7hiLnbw7sna7gjYh0-2sxCxU5m4Xz60q5n3TOxM9jkMKKSDANmVdeHmgUNerDdbmf4j1rFzOKpIn_f2qiUJD68MxGC95VFinsTUwuuun4TN_NWMEE21rpDEPCpTyiFZMrqn/s1600/US+Joint+Service+Color+Guard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiIUvE1iFj7hiLnbw7sna7gjYh0-2sxCxU5m4Xz60q5n3TOxM9jkMKKSDANmVdeHmgUNerDdbmf4j1rFzOKpIn_f2qiUJD68MxGC95VFinsTUwuuun4TN_NWMEE21rpDEPCpTyiFZMrqn/s1600/US+Joint+Service+Color+Guard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px;">The United States Joint Service Color Guard on parade<br />at </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Myer,_Virginia" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px; text-decoration: none;" title="Fort Myer, Virginia">Fort Myer, Virginia</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #666666; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15.550000190734863px;"> in October 2001. Credit: Wikipedia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b>OBAMA</b> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b>(5 members)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-converted-space">General Colin Powell </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">General Wesley Clark </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Admiral John Nathan, co-chair of Obama
campaign </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Major General Paul Eaton </span><br /><span class="apple-converted-space">Rear Admiral Don Gutter</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">ROMNEY </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">(359 members. Source: "Romney Military Advisory Council," October 13, 2012.)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2012/11/04/romneymacad-500final4nov12b.pdf">"Generals and Admirals for Romney,"</a> independent of the campaign, has about 500 members. It was drawn up by Carl Smith, former Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel on the Senate Armed Services Committee, now in private practice with McGovern & Smith, LLC. He drew up a similar list in 2008 for John McCain, whom he flew with at Cecil Field, Florida when the Senator was Executive Officer to the Commanding Officer of VA-174. The additional members on <a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2012/11/04/romneymacad-500final4nov12b.pdf">this list</a> were added after October 13.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Admiral James B. Busey, USN, (Ret.)<br />
General James T. Conway, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
General Terrence R. Dake, USMC, (Ret)<br />
Admiral James O. Ellis, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, USM, (Ret.)<br />
General Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, (Ret)<br />
General Tommy Franks, USA, (Ret)<br />
General Alfred Hansen, USAF, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Ronald Jackson Hays, USN, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward, USN, (Ret)<br />
General Chuck Albert Horner, USAF, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Jerome LaMarr Johnson, USN, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN, (Ret)<br />
General Paul X. Kelley, USMC, (Ret)<br />
General William Kernan, USA, (Ret)<br />
Admiral George E.R. Kinnear II, USN, (Ret)<br />
General William L. Kirk, USAF, (Ret)<br />
General James J. Lindsay, USA, (Ret)<br />
General William R. Looney III, USAF, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Hank Mauz, USN, (Ret)<br />
General Robert Magnus, USMC, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Paul David Miller, USN, (Ret)<br />
General Henry Hugh Shelton, USA, (Ret)<br />
General Lance Smith, USAF, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Leighton Smith, Jr., USN, (Ret)<br />
General Ronald W. Yates, USAF, (Ret)<br />
Admiral Ronald J. Zlatoper, USN, (Ret)<br />
Lieutenant General James Abrahamson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Edgar Anderson, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Marcus A. Anderson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Buck Bedard, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral A. Bruce Beran, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Lyle Bien, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Harold Blot, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Mike Bowman III, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Mike Bucchi, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Walter E. Buchanan III, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Richard A. Burpee, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General William Campbell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General James E. Chambers, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Edward W. Clexton, Jr., USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Terry M. Cross, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral William Adam Dougherty, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Brett Dula, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Gordon E. Fornell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral David Frost, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Henry C. Giffin III, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Peter M. Hekman, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Richard D. Herr, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Thomas J Hickey, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Walter S. Hogle, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Ronald W. Iverson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Donald W. Jones, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Douglas J. Katz, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Jay W. Kelley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Tom Kilcline, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Timothy A. Kinnan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Harold Koenig, M.D., USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Buford Derald Lary, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Frank Libutti, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Stephen Loftus, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Michael Malone, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral John J. Mazach, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Justin D. McCarthy, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral William McCauley, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Fred McCorkle, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Thomas G. McInerney, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Joseph S. Mobley, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Carol Mutter, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Dave R. Palmer, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral John Theodore “Ted” Parker, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Garry L. Parks, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Charles Henry “Chuck” Pitman, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Steven R. Polk, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Clifford H. “Ted” Rees, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Edward Rowny, USA (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Dutch Schultz, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Charles J. Searock, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General E. G. “Buck” Shuler, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Alexander M. “Rusty” Sloan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General David J. Teal, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Billy M. Thomas, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Donald C. “Deese” Thompson, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Herman O. “Tommy” Thomson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Howard B. Thorsen, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General William Thurman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Robert Allen “R.A.” Tiebout, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral John B. Totushek, USNR, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General George J. Trautman, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Garry R. Trexler, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Vice Admiral Jerry O. Tuttle, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Claudius “Bud” Watts, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General William “Bill” Welser, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Thad A. Wolfe, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General C. Norman Wood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Michael W. Wooley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Lieutenant General Richard “Rick” Zilmer, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Chris Adams, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Henry Amos, USN (Ret.)<br />
Major General Nora Alice Astefan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Almon Bowen Ballard, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General James F. Barnette, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert W. Barrow, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John R. Batlzer, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Jon W. Bayless, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John E. Bianchi, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General David F. Bice, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Linda J. Bird, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James H. Black, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Peter A. Bondi, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John L. Borling, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Tom Braaten, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert J. Brandt, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Jerry C. Breast, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Bruce B. Bremner, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General David P. Burford, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John F. Calvert, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Jay A. Campbell, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Henry Canterbury, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James J. Carey, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Stephen K. Chadwick, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral W. Lewis Chatham, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Jeffrey G. Cliver, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Casey Coane, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Isaiah C. Cole, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Stephen Condon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard C. Cosgrave, USANG, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert Cowley, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General J.T. Coyne, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Tommy F. Crawford, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James P. Davidson, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Kevin F. Delaney, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General James D. Delk, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert E. Dempsey, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Jay Ronald Denney, USNR, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert S. Dickman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James C. Doebler, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Douglas O. Dollar, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Hunt Downer, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Thomas A. Dyches, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Jay T. Edwards, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John R. Farrington, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Francis L. Filipiak, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Charles Fletcher, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Bobby O. Floyd, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Veronica Froman, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Vance H. Fry, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral R. Byron Fuller, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral George M. Furlong, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Frank Gallo, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Ben F. Gaumer, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Harry E. Gerhard Jr., USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Daniel J. Gibson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Andrew A. Giordano, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard N. Goddard, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Fred Golove, USCGR, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Harold Eric Grant, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Jeff Grime, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert Kent Guest, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Tim Haake, USAR, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Otto K. Habedank, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Thomas F. Hall, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Donald P. Harvey, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Leonard W. Hegland, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John Hekman, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John A. Hemphill, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Wilfred Hessert, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Don Hickman, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Geoffrey Higginbotham, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Jerry D. Holmes, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Weldon F. Honeycutt, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Steve Israel, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General James T. Jackson, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Tim Jenkins, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Ron Jesberg, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Pierce J. Johnson, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Steven B. Kantrowitz, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John T. Kavanaugh, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Dennis M. Kenneally, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Michael Kerby, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral David Kunkel, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Arthur Langston, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Thomas G. Lilly, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General James E. Livingston, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Al Logan, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John D. Logeman Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Noah H. Long Jr, USNR, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Don Loren, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Andy Love, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Steven Wells Maas, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert M. Marquette, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Larry Marsh, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Clark W. Martin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General William M. Matz, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Gerard Mauer, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral William J. McDaniel, MD, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral E.S. McGinley II, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Henry C. McKinney, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert Messerli, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Douglas S. Metcalf, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John W. Miller, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Patrick David Moneymaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Mario Montero, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Douglas M. Moore, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Walter Bruce Moore, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General William Moore, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Burton R. Moore, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James A. Morgart, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Stanton R. Musser, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John T. Natter, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert George Nester, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General George W. Norwood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert C. Olson, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Raymund E. O’Mara, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert S. Owens, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John F. Paddock, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Robert W. Paret, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert O. Passmore, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Earl G. Peck, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard E. Perraut Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Gerald F. Perryman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral W.W. Pickavance, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral John J. Prendergast, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Fenton F. Priest, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General David C. Ralston, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Bentley B. Rayburn, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Harold Rich, USN , (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Roland Rieve, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Tommy F. Rinard, USN , (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard H. Roellig, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Michael S. Roesner, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral William J. Ryan, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Loran C. Schnaidt, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Carl Schneider, USAF , (Ret.)<br />
Major General John P. Schoeppner, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Edison E. Scholes, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert H. Schumaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral William S. Schwob, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Major General David J. Scott, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Hugh P. Scott, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard Secord, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral William H. Shawcross, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Joseph K. Simeone, USAF and ANG , (Ret.)<br />
Major General Darwin Simpson, ANG , (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic, USN , (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral David Oliver “D.O.” Smart, USNR, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard D. Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Donald Bruce Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Paul O. Soderberg, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Robert H. “Bob” Spiro, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Henry B. Stelling, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Daniel H. Stone, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General William A. Studer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Hamlin Tallent, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Hugh Banks Tant III, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Larry S. Taylor, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Major General J.B. Taylor, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Thomas R. Tempel, USA , (Ret.)<br />
Major General Richard L. Testa, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Jere Thompson, USN (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Byron E. Tobin, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Larry Twitchell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Russell L. Violett, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General David E.B. “DEB” Ward, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Charles J. Wax, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Donald Weatherson, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Major General John Welde, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Major General Gary Whipple, USA , (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral James B. Whittaker, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral H. Denny Wisely, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral Theodore J. Wojnar, USCG, (Ret.)<br />
Rear Admiral George K. Worthington, USN, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Arthur Abercrombie, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General John R. Allen, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Loring R. Astorino, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Richard Averitt, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Garry S. Bahling, USANG, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Donald E. Barnhart, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Charles L. Bishop, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Clayton Bridges, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Jeremiah J. Brophy, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General R. Thomas Browning, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General David A. Brubaker, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Chalmers R. Carr, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Fred F. Caste, USAFR, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Robert V. Clements, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Christopher T Cline, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General George Peyton Cole, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Richard A. Coleman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Mike Cushman, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Peter Dawkins, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Sam. G. DeGeneres, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General George Demers, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Howard G. DeWolf, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Arthur F. Diehl, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General David Bob Edmonds, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Anthony Farrington, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Norm Gaddis, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Robert H. Harkins, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Thomas W. Honeywill, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Stanley V. Hood, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General James J. Hourin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Jack C. Ihle, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Thomas G. Jeter, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General William Herbert Johnson, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Kenneth F. Keller, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Wayne W. Lambert, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Jerry L. Laws, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Thomas J. Lennon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General John M. Lotz, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Robert S. Mangum, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Frank Martin, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Joe Mensching, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Richard L. Meyer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Lawrence A. Mitchell, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Michael P. Mulqueen, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Ben Nelson, Jr., USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Jack W. Nicholson, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Maria C. Owens, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Dave Papak, USMC, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Gary A. Pappas, USANG, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Robert V. Paschon, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Allen K. Rachel, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Jon Reynolds, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Edward F. Rodriguez, Jr., USAFR, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Roger Scearce, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Dennis Schulstad, USAFR, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General John Serur, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Joseph L. Shaeffer, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Graham Shirley, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Raymond Shulstad, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Stan Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Ralph S. Smith, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Donald Smith, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General David M. Snyder, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Michael Joseph Tashjian, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Richard Louis Ursone, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Ear’ Van Inwegen, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Terrence P. Woods, USAF, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Mitchell Zais, USA, (Ret.)<br />
Brigadier General Allan Ralph Zenowitz, USA, (Ret.)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-54246790008818746542012-08-08T20:48:00.003-07:002012-08-08T20:52:44.255-07:00Romney’s Vice President Peaches<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">Originally published in <i>The Washington Times </i></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/8/kendall-romneys-vice-president-peaches/" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/8/kendall-romneys-vice-president-peaches/</a><br />
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Decorated general is a great option</h2>
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<span style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;">By</span><span style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="fn" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;">Mary Claire Kendall</span><span style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;">Wednesday, August 8, 2012</span></div>
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As <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/republican-party/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">GOP</a> presumptive presidential nominee <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mitt Romney</a>, former governor of Massachusetts, comes down to the wire on his vice presidential pick, one thing is clear: The odds favor a vice president whose last name begins with a P: <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tim-pawlenty/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Pawlenty</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/rob-portman/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Portman</a> or <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Petraeus</a>.</div>
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Former <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tim-pawlenty/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gov. Tim Pawlenty</a>, Minnesota Republican, is a conservative who governed a liberal state with excellent fiscal, budgetary and management results, and has an easy manner on television. While knowing just how to parry the media swords, he didn’t quite know how to go for the kill when he was running against <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Romney</a> in the Republican primary.</div>
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<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Romney</a>’s major flaw is he’s too perfect. He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, tithes 10 percent of his earnings on top of taxes, and has – in Bill Clinton’s words – “a sterling business career.” Thus, an image of strength will be critically important in a VP candidate, meaning a soft<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/tim-pawlenty/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Pawlenty</a> might not be his best pick. Let’s face it; this race is going to be the toughest, meanest election in American history. Nice + Nice = Electoral Defeat.</div>
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Then there’s Ohio Republican <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/rob-portman/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Sen. Rob Portman</a>, who is on everybody’s short list. <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/rob-portman/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Portman</a> is smart and affable with an aw-shucks sense of humor, who knows how to play hard ball in the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/senate/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Senate</a> without breaking china or ruffling feathers. He’s held all the important jobs you would want in a vice president: member of <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Congress</a>, U.S. Trade Representative, director of the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/office-of-management-and-budget/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Office of Management and Budget</a> and now senator from the critical bellwether state of Ohio, where he won 82 out of 88 counties two years ago. To top it off, he has stood in for presidential and vice presidential candidates in debate prep since 2000, playing <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/al-gore/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Al Gore</a> for<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/george-w-bush/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">George W. Bush</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/john-edwards/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">John Edwards</a> for <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/dick-cheney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dick Cheney</a> and, most recently,<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/barack-obama/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Barack Obama</a> for <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/john-mccain/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">John McCain</a>. He studied videotapes and absorbed briefing materials for hours on end until he had their positions down cold, handing in a near-perfect portrayal in mock debates.</div>
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The guy is good. <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/rob-portman/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Portman</a> has essentially been groomed for veep. But, in some ways, he’s the mirror image of <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Romney</a>. And while no one would say he lacks spine, he does not have quite the spine-building experience of, in my humble opinion, the best pick for vice president: retired Army <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gen. David H. Petraeus</a>, current Director of Central Intelligence, who was nicknamed “<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/peaches/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Peaches</a>” in grade school.</div>
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<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gen. Petraeus</a>’ strength, gravitas and balancing experience towers above the rest. For starters, he’s a four-star general who served 37 years in the U.S. Army. He would be the only one in the race with this critical military experience. His last assignments were: commander of the International Security Assistance Force and commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan from July 4, 2010 to July 18, 2011. Preceding these four-star assignments, he was 10th commander, U.S. Central Command from October 13, 2008, to June 30, 2010 and commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNGI-I) from February 10, 2007, to September 16, 2008. As commander of MNGI-I, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Gen. Petraeus</a> oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq and the successful implementation of “the surge” that turned the tide as that country descended into bloody chaos.</div>
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The general’s foreign policy, military, intelligence and diplomatic experience balances out <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mr. Romney</a>’s business, economic and government background. Critically important, he’s seen war up-close and is no “arm chair general,” ensuring prudence if recommending military action and seeing it as the last resort. The counterinsurgency strategy he spearheaded was precisely to use human tools – resources of the heart and mind – to preempt and prevent conflict. It’s basically the point the late Rep. Charlie Wilson made in the aftermath of the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan about how to prevent the next war, which could have avoided the making of Osama bin Laden, a “freedom fighter” from that earlier conflict. What a difference 25 years makes. If guided by principles as set forth in the Gen. <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Petraeus</a>’ signature counterinsurgency strategy, our world would be a much less dangerous place.</div>
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All the arguments aside, just look at the three men. Which one would best complement <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/mitt-romney/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Mitt Romney</a> on stage in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 30? To me, it’s hands down: the no-nonsense, Clint Eastwood-like war hero named <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/david-petraeus/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">David H. Petraeus</a> – a.k.a. <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/peaches/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Peaches</a> – who has demonstrated in deeds his love for his country.</div>
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<em style="font-style: oblique;">Mary Claire Kendall served in the Department of Health and Human Services under President George H.W. Bush.</em></div>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-83752932244198353762012-07-10T07:55:00.002-07:002012-08-06T09:25:57.600-07:00Watergate reprise in Fast and Furious<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally published in Washington Times <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/25/watergate-reprise-in-fast-and-furious/" style="background-color: white;">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/25/watergate-reprise-in-fast-and-furious/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18pt;">KENDALL: Watergate reprise in Fast and
Furious<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Suspicions of cover-up grow after White House claim of executive
privilege<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">By</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13.5pt;"> </span><span class="fn" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">Mary Claire Kendall</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Monday, June 25, 2012</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEYQILN2Q5Ntg_fyGnLxCNR6HAwLjfYEtFsVYlx3xXFoU4vRO6QvivVaKXl8erB0H-GwHN_9X1fPooZOW-Lb4d3igNL2PuwV_RF87_BdilZ4qMZT41XcDaavdehJBDQXvHeBbRvZmtPlH/s1600/WT+Fastfuriousgate+commentary+-artwork+(small).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEYQILN2Q5Ntg_fyGnLxCNR6HAwLjfYEtFsVYlx3xXFoU4vRO6QvivVaKXl8erB0H-GwHN_9X1fPooZOW-Lb4d3igNL2PuwV_RF87_BdilZ4qMZT41XcDaavdehJBDQXvHeBbRvZmtPlH/s1600/WT+Fastfuriousgate+commentary+-artwork+(small).jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 21px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Illustration Painting Over Fast and Furious <br />by </span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/john-camejo/" style="color: #164a6e; font-family: georgia; line-height: 21px; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;">John Camejo</a><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 21px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> for The Washington Times</span></span> </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;">In 1973, I chose Watergate for a grade-school news-clipping
project. In 2012, a grade-school student choosing Fast and Furious would have
hit a similar mother lode with a bulging notebook of clippings for what will
soon have its very own “gate” moniker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The parallels are eerie. On June 20 - almost 40 years
to the day of the Watergate break-in June 17, 1972, that prompted a massive
cover-up - the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/white-house/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">White House</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">asserted executive privilege in the
congressional investigation into what is known as Operation Fast and Furious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Attorney General<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/eric-h-holder-jr/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Eric H. Holder Jr.</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">refuses to release documents sought by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/darrell-e-issa/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Rep. Darrell E. Issa</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">, chairman of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/house-oversight-and-government-reform-committee/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/darrell-e-issa/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Issa</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">is probing the gun-trafficking operation in
which U.S. Border Patrol agent<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/brian-terry/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Brian Terry</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">was killed when it backfired. Because of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/eric-h-holder-jr/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Holder</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">’s recalcitrance, the House was poised to schedule a vote on
holding him in contempt of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/congress/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Congress</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/white-house/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">White House</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">’s claim of executive privilege is meant to render<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/eric-h-holder-jr/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Holder</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">bulletproof. But there’s a major disconnect
here. As<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/chuck-grassley/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Sen. Chuck Grassley</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">, Iowa Republican, said, “How can the president
exert executive privilege over documents he’s supposedly never seen?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/darrell-e-issa/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Issa</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">agreed and forged ahead with a contempt vote, which
on the same day passed his committee along party lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">All the elements of a constitutional crisis are
in place. It’s definitely time to dust off a copy of “All the President’s Men.”
Then, the question was: What is the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/white-house/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">White House</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">hiding? The same question is being asked today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Michigan Republican senatorial candidate Clark
Durant presciently said, “President Barack Obama’s executive privilege
assertion, in spite of once remarking his would be ‘the most transparent
administration ever,’ means that the administration was involved or had
knowledge” of the gunrunning operation run amok. Mr. Durant inferred that Mr.
Obama had evidently seen documents regarding Fast and Furious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">At the risk of oversimplifying, this was an
operation in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
coaxed gun dealers to sell weapons to buyers for Mexican criminal syndicates in
an attempt to ensnare the cartels. Sound stupid? It was - colossally so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Of course, the bureau was not acting on its own.
It was purportedly the idea of someone higher up, which is what<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/darrell-e-issa/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Issa</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">is trying to ascertain. The probe is starting to
hurt. In fact, the administration doesn’t like it one bit and is now refusing
to cooperate. So what if<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/brian-terry/"><span style="color: #164a6e; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Terry</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">is dead? The investigation has gotten just too
painful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It prompts you to think there must be some
really bad secrets buried within the administration. The biggest question, of
course, is what the motive was for Operation Fast and Furious. It always comes
down to motive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Why did some higher-up want to put the big, bad
gun dealers in such an unseemly position, risking reputation and livelihood on
something as stupid as selling guns to criminals?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It’s clear the congressional probe isn’t going
away. If we learned anything from Watergate, it’s “the cover-up is always worse
than the crime.” To put it in other terms, if Team Obama doesn’t cooperate in
rooting out the cancer within its ranks, the health of the nation’s political
process is likely to worsen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Forty years ago, the media was hot on the scent
of Watergate. Which begs the question: Where are competent investigative
journalists in 2012 who will sniff out the clues to solving FastFuriousgate?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based
journalist and screenwriter.</span></em><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-53684757099377311022012-06-15T07:31:00.002-07:002012-07-10T08:01:28.767-07:00The Republicans' lousy fifth-column ad man<br />
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<span class="BodyCopyDropcapnews" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By Mary Claire Kendall </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Originally published in The Washington Examiner on May 22, 2012 </span><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2012/05/republicans-lousy-fifth-column-ad-man/642281" style="background-color: white;">http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2012/05/republicans-lousy-fifth-column-ad-man/642281</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoanljdagWOjhsAOjANHsodFP8KFaNURCUQrdhfbSkcK_tJr9eh-xZ59ovSmxXusjxL2r7e2xwhSiIwJ92w4dFmlmtgg1bZwyF00WyWqdo0Y3wY9zzasDZlThZJaST1I4vYJomIQ4ANk4-/s1600/Fred-Davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoanljdagWOjhsAOjANHsodFP8KFaNURCUQrdhfbSkcK_tJr9eh-xZ59ovSmxXusjxL2r7e2xwhSiIwJ92w4dFmlmtgg1bZwyF00WyWqdo0Y3wY9zzasDZlThZJaST1I4vYJomIQ4ANk4-/s1600/Fred-Davis.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Davis, GOP Ad Man</td></tr>
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<span class="BodyCopyDropcapnews" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's said that presidential campaigns are like war -- complete with spies infiltrating your operation. And Republicans have apparently encountered one of these.</span></div>
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His name is Fred Davis, a nephew to conservative Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe. His firm, Strategic Perception Inc., is based in Hollywood right under the Hollywood sign. The party elite kowtow to this Hollywood ad guru, thinking he waves a magic wand like Glinda the Good Witch in "The Wizard of Oz," to improve their image.</div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They should consider his track record. This is the same Fred Davis responsible for the recent "Debbie Spend-it-Now" ad in the 2012 Michigan Senate race, which caused nothing but headaches for the campaign of Republican former Rep. Pete Hoekstra. Davis also made the "Demon Sheep" Web ad in the 2010 California Senate primary -- possibly the worst political ad ever.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Or it was the worst, until his next one. That same year, Davis created the infamous "I am not a witch" ad for Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell. O'Donnell writes in her book, "Troublemaker," that she did not even want to make this ad, and only humored Davis by reading the lines. Once it had been made, she did not want it to be released.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But somehow, the Witch ad did make it to the email inbox of the New York Times. Maybe one of Davis' winged monkeys accidentally hit the send button. The ad went viral, garnering plenty of press for Davis. It was not so great for O'Donnell, who became the national laughingstock of the 2010 campaign.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently, an ad campaign that Davis proposed for TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and his Ending Spending Action Fund was also mysteriously leaked to the New York Times. It contemplated highlighting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's influence on President Obama.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The leaked draft plan was for a $10 million buy designed to deliver a "jolt" to the Democratic National Convention in September and, it said, "do exactly what John McCain would not let us do" -- through ads tethering Obama to his spiritual mentor, Wright, and his incendiary, racially charged sermons, including his infamous "America's chickens are coming home to roost" sermon right after 9/11.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Davis' was just one of several proposals the super-PAC was considering. This one would not have been funded. As End Spending said in a subsequent statement, "It reflects an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects and it was never a plan to be accepted but only a [suggested direction]."</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is another question entirely whether these contemplated Wright ads would be effective against Obama. The issue here is whether people like Ricketts and his advisors have a right to keep their private deliberations off the pages of the New York Times.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mitt Romney, the very proper presumptive Republican presidential nominee, wants to fight the election on economic terrain. He immediately distanced himself from Davis' ad campaign after it hit the Gray Lady's front page: "I want to make it very clear," he said. "I repudiate this effort. It think it's the wrong course." Within 24 hours, it was kaput.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unfortunately for Romney, the enemy will not so easily be convinced to play patty-cake. Campaign 2012 will be an all-out war, and in war you need to be ready to exploit all of your enemy's vulnerabilities. You don't know which approach -- economy land or character sea -- will be decisive in victory.</span></div>
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<span class="BodyCopy" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks to Davis' proposal and this mysterious leak, there is at least one weapon that Romney has been forced to put out of commission, no matter what.</span></div>
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<span class="EndEmailTag" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based journalist and screenwriter.</span></div>
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</div>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-66408898503580677882012-03-26T06:26:00.002-07:002012-09-13T17:51:09.736-07:00Christine O’Donnell’s Renewed Catholic Faith: A Gift of the Holy Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUbpjGJ3jUp0q6vACzywKNlfQAV7hTt02cKFD6B6mEgQlB5E6IoruFNWHWKO7mNKpG__ZtAqaybCLnkYWf8uAg3RSoHaEnHYgF1WpgIFzl8YYdAo3i4WEw40VPm_-c3l962R3ObrzAutn/s1600/O'Donnell+Headshot+300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUbpjGJ3jUp0q6vACzywKNlfQAV7hTt02cKFD6B6mEgQlB5E6IoruFNWHWKO7mNKpG__ZtAqaybCLnkYWf8uAg3RSoHaEnHYgF1WpgIFzl8YYdAo3i4WEw40VPm_-c3l962R3ObrzAutn/s320/O'Donnell+Headshot+300dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It was
a balmy but blustery day when I met former U.S. Senate candidate Christine
O’Donnell of Delaware—dubbed the “Tea Party darling” in 2010—in Washington, DC,
at the Sequoia Restaurant, overlooking the Potomac River.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
gusts of wind forcefully blowing off the Potomac almost made it seem as if the
Holy Spirit was providing special effects to complement her poignant story
about how she went from “nominal” Catholic to “on fire” evangelical to “passionate
<em><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-style: normal;">über”</span></em><i> </i>Catholic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But
then, the Holy Spirit looms very large in this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Christine
Therese O’Donnell was raised in a big, close-knit Catholic family. However,
theirs was a more cultural Catholicism in which her mother, respecting her Italian
immigrant parents’ faith, ensured the children attended “catechism classes” and
“received all the appropriate sacraments.”
Yet, the family rarely went to Sunday mass and, O’Donnell said, “didn’t
even go to Christmas and Easter (services).” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Grandmom
Chillano, whom Christine called “very devout,” was a daily communicant and very
devoted to Our Lady and would bring Christine to mass with her whenever she
could. Grandmom’s rich Catholicism overflowed into a rich family life. Each
Christmas Eve, she regaled the family with the “seven fishes feast,” a
cherished tradition Christine’s mother religiously honors, spending her
birthday each year buying fresh fish at Philadelphia’s Italian Market, then
cleaning it in preparation for this big-hearted celebration of the Savior’s
birth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
other source of spiritual nourishment came, ironically, when she would sleep
over with her friend Eileen Rooney, who lived two doors up. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Eileen’s
mother was very Catholic and the condition for staying over, Christine said, was
“to go to church with the family the next morning.” </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Christine
described the Rooney’s as “just very devout but very fun… We had six kids, they
had seven kids—all close in age. Need we say more?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As a
child, she also attended the Moorestown Bible Camp one summer. “It wasn’t something that we attended
regularly.” It didn’t fit with her
family’s cultural Catholicism but, she adds, “I had a very real experience with
God (there)… a Holy Spirit encounter (which) the Evangelical Church is so good
at fostering… it was so real, it made such a real impression with me that it
carried me into adulthood.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“But,
my childhood exposure to faith,” she said, “wasn’t a grounding… (or) an understanding”—a
deficiency the Church could have mitigated. For instance, she remembers preparing for confirmation
and, while waiting for confession, this risqué girl told her, “you can do anything
you want”—just confess it. “And when I went into confession I asked… is this
true? And, the priest just responded,
say five Hail Mary’s for your own belief.
So, here I was an eighth grader going (what’s up) and he’s just saying,
sinner don’t doubt.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Without
a solid foundation of faith, she was susceptible to the cultural messages. “By high school, by college, I (was)…
enveloped by the rhetoric. And, I was a liberal… (and) thought that to be
pro-woman, I must believe… all these myths, all these cultural lies especially
on abortion. And, I was vocally,
actively (involved)…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">While at
Fairleigh Dickinson University, College at Florham, in Madison, New Jersey in
the early 90s, her friend Eileen Rooney asked her during a visit, “Do you know
how an abortion is performed?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Christine
responded, “Yes. I was there when my friend had an abortion and… I’m the one
who told her to ask (Planned Parenthood, while on the phone with them) if it
was a baby. I was kind of proud of that... I’m the one who sought the truth and
this is what they said.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But, Eileen
persisted. “If you really want to know the truth about this, you can’t read
what I do and you can’t read what the other side says, you have to read the
medical journals.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So
Christine went to the city library and started pouring through the literature.
The more she read, the more her assumptions were quashed. “I remember just
being so horrified about what was written in the medical journals that I just
slumped down on the library floor and was like stunned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She
compares her reaction to that of Adam Sandler’s character in the movie <i>Spanglish</i>, who said “the planet cracked”
when he found out his wife was cheating on him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
consequences were profound. As O’Donnell
explained, “It was like, if I’m wrong about this what else am I wrong
about? And, it’s a very scary feeling
when suddenly you’re at this crossroads in your life in college when everything
you believe might be wrong… And, that’s what led me to, ‘OK, if there’s a truth
about this, there is a truth...’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That
day on the floor of that library, she said, ultimately led her back to her childhood
faith. And, while Eileen’s mother bought
Christine a subscription to <i>The Wanderer</i>
after she became pro-life, her journey was only just beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the
early nineties, while living in DC, she searched for the truth in the Evangelical
Church, hearkening back to her formative experience with Moorestown Bible
Church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But, she
said, gradually she found it incompatible with her cultural background. For
instance, wine was discouraged and, because she was told it was God’s will to go
without it and she “wanted to please God,” she did without.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“It
truly was a journey,” she said, which included a move to Los Angeles to work
with The Savior’s Alliance for Lifting the Truth (The SALT), speaking openly on
MTV’s “Politically Incorrect,” hosted by Bill Maher, and other shows about
sexual practices demeaning to women and displeasing to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Everything
I did in the 90s,” she said, “was taken out of context in the 2010 campaign. I was a confused young adult back then
reaching for the truth… this very on fire evangelical (where) everyone that you
meet you have to tell about Jesus Christ.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the
mid 90s, she started spending more time in DC, where the political action was. “Being
involved in the pro-life movement, “she said, “you meet people from all walks
of faith. And, the Catholics I met didn’t fit with the perception I had of
Catholics. They were very godly, very devout, very faithful… not this cult.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When
she socialized with them, she said, “I would experience… that happiness without
crossing the line that I had in college (i.e., at decadent parties). I found that joy that I was looking for… (because
they) knew how to find the beauty in life… And, I’d wake up the next morning
(thinking), that was a lot of fun.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Meantime,
she continued getting regular invites to appear on CNN, MSNBC and Bill Maher’s
show to discuss current issues—a pattern that began when producers discovered
her in Houston at the 1992 Republican National Convention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Then Dr.
Peter J. Colosi, who worked across the hall from her at the Catholic Alliance
in 1996, started to give her “these beautiful encyclicals from Pope John Paul
II… that really articulated the right position.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Virtually
all her soundbites, she said, were based on the encyclicals. And, the Catholic
Catechism, which Colosi gave her to consult in his absence, became “sort of a
cheat sheet for a last minute call to go on television.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As she
read all these encyclicals, she realized her own “personal platform” as a
conservative was not isolated but was part of a larger, integrated truth
beautifully articulated by the popes. “I
began… looking through the lens of Pope John Paul II and his teachings (to)…
see that everything is connected…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hungry
for more,” she said she began realizing, “when I would go on television in a
hostile environment and articulate what the church would say about something,
people couldn’t disagree because there was a truth there.” Encyclicals like <i>Love and Responsibility</i> showed “the church isn’t a prude.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Maybe,”
she began thinking, “I’m wrong about this Catholic Church.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior
to her DC experience, she said, her perception of Catholicism was “based on the
actions of men and not (on) the teaching of the Church.” For instance, “If you wanted good weather,
you put a statue of the Blessed Mother in your window.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But, “the
core teachings of the church,” she said, “(were) very liberating.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“And,
what I discovered was that many Catholics (like herself) don’t know what the Church
teaches. So I just fell in love with the Church at that point.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It was
in LA, where she was spending time in her then a bi-coastal existence, that the
Holy Spirit sealed the deal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She
was living in a little Hispanic neighborhood in LA. One day she took a walk and
encountered, appropriately enough, the Church of the Holy Spirit, which she
described as “this teeny little adobe-style chapel” that would stay open
outside of church services, even though it was a bad neighborhood. She started attending
mass and “when I was stressed,” she said, “I’d just walk over there, sit in
their chapel… just a one room building (and) I just started feeling
comfortable.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Then,
one Sunday at mass, the priest, Fr. Elias (now in India), gave this beautiful
homily about the Holy Spirit.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As the
gifts were being taken up, “Here I Am Lord” was played—the song that had always
played at special and significant moments in her life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Kneeling
down before the Eucharist, she said she felt somewhat conflicted. So she prayed
to God in prayer, “If you make it clear, if there is no doubt where you need
me, that’s where I will go.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After
mass, Fr. Elias was shaking everyone’s hand. As she walked out, he stopped and said,
“Wait a minute” and “called me out, then shook my hand and said, ‘I’m Father
Elias. What is your name?’ I said, ‘I’m Christine.’ He (replied), ‘Christine,
God needs you in the Catholic Church.’ I
was like ‘Ahh!’ (and) just started crying. And, he (said) “Would you like to
come see me at my office this week?’ I (replied), ‘yes.’ And, later, in her meeting with him, he said
that God (inspired) him… as he was preaching on the Holy Spirit… and saw me
praying in the pew (to) ‘Tell her God needs her in the Catholic Church.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When
she met with him, she said, “I gave a very long confession,” after which he
received her back into the Catholic Church. The next week, ironically, she gave
the commencement speech at a Baptist college graduation, where she was viewed as an evangelical, not a Catholic
speaker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But
then, being a Catholic was a private love affair, for the time being.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gradually,
she let her Catholic friends know—and even one evangelical friend, from whom
she was concealing her return to the Church lest it “shock” her. It turns out
this friend was poised to convert and wanted to share her own shocking news. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“Truth,”
O’Donnell says, “is inscribed on everyone’s heart and one thing I say in
political speeches is that they agree with us, they just don’t know it yet. And,
we’ve got to figure out how to clearly articulate these truths…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For
instance, regarding the “pursuit of happiness,” she explained, “Pope John Paul
II said… happiness is being ‘rooted in love’—not ‘happiness is love,’ it’s the
state of being ‘rooted in love.’ It’s
through giving and sacrificing and putting the next generation ahead of your
own needs… government can’t give this (rootedness) to you, this is something
that only God can give you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m
passionate about this,” she said. “It’s so profoundly clarifying and liberating.
By understanding the longing that he put on our heart, you understand why our
founders created a limited government in such a way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That
suggests to her a bridge to politics. “To me it’s so clear cut about the role
of the Church in this next election; it’s just trying to articulate to the rest
of the (Christian) Church the role that (the Universal Church) play(s).”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">While
it remains to be seen what Christine O’Donnell’s political future is, one
thing’s for sure, she’s winning hearts now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;">NOTE:
This piece is a companion to the earlier review of Christine O’Donnell’s book
<i>Troublemaker</i>, which appeared in March 15 issue of <i>The Wanderer </i></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php" style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;">http://www.thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php</span></a></span><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: #ffe599;">To obtain a copy of the
book, see <a href="http://www.troublemakerbook.com/">www.troublemakerbook.com</a>.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-9977028444219184552012-03-19T08:04:00.000-07:002012-09-13T17:52:30.434-07:00“Troublemaker”: A Profile in Class, Character and Lessons Learned<div>
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1Yq4yI8b07PEHaLDpKTZ-SAEWOwdd4GGL2tR8fbbSmCxi2IUv1y3RIY1p0SyyVIEc_9Lvcw1alJkOvUgSlGrLeUIg5baRbjpjtfr3ONRViB8yccdMgObeMAmJwU7hnhT1NiGvE4hLl8x/s1600/Troublemaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1Yq4yI8b07PEHaLDpKTZ-SAEWOwdd4GGL2tR8fbbSmCxi2IUv1y3RIY1p0SyyVIEc_9Lvcw1alJkOvUgSlGrLeUIg5baRbjpjtfr3ONRViB8yccdMgObeMAmJwU7hnhT1NiGvE4hLl8x/s320/Troublemaker.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/troublemaker-1/ChristineODonnell">http://us.macmillan.com/troublemaker-1/ChristineODonnell </a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">On
September 14, 2010, the night of her Republican Senate primary win in Delaware,
Christine O’Donnell reveals in her book, <i>Troublemaker</i>,
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden called her Republican
opponent to offer their condolences, affirming her case regarding the
“establishment” insider power club. Over
the summer O’Donnell was besting her Democratic opponent in the polls. Voters
chose a winner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her
prospects dimmed in the early, whirlwind days of her general election campaign
after the “I’m not a witch” ad went viral within minutes of its release by the <i>New York Times</i>. “Somehow,” she writes, “this ridiculous
commercial had been slipped to the media.” Somehow?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">She
told her ad maker, Fred Davis, she didn’t like the ad and didn’t want to make
it. And, in what has got to be the
biggest lesson learned, she didn’t do what Mitt Romney famously said he likes
to do—fire him! As Mark McKinnon,
President George W. Bush’s media consultant said, when asked to comment: “</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">If a candidate can’t control
their consultant, they shouldn’t run for office.” Tough but true, yet seemingly unthinkable.
Davis also made ads for Senator John Cornyn, Chairman of the National
Republican Senatorial Committee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But in
losing, she won—as she sets forth in this </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">compelling, delightful and inspiring
account that tells who she <i>is: </i>A class act, full of character and heart
with a gift for communicating and a deep and abiding belief in the core,
foundational principles upon which our nation was founded—rooted in the rights
and dignity of man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her
storytelling powers are impressive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
second youngest of six children, Christine Therese O’Donnell was born in 1969
during the summer of Woodstock and the Moon landing, to a family that’s the
typical, American melting pot of hardworking immigrants—in her case, Irish,
English and Italian. Her paternal grandmother is believed to be descended from
the longest living signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Carroll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her
heart for the underdog shines through early when, at age 6, it was her turn to
choose the family Christmas tree. She selected a scrawny little tree she
thought no one else would pick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">She
also learned forgiveness and survival early on—especially on a family trip to
Florida to visit her estranged grandfather. The visit went so well, they were
soon packing him up for the trip back north, but forgot 10-year old
Christine. Hours later, upon their
return, there she was, busily selling the backyard tree’s residuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Her
family, she writes, had its struggles. Her father mirroring his father,
succumbed to alcoholism but with the love and honesty of his family, was able
to dig out of that hole and become, as she writes, the person he was meant to
be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">It
was in college that O’Donnell was utterly transformed when a friend educated
her about the life of a pre-born baby.
An activist was born. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">From
that spark, one opportunity led to another—on the 1992 George H.W. Bush campaign,
then the RNC, working for Chairman Haley Barbour, then Concerned Women for
America, followed by The Savior’s Alliance for Lifting the Truth, where she
recommitted herself to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">O’Donnell’s
growing media presence led to appearances on Bill Maher’s <i>Politically Incorrect</i>—where she uttered those famous three little
words “dabbled in witchcraft” (i.e., dated a guy briefly and read about what <i>he </i>was into). Her role then was
connecting with her peers, many of whom <i>more
than dabbled. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then
she started her own Washington-based media consulting business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">About
this time, her “Grandmom Chillano” was dying of Alzheimers. This, she writes, is when she became an
adult—taking charge to organize her siblings to share the burden of helping
their Grandmom at night. On her shift,
her Grandmom stood up on her bed all tense over being late for her job, putting
tags on dresses—her first job.
Christine, as the daytime caregiver counseled her, did not try to
contradict her view of reality but rather started singing a song to her—one she
remembered singing when she would attend mass with her as a little girl—that
calmed her down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Grandmom
Chillano had taught her valuable lessons.
“Class,” she told her “is about character, not money… Doing the right
thing and treating others with respect is not something you can buy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">After
O’Donnell moved to Delaware, friends and acquaintances started to see in her a
U.S. Senate candidate. First dismissing it out of hand, she soon thought, why
not!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
2006, with little time left, she managed to mount a fairly successful write-in
campaign. In 2008, she won the primary
then lost to Senator Joe Biden, who was also running for Vice President. He
relinquished his seat only after being sworn in as Vice President. In 2010, she
ran, winning the primary and a Romney endorsement—a favor she returned in 2011
by endorsing him; but, she lost the general when the “establishment” carpet
bombed her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
2011, as she writes beautifully in Chapter 11, she found it in her heart to
forgive all the nasty tactics, deployed by even those in her own party! She had a lot to forgive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Before
she ran in 2008, she was warned if she did so, she’d be totally destroyed. The
day after she announced, she and some family members received audit notices.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The
thuggery continued in 2010. And, predictably, her Democratic opponent, now
Senator Chris Coons, twisted her comments, especially those made at the CNN
debate, regarding “separation of church and state” and the first amendment. She sets that record straight, laying out
what Thomas Jefferson, who first used the phrase, intended, in contrast to how
it’s been perverted; but the media failed to report these facts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">All
the dust having settled, she continues to fight the good fight—with the help of
her newfound Catholic faith, one thing she does not write about in her
book. (A feature on her faith journey
will be published in next week’s edition of </span><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Wanderer</span></i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whether
she runs again, or finds another avenue for her passion and talent, O’Donnell
will continue making a difference in changing hearts. And, isn’t that after all
the overarching goal? For, if you change
laws without changing hearts, it’s an incomplete victory.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8; color: white; font-size: large;">Originally published in <i>The Wanderer, </i>March 15, 2012 issue</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php"><span style="color: white;">http://www.thewandererpress.com/ee/wandererpress/index.php</span></a></span><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-84064632260499271112012-03-10T06:56:00.001-08:002016-02-26T18:54:18.182-08:00Where are the women?<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.5pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFLQY3tFMhXdiZ8pYxPOKEYYWQ63WixZwY76QY7BjEVQnHDJT7QPsybgIIlKVvdjlOom2q4arooxZWf-sMOKP8Dj_0F5AF4rMXrVCZ-E2Cu-Wpi7uytbF9pbzKF3q8qmQFUgQrP5io4eZ/s1600/Carolyn+Maloney+asking+where+are+the+women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFLQY3tFMhXdiZ8pYxPOKEYYWQ63WixZwY76QY7BjEVQnHDJT7QPsybgIIlKVvdjlOom2q4arooxZWf-sMOKP8Dj_0F5AF4rMXrVCZ-E2Cu-Wpi7uytbF9pbzKF3q8qmQFUgQrP5io4eZ/s320/Carolyn+Maloney+asking+where+are+the+women.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Carolyn Maloney asking "<span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/quotes/0,26174,2107175,00.html">Where are the women</a>?</span>"<br />Photo: Evan Vucci / AP | Source: CNN</span><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">“What I want to know is, where
are the women,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, asked during last week's hearing
before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Rep.
Darrell Issa, R-CA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">The hearing focused on “the
administration's actions concerning freedom of conscience” and
government-mandated insurance coverage of birth control, tubal ligation and
morning-after abortifacients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Maloney asked a good question,
but for another day and hearing, focused on the topic of women's health. (The
Issa hearing essentially dealt with the right to spiritual health for all.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">That it echoes Sen. Gaylord
Nelson's January 1970 hearing, which focused on the pill's side effects, makes
it all the more poignant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">The Wisconsin Democrat had read
“The Doctor's Case Against the Pill” by Barbara Seaman, an author, journalist
and main founder of the women's health movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">In her book, Seaman documented
the pill's ill effects, including weight gain, heart ailments, blood clots,
depression and decreased sex drive. Few women realized the pill was causing
these problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">No women were asked to testify
at Nelson's hearing, even though they were the only ones taking the birth
control pill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">But, then the official path to
the pill's approval was equally dismissive of women's opinions. As “The Pill,”
an American Experience documentary production, reported, “after nine months of
testing, the medical director in Puerto Rico told (Dr. Gregory) Pincus that the
pill was 100 percent effective when taken properly. Nevertheless, she argued,
the drug caused ‘too many side reactions to be generally acceptable.’ Both (Dr.
John) Rock and Pincus disagreed. The adverse side effects, they believed, were
insignificant.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">For three women participating
in the Puerto Rico trials, the side effect was death; but they were never
autopsied.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">As Alex Sanger, Margaret
Sanger's grandson, summed it up, “They probably dismissed it in their mind, ‘Well,
there's something wrong with the patient,’ and there was nothing wrong with the
pill. They didn't want to hear about what might be wrong because they... just
felt so strongly that this pill was necessary for women's well-being.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">But, at the January 1970
hearings, a brave group of women didn’t let the scheduled slate of witnesses
keep them from speaking up in what became known as the Boston Tea Party of the
women's health movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Alice Wolfson, joined by a
group of feminists at the hearing, stood up, shouting a litany of questions: “Why
is there no pill for men?” “Why are 10 million women being used as guinea pigs?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">“Why had you assured the drug
companies that they could testify? Why have you told them that they could get
top priority? They're not taking the pills, we are!”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">“Who is going to pay the
medical bills when a woman develops cancer of the breast and cancer of the
uterus?” “We are not just going to sit quietly any longer. You are murdering us
for your profit and convenience!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">With the cameras capturing and
heightening this historic moment, the hearing was soon adjourned.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">As Wolfson told “American
Experience,” “we began to hear researcher after researcher—male after male—start
saying things about the pill. And then one ... said, ‘fertilizer is to wheat
what estrogen is to cancer.’ And I think at that point we practically dropped
dead, we were so shocked.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Only one expert, Dr. Philip
Corfman of National Institutes of Health, affirmed that the women's concerns
were legitimate. In the late 1980s, Dr. Corfman finally convinced manufacturers
to withdraw from the market all oral contraceptive brands that contained more
than 50 micrograms of estrogen.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Where, indeed, are the women?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Mary Claire Kendall is a Washington-based
writer who was special assistant to the assistant secretary for health under
President George H.W. Bush.</span></i><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="border-style: none; border-width: 1pt; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; padding: 0in;">Originally published in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Washington
Examiner on </i>February 22, 2012 and online on February 21, 2012</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-32534760889504378552012-03-09T08:06:00.003-08:002016-02-26T18:56:26.351-08:00Can There Be A Silver Lining?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">By
Mary Claire Kendall</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Every
cloud has a silver lining. In the case of
President Barack Obama’s health insurance mandate vis-à-vis contraception,
nothing could be truer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of
course, in our secular world the choice over contraceptive use is a matter
of conscience. But, Catholic women, of all women, should have a greater appreciation
for and understanding of natural and divine law undergirding the Church’s
teaching forbidding artificial birth control, giving them the light and
strength to make an informed decision. Some quip it’s “between them
and God;” but, this pat response precisely underscores that they will
ultimately be answerable to God for their decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Even
worse, many liberal Catholic women want to make it between them and the
world. Karen Finney, for one, huffed on
MSNBC on February 13, Catholic women will reason when voting, “Screw that. I
don’t want the Bishops telling me what to do.” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zzhQRgKXqEsAvycH7eEYCNJDVPLNopzKZ0Q0aaW-ixU5WCH1BE81ntYfmrEdHhowX0PTKi0jShrih0hPR-w-dHoB-rQvxVLbi7Z5X8rx7k3U3XXQYVA1OqSovPXT5cSfjV7mIcyht-7c/s1600/Kathleen+Kennedy+Townsend+on+CSPAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zzhQRgKXqEsAvycH7eEYCNJDVPLNopzKZ0Q0aaW-ixU5WCH1BE81ntYfmrEdHhowX0PTKi0jShrih0hPR-w-dHoB-rQvxVLbi7Z5X8rx7k3U3XXQYVA1OqSovPXT5cSfjV7mIcyht-7c/s1600/Kathleen+Kennedy+Townsend+on+CSPAN.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=909&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=U9sPTYcIMDbqqM:&imgrefurl=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/appearance/601270135&docid=yCRoDq0s74zjiM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/showPicture.php%253Fprogramid%253D270737%2526height%253D335%2526width%253D490&w=496&h=343&ei=Ny9aT_XqCuPu0gGt2PGyCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=537&vpy=447&dur=28374&hovh=187&hovw=270&tx=81&ty=205&sig=118153881965499469223&page=1&tbnh=118&tbnw=171&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:26,s:0">C-SPAN</a> radio call-in<br />
discussing Obama mandate, a few days after February 9 press conference<br />
featuring then-unknown Georgetown Law Student Sandra Fluke.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">And,
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at a press conference she sponsored with Catholic
college students whining they can’t get free contraception, said, as one of 11
children, her mother obviously didn’t have access to contraception either. Forgive the bluntness, but just whom would
she have eliminated?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
whole controversy was whipped up not because the Bishops questioned women’s
right to access contraception but because Obama questioned the right to
freedom of conscience, guaranteed by the Constitution, when he mandated
Catholic-run hospitals, schools, and charities to provide health insurance that
covers birth control, abortifacient “morning after pills,” and sterilization—or
face multimillion dollar penalties. (The
“compromise” he offered on Friday, February 10, is no solution since many
church-affiliated entities will still end up footing the bill for practices the
Church knows to be immoral.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">V</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">oters aren’t stupid. They know Obama is modifying and
obfuscating his position to get re-elected.
Obama gambled the Church would be forced to accede to popular
pressure—including within its own ranks—and lost. Freedom of conscience—a hallmark of America—should
give one the right not to fund birth control, abortifacients, and
sterilization, even if those practices are legal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">But,
while this relevant legal issue is now being fought out in courts of law, even
the moral issue can be a winner in the court of public opinion. To wit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Theodore
Roosevelt believed, as <i>The American
Experience</i> stated, “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">It was the patriotic
duty of</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> every
healthy married woman to
bear four children</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Anglican Church, like Roman Catholics, considered the use of birth control a
grave sin until 1930 when the Lambeth Conference, bowing to popular pressure,
allowed it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Margaret
Sanger, who coined the term “birth control,” went to jail many times for breaking
the Comstock Law criminalizing sale of contraceptive devices and dissemination
of birth control information. Her first
violation of the law occurred in 1914 when she published a pamphlet titled
“Family Limitation,” detailing the mechanics of birth control. In 1916, she opened her first birth control
clinic in Brooklyn, New York; the police shut it down nine days later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
1934, Sanger’s allies in Connecticut finally opened a clinic in Hartford, which
lasted eleven weeks and, as reported in <i>Liberty
and Sexuality</i> by David J. Garrow, imposed the following strict limits to
give it an aura of moral acceptability:
“Married, living with husband, at least one child unless physically
unfit for pregnancy, physically or economically unable to have another pregnancy
at present, and unable to pay for private care.” Close ally Katherine Hepburn, mother of the
actress by the same name, wrongly calculated the family would be <i>the bulwark against promiscuity</i> birth
control would encourage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sanger
stated, as reported by Garrow, birth control “does not mean the interruption of
life after conception.” Yet, birth control has paved the way to broad
acceptance of abortion and many forms of birth control, including the pill, can
prevent implantation of the embryo after conception. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
1951 when Sanger began exploring the possibility of making a contraceptive
pill, the scientific community steered clear of it since they thought it would
increase promiscuity. The Comstock laws
were still in force in 30 states. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 1969,
Barbara Seaman wrote <i>The Doctor’s Case
Against the Pill</i> because so many young women on the pill were having
strokes and dying or being maimed for life. No one bothered to inquire why
three women in the clinical trials in Puerto Rico in 1956 died; they were never
autopsied. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ninety-eight
years after Sanger went to jail for telling the world about contraception, the
last thing our country needs is to see the pendulum swing whereby those whose
consciences can’t condone birth control are penalized either in a court of law
or the court of public opinion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: #6fa8dc; color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Originally published in <i>The Wanderer, </i>March 8, 2012 issue</span></span><br />
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-52823199337325890822012-02-15T09:35:00.001-08:002012-03-10T07:14:12.432-08:00Winning the Present with TR and Civility<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
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<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">This piece was originally published eight months ago, on June
15, 2011</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;"> as the Republican presidential primary contest was
just starting.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Its message is still relevant.</span></i></div>
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<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAF2j8lp6NuKKUSo0HxbLg9ODLUlU71gJAFmSmNMF5S6ZSL3YTsaY_sK1yvCfRk1b53_dpXCwIUn5mcwMCr4V4AR5eE3r9wZOe9B7iiof1IgFzM3Zf55FLiHVAsDfB78cDcscTg1JzkY/s1600/TR+as+Hoss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #999999; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAF2j8lp6NuKKUSo0HxbLg9ODLUlU71gJAFmSmNMF5S6ZSL3YTsaY_sK1yvCfRk1b53_dpXCwIUn5mcwMCr4V4AR5eE3r9wZOe9B7iiof1IgFzM3Zf55FLiHVAsDfB78cDcscTg1JzkY/s1600/TR+as+Hoss.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
By Mary Claire Kendall</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">
It might seem like an odd pairing, but what the GOP field needs is TR and civility to win the present — and defeat President Barack Obama in 2012.</div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">TR, of course, refers to larger-than-life Republican <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[1]</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">, who served as president from 1901-1908, then ran on the Progressive Bull Moose ticket in 1912.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">While he was a rock-ribbed Republican, when theory ran afoul of doing what’s right by the little guy, he always <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/175141/teddy-right/jonah-goldberg">chose the latter</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[2]</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">His brand of politics is perfect for slaying today’s dragons that have gutted the middle class and precipitated runaway spending.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Take, for example, housing prices. The<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-09/shiller-says-u-s-home-price-declines-of-10-to-25-wouldn-t-surprise-me-.html"> Case-Shiller index</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[3 ]</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">recently revealed they’ve declined more steeply than during the Great Depression. The fact that 75% of consumers can’t even get loans to purchase a home, let alone refinance, is a big reason why.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Investment banker <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/christopher-whalen/">Christopher Whalen</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[4]</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">, whose father served in Ronald Reagan’s “kitchen cabinet,” says the way around this problem is to raise the FHA loan cap and help small and medium size banks increase lending. This would mean giving more power and money to community banks. Obama prefers letting Wall Street call the shots — in spite of its role in precipitating the 2007-08 housing meltdown — while the little guy gets slammed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">But, Republicans, Whalen says, should out-progressive Democrats and do what is right, which is TR writ large. TR basically stared down Wall Street, thus saving it from itself; so should today’s Republicans.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">One hundred years after TR’s Bull Moose gambit, many in the GOP field seem well-positioned to take up his mantle.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">For instance, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty emphasizes Main Street production over Wall Street consumption. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has that “can do” spirit. And Texas Governor Rick Perry shares TR’s tough-as-nails persona.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Then there’s Mitt Romney, who, like TR, favors universal health care as the key to economic stability, signing it into law as governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Many conservatives deride the 2006 Massachusetts law as ObamaCare’s twin and Tea Party poison — a comparison Obama smugly reinforces. But, in fact, ObamaCare and RomneyCare are apples and oranges. Whereas ObamaCare reduces what doctors are paid; RomneyCare ensures that doctors are, in fact, paid when a patient, who could otherwise afford it, lacks insurance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Also, as Romney underscored in Monday’s CNN debate in Manchester, RomneyCare did not raise taxes, whereas ObamaCare does — to the tune of $500 billion — in addition to shifting $500 billion out of Medicare to fund it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Sixty-three percent of Massachusetts residents favor the law, according to a recent poll by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Boston Globe, up 10 percentage points in the past two years, with only 21 percent opposed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">And what of the “individual mandate” that makes people think RomneyCare is ObamaCare? Well, considering there’s already a federal mandate to provide ER care to anyone regardless of ability to pay, it’s pretty important to make sure docs get paid, unless you want to drive them out of business a la ObamaCare.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Where it gets tricky is that an insurance mandate only make sense if, as in the case of automobiles, having coverage doesn’t encourage crashes, whereas standard health insurance increases utilization. Also, RomneyCare does not encourage medical savings accounts and streamlined, just-the-basics insurance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">But, as Romney is at pains to say, the Massachusetts law was a state solution to a state problem. He vows to rescind cost-prohibitive, one-size-fits-all ObamaCare if elected president — granting a waiver to all 50 states on Day One.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Meanwhile, Republicans have come up with a way to obviate a “mandate” — since understandably, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea — by assessing a fee on those who don’t buy insurance to hedge against costs incurred should they fall ill or suffer injury.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">But, sensing political opportunity, Romney’s Republican opponents have been pouncing on him, with Sarah Palin tut tutting the Massachusetts law in Boston one hour before Romney announced for the presidency. Gov. Pawlenty called out “ObamneyCare” because, he explained in the debate, Obama claimed RomneyCare was his “blueprint.”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">The good news, though, is <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/14/who-was-the-nights-biggest-winner/">Monday’s debate</a>[5] signaled a truce of sorts.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Indeed, if Republicans hope to win the present, we must nominate a candidate who understands what ails the economy and how to cure it, of which health care is a big part. This means civility — honestly assessing opponents’ positions and presenting your own — will be critically important, lest we destroy ourselves from within.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">So, with eyes on the prize, let the race be guided by the kind of civility our great Republican presidents, such as Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and, yes, even TR, practiced; and inspired by TR’s overflowing common sense in making life better for the little guy, now suffering under the weight of Obamanomics.</span><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Originally published in Pajamas Media on June 15, 2010 </em><a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/winning-the-present-with-tr-and-civility/">http://pjmedia.com/blog/winning-the-present-with-tr-and-civility/</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/winning-the-present-with-tr-and-civility/</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">URLs in this post: </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[1] Theodore Roosevelt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[2] chose the latter: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/175141/teddy-right/jonah-goldberg</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[3] The Case-Shiller index: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-09/shiller-says-u-s-home-price-declines-of-10-to-25-wouldn-t-surprise-me-.html</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[4] Christopher Whalen: http://blogs.reuters.com/christopher-whalen/</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">[5] Monday’s debate: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/14/who-was-the-nights-biggest-winner/</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Copyright © 2011 Pajamas Media. All rights reserved.</span>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-6245953221272496782012-02-08T07:44:00.000-08:002012-02-12T18:04:20.016-08:00It’s 2012 - and no time for the rebel yell.<br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">As James L. Petigru famously quipped after his state seceded,
“South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane
asylum.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">South Carolina Republicans’ choice of former House Speaker Newt
Gingrich over former Governor Mitt Romney in their presidential primary</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">is </span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">understandable given their desire to deliver a knockout punch to
President Barack Obama in the fall debates. But, the notion the Republican
Party is actually prepared, as</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-legitimize-obamas-reelection-rhetoric/2012/01/19/gIQA5pB5BQ_story.html"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">Charles Krauthammer
writes, </span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">to commit political suicide, is <i>unthinkable</i>. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Still, the signs are there, which former Senator Rick Santorum</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’s
triple win in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, reinforces.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">A particularly</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">unhealthy
trend is the conservative penchant to try and relive the past based on an
unrealistic dream of conservative purity.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">One key conservative, passionately supportive of former Governor
Sarah Palin, told me with great certitude months ago,</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <b>the 2012 primary</b> <b><i>will be</i> a
replay of the 1976 primary</b></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">, when former California Governor Ronald
Reagan took the fight with President Gerald Ford all the way to the convention. </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Epaper/2012-01-29/Ax9.pdf"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">Gingrich vows the same</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The theory goes, if Republicans choose the Ford candidate, they
will lose in the fall, paving the way to the next Reagan in 2016. Many
consider Palin (or perhaps Gingrich, though he</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">would
be</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">72/73)
the 2016 Reagan. Funny thing, like clockwork,</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://biggovernment.com/publius/2012/01/11/breaking-palin-urges-romney-to-release-tax-returns-provide-proof-of-100000-jobs-created-at-bain-capital/"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">Palin</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">suddenly began criticizing Romney when he all but had the
nomination wrapped up, insisting that he prove he created some 100,000 jobs
while at Bain.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">One
week after husband Todd endorsed Gingrich, she said she would</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/sarah-palin-id-vote-for-newt/"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">vote “for Newt”</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">in South Carolina “in order to keep this thing going.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Al</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">l the way to 2016!</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Gingrich, alternatively, </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">tag-teaming with
Santorum, </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">is clearly plotting a yellow brick road to conservative nirvana
more reminiscent of 1980 when President Ronald Reagan was elected. That year, a
true blue conservative</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">finally
</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">triumphed over the Republican Party’s establishment wing—16
years after Senator Barry M. Goldwater’s (R-AZ) loss to LBJ.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Gingrich insists nothing but a Reagan conservative will do and
fancies</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">his
foot </span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">fitting that Cinderella slipper. (</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Santorum is bursting</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">that bubble</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">.)</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Romney, born to
privilege, is the George H.W. Bush of 1980, and, ipse facto, must be
defeated. President Barack Obama is, of course, Carter—on steroids!
Fifty-six percent of Americans said a year out he</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2011/1107/Does-Obama-deserve-second-term-One-year-out-half-say-no"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">did not even deserve
re-election</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of course, 1964 looms large as well. That year
conservatives chose Goldwater, for whom “Extremism in the defense of liberty
(was) no vice”—except at the polls. (Bet on Gingrich hinting at <i>Santorum</i></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;"><i>’s</i></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> extremism.)
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Republican primary leading up to the 1964 election was a
brutally contentious fight between the establishment wing of the Republican
Party, who supported New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, grandson of John D.,
Standard Oil founder, and the insurgent conservative wing backing
Goldwater. The</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/e_1964.html"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">political rancor</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that
race injected into the Party lives to this day. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">In 1964, just like today, the</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/146489/lack-gop-front-runner-2012-atypical.aspx"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">polls were all
over the place</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">And,
while choosing the most conservative candidate seemed a no-lose
proposition, given the sympathy vote favoring Johnson in the aftermath JFK’s
assassination; this year, it’s thought</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">no
Republican</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">can
lose to Obama—no matter how out of tune with general election voters that
candidate is. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, not only did Republicans lose in 1964—they lost by a
landslide. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Doesn’t matter, conservatives say. After the Goldwater debacle,
Reagan spearheaded the conservative movement to restore America’s greatness—the
kind of outcome, many conservatives say, would be just fine with them because
it would set the stage for real conservative governance, after Obama is
finished with America. Indeed, many argue if Pennsylvania Governor
William Scranton, instead of Goldwater, had won the Republican nomination in
1964, edging out Rockefeller, we would never have had Reagan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, wait a minute. It’s not 1980, 1976, 1964… It’s 2012 and the stakes could not be higher. Far better to
wake up to reality now than endure a course of electroshock therapy were Obama re-elected.
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">So, what</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’s the reality</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">? Can Newt Gingrich win? </span><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_gingrich_vs_obama-1453.html"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">No</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">.
Is Rick Santorum the best choice for Republicans? Probably not, but
he’d make a fantastic Veep. Can Mitt Romney restore Reagan’s “shining
city on the hill” and lead the nation in its “</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvg7lRsCVJ8"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">rendezvous with destiny</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">”?
Absolutely. His vision of transforming this into</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2011/12/mitt-romney-we-have-president-someone-who-doesnt-understand-how-economy-works"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">a new American Century</span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">—rejecting
Obama’s vision of managing American decline—is Reaganesque, or, coining a new
term, Romneyesque. That</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">is to
say, it is expressed with grace, skill and a sense of urgency and full
recognition of this time of peril—in Winston Churchill’s words, “measureless
peril.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-92091401615642210912012-02-06T10:56:00.000-08:002012-02-07T15:20:13.953-08:00Remember when it was "Morning in America"?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVgaqeneP6Ppj-8APYe1nQHaqO77irhyovq084t8ySlq-sPi3MrSpz2mEc5ocktlF8qihdb9Nexj_2DohMZ9SHhumLBte5U7_PzsfplaSzJ_vglnh4loNhTqvhiuI2gjb_7ye3-QnPkL7/s1600/Ronald+Reagan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVgaqeneP6Ppj-8APYe1nQHaqO77irhyovq084t8ySlq-sPi3MrSpz2mEc5ocktlF8qihdb9Nexj_2DohMZ9SHhumLBte5U7_PzsfplaSzJ_vglnh4loNhTqvhiuI2gjb_7ye3-QnPkL7/s320/Ronald+Reagan.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Ronald Reagan (official photograph)<br />
Source: www.acepilots.com</td></tr>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">Last night in his much ballyhooed Super Bowl ad for General
Motors, Clint Eastwood talked about it being “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oumzuQPCtlE"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">Halftime inAmerica</span></a>.” </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">I remember when it was “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">Morning in
America</span></a>” under the sound leadership of President Ronald Reagan,
whose birthday we celebrate today. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">When President Reagan came into office on January 20, 1981,
immediately securing freedom for the hostages in Iran, he had a disastrous
economy to deal with in the wake of President Jimmy Carter, who gave us the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_index_(economics)"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">misery index</span></a>.” But, with President Reagan’s sensible, pro-growth
policies, the economy started humming again—unlike today under President
Barack Obama, whose stifling policies the economy</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">works
around</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">to
achieve the little growth that it has, and under whose stewardship it’s been
one</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"><a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/americas-fiscal-high-noon/"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none;">fiscal high noon</span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">after
another. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-56043980353884657092012-02-06T07:55:00.000-08:002012-11-03T11:19:25.205-07:00Psst, Have You Heard? Santorum Is Beating Obama.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfANodzu4bZlwyJnlzdxNhJRckjOq8gmWKzdq2NsuWP-eAPOkjGqAJ-FbCwDqOoqd8qqalTmAdOr8sMuckEAGYtBocg1PKwEf-wtSrIWBScndQz6bWIJrNwmmL1K-BVr5T3vU0mkVjgdJN/s1600/Rick+Santorum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfANodzu4bZlwyJnlzdxNhJRckjOq8gmWKzdq2NsuWP-eAPOkjGqAJ-FbCwDqOoqd8qqalTmAdOr8sMuckEAGYtBocg1PKwEf-wtSrIWBScndQz6bWIJrNwmmL1K-BVr5T3vU0mkVjgdJN/s320/Rick+Santorum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">By Mary
Claire Kendall</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">While the national media is focusing in typical pack-like
fashion on the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postabcpoll_020412.html"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Washington Post-ABC News</span></a> poll giving President Barack
Obama higher marks <i>for the moment</i>, it has totally overlooked the
fact that </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;"><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/general_election_santorum_vs_obama-2912.html"><span style="color: blue;">Rick Santorum, <b><i>for the
first time</i></b>, is leading Obama nationally</span></a>, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 21px;">per below.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Poll<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Date<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Sample<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Obama (D)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td colspan="2" style="background: #CCCC99; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt; width: 85.95pt;" width="115"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Santorum (R)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Spread<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">RCP Average<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
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<td colspan="2" style="background: yellow; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt; width: 85.95pt;" width="115"></td>
<td style="background: yellow; padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt; width: 76.3pt;" width="102"></td>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/2012_presidential_election_matchups2"><span style="color: #cc6600;">Rasmussen Reports</span></a> 2/2-3 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">1000 LV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">44<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">45<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt; width: 19.7pt;" width="26"></td>
<td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt; width: 76.3pt;" width="102"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">Santorum +1</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border: none;" width="61"></td>
<td style="border: none;" width="71"></td>
<td style="border: none;" width="91"></td>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">I don’t know what this uncommented-upon Santorum lead, which
splashed all over a Real Clear Politics page on Saturday, February 4,
means; but it’s significant. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">“LV” (“Likely Voter”) polls are the best
barometer, making it even more significant. Washington Post/ABC News polled a
“random national sample” of 1000 adults.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">Additionally, <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/february_gop_caucuses_primaries.html"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Santorum is leading in Minnesota</span></a>, holding its caucuses
tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7, over all the other Republicans—in spite of
former Governor Tim Pawlenty’s endorsement of former Governor Mitt Romney for
the Republican presidential nomination.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">These polls could just turn out to be a momentary spot of good
news for both Obama and Santorum—as has often been the case in this politically
volatile year; or they may signal a trend. Time will tell.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">But, I suspect as long as Newt Gingrich and his conservative
allies (or those trying to keep 2016 open <i>for themselves</i>) keep
throwing stink bombs at Romney—calling him a liar and worse, thereby finishing
the job Democrats began last year with their incessant anti-Romney ads—Romney’s
numbers will continue to languish and erode. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">And, as these polls suggest, the beneficiary is <b><i>not </i></b>going
to be Gingrich but Santorum.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">Democrats may live to regret their strategy to take out Romney,
if, indeed, it works—<b><i>a big if</i></b>. But, following the
logic, if Romney is hobbled, Santorum may well prove a more formidable
contender than Democrats and Republicans with mix-motives had bargained for.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16pt;">Then, again, Santorum’s vulnerabilities could prove
catastrophic. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">For those Republicans not
willing to wait and find out, they better hope and pray <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/us/politics/gingrich-patron-adelson-said-to-be-open-to-aiding-romney.html"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;">Sheldon Adelson considers pulling the plug on Gingrich sooner rather than
later</span></a>, lest Republican chances of winning back the White House
totally implode. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-33929665476191596162012-02-04T08:06:00.000-08:002012-02-07T15:19:03.447-08:00The media's "very poor" reporting<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iKfzEEzCy3Rwc2lAHHoaCQ_H1KafOQ-kaQ9N0Bk6TyWnpoYopM2DOUdNFQOoMANc8JqZGQ8YyNg0gpvSIIbcC8FmVAviIE71mcUzJIOnZRhY9Jv4X_Z7mW47gSoiYKFmhscNRE13IAbt/s1600/Migrant+Mother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iKfzEEzCy3Rwc2lAHHoaCQ_H1KafOQ-kaQ9N0Bk6TyWnpoYopM2DOUdNFQOoMANc8JqZGQ8YyNg0gpvSIIbcC8FmVAviIE71mcUzJIOnZRhY9Jv4X_Z7mW47gSoiYKFmhscNRE13IAbt/s320/Migrant+Mother.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">“Migrant Mother,” 1936 (Dorothea Lange, photographer). <br />Library of Congress FSA/OWI Collection.</span></span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> The media conveniently </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">fails to report </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the real poverty in America today that rivals the Great Depression.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Here we go again. Former Governor Mitt Romney says
something that can be misinterpreted but, within the context of what he’s been
saying for months, most assuredly cannot. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">No matter. The press keeps bird-dogging him—like
a little girl in a school yard who catches her friend in a flub and mercilessly
taunts her.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of course, this is actually a good sign. If he wasn’t on his
way to winning the Republican presidential nomination, they would not
care <i>what he says</i>! </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But, ho hum, this time the hullaballoo is “concerned” with
Romney’s statement in an early morning </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/02/01/n_romney_poor_safety_net.cnnmoney/"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">CNN interview</span></a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> the day after his landslide win in the Sunshine State
that he’s “not concerned about” the “very poor.” They have a safety net to
provide them with food, health care, and income support. Rather it’s the
“middle class” he’s “concerned about” given their dismal condition in the Obama
economy, with nowhere to turn.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Perfectly reasonable. Except for the fact that “concerned
about” can be conflated with “care about.” Many in the media have even
taken to claiming falsely that Romney, in fact, said he did not “care about”
the “very poor.” Even Newt Gingrich </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june12/nevada_02-03.html"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">chimed in, falsely claiming</span></a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that what Romney actually said was “I don’t really care
about the very poor.” (I seem to remember Newt saying he’d “tell the
truth.”) </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The irony, of course, is that Gov. Romney began the interview
by stating clearly, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“I’m in this race because I care about
Americans.” That would encompass all 300 million plus—very poor, very rich and
everyone in between.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Can you believe that in a country where 1 out of 3 working
adults are on food stamps, the median income keeps going down, down, down,
college kids can</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’t</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> find
summer work in numbers not seen since records were kept, we’re actually
worried that Mitt Romney’s shorthand business-speak could be misconstrued?</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nonetheless, Governor Romney clarified what he meant in
an </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Ymvf0WEVM"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">interview</span></a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> with John Ralston,
political columnist for the <i>Las Vegas Sun</i>. He “misspoke,” he
said. What he intended to say, as he’s said countless times, is that he’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>focused<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>on the middle class so that not
only will they stay there but more will join their ranks</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">—some even moving further up the wealth scale</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">And, if anyone</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">s focused, it</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">s Mitt Romney. And, good that he is—because if the middle
class expands, it will redound to everyone’s benefit, including the poor.
The greatly diminished middle class purchasing power is wreaking havoc
across-the-board, whereas an increase in this power would have a salutary
effect on the economy—to say nothing of all the other positive outcomes a
booming middle class would have on our nation, where, in many communities,
there’s suffering reminiscent of the Great Depression. Yet the media
conveniently overlooks this real story—accepting on blind faith that
unemployment is going down—irrespective of the far-harsher underlying reality,
as<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/5/curl-obamas-made-up-jobless-numbers/print/">Joseph
Curl writes</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in “Obama’s
made-up jobless numbers.” </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Where are the photos, such as Dorothea Lange</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’s</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> famous Depression-era </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">“</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/316062.html"><span style="color: #436590; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: none;">Migrant Mother</span></a></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">,</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">”</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;"> that
capture just how bad it is out there in Obama</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">’s America</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">? If the media would just cover the real hardship faced
by American families in Obama’s economy, we’d figure out in a nanosecond just
how fake those job numbers are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">But no, the media prefers covering Mitt Romney’s alleged
callous words, while staying mum on the actual impact of Obama’s misguided
policies—his deeds<i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Class dismissed. Though something tells me the media will
keep flunking this one. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Updated: February 7, 2012.</span></span></div>
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</div>Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-44560648174415019922012-01-31T08:40:00.000-08:002012-12-20T19:22:36.384-08:00Newt Tells the Truth<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYnJ6z8yMaBT-vj98woI04D39Tqty8DF-Iwq5_KuhhLv3uOR7trjI8A3I9kWbijrQb4Gspq4uexAsOnfqnd3wZ8XCgRn9LhcQIr4AJNsqute4Bz1LRmfXV-LnvJ7tWwgWQAti6usPSwyT/s1600/Winston+Churchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 19px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYnJ6z8yMaBT-vj98woI04D39Tqty8DF-Iwq5_KuhhLv3uOR7trjI8A3I9kWbijrQb4Gspq4uexAsOnfqnd3wZ8XCgRn9LhcQIr4AJNsqute4Bz1LRmfXV-LnvJ7tWwgWQAti6usPSwyT/s320/Winston+Churchill.jpg" width="201" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Newt Gingrich likes to compare himself to Winston Churchill, <br />shown here in 1939, London, England, UK, when </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">he was </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">First Lord </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px;">of the Admiralty. </span><span style="background-color: #f9fbf8; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f9fbf8; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Credit: Bettmann/CORBIS </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, lucinda, geneva, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 19px;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Mary Claire Kendall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
been quite a month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After
Newt’s distant fourth-place finish in Iowa, the former House Speaker <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71056.html">vowed</a> to
“tell the truth” about former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“We are not going
to go out and run nasty ads, but I do reserve the right to tell the truth,” he
told less than 100 supporters just before jetting out of Des Moines. “If the truth seems negative, that may be
more a comment on his [Romney’s] record than the nature of politics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh, but it’s been
nasty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To win
South Carolina, Newt’s “independent”—wink, wink, nod, nod—super PAC carpet-bombed
the state with a <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45911039/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.Twr7XqVWqHc">27-minute video</a> accusing Mitt of “predatory” business
practices. So says former Newt confidant, now independent Newt super PAC head,
Rick Tyler. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After Newt won
South Carolina, he couldn’t be bothered with that insignificant former Governor sharing the debate stage with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-image: initial; border-left-color: windowtext; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: windowtext; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1pt; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Whatever
happened to Reagan’s 11<sup>th</sup> commandment? In the heat of battle, you lob attacks, based
on a candidate’s record, and defend yourself when you think you’ve been
unfairly attacked. But, once the battle’s been waged, you observe all the
niceties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Not
Newt.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He routinely calls Mitt a “liar,”
brandishing his political knife aimed squarely at </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">the Gov,</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">”</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> acting just like a Shark in
a scene straight out of </span><i style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">West Side Story.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But,
cross over into Brooklyn to a far different 50s reality—the set of “I Love
Lucy”—and you’ll find imaginatively fertile higher ground to help Republicans
live the 11<sup>th</sup> commandment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Take a
glimpse of <a href="http://www.tv.com/video/10542672/i-love-lucy--lucy-tells-the-truth">“Lucy Tells the Truth,”</a> first airing on November 9, 1953</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.
Ricky and the Mertzes are fed up with Lucy’s constant fibbing. She had just finished embellishing the truth,
saying she played a starring role in <i>Oklahoma</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">You
know—like when Newt <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286068/gingrich-gestalt-mark-steyn?pg=2.">compares himself to historic leaders</a> such as Winston
Churchill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Inspired
by this episode, Mitt, being the solutions-oriented businessman he is, decided
to accept Newt’s Lincoln-Douglas debate challenge. The only catch is, just like
Ricky and the Mertzes, who bet Lucy she couldn’t tell just the truth for 24
hours, Newt had to tell the truth no matter what. Here are a few snippets from <i>that debate.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">FADE IN:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">INT. DEBATE
AUDITORIUM—NIGHT <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Romney-Gingrich Lincoln-Douglas-style debate is just starting. All eyes are on the former Speaker as Mitt
Romney addresses a question to him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MITT
ROMNEY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mr.
Speaker, you said Freddie Mac paid you <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">$1.6
million to provide historical commentary.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Wasn’t
that a bit of a stretch? Some could <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">even
say, well, you were <i>lying</i>—something <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">you often
accuse me of?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gingrich
nervously fidgets and looks at Mitt Romney, who is trying to suppress a smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">CLOSE-UP:
Beads of sweat popping out on Newt’s brow as, for once, he’s speechless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> MITT
ROMNEY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Mr. Speaker, was it
a lie? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> NEWT
GINGRICH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> OK, it was a bit of a stretch. But, this is W</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ashington. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Stretches are our stock in trade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> MITT
ROMNEY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> You mean you didn't tell the the whole truth? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0px;">NEWT
GINGRICH</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Well, if you seem
shocked by it… yes... I could </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> have provided a more precise definition. But,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> historical commentary is what I do best. It fit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">CLOSE-SHOT:
Ron Paul’s eyes bugging out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">INT.
DEBATE AUDITORIUM—LATER <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
debate continues. Newt is sweating
profusely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MITT
ROMNEY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mr.
Speaker, you said you were a Goldwater <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Republican
at the first Florida debate, but in <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">1988
when that wasn’t too cool, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJQsLFhuyOY">you bragged </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">you were actually a
Rockefeller Republican. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Which
one is it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gingrich
nervously fidgets and looks at Rick Santorum, who is all eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> NEWT
GINGRICH<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> Neither. But, it seemed right in the moment.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MITT
ROMNEY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s
what you accuse <i>me</i> of! Isn’t
that <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">a
little hypocritical?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Newt sheepishly
nods his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">CLOSE-SHOT:
Rick Santorum’s eyes bugging out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> FADE OUT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now
back to reality where Reagan’s 11<sup>th </sup>commandment is being ripped to
shreds. (</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Newt didn</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">’t even congratulate </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px;">the Gov</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 21px;">” for his landslide win in the Sunshine State.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But,
it doesn’t have to be that way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2747299467160161943.post-77761872713575373832012-01-30T20:02:00.000-08:002013-07-22T19:37:41.044-07:00The Wealth of Romney<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdKbaQ8h58fMHi_dOntVjyP01lMJ85RGzIXDZuFsPbl1XnuXlAwzv52eaPD-gEilNBBZ9TyCp97h4i3YoaFhq70DcSM7ZRFPzIzuNsEOeaxLLey-30BHWdlCcL_xcbeI9-Ez6d5GCXdF9/s1600/Mitt+and+Ann+Romney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMdKbaQ8h58fMHi_dOntVjyP01lMJ85RGzIXDZuFsPbl1XnuXlAwzv52eaPD-gEilNBBZ9TyCp97h4i3YoaFhq70DcSM7ZRFPzIzuNsEOeaxLLey-30BHWdlCcL_xcbeI9-Ez6d5GCXdF9/s1600/Mitt+and+Ann+Romney.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitt and Ann Romney<br />
Source: RomneyCentral.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Mary Claire Kendall</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">National Journal’s</span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Amy Walter said
on </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/watch/this-week/SH559082/VD55165172/this-week-0122--interview-with-rick-santorum"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ABC’s <i>This
Week</i> </span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that former Governor Mitt Romney will have to “defend his
wealth.” Is she serious? </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/05/the-net-worth-of-the-us-presidents-from-washington-to-obama/57020/"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Presidents with
wealth</span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> are the norm. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/would-mitt-romney-be-the-richest-president-ever/2012/01/25/gIQADv8fQQ_blog.html"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">President George
Washington</span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (1789-1797) in today’s dollars was worth $525 million.
Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and
John F. Kennedy were all immensely wealthy, as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The big push since </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://palintweets.com/2012/01/breaking-palin-urges-romney-to-release-tax-returns-provide-proof-of-100000/"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sarah Palin</span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and
company started squawking about it was for Romney to release his tax returns to
reveal <i>just how wealthy</i> he is. Romney was skewered after
he responded “maybe” when John King asked at the CNN debate in Charleston if he
would follow his father, Governor George Romney’s example. In 1967, he released
all his taxes when he was running for president, thus inaugurating the
tradition of presidential candidates releasing their returns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The press pounced saying Romney’s “maybe” showed his utter lack
of preparation and possible cover-up, which is pure poppycock. Rather, it was
simply a son saying I’m going to think for myself instead of moving lock-step
with my father. This simple explanation apparently occurred to no one.
The allegation this was a major flubbed answer was repeated ad nauseam during
the news cycle after the debate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">But, bowing to reality, on Tuesday, January 24,
Mitt Romney released his taxes for 2010 and 2011. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He didn’t need to do this. As the Tax History
Project </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">notes</span></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
“Individual income tax returns—including those of public figures—are private
information, protected by law from unauthorized disclosure. Indeed, the
Internal Revenue Service is barred from releasing any taxpayer information
whatsoever, except to authorized agencies and individuals.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JFK clung to this right. But, last I checked he was not being
denounced in history books as a greedy capitalist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, the reason Washington and TR could
not release their tax returns is that there <i>were no</i> income taxes.
Until the 16<sup>th</sup> amendment passed in 1916, enabling this
pernicious tax on precious income, two-thirds of federal revenue was derived
from the alcohol tax. The income tax was a sop to the prohibition lobby in
order to banish alcohol from the land. The rest of the federal pie was
garnered from tariffs, which successfully protected American industry and
thereby our economy and work ethic.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">But, Romney waved his right. And, what
did his returns show? He </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/business/economy/mitt-romney-paid-more-taxes-than-he-owed-high-low-finance.html?ref=todayspaper"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">paid more taxes</span></a></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> than he owed. Furthermore, when factoring in his
charitable contributions, he gave away about 40% of his income.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To suggest his reticence to release his
tax returns is proof he’s hiding something is, therefore, also pure
poppycock. Rather, it shows his class and sensitivity to the feelings of
others in these tough times when many can’t afford new clothing but only a
patch to fix their old clothing. But then, the essence of wealth is what
you hold in your heart not your bank account, which countless souls, who are
not so materially blessed as the Romneys, know—in spades. Still, Romney’s
reticence to flaunt his wealth is laudable.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The irony is that Romney’s own true wealth lies in his desire to
make life better for his fellow Americans by <i>turning around</i> the
disastrous Obama economy—the worst since the Great Depression. Obama, for
his part, disregards Americans’ feelings as he goes about spending lavishly on
himself and his re-election campaign with taxpayer money—<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">including unnecessary million-dollar-plus trips on Air
Force One to swing states—acting as cool as a cucumber except when excoriating
Republicans.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Obama’s</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uHR90Sq6k"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">crooning</span></a></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> provides more alleviation of pain than his
policies. But, President Romney will know the right levers to pull on Day
One in January 2013 to start ameliorating the suffering of Americans—by singing
the right policy tune when, once again, to quote President Calvin Coolidge,
“the business of America (will be) business.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yet, Romney still doesn’t cut it for some.
For instance, Doris Kearns Goodwin </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46181588/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/meet-press-transcript-jan/#.TyYAzMVWqHc"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">asserted on <i>Meet
the Press</i></span></a></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> that all wealthy presidents had some life
experience that enabled them to relate to the sufferings of ordinary people.
TR lost his wife and mother the same day—Valentine’s Day 1884.
FDR had polio. And, JFK was Captain of PT 109 in World War
II. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not so Romney. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">What she conveniently overlooks is that when
presented with one of the </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w3mKH1EzRA&feature=relmfu"><span style="color: #436590; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">greatest
challenges a man can face</span></a></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">—his
wife Ann’s diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998 and later breast cancer—Mitt
Romney was precisely in the tradition she points to. Indeed,
the compassionate way he handled this crisis in his life shows his
greatest wealth lies in his heart.</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Update: </span></b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The hue
and cry over Governor Romney's comment regarding the “very poor” in the wake of
his Florida landslide, overlooks the obvious. Of course, he “cares” about
the “very poor.” His 10% annual tithing, much of which benefits the “very
poor,” is proof of that. But, it is by</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">focusing</span></b> <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">on
the shrinking “middle class” <b>strata</b>, that many who are now “very
poor,” will leave those ranks. For, if Romney is anything, he’s focused.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mary Claire Kendallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17488498616555449660noreply@blogger.com0