Reid caves, will seat Burris

I just don't get it. Why even bother with the posturing when the end result is always the same? This isn't even about seating Burris anymore. Harry Reid is just wasting our time. We need a leader in the Senate who can think two steps ahead, while at the same time keeping his party in line and kicking Republican ass. Is this too much to ask? Apparently it is.

Update: Reid's office is denying the cave. Either way it's just a matter of time.

More stimulus

Just as Obama's stroking egos right now, Republicans are posturing. They need to seem relevant and they have yet to figure out how irrelevant they actually are. That being said, with their posturing taking the form of slowing the stimulus package down (and their sudden discovery of fiscal responsibility) it's hard not to think that they still don't get it. Action is needed to save the economy and that action is now urgent because they sat on their hands for years by refusing to spend or obstructing it. America is in trouble and the GOP better get out of the way or we are all sunk.

Stimulus

As with most things Obama, we have to wait to see what kind of compromises with Republicans he will make. The tax cuts announced were expected (and Democrat friendly). If anything, $300 billion in tax cuts as 40% of the total package may mean that the spending part of Obama's stimulus will be even bigger than expected (maybe even hitting the trillion mark). Obama's playing politics and stroking egos right now. I don't think he's a Charlie Brown in waiting. His election campaign showed us as much.

More Panetta

I have no idea if putting a person free of significant intelligence experience in charge of the CIA is a good idea or a bad one, but if doing so pisses off Dianne Feinstein then I'm all for it. Feinstein was a torture enabler and as such she gets no say.

Leon Panetta

Along the same lines as my last post, how sad is it that I'm happy the new CIA Director is against torture? This shouldn't even be a debate, let alone a cause for joy.

Quote of the Day

"This is an excellent day for those who believe in presidential adherence to the rule of law [...]" -- Digby, reacting to Obama's great pick of Dawn Johnsen to head the DOJ's Office of Legal Council. It's a sad day when we cheer presidential adherence to the rule of law, but such is the state Bush & Cheney have left us in.

Paul Krugman scares me

And, hopefully, since he has a bit of Obama's ear, Obama is scared too and will listen.

Here’s my nightmare scenario: It takes Congress months to pass a stimulus plan, and the legislation that actually emerges is too cautious. As a result, the economy plunges for most of 2009, and when the plan finally starts to kick in, it’s only enough to slow the descent, not stop it. Meanwhile, deflation is setting in, while businesses and consumers start to base their spending plans on the expectation of a permanently depressed economy — well, you can see where this is going.

So this is our moment of truth. Will we in fact do what’s necessary to prevent Great Depression II?

Read more.

Truth in Comics

If it's Sunday, it's Truth in Comics.

Just the facts please

Upon hearing the news that Greg Sargent will be leaving TPM, former McCain blogger, Michael Goldfarb whines [via Matt]:

[. . .] TPM set the bar pretty high this election. Republicans have no equivalent outlet. Any strategy to revive the party's fortunes will require developing the kind of online infrastructure the Democrats now have in place, but you can't do that without a bunch of right-wing Greg Sargents.

Yes, but, Greg Sargent is a reporter. Reporters deal with facts. Conservatives would not know a fact if it smacked them in the face. You can't gain the credibility TPM has with bluster and spin alone. Try again.

More legacy polishing

Today, taking center stage on the Bush Legacy tour is national security adviser Stephen Hadley and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten:

Bolten said another of his goals when he took over was to try to get the country to see the likable boss he and other aides saw in private, convinced that would boost Bush's popularity. "I failed miserably," he conceded. "Maybe in the beginning of the sixth year of a presidency, that's a quixotic task. . . . But everybody who has actual personal exposure to the president, almost everybody, appreciates what a good leader he is, how smart he is and, especially, how humane he is."

Hadley invoked Bush's 2000 campaign theme in summing up the president's personal qualities. "He has got this great compassion which was not just a slogan, 'compassionate conservative.' It is who he is. It is one of the great things he brought to this office," Hadley concluded. "This is the one thing that just drives me crazy, that somehow this is an arrogant administration, an arrogant president running an arrogant policy. This guy -- one thing he is not is arrogant.

Laughable. Isn't it? Here's the thing, after eight years the American people have gotten to know this president and we all agree he is an incompetent, intellectually incurious, arrogant, stubborn, emotionally detached, ass. Really, folks, enough with the legacy shining, you're just making yourselves look worse.

The seating of Burris

While I generally believe Burris should not be seated (Blago's taint, his hubris, and his hair are reasons enough), I do find myself cringing at the thought of some kind of fight over it. I kind of wish Harry Reid relents now, as opposed to a few weeks from now, because in the end whenever Democrats dig in their heels, they invariably make some sort of stupid compromise that has them looking weaker than they would have if they just relented sooner. Not to mention, legally, Reid may have no choice, which is something the Dems should have considered before they decided to stick out their chests, spread their feathers, and parade around like peacocks on the prowl.

Please go away

The lamest of ducks [via AMERICAblog]:

"Earlier this year, I promised that I would sprint to the finish of my time as President," Bush said in the statement. "We are working hard to keep that promise."

If by "sprint" he meant "stumble" then I think he's fulfilled that promise. 19 days.