Putin lectures Blair; Hatch ambushes Schumer

offeror

It always seemed like GW was a bit naive to treat Vladimir Putin like a brother at Camp David, with all that praise and "comrad"-erie for the former KGB man. Now we have Putin making cheap jokes before the cameras to embarrass Tony Blair, saying sarcastically that maybe Saddam is sitting underground on piles of WMDs preparing to kill hundreds of thousands of people, and criticizing the concept of "subscribing" to U.S. leadership.

I just can't work up a good case of sympathy for that side of things; it's still too soon after 9/11 for me to feel bad about flexing a bit of superpower muscle toward those who deserve it. I agree we are not the world's police, but when people accuse us lately of being unilateral I think they forget that we, not they, are at a state of war on terror where we find it.

I'm reminded of the Arab who gave New York several million bucks after 9/11, but then couched it in a statement that he hoped we would learn more about the Arab side of things as a result of the Twin Towers. The mayor sent the millions back the same day. For me, it's still too soon to get all touchy-feely and settle back with Queen Noor's book; there's still a war on terror going on, there's a good reason for it, and a part of it is to raise the stakes for messing with the U.S.

On the lighter side, Orin Hatch accused Senator Schumer not once but 3 times today of asking a court nominee "dumb-* questions." Name-calling? Technically, but at least he said it was the questions that were dumb-*, not the Senator... Schumer the anti-gunner is fighting a conservative nominee for the Fifth District, which is the court that SUPPORTED the individual right reading of the Second Amendment recently. The Dems claim their objection to these judge nominees is about Roe v. Wade but my guess is Schumer would like to weaken a pro gun court too.

Oh, and O'Reilly in the "no spin zone" called Scott Petersen a jerk (several times) tonight to the face of a producer of this week's A&E special on the death of Laci Petersen. Must be something in the air today. Is our supply of patient listening to spin used up for now?

Life NRA Member

T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

salzo

I have been watching the Senate confirmations on Cspan for the past couple of months-great entertainment. It is amazing watching some of these senators lie through their teeth. It is also very funny watching these leftist senators getting up and speaking so sanctimoniously about the constitution their opinions completely devoid of any historical fact.-and Schumer is the worst of the bunch. He has absolutely no problem lying, no matter who is listening. During the Estrada fillibuster, Schumer was speaking oh so piously about how important it was for the Senate to exercise their constitutional role of advice and consent, all the while he was participating in not allowing the Senate to vote up or down for Estrada. He actually said the majority of Senators do not want Estrada, even though a majority of Senators were prepared to vote for his confirmation-but Schumer and his cronies would not allow it to come to a vote.

"It is important, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments into one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.."
-George Washington

oughtsix

Offeror,

Do you really think that what we see and hear in photo ops (Bush and Putin) is not just poposturing for public consumption? Do you think, with advisers like Cheney, Runsfield and Rice, that the private assessments of foriegn leaders within the administration could be so naive?

Otherwise, nice post, and I couldn't agree with you more. As to your final question, I certainly hope so!

Oughtsix

ElMuertoMonkey

Nothing wrong with being an ex-KGB man. After all, when all is said and done, the dude looks like a James Bond villain. The KGB credentials are a prerequisite at that point...

offeror

ought -- I have no doubt the staff balanced his personal enthusiasm with plenty of caution, but George W. did make some off-the-cuff "aw shucks" remarks about what a great guy Putin was during his visit to the States. I also have no doubt Bush has "accurized" his opinion since then based on events. It certainly doesn't need saying that Dubya has had a most challenging presidency thus far, and his learning curve has been steep.

Life NRA Member

T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."