The Bloom coming off the rose?

The Bloom coming off the rose?

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From the liberal media, Bloomberg News:

Palin's Ethics Scrapes May Undercut Pledge to End Old Politics
By Timothy J. Burger and Tony Hopfinger

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate sent a signal that he would end business as usual and cronyism in government. Her record shows the Alaska governor engaged in some of the same practices she and McCain now condemn.

Palin's office approved a state job for a friend and campaign aide with whom she shared a land investment, financial records and interviews over the past two weeks show. She hired a former lobbyist for a pipeline company to help oversee a multibillion-dollar deal with that same company.

She named a police chief accused of harassment to head the state police. And she sent campaign e-mails on her city hall account while serving as mayor of Wasilla -- conduct for which she later turned in an oil commissioner on ethics charges.

These incidents raise ``some serious questions about her judgment and serious questions about her standards of ethics in public service,'' said James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in Washington. Suggesting a real estate investment partner for a job ``may be acceptable in Alaska; it would not be acceptable in Washington, D.C., a place whose norms she wants to change.''

Palin defeated an incumbent governor, a fellow Republican, in 2006 charging that her party's old guard had committed ethical lapses and become too cozy with special interests, including oil companies. A central theme in this year's presidential campaign has been that Palin's record demonstrates the change a McCain administration would bring to Washington.

Recent statements by the governor may erode that claim. In her acceptance speech last week, she suggested that she opposed the infamous ``Bridge to Nowhere,'' a $223 million earmark for a bridge to an island where only 53 people lived.

For It, Against It

When Palin, 44, campaigned for governor, however, she said she was in favor of the bridge. In 2007, she canceled the project in the face of national outrage. The state never returned the money allocated by the federal government, with some of the funds going toward other state and local projects.

And as mayor of Wasilla, a job she held for six years until 2002, Palin hired lobbyists to get federal funding for local projects. Wasilla secured $27 million in earmarks for the town of about 9,000 that included a rail project and a youth center.

Shortly after she was elected governor, Palin's office signed off on hiring Deborah Richter -- who attended college for a year then worked in bookkeeping and finance jobs -- as director of a division that distributes dividends to Alaskans from the state's oil-wealth savings account.

Richter, who said she's known Palin for 13 years, was Palin's gubernatorial campaign treasurer and ran her inaugural committee.

Sharing an Investment

The Richters and Palins also shared an investment: 30 acres of rural property near a lake in Petersville, Alaska, worth $47,300, according to Matanuska-Susitna Borough data.

``It sounds like a patronage deal for someone who ran your campaign; that's pretty normal,'' said Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity in Washington. ``What's not normal is that they have business dealings together.''

No evidence has emerged to suggest that laws were broken in the appointment, and Richter said she ``didn't go in there with any promises from the governor or the chief of staff or anybody. I turned in my resume'' to the governor's transition team ``and I didn't know if anyone was going to call me.''

``She was qualified,'' said Pat Galvin, commissioner of the Department of Revenue and Richter's boss. Galvin said he also interviewed other people for the job and that Richter has done well. He said Palin's office approved his selection of Richter.

Not Palin's Decision

Palin's gubernatorial spokesman, William McAllister, said the decision to hire Richter was Galvin's. ``I have no knowledge of land ownership or college degrees,'' he said.

Deborah Richter gave up her share of the property last September in a divorce settlement that followed an affair with Palin's legislative director, John Bitney. Bitney and Richter both acknowledged the affair in interviews. Bitney said Palin fired him over it; Richter is still on the job. They are now married.

Last month, Palin signed a law granting TransCanada Corp., Canada's largest pipeline company, an exclusive state license and up to $500 million in subsidies to proceed with work on a $27 billion pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Alaska to other U.S. markets.

Once a Lobbyist

Marty Rutherford, the chief coordinator behind Palin's pipeline effort, once worked as an Alaska lobbyist for a TransCanada pipeline subsidiary, according to state records. Rutherford, deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, earned $40,200 as a lobbyist for 10 months in 2003 working for Foothills, the subsidiary.

Rutherford said in an interview that she only did consulting work for the company, including reviewing natural gas legislation. She said the work had no bearing on her future job as coordinator of Palin's pipeline team.

``I intended to leave state government when I went to Jade North, but as time went on I realized my heart was in government,'' she said, referring to the firm she briefly worked for.

Palin told the Anchorage Daily News last December that Rutherford's work with Foothills wasn't a conflict because it had been five years earlier.

Trooper Investigation

The governor already has triggered an investigation by the Alaska legislature into whether she fired the state commissioner of public safety, Walt Monegan, for not removing a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce from Palin's sister.

Palin has denied exerting any pressure on Monegan and said she dismissed him because she wanted to take the department in a new direction.

Since McCain picked Palin, seven Palin aides have declined to be interviewed on the matter by an investigator hired by the Alaska legislature, according to the House and Senate Judiciary committees.

Earlier this year, Palin found herself apologizing for her handling of Monegan's replacement. About six weeks before she learned McCain wanted her to be his vice president, she named Kenai, Alaska, police chief Charles Kopp to replace Monegan.

On July 25, two weeks after being appointed, Kopp resigned amid scrutiny over a 2005 sexual-harassment complaint against him while he was chief in Kenai. The complaint resulted in a letter of reprimand from the city, which Palin told reporters she never knew about and had believed that the allegations were unsubstantiated, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Not a Harasser

In a July press conference, Kopp denied any harassment. ``I've always done every job I've ever done with honor and integrity,'' he said. ``There is one thing I am not. I am not a sex harasser.'' Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Asked about these episodes in Palin's career, McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds lauded her reform efforts. Bounds said Palin has allowed the public to scrutinize state financial information, ``cut wasteful spending by a quarter of a billion dollars just last year and ushered in landmark ethics legislation.''

The moment that crystallized her image as a reformer came when she turned in state Republican chairman Randy Ruedrich after discovering he was using his state e-mail account to conduct party business.

Palin and Ruedrich were serving together as commissioners on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state regulatory agency, at the time. Ruedrich resigned from the commission in November 2003, and was later fined $12,000, according to a 2004 article in the Anchorage Daily News.

In 2006, Palin found herself asking forgiveness for a similar offense from her past, according to a July 28, 2006, article in the Anchorage Daily News. She had sent campaign e- mails from her Wasilla mayor's office in 2002, when she made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor.

``For any mistakes like that (were) made, I apologize,'' Palin said of the e-mail controversy in July 2006, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

For Related News: For news on the election: STNI ELEC2008 For news on McCain: BIO JOHN S MCCAIN For news on Palin: BIO SARAH LOUISE PALIN

__________________

"It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit."
--Sir Noël Coward

The idea is to try to give all the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another.
--Richard P. Feynman

Palin Also Supported 'The Road To Nowhere' (And May Still)

September 4, 2008 03:58 PM


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Read More: Bridge To Nowhere, Palin, Palin Bridge To Nowhere, Palin Earmarks, Palin Fiscal Discipline, Palin Juneau Road, Palin Mccain, Palin Pork, Palin Road, Palin Road To Nowhere, Palin Wasteful Spending, Sarah Palin, Politics News
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While a debate rages over how honest Sarah Palin has been in stating her opposition to the infamous Bridge To Nowhere, another massive, widely-criticized transportation project is lingering in Alaska.

The "Road To Nowhere" is a $375 million "mega-project" designed to connect Juneau to the towns of Haines and Skagway via 50 miles of new road along the steep slopes of an avalanche-battered canal, ending at a ferry terminal at the Haines river.

As of 2005, Haines had a population of 2,400, while Skagway had 870 residents.

According to the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project, a group promoting "sensible transportation systems in the state," the Road to Nowhere is an irresponsible waste. The project has received more than $100 million in federal and state funding. This includes a $15 million dollar federal earmark and approximately $24 million in federal dollars passed through to the state. But it remains far from completion - hampered by opposition, environmental and safety concerns, and general wariness over its utility.

Palin has been anything but a steady fiscal hawk on the matter. The Governor came into office saying she supported the road, which was started under her predecessor Frank Murkowski. In an October 2006 questionnaire by Anchorage Daily News, she simply wrote "Yes" when asked "Do you support building a road from Juneau to Skagway?"

But even Palin's own transition team recognized, in its report, that the Bridge and Road to Nowhere were "seen as a severe drain on resources that would otherwise be assigned to heavily used commercial and passenger routes." And yet, Palin has not definitely ruled out the construction of the road. She canceled plans for an 11-mile gravel road that could have been part of the Juneau Road project. And after conservation and public interest groups filed a lawsuit in August 2006 to halt the roads construction, Palin's office decided not to move forward while the litigation was pending.

"It doesn't make sense to piecemeal the project when it's in litigation and the outcome could change the whole scope of the project," said the governor's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, at the time. "She feels the most fiscally conservative thing to do is wait."

However, Palin appears to continue to support the project. In October 2007, the Alaska Daily News wrote that the governor "retains an administrative commitment for a Road to Nowhere." Half a year later the paper published an editorial that read:

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"[In canceling the 11-mile strip Palin] wasn't aiming to kill this dubious project, which doesn't even connect Juneau to the rest of Alaska's road system. (It is essentially a 50-mile driveway to a new ferry terminal on Lynn Canal). Her administration has been moving forward with the project, estimated to cost $374 million. That is almost as much as the nationally infamous $398 million Ketchikan bridge to Gravina Island, which Palin did kill."

(Another thing that ties the Bridge to Nowhere with its Road counterpart: the first $15 million for the Juneau road was included in the same bloated transportation bill that had Sen. Ted Steven's most notorious pork project.)

In fairness, Palin could, ultimately, come out against the Road to Nowhere. Certainly, as the running mate on an anti-wasteful spending Republic ticket, it would seem like the most electorally expedient move to make. But until then, the project could prove politically problematic for both her and Sen. John McCain. Opponents say it is wrongheaded for safety and budgetary reasons. The highway runs through several major avalanche zones, which would make the road all but inoperable during the winter. There are environmental concerns that come with the construction. Already, a ferry system allows for passage to most of the sparsely populated areas.

"The plan makes no sense. Instead, Alaska's politicians should do something they don't do very often: they should put the money for the road in the bank," wrote Heather Lende, a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News, in a fierce New York Times op-ed. "The interest alone could go toward operating and maintaining the current Lynn Canal ferry system. A few rules would probably need to change, but I'm confident Alaska's politicians have enough clout when it comes to dealing with federal transportation money to bring this about."

These critiques aside, there are those in Alaska pining for the completion of the road, viewing it as an effective way of connecting the state's capital to surrounding communities. Where Palin stands currently remains undetermined. Certainly, her selection as McCain's vice president puts her in a bit of a bind. There is already a bounty of evidence that clouds her claim to be consistently against the Bridge to Nowhere. An opposition to the Road to Nowhere at this point may also seem driven by political expediency.

"She hasn't been in office that long and she hasn't made a lot of tough decisions," said Lois Epstein, director of the Alaska Transportation Priorities Project. "On the Juneau road project she has said different things. During he campaign she said she was supportive and we have presented her info since the election about what a bad idea it is and how big a black hole and fiscally irresponsible it is for the state. And why the money should be spent elsewhere. We have been really pushing her to cancel the road. But she hasn't made a decision on it. It is up in the air."

Alaska senator didn't know oil company paid bills, lawyer argues

updated 3:54 p.m. EDT, Thu September 25, 2008

Alaska senator didn't know oil company paid bills, lawyer argues

Story Highlights

NEW: Defense attorney said Stevens thought he had paid for renovations

NEW: Sen. Kennedy will be called as a character witness, Stevens' lawyer says

Prosecutor: Sen. Ted Stevens a crafty politician who learned how to hide gifts

Stevens faces charges of failing to report gifts from oil services company


Read VIDEO

From Paul Courson
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican on trial for corruption charges, did not know that an oil company was paying for improvements on his home, Stevens' defense attorney contended in opening statements Thursday.


An artist sketch shows Sen. Ted Stevens' lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, gesturing towards his client.

1 of 2 Stevens is fighting a seven-count indictment accusing him of filing false information on mandatory Senate financial disclosure forms.

Prosecutors say he failed to report gifts and services of substantial value, including improvements to his Alaska home, from oil services contractor Veco Energy, one of the state's biggest employers.

What started as "a one-story, A-frame cabin doubled in size and became a new home from basically the inside out," prosecutor Brenda Morris said in her opening statement.

Stevens thought he had paid in full for the extensive renovations, said Brendan Sullivan, Stevens' attorney, but had been deceived by Bill Allen, a former Alaska businessman who is one of the key witnesses against the senator. Watch why Stevens is on trial »

Allen pleaded guilty in May 2007 to handing out more than $400,000 "in corrupt payments" to Alaska officials, not including Stevens, the Department of Justice said in announcing the Stevens' indictment in July.

Allen is cooperating with the Department of Justice as part of his plea agreement.

Allen arranged for some bills to be kept from Stevens, who had been "promptly" paying the bills he had received, Sullivan contended.

That meant Stevens could not be held responsible for failing to declare gifts, the crime of which he is accused, Sullivan said.

"You can't report what you don't know," Sullivan said.

"They did pay, overall, $160,000 for this renovation project," Sullivan said of Stevens and his wife, Catherine, "which you will find from the evidence is exactly or closely what it should have been."

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But Morris said Stevens had learned how to hide such gifts during the decades he has spent in the Senate, according to The Associated Press.

Morris also charged that Stevens has thumbed his nose at the public's right to know about the gifts, the AP reported.

"You do not survive politics in this town for that long without being very, very smart; very, very deliberate; very forceful and, at the same time, knowing how to fly under the radar," Morris told jurors, the AP reported.

The defense rejected the prosecution's claims.

"Ted Stevens had no intent to violate the law. He did file accurate statements to the best of his knowledge," Sullivan said.

He said the jury will see evidence that Stevens' payments for the renovations "exactly or closely what it should have been."

Morris told the jury Stevens used Veco as a handyman contractor, requesting maintenance on the renovated home.

"We reach for the Yellow Pages," she said. "He reached for Veco."

Stevens is not charged with receiving bribes, although prosecutors allege in the indictment that the senator "could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of Veco."

Stevens hopes to clear his name by November in time for voters to decide whether to re-elect him. He has continued to campaign since his July 29 indictment.

The judge will allow Stevens to be absent from the courtroom in the weeks ahead if Stevens needs to vote on Senate financial bailout legislation. He has asked defense lawyers not to emphasize his possible absence from the courtroom during the trial.

The federal courthouse is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

District Judge Emmet Sullivan warned defense lawyers Wednesday not to use their client's absence to win favor.

"You are not to give the appearance that 'I'm not here because of the business of the people,' the judge said. "Of course, that's a double-edged sword," Sullivan said, referring to troubled efforts to come up with a government bailout plan.

Prosecutors allege that Stevens received more than $250,000 worth of gifts, including a new first floor, garage and deck on his home; a new Land Rover that was exchanged for an older car; and a gas grill.

A sculpture of fish swimming upstream may also come up in testimony, which is said to be worth $29,000. Prosecutors have told the judge "it's a very large statue sitting on his front porch" at the senator's home in Alaska.

Stevens is an avid fisherman. His attorneys have said the sculpture belongs to a foundation that is planning to create a Stevens congressional library.

The jury was seated Wednesday and consists of 11 women and five men.

All 16 will hear the case, with four serving as alternates. Their status will not be disclosed until the end of the trial.

Sullivan also said he planned to call Sen. Edward Kennedy, the veteran Massachusetts Democrat, as a character witness.

Kennedy's office did not comment when contacted by CNN.


Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, are among the prospective witnesses in the trial, according to a list read to the jury pool Monday as part of finding a qualified panel.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is among the more than 200 names on the list. Jury members were asked whether they recognized any of the names. Those selected to serve in the Stevens jury had said they did not know any of the people personally.
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Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

All About Ted Stevens • U.S. Senate

updated 11:18 a.m. EDT, Sat September 22, 2007 'Bridge to nowhere' abandoned

updated 11:18 a.m. EDT, Sat September 22, 2007 'Bridge to nowhere' abandoned

Story Highlights

Bridge to small Alaska island had drawn criticism as "pork"

Funds short for bridge, so money to be redirected, governor says

Money could be used to upgrade ferries or roads, officials say

Next Article in U.S. »




JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere.


The canceled bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on the left, with Gravina Island, on the right.

On Friday, Alaska decided the bridge really was going nowhere, officially abandoning the project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending.

While the move closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help.

"We went through political hot water -- tons of it -- and not just nationally but internationally," Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams said. "We have nothing to show for it."

The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.

Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.

"We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. "The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge."

Palin directed state transportation officials to find the most "fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport. She said the best option would be to upgrade the ferry system.

Ketchikan is Alaska's entry port for northbound cruise ships that bring more than 1 million visitors yearly. Every flight into Gravina Island requires a 15-minute ferry ride to reach the more densely populated Revillagigedo Island.

The town -- seven blocks wide and eight miles long -- has little room to grow. Local officials have said access to Gravina Island, population 50, is needed for the town and its economy to grow.

They called the state's decision premature, saying it came without warning.

"For somebody who touts process and transparency in getting projects done, I'm disappointed and taken aback," said state Rep. Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan. "We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project."

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, both Republicans, championed the project through Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million for the bridge between Revillagigedo and Gravina islands.

Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress stripped the earmark -- or stipulation -- that the money be used for the airport, but still sent the money to the state for any use it deemed appropriate.

Stevens spokesman Aaron Saunders said Friday the senator was interested in how the state ultimately used the money. A spokeswoman for Young said the congressman would have no comment.

Just last month, presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said pet projects could have played a role in a Minnesota bridge collapse that killed 13 people earlier this year.

"Maybe if we had done it right, maybe some of that money would have gone to inspect those bridges and other bridges around the country," McCain told a group of people in a town-hall style meeting in Ankeny, Iowa.

"Maybe the 200,000 people who cross that bridge every day would have been safer than spending $233 million of your tax dollars on a bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 people on it."

On Friday, Leo von Scheben, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, said the bridge money could be used to build roads in Alaska.

"There is no question we desperately need to construct new roads in this state, including in southeast Alaska, where skyrocketing costs for the Alaska Marine Highway System present an impediment to the state's budget and the region's economy," von Scheben said in a statement.

The governor urged Alaskans not to dwell on the bridge.

"Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here," Palin said. "But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened." E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

All About Ted Stevens • Alaska

Fact Check: McCain-lobbyist connections

Fact Check: McCain-lobbyist connections

Story Highlights

Barack Obama asserts that John McCain and Sarah Palin aren't mavericks

Obama campaign cites McCain's use of lobbyists in his campaign

McCain manager Rick Davis, adviser Charlie Black were top lobbyists in D.C.

Obama's case could be undermined by Joe Biden's lobbying ties

Read VIDEO
From Ed Henry
CNN White House Correspondent


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republicans say Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, are mavericks. But in a new ad, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign says not so fast -- they're no maverick reformers.


Sen. John McCain has been criticized for employing top lobbyists in his campaign.

And it's a point that Obama has been making on the campaign trail in recent days.

"John McCain says that he is going to tell all those lobbyists in Washington that their days of running Washington are over, which sounds pretty good until you discover that seven of his top campaign managers and officials are -- guess what? -- former corporate lobbyists," Obama said recently in Flint, Michigan.

It's true: Seven top McCain officials were lobbyists, though the campaign stresses that none is currently registered to lobby Congress:

• One: Campaign manager Rick Davis is a major telecommunications lobbyist.

• Two: Senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann recently faced scrutiny over his foreign lobbying on behalf of the Republic of Georgia, which has been embroiled in a military conflict with Russia.

• Three: Senior adviser Charlie Black was a foreign lobbyist for dictators in Zaire and Angola in the 1980s, fodder for the liberal group MoveOn.org.

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One of the group's recent ads charged, "Charlie Black said he didn't do anything wrong. John McCain should tell Black he did. Call John McCain and tell him to fire Charlie Black." Watch the Republicans' ad calling McCain-Palin mavericks »

• Four: Frank Donatelli, the Republican National Committee's liaison to the McCain campaign, has had clients including Exxon Mobil.

• Five: Economic adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer has lobbied for corporate giants like Koch Industries.

"Both John McCain and Sarah Palin have challenged special interests, challenged their own party. That's the test of courage," Pfotenhauer has said.

• The final two lobbyists are McCain's congressional liaison, John Green, and national finance Co-chairman Wayne Berman. They both lobbied for Fannie Mae, the troubled mortgage giant.

But Obama's case could be undermined by running mate Sen. Joe Biden's close ties to lobbyists, including his son Hunter, who has worked for credit card giant MBNA.

Biden insists that his son's employment had nothing to do with his support of bankruptcy legislation backed by the bank. Watch Palin criticize Biden's change argument »

"I can look you right straight in the eye and guarantee you my son has never, ever, ever lobbied me," Biden said on CNN's "American Morning" on September 4.


The McCain camp stresses that Donatelli and Berman are technically not officials of the campaign, though they are advisers.

But the bottom line is, both sides have ties to lobbyists, meaning whomever wins will have a hard time backing up the rhetoric about change and shaking up Washington.

Rhetorical Sophism From Both Candidates and Both Parties

If there is one thing that has become predictable in the race to the election finish line, it is this: that you can't trust the reliability of the information in the negative ads -- or the negative speeches -- coming from either party. Politics has not changed; it's still a mud fight.

Once one party starts throwing mud, they both do. Personally, I think most of it started at The American Republican Convention -- or at least this is where the real escalation of 'negative campaigning' started. Plus the 'idealistic stereotyping of Sarah Palin with rhetorical information from Alaska that has turned out to be significantly less than 'true' or 'factual'. We don't hear too many Republicans talking about the 'Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere' anymore.

The fight for the 'anti-lobbyist' vote has deteriorated. Let's face it: Both parties and both candidates interact and make deals with lobbyists. I still think that Obama is the most likely candidate of the two to change the face of lobbying in Washington. He started his campaign asserting that he would change the face of lobbyism in Washington. The Republicans only jumped on this 'Democratic, Anti-Lobbyism Horse' at their Convention. Palin was supposed to be the 'new Republican face of change and anti-lobbyism' in Washington. However, many of her claims about how she handled lobbyists and Washington as Governor of Alaska -- in particular her 'thanks but no thanks' story about 'turning her back on Washinton money' has collaped -- it would seem that from what I can gather from CNN and other intenet reports, that Palin received Federal money from Washington for both a 'bridge to nowhere' and a 'road to nowhere' which is a far cry from the self-idealistic claims she made at the Republican Convention...

So what conclusions can we draw from what has been stated here?

Firstly, at least a significant part of 'the bloom seems to have come off of the rose' of Obama's 'new brand of idealistic politics' in the wake of Republican negative advertisement and speech attacks on Obama that have significantly distorted and 'negatively stereotyped' Obama's character and campaign promises (such as the Republican claim that Obama will raise taxes for the middle and lower classes which is not true) -- and Obama returning this same kind of 'negative rhetorical sophism' against the Republicans such as some of his 'lobbyism claims' against McCain...

At the same time, 'the bloom seems to have come off the rose of Sarah Palin' even faster than it has with Obama...

Several of the articles that I have copied off the internet address some of the 'factual vs. sophist' claims that have 'clouded the American campaign race'....

-- dgb, 26th, 2008.

Five Former Secretaries of State Cite Key Issues for Next President

Five Former Secretaries of State Cite Key Issues for Next President
Posted Tuesday, September 16 2008 12:53:29 am


Amanpour and Sesno moderated the round table discussion, scheduled to air on CNN.

Photos by Shameek Patel
By Marissa Moran
Co-Editor-in-Chief

Five former U.S. secretaries of state agreed that the next president should work to better engage America in the global community at a televised panel in Lisner Auditorium on Monday afternoon.

CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour and GW Professor Frank Sesno, a CNN special correspondent and former Washington bureau chief moderated the round table discussion of Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker III, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger, and Colin L. Powell for a CNN broadcast entitled “The Next President: A World of Challenges.”

In an extremely competitive presidential election season, and one highly scrutinized by the press, Amanpour and Sesno looked for substantial, issue-based conversation among the secretaries instead of partisan debate. Amanpour opened by telling the secretaries that they should give “candid, robust, meat and potatoes advice for the next president, whoever that may be.”

Colin Powell responded first by saying that in his first duty as commander in chief, the president must “restore a sense of confidence in the U.S.”

“We must let friends and allies around the world know we are supporting their work in unison,” said Powell, who served as secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush. He said that, as Americans, we “should have confidence in ourselves and in the rest of the world” and that we must convey this strong image to the global community, a large part of which currently views America less than favorably because of interventionist policies abroad.

Madeleine Albright drew laughs from the audience at the beginning of the discussion, saying that if she greeted the newly elected president at his Inaugural Ball, she would say, “Remember that you wanted this job.”

Albright, secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, stressed that the international problems facing the world can only be solved by cooperation between the U.S. and other countries.

“To work with other countries is a sign of strength,” she said.

Though the secretaries agreed that restoration of America's image abroad is essential, some differed on what the next president's top priority will be. Christopher, who served immediately before Albright under President Clinton, said that the primary issue that the new president must work on is the economy, while Baker, President George H.W. Bush's secretary of state, argued that the president must "structure the national security apparatus," making clear the lines of its responsibility. Baker also encouraged "strengthening the elements of American soft power" for the new president's foreign policy.

However, for the U.S. to effectively interact with the rest of the world, Kissinger stressed that the next president should reach a consensus among his principle advisers so as to avoid the "jockeying of position among various advisers." According to Kissinger, who was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and also assistant to the president for national security affairs from 1969 to 1975, once there is unity in the next administration then the U.S. could invite the rest of the world to partake in foreign policy.

The five former secretaries walked on stage to a standing ovation from a sold-out audience of 1,400, which included GW students, members of the press, and more than 80 foreign dignitaries. Tickets for the event sold out within an hour of their release nearly two weeks ago, according to GW Media Relations.

When Amanpour asked for three key points that the president must do to regain the American image abroad, Baker said that he must use American diplomatic, political, and economic elements to the country’s advantage. Albright said that there is “generally a sense that the U.S. is on the wrong side” in world politics, and that many think that the “growing gap between the rich and the poor” is in part due to the U.S.

“We have to have confidence and also humility,” said Albright, who is presently the principle of The Albright Group, LLC, a global strategy firm. “It’s not easy in that office, admitting to the American people that he needs help….He needs to realize that when he’s talking to the American people, he’s (also) talking to a foreign audience.”

Christopher said that his suggestions for the president to regain respect would be to outlaw torture and become a global leader in the climate change crisis. His colleagues agreed with him about outlawing torture and further suggested the shut down of Guantanamo Bay.

When Sesno asked if the current U.S. economic problems would lead to a global recession, Baker said that the situation “will affect the global economy negatively.” Albright said that on an international level, “it doesn’t matter if we’re popular but it does matter if we’re respected and whether other countries want to work with us.”

Powell, who contributed a great deal to the discussion, said in response to Sesno’s inquiry about American policy toward “this” Russia that the new administration must “deal with the Russians in a straightforward, candid way, not emotionally. We have to treat Russia as a proud country with popular political leadership.”

As for relations with Iran, Kissinger also said that the U.S. must be upfront and honest.

“I always believe the best way to begin a negotiation is to tell the other side exactly what you have in mind and the outcome you’re trying to achieve.”

The conversation covered issues of foreign aid, the war in Afghanistan, relations with Pakistan, and a Middle East peace agreement. On the question of U.S. engagement or isolation with the rest of the world, all the secretaries agreed that engagement is the best route. As for the war in Iraq, both Christopher and Powell agreed that the number one priority of the new president will be to encourage the Iraqi government to reach a political reconciliation.

At the end of the event, several GW students from the audience asked questions of the former secretaries of state. The first student, from Greenwich, Conn., asked what message they thought the potential election of the first African-American president would send to the rest of the world. Albright said that she thought it would send a great message abroad, and she was thus supporting Sen. Barack Obama as the presidential nominee.

Sesno then asked Colin Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, what he thought.

“I am an American first and foremost,” said Powell, eliciting a wild cheer from the audience. But he declared that he is “neutral” right now, knowing both the democratic candidate, Sen. Barack Obama and the republican candidate, Sen. John McCain very well.

“We have to get off this ‘lipstick on a pig’ stuff and get to the serious issues,” he said, criticizing the media’s “celebrity” hype surrounding the campaigns. Powell said he is waiting to watch the upcoming debates to make his final decision of whom to support.

“I’m not going to vote for McCain because he’s a friend. I’m not going to vote for Obama because he’s black,” he continued. “Who’s going to keep us safer? Who brings the best judgment and experience to the task?”

The broadcast of the roundtable discussion will air on CNN on Saturday, September 20 at 9 p.m. and on Sunday, September 21 at 2 p.m. EST.