Shoe Jokes, Bush and Cheney and Rove, Oh My!

What's more important today than the Afghan group leaving tnt in Printemps Haussman, a Paris department store because they want French troops out of Afghanistan, or our own Ken Salazar named as Interior Secretary? Why shoeicide jokes, of course. From the late night tv hosts:

Letterman: I don't think President Bush has dodged anything like that since, well, the Vietnam War.

Leno: Looks like we finally found something President Bush is good at - dodgeball!

Ferguson: The shoe-throwing incident has made Sarah Palin want to be president even more. Free shoes! You betcha!

Conan: He's being hailed as a hero in Iraq... when he dies he'll be greeted in heaven by 172 podiatrists.

We all know by now how the Bush administration lied to us to get us to approve of his going to war in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was no friend to al Qaeda, and, in fact, these outside agitators and fighters didn't become a problem until we occupied Iraq without a coherent plan or sealing the borders, practically inviting all unemployed freedom fighters into the country. In this following snippet from an interview between President George Bush and Martha Raddatz of ABC News, talking about the war on terror:

BUSH: One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take-

RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.

BUSH: Yeah, that's right. So what? The point is that al Qaeda said they're going to take a stand. Well, first of all in the post-9/11 environment Saddam Hussein posed a threat. And then upon removal, al Qaeda decides to take a stand.

Bush is like a shark, always moving forward, no looking back, no reflections on his past behavior. I think he ate those shoes thrown at him and we won't discover them until some angler catches him while fishing off the coast of Dallas...

In an interview with Rush Limbaugh (via Politico), Vice President Dick Cheney predicted that the next president will appreciate the way he and George Bush expanded executive power.

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place," Cheney said.

"We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested," Cheney added. "The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster."  And, you know, I think Cheney is right, despite the personal abuse of his power and privileges. 

Speaking of someone who ignores subpoenas from Congress and claims executive privilege, here we actually get to watch the master of spin setting up the AG nominee for a Republican challenge to his confirmation, with the milktoast Matt Lauer from NBC. This occurred a couple of weeks ago, and since then he has been keeping in the media spotlight alternately complementing and criticizing Obama's picks and behavior. You know something is screwy when Karl Rove suggest more transparency... 

Matt Lauer: But let me ask you to kind of nitpick a little bit. Is there a weak link in this team [announced by Obama], in your opinion?

Karl Rove: Well, first of all, there were two team members whom I thought were not really part of the team, and that is the Homeland Security secretary and the attorney general...Eric Holder, who is the one controversial nominee whom...

Lauer: Controversial why? Why do you think he's controversial?

Rove: Well, because he was deeply involved as deputy attorney general in the controversial pardon of Mark Rich, and did so in an inappropriate way.

Lauer: Do you think that's going to become an issue?

Rove: Well, I think it's going to be clearly examined if for no other reason than people want to lay down markers that that kind of behavior is inappropriate. He was number two guy at the Justice Department, having private conversations with the representatives of a fugitive, you know, a number--on the number 10 list, and didn't even tell the investigating agencies within Justice Department or the pardons office that he was having these conversations.

Lauer: But you think he'll be confirmed with no problem.

Rove: Well, in all likelihood. But again, there will be some attention paid to this.

Lastly, here's a story reported by Walter Alarkon from the Huffington Post, with George Bush stumping for his older brother, Jeb Bush. If Jeb had been President instead, would we be in the same mess we are now? Would his younger brother George have known how to cheat on election returns and get away with it, throwing his state in support of his brother and thereby winning the election for him?

President Bush said the Republican Party could benefit from having another Bush, his younger brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in Washington.

"He would be an awesome U.S. Senator," the president said.

In an interview with RealClearPolitics, President Bush said that both the GOP and the state of Florida would gain from having Jeb Bush in the Senate.

"He is a proven leader who, when given responsibilities, succeeded," Jeb's older brother said.

The ex-governor is considering a 2010 bid for the seat held by Sen. Mel Martinez (R), who has decided against running for a second term. Jeb Bush served two terms as governor, from 1999 to 2007.

President Bush also downplayed losses by Republicans in the past election, saying that they weren't as overwhelmed at the ballot box as they had been in past years. He said he thought the United States was still a "center-right country."

"I think most Americans want their government to be effective, results-oriented, efficient," he said. "They would like to pay as little a tax as possible. They want their military to be strong, viable, and effective. They want their public leaders to promote personal responsibility by living responsible lives. Most people are - from the cultural side, believe in an Almighty. The question is how you take those basic beliefs and explain them, either through policy or words, in a way where there's common understanding."

Yeah, I know, I was feeling pretty lazy this morning and just did a lot of cutting and pasting. It must be the weather, below freezing and even the cat won't go out in it. Not even the second cup of coffee is helping, maybe the third time will be the charm... today's combination is dark roasted Sumatran with medium roasted Javanese.