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Entries in George H.W. Bush (2)

Thursday
Jan222009

The Inauguration: The Daily Show Tribute (Complete with Bond Villain)

Enduring America's Alternative Inauguration Watch (20 January, 7:50 a.m.): As Dick Cheney attends the Inauguration in a wheelchair, either because he has strained his back or because he doesn’t want to stand up for Obama: “His transformation to Bond villain is complete.”

Jon Stewart: "Are you kidding me?! A wheelchair?!....You might as well get rolled out to Star Wars' Imperial March with a white cat in your lap."

My wife to me (20 January, 11 a.m.): "You really can't make fun of a person in a wheelchair."

Jon Stewart: "Now I realize that humanity has a general moratorium on poking fun at people in wheelchairs. But of course today is a day for making history."

So we're claiming our small part in this destined-to-be-classic review of the day, although Jon also took on Maya Angelou, the Clintons, the President Bushes (elder and younger), some other poet, Reverend Rick Warren, Reverend Joseph Lowery ("the most adorable civil rights legend I've ever seen), and even the Great Barack:



Monday
Jan052009

Breaking News: Obama names Leon Panetta as Director of CIA

From the New York Times:

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Leon E. Panetta, the former congressman and White House chief of staff, to take over the Central Intelligence Agency



For the Times, "Given his background, Mr Panetta is a somewhat unusual choice", since he has no experience in the military or the intelligence services. That's not quite true --- directors like George H.W. Bush came "from the outside". However, it appears that Barack Obama's priorities in the choice, after his initial choice John Brennan ran into trouble because of his connections with CIA interrogation programmes, was to find a clear pair of hands. And a clear pair of hands with both connections on Capitol Hill and, Chief of Staff to President Clinton, management skills.