Hey Andy? What About Dick’s Breach of Etiquette?

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Andy Card is deeply offended that Barack Obama works in shirt sleeves, and not a coat and tie.

"There should be a dress code of respect," Card tells INSIDE EDITION. "I wish that he would wear a suit coat and tie."

[snip]

"The Oval Office symbolizes…the Constitution, the hopes and dreams, and I’m going to say democracy. And when you have a dress code in the Supreme Court and a dress code on the floor of the Senate, floor of the House, I think it’s appropriate to have an expectation that there will be a dress code that respects the office of the President."

I agree with dakine that it is preferable to have a President, in shirt sleeves, working to protect the Constitution, rather than thugs in suit and tie, shredding it.

For myself, if I have a choice of an administration where everyone wears suits and ties and are all buttoned up while they destroy the country and the Constitution (but they look professional while doing so!) or an administration that takes off their coats and gets to work and actually does something to benefit most of the country, I will choose the latter hands down every time.

But I’m also wondering about Card’s misplaced focus on etiquette. Here he is, beating up Obama for his dress code, and ignoring a gross breach of etiquette–one that probably puts our country at some risk, in that it fosters gross insuburdination. As Lawrence O’Donnell explains to David Shuster, former Administration officials simply do not criticize the capabilities of their successors. It is not done.

No former Vice President has ever questioned the ability of the current Administration to protect the United States. This is something for which unprecedented is a mild word.

Yet somehow, Andy Card is able to overlook Cheney’s gross breach of etiquette even while bitching about Obama’s shirt sleeves.

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Tweety Sez, “Why Not Dr. Dean?”

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You know, I really like Claire McCaskill–a heck of a lot more than I like Tweety.

But when you watch the way her jaw sets as Tweety keeps mentioning the reasons why Dean would be a natural choice for HHS: his work blazing the way for Obama and people like McCaskill herself, his medical background, I gotta say I’m with Tweety on this one.

Why not Howard Dean?

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Gibbs Won’t Say There Aren’t More Tax Problems

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From today’s press briefing (via email):

Q That doesn’t say who decided that this was the best move. And if I could just follow up quickly. Are there other nominees out there with tax problems that we don’t know about?

MR. GIBBS: The President is quite confident in the people that serve in this White House and serve in this administration; that we’ve put a standard of ethics and accountability that’s unseen and unmatched by any previous administration in our country’s history.

Again, Senator Daschle — as it relates to your first question, Senator Daschle decided to remove his name from consideration and remove his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Q What about —

Q Robert, a question —

MR. GIBBS: I’m sorry —

Q Are there other nominees with tax problems?

MR. GIBBS: The President is confident in the people he’s chosen to serve in government.

Well, I guess Woodward had himself a little scoop, huh? Who knew I was the only one out here who actually paid my taxes. Do you guys pay your taxes? Any of you want to be a Cabinet Secretary?

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Who Is Paying a Private Investigator to Snoop on Rahm?

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I’m not so much interested in the news that Rahm is apparently breaking code by living in Rosa DeLauro’s basement. (h/t scribe)

Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Just one problem: He’s not allowed to live there.

That’s what private investigator Joseph Culligan discovered after asking questions of D.C. officials. A zoning administrator responded to Culligan’s inquiry and told him that DeLauro’s house at 816 E. Capitol St. NE was listed as a single-family dwelling, and as such, could not be rented out.

After all, plenty of people in DC–starting with Norm Coleman–have more legally questionable housing arrangements. 

I’m much more interested in who is paying private investigator Joseph Culligan to snoop on Rahm (and DeLauro). 

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I Bet Howard Dean Pays His Taxes

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As Jane has reported, Tom Daschle has withdrawn from consideration to be HHS Secretary.

Which leaves a spot open for someone who has thought a lot about how to get Americans health care and a proven leader.

How about Howard Dean?

If you’re interested, there’s a Facebook group where you can show your support for Dean for HHS.

 I can’t imagine Rahm would ever let this happen. But then, the whole appointment process under Rahm hasn’t been operating so smoothly now, has it?

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Who Told Woodward of Impending Tax Problems Over 10 Days Ago?

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Nancy Killefer just withdrew her nomination to be OMB’s Chief Performance Officer because of tax problems. That makes three top Obama appointees–Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle, and Killefer–who seem to be discovering tax problems rather late in the game.

But of course, someone had already discovered these problems at least ten days ago–or that’s what I assume from this Woodward clip from January 25. At that point, Woodward (in his inimitable "I used to be a journalist but now I’m just the world’s best paid gossip" way) was already predicting we’d see more tax problems beyond Geithner (and, of course, we’re still waiting for the nannies). 

So who told Woodard? Does he have a mole in the Obama vetting process? Why would Obama’s vetters pick Woodward, of all people?

Or is Woodward getting this stuff from somewhere else, perhaps from some of his crack (ha!) sources in the Bush White House?

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Some Obama Folks Miffed about al-Haramain

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In an article about the anticipated headaches Eric Holder will have once he’s confirmed as Attorney General today, some anonymous Obama figures reveal their thoughts about the last minute al-Haramain filings by Bush dead-enders.

The case dealing with the state secrets doctrine, which allows the government to rebuff lawsuits by invoking national security concerns, involves al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. A federal trial judge in San Francisco ruled that the government could not invoke the doctrine to block a lawsuit by al-Haramain, which has asserted that the government illegally listened in on its conversations.

The Bush administration used the doctrine to block more than two dozen lawsuits. In timing that was a bit of a surprise, the Justice Department lawyers who have handled the lawsuit filed a motion with the court an hour before Inauguration Day that held to the same position.

Some Obama administration figures regarded the filing before midnight on Jan. 19 as a rear-guard action to make it more difficult to reverse course.

The Justice Department has to file a new brief by Feb. 13. Jon B. Eisenberg, who represents al-Haramain, said the schedule meant that “Holder and company have to decide pretty quickly if they want to keep opposing this case with the state secrets doctrine.”

The case also provides an opportunity to have a court assess the Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program. [my emphasis]

None of that, of course, explains what Obama will do once Holder and the rest of his department gets in place. None of it explains why Obama didn’t take a stronger stand when the dead-enders were filing documents in his name. 

But at least some folks in the Obama Administration are watching the dead-enders closely.

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Holder Vote in SJC Now

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There won’t be any news in today’s vote. Specter has cast his yes vote, Hatch is babbling on while making it clear he votes yes, too. And Leahy is just laughing about it, saying, "babble on, I know I’m going to win." (Okay, he didn’t use the word, "babble."

But in case you’re interested here’s the committee stream. 

17-2 vote in favor of confirmation. One of the no votes was Cornyn. Not sure of the other–I think maybe Coburn?

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Obama's Executive Privilege Order and the House Judiciary Committee Lawsuit

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I’ve seen a lot of celebratory posts about the effect of Obama’s Executive Order on Presidential Documents, but I fear it distracts attention from an equally important focus: the House Judiciary Committee lawsuit.

The posts all focus on Obama’s order that Executive Privilege claims must be reviewed by the incumbent President, not the former President.

(a)  Upon receipt of a claim of executive privilege by a living former President, the Archivist shall consult with the Attorney General (through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel), the Counsel to the President, and such other executive agencies as the Archivist deems appropriate concerning the Archivist’s determination as to whether to honor the former President’s claim of privilege or instead to disclose the Presidential records notwithstanding the claim of privilege.  Any determination under section 3 of this order that executive privilege shall not be invoked by the incumbent President shall not prejudice the Archivist’s determination with respect to the former President’s claim of privilege.

(b)  In making the determination referred to in subsection (a) of this section, the Archivist shall abide by any instructions given him by the incumbent President or his designee unless otherwise directed by a final court order.  The Archivist shall notify the incumbent and former Presidents of his determination at least 30 days prior to disclosure of the Presidential records, unless a shorter time period is required in the circumstances set forth in section 1270.44 of the NARA regulations.  Copies of the notice for the incumbent President shall be delivered to the President (through the Counsel to the President) and the Attorney General (through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel).  The copy of the notice for the former President shall be delivered to the former President or his designated representative.

So, commentators say, this means we’ll be able to get a bunch of documents–the US Attorney scandal documents and the Plame documents are the most frequently mentioned–that Bush has been withholding.

But of course, particularly with respect to those documents, there’s already a pending case–the HJC case that was reinstated under the House rules (and now includes Turdblossom for the USA purge documents and Mukasey for Siegelman documents and Plame documents).

Now, I’ve asked some folks on the committee and they’re sure Obama’s EO won’t moot their suit. And, presuming AG Holder approves it, Obama’s administration can presumably release the documents right to the Committees Read more →

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Obama Gitmo Draft Executive Order Working Thread

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h/t Amnesty International

As I indicated in comments, I have a copy of the supposed final draft of Obama’s Executive order on Guantanamo. Perhaps I will append the main post later, but i want to get it up now. Especially since William Ockham reports that the ACLU has beat me to the punch. That is what I get for actually driving home and opening a bottle of wine for my wife I guess. Go figure.

Here it is. See you in comments to dissect it. Hey, you know, this change stuff is a lot of fun eh?

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