October 04, 2007 07:15 PM
Daily Show: The Terror Presidency
(h/t Heather)
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Jon Stewart sits down with the former assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Counsel, Jack Goldsmith, to discuss his new book, The Terror Presidency. While we've heard the stories before, it is still so frightening to hear the insider's take on the Machiavellian maneuvers of this administration.
Do you think the ultimate irony might be that all the work that Dick Cheney has done will make Hillary Clinton the most powerful president in the history of the United States?
The book should be called "the Terror of this Presidency".
It's been a TerrorStorm since these boys took office. I hope we can reverse the curse in this White House.
And I'm not falling for the, "they mean well".
Jon:
That scares the s#!^ out of me.
She has no choice but to be the most powerful president in the history of the United States if she wants to defend us from all the enemies Cheneys made for us.
fiver @ 4:
To that end, Bush is institutionalizing controversial anti-terror programs so they can be used by the next president.
that's with the assumption that there will be a new president or an election.
i still think cheney/rove are going to install a repuglican president through some kind of terror attack.
Whats she going to do get in and say in her acceptance address "Okay the wars over Nachos for everyone it's the Clinton years again! with Bill beaming over her shoulder?
Mmmmmmm, nachos.........
The title shoulda' been: The Error Presidency
fiver @ 9:
And Nascar
Hillary
I'm not going to run for President in 08.
Technically she was correct... emperor and president are spelled quite differently
fiver @ 13:
Personal Dynasty
We have been living under a reign of terror since the day this sorry SOB was appointed Chimperor of these United States.
SNAP !!!!
:-)
The Pledge
Just reported today. HRC finally signed this pledge - the last "Democratic" candidate to do so. What took so long, and why don't I believe her?
I wrote my repub congressman a while back and thanked him for giving Pres Hilary Clinton the power to spy on him. PMS is a bitch sometimes.
I am not a HC supporter at all, just wanted to rile him a bit.
Keep in mind, Bu**sh** is still saying exactly this same thing today.
I don't agree with that, although that may be indeed what does happen.
I don't believe there's a single thing thing that Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfield et al have done for anyone or anything but themselves and their close buddies.
This whole Presidency has been for them, not for the US or the people of the US. It has, and always will be about THEM.
HRC, bringing you fascism with perfect grammar.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003926782_scow05m.html
bush can say we don't torture until he is blue in the face and I won't believe him. Why the need for the black sites he admitted again today that we have? Is sending people to another country to be tortured his sneaky way of saying "See we don't do it?" Does that mean I can hire someone to beat someone up and get away with it because hey I didn't beat anyone up?
Did anyone else note how reticent Goldsmith was to go out on a limb and criticize Gonzales, Bush, and the gang? I wonder why he even wrote the book; it obviously goes against his programming and scares the hell out of him.
hadenuf @ 21:
And cleavage.
What irony? The Clintons are part of the whole thing. In 1994 Bill Clinton argued that the President had "inherient authority" to order searches or spy on people for foreign intelligence purposes without any warrant or permission from anybody. Almost everything that the Republicans have done in the last six years has been justified by some actions taken during the Clinton administration.
What about the takeover of our military by for profit contractors? A top campaign advisor to Clinton (Mark Penn) is now acting as consultant to Blackwater (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/10/05/ap4193305.html).
How about the Iraq war? Of course, Hillary strongly supported it claiming that she didn't need to read the intelligence estimate because she had the inside dope on Saddam's WMDs. Those were probably the conservative Israel-can-do-no-wrong war boosters whoe have given Bill Clinton over three million -- including WIZO (Woman's International Zionist Organization) who paid Bill over $100,000 for a speech where he said that he would "fight and die for Israel" if Iraq came across the Jordan river.
There is really no irony if in the unlikely event that Hillary gets elected, she holds on to the expanded powers that the Bush administration claims and continues the current administration's policies. To be fair to her, I have never heard her say otherwise.
The last thing this country needs is another Republican in office. I know Hillary claims to be a Democrat but we all know there are wolves out there parading as sheep. I pray she doesn't get the nomination and if she does I will vote for Kucinich anyway. He is the only one who gives a damned about our constitution and the rights of the citizens of this country. Everyone owes it to themselves and this country to go to his website and read a bit of what he stands for. He is what we need to start to heal this country. Any of the others and it will be more of the same. He is not a power hungry warmonger like most of them are. He has a plan to get us out of Iraq. He has strategies for immigration, for health care and all the rest of the issues that are so necessary today. The rest of them, including the Democratic party ignore him for the most part. He stands alone and needs the support of the people who really want change.
Will we ever see any of these people go to jail?
(_(_) @ 28:
The Statute of Limitations on torture is 5 years.
Why is Hillary going to be the next President? Because she is part of the same group as Bush?
fiver @ 29:
There is no statute of limitations on war crimes.
Ron @ 31:
Perhaps internationally. I was referring to the U.S.C.
Don Davis @ 10:
The panel concluded that the only solution to this mess is to send the entire Administration “over there, so they can’t hurt us over here.”
Now that made me laugh :D
fiver @ 32:
I don't think anyone will be charged by our judicial system. Hopefully the international tribunals will step up.
I'm with you Ron, but I don't see any American President allowing that to happen.
For a minute, I thought I was at Free Republic - you know, with all the Hillary bashing going on. Doesn't surprise me that dems are eating our own now.
Ron @ 34:
Don't hold your breath. No one wants to antagonize the USA (even if we may want to, deep down.)
Do you think the ultimate irony might be that all the work that Dick Cheney has done will make Hillary Clinton the most powerful president in the history of the United States?
There's always that. Those Halliburton internment camps could be filled with war-criminal wing-nuts, and no need for a trial. Maybe they should be afraid. Bill and Hillary get revenge??
Hype-Jersey @ 36:
Please, do tell. My guess: "Hillary IS [your] gal." Moreover, if we don't buy this former director of WalMart as a progressive, we're bad Democrats who "eat [their] own." Unlike the freepers, many progressives aren't afraid to think on their own. Of course, some think the corporate Kool-Aid is just so yummy!
L.A. Confidential @ 8:
No she'll say "I can't believe you people didn't vote for me. Was it all because I refuse to pull troops out of Iraq? Or is it because I'm a Clinton?"
This is all spin..."They weren't evil people." No, it has been a real tea party for six years.
"They are doing their best out fear of the next attack." Who is blowing smoke here. 70 percent of us know 9/11 was an inside job from within our government.
Why didn't they talk about the "Terror" president if that was what the book was about?
Hitlery Clinton would be even worse. It is either Paul or Kucinich or bend over and kiss it goodbye...
Why is it when Progressive Liberals who tend to Vote for the Democratic Party and Think for Themselves REFUSE to drink the "Clinton" Kool-Aid...
We are called Freepers?
When it is, at least from all respectful observations... Those confusing this fantastic web site with www.freerepublic.com ... Are the politically correct versions of those sheep on freerepublic just painted BLUE..
Wake up.
If the next Pres. is a Democrat, whether Hillary, Obama, Edwards or Gore, the Repubs with the help of the Supreme Court and the Media, both mainstream and especially cable, will see to it that he, or she, is completely toothless, neutered and powerless. If you thought Clinton was hounded by these wolves, just watch.
carol @ 24:
he needs the money so he can build a nice little bungalow next to bushes ass saveing manshion in paraguay ,
(_(_) @ 28:
yes they will be the ones pokeing thier fingers thru the bars from the outside when you all are behind them!
the unitary executive theory is the gift that keeps on giving
Hype-Jersey @ 36:
hillerys another liberdouche ,not our own!
Janet @ 23:
Yep. That's how Bush apologists see it. If your knuckle didn't make contact, then you are A-OK.
carol @ 24:
He says at one point that Bush et al could have achieved everything they wanted if they just worked together (he mentions the FISA Court and a few other things that is missed). Great! This guy's a proponent of a kinder, gentler fascism. Fuck Him!!
That should read "..a few other things that I missed" - Tucking Fypos!
carol @ 24:
I didn't until you pointed it out, and I think it is a very astute observation. It reminds me of something personal, being Catholic and knowing how rotten the church hierarchy is and yet being unable to cut the tie because it has been bred into you all your life and all your forbearers' lives. I think Goldsmith is so intrinsically conservative that he is very uncomfortable criticizing "the gang".
boy did you see that little fucker run as he was shakin jon's hand goodbye.
tail between the legs.
The first wire taps should be on Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rove and the whole crime family!
Sorry, but evil is as evil does. They are evil people who have done horrific evils.
Bush and Cheney and the neocons are/were the terrorists.
Goldsmith's just another fearful scumbag - in this particular instance his loyalty to Ashcroft won out. In a way the GOP is much like the jihadis they claim to hate - concepts of service to country are totally alien - but loyalty to tribe, chieftain, sheik are paramount.
rasta @ 7:
---------------------------------
against common sense and the opinion of the ave. republican citizen; cheney/rove might install a republican president through some kind of very dirty trick.
the so called top tier R presidential candidates are all trying desperately to play the geo bush clone. if george is so unpopular in polls; what gives? there has to be a reason for that performance.
the ones who are parroting the cheney white house points are the ones the corporate media says again and again and again are the front runners. how are front runners determined? the ones mentioned by the media most often?
the winner will need an opponent...and heck if the 'opponent' - hillary obama wins, no worries. they'll go into (yet another) panic over serious matters like "How black is Obama?" or "Why is Hillary's laugh so darned cackly?"
their media, the new roman circus, presents to you the candidates that they think will be 1) able to uphold the corporate structure. and 2) see number one.
this will be played like pro wrestling. the bad guy wins by blatant cheating...the good guy is allowed to win, for a while...
problem is they are picking the good guy and the bad guy....GE brushing palms together after election, "ok next job?"
Hillary knows who her enemies are (she's a Scorpio), and will rule with an iron hand. For one, I expect that she will ask a Democratic Congress, if she gets one, a law that will take people like Rush off his soap box. And then watch her maneuver to ensure that all dissent is stifled. And I won't care because the Republicans set the stage for her. I'm not sure if I will savor schadenfreude, or be distraught at the damage to the nation.
rasta @ 7:
That makes the most sense. But it probably won't happen until the Dems sweep the government (which is CERTAIN to happen).
A mixture of economic collapse and terror will make most of us BEG for total government control.
Whether it's a rep or a dem won't matter at all. Extremes on both sides mean autocratic rule.
Jon Stewart: "Alberto Gonzales,David Addington Etc. are people we have been demonizing,to see them as people thou is somewhat illuminating and i think changes your mind a little bit."....ahhhhh left gatekeeping at it's finest.
Good interview. John didn't upstage him, and he was allowed full answers of all the questions, which he tried his best to honestly answer.
Goldsmith can't be blamed for being more leftist. We desperately need people like him - insiders whose conscience finally (better late than never) pricks them hard enough to make them sit up at night wondering "WTF am I doing?"
We all know that writing a book is a form of therapy. The book helps someone like him come to to terms with their past, and hopefully even deal with the fact that they played a role in some less-than-high-integrity (to put it nicely) escapades.
If Goldsmith can be honest about what he did and what he saw at DoJ, then we should all celebrate. We need about 1000 other Neocons to get the Zen stick too and sit up at night wondering WTF are they doing.
Making Hillary the most powerful president is part of the plan. The only irony is that most folks don't realize that she's ONE OF THEM.
(_(_) @ 28:
No.
Jon Stewert is great at what he does, but am I the only one who wanted him to ask "What did the Bush Administration ever try to do their best at? besides lying and posturing that is. The were the best at scaring the American masses into allowing them to do what they want...they were the best at invading an unarmed country, they just had a little trouble after the took the place over. The are the best at telling Congress to go stick it and having Congress actually go and stick it...
But best as far as protecting Americans? Providing for our Soldiers? having a plan to keep the peace? creating an exit strategy? capturing Bin Laden? what have these assholes done for America or Americans that has been their best? nothing I can see.
"Do you think the ultimate irony might be that all the work that Dick Cheney has done will make Hillary Clinton the most powerful president in the history of the United States?"
This would be no less "ironic" than the fact that Bill Clinton's stupidity gave us the Bush administration.
Cythraul @ 19:
"In our America we do not torture."
-- President Bush, 2007
"I am not a crook."
-- President Nixon, 1974
"I’m not sure if I will savor schadenfreude, or be distraught at the damage to the nation."
My greatest apprehension RE: HRC presidency is that she WON'T put three or four hundred of these assholes against a wall and shoot them.
The usage of the first three boxes, Soap, Ballot and Jury, to enhance the nation have failed. Time to move on to the Fourth Box, "Ammunition."
I will be savoring schadenfreude with some home-made chianti, grilled sausage and hot peppers.
Uh-oh, someone drank the kool aid. She's that inevitable is she? Not on my block!
[...] Crooks and Liars: Daily Show: The Terror Presidency [...]
People disgust me with any comparison of Hillary to anyone in the bush administration.
You don't know her history if you pile on like that. The media sucks.
Not buying argument of Goldsmith of "they [the lawyes like Gonzalez and Addington] are not evil people." Non-sense. RNC e-mails were destroyed. If they were doing "nothing wrong," why all this e-mail destrution; and why the use of the backup email system which did not comply with Hatch? The only reasonable answer is that the lawyers are willing to violate the law to justify more abuse.
Program not reauthorized. Evil things happening.
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