Malkin on Clinton-Edelman exchange: "Wasn't this a case of Hillary ... playing armchair general?"
On the July 20 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, guest host Michelle Malkin led a discussion of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) request in May that the Pentagon brief Congress on what contingency plans, if any, it has for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq -- a request that Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman said "reinforces enemy propaganda." Malkin asked Fox News contributor Juan Williams, "Wasn't this a case of Hillary putting on her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve and playing armchair general? Isn't that perhaps what got the Pentagon so ticked off, Juan?"
Williams replied, "I don't think that she's playing four-star general. I think we have people on the Senate Armed Services Committee who are there to act in such a way as to oversee the activities of the Pentagon and to make sure that they are ready for any possible contingency. And obviously, we've been in this war now five years. And you've got to have some planning for exactly how we move forward, including how we possibly pull that hundred and, now, I guess, sixty thousand Americans out of Iraq."
From the July 20 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
MALKIN: Juan, what's so wrong with warning any public official that they should be careful what they say because it might have an impact on how the war is being waged?
WILLIAMS: Well, it's intended to, I think, chill the political discussion and debate over the war. And I think that's anti-Democratic.
Michelle, if you look at what -- the way you just introduced the topic, you said Edelman fired back at her and said to her, listen: Your demand for some sort of explanation of how U.S. troops might be withdrawn could give the enemy some reason to feel encouraged.
And, you know, that's the kind of talk that leads you to say, "You know what? You shouldn't say anything. You shouldn't be asking the Pentagon" -- which didn't do such a good job of preparing us to get into this war, which didn't properly equip the military, which is what Mrs. Clinton said in her letter -- it's saying, "We don't want to share with you any information we have." And the question then becomes, "You mean you have no planning, no strategy for how we could extricate American troops safely from Iraq?" If that's the case, that would be negligence.
MALKIN: Wasn't this a case of Hillary putting on her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve and playing armchair general? Isn't that perhaps what got the Pentagon so ticked off, Juan?
WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know. I don't think that she's playing four-star general. I think we have people on the Senate Armed Services Committee who are there to act in such a way as to oversee the activities of the Pentagon and to make sure that they are ready for any possible contingency. And obviously, we've been in this war now five years. And you've got to have some planning for exactly how we move forward, including how we possibly pull that hundred and, now, I guess, sixty thousand Americans out of Iraq.
MALKIN: You don't think that the Bush administration or the Pentagon at any time should warn either private citizens, public officials, public entities that they may say things or reveal things, for example, classified secrets that are splashed on the front page of The New York Times, that that could have an impact that undermines our safety and undermines the war?
What you're saying is that any time the Bush administration even contemplates saying these things, that they will be accused of having a chilling effect on the free speech of Americans who disagree with them.
WILLIAMS: Well, Michelle, Michelle, what secret did Hillary Clinton reveal? There's no secret there. It was about discussion. It was about, are plans being made? Are we prepared? And that's something that you would ask a child getting ready to cross the street in traffic, much less ask the United States military. They should be asked that question. It has nothing to do -- you know these kind of scare tactics, "Oh, you're revealing classified information. Oh, you're not being patriotic." That stuff has worked to shut people up for five years who have legitimate questions about how we're going into this war, weapons of mass destruction, all the rest.
And people have been intimidated. So I think Hillary Clinton is operating in a legitimate way as an American politician. And that's what Americans should do. We should have discussions.
we will, sooner or later, withdraw from iraq. [don't tell anyone this. the insurgents in iraq are unaware of it.]
Yeah, but if we wait long enough, their frequent flyer miles will expire, and they won't be able to follow us home.
Gee, how many examples of the right wing saying the exact same thing before republicans get it through their heads that the press is controlled by Goebble's Global News?
Not exactly, Snoopy. Hillary was asking (as part of her job) what sort of general plans the Pentagon has for something that eventually has to happen.She was asking this of people who have been running things for most of the ;last 7 years.
What Republicans (media, politicians, and even posters here) keep asking for, is much different.They demand, from anybody who's anti-war, and from the party that has not had much power except for a recent slight majority in the House, a detailed specific plan for Victory.
I fail to see the logic in this. If this was a letter from Clinton to Elelman, how can she be giving anything to an enemy unless Edelman makes a public stink over a private letter?
MALKIN: Wasn't this a case of Hillary putting on her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve and playing armchair general?
Talk about condescending. Let's try to match her level.
Yo, Malkin: It's SENATOR Clinton's JOB to perform oversight on the other branches of this government. I know after six years of the Rubber-stamp Republican Congress you might not remember your high school government class lectures, but she's doing what she's supposed to do.
Excellent response from Williams. It's not just what American's should do, it's what they're obligated to do. The war was wrong, it's not working, people are dying unnecessarily in appalling circumstances and a solution needs to be delivered as quickly as possible.
MALKIN: "Juan, what's so wrong with warning any public official that they should be careful what they say because it might have an impact on how the war is being waged?"
SOMBODY PLEASE HAVE AN IMPACT ON HOW THE WAR IS BEING WAGED. THE ONES DOING IT NOW HAVE NO CLUE.
And what's wrong with expecting public offocials to DO THE RIGHT THING????
Something the Bush Misadministration hasn't done since Day One.
When a mother says to a child, "Let's see your homework," and the child responds with "You're always picking on me!"...
....what conclusion do we come to?
Oops, the dog ate it. That's why Edelman was so ticked.
MALKIN: Wasn't this a case of Hillary putting on her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve and playing armchair general? Isn't that perhaps what got the Pentagon so ticked off, Juan?
God Michelle, you're awful cute, but such a daff at times.
What a nervy Senator that Hillary is...imagine asking the Pentagon to brief Congress on plans dealing with Iraq.
It's just appalling!
Especially when she is on the ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE!
Exactly!
Hillary came up a notch in my book because of this.
So much for right-wing spin.
It ain't gonna work.
I know's y'all ain't talkin' 'bout 'Chelle, 'cause she ain't on no c'mittee. she do use 'dem lips, doh...
Malkin actually went home later and had a round-table discussion with her chair, General Armchair, and his best friends, Captain Davenport and Sargent Sofa.
Interestingly enough, the round table was not invited. Michelle performed admirably, only losing debates on financial issues to Davenport, who studied Economics while being re-upholstered.
She was just paying homage to Bush's first cabinet meeting, before his advisors told him that it was supposed to involve actual people.
When confronted with the idea that furniture couldn't wield any sort of power, he asked "what was that 'Ottoman empire' all about then?"
And at the next cabinet meeting, Donald Rumsfeld told Bush that three Brazilian soldiers had been killed that morning.
Bush said "How much is 3 brazillion?"
:-)
Now that was funny!
Beach, if you don't have a job writing comedy out there in Cali, you're wasting your considerable talents buddy.
What a condescending little sob Michelle is ... "her little imaginary four stars on her sleeve." If Congress hadn't been MIA in doing its job in oversight during Bush’s first six years in office, maybe Michelle wouldn’t be so surprised by Congress actually doing its job.
While the U.S. government and media keep focusing on defense policies, campaign advertisement and the war in Iraq, 1.2 billion people in the world continue surviving on less than $1 dollar a day. I would like to all presidential candidates and political leaders support, more international problems that affect our place in this world, such as global poverty. We should not forget the commitment made towards the U.N. Millennium Goals (a pact of ending extreme world hunger by the year 2025) in 2000. While the U.S. government and media keep focusing on defense policies and the war in Iraq, 1.2 billion people in the world continue surviving on less than $1 dollar a day. According to The Borgen Project, an annual $19 billion dollars is needed to eliminate half of the extreme poverty affecting the world by the year 2015. To my sense, it is almost unacceptable to have spent so far more than $340 billion in Iraq only, when we have more than war immunities to change the world and eliminate poverty.
I'm just happy Juan has FINALLY stopped feeding the right's spin monsters! It is about time he started speaking some truth - and on Faux even! Wow!
I would suggest the Michelle and other Republicans who can’t seem to understand how government works visit this site:
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/about.html
This site provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of GPO Access, and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. And, just as GPO Access provides locator services to U.S. Government sites, Ben's Guide provides a similar service to U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.
If Malkin was not such a hottie they would not even let her on Fox -- ummm, Coutler -- scratch that thought. They would even though she does not have one well-reasoned thought in her head. But on Fox who really does or has the courage to say it -- Colmes I am talking to you.
It's my theory that Malkin was carefully chosen because she looks Asian...who better to defend the internment of the Japanese Americans during WWII, and by extension excuse the indefinite imprisonment of terrorism suspects by the Bush Junta? Does anybody really believe that she just felt compelled to write a book justifying the WWII internment of American citizens? Please. She certainly hasn't risen to prominence due to her talent or scholarship. She's another creation of the Karl Rove Misinformation Factory.
Nerzog,
I think your theory is pretty much beyond question at this point. She was obviously used, and obviously happy to be used. We are supposed to believe that if an Asian defends a practice that has been criticized as cruel to Asians, it must be OK. Why else would an Asian do that?
Of course, that overlooks the possibility that not all Asians share the same view, come from the same country, etc.
Also, I think the Harry Potter books are better researched than hers was.
Really, why hasn't Michelle Malkin gone away yet? Also, how can Fox, even Fox, accuse liberals and progressives of having "hate" while still giving this person airtime?
Well, this leads conveniently into one of my other theories...one not shared by the conservatives or libertarians here. I think Malkin and her fellow professional liars like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc. are propped up by the corporate sugardaddies on the Right. I simply cannot accept the notion that GOP Talking Points Parrots like Malkin have dominated talk radio and the cable tv talk circuit without some form of help beyond simple "market forces". Call me crazy, but that's the way it looks from where I sit. Maybe the American people really are that stupid, but I certainly hope not.
I received an email from my very conservative, but Democratic-voting father with a reprint of an article by the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. This editorial was very critical of New Orleans blacks and their "moral poverty". This is a favorite of what I like to call closet racists. They use it to point out when "one of their own" voices things they thought already but are afraid to voice. It gives their hatred a legitimacy.
Interesting.
O'Lielly launches a vicious attack on the Daily Kos... accusing them of being a hate group, & further comparing them to the Nazi's & the KKK... & then has MICHELLE F*CKING MALKIN as his guest host.
Hypocrite is FAR to kind of a word to describe what O'Lielly is.
What a putz!
Hmmmmm....
michelle says:
MALKIN: You don't think that the Bush administration or the Pentagon at any time should warn either private citizens, public officials, public entities that they may say things or reveal things, for example, classified secrets that are splashed on the front page of The New York Times, that that could have an impact that undermines our safety and undermines the war?
Michelle.... You mean like the way the Bushies leaked classified material and destroyed a CIA covert operation?????? Doesn't that mean that Scooter, Karl, Dickie and the rest of the gang have been undermining the war on terror?????
Pity poor Michelle... she thinks Four Star Generals wear their rank on their "sleeves"...must have been at the last GOP Halloween Party
GNUE:
Also, Generals aren't known for carrying a weapon and engaging the enemy in the streets. That's not their role. They plan, they strategize, and all this means they spend a lot of time seated at a desk, or sitting in on meetings.
In other words, if one is an "Armchair General", one is doing the job CORRECTLY.
I think Williams did a good job of shooting down the b.s., so kudos to him on that score, particularly in that he didn't fall for the typical right-wing debate tactic of arguing by extremes which Malkin tried to employ in talking about "classified secrets."
But something he mentioned in passing which I wish he had emphasized more is the bit about even asking the question. What a lot of folks seem to have missed is at the very end of Edelman's letter he said the Pentagon makes various contingency plans but they are not discussed outside the department.
That is, he essentially told a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Congress has no business knowing what the Pentagon may or may not be planning. How even someone as practiced in willful blindness as Michelle Malkin can fail to see that as anti-democratic escapes me completely.
But she doesn't believe in democracy...she's a fascist. Fascists hate democracy.
you just dont understand that the question of continuing the Iraq war is a priori the goodest good of all goodness and anything that undermines that is bad and unacceptable whether that be democracy, Joe Wilson or the constitution. Do not listen to what is said---- just understand that premise and all else will fall in place. If the constitution were such a good thing like everyone says why would it interfere with doing the goodest thing possible-war in Iraq.
Not to mention all the money being made by the War Contractors. People are getting filthy rich off the blood of our soldiers. That topic seems to be off the radar screen in these Propaganda Parrot Circlejerks.
I'm noticing news organizations are characterizing this as Clinton being involved in a "feud" with the Pentagon.
This is a gross mischaracterization.
Hillary Clinton is an elected representative of the American people. She sits on a committee in the Senate which has oversight of the military. She is fulfilling the role for which she was elected by asking for information from the Pentagon.
Eric Edelman is a recess appointment. He would never have been approved for his job in the Pentagon if it had come up for a vote.
Under normal circumstances Edelman would be fired for insubordination but very little about the Bush White House is normal.
The Bush Propaganda Parrots have been promoting the perception that Bush and only Bush has the right to even interact with military commanders. Unfortunately for these professional liars, the Constitution charges Congress with the responsibility to raise and finance the armed forces. Too bad...the troglodytes really liked the idea of an imperial presidency, as long as Karl Rove's plan for a permanent Republican majority looked like a possibility.
If the chance of a President Hillary or President Obama becomes more likely, you'll see the Republicans scurry away from this "Imperial Presidency" crap like cockroaches from a blowtorch.
I am reminded of an anecdote about a nonlawyer judge in outstate Texas who when a defendant cited the US Constitution on some point said: the US Constitution is not good law in my court.
Know what's really pathetic? Malkin will continue to talk just like this about Hillary even after she's been elected President- "isnt she just play-acting as Commander in Chief? What gives her the right to give the State of the Union Address? Who does she think she is?" Because Malkin is a brain-dead doofus who I'm sure believes that anyone who criticizes Bush's handling of the war should be sent to Gitmo, if not shot outright.
I suggest we put a few non-imaginary little stripes on Michelle Malkin's sleeve and send her off to fight in the war she "supports" so much.
"Wasn't this a case of Hillary ... playing armchair general?"No, Michelle, it wasn't. It was merely Ms. Clinton trying to make a "strong anti-war statement" to disguise her previous rabid support for this war and her flip-flopping on the issue for mere political gain.