Where is Osama Bin Laden?
Whatever your opinion of Bush there’s no doubting the fact that the U.S. has not experienced another major terrorist attack since September 11th. And while many of his tactics have been controversial (to say the least), the overwhelming majority of Americans are pretty happy not being blown up and don’t really care what measures are taken to achieve that goal. In spite of that, it’s also safe to say that many of us will not be entirely happy until Osama Bin Laden is confirmed dead-as-a-door-nail or captured (preferably the former). CIA Director Michael Hayden weighed in recently on OBL’s status:
Without directly referring to the CIA’s offensive blitz of unmanned missile attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the CIA boss said the US had successfully isolated the al Qaeda leader bin Laden, referring to him in the present tense.
“He appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he leads,” Hayden said in a speech delivered to the Atlantic Council in Washington.
Hayden said the failure to kill or capture bin Laden in the seven years since the 9/11 attacks, could be explained by the “rugged and inaccessible” terrain of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area and “the fact that bin Laden has worked to avoid detection.”
OBL can only run and hide for so long. Bold prediction – he’s confirmed dead or captured during the first year of the Obama administration.
Remember when Obama pledged to accept public money for the presidential campaign and then reneged on it? According to Politico, that not only gave him a serious money advantage in the election, it will also spare him an audit by the Federal Election Commission:
The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul.
Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend.
Mccain is said to have put away over $9 million to pay for the process (lawyers, etc). Seems backwards, no? I’d much rather get a closer look at Obama’s fundraising and expenditures.
It used to be that illicit drug use and sexual trysts would disqualify you from major political positions (although at time they both seem mandatory). Now we can add emails, blog posts, text messages and
diaries to the list. Welcome to the 21st Century. The following disclosures are required from anyone seeking a major position in the Obama administration:
I guess I’ll go ahead now and add “politician” to the list of things I will never be:
Politician
NBA Player
Astronaut
Porn Star
Priest
Al Gore’s camp recently signaled to the incoming Obama administration that he is not interested in the proposed Climate Czar position:
“Former Vice President Gore does not intend to seek or accept any formal position in government,” Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said. “He feels very strong right now that the best thing for him to do is to build support for the bold changes that we have to make to solve the climate crisis.”
Thank God. The last thing we need is more bloated government. (Get it? Bloated?)
Sara Palin won’t go away and recently decided to give her very first press conference. My favorite part:
Asked why she chose to hold her first formal news conference now, she replied, “The campaign is over.”
Well, yeah, because now that the election is over it’s the perfect time to give a press conference. You see the logic, right? The more she talks the worse McCain looks for choosing her after only meeting her once and doing zero vetting. As one of my readers commented in a previous post – the U.S. has dodged a bullet.
I recently wrote about Georgia Congressman Paul Broun’s moronic comments comparing Obama to Adolf Hitler. Well, it turns out that he’s sorry now:
“The point I tried to make is that he is extremely liberal, he has promoted a lot of socialistic ideas, and it just makes me concerned.”
Then why didn’t you just say that, Congressman?
As always, comments and criticism are welcome.
See you next week.
About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
ashok | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
I enjoyed this very much, and loved the format of this post – it’s almost like a “quick hits” section.
Thanks for sharing!
Frank the Tank | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
Randy, do you think the Obama administration will have trouble filling it’s positions? I guess if somebody was hermetically sealed away in an abbey somewhere, they might qualify. Question 13, how could anyone meet hat standard?
JRMirador | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
The employment disclosure form is obviously a ploy to sieve out of public service those who can’t or will not lie.
Al Gordo doesn’t need to join the Administration, he’s got a lot of work to do, considering that his global warming myth is now being supplanted by another bogus theory, the coming of a new ice age.
JR
Renee | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
Good Morning Randy..I so enjoyed your “list of things I will never be”. Glad you put porn star on that list!
RGVgal | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
I don’t think Obama would get a post on his own cabinet if he had to fill out that disclosure form. He should show that document to the McCain campaign so they know what “vetting” is..
I think we have seen the end of public financing. Any future candidate would be at a clear disadvantage if they take it.
Let’s just ask McCain how to get OBL..During the campaign he kept telling us he knows how to get him..Well, it’s time to let us know, Mr. Country first!
Palin needs to go back to Alaska and READ! She sounds like a moron in all her interviews.
RHM | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
@ Frank,
I agree. Nobody can meet those standards. Impossible.
@RGVgal,
I couldn’t agree with you more. Palin needs to lock herself in a room and read for a few years. Even then it may be impossible. Think about how long you’ve studied, read, listened, watched and absorbed just to be able to participate in conversations intelligently. Now imagine having to actually make policy. Scary stuff, no?
@ All,
A reader wrote to me today:
“I am delighted to see that you will not continue to canonize Obama.”
Canonized? Not even close. I clearly favored Obama over McCain (which is my right, no?) but I don’t think I ever canonized him. Perhaps it’s just that he seemed so much more Saintly when compared to the out of touch, cynical, Cold War dinosaur that the GOP put up for election.
dickmill | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
Just some observations on your topics:
- OBL in a cave or wherever is safe from even John McCain and he really doesn’t matter in the big scheme, unless you really believe that killing Che Guevera stopped Castro.
- The evangelical community deserves Sarah Palin.
- The disclosure form questions are CYA to the Nth degree.
- Al Gore wouldn’t accept the drop in income to “serve the people”, even “for the children.”
- The FEC auditors would better serve the country by auditing the big $700B money grab. Everyone is going to get a piece of that except “us!”
Mark | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
I can’t express how happy I am that the past 22 months of getting ready for the election are over. With the end of campaigns, media (to include blogs) can now focus on substance and actions versus ‘words’ and ‘promises’. Great post today Randy.
GPalmer | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
Some (or maybe all) of you may be aware of Frank Schaeffer. He’s an author, film director, and former evangelical conservative, and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.
Anyway, he wrote a very interesting book:
“Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back”
Very interesting look at how fundamentalist rose to power. I highly recommend it.
Also, a great post on Huffington on why Palin will never become president….
RHM | Nov 14, 2008 | Reply
@ Greg,
Thanks for the recommendations. As for Palin, I agree. She will never, ever be President. Why? Because there are about 1,000 more experienced, intelligent, educated Republicans who were passed over and will pull the rug from under her feet every chance they get over the next four years.
David Lamb | Nov 15, 2008 | Reply
I haven’t read the Huffington Post article Greg is talking about, but I do agree she will never become president. Moreover she will never get into the news again for any extended length of time. As she is ambitious, I’m sure she’ll try, but the RNC will make sure she gets no traction: I’m sure most of them see her as an embarrassment to the party, no matter how successful she may be in Alaska. Let’s hope they keep her there.