Iran’s President Offers Obama Congratulations

This is an historical event–I hope it’s positive:

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday congratulated Barack Obama on his election win – the first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes to a U.S. president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An analyst said Ahmadinejad’s message was a gesture from the hard-line president that he is open to some sort of reconciliation with the U.S.

Obama has said he is willing to hold direct diplomacy with Iranian leaders as a way to break the impasse between the two countries or give the U.S. more credibility to press for tougher sanctions if talks fail. His policy marks a departure from the Bush administration, which has refused high-level engagements with Iran.

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Ahmadinejad congratulated the Democrat on “attracting the majority of voters in the election,” according to excerpts carried by the official IRNA news agency.

The Iranian leader also said he hopes Obama will “use the opportunity to serve the (American) people and leave a good name for history” during his term in office.

Iran and U.S. have no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 and the hostage drama when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.

Current U.S.-Iranian relations remain tense, with Washington accusing Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and of providing support for Shiite militants who are killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq – charges Iran denies.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a contender for prime minister in her country’s elections, warned against any dialogue with Iran – a first sign of Israeli disagreement with the incoming U.S. administration.

“Dialogue at this time is liable to broadcast weakness,” cautioned Livni, who is head of the governing Kadima Party. “I think early dialogue at a time when it appears to Iran that the world has given up on sanctions could be problematic.”

Israeli officials describe Iran as the biggest threat to the Jewish state’s existence, citing Ahmadinejad’s frequent calls for Israel’s destruction and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking the Jewish state.

Livni has repeatedly said she hopes international diplomacy prevails. But she doesn’t rule out force if U.N. sanctions don’t pressure Iran to scale back its nuclear aims. In June, she said Iran “needs to understand the military threat exists and is not being taken off the table.”

Iran sees Obama’s victory as a triumph over the policies of President Bush, who repeatedly clashed with Iranian leaders while in office over Iran’s nuclear program and its opposition to the U.S.-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ahmadinejad’s message said that “nations of the world” expect changes from Obama – mostly that he will change U.S. foreign policy.

That policy, Ahmadinejad claimed, was “based on warmongering, occupation, bullying, deception and humiliation, as well as discrimination and unfair relations” and has led to “hatred of all nations and majority of governments toward the U.S. leaders.”

Ahmadinejad also said Obama is expected to replace such a policy with “an approach based on justice and respect, as well as lack of intervention in the affairs of others.”

Iranians will welcome such changes, Ahmadinejad added.

At the United Nations, the Iranian mission released an unofficial translation indicating Ahmadinejad relayed his message in a letter to Obama.

People across the world expect Obama to act so “unjust practices of the past six decades in the sensitive Middle East region are reversed in order to achieve the full restoration of the legitimate rights of nations, especially the aggrieved nations of Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” the letter said, according to the translation.

The letter ends with blessings and well wishes to “leaders of societies with the courage to learn from the mistakes of predecessors, and the ability to use every opportunity to serve the people.”

Iran’s government refused to publicly side with any of the U.S. candidates throughout the presidential race, although Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said last month that Obama seemed “more rational” than John McCain.

Saeed Leilaz, an independent analyst in Tehran, said Ahmadinejad’s message was a “positive step” that now leaves Washington with the responsibility for the next one. Leilaz added he believes Obama’s victory will “weaken radicalism” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Green Gloop (poem by a 10-year-old)

Green gloop is in my soup

Green gloop is in my hula hoop

Green gloop is in my hair

Green gloop is everywhere.

 

Green gloop has covered my school

Green gloop fills in your pool

Green gloop is inside a tart

Green gloop is on my art.

 

Green gloop is on my chocolate cake

Oh for goodness’ sake.

What could this green gloop be?

My mom’s favorite soup recipe!

John McCain’s Post-Election Role–Bipartisan Mediator

Hello, gentle blog reader,

John McCain’s concession speech just two days ago was the first time in a long time he came across as the real John McCain. Somehow, that moderate Republican who I would have voted for got lost during the campaign.  But now that he’s returned to his old self and promised to help Obama, there’s a lot he can do and do well:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081106/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_48/print

Democrats say McCain Can Mediate Standoffs

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer Beth Fouhy, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 5, 7:51 pm ET

PHOENIX – Before resting from the grueling presidential race, John McCain began discussing with senior aides what role he will play in the Senate now that he has promised to work with the man who defeated him for president.

Democrats, who padded their majorities in the House and Senate, have a suggestion: McCain can mediate solutions to partisan standoffs on key legislation as he did to help avert a constitutional meltdown over judicial confirmations in 2005.

“There’s a need for the old John McCain, a leader who worked in a bipartisan way,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday.

GOP leaders, never fond McCain’s independent streak or blunt style, nonetheless are reaching out to keep him in the fold and keep Republican ranks as robust as possible during the next Congress, two knowledgeable GOP officials said on condition they not be named because the conversations were private.

One obvious focus will be the war in Iraq. After two years spent more on the campaign than in the Senate, McCain will return as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee. That will put the four-term Arizona senatorin a position to influence Democrat Barack Obama’s plan to set a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from combat in Iraq.

“That would be good,” Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said in a telephone interview. “I would love to see McCain work with President Obama in dealing with Iraq in a way that Republicans and Democrats could agree on.”

During the campaign, McCain staunchly opposed setting such a time frame, even as the Iraqi government began working with the Bush administration to do so.

But in conceding the presidency to Obama Tuesday night at a Phoenix hotel, McCain pledged “to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.”

He allowed that defeat was disappointing but said that starting Wednesday “we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.”

Aides said they believed McCain would work well with Obama as president because much of his best work in the Senate had been done with Democrats, including a landmark campaign finance law he crafted with Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold and an unsuccessful effort with Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The day after Election Day quickly returned McCain to something much closer to normal life. After months of travel on his campaign bus or plane, McCain and his wife, Cindy, drove themselves to Starbucks for coffee near their Phoenix condominium.

McCain and his family planned to spend a few days at their vacation compound near Sedona, Ariz., to rest from the long contest.

Friends said that despite his disappointment, McCain also was relieved that the demanding campaign was finally over. Aides said he was relaxed Tuesday night — at peace with his loss and confident that he had done his best in a political climate where a failing economy, an unpopular GOP president and two lingering wars set steep odds against a Republican victory.

“We fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours,” McCain told supporters Tuesday night. “I don’t know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I’ll leave that to others to determine.”

***Also, note this:

http://climatechange.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/11/06/more-post-election-day-politics/

John McCain’s Role – Watching John McCain’s concession speech the other night, I was struck by the sincerity in his pledge to help the new President with the work ahead.  Here’s an article from AP, via Yahoo, that gives me further food for thought:  Democrats say McCain can help mediate standoffs.

McCain has a track record on climate change.  He was one of the first, and still among the relatively few, Congressional Republicans to support a cap-and-trade regime.  See his campaign website for more on his view. 

He could and should play the role in the Senate, and beyond that, in his party, of an outspoken proponent of tough climate change legislation.  Given their losses on Tuesday, the Republican Party could very well circle the wagons and let extremists like Jim Inhofe lead their efforts, as they allowed him to do for several years while he was the Environment and Public Works Committee Chair.  One of the most prominent moderate Republican proponents of a cap-and-trade regime, John Warner, has left the Senate.  So it could very well fall to McCain, and I think to the outspokenly progressive moderate Republican Senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, to help bring their caucus into line with the stunning reality of what we’re up against. 

Epic Battle in the House– As I’ve noted here any number of times, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its powerful chair, John Dingell, have a huge amount of juice when it comes to climate change and energy legislation.  See this and this, for instance, for some background from me at the blog, and thisfrom the Committee website on Dingell and climate change. 

Now comes a shocking bit of news:  The second-most senior Democrat on the Committee, Henry Waxman, will challenge Dingell for the chairmanship.  See this article from “The Hill” and Waxman’s statement.

At first blush, you might think this is a surprise, but if you look back at nearly 30 years of history, you’ll see that Waxman and Dingell have been butting heads for a while.  From 1979 to 1994, Rep. Waxman chaired the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment.  Waxman was one of the principal architects of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments that, among other things, introduced the acid rain title that was the first deployment of a cap-and-trade regime.  When I was working on acid rain back in the 1980’s with the Sierra Club, their battles were already legendary.  Waxman is tough, smart and a progressive.  He’s got a good claim to the chairmanship.  If you think that his presence in that role will help drive strong legislation further and faster, then you’ve got to be rooting for him.  Suffice it to say, he is in Speaker Pelosi’s inner circle and would not be making this bid without her blessing.  See Waxman’s bio here and the webpage devoted to his work on global warming legislation.  

The sonorous crashing of antlers between these two enormous bull moose is already sounding on Capitol Hill.

***Obama will have his hands full, that’s for sure!  Thank goodness he’s a fighter–

Bobbi

 

Koala One: Epilogue (story by a 10-year-old)

“Jump Bob!” “No, Jake, I can’t. I have to fight off the evil Koalas!” “Bob! You can’t beat ‘em, they’re too fozzy!” “Well, I’ll go down try’n, Jake, ol’ pal.”

But then, the Koalas grabbed Bob and sacrificed him to their overlord, “Darth Vader action figure”.

Palin Didn’t Know Africa Was a Continent, McCain Aides Claim

Update:

Palin calls her critics ”cowards” and “jerks”: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11072008/news/politics/palin_denounces_critics_as_cowardly_137628.htm?&page=0

Good morning, gentle blog reader,

Well, now that the Democrats will be running the White House, the mud-slinging has begun in the Republican camp:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083563/Palin-didnt-know-Africa-continent-Republican-mud-slinging-begins-wake-defeat.html

‘Palin didn’t know Africa was a continent’: Republican mud-slinging begins in wake of defeat

 

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 1:21 PM on 06th November 2008

• Comments (10)
• Add to My Stories

 

Sarah Palin did not know Africa was a continent, McCain aides have allegedly claimed.

New slurs against John McCain’s former running mate emerged this week as the tattered Republican party nosedived into civil war and the divide between McCain and Palin was further exposed.

A Fox News anchor claimed McCain aides told him of Mrs Palin’s ignorance on Africa – and that she did not know what countries were in North America.

Aides also allegedly claimed Mrs Palin spent “thousands more” than the $150,000 reported on clothes during the campaign - to the shock of the donor who paid her bill – and that she answered the door to McCain aides in her hotel room in just a towel.

Enlarge  

Divide: Sarah Palin watches as John McCain gives his concession speech early Wednesday morning. She allegedly wanted to speak during the speech, but was barred from doing so

Other reports claim that Mrs Palin spent thousands more on a shopping spree at high-end department stores than the campaign had expected.

Newsweek claimed that though the McCain camp publicly supported the Alaska governor, in private aides were fuming over the amount of money she spent on clothes.

Mrs Palin was reportedly told to buy herself three new suits and hire a stylist in the run-up to the Republican National Convention.

 

 

More…

• Tearful dignity of the defeated: What next for the two left in Obama’s shadow?
• Welcome to the hot seat: Obama faces the reality of the world’s toughest job as he plans lightning Cabinet transition
• Seven more innocent Afghans die as president begs Obama to put an end to U.S. airstrikes
• So much for the new liberal America: California voters put a stop to gay marriage – leaving 18,000 ‘married’ couples in doubt
• Barack Obama’s No.1 priority? It’s the economy, stupid
• Rush for global free trade deal before Bush goes… and Obama scuppers the agreement
• When TV guests attack: Gore Vidal’s election night blast at David Dimbleby becomes YouTube hit

 

Instead, one angry aide claimed, she embarked on a “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast” shopping spree – to the shock of the wealthy donor footing the bill.

Newsweek also claimed Palin used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement.

One aide estimated that she spent “tens of thousands” more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost.

Enlarge  

Just getting started: Sarah Palin waves to supporters as she returns home to Alaska… to shouts of ’2012!’

 

An aide said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

It is also alleged that Mrs Palin and Mr McCain barely spoke in the final weeks of the campaign, with Mr McCain preferring to consult with older, more experienced political friends.

Aides claimed the details of her clothes spending were kept from Mr McCain for fear he would be offended by it.

Newsweek also reported Mrs Palin asked to speak along with Mr McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

Meanwhile Mrs Palin has refused to dampen speculation that she will run for president in 2012.

Mrs Palin, who has strong support on the conservative Right, dropped a strong hint that she intends to remain prominent in national politics by saying she would campaign for energy security and “reach out to the Barack Obama and the new administration”.

Enlarge  

The Alaska governor tried to counter backlash against her shopping spree by appearing in jeans on more than one occasion – including on the day she voted

The Alaska governor, 44, symbolises one side of the searing divide in the Republican ranks. She proved a huge hit with small-town America and the religious Right  -  and would easily attract big money to stand against Barack Obama in four years.

But she cost support among floating and urban voters by appearing dogmatic and ignorant about foreign affairs.

Exit polls showed a significant number of voters saw her as a turn-off. “If I cost John McCain even one vote, I am sorry about that,” she told CNN.

Republicans modernisers want a candidate with appeal to voters beyond its core supporters.

“She clearly has a future in national politics,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed. “She has to work to rebuild the parts of her image that became a caricature. But she’s extremely popular with the grassroots.”

“I don’t know what the heck’s going to happen in 2012,” she said yesterday. “I just want to get back to work for the people of Alaska.”

Speaking as she flew to her home state where she is governor, Mrs Palin kept the door firmly open. “Right now I just cannot imagine running for office in 2012,” she said, “I say that, of course, on the heels of an outcome I did not anticipate and did not ask for.”

On returning home she was greeted by cheering supporters at the airport chanting: “2012! 2012! 2012!”

Rivals for the 2012 campaign will include former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

Republican strategist Tony Fabrizio said Mrs Palin had been damaged by allegations that she abused her position: “She needs to go back home and face all of the stuff that’s been raked up.”

 

 

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Comments (10)

Here’s what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?

       

Please God this woman returns to Alaska and stays there. She is a nightmare waiting to happen.

- Elaine, Crawley, West Sussex, 6/11/2008 6:55

       

Once I saw this woman get introduced as the Republican VP nominee, I did something I’ve never done in my 41 years. I phone canvassed for the Democratic Party… I walked miles of neighborhoods canvassing for Obama, I worried and fretted the Dems wouldn’t get in.
If this woman and her ignorant views makes another apperance in either 2012 or 2016 I’ll roll up my sleeves and start making phone calls for the Dems all over again. Yes, she’ s energized the far right but she’s also energized the ordinary person in the street – against her.

- Annie, expat USA, 6/11/2008 7:24

       

The sad thing is that many american stay at home moms look up to her. Sarah Palin is a hockey mom and that is where she needs to stay. Hockey mom’s dont make good politicians. She couldn’t even “pitbull” her way out of an interview with Katie Couric. Im so happy she can go back to alaska and that we dont have to see her again

- Kelly, NYC, 6/11/2008 7:40

       

I just hope that Sara Sixpack perseveres, and is able to do for the Republicans in 2012, what she did for John McSame in 2008!

- Mr. America, New York, USA, 6/11/2008 7:41

       

As a supporter of President elect Obama I hope Palin runs in 2012. Why wouldn’t I? A joke in lipstick goes back home to Alaska. Good riddance say I. Bobby Jindal is interesting and I would say he has a real chance. He is highly intelligent and of mixed race (Indian origin NOT native American). He would give the Dems a good run for their money.

- A Gregory, Warwick RI USA, 6/11/2008 7:45

       

Maybe a polar bear will eat her. (wink)

- Karin, Pennsylvania, USA, 6/11/2008 8:04

       

If it weren’t so serious, it would be laughable.
Trouble is, many Americans don’t know anything about what goes on outside their country’s borders.
It is widely reported that only 22 per cent of the country’s residents own a passport (and didn’t Dubya only get one when he was elected President?) is it any wonder that such appalling ignorance prevails?
In this specific instance, it proves that the world had a lucky escape…

- Jayne Howarth, West Midlands, 6/11/2008 8:06

       

I whole heartedly agree Elaine from Crawley !!

- Kath, London, 6/11/2008 8:11

       

Good grief! Even I, cynical to the hilt and beyond as I am, would not have guessed that this Beverly Hillbilly is quite so ignorant. What can one say about a country where at least a substantial minority of people think this woman should have real international power? Help!

- Ian Millard, Exeter UK, 6/11/2008 8:11

       

Typical yank who has no idea there is life outside of the USA.

- Tracey, Axminster, UK, 6/11/2008 8:12

****

Suffice to say, it’s about time the Republican Party did some serious reassessing about the sorts of people they let run for office.

Have a good day!

Bobbi