Letters to the Editor
navamske
Published Letters: 23 Editor's Choice: 2
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Whoosh... As in: Kinda missed the point, eh?
[Read the article: Barack Obama is a Muslim, and other stories]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]bernbart, addressing me specifically: I don't see why any president should have to take an oath on a bible. This is a Democracy, NOT a Christian nation.
I didn't say any president should have to take an oath on a Bible. I said that Obama could have taken an opportunity in this ad in which he was "reintroducing" himself to the public to address the rumor about his being a Muslim, and do so without repeating the canard. Presidents-elect typically take the oath of office on a Bible. I think all of them have done so. It's not required by the Constitution; it's a tradition. I acknowledge the tradition. That doesn't mean I approve of it. My point was that as long as presidents-elect are routinely taking the oath of office on their Bibles and Obama will too if he's elected, why not take the opportunity to say "when I take the oath of office" in a slightly different way that might assuage some people's concerns?
As for "This is a democracy, not a Christian nation," that might be a non sequitur given that, I don't believe, "democracy" and "Christian nation" are mutually exclusive. It probably depends on how one defines "Christian nation." The nonsequitur aside, however, I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
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Other connections
[Read the article: "Vote for the Udall nearest you"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here are a few other family connections:
- Sen. Ted Kennedy has served concurrently with his nephew Rep. Joseph Kennedy and his son Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
- In the '70s, I believe, the House had its first instance of two members' being married to each other while serving. I think their names were Andy Jacobs and Martha Keys -- and I believe Martha Keys was the sister of Sen. Gary Hart. Since then Reps. Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari, both of NewYork, have served.
- Howard Baker is quite the Republican, having had two famous GOP fathers-in-law: Everett Dirksen, as you note, and Gov. Alf Landon of Kansas, who lost the 1936 election to FDR.
- Sens. Barbara Boxer and Hillary Clinton are related through Boxer's grandson, who is Clinton's nephew. (Boxer's daughter was married to Clinton's brother.)
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Yes, but
[Read the article: Quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Of course, you can nitpick this joke if you really want to, and point out that the new Congress will be sworn in before the new President is, but it's likely that whoever wins the presidency will resign their Senate seat before the new Congress comes in. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush resigned from their previous posts the month before they were first inaugurated.
Yes, but both Clinton and Bush were governors when they were elected (Clinton) and selected (Bush) president. They probably had no real timetable for resigning their offices, but Obama and McCain do. They are both senators, and either the governor of Illinois or the governor of Arizona will be appointing a replacement for one of them. It's in their individual states' best interest for the president-elect to vacate his Senate seat as quickly as possible so that his replacement can take the seat before the new senators-elect are sworn in on January 3 so that he or she (the appointed senator) can have seniority, no matter how minimal.
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Selection committee
[Read the article: Who'll be the Republicans' Obama now?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]CAMPAIGN STAFF: "Do you have any skeletons in your closet?"
JINDAL: "Other than the ones that help set the atmosphere when I perform exorcisms, no."
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2012
[Read the article: Clinton's conundrum]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Much talk about "What next for Hillary" usually focuses on her being either president or (it has only recently been described in these terms) the successor to Ted Kennedy as the liberal "lion(ess)" of the Senate. Those speculating about Clinton's possibly running for president in 2012 might want to take into account the fact that she will be up for Senate reelection that year. Although Lyndon Johnson, Lloyd Bentsen, and Joe Lieberman all ran for vice president and reelection to the Senate simultaneously and Joe Biden will probably do so this year, I doubt if public opinion would tolerate a presidential candidate's doing so. I don't know what the filing deadline for Senate candidacy in New York is, but Clinton could be faced with an all-or-nothing choice.
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@werrit
[Read the article: Sarah Palin speaks on the First Amendment]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dice Clay seemed to think his "right to free speech" meant he was somehow guaranteed an audience to spew out whatever crap he wanted to, but nobody else was "free" to boycott or complain against it.
That great Constitutional scholar George W. Bush had a view somewhat similar to that. After the Dixie Chicks criticized him, they were in turn criticized by Bush supporters. An interviewer asked Bush, essentially, "Don't the Dixie Chicks have the right to express their opinion?" and he said, "Yes, but the people who disapprove of what the Dixie Chicks said also have the right to express their opinion," conveniently failing to take into account the fact that the negative reaction to the Dixie Chicks went far beyond criticism and boycotts -- it included death threats. I don't think the people who disapproved of the Dixie Chicks were themselves being threatened with bodily harm or death.
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As long as we're on the subject
[Read the article: Sarah Palin speaks on the First Amendment]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As long as we're on the subject of free speech, I want to take the opportunity to express that I am continually frustrated by the statement "The First Amendment doesn't give you the right to shout 'Fire!' in a crowded theater." Sadly, even Barack Obama says this in The Audacity of Hope. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. I am, however, an editor who believes that precision in language is important. In fact, citizens do have the right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater, and well they should, if there is a fire. What they do not have is the right to falsely shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater. I would like to know what Glenn thinks about this.
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Bacon vs. Fries
[Read the article: One election that wasn't about the lesser of two evils]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That's arguably even better than the fact that the Supreme Court had a Justice Frankfurter and a Chief Justice Burger.