Comments on: Hillary as Secretary of State

By: David All

David All — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:30:08 +0000

Mesquito: Pinsker makes several valuable points in his review of “Team of Rivals”, but I think he overstates his case. He fails to mention that Chase as Secretary of the Treasury was responsible, along with Thaddeus Stevens as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committe, with setting up the financial system that allowed the Union govt to raise money for the cost of the immense Union War effort. (Lincoln was absolutely clueless about taxes, revenues, etec.) Also that while Lincoln did remove Chase from the Treasury in early 1864 because Chase was working to challenge Lincoln’s nomination by the Republicans for a second term; Lincoln did in late 1864 appoint Chase as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court and it was Chase as Chief Justice who swore Lincoln in for his second term as President.

The man who LBJ, then VP, told so glowering about McNamara, Rusk, Mac Bundy and the rest of JFK’s foreign policy team, “the Best and the Brightest” was LBJ’s mentor, the long time Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn who replied prophectically:
“Well Lyndon, they may every bit as brillant as you say they are, but I’d feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for Sheriff once back home.”

Monty: I, like LBJ, was speaking figuratively, my lad, figuratively.

Oniad: If VP Biden and Secretary Clinton were to reenact the Hamilton-Burr duel, I know which one to bet on and its not the VP!

By: Oniad

Oniad — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:58:54 +0000

Well there is always the risk of big personalities conflicting – I’m thinking even earlier than Lincoln – you never know, perhaps VP Biden and Secretary Clinton can reenact the Hamilton*-Burr duel for a jaded Washington elite?

*My apologies to Hamilton for the comparison with Clinton and Biden which is a considerable disservice to his memory.

By: Monty

Monty — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:39:11 +0000

“Could be, Gene, but I prefer LBJ’s reasoning!”

If she can piss through the flap of a tent, in either direction, she is one exceptional woman.

By: mesquito

mesquito — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:20:25 +0000

“Them fellas are pretty damn smart, especially that one with the Sta-Combe in his hair.”

LBJ, on Robert McNamara

By: David All

David All — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:16:12 +0000

Gene: “Maybe Obama is taking the Abe Lincoln ‘Team of Rivals’ route?”
Could be, Gene, but I prefer LBJ’s reasoning!

By: David All

David All — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:12:31 +0000

Alec, you may have just hit upon the slogan for crazy right-wingers, Obama/Stalin. Makes as much sense as Bush/Hitler did!

By: Alec Macpherson

Alec Macpherson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:04:33 +0000

Or, maybe, Gene, this is Obama deciding not to eliminate his Kirov. Well, if Bush burned his Reichstag.

By: mesquito

mesquito — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:03:15 +0000

Soembody named Matthew Pinsker argues that the Team Of Rivals is pop-history buncombe.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-pinsker18-2008nov18,0,1022347.story?track=rss

By: mesquito

mesquito — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:50:04 +0000

Maybe Obama is taking the Abe Lincoln “Team of Rivals” route.

Perhaps, but there is no civil war and the “hang together or hang separately” imperative is hardly in force.

Limbaugh is wondering if Obama knows that Bill and Hillary could not complete his executive questionaire without embarassment, and that he will will use it at a pretext to turn her down at cut her off at the knees.

By: Gene

Gene — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:41:48 +0000

Maybe Obama is taking the Abe Lincoln "Team of Rivals" route.