Wednesday, January 7, 2009
2008 Presidents of the United States of America
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 8:51 PM
Something to look at:
Does that gap between Carter and Clinton, a gap that separates Carter from the rest, mean anything?
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1
Which of these ones is not like the others?
I still think it's cool that it happened in my lifetime.
I still think it's cool that it happened in my lifetime.
3
A picture I took at the Smithsonian in DC over Thanksgiving: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=mlrxq1&s… in a sea of old white guys... There's Obama.
5
@1 - "Which of these ones is not like the others?"
The one in the middle doesn't have a functional brain?
The one in the middle doesn't have a functional brain?
7
Why look, 5 other American men who have conveniently ignored modern day slavery, just like Charles!
"How on earth can you be the daughter of slaves and at the same time still be alive?"
(Next Up to Death by Charles Mudede)
8
Mr. Dixon, if Thomas Jefferson was for freedom, then how come he had slaves!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKEPMjAwo…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKEPMjAwo…
9
Charles,
I thought you were going to post it. I saw it on the NYT website this afternoon. Obama is right. It was an "extraordinary" moment. Bully for them. They each served the Republic for better or worse and one WILL serve the Republic for better or worse. I wish Obama good luck. He'll need it.
I thought you were going to post it. I saw it on the NYT website this afternoon. Obama is right. It was an "extraordinary" moment. Bully for them. They each served the Republic for better or worse and one WILL serve the Republic for better or worse. I wish Obama good luck. He'll need it.
10
How is this the first time since 1981 that all living Presidents have been in the same room? It seems like it must have been pretty easy to gather them all up right now, what with one of the exes being the father of the current President and another one being married to the next Secretary of State.
11
Olbermann was talking to someone tonight (that kinda cute guy from the Nation) about how far apart Carter and Clinton stood because of their well-known hostility toward one another. They just mentioned it in passing like it had been all over the news, like no WMDs or Larry Craigs wide stance.
So does anyone have the skinny? I mean, I can imagine why "Sin in my Heart" Carter would be a little disgusted by President Hummer, but is there anything specific I should know about? And by "should know about" I mean "feed my lust for gossip."
So does anyone have the skinny? I mean, I can imagine why "Sin in my Heart" Carter would be a little disgusted by President Hummer, but is there anything specific I should know about? And by "should know about" I mean "feed my lust for gossip."
13
Renbot: I read that Clinton was angry that Carter did "parachute diplomacy" (Haiti, Bosnia, etc.) during the 1990s, as if it undermined his administration's foreign policy.
15
@13: Ah, that makes sense. I assumed the hostility would have gone the other way and been personal. Shows where my mind tends to reside.
16
ah. after seeing this photo, i was just trying to figure out how common it was for there to be three living ex-presidents (a bit above average):
http://sciencevsromance.net/post/6906447…
http://sciencevsromance.net/post/6906447…
17
@11
It has something to do with the Carter Administration housing refugees at a military base in Arkansas when Clinton was Gov. Poor coordination between the two, plus hostility from the people living around the base lead to unpleasantness. Clinton writes about it in his autobiography. I haven't read Carter's autobiography yet so I don't know his take on it.
It has something to do with the Carter Administration housing refugees at a military base in Arkansas when Clinton was Gov. Poor coordination between the two, plus hostility from the people living around the base lead to unpleasantness. Clinton writes about it in his autobiography. I haven't read Carter's autobiography yet so I don't know his take on it.
18
The one in the middle and the one on the left are due for felony charges (warrantless wiretaps and Iran-Contra, respectively).
19
Monty, It's the first time since 1981 all the living presidents have been together in the White House. They've been getting together a lot, it seems, in the last decade or so at other events, funerals, etc. (Except Reagan.)
21
The funniest part of the awkward photo op (or at least the video clip I saw from it) was when Bill Clinton came out suddenly with the enthusiastic nonsequitur, "Ah always did LOVE this rug". I'm not sure why, exactly, but it made me remember all at once that he was putting cigars into "that woman" in the Oval Office and I cracked up, wondering if that's what the other Presidents were thinking about (okay, George Junior likely wasn't thinking at all, in the clinical sense)...
22
I'm down with the Obama vote, and the opportunities his presence in the White House will lend to black-white relations on the street. And it's fantastic we've an articulate leader for once, but do keep in mind that for all of Obama's forthrightness and apparent good-hearted intentions, he is still the newly-ascendant faction of the capitalist power structure. His back is scratched by money, and he's going to scratch it right back. The military-industrial-simulcra machine will not evaporate in a puff of golden hope on January 20th. Nor will the core of our economy suddenly become something other than usury interest.
I am looking forward to seeing how different Obama will actually be.
I am looking forward to seeing how different Obama will actually be.
24
I see one Democrat on the right, four Republicans on the left-- was that the point of this exercise?
25
They all have continually signed off on bills they do not read, and Obama will not read the entirety of the bills he signs off on. At least read the laws to which you expect the plebes to abide.
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@24:
What picture are you looking at?
I see three powerful Democrats who actually have accomplished great things in and out of the Oval Office, and two Republicans that have done nothing but fuck up, over and over again.
What picture are you looking at?
I see three powerful Democrats who actually have accomplished great things in and out of the Oval Office, and two Republicans that have done nothing but fuck up, over and over again.
28
@26MC,
This isn't a jab at Obama but what "great thing" has Obama done? He was indeed, elected President but so were the other four. Even some of his defenders concede he didn't run on his resume. He has a mere three years (the 4th year he spent essentially campaigning) in the Senate. His message of "Change" was delivered eloquently. But, by & large he is a blank slate which by some is considered an asset. Perhaps "great things" will happen. Last November, an American President was elected yet again civily by the people. That, truly is a "great thing".
This isn't a jab at Obama but what "great thing" has Obama done? He was indeed, elected President but so were the other four. Even some of his defenders concede he didn't run on his resume. He has a mere three years (the 4th year he spent essentially campaigning) in the Senate. His message of "Change" was delivered eloquently. But, by & large he is a blank slate which by some is considered an asset. Perhaps "great things" will happen. Last November, an American President was elected yet again civily by the people. That, truly is a "great thing".
29
qft:
I see one Democrat on the right, four Republicans on the left-- was that the point of this exercise?
31
What does the gap signify? I believe it is well know that Jimmy Carter does not approve of Bill Clinton.
32
I wondered the same thing about that gap. I've heard that Carter isn't among the most-loved in Washington. Even among his compatriots. That said, who knows what these people are thinking when they put on performances like this?
33
GHWB looks like he'd rather be someplace else. Why does he always have that look? Does he have that look when he- shudder- slips it to Babs?
34
Anybody else notice how W. is leaning in front of Obama, blocking him partially from the camera? As if grasping for his last few minutes of camera time will help rescue his legacy. As for the distance between Carter and Clinton, I wouldn't want to get too close to Clinton either.
37
I think most ex-presidents become statesmen, but Carter became a humanitarian. He hands out water in famine- and disease-ravaged villages where no one knows who the hell he is, other than a white guy handing out the water. So... he just doesn't feel a part of this world anymore. Good for him. He's my favorite ex-president by a mile.
39
I noticed that both of the Bush twins looked like Soviet Apparatchiks.
And both rang up big deficits while destroying America.
And both rang up big deficits while destroying America.
43
I wondered the same thing, and here's what I found this morning: "Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton: They Genu…." This is a HuffPo article from April 2008, and it confirms some of the things said in this thread.
44
perhaps this is a photoshoot for a magazine cover? Carter will be folded over behind the front cover.
45
"I believe that I speak for all of us here when I say that we wish you nothing but success [in carrying out the New World Order]" ~~George W. Bush to Obama.
46
When I see this photo, all I can think is:
No U.S. President has died under the same flag he was born under.
No U.S. President has died under the same flag he was born under.
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