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Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.
AP
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Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.
“I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News.
“When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She's a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she's got a great future in the Republican Party.”
Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her star status diminishing within the party.
The Republican also thanked John McCain and the other big name Republicans that came to Georgia, but said Palin made the biggest impact.
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DeMint: Capitol Visitor Center left-leaning, omits 'history of faith'
The Hill
Delete Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) from the list of admirers of the new Capitol Visitor Center.
DeMint issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the new facility for "omitting the history of faith." DeMint noted that the new tourist spot ignored his request to include the phrase "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance.
DeMint said the center, which opened Tuesday, also has displays that are "left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history."
Here's DeMint's full statement:
“The Capitol Visitor Center is designed to tell the history and purpose of our nation's Capitol, but it fails to appropriately honor our religious heritage that has been critical to America’s success. While the Architect of the Capitol has pledged to include some references to faith, more needs to be done. You cannot accurately tell the history of America or its Capitol by ignoring the religious heritage of our Founders and the generations since who relied on their faith for strength and guidance. The millions of visitors that will visit the CVC each year should get a true portrayal of the motivations and inspirations of those who have served in Congress since its establishment.
“The current CVC displays are left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history. Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems. This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans’ rights ‘are endowed by their Creator’ and stem from ‘a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.’ Instead, the CVC’s most prominent display proclaims faith not in God, but in government. Visitors will enter reading a large engraving that states, ‘We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution.’ This is an intentional misrepresentation of our nation’s real history, and an offensive refusal to honor America's God-given blessings. As George Washington stated clearly in his first inaugural address:
‘…[I]t would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes: and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success, the functions allotted to his charge.’
“The fundamental principles of the freedom we enjoy in this country stem from our Founding Fathers’ beliefs in a higher power, beliefs put forth in the Declaration of Independence and manifest throughout our Constitution,” said Senator DeMint. “If we cease to acknowledge this fact, we may cease to enjoy some of the freedoms we take for granted. We must not censor historical references to God for the sake of political correctness. And we must truthfully represent the limited form of government the Constitution lays out so that our ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.’ So help us God.”
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What Robert Rubin did for his $115 million
Wall Street Journal
On October 18, 1999, Citigroup announced that former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin was joining the firm. But what exactly would Mr. Rubin do at Citigroup? Citi's SEC filing eight days later noted that Mr. Rubin would be joining the bank's board of directors. After that, the message to investors began to get murky. Citi said that Mr. Rubin "will serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board and will work with Mr. [John] Reed and Mr. [Sanford] Weill, Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers, in a newly constituted three-person office of the Chairman."
Was Mr. Rubin to be primarily a member of the board overseeing management, or a part of the management reporting to the board? Things became even murkier when Messrs. Weill and Reed described Mr. Rubin's job: "Bob will participate in strategic managerial and operational matters of the Company, but will have no line responsibilities."
As a great man of finance, Mr. Rubin would be paid CEO money -- a total of $115 million since 1999, not including stock options -- but without having to run a business or be accountable for the results. For years, journalists tried to figure out exactly what Mr. Rubin's job was at Citigroup, and perhaps even his fellow Citi directors weren't entirely sure. In 2000, a bitter feud between Messrs. Reed and Weill forced the board to choose sides and decide on one CEO to run the business. Before the board began its deliberations, directors reportedly asked Messrs. Reed and Weill — and also Mr. Rubin — to leave the room.
This would be customary if the board saw Mr. Rubin as a part of the management team. In fact, at a separate moment in its discussions, the board asked Mr. Rubin if he would like to lead the management team as CEO. He immediately rejected the idea. No surprise there. If you can have the paycheck and the authority without the responsibility, could there be a better gig?
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Bush wish: 'I would like to be known as one who 'did not sell his soul' in Washington
AFP
George W. Bush hopes history will see him as a president who liberated millions of Iraqis and Afghans, who worked towards peace and who never sold his soul for political ends.
"I'd like to be a president (known) as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace," Bush said in excerpts of a recent interview released by the White House Friday.
"I would like to be a person remembered as a person who, first and foremost, did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process. I came to Washington with a set of values, and I'm leaving with the same set of values."
He also said he wanted to be seen as a president who helped individuals, "that rallied people to serve their neighbor; that led an effort to help relieve HIV/AIDS and malaria on places like the continent of Africa; that helped elderly people get prescription drugs and Medicare as a part of the basic package."
Bush added that every day during his eight-year presidency he had consulted the Bible and drawn comfort from his faith.
"I would advise politicians, however, to be careful about faith in the public arena," the US leader said in the interview with his sister Doro Bush Koch recorded as part of an oral history program known as Storycorps.
As his second term in office draws to an end, Bush joked he would miss some of the trappings that come with the presidency such as trips on Air Force One, never being stuck in a traffic jam, and the president's residence at Camp David.
But he said he was glad to be stepping back into the shadows.
"Frankly, I'm not going to miss the limelight all that much. It's been a fabulous experience to be the president ... But it will be nice to see the Klieg lights shift somewhere else."
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