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Chatty Open Thread
Booman Tribune —
Lot's of news today. Do me a favor and give me your thoughts on some of it. Some seriously great appointments , Al Franken is certified the winner , Leon Panetta has been appointed as DCI (I approve, even if DiFI does not). Most of all, I can't wait until we no longer have idiots speaking for us that just make us all look like fools.
Panetta to Manage the Unmanagable
Weekly Standard Blog —
... own men do what needs to be done. Panetta has never been particularly partisan in his approach to foreign policy matters, having gained a reputation as a budget guy in the '90s. It's not clear why he would want this job, but for those who wish to imagine that this is a clean break with the Bush administrations effective post-9/11 policies, the history of the Clinton administration suggests that may well be wishful thinking.
Update: More reason to like Panetta is this response from Dianne Feinstein:
“I was not ...
Dianne Feinstein Not Too Pleased With Panetta Pick
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News —
... Leon Panettas prospective appointment to head the CIA. Heres what her office just sent me: I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what Ive read, said Senator Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 111th Congress. My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time. Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/23827/dianne-feinstein... SHE: Voted for the war on Iraq Voted in ...
Barack Obama Announces Top Intel Picks
PoliGazette —
... As one would expect when one hears that Panetta is posed to head the CIA, not everyone is happy. Somewhat surprising, however, is that the most aggressive criticism comes from Democrats rather than Republicans at this point in time. For instance, the announcement left Dianne Feinstein, the independent-minded Democrat from California who will head the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, flabbergasted. ...
Bayh: I'll Back Panetta
TPM Election Central —
... "Leon Panetta is an outstanding public servant and I intend to support his nomination," Bayh said. So we have Dianne Feinstein, the panel's incoming chairman, expressing her discontent with the nomination, alongside outgoing chairman ...
DiFi and Jello Jay Feeling Unappreciated
Daily Kos —
On the heels of Obama's announcement of Panetta at CIA, incoming Intelligence Committee chair Feinstein whined: "I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read," said Senator Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the 111th Congress. "My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time." And my position is that ...
Reaction on Panetta
Taylor Marsh —
... But the real noise is over Senator
Feinstein’s reaction to the surprise appointment, by anyone’s standards,
of Leon Panetta to head the C.I.A. It seems clear to me that Panetta’s appointment
leaked out, because there’s no reason whatsoever the Transition wouldn’t at
least give Feinstein a heads up. Frankly, contrary to some of my esteemed progressive
colleagues, notifying Feinstein is not tantamount to asking for her approval.
It’s common courtesy, as ...
1/6: Leon At Langley?
Blogometer —
... , and, significantly, detached from the torture regime and its apparatus in a way that anyone involved in the CIA in the last eight years would not be. [...T]his appointment and Johnsen's are extremely encouraging for the restoration of Constitutional order after the Bush-Cheney protectorate." PANETTA II: Stop Whining, DiFi Liberal bloggers are blasting CA Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- the incoming Chair of the Senate Intelligence Cmte -- after she criticized the Panetta appointment: ...
Loyal Opposition
The American Spectator —
... Just days before "change" comes to Washington, Capitol Hill
Democrats are already sounding a discordant note. Senate
Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein was briefly
off-message when President-elect Barack Obama chose Leon
Panetta as his new head of the CIA. Key Democrats have balked at
the tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan and the House has already
voted to pare them down. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
pointedly told Roll Call, "I don't work for Barack Obama
-- I work with him." ...
