On Wednesday's The Situation Room, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin bizarrely objected to Rudy Giuliani's choice of words in his speech endorsing John McCain when the former mayor argued that McCain should be the next "Commander-in-Chief of the United States," instead of "Commander-in-Chief of the military," as the CNN analyst called the former mayor's statement "pretty outrageous." Toobin further contended that Giuliani's words were an example of his "militaristic, authoritarian approach that I think is just not right. ... That's not what the President does. He doesn't run the country." (Transcript follows)
At about 6:40 p.m. on the January 30 show, host Wolf Blitzer led Toobin, Gloria Borger and Jack Cafferty in a discussion that included reaction to Giuliani's speech, which had run live earlier that hour. After Borger gave a positive review of the speech, Toobin responded:
I don't want to dissent too much. I mean, I think Giuliani said something that was very helpful to McCain. I think it's certainly good. However, he did say something that is really pretty outrageous. He said he thought McCain should be "Commander-in-Chief of the United States." The President is not Commander-in-Chief of the United States. He's Commander-in-Chief of the military. And that is an example of, you know, Giuliani's, kind of, militaristic, authoritarian approach that I think is just not right. And even the President, that's not what the President does. He doesn't run the country.
Below is a transcript of a portion of Giuliani's speech, which aired about 6:10 p.m., that included the former mayor's reference to McCain becoming "Commander-in-Chief of the United States":
And so deciding who to endorse, in my particular case, is not difficult because if I endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip-flopping after having already endorsed John. John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next Commander-in-Chief of the United States. He is an American hero, and America could use heroes in the White House. He's a man of honor and integrity, and you can underline both "honor" and "integrity."
—Brad Wilmouth is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
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And even the President,
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 03:30 ET by fitzfongAnd even the President, that's not what the President does. He doesn't run the country.
Toobin is right. Everyone knows the President doesn't run the country. The Courts and the sleazy shysters like Jeffrey Toobin do.
Gimme a break
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 04:53 ET by KC MulvilleIt's absurdly anal-retentive to read "militarism" into that concession speech. Giuliani was offering boilerplate rhetoric, not making an arcane point about the scope of what the 'commander-in-chief' refers to in the constitution. You have to actively look for offense to be offended by that speech.
However, it does remind me of the complaints the Clintons whined about during impeachment. Hillary complained that the Lewinsky scandal was dangerous because it would distract her husband from "running the country," as if there were an accelerator, brake pedals, and a steering wheel in the Oval Office. If Bill wasn't totally focused, the country would be ruined. Which means that they actually imagined that to Bill, "L’État c’est moi!"
And, I imagine, that's what Hillary thinks she'll be. She will be the state. She won't be just a president. She'll "run" the country. (Think I'm exaggerating? Remember her Christmas commercial, where she "gifts" us with universal healthcare, etc.? These are freudian slips, and we better start paying attention.)
Tuba, get a life. All of
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 06:30 ET by USA4freedomTuba, get a life. All of this from the channel that showed our troops getting shot from the prospective of the terrorist.
One day, some how, I hope each and every one that runs this Anti American channel gets exactly what they deserve.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. Ronald Reagan- 40th Anniversary of D-Day
Get a grip, Jeff.
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 07:06 ET by motherbeltGet a grip, Jeff.
One has to wonder if he has similar panicky thoughts over Mrs. Clinton, who says she won't be a do-nothing President. She was very emphatic that she plans to "run" the government and "manage" the economy.
Now I don't know about you, but the latter there just scares the bejabbers out of me! Whoever said it was the President's job to "manage the economy"?????
KC, I just read your whole comment...GMTA!
Bells and alarms
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 11:32 ET by KC MulvilleIndeed, MB. Every other word out of Hillary's mouth sets off alarms, in a lot of us.
She also scares me for what she doesn't say. You will never hear her say, "tort reform" or "easing regulations," because those are the bread and butter of trial lawyers. And if nothing else, Hillary is a lawyer.
If you live in a glass house....
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 08:53 ET by ThisnThatSince Toobin started it, let's be real picky here. Toobin said "The President is not Commander-in-Chief of the United States. He's Commander-in-Chief of the military". Not true. The Constitution says the following: "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States". The Constitution does not use the word "Military".
Toobin wants to leave the impression that he's smarter than God, and is therefore qualified to smite anyone that is the least precise in their endorsement language. I've got news for Toobin:
If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones.
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
"I want to take those
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 09:00 ET by sublight68"I want to take those profits..." seemed a little more outrageous to me.
Pretty much everything the candidates are promising, on both sides of the aisle, are outside the original scope of the federal government, much less the presidency.
The President runs the
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 11:04 ET by Dan The Man 2The President runs the country, not in a literal manner but he oversees the country and is expected to heal it when neded. I have heard many things on how the President is screwing this up or taht up and how he is singlehandly bringing the USA down. So teh perception is the President is resposible for "running" teh country. Ill bet Toon would be the first to say he is running it badly.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Typical hypocrisy of
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 12:29 ET by mattmTypical hypocrisy of misplaced concerns. It's so funny how libs claim to worry about militarism, government wire-tapping etc., yet it is their heroes that actually do that kind of thing. - Just ask the Japanese Americans put in concentration camps by FDR, or the Branch Davidians murdered by Janet Reno...
The Liberals are the ones who want to create a totalitarian Utopia in which the Government makes the decisions that we, the people, are too frickin' incompetent to make.
Zeig Heil, Libs....remember, EVERY totalitarian regime of the last 100 years has been socialistic in structure and function...not one, was a constitutional republic. If Libs really cared about Liberty, they would not be Libs.
You Left One Out
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 16:52 ET by Del DolemonteDon't forget, it was a Leftist named Phillip Agee (whose obituary a couple of weeks ago even IDed him as a Leftist) who REALLY outed scores of CIA agents, with some of them getting murdered as a result. The people on the Left gave him a pass at the time.
But when a non-covert agent's identity was compromised, they got their panties in a bunch-simply because it happened on the evil Bush's watch, and they wanted to punish him for "stealing" the 2000 and 2004 elections.
that's the MSM's job!!
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 13:17 ET by SouthJersey1953Everyone knows it is the job of the MSM to "run the country"
It's not Right vs. Left; it is Right vs. Wrong