Tag Archives: Joe Biden

January 19, 2013 · 1:26 AM

“My God, What Have We Done?”: White House Staffers React to Insane Online Petitions

Death Star Petition

My favorites were the petition for a Death Star and a petition to stop petitions…

Mother Jones

It’s not all laughs for the White House staffers who deal with petitions demanding Obama build a Death Star or create a Joe Biden reality TV show, but they don’t mind.

As White House officials were busy pondering new gun violence prevention measures, preparing for the coming debt ceiling showdown with Republicans, and meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Obama administration on January 11 also issued an official decision: the US government would not construct the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, commonly known as the Death Star from Star Wars Episode IV.

This was no joke. Well, almost no joke. “The Administration does not support blowing up planets,” the official White House statement read. “Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?” The response also address the dubious claim that such a large-scale federal undertaking would be a tremendous boon for the American economy. (The Galactic Empire has since issued a press release mocking the Obama administration for its decision.)

This official declaration was compelled by the White House’s own rules. Under its We the People initiative, anybody with internet access can petition the White House on any matter, and if a petition gains 25,000 signatures, the president—or his people—have to respond. Well, that’s how it worked until Tuesday. After being hit by all sorts of, shall we say, nonserious petitions like the Death Star one that reached the 25,000-signature benchmark, the White House has raised the bar. From now on, a petition will require 100,000 signatures in order to win White House attention. (When WTP debuted, the threshold was a measly 5,000.) But that fix may still not block the frivolous—the Death Star request drew over 34,000 signatures, and other ludicrous posts have managed to surpass the 100,000 mark—and some White House officials connected to the We the People project say (on background, of course), What were we thinking?

Continue reading here…

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January 16, 2013 · 9:18 PM

Has the NRA lost it entirely?

Has the NRA lost it entirely?

This article speaks to the NRA’s ad that targets Sasha and Malia Obama. (The announcer calls them: “the president’s kids”.)

Salon – Joan Walsh

While Obama signs 23 executive orders on gun control, the organization takes a bizarre shot at his family

On the eve of President Obama announcing his gun control agenda, based on Vice President Joe Biden’s task force recommendations, the National Rifle Association needed to go big: to remind Americans that the organization protects their gun rights, and to remind politicians that they’re a smart and formidable political force they’d be unwise to cross.

Instead, they showed us the truth: They’re part of the vast and increasingly incompetent right-wing conspiracy that’s sacrificed its own effectiveness for the pleasure of hating Democrats generally and our first black president in particular.

You’ve either seen or read about the ad: A narrator intones, “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” (Huh? you might say.) “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their schools? Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security.”

Of course, the NRA ignores the common-sense answer to its own question: Every president’s child is protected by armed guards. They’re called the Secret Service. Outside of the fever swamps of anti-Obama hatred, no one could possibly have a problem with that, let alone call it hypocrisy.

Just the way Fox News’ insularity and reality denial has been a form of media and political malpractice, harming its viewers by shielding them from the Obama victory to come in 2012, the NRA has disabled itself by wallowing in anti-Obama hatred and paranoia.  On the eve of the president’s big stand, when they most needed to show their supposedly formidable political muscle, instead they showed that they’re completely tone-deaf and politically silly. That’s because they’ve been marinating in the bile of Obama’s enemies, where the president’s modest moves on guns, in the wake of the Newtown massacre, are a trigger to call for his impeachment – thanks, Ed Meese, Mr. Iran-Contra! – or worse.

And on that fringe, of course, everyone knows the president is just a big fat elitist hypocrite. Over on that fringe, Sasha and Malia Obama don’t elicit feelings of tenderness and protectiveness like they do in the rest of the country. They elicit feelings of contempt, as the children of “elitist hypocrites,” if they provoke any feelings at all.

In the real world, we know that our first black president has faced more assassination threats than any president in history, and that the Secret Service has a particularly tough job protecting him and his family. In the NRA’s world, wingnuts pray for his death with Psalm 109, which asks God, “may his children be fatherless and his wife a widow” and “may no one … take pity on his fatherless children.)

And no, I’m not quoting some lone NewsMax commenter or a Breitbart blogger’s tweet: The verse has been popular among right-wing ministers and politicians since Obama’s inauguration. It’s spawned bumper stickers. Almost exactly a year ago, Kansas’ Republican House Speaker Mike O’Neal was emailing it around to his political allies. “At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!” O’Neal refused to apologize. Then he apologized. Then he retired. Wayne LaPierre might want to look to O’Neal for inspiration.

To be fair, maybe the NRA is simply saying that every child in America should be protected by an armed guard, like Sasha and Malia Obama are. That would be consistent with LaPierre’s creepy maxim: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” (More to the point: That would sell a hell of a lot of guns, the NRA’s real goal.) In reality, though, the ad springs from a reflexive belief that most Americans share LaPierre’s contempt for the president.

We don’t, Wayne. We just reelected him. He’s the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to get more than 50 percent of the vote twice. Your hatred is blurring your vision and hurting your political aim. That’s bad for the NRA but it’s good for the rest of us.

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· 9:15 AM

NRA targets Obama’s kids in a scathing new ad

File photo: Malia Obama, Sasha Obama and first lady Michelle Obama listen as President Obama speaks at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 6, 2012. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Malia Obama, Sasha Obama and first lady Michelle Obama listen as President Obama speaks at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 6, 2012.

This is the latest despicable piece of crap coming from the not so bright folks at the NRA…

MSNBC’s The Last Word

The National Rifle Association is getting personal. In a new web video the gun lobby calls President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for using the Secret Service to protect his two children, Sasha, age 11, and Malia, age 14.

The ad, posted to the NRA’s Stand and Fight website, criticizes Obama for opposing the NRA’s proposal of increasing the number of armed guards in schools as a way to prevent shootings like the Sandy Hook massacre.

“Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” asks the voiceover on the ad. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” It continues, “Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security. Protection for their kids and gun-free zones for ours.”

The video does not show pictures of the president’s daughters, using instead images of outspoken gun control advocates such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden.

The ad apparently served as a preemptive strike against President Obama, who plans to unveil his high anticipated proposals to reduce gun violence on Wednesday. Along with school security, mental health and the entertainment industry, the president is also expected to recommend universal background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines and some sort of assault weapons ban.

Last week, Obama signed a bill to restore lifetime Secret Service protection for presidents elected after 1997, which includes himself and George W. Bush, and presidents in the future, along with their wives. The law gives children of former presidents protection until the age of 16.

George W. Bush signed a directive four days before he left office, authorizing the Secret Service to provide a period of extended protection for his daughters Jenna and Barbara. Bill Clinton had also authorized extended coverage for his daughter Chelsea when his term ended. The Secret Service asked that the period of additional protection be kept confidential.

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January 13, 2013 · 6:05 AM

Sunday Talk: Precious metal

I like Daily Kos’ Sunday Talk  lineup.   Wanted to share this feature once again with TFC readers.

Thank you for visiting this blog on a regular basis.

Daily Kos

Long before Joe Biden confirmed their worst fear—that President Obama is planning to go all Mr. Bananagrabber on them—those at the forefront of America’s civil gun rights movement began making their doomsday preparations; and with good reason.

Ever since he first took office, Obama has been promoting so-called “infrastructure” projects—just like Hitler did.

And now, in the wake of the Newtownschool shooting (which could’ve been stopped by an armed sex offender), he wants to expand his dictatorship in ways that would make Stalin blush.

Adding insult to injury, Obama’s administration has refused requests by we the people to build a Death Star, purportedly because there isn’t enough platinum in the world to pay for it—a claim belied by algebra and science.

If this keeps up, it may soon become necessary to set the building on fire.

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Morning lineup:

Meet the Press: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Roundtable: Newark, NJ MayorCory Booker (D), Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), GOP Strategist Mike Murphy and Andrea Mitchell (NBC News).Face the Nation: Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Sen.Joe Machin (D-WV); Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D); Roundtable: Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Washington Post), Amy Walter (Cook Political Report) and Jon Dickerson (CBS News).

This Week: Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI); Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN); Richard Haass (Council on Foreign Relations); Martha Raddatz (ABC News); Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV); Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R); Roundtable: Paul Krugman (New York Times), Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal), Al Hunt (Bloomberg News), Judy Woodruff (PBS) and Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker.

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT);Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Bob Woodward (Washington Post), Kimberley Strassel (Wall Street Journal) and Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN).

State of the Union: NRA President David Keene; Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D); Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV); Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Reliable Sources: Paul Farhi(Washington Post); Robert Costa (National Review); Keli Goff (TheRoot.com); Christine Brennan (USA Today); Gail Shister (TV Newser); Adam Buckman (Xfinity TV);Rebecca MacKinnon (CNN).

The Chris Matthews Show: Howard Fineman (Huffington Post); Liz Marlantes(Christian Science Monitor); John Harris (Politico); Kasie Hunt (NBC News).

Fareed Zakaria GPS: Peter Beinart (Daily Beast); Bret Stephens (Wall Street Journal); Hermitage Capital Management CEO William Browder; Author Stephen Cohen; Author Bruce Bartlett; Jeffrey Toobin (CNN).

Up with Chris Hayes: Joy Reid (MSNBC); Columbia University Prof. John McWhorter;Eli Lake (Newsweek/Daily Beast); Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!); Dave Zirin (The Nation); Tara McGuinness (Center for American Progress Action Fund); Chris Anders(ACLU).

Evening lineup:

60 Minutes will feature: a report on technological advances, especially robotics, that are revolutionizing the workplace, but not necessarily creating jobs (preview); an interview with Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayer (preview); and, a report on the extreme sport of free diving, in which divers reach great depths on one breath (preview).

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January 10, 2013 · 6:24 PM

Tactical Response CEO Threatens To ‘Start Killing People’ Over Possible Obama Gun Measure (VIDEO)

James Yeager

Multiply this guy by millions who think just like him..scary scenario, indeed…

The Huffington Post

One CEO says he’s willing to go to outrageous lengths to protect his right to use a gun.

James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that trains people in weapon and tactical skills, claimed in a video posted on YouTube and Facebook thathe would “start killing people” if President Barack Obama decides to take executive action to pass further gun control policies, Raw Story reports.

In a frenetic address to the camera, Yeager puts a call out to other gun rights advocates to “load your damn mags” and “get ready to fight” in what he claims will turn into a “civil war” if gun control measures in the country get any stricter.

SEE FULL VIDEO BELOW — WARNING ADULT LANGUAGE

Yeager’s diatribe was a response to a recent statement from Vice President Joe Biden indicating that Obama was exploring using executive orders to address gun policy. Yeager accused Obama of being a “dictator” for considering taking action without Congress.

After the massacre in Newtown, Conn. last month, Obama instituted a task force lead by Biden to come up with policy proposals to deal with gun violence no later than this month.

The Washington Post reported that the White House is considering more expansive measures to tackle gun violence than simply reinstating a ban on assault weapons and large magazines. Biden’s working group will consider initiatives such as a national database to track sale and movement of weapons and universal background checks for gun buyers.

Yeager isn’t the first gun advocate to loudly voice his opinion about potential action on Capitol Hill. On Monday, Radio Host Alex Jones went on a scathing pro-gun tirade on “Piers Morgan Tonight” claiming that, “1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! Doesn’t matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street, begging for ‘em to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand?!”

Yeager recently edited the video he put up on YouTube to not include his threat to “start killing people.” The original video was preserved by Raw Story and can be seen below.

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January 9, 2013 · 6:52 PM

Why President Obama is picking fights with Congress

President Obama is pictured. | AP Photo

It would be a mistake to attribute all of Obama’s actions to dispassionate tactics. | AP Photo

  • Because revenge is a dish best served cold?
  • He hates them for making him look weak these past four years?
  • Because he can?
  • All of the above?

Politico

Barack Obama is looking for a few good fights.

Obama, the same president who campaigned twice on breaking the cycle of conflict in Washington, sees the utility — even the necessity — of rattling Republican cages as he plunges into a succession of upcoming battles over the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, the debt ceiling, $1 trillion in automatic budget cuts, immigration reform and gun control.

(Also on POLITICO: Senate vs. President Obama over Cabinet)

Obama’s willingness to take a more overtly adversarial stance is, in part, a nod to the reality that he’s about to start his second term with solid approval numbers — “Hit now, as hard as you can, because your power starts to die in six, eight months,” according to a top aide to a Senate Republican who has often locked horns with the White House.

That entails taking a tough line with the Hill GOP on Hagel — who has vowed to battle “distortions” of his record on Iran and Israel — and stiff-arming the GOP at the start of negotiations over the debt ceiling and across-the-board spending cuts. It’s less clear whether Obama will be quite as bellicose on issues that require a more subtle approach, like immigration, guns and climate change, although his aides are talking tough.

(Also on POLITICO: Why Obama picked Hagel)

Picking a few choice fights “is a very good strategy if you know that applying all that pressure gets you the result you are looking for,” said former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, an adviser to Obama’s 2012 campaign. “But if you pick a fight, you have to be sure the tactic helps ensure the result you want rather than making it harder to achieve.”

There’s also a long-term strategy: Two months after a decisive presidential win, Obama and his party already are eyeing the 2014 midterms. Highlighting the contrasts between the White House and congressional Republicans could flip the House back to Democrats, giving Obama a final two-year governing majority that bookends the one he enjoyed during his first two years in office.

But it would be a mistake to attribute all of Obama’s actions to dispassionate tactics. After four-plus years of embittered partisan combat, he views his GOP bargaining partners with more than a little contempt, and he momentarily vanquished enemies who just can’t say “yes” to him.

His apparent conclusion, after watching the implosion of the House GOP’s effort to pass a modest tax increase before the final fiscal cliff deal, is that the best way to deal with the Capitol is to throw rocks at it — then send Vice President Joe Biden in to clean up the glass.

(PHOTOS: What they’re saying about Chuck Hagel)

“There are 536 people who will be negotiating deals — the House, the Senate and the president,” an Obama aide said. “Only one of them isn’t running for reelection again. That gives us leverage.”

Republicans see parallels between Obama’s recent tough-guy stance — he practically dared the GOP to shoot down Hagel, one of their own, during an East Room ceremony Monday — and his aggressive push for the stimulus and health reform bills early in his first term.

Continue on to page 2…

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January 6, 2013 · 7:54 AM

Sunday Talk: New and improved

This just about sums up today’s guest list on the Sunday talk shows…

Daily Kos

When Vice President Joe Biden successfully (?) negotiated a bill to stave off fiscal disaster (for a couple of months, at least), it really was a big fucking deal.

After all, the 112th Congress—arguably the worst Congress in history—wasn’t exactly known for its bipartisanship; yet the bill ultimately passed the House and Senate with support from both parties.

Unfortunately, that same bipartisan spirit didn’t help the victims of Hurricane Sandy or domestic violence.

But, no worries.

The 112th Congress is now a thing of the past, and the 113th Congress looks poised to finally solve the nation’s problems—by repealing Obamacare, hating on teh gheys, ending birthright citizenship, and taking additional hostages.

Morning lineup:

Meet the Press: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Deficit Commission Co-Chairs Alan Simpson (R) and Erskine Bowles (D); Roundtable: Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Vice Chair of the NRSC Carly Fiorina and E.J. Dionne (Washington Post).Face the Nation: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ); Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Rep.Rick Nolan (D-MN); Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ); Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA); Roundtable:David Sanger (New York Times) and Rana Foroohar (TIME).

This Week: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND); Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-TX); Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR); Roundtable: George Will(Washington Post), Greta Van Susteren (Fox News), Gwen Ifill (PBS), Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Jonathan Karl (ABC News).

Fox News Sunday: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH); Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); Roundtable: Brit Hume (Fox News), Nina Easton (Fortune), Bill Kristol(Weekly Standard) and Charles Lane (Washington Post).

State of the Union: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND); Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC); Neera Tanden (Center for American Progress); Stephen Moore (Wall Street Journal); Dana Bash (CNN); Jackie Calmes(New York Times); Reliable Sources: Dana Bash (CNN); Jonathan Weisman (New York Times); Tim Carney (Washington Examiner); Ana Marie Cox (The Guardian); Dave Marash (Formerly of Al-Jazeera); Thomas Mann (Brookings Institute); Norman Ornstein (American Enterprise Institute).

The Chris Matthews Show: Bob Woodward (Washington Post); Michael Duffy (TIME);Gloria Borger (CNN); Joy Reid (MSNBC).

Fareed Zakaria GPS: Ian Bremmer (Eurasia Group); Richard Haas (Council on Foreign Relations); For,er State Department Official Anna-Marie Slaughter; Lionel Barber(Financial Times); Anatole Kaletsky (London Times); Londson School of Economics Prof.Fawaz Gerges; UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi.

Up with Chris Hayes: Steve Ellis (Taxpayers for Common Sense); Victim of Hurricane Sandy Fran O’Connor; Ben Jealous (NAACP); Esther Armah (WBAI-FM); Tio Hardiman (Violence Interruptor Initiative); Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Evening lineup:

60 Minutes will feature: a report on the fate many newspapers face as the Internet becomes the source of almost instantaneous news (preview); a report on “design thinking”—incorporating human behavior into design (preview); and, an interview with Lionel Messi, considered the best soccer player in the world (preview).

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January 4, 2013 · 4:26 PM

Week in one-liners: Biden, Boehner, Kyl

AP Photos

Politico

The top quotes in politics…

“Go f— yourself.” — House Speaker John Boehner to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“For me, this is the lowest — one of the lowest points as a member of the United States Senate.” — Sen. Barbara Mikulski venting about fiscal cliff negotiations.

“It was kind of a B-flat.” — Sen. Jon Kyl describing the tone inside a GOP fiscal cliff meeting.

“I said, ‘This is Joe Biden and I’m your buddy.” — Vice President Joe Biden recounting a meeting with Senate Democrats.

(VIDEO: Joe Biden loves moms)

“At the end of the day, we got whooped.” — Rep. Steve LaTourette on the fiscal cliff deal.

“I would do almost anything Tina Fey asks me to do.” — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi looking forward to her cameo on “30 Rock.”

“I am proud to say that Al Gore finds my principles reprehensible.” — Glenn Beck on being rejected as a bidder for Current TV.

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· 10:02 AM

Biden ‘kills it’ on C-SPAN2

In my opinion, Joe Biden is a National Treasure…

Politico

The twitterverse lit up when CSPAN-2 carried Vice President Joe Biden greeting families and swearing in new senators Thursday:

Holy s[---], @vp Biden is killing it on C-SPAN 2. c-span.org/Live-Video/C-S… Killing. It.

— Emil Caillaux (@emilcDC)

There should be one of those puppy cams but for Joe Biden.

Watching @VP Biden schmoozing on CSPAN2 is more entertaining than it sounds. I swear 

There may be no more charismatic politician than @VPJoe Biden. Turn on C-SPAN to see for yourself. He’s currently swearing senators in.

“Mom, you realize in parts of Arizona this is going to hurt your reputation?” - @VP Biden to Sen. Flake’s mother, on standing next to him

The @VP commentary with the family during swearing in photo-op is my favorite part of the new Congress!

“It’s a Democrat I know, but it’s okay.” @VP Biden to Sen. Ted Cruz’s crying young child.

Watching CSPAN right now kinda make me want to hang out with Joe Biden (@VP) @CarolineWren. “Oh hey there, buddy, you’re alright!”

There is nothing more entertaining than @VP Biden on! He is so much fun.

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January 2, 2013 · 1:39 PM

The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn’t

From left: John Boehner, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid are pictured. | AP Photos

Oh my…

Politico

House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.

It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.

“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”

The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.

The White House and Congress knew of the self-imposed deadline for more than 17 months and they still blew past it, as a president fresh off a strong reelection victory tested — and ultimately broke — the Republican Party’s fidelity to its tax-cuts-only governing philosophy.

It took a late intervention of two Senate veterans — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden — to rescue the negotiations. Their relationship, forged over two decades on Capitol Hill, helped move Congress to a resolution because it wasn’t burdened by the raw political conflicts of the past and the legislative fights still to come.

Continue to page 2…

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