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Archive for December, 2006
December 1, 2006
- “The new NIST report is confirmation that the mandatory verified voter trails the DNC and its Voting Rights Institute have championed are vital to restoring the confidence of the American people in their own democracy,” Donna Brazile, chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Institute, said in a statement Friday.
- “I believe that Secretary (of Defense Donald H.) Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq,” he said at the time.
December 3, 2006
- “But most importantly,” he told moderator George Stephanopoulos of “This Week” on ABC, “I have a deep appreciation for how broken this city is, how desperately we need someone who will unite the American people for the common purpose of building this country.
December 4, 2006
- “We are hoping for serious benchmarks for withdrawal,” a Pelosi aide said of her position on the report. “The American people spoke at the last election, and that is what they want. We need to send a message to Iraqis that our patience is not unlimited.”
- Moderates like Sarah Chamberlain Resnick of the Republican Main Street Partnership argue that conservatives angling for a fight are misreading the public. Watching the election results come in, she says, she concluded that the American people “voted fighting out.”
- “My observation was that most of the American people voted against — they voted against the mess in Iraq, they voted against the president personally, they voted against the dysfunction and gridlock in Washington,” he said. “They voted for something different and they wanted to give us a chance.”
December 6, 2006
- “This war has split the American people very badly,” Hamilton typically says in interviews. “What has to happen here, no matter what you do, is a lot of things have to go right. And I don’t know if a lot of things can go right.”
- “There is no magic formula to solve the problems of Iraq. However, there are actions that can be taken to improve the situation and protect American interests. Many Americans are dissatisfied, not just with the situation in Iraq but with the state of our political debate regarding Iraq. Our political leaders must build a bipartisan approach to bring a responsible conclusion to what is now a lengthy and costly war. Our country deserves a debate that prizes substance over rhetoric, and a policy that is adequately funded and sustainable. The president and Congress must work together. Our leaders must be candid and forthright with the American people in order to win their support.”
- “The American people have made it clear and our brave troops deserve a new direction in Iraq. As the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, I hope that with the release of this report the president will take action to change course in Iraq.” — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.
- “Maybe there are still people in Washington who need a study group to tell them that the policy in Iraq isn’t working, but the American people are way ahead of this report.” — Sen. Russ Feingold , D-Wis. Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
- “There are wonderful lessons to be learned,” said Sebelius, who has been steeped for the past four years in bipartisan politics because of a legislature that is controlled by Republicans. “Saying to the American people that this is what Democrats do when they’re in charge is the way to stay in charge.”
December 7, 2006
- Democratic Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who has announced his presidential campaign, said: “The good news is that the report is good, serious work with some sensible ideas. The bad news is that it is not a strategy. Only the president can make strategy. … The president’s reaction will send a loud and clear message on whether he’s listening to the American people’s call for a change in policy for Iraq.”
- Boehner noted that the White House and the Pentagon were generating other reviews as to what should be done in Iraq. “The American people rightly expect progress in Iraq, and all of these assessments should be given the due respect and consideration they deserve,” he said.
- Sen. Russ Feingold , D-Wis., said the report did “too little to change the flawed mind-set that led to the misguided war in Iraq.” He added, “Maybe there are still people in Washington who need a study group to tell them that the policy in Iraq isn’t working, but the American people are way ahead of this report.”Kathleen Hunter and Patrick Yoest contributed to this story. Copyright © 2006 Congressional Quarterly Inc.
- “There’s a shift in power and that means that the American people are seeing governors as the instrument of change,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
December 8, 2006
- “They are going to leave a mess as they go out,” said Speaker-to-be Pelosi. “It’s been a do-nothing Congress, and as they go out the door, they are going to validate the decision of the American people that change was necessary.”
- “We won’t always agree but can sit down, side by side, and forge consensus on the issues important to the American people,” incoming Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a joint statement with his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
- “To set up something and to plan something between the leaders is very unusual and should be subject to open government rules,” he added. “Their intentions are good, but the results of what they’re doing will be not good for the American people.”
- In an emotional speech on the Senate floor Thursday night, Smith called for changes in U.S. policy that could include rapid pullouts of U.S. troops from Iraq. He said he never would have voted for the conflict if he had known the intelligence that President Bush gave the American people was inaccurate.
- “They always blame America first. The American people knowbetter,” she declared.
December 9, 2006
- “We feel great urgency to protect the American people from another 9/11 or a 9/11 times two or three. At the same time, we need to have the patience to see this task through to success. The consequences of failure are unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying on the Department of Defense Web site. “The enemy must be defeated.”
December 12, 2006
- “It is important that we clear the decks quickly so that we can get to work on the American people’s priorities, the president’s anticipated war funding request and a new budget,” Obey and Byrd said in a statement.
- “There are still more than nine months remaining in the fiscal year, and we believe we should be working on the remaining bills to achieve the best results possible for the American people,” Portman said. He added that the administration wants to “maintain fiscal discipline and avoid gimmicks and unwarranted emergency spending.”
- "I’m taking a strong stand on this and putting it on the line because I believe the American people want those troops brought home."
December 14, 2006
- “The American people are disappointed and frustrated with the Iraq war, but they want us to succeed if there’s any way to do that,” McCain, a possible 2008 presidential candidate, said at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.
- Creating the panel, Pelosi said at a news conference, “makes oversight stronger and makes the American people safer.”
- “The American people are confused, they’re frustrated, they’re disappointed by the Iraq war, but they also want us to succeed if there’s any way to do that,” McCain told reporters in Baghdad.
- “There is no question that the ethics process in the last couple of years has lost the confidence of the American people,” Pelosi told a news conference. “I’m hopeful that it’s possible that we can have an outside entity that will restore that confidence.”
December 15, 2006
- People aren’t looking for the Democrats to be better managers of the war, they want the Democrats to end the war and to bring our troops home. And so my candidacy responds to the will of the people that’s already been expressed in November. And I think the resolve of the American people is strengthened when they know that they have a candidate who’s been right on Iraq from the very beginning, and I’ve been consistent on this.
- But there’s something else that’s happened. And the other thing that’s different is that the American people have given the Democrats the power of the government. We are now the majority, and we are a co-equal branch of government. The people gave that to us on one issue and one issue alone: Iraq.
December 18, 2006
- “I’ve always felt that the system we have of choosing our president has been very cockeyed,” said incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the state’s top Democrat. Nevada “will give the American people a better idea of what a candidate should be for and against.”
December 20, 2006
- “I need to talk to him when he gets back,” the president said. “I’ve got more consultations to do with the national security team, which will be consulting with other folks. And I’m going to take my time to make sure that the policy, when it comes out, the American people will see that we … have got a new way forward.”
- But that doesn’t mean Loebsack and Democratic leaders are at odds. “We have to show the American people we mean business,” he said. “In that sense, there is no daylight between me and the leadership on those issues.”
December 21, 2006
- I look forward to working to put ourselves in a position where we can build on that momentum so that we can continue to enact the agenda that I think the American people voted on in November.
December 26, 2006
- The ostensible goal of that plan will be to get Iraq on a path to govern itself and help the United States fight terrorism. Bush is also out to win back some of the American people, who want to know the war has an end in sight.
- “I think the American people understand this war perhaps better than anybody gives them credit for,” said Leon Panetta, who was President Clinton’s chief of staff and a member of the Iraq Study Group. “If they believe that the president has approached this with what he calls ‘fresh eyes’ — if he takes a comprehensive approach — then they’re going to give him some room.”
- The president also braced America to think long-term. His goals aren’t changing. He talks of the war on terror as the calling of a generation, one that “is going to require a sustained commitment from the American people. “
- Bush, in a statement from his Texas ranch, where he is spending the week, said, “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration.”
December 27, 2006
- “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration,” President Bush said in a statement Tuesday night.
- “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration,” President Bush said in a statement Tuesday night.
- Bush, in a statement from his Texas ranch Tuesday, said, “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration.”
- During his time in office, the American people came to know President Ford as a man of complete integrity who led our country with common sense and kind instincts. Americans will always admire Gerald Ford’s unflinching performance of duty and the honorable conduct of his administration and the great rectitude of the man himself. We mourn the loss of such a leader. And our 38th president will always have a special place in our nation’s memory. President Ford lived 93 years and his life was a blessing for America. And now this fine man will be taken to his rest by a family that will love him always and by a nation that will be grateful to him forever. May God bless Gerald Ford.
- “With his quiet integrity, common sense and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency,” President Bush said in a statement to the nation from his Texas ranch Wednesday. “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration.”
- Since the 2004 campaign, Edwards has taken steps to address that issue. On the signal foreign policy issue of the day, he has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq. He also has sought to draw attention to an overseas crisis that is far less visible to the American people: ongoing civil strife in Uganda: He edited the recently released book “Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives,” which includes reflections from politicians, actors and others on their childhood residences, with the proceeds dedicated to relief efforts in Uganda.
- “The American people will always admire Gerald Ford’s devotion to duty, his personal character and the honorable conduct of his administration,” Bush said.
December 28, 2006
- Since the 2004 campaign, Edwards has taken steps to address that issue. On the signal foreign policy issue of the day, he has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq. He also has sought to draw attention to an overseas crisis that is far less visible to the American people: ongoing civil strife in Uganda. He edited the recently released book “Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives,” which includes reflections from politicians, actors and others on their childhood residences, with the proceeds dedicated to relief efforts in Uganda.
- “It’s important for the American people to understand that success in Iraq is vital for our own security. If we were not to succeed in Iraq, the enemy — the extremists, the radicals — would have safe haven from which to launch further attacks. They would be emboldened. They would be in a position to threaten the United States of America.”
- “I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President Ford,” he said in a proclamation he issued from his Texas ranch on Thursday. “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”
December 29, 2006
- Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president, said Friday that neither the approaching 3,000th U.S. death in Iraq nor Saddam’s execution is “dictating when” Bush’s speech will be delivered. Those two events, though, will influence its reception by the American people.
- “We’ve reached a critical moment. The president is clearly contemplating a strategy that will be very different from what he has been doing,” said Kagan, who is advocating a large surge in U.S. forces in Iraq. “That message is going to dominate the discussion. The American people want to know whether we’re going to win this war, and they’re going to listen very carefully to whatever the president says.”
- Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead. Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq’s young democracy continues to progress.
December 30, 2006
- “In this election, the American people clearly called for change,” Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address. “As our first responsibility in fulfilling the mandate of this critical election, House Democrats will restore integrity and civility in Washington in order to earn the public trust.”
- “Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead,” he said in a statement released Friday night from his Texas ranch. “Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq’s young democracy continues to progress.”
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