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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Dear Sonny: Please remember that story about George Busbee
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should any disaster hit Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue can now fly his own helicopter to survey the damage. He’s now certified to pilot the craft himself.
This report has been posted on the web site operated by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association:
The second-term Republican recently added private helicopter privileges to his pilot certificate. The governor already held a commercial airplane certificate with single- and multiengine ratings. Having started flying in his youth, he now has more than 2,800 total hours…
Perdue, 61, did his training in a Robinson R44 at Blue Ridge Helicopters, Inc. in Lawrenceville, Ga. He used his vacation time to satisfy the solo requirements.
Sixty-six hours were required, says the report.
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Obama campaign set to release TV ad linking McCain, Reed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A newly aggressive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is set to release a new TV ad in Georgia tomorrow, drawing a connection between Republican John McCain’s decision not to call Ralph Reed before a Senate panel — and Reed’s involvement in an Atlanta fund-raiser for McCain this week.
The ad will run only in Atlanta, beginning Thursday. The Obama campaign wouldn’t give the size of the buy. Click on the image below to see it.
Here’s the script:
”It was one of Washington’s biggest scandals. And the Republican power broker Ralph Reed was in the middle of it. In deep with convicted felon and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
“But when the Senate investigated, the senator in charge never even called Reed to testify….And that senator? John McCain. And who’s now raising money for McCain’s campaign? Ralph Reed. For 26 years in Washington, John McCain’s played the same old games. We just can’t afford more of the same.”
Though the message is obviously different, the McCain-Reed ad appears to fit into the context of this New York Times story from today:
Senator Barack Obama has started a sustained and hard-hitting advertising campaign against Senator John McCain in states that will be vital this fall, painting Mr. McCain in a series of commercials as disconnected from the economic struggles of the middle class.
Mr. Obama has begun the drive with little fanfare, often eschewing the modern campaign technique of unveiling new spots for the news media before they run in an effort to win added (free) attention. Mr. Obama, whose candidacy has been built in part on a promise to transcend traditional politics, is running the negative commercials on local stations even as he runs generally positive spots nationally, during prime-time coverage of the Olympics.
By way of background, when the Senate Indian Affairs Committee chaired by McCain was looking into the Abramoff affair, whether to call Reed to testify was hotly debated among Republicans on the committee. The decision not to do so was based on the belief that Indian tribes were not defrauded by Reed’s actions. The tribes got what they paid Reed for — armies of Christian opponents to nearby gambling operations that would cut into the tribe’s business.
One Republican insider privately said that any fraud Reed committed was against the Christian troops whom he rallied — without informing them who was paying the bill. That wasn’t the business of the Indian Affairs Committee, the insider said.
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The ball that Sam Nunn started rolling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Russian invasion of Georgia has set the table for foreign policy to become a dominant issue in the coming fall presidential campaign.
But the question is not what to do about Georgia. The heart of the matter is how Barack Obama and John McCain view Russia. And, if you listen to Sam Nunn, whether either candidate has studied up on the origins of World War I.
The former state-of-Georgia senator, in this space, started much of the discussion on Monday.
Others have dipped in since. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post on Tuesday. Today, it’s Tom Friedman for the New York Times and Michael Gerson, again in the Post.
One of the key points is whether NATO should grant membership, and the protection that comes with it, to the invaded Georgia and now-jittery Ukraine, both former Soviet territories that now shave away Russia’s access to the Black Sea.
McCain very quickly has sided with the Bush administration, which has pushed for the acceptance of Ukraine and Georgia into Europe’s self-protection pact.
Last week, McCain said this:
“I think we should take up their so-called [Membership Action Plan] and move quickly. The question is …. will the other members of NATO agree with a rapid move toward membership by Ukraine and Georgia. I hope that they will. I believe they understand what’s at stake here.”
Nunn argues against this, as do many Old Europe members of NATO. “If we’re going to do that, we have to understand that this is a military commitment. And we have to back it up militarily,” he said Monday. Write no checks that you’re not willing to cash.
Obama has been more vague than McCain on this issue, but it’s clear that he is Nunn’s student on this. A spokeswoman for the Obama campaign pointed to an April statement by Obama, in which the Democratic presidential candidate reflected Nunn’s worries that a NATO that’s already diluted militarily shouldn’t neglect its top priority — fighting terrorism in Afghanistan.
Here’s what Obama said about membership by Ukraine and Georgia in NATO:
I welcome the desire and actions of these countries to seek closer ties with NATO and hope that NATO responds favorably to their request, consistent with its criteria for membership. Whether Ukraine and Georgia ultimately join NATO will be a decision for the members of the alliance and the citizens of those countries, after a period of open and democratic debate. But they should receive our help and encouragement as they continue to develop ties to Atlantic and European institutions.
Related to this is the Bush administration emphasis on extending a missile defense network into Eastern Europe. This is fresh from the Associated Press:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.
Rice dismissed blustery comments from Russian leaders who say Warsaw’s hosting of 10 U.S. interceptor missiles just 115 miles from Russia’s westernmost frontier opens the country up to attack.
The position of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on this issue isn’t immediately clear, but Nunn is highly skeptical.
“Just in the last few days, there was an article in the paper that said we had given Poland military assurances beyond the NATO commitments,” Nunn said. “I don’t understand that one, and Congress needs to ask some real questions on this, because - if it’s accurate - we are basically committing to military action in instances that are rather unclear at this point.”
In the heat of campaign, neither nominee — certainly not Obama — can afford to be tagged as the soft-on-Russia candidate. But there should be some way to discuss, in rational fashion, what obligations come with the alliances we’re pursuing. And whether we’re prepared if that check is cashed.
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Perdue: He’ll go anywhere to prove the state isn’t forcing cities or counties to raise property taxes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Freshly back from China, Gov. Sonny Perdue is ready to hit the road again. Athens, maybe Cairo, or Canton.
Any place that questions his plan to eliminate $428 million in property tax breaks for homeowners.
In an interview today with Harris Blackwood of the Gainesville Times, Perdue — echoing House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s sentiments of just a few months ago — said local governments have been slack about cutting their own expenses.
Said Perdue:
“It’s pretty clear that some counties are bigger abusers than others. There are some counties that have grown overall by 100 to 200 percent. The growth of local governments compared to state government is phenomenal.”
Perdue said he was calling on local governments to tighten their belts, just like the state….The governor said local governments are already pointing the finger at him.
“They blame and say we’re going to pass them (tax losses) right on to our citizens and you’re causing their tax increase,” he said. “I’ve got the facts to prove the state didn’t cause their tax increase. Those are decisions made at the local level. If they want to blame me, I’ll challenge any of them to a public hall meeting in their own community and show them the facts.”
Here’s today’s AJC piece on the same topic. But here’s a question, and if someone from Perdue’s office would weigh in, the Insider would be much obliged:
If the governor argues that local governments have placed too heavy a tax on property owners, how does it make sense to then raise that same tax on homeowners by $200 or $300 per, by eliminating the credit? There’s something of a burn-the-village-to-save-it logic in all this.
Photo credit: Gavin Averill/SPECIAL
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The 39-year-old intern with the state-paid diamond ring
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It turns out that one of those indicted for misusing Georgia Tech credit cards had an under-the-radar activity this spring: She was a 39-year-old intern for the state House of Representatives.
Michelle Harris, a former Tech program coordinator in the school’s College of Management, was indicted this year and charged with using $173,000 in school money for personal expenses, including a diamond ring, laptop computers, digital cameras and making several debt payments.
Marshall Guest, a spokesman for House Speaker Glenn Richardson, confirmed this morning that Harris — under the name of Michelle Dunbar — had obtained the internship through a program offered by Georgia State University.
The internship roughly paralleled the January-to-April session of the Legislature. Guest said he was still researching her assignments, but it appeared that Harris/Dunbar had worked for the House Transportation Committee.
Michelle Harris was indicted in March. That same month, Guest said, Michelle Dunbar took a week off from her internship, citing a family emergency.
The House spokesman said lawmakers didn’t learn that the two were one and the same until May — weeks after the internship ended — when the intern’s mugshot appeared on a TV news report.
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Ridge on the vice presidential nomination: If it’s offered, he’ll ‘think about it’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is a bit late, but Tom Ridge, ex-director of homeland security and — every now and then — a possible running mate for John McCain, showed up in Columbus on Monday.
He was there to tour the National Infantry Museum. McCain has dropped some large hints that Ridge is under consideration. But the former governor of Pennsylvania is pro-choice when it comes to abortion. Certain voices of the GOP right have threatened revolt if he’s picked by the Republican presidential candidate.
According to the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper, here’s what Ridge said about the possibility of going to Minneapolis as the nominee for vice president:
“Candidly, there will come a point in time for a final decision,” Ridge said. “At the time, I’ll know what the decision is and I will think about it.”
Ridge, who was with McCain last week, said the two men did not discuss the possibility of him being on the ticket, which will be finalized before the Republican National Convention next month.
“We have never talked once about the vice presidency,” Ridge said. Ridge said the Republicans have a deep bench when it comes to a vice presidential nominee.
“I know when Sen. McCain is in Minnesota they are talking about Gov. (Tim) Pawlenty,” Ridge said. “When he is in Florida they are talking about Gov. (Charlie) Crist. They talk about Gov. (Mitt) Romney in several states. When he was in Pennsylvania, they were talking about me.”
Photo credit: Associated Press
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The power of text-messaging
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometime this week, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has promised to let supporters know via text message who he has selected as his running mate.
It’s a mutual exchange. Texters get the info. The Obama gets their contact information for the fall campaign.
The maneuver is receiving some kudos from David All, the former communications director for U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Savannah), who now has a firm that specializes in new media communication.
The Associated Press distributes these quotes from All today:
“What Obama is creating is this army of individuals, these grass-roots activists, who are out there trying to change the world in 160 characters or less,” said David All, a Republican strategist who specializes in technology.
All said he remains concerned that [John] McCain’s campaign and many Republicans are overlooking the potential of text messaging.
“Text messaging is really powerful. If I have a text message, I can forward that text message to over 100 people in my cell phone list,” All said. “It’s going to be read by every single person — have you ever not read a text message?”
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