Nins: Why are you peddling BS trotted out by a pack of leftwinged rags? General James Simmons,not only did not cancel such a display,but produced it before reporters of several news services including CNN,NBC,Agence France Presse,REUTERS,the AP,ABC,and others on Nov.17,2007. Indeed,why would Iranian Supreme Council Member Ayatollah Khamenei agree that such arms were indeed,flowing to Iraq in his Nov.18,2007 meeting with Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq? You are presenting only half-truths with regards to Irans nuclear program. The IAEA not only acknowlages that Iran is making enriched uranium,but as late as last month,acknowlaged that Iran was ''only two years away from a nuclear weapon.Perhaps less.''[Remarks,Muhammed El-Baradei June 20,2008,AL-ARABIYA]. The IAEA recognizes that Iran now has plutonium,along with its acknowlagement that its large numbers of centerfuges ''could produce enough material for one bomb in six months to one year'',hence El-Baradeis newest worries. At this moment,Iran refuses to allow full inspections by the IAEA.
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The Incremental Revolutionary
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Some Republicans, prosecutors and police groups opposed it, saying it would be too cumbersome. But Obama took his case to death-penalty advocates, insisting it was the only way police and prosecutors could restore confidence in the criminal-justice system. In the end, this argument won over the cops and his colleagues. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who initially opposed the reform, signed it into law after a 58-0 vote in the Senate.
Obama's signature effort in Springfield and Washington was ethics reform. The Illinois Legislature was considered the Wild West of campaign finance, and Obama and three colleagues were appointed to lead the cleanup. Together, they led the effort to ban gifts from anyone doing business with the state government. The new law forced lawmakers to disclose contributions of as little as $50 and stopped politicians from using campaign funds for personal expenses.
Some Republicans grumble that on the campaign trail, Obama is taking a bit more credit than he deserves for his accomplishments in Illinois. "I don't remember Barack leading the charge on any issue," says Republican state Sen. Christine Radogno. "He wasn't here and engaged long enough to develop the relationships, the knowledge of all the constituencies and nuances for all of that to happen."
Yet even many Republicans who opposed him on the issues say they found Obama to be reasonable and easy to work with. They say he didn't take politics personally and wasn't interested in grandstanding. "He's certainly a nice enough guy," says Radogno, who describes him as "charming" and "engaging." Kirk Dillard, another Republican state senator who worked closely with Obama, says the two of them met every Monday for a year at 7 a.m. to work on the death-penalty reforms. He says Obama would have liked to do more, "but he's practical. He knew when it was time to quit and to pass a bill."
In Washington, Obama continued to work on ethics issues, teaming up with fellow Democrat Russ Feingold after a series of national scandals surrounding GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Their legislation required more disclosure of pork-barrel spending and the "bundlers" who collect large campaign contributions.
James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, says Obama deserves much of the credit for the cleanup. "I think he was one of the major forces behind the provisions that came out in the act," says Thurber, who testified to Congress on the issues. "He held meetings, a lot of cross-party ones. He was trying to find support where he could." However, the reforms were not entirely successful: Obama's effort to create a tough independent Office of Public Integrity to monitor Congress went nowhere. "Senior members were against it," says Thurber. "I really think that's his biggest failure."
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