Decision Points, George W. Bush, 2010:

I asked each man two questions. Do you have everything you need to win? And are you comfortable with the strategy? Each commander answered affirmatively. Tommy spoke last. “Mr. President,” the commanding general said, “this force is ready.” I turned to Don Rumsfeld. “Mr. Secretary,” I said, “for the peace of the world and the benefit and freedom of the Iraqi people, I hereby give the order to execute Operation Iraqi Freedom. May God bless the troops.” Tommy snapped a salute. “Mr. President,” he said, “May God bless America.”

American Soldier, Tommy Franks, 2004:

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San Francisco mayor to veto city’s ban on Happy Meals [CNN]

“Some weddings take longer to plan than others. The union of The Daily Beast and Newsweek magazine finally took place with a coffee-mug toast between all parties Tuesday evening, in a conference room atop Beast headquarters, the IAC building on Manhattan’s West 18th Street.” [Daily Beast]

Barack Obama, January 11, 2009:

I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards… My general belief is that when it comes to national security, what we have to focus on is getting things right in the future as opposed to looking at what we got wrong in the past.

Barack Obama, October 29, 2010:

The GOP agenda, charged Obama, is “cutting taxes mostly for millionaires and billionaires… We tried it for eight years. It didn’t work. And so I bring all this up not because I want to re-argue the past. I just don’t want to relive the past.”

Nice line, Mr. President. Wish we had thought of it 22 months ago.

By the way, Mr. President, could you cave to the left just once? KTHXBAI.

White House Signals Intent To Cave To GOP On Bush Tax Cuts [TPM]

What in the fuck has Obama done so far? [via Greenwald]

“Bristol Palin survived another elimination round on ABC’s ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as fans including Tea Party supporters mustered enough votes to overcome low scores from the talent show’s judges… During the taping of the Nov. 8 show, the 20-year-old Palin wore a Tea Party t-shirt while rehearsing.” [Bloomberg]

Honestly, if we knew that Florida’s Allen West would be this fun, we wouldn’t have ignored him the past six months:

Right-wing radio talker Joyce Kaufman — whose July 4 call for “bullets” in favor of ballots has been linked to yesterday’s threat that led to the countywide lockdown on all Broward County schools — is on the air now and promising a statement of explanation.

​She led off her explanation by announcing that she wouldn’t be taking the chief of staff job for Congressman-Elect Allen West after all. “Last night I called Congressman Allen West and told him I could not accept his” job offer, she said, adding later, “I will not be used in an electronic lynching by proxy.”

Kaufman is white. West is black. We’re not sure what “electronic lynching by proxy” means, but if history serves as a guide, it involves pubes and a Coke can.

Joyce Kaufman Quits Allen West Job [Broward New Times, via The Hill]