Obama to Expand Practice of Terrorist Rendition?

A quick trip around Hannity's America...

Show Me the Outrage!

Read the fine print. You may have missed it, since the story was published on Super Bowl Sunday, but President Obama is giving the green light to the Bush administration's practice of rendition. That is, secretly abducting terrorists and transferring them to foreign prisons to interrogate them.

And that's not all. The Los Angeles Times reports that because Mr. Obama has scaled back other aspects of Mr. Bush's counter-terrorism program, rendition may even play an expanded role, since it's the principal mechanism remaining for dealing with terrorists.

I remember rendition provoking a bit of outrage from the press when President Bush was at the helm. Last July, Bob Herbert of The New York Times foresaw a doomsday scenario, writing, "When the constraints of the law are unlocked by the men and women in suits at the pinnacle of power, terrible things happen in the real world."

But, surprise, surprise, the coming of the new president seems to have shifted media focus. What did Mr. Herbert choose to write his column on last week? A peace movement in Liberia.

Gibbs Gushes

At Tuesday's White House briefing, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs made his boss proud by, once again, defending the now nearly $890 billion stimulus package to the press, insisting that it truly is a great bill that's going to do wonders for our economy.

Oh really???

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Again, let's step back and understand what the basis of this legislation is and what it does.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Actually I'm not even sure I know what it is and does. Could someone please explain it to me? I'm just reciting my talking points...

GIBBS: That's why economists from Democrats and Republicans, liberal and conservative believe that this is a good bill.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Except for every single House Republican and those 11 Democrats who voted against it... but we're not counting them for statistical purposes.

GIBBS: That it will move this economy forward, put people back to work.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: That's right, in a few years or less, we're going to save and/or create approximately 3 to 4 million jobs, give or take...

GIBBS: Make the investments that we've ignored for years and years and years, do so in a way that's accountable and transparent to the American taxpayers.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Yes, "transparent" is still one of our administration's key words, even though I think the American people are starting to SEE THROUGH that one. Ha! I'm funny...

GIBBS: And will put money back in the middle class pockets.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: What's a few more dollars to owe China? Just a couple billion and/or trillion, you know, give or take...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Maybe if the administration spent half as much time fixing the financial crisis as it does talking about fixing the financial crisis, things would be looking up by now.

Wright? Wrong!

In other under-reported liberal news, one of Obama's strongest allies on the Hill and fellow Harvard classmate, Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, had some harsh words for the president's former pastor and spiritual adviser, Jeremiah Wright.

When Davis heard that Reverend Wright had been invited to the annual commemoration of the Bloody Sunday civil rights march in Selma, he gave event organizers a piece of his mind. In a letter sent Friday, Davis wrote, "What a sad irony it would be to extend a prominent role in that event to the figure whose rhetoric and histrionics at one point imperiled our new president's campaign."

No word yet on whether Wright will accept the invitation to this year's event, which is themed, believe it or not, "The Bridge to the White House." And I thought the president burned the Reverend's Wright's bridge to the White House during the campaign?

Oaf of Office

Another swearing in ceremony, another hiccup for the Obama administration. You may recall that the day after Chief Justice John Roberts botched the oath of office at the president's inauguration, Vice President Biden thought it professional to poke fun at the chief justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT: I'm doing this again? For the senior staff, all right.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A number of Cabinet members have already...

BIDEN: My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts'.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Well, at Tuesday's ceremonial swearing in of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the VP appeared to need more than just a cheat sheet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Madam Secretary, would you please raise your right hand? I...

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

BIDEN: Do solemnly swear.

CLINTON: Do solemnly swear.

BIDEN: That I will support and defend.

CLINTON: That I will support and defend.

BIDEN: The Constitution of the United States.

CLINTON: The Constitution of the United States.

BIDEN: Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

CLINTON: Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

BIDEN: That I will bear — excuse me.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Nothing like a moment of levity while administering an oath of office. Hopefully, Madam Secretary, you and Mr. Biden got the giggling out of your systems.