Condoleezza Rice

Qaddafi Wrote Song For Rice: 'Black Flower in the White House'

Susan Crabtree | October 26, 2011, 10:35AM

In what may well be the most awkward personal moment in U.S. diplomatic history, in her new memoir Condoleezza Rice recalls a creepy 2008 meeting with then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi that ended with Qaddafi showing her photos of herself he had collected and a serenade of a song he had a famous Libyan composer write for her.

Rice's reaction? Run away, run away!!

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Barack Obama

Obama Has No Regrets For Acknowledging Economic Woes

Susan Crabtree | October 4, 2011, 2:12PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama is standing by his concession Monday in an interview with ABC News that Americans aren't better off than they were four years ago before the near collapse of the financial system and a deep economic recession -- both of which occurred at the tail end of President George W. Bush's term.

At a fundraiser in Dallas, Obama returned to the point he made in the interview, that Americans are still suffering through hard economic times.

"Of course they're still hurting," he said. "Every night I get letters and emails from families who are struggling."

He listed among his successes the auto bailout and Wall Street reform, noting Republican opposition to both.

The President doesn't regret acknowledging the truth, namely, that the economy is still flagging and is unlikely to quickly rebound any time soon, White House spokesman Jay Carney also told reporters Tuesday while traveling to Texas on Air Force One.

"It would be wrong to somehow suggest that the hole created by that recession was not very deep ... or that somehow we'll emerge from it overnight," Carney said.

But Carney also noted that "four years ago was 2007 -- prior to the point where the policies of the previous administration plunged us into the greatest recession since the Great Depression."

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Pres '12

Bachmann Gets Cornered On Birtherism: 'Move On, End Of Story' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 10:17AM

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) tried to hedge on the matter of birtherism -- using the line used by some Republicans who fall short of fully endorsing the conspiracy theory, while saying that Obama should just release his birth certificate (which he already did three years ago). To which George Stephanopoulos answered: Obama has released his birth certificate -- and here it is.

During the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Bachmann about how a prominent supporter of hers in Iowa has introduced a "birther bill" in the state legislature, which would require presidential candidates to supply their birth certificates to the state.

"Well, Governor Jan Brewer just vetoed that bill in Arizona," said Bachman, "because she felt that that was a bridge too far -- that it wouldn't be up to the authenticators in each state to do that, that that would be a federal issue. There is a federal piece of legislation that hasn't gone anywhere that would also require that candidates put forward their birth certificate. I have no problem giving my birth certificate, it wouldn't bother me at all. I've got one, its authenticated, take it."

"Well, but so does the president," Stephanopoulos replied.

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Birther

Trump To Stephanopoulos: 'Obama And His Minions, They Have Co-Opted You' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 19, 2011, 1:00PM

Donald Trump's birther bluster is continuing, with him declaring that he might release his tax returns -- but only if President Obama will release his "real" birth certificate.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Trump lamented how he would give up his private life if he were to run. "I have a great company. I've done a great job -- which if I run, you'll see what a great job, because I'll do a full disclosure, finances--"

"Including your tax returns?" asked Stephanopoulos.

"We'll look at that -- Maybe I'm gonna do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate," Trump responded.

He also added: "I'd love to give my tax returns. I may tie my tax returns into Obama's birth certificate."

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Pres '12

Gingrich: Palin Needs To 'Think Through What She's Saying' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 18, 2011, 11:23AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is chiming in on the recent controversies involving a fellow potential presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, with some mild (but still quite clear) criticism -- that while he does respect her, she should watch what she says.

In an appearance on Good Morning America, Gingrich was asked by George Stephanopoulos about Palin's low approval ratings in recent opinion polls, and how she might turn it around. The recent "blood libel" flap involving Palin's response to accusations that her heated political rhetoric had contributed to the environment in which the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) occurred, was not directly mentioned, but it did seem to hang over the conversation.

"Well, I think that she's got to slow down and be a lot more careful, and think through what she's saying and how she's saying it," Gingrich responded. "There's no question that she's become more controversial. But she is still a phenomenon. I don't know anybody else in American politics who can put something on Twitter, or put something on Facebook, and automatically have it become a national story. So she remains, I think, a very formidable person in her own right."

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George Stephanopoulos

Colbert: I'm Testifying Before Congress To 'Get That C-SPAN1 Bump For My Ratings' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 23, 2010, 12:41PM

Stephen Colbert appeared on Good Morning America today, and told host George Stephanopoulos that he's testifying before a House Judiciary Subcommittee tomorrow to "get that C-SPAN1 bump for my ratings."

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Christine O'Donnell

Pence: O'Donnell 'Has An Obligation To Explain' Witchcraft Comments (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | September 20, 2010, 1:01PM

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said today that "certainly Christine O'Donnell has an obligation to explain" her 1999 comment, "I dabbled into witchcraft."

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Boehner: Koran Burning 'Unwise' (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2010, 11:11AM

In an interview with ABC News this morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner condemned a Florida pastor planning a September 11 Koran burning ceremony, calling the ritual "unwise." But he also stopped short of imploring him to cancel the event -- and compared the book-burning to the creation of an Islamic cultural center.

"To Pastor Jones and those who want to build the [so-called Ground Zero] Mosque," Boehner said (drawing an equivalence between Koran burning and the Cordoba House Project in lower Manhattan) "Just because you have a right to do something in America, does not mean it's the right thing to do. We're a nation of religious freedom -- we're also a nation of tolerance. I think in the name of tolerance, people ought to really think about the kind of actions they're taking."

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Ted Kennedy

Stephanopoulos: Kennedy Would Have Agreed To Ditch The Public Option

Brian Beutler | August 28, 2009, 11:35AM

Last night, ABC News' George Stephanopoulos appeared on The O'Reilly factor and echoed a growing conventional wisdom.

"It's pretty clear right now that there aren't the votes in the senate to pass a public health insurance option as much as a majority of Democrats in the House would like it," he said. "It's not going to get through the Senate right now and I think that what Democrats may try to do is remind people of another side of the Kennedy legacy. That was Kennedy the compromiser. Kennedy the negotiator. The man who was willing to take a portion, incremental gain even if he couldn't get everything he was calling for."

Both of those ideas--that the Senate will not pass a public option, and that Ted Kennedy would support giving up on it--are pretty deeply seeded in the media at this point. But compare that to Lawrence O'Donnell--chief of staff of the Senate Finance Committee during the Clinton Care years--who says that's all wrong.

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