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Daschle: America Focused on Iraq, Could Have "Avoided" Georgia Violence August 17, 2008 12:20 PM ABC News' Ayana Harry Reports: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle D-S.D. represented the Obama campaign discussing the Russia-Georgia conflict on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." In a debate with Republican Mitt Romney, Daschle maintained "If we would have preemptively worked with Russia, with Georgia, making sure that NATO had the kind of ability and the presence and the engagement, we could have perhaps avoided this."

Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Tuesday that he doesn’t expect to be asked to be Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) running mate and has no idea whom Obama will pick. “I really don’t expect to be asked and I haven’t weighed in on it,” Daschle told The Hill, adding that he’s “tried to keep at an honest length” from Obama’s closely held deliberations about a vice presidential candidate. While the former Senate majority leader declined to speculate on who he thinks would be the best person to join Obama on the ticket, he disputed the notion that Obama should pick...

I’ll never be a fan but he’s done bang-up work this week on this subject, at no point more so than here. Daschle, as you’ll see, is part of the denialist wing of Obama’s team: No sirree, not so much as a whiff of race in his comment about McCain wanting voters to focus on the fact that he doesn’t look like the guy on the dollar bill. The campaign must have been late in circulating yesterday’s talking points because the denialist camp no longer includes Obama himself. Ah well. Too late now anyway. The racial debate comes in the...

<p>WASHINGTON - Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose office was a target of the anthrax attacks in 2001, said Sunday the suicide of the government's main suspect does not mean the case is over.</p> <p>Daschle said the FBI has not given him any new updates. He also raised questions about the quality of the investigation, noting that the government recently paid out almost $6 million to a former Army scientist, Steven Hatfill, who accused authorities of unfairly targeting him in the anthrax case.</p>

WASHINGTON — After four years pursuing one former Army scientist on a costly false trail, F.B.I. agents investigating the deadly anthrax letters of 2001 finally zeroed in last year on a different suspect: another Army scientist from the same biodefense research center at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. /snip The other puzzle involved the skills necessary to produce the high-quality aerosol powder contained in the letters addressed to the senators, Tom Daschle .. and .. Patrick J. Leahy. Scientists familiar with germ warfare said there was no evidence that Dr. Ivins, though a vaccine expert with easy access to the...

Today’s New York Times carries a piece from Larry Rohter on Barack Obama’s many ties to the domestic ethanol racket, starting with campaign trips with former Sen. Tom Daschle: Mr. Daschle now serves on the boards of three ethanol companies and works at a Washington law firm where, according to his online job description, “he spends a substantial amount of time providing strategic and policy advice to clients in renewable energy.” The Obama-Daschle connection is much deeper than the article suggests. Indeed, the New York Times covered Daschle’s role in February. Daschle is in Obama’s Veepstakes. Many people in Obama’s...

Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said that several years ago John McCain came close to leaving the Republican Party and caucusing with Senate Democrats. During Daschle’s appearance Sunday on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Tim Russert noted that Daschle said in February, “It’s true that we were once close to bringing John McCain into the Democratic caucus. There are many who can verify that.” Russert asked, “John McCain almost became a Democrat?” Daschle answered: “Never a Democrat, but an independent. He was so angry at the way he was treated and the problems he had with the Bush...

"In terms of renewable fuels, ethanol is the worst solution," Patzek says. "It has the highest energy cost with the least benefit."Ethanol is produced by fermenting renewable crops like corn or sugarcane. It may sound green, Patzek says, but that's because many scientists are not looking at the whole picture. According to his research, more fossil energy is used to produce ethanol than the energy contained within it. Patzek's ethanol critique began during a freshman seminar he taught in which he and his students calculated the energy balance of the biofuel. Taking into account the energy required to grow the...

Many policy makers at the weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank agreed that the problem is severe. Among other targets, they singled out U.S. policies pushing corn-based ethanol and other biofuels as deepening the woes."When millions of people are going hungry, it's a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels," said India's finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, in an interview. Turkey's finance minister, Mehmet Simsek, said the use of food for biofuels is "appalling."

Democrats for Boeing The truth about the tanker deal. by Christian Lowe 03/24/2008, Volume 013, Issue 27 It was one of those insider deals that give the defense industry a bad name, conjuring up images of smoke-filled negotiations between the brass and corporate fat cats in plush leather chairs. By the time it was over, two fat cats were in jail, a top Pentagon official had been forced to resign, a corporate CEO had lost his job, and the reputation of an iconic company that had served American troops for decades had suffered irreparable damage. Then it turned out it...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle told Meet the Press host Tim Russert that being First Lady doesn’t exactly constitute an apprenticeship for the Presidency. Daschle wanted to boost Barack Obama over a suddenly resurgent Hillary Clinton, and he attacked her experience argument. Daschle pointed out that Obama has more time in elective office than Hillary, but he somehow managed to avoid noting that John McCain has more than the both of them put together: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) on Sunday questioned Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (N.Y.) pitching of herself as the most experienced candidate in the...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) on Sunday questioned Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (N.Y.) pitching of herself as the most experienced candidate in the Democratic presidential race, suggesting her years as first lady do not add much to her foreign policy credentials. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Daschle, a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), pointed out that Obama has served in elective office longer than Clinton and suggested her time as first lady does not have much relevance to the office she seeks. “I worked with her; I know what a good first lady she was,” Daschle...

schle: First lady experience doesn’t count for Clinton By Aaron Blake Posted: 03/09/08 01:41 PM [ET] Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) on Sunday questioned Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (N.Y.) pitching of herself as the most experienced candidate in the Democratic presidential race, suggesting her years as first lady do not add much to her foreign policy credentials. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Daschle, a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), pointed out that Obama has served in elective office longer than Clinton and suggested her time as first lady does not have much relevance to the office...

If there is any justice in the world, Sen. John McCain's hopes of winning the 2008 Republican presidential nomination will suffer a body blow when people are reminded of a well-sourced story published last year by The Hill describing in detail how the Arizona "maverick" seriously discussed switching parties with Democratic leaders like Tom Daschle in 2001. McCain was evidently still angry - is he ever not angry over something? - about losing the 2000 race to President Bush and apparently was attracted to the idea of gaining revenge by picking up his marbles and taking them to the other...

It is being reported on the Rusty Humphries show that John McCain and not Jim Jeffords planned on switching to the Democrat party in 2001.

Daschle part of `truth squad'Posted: Jan 23, 2008 09:53 AM CST Former Senator Tom Daschle is getting involved in the tiff between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton following a campaign debate. He's part of what the Obama campaign calls a ``truth squad'' in South Carolina to respond to Clinton's criticism. Daschle says the Clinton campaign should stop what he calls ``backbiting'' and ''bitter give and take.'' He even criticized former President Bill Clinton's actions, saying they're not presidential and not in keeping with the image of a former president.

"...Obama's campaign said it was unbecoming for a former commander-in-chief to be engaging in harsh attacks against a fellow Democrat and some party figures have advised Bill Clinton to tone down his words or risk tarnishing his presidential legacy. "I think it's not presidential, it's not in keeping with the image of a former president, and I'm frankly surprised that he is taking this approach," said former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, who has endorsed Obama. "I think it is important for all of us to participate in a way that raises the level of debate and begins to focus...

Conservatives target Daschle Center earmark Republicans weren't big fans of Tom Daschle when he was the Democratic leader in the Senate, so it's no surprise they would take particular delight in highlighting a $1 million earmark for the Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service. Conservative Republicans in both chambers have seized on the money to argue that Democrats are breaking their own rules by "air-dropping" projects into spending bills without first clearing them with House and Senate negotiators. The money goes to South Dakota State University, and the former senator-turned-lobbyist told the Associated Press that the center would create opportunities...

Two high-profile backers of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigned in Nevada on Thursday, avoiding attacks on each other's candidate and instead criticizing the Bush administration. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, supporting Obama, said in an interview that Democratic candidates for president as well as for Congress have an edge in the 2008 elections because “the American people believe even more that we're on the wrong track and we need a change.” Clinton backer Joe Wilson, a former ambassador and husband of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame, said in a telephone interview that Republicans can't hold onto...

<p>The White House is escalating its attacks against Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in an all-out drive to overcome Democratic resistance to a tax-cutting economic-stimulus bill that could be critical to the Republican Party's political prospects in the 2002 elections.</p>

Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Thursday he expected Democrats to oppose President Bush if Bush decides to go after Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who many terrorism experts believe financed and helped train hijackers for Osama bin Laden's 9/11 attacks on the U.S. Daschle, appearing on Fox News Channel's "Hannity &amp; Colmes," predicted that Democrats would publicly turn against the president as soon as they disagreed with his management of the war effort. ALAN COLMES: You've been very supportive of the president and the way this war's being conducted. At what point do you think, could you see Democrats taking issue ...

Calling national Republicans “sad” and “desperate,” former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) decried their pledge to begin pursuing an aggressive campaign against his ill former South Dakota Senate colleague, Sen. Tim Johnson (D). In an e-mail to supporters issued by Johnson’s campaign committee, Daschle criticizes National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Ensign (Nev.) for saying he would push forward with an effort to defeat Johnson in 2008. (snip) “Tim’s focus should be on his recovery to serve the people of South Dakota, not fending off classless political attacks from national Republicans,” Daschle wrote. “That means we’re not going...

Former South Dakota Senator Backs Obama For President Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is getting support from former Senate Majority Leader and South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle. Daschle made stops throughout Iowa on Saturday, campaigning for Senator Obama. In Spencer and Algona, he officially opened Obama's campaign offices. Doors for the Spencer office opened at four o'clock Saturday afternoon. Daschle says Obama's ideas, age, and honesty are what he likes most. Daschle says "I'm backin' Obama because I believe strongly we need someone with real integrity and he's got it because I agree with him on the issues on Iraq,...

Anthrax: some new findings Clarice Feldman Dr. Laurie Mylroie has given me permission to share with American Thinker readers her important analysis of a recent article on the source of the U.S. anthrax attacks by the Shoham/Jacobsen and the extensive comment on the piece by Richard Spertzel, a highly regarded, highly qualified Biological Warfare expert. She writes: Last week, TNR's Marty Peretz drew attention to an article on the 2001 anthrax letters by Dr. Dany Shoham and Dr. Stuart Jacobsen: The article underscores the very sophisticated nature of the anthrax in the letters sent to the two US senators and...

Former Senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) says he would gladly come out of retirement and serve as vice-president if asked. “I know that being vice-president can be a dull, do-nothing job,” Daschle said. “Al Gore pretty much proved that anyone can handle it. But being retired in South Dakota is no picnic either. I’m going nuts just hanging around this god-forsaken ‘nowheresville.’” Daschle said he had not been contacted by any of the Democrats seeking their party’s presidential nomination. “It’s as if I didn’t exist or something,” Daschle griped. “I used to be somebody. I was Senate Majority Leader for Christ’s...

WASHINGTON - Four former Senate majority leaders are heading a new group aimed at putting aside partisan politics and offering solutions to the nation's biggest issues. The Bipartisan Policy Center, to be announced at a news conference Tuesday, will be directed by former Sens. Howard Baker, R-Tenn.; George Mitchell, D-Maine; Bob Dole, R-Kan.; and Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "We've all been leaders and you know how difficult it is," said Dole, who served as both majority and minority leader between 1985 and 1996. "We're all partisan in a way," Dole said in an interview Monday, adding they also hope to show...

SIOUX FALLS -- Former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle, who endorsed Barack Obama for his party's presidential nomination, said he would consider being Obama's running mate if asked but said it's not likely to happen. "I don't believe there is much possibility that I will be asked," the former Senate minority leader from South Dakota said Saturday by phone from Washington. "If I would, I would consider it, but I don't expect it to happen

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) won the endorsement Wednesday of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who said the White House hopeful "personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country." Daschle said Obama has a "great capacity to unify our country and inspire a new generation of young Americans, just as I was inspired by the Kennedys and Martin Luther King when I was young." Obama began his term in the Senate after Daschle lost his seat in 2004. But the South Dakotan served in the Senate with several of the other Democratic presidential hopefuls,...

In an announcement that failed to stun the nation, former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) said he will not run for president in 2008. “I’ve made a decision that I will not seek the presidency of the United States,” Daschle said. “Too many people don’t know who I am.” Early polls have, indeed, been discouraging. In terms of name recognition, only 5% of those surveyed were able to correctly identify Daschle as a former senator. In addition to the vast numbers of “I don’t know” and “never heard of him” responses several identified the diminutive ex-lawmaker as either “one of Santa’s...

WASHINGTON - Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle predicted on Monday that Democrats will pick up seven U.S. Senate seats this year and said his party needs to "restore the confidence that has been lost about Congress." Daschle, who was Senate Democratic Leader when he lost to Republican John Thune in 2004, also predicted his party would pick up around 25 seats in the U.S. House. "It looks awfully good," Daschle said on C-SPAN's Washington Journal. Daschle said he hopes South Dakota voters will defeat a state ballot measure that would ban most abortions. "I think it is too extreme,"...

Former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle laugh at a speech by George McGovern at the dedication of the George and Eleanor McGovern Library Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006 at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. (AP Photo/Doug Dreyer)

<p>WASHINGTON -- The White House announced yesterday that its inquiry into intelligence failures would include Libya, North Korea, and Iran in addition to Iraq, sparking quick criticism that the panel will be a long-delayed and watered-down examination of the intelligence that the Bush administration cited to justify the war in Iraq.</p>

Susan Lyne knew it was a bad idea. That's why the ABC Entertainment president passed on what morphed into The Reagans, CBS's now infamous—and now scrubbed—miniseries. "Either you were going to get something very soft, and you weren't going to get an audience for it," she said. "Or you did something where you played up whatever elements you could and ended up having a bad reaction." Lyne was surprised that CBS would produce a program critical of a popular former president afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. "A lot of people look at him as a god," she said during a meeting...

Ousted Bush foe mulls political comeback Sun Jul 2, 2006 10:41 AM ET By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's No. 1 Democrat until his ouster by voters two years ago, Tom Daschle is weighing a campaign comeback he hopes might propel him into the White House in 2008. The first Senate leader in half a century to be voted out of office, the South Dakotan hopes to turn the outspoken opposition to President George W. Bush that was his downfall in his home state into a plus with voters nationwide. "I'm ready for another challenge," Daschle, 58,...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Tom Daschle said he has no regrets about his tenure in the Senate, despite losing his seat to Republican John Thune in 2004. But the former Senate Democratic leader said he does have some regret about a decision he made before he lost — not running for president in 2004. Now, he may be going for it.

WASHINGTON — Former Democratic South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle said Wednesday he is backing efforts to prevent the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern from running more trains near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., according to an Associated Press story in The Pioneer Press of St. Paul. Daschle, who joined the Mayo Clinic's board of directors earlier this year, said the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based railroad should try harder to find a solution in a dispute with the clinic. The railroad's expansion and renovation plan includes rebuilding its 600 miles of track through South Dakota and Minnesota, as well as building 280...

Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle says he will make a decision whether to run for the Democratic nomination for president within six months. And right now, he’s not much interested in anything less than the top spot on his party’s ticket. “My time frame is five or six months,” Daschle said in an e-mail response to questions by the Journal that arrived Sunday evening. “And, no, I’m not interested in vice president or the cabinet.” Daschle, a former minority and majority leader in the U.S. Senate, has solid national fund-raising connections and strong ties with Democratic officials. But Daschle said...

Daschle Considering '08 Presidential Bid By JOE KAFKA, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, accusing the GOP of spreading a message of fear, says he is considering a 2008 presidential bid. "I haven't ruled anything out or anything in at this point," Daschle said in an interview Saturday night after a hometown dinner in his honor. "I'm encouraged by the strong support many people have voiced for my candidacy around the country and in South Dakota. I'll make a decision at some point later on this year," he said. Daschle said President Bush and...

 Little noticed in the kerfuffle over the takeover of major US ports by Dubai Ports is the key role being played by former Democratic Party leaders. Lobbying firms associated with ex-Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Madeleine Albright (Clinton’s Secretary of State) have been working (paid subscription only link) to secure approval of the purchase by Dubai. One would think that our leaders, even when out of office, would care more about their nation than their bank accounts.This hopefully will give impetus to a bill (drafted by Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan) working its slow way through Congress that would bar...

In what can only be called a major reversal, two Democratic leaders, Rep. Jane Harman and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, admitted the controversial NSA surveillance program was necessary for fighting terrorism. But necessary or not, they strongly question whether the president has the authority to conduct the warrantless searches without congressional authority. Please don't miss the significance of this turnaround. It is reminiscent of the many flip-flops the Democrats made over the U.S. invasion of Iraq. One month they approved, the next they were appalled at the thought, the next they were on board again. What changed their...

Two key Democrats yesterday called the NSA domestic surveillance program necessary for fighting terrorism but questioned whether President Bush had the legal authority to order it done without getting congressional approval. Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) said Republicans are trying to create a political issue over Democrats' concern on the constitutional questions raised by the spying program. At the same time, the Republican chairmen of the Senate and House intelligence committees -- Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), who...

The Talk Shows Sunday, February 12th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. George Allen, R-Va.; Rev. Joseph Lowery; author Ron Christie; National Air and Space Museum geologist John Grant. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Reps. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., Jane Harman, D-Calif. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. THIS WEEK (ABC): Rice; Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Lynn Swann, former pro football player and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate; actress Sigourney Weaver. LATE EDITION (CNN) :...

AMES, Iowa - Democrats have a chance to shift the national debate back to domestic issues because voters are tired of the status quo and the scare tactics over terrorism, said former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said. Lecturing about 200 people Wednesday night at Iowa State University, Daschle said Iowa will play a key role in efforts to shape the campaign debate heading into the midterm elections. "Our nation entrusts Iowa with an extremely important role in choosing our nation's course," said Daschle, a former South Dakota U.S. Rep. who took a one-day swing across Iowa to meet with...

Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle is weighing the possibility of running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. "I have received a lot of encouragement," Daschle said in an email today to the Argus Leader. Daschle didn't rule out the possibility of an official announcement in the near future. But for now, he said, he has no plans to run for national office. In his email, Daschle said the primary factors in his decision "would be my family and our mutual decision to consider the rigors of a campaign and reentry into public life." Daschle made similar comments over...

Democrat Fundraising Keeps Daschle Visible By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer 11 minutes ago Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle is hoping to save incumbent Democrats from his own fate, giving away $230,000 in campaign cash to vulnerable members of his party. He may also be thinking about his own future. A spokesman said Thursday that Daschle, who lost a 2004 bid for re-election in South Dakota but has not ruled out a run for president in 2008, raised the money last year for Democrats in Congress. Former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand also said Daschle will give a...

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 14, 2001) [Page: S9441] By Mr. DASCHLE --- --- Whereas, the President has authority under the Constitution to take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States. Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled......... --- --- read more athttp://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r107:FLD001:S09442 scroll down to [Page: S9441]

A former U.S. Senate majority leader says he never agreed to let the Bush administration eavesdrop, without court approval, on phone calls that cross U.S. borders. Democrat Tom Daschle contradicts President Bush, who says Congress granted him the authority in legislation authorizing the use of force against al-Qaida after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post Friday, Mr. Daschle says lawmakers granted the president extra powers to pursue al Qaida, but specifically turned down a White House request to use those powers inside the United States. President Bush last week confirmed he secretly...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, in an op-ed piece in today’s Washington Post, wrote that Democrats in Congress never authorized NSA surveillance of terrorist communications with U.S. residents, and he would not have approved a document the Bush administration has used as its justification for the wiretaps — the U.S. Constitution. “When I was in Congress, the Constitution never came up for a vote,” Mr. Daschle wrote, “and if it had, Article II never would have made it out of committee.” The former Democrat Senator noted that during his term of office, his party “would not have granted the...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, in an op-ed piece in today's Washington Post, wrote that Democrats in Congress never authorized NSA surveillance of terrorist communications with U.S. residents, and he would not have approved a document the Bush administration has used as its justification for the wiretaps - the U.S. Constitution. "When I was in Congress, the Constitution never came up for a vote," Mr. Daschle wrote, "and if it had, Article II never would have made it out of committee." The former Democrat Senator noted that during his term of office, his party "would not have granted the...

Security: Ex-Senate leader Tom Daschle now claims Congress never intended to let President Bush look for terrorists here, only in Afghanistan. The World Trade Center was in New York, senator, not Kabul. On Sept. 14, 2001, as the ruins of the Trade Center still smoldered, the Senate passed a resolution authorizing the president "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided" the Sept. 11 attack on America. Al-Qaida is one of those organizations, and a prerequisite for using "force" against it is to gather intelligence on it and...