Dean on Hardball: "'You Gotta Hand It to Blagojevich'

[madfloridian]

From The Note:

Dean speaks of Blagojevich

He chuckled when he talked about it. Guess he appreciates a good political maneuver.

Howard Dean thinks Rod Blagojevich is in hot soup.

But when the chairman of the Democratic National Committee was wearing his pundit hat during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball," he could not help but admire the embattled Illinois governor's progress in pressuring Washington Democrats to seat former state Attorney General Roland Burris as Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

"You gotta hand it to Blagojevich," said Dean. "What a maneuver! What a maneuver! When his back was against the wall he outsmarted a lot of people. . .

"He'll probably end up in really bad trouble," Dean added, "but he'll have something to tell his grandchildren."

Here is the MSNBC video of the Hardball interview.

Also in the interview he said he is planning to go into the private sector, make paid political speeches, speak out a lot on health care. He says he is going to speak out to be sure that special interests in Congress don't undermine the health care bill.

Hope he makes sh**load of money. He's earned it, every bit.

[Warpy]

1. New Englanders appreciate pure chutzpah

even though most of them are too reserved to do much of it.

He's just admiring an artist at work.

[madfloridian]

3. Yes, he really played Congress on that.

:hi:

[leftstreet]

2. We don't seem to have a President, but we've got Blago!

He's gutsy!

:D

[Froward69]

4. I am right there with Dean...

Blago is accused of holding up the appointment for money. he then appoints someone who did not "pay to play" so the accusation looses merit. Obviously if Blagojevich had not been caught/accused then Roland Burris would not have been appointed.

shrewd...

His ass may not be out of the fire, but Burris is a bucket of water on the coals.

[madfloridian]

8. Pretty much agreed.

Left our senate leader a little out of breath.

[malaise]

5. Howie Dean is right

and I was howling with laughter. He outsmarted a lot of people - that's the truth.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. I said earlier Reid was playing 'go fish' and Blogo poker

and that Reid couldn't figure out the game and was gonna get
played.

Reid has always played t-ball with the republicans and the Bushies
while they were playing major league baseball politics.

[madfloridian]

10. I tend to agree.

The GOP always plays hardball.

[SpiralHawk]

6. Blago has torn pages out of the republicon stategery book

...Act like a republicon, reap the rewards...

[NashVegas]

14. Not At All

Hardball knows no party. Just because congressional Democrats refuse to play doesn't make it solely in the realm of Repukes.

Reid got played for one reason: He jumped the gun on Fitz's presser and didn't think his way through the holes in Fitz's strategy, the biggest one of which was, "what happens if Blago doesn't fold like a cheap suit?"

[lib2DaBone]

7. George Bush spent 8 years spitting in the face of America...Can you blame Blogejivich?

Karl Rove refused to testify to CONgress. Then, who could forget Dick Cheney?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, ABC’s Good Morning America aired an interview with Vice President Cheney on the war. During the segment, Cheney flatly told White House correspondent Martha Raddatz that he doesn’t care about the American public’s views on the war:

CHENEY: On the security front, I think there’s a general consensus that we’ve made major progress, that the surge has worked. That’s been a major success.

RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.

CHENEY: So?

RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?

CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/19/cheney-poll-iraq/

[K Gardner]

11. Howard Dean?? I thought he was in hiding after being thrown under a bus and being

treated like shit by Obama !

Glad to see he's recovered enough to give an interview :-)

[madfloridian]

12. I wrote a post in GDP...

lots of folks are changing around here. Sarcasm, ridicule? From people I always respected.

[K Gardner]

13. Oh stop whining. Now instead of being called names when we disagree

with constant whining, we're being called bipolar.

Enough already.

[madfloridian]

15. You just did it again. I don't remember your being this way before.

There are several now who are changing in attitudes.

You are afraid of being called names? Is that what you are saying?

[PurityOfEssence]

16. That was a fun moment

It's nice to see scrappers like Dean who, although they truly take their politics seriously, can still see the sheer beauty of a tactical flourish. The system was trying to slap him down, and he fucked with them. Blagojevich is a veritable gangster, but there's something amusing about his riposte.

[madfloridian]

17. It was nice to see a moment of realness...

it was short but you are right, kind of fun.