Bipartisan trio to escort McCaskill at swearing in
Missouri’s senior U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., will be joined by former Democratic U.S. Sens. Thomas F. Eagleton and Jean Carnahan to escort U.S. Sen.-elect Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., at to the Jan. 4 swearing-in ceremony.
According a release by the McCaskill campaign, the contingent will be joined “by dozens of McCaskill’s family members.”
“McCaskill will be one of 10 incoming members of the United States Senate,” the release said. “A viewing reception will be held at a different location, allowing several hundred of McCaskill’s closest supporters to watch the swearing-in ceremony occur over closed caption television.”
âIt’s an honor to be joined by the United States Senators from Missouri who have also taken this oath of office. To have them at my side on the day I officially take Harry Truman’s Senate seat reminds me of the big shoes I will try to fill,” McCaskill said. âAs always, I am so proud of my family and thrilled that over thirty members of my family will be joining me in Washington that day.”
In addition, “a celebratory reception will be held the night before, on January 3rd, at the historic Willard Hotel near the White House to welcome McCaskill supporters to Washington D.C. for the swearing-in ceremony. The event will feature Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque from Kansas City, Ted Drewes frozen custard from St. Louis and Missouri’s own Anheuser Busch beer and Stone Hill Winery beverage products.”
I’m pleased Kit Bond is taking a respite from his obsession with torture to hold hands with Claire.
Smitty - let’s turn this around for a moment. One - was there outrage from those who voted for Claire when she didn’t show up for freshmen orientation because she was at an exotic local? Great priorities! Now on to W - this is the new information age - just because he is at his ranch does not mean he is not “working.” This is unlike any other president in history.
If Bill Clinton had another home, I am sure he would have been there, but he loved DC and being in the White House and vacationing at celebs homes where I guarantee he was not “working” unless you consider fundraising working. I truly wish for this reason Kerry had won. I would have loved to see if the media would have criticized him for leaving the White House often with all those homes he had and yes even a ranch - but he too probably would have loved the White House because it is so important to him. Bush does not enjoy being there and that is his personal preference.
Meh. I wasn’t in a hurry to stand up for Claire after her bout of absenteeism, but I figure she’s got to be a change for the better when it comes time for her to actually get to work. If she ends up missing votes and committee hearings, however, no one will be more disheartened than I. But you won’t find that I rushed to her aid last month, even though I think her absence at orientation was blown out of proportion by people who obviously didn’t hold her predecessor to any standard whatsoever.
Our Fearless Leader, on the other hand, has shown that even the direst emergency can’t draw him out of hiding. âUnlike any other president in history” is right. Do you honestly think he’s determined (or tech-savvy) enough to be plugged in wherever he goes? I’m unconvinced that he’s a master of Web communication, especially after he denied having been briefed on Katrina’s potential impact when the video conference is more than well-documented on the âinternets.” He also clearly demonstrated where his real interests lie when he said that catching a perch in his pond was the best moment of his presidency (although I am inclined to agree). If you want to describe that as âworking,” be my guest, but there won’t be many others who are of the same mind.
On the other side of the coin, W is dealing with ancient senators and advisers on a daily basis - do you think half of them can even check their own email, let alone do effective business long-distance? Ted Stevens and his âseries of tubes” should show you that those folks need to deal with a leader who is in town and to whom they have a greater degree of access than the occasional Web cam appointment. Claire won’t be able to phone in her votes - why don’t you hold your President to a higher standard?
P.S. I tried your âpersonal preference” argument out on my boss today. He didn’t buy it, either - I still have to go to the office.
#8 Nick Kasoff-Don’t disturb Northside with facts! Those get in the way of him hating whitey!
âA republican stands up in congress and says ‘I GOT A REALLY BAD IDEA!!’ and the democrat stands up after him and says ‘AND I CAN MAKE IT CRAPPIER!!’” - Lewis Black, political comedian and a better candidate for Speaker of the House
Hey Smithy:
I cry as well, As a ‘Nam Vet (1968 - 1969) who saw over 50K of my fellow service members killed under JFK and LBJ. War stinks, especially to those of us who are requird to go and fight it. By the way. when and where did you serve??