1616ghkn54

Most of us had been up for almost forty hours...

10:20, 2010-Feb-14 .. Link

Most of us had been up for almost forty hours straight and could have used a nap and shower, but it was Friday afternoon, and we had to finish the ceremony before sundown, the beginning of the Jewish SabbathThe ceremony began at 4 pAfter Madeleine Albright and Al Gore spoke, I outlined the particulars of the agreement and thanked the partiesThen Netanyahu and Arafat made gracious and upbeat remarksBibi was very statesman-like and Arafat renounced violence in unusually strong wordsHussein warned that the enemies of peace would try to undo the agreement with violence and urged the people on both sides to stand behind their leaders, and to replace destruction and death with a shared future for the children of Abraham that is worthy of them under the sun In a gesture of friendship and an appreciation of what the Republicans in Congress were up to, Hussein said that he had been friends with nine Presidents, But on the subject of peace neverwith all the affection I held for your predecessorshave I known someone with your dedication, clearheadedness, focus, and determination and we hope you will be with us as we see greater success and as we help our brethren move ahead towards a better tomorrow Then Netanyahu and Arafat signed the agreement, just before the sun went down and Shabbat beganThe Middle East peace was still alive While the talks were going on at Wye River, Erskine Bowles was managing intense negotiations vintage chanel jewelry with Congress over the budgetHe had told me he was going to leave after the election, and he wanted to make the best agreement he couldWe had a lot of leverage because the Republicans wouldnt dare shut the government down again, and they had wasted a lot of time in the previous months squabbling among themselves and attacking me instead of finishing their business Erskine and his team adroitly maneuvered through the details of the budget bills, giving a concession here and there in order to secure funding for our big prioritiesWe announced agreement on the afternoon of the fifteenth, and the next morning there was a celebration of it in the Rose Garden with Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt, and our entire economic teamThe final deal saved the surplus for Social Security reform and provided funding for the first installment of the 100,000 new teachers, a large increase in after-school and summer school programs, and our other education prioritiesWe secured a solid relief package for farmers and ranchers and scored impressive environmental gains: funding for the clean water initiative to restore 40 percent of our lakes and rivers that were still too polluted for fishing and swimming, as well as money to combat global warming and continue our efforts to protect precious lands from development and pollutionAnd after eight months of deadlock, we also won approval for Americas contribution to the International Monetary Fund, gucci tote bag enabling the United States to continue our efforts to end the financial crisis and stabilize the world economy Not all of our agenda passed, so we had plenty of ammunition for the last two and a half weeks of the campaignThe Republicans had blocked the Patients Bill of Rights for the HMOs; killed the tobacco legislation, with its cigarette tax increase and antiteen smoking measures for the big tobacco companies; filibustered campaign finance reform in the Senate, despite unanimous Senate Democratic support for it after it had passed the House; defeated the minimum wage increase; and, most surprising to me, refused to pass my proposal to build or repair five thousand schoolsThey also refused to pass the tax credit on the production and purchase of clean energy and energy conservation devicesI kidded Newt Gingrich that I had finally found a tax cut that he was against Still, it was a superb budget, given the political composition of Congress, and a real tribute to the negotiating skills of Erskine BowlesAfter negotiating the balanced budget in 1997, he had come through againAs I said, he had a great closing act Four days later, just before I left again for Wye River, I named John Podesta to succeed Erskine, who had strongly recommended him for the jobI had known John for nearly thirty years, since Joe Duffeys campaign for the Senate in 1970He had already served as White House staff secretary and deputy chief of staff; imitation louis vuitton handbags he understood Congress and had helped guide our economic, foreign, and defense policies; he was an ardent environmentalist; and except for Al Gore, he knew more about information technology than anyone else in the White HouseHe had the right personal qualities, too: a fine mind, a tough hide, a dry wit, and he was a better hearts player than Erskine BowlesJohn gave the White House an exceptionally able leadership team, with Deputy Chiefs of Staff Steve Ricchetti and Maria Echaveste and his aide, Karen Tramontano Through our trials and triumphs, our golf matches and card games, Erskine and I had become close friendsI would miss him, especially on the golf courseOn many tough days Erskine and I would go out to Army-Navy golf course for a quick roundUntil my friend Kevin OKeefe left the counsels office, he often joined usWe were always accompanied around the course by Mel Cook, a retired military man who worked there and knew the place like the back of his handSometimes I would play four or five holes before hitting a decent shot, but eventually the beauty of the layout and my love for the game would drive away the pressures of the dayI kept up my trips to Army-Navy, but I always missed ErskineAt least he was leaving me in good hands with Podesta Rahm Emanuel had left, tooSince he had started with me as campaign finance director in 1991, he had married and started a family, and he wanted to provide for themRahms great gucci bag gift was putting ideas into actionHe saw the potential in issues everyone else missed, and he stayed on top of the details that often determine success or failureAfter our defeat in 1994, he had played a major role in bringing my image back into line with realityWithin a few years Rahm would be back in Washington, as a congressman from Chicago, the city he thought should be capital of the worldI replaced him with Doug Sosnik, the White House political director, who was almost as aggressive as Rahm, understood politics and the Congress, always told me the downside of every situation without wanting me to give in to it, and was a shrewd hearts playerCraig Smith took over the political directors job, the same position he had had in the 1992 campaign On the morning of the twenty-second, not long before I left for the last, never-ending day at Wye River, Congress adjourned after having sent me the administrations bill to establish three thousand charter schools in America by 2000In the last week of the month, Prime Minister Netanyahu survived a no-confidence vote in the Knesset on the Wye River accord, and the presidents of Ecuador and Peru, with help from the United States, settled a contentious border dispute that had threatened to erupt into armed conflictAt the White House, I welcomed the new president of Colombia, Andrs Pastrana, and supported his courageous efforts to end the decades-old conflict with guerrilla chanel tote bags grou

{ Last Page } { Page 104 of 125 } { Next Page }

1616ghkn54

Most of us had been up for almost forty hours...

About Me

Links

Categories

Recent Entries

Friends