Chad’s Morning Brief for 02.08.13
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of February 8, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.
1. Leadership? (link)
Was President Obama away the night of the attack in Benghazi? According to Leon Panetta, the President was absent that night.
Panetta said that Obama left operational details, including knowledge of what resources were available to help the Americans under seize, "up to us."
In fact, Panetta says that the night of 9/11, he did not communicate with a single person at the White House. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Panetta said that, save their 5 o'clock prescheduled meeting with the president the day of September 11, Obama did not call or communicate in anyway with the defense secretary that day. There were no calls about the what was going on in Benghazi. He never called to check-in.
If this is true, it shows a huge leadership failure from President Obama. How can the President not be around and not talked to while a U.S. Embassy is under attack? Where is the leadership? Where is the outrage?
2. Brennan Pressed on Drones (link)
John Brennan, the CIA director nominee, was pressed by lawmakers yesterday about the administration's policy on drone strikes. According to FOX News:
"It's the idea of giving any president unfettered power to kill an American without checks and balances that's so troubling," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said. "Every American has the right to know when their government believes it's allowed to kill them."
Wyden said he's concerned the Justice Department is "not following through" on providing "any and all" opinions -- aside from what was provided Thursday morning.
As he did with other senators, Brennan vowed to do what he could to pry loose that information. Brennan also said it's important to speak publicly about the rationale, saying "people are reacting to a lot of falsehoods that are out there."
"We only take such actions as a last resort to save lives when there's no other alternative," he said, claiming drone strikes are not ordered to punish terrorists for past attacks.
Brennan faced bipartisan scrutiny Thursday, with Democrats pressing him on drones and his views on Bush-era interrogation tactics. Republicans, meanwhile, repeatedly questioned him on his knowledge of high-profile security leaks last year. Brennan has acknowledged being interviewed as part of an investigation into those leaks, but said Thursday he is not a target of that investigation.
One lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., further threatened to hold up the confirmation over an another issue -- the release of separate documents pertaining to the Benghazi terror attacks.
On the drones, Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., complained that, after lawmakers were allowed by the administration to view the classified drone document earlier in the day, "our staff was banned from seeing it."
"This is upsetting to a number of members," she said.
The debate over the use of drones to kill U.S. citizens if they have joined terror organizations is pretty interesting. I'm not sure where the issue will go, but I know many people who are divided on the issue.
3. Perry to California (link)
The Governor of California hasn't been too happy with Governor Rick Perry lately. Earlier this week, Perry launched a series of radio ads in California that invited businesses to move to Texas. CA Gov. Jerry Brown played down the ads and said they weren't serious. Well, sorry Governor Brown but it looks like Perry is now headed to California.
Perry will begin his recruitment road trip on Sunday, traveling to San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Orange County. He will return to Texas on Wednesday, according to a schedule released Thursday.
Earlier this week, Perry launched a week-long radio ad buy in California — dubbed “Texas Wide Open for Business” — to market the Lone Star State's business-friendly, low-tax environment. In the ad, Perry invites listeners to “come check out Texas.” The 30-second spot has been running on six radio stations throughout California.
On Tuesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown downplayed Perry’s radio promotion, calling it “barely a fart.”
"It's not a serious story, guys," the Democratic governor said, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.
But Perry seems to be taking it very seriously. He is amping up his effort to attract employers to Texas by hosting a reception for business leaders who have reached out to his office since the ad was released.
Fantastic. As long as the business leaders don't bring the liberal politics to Texas, I'm all for this.
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These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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