Except nobody knows what he promised for that...

so baller

woo hoo!

I stand with Bolton.

Okay, that first line actually made me laugh.

That being said, I think there should be a plural in your second paragraph.

Clever--but there must have been
a quid pro quo for Hillary--if you know what I mean.

6-shut up. Good work Elie. This is the sort of stuff ATL should write about.

The two journalists receive immediate release.

Bill Clinton receives full release.

It's all good.

He should have ask Kim Jong where Obama's birth certificate is.

7 - What, he had to bring her back two women too?

Elie - my man, I'm a fan and I generally don't give a damn about one or two typos. Matter of fact, I rarely notice the typos because you normally edit your posts before I access them; however, I have noticed a few big discrepancies in your posts of late. Would it be possible to write these in Word and then place them into your HTML editor? That 2 minute editing trick will save your faithful readers a lot of bullshit comment sorting . . .

Keep up the hard work.

10 - is that you Orly? I only ask because of the broken English.

This deal was already worked out by the time Clinton showed.

Bill knows how to get things done.

10 -- give me a break about the birth certificate already -- you birthers need to climb back in a hole and come up with some new conspiracy theory. This one is weak!

Maybe the deal is that he stays there and the hostages, I mean journalists, come back here?

Just goes to show, reasoned and reasonable Democratic diplomacy trumps Republican chest-thumping every time!

The Bush approach strengthened Ahmadinejad's hold on power. The Obama approach? Ahmadinejad and, more importantly, Khamenei's hold on power is weaker than it's ever been.

Go Blue!

Elie, That's a great picture of our guy Bill. May he close the deal and win our devotion once again. He's so cute.

I heard that in exchange for the release, Bill let Kim Jong Il put on a Lewinsky wig and suck him off. That was apparently a long-time fantasy the guy had. Kind of weird.

Once again, high praise to Laurie Lin for keeping up with the "Legal Eagle Wedding Watch" while being held captive in North Korea.

*Also Elie, good work, funny etc.

Agree w/14

Big charade

This just encouraged NK to act up and take hostages to get attention. I'm really happy for the innocent women who were freed but how is giving Kim what he wants not going to encourage him?

22,

"giving Kim what he wants"

What did he get? What was it they supposedly gave him and how is it damaging to American interests? Seems to me all he did was get a firm but reasoned talking to and then release American citizens.

How is it that you are against that?

Obama learned an important lesson -- when you need to get a deal done, bring in a white guy.

It might be a good idea for American civilians to keep away from the borders of hostile countries so our leaders do not have to go and beg for their release. I guess he is going to have to save the hikers in Iran now.....

23 - He was rewarded for bad behavior. It's not that hard to understand.

--Not 22

Elie

This post shows your potential. Please live up to it. More humor. More news. Less racism.

This is good stuff.

It might be a good idea for American civilians to keep away from the borders of hostile countries so our leaders do not have to go and beg for their release. I guess he is going to have to save the hikers in Iran now.....

And, there's 24 with our random dose of unprovoked and illogical racism...

Now back to the newsroom for something from the land of the logical...

Bill Clinton was the first African American editor of ATL.

the release was a precondition to clinton's visit.

The two were sentence to 12 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the nation.

Did we not learn to properly conjugate our verbs, Elie?

26,

Again, in order for him to be "rewarded" you'd have to point to... oh, I don't know... a REWARD.

What'd he get? A stern talking to that shows that he caved like a scared little girl in the face of reasoned but firm American diplomacy?!?!?

Yeah, gee, it sure would be terrible if the rest of the world learned that our enemies fold like a cheap aluminum chair when we tell them to.

Seems to me this reinforces the message of American diplomatic power.

You Republicans are so desperate, it's just pathetic.

Our strategy is a winner, and the safe release of American citizens is part of the spoils. Get over it and enjoy!

This is truly monumental. It might be the first time that Clinton did anything for a woman that didnt live in a trailor park. I hope to hell they dont offer him a cigar to celebrate this victory.

26 - so he really, REALLY just wanted Bill to come over there and say "let them go" or something? That was his "reward" for his bad behavior?

More "rewards" then, I say.

-not 23

Well, last time all they got was Carter and that was with daddy Kim Il Sung still around. This time, junior managed to get Bubba **all by himself**!!!

(Maybe he also got a video iPod and a bunch of DVD's playable only on region 1 machines...)

Where's the charade, 14 and 21? Of course the deal has been in the works for the past few months. Your biggest clue was in this very article:

"In fairness, the happy victory is probably owed to tireless work by the U.S. State Department and a cadre of unnamed international actors."

And your next clues will come when you do some cursory research. What, you think everyone sat around on their asses until Bill got a bargain deal on a flight to N. Korea and then just knocked on Kim's front door? Honestly, your stupidity is embarrassing. Try using some common sense before you try to attack something that's not there.

And to 23. There was undoubtedly some sort of exchange here, you can bet money on it. Just look at similar trans-national political hostage-like situations throughout history. Will we know what was exchanged? Probably not any time soon, and that's by design. But you can bet it was more than a "firm but reasoned talking to." Moron.

32, shut the fuck up you basement dwelling cocksmoker. No reasonably intelligent person gives a shit about grammar on a fucking blog.

is anyone else a little pissed that we had to use our ace-in-the-hole on these two journalistic-fame-seeking morons? we could have used Bill for something a little "bigger," say denuclearization. instead, we have to bail out a couple twits who were going to tell us nothing new about an oppressive regime. "yup, people are still starving...yup, still brainwashed...oh, here's a Pulitzer...putz."

we should have left them there. then "NOT-Lisa Ling" wouldn't have to worry about getting out from under her sister's shadow.

See? This is what happens when you hook-up with your interns.

39 - Ummm... Bill is a person, not a one-time-use can of deodorant or something.

It's not like we have to crush him against our forehead and crack open a new diplomat now (geez... these Republicans really are rusty as to how diplomacy works...)

Clinton deserves everyone's thanks and praise.

38 - "basement dwelling" should probably hyphenated. ... jus' saying

I remember when Republicans used to have actual policy positions and knew how to govern.

What's left of the party is so stupid and backwards they are literally trying to argue with results.

Bill Buckley, you and your intellectual rigor are missed.

Good luck with that!

39, maybe this was a warmup for denuclearization?

38 is CLEARLY not a "reasonably intelligent person"!

39 - I see your point but, in fairness, sending a nearly octogenarian former leader will probably prove no more effective in settling an issue that's "real" and "important," than sending a regular old diplomat.

Put another way, Bill is not literally an 'ace in the hole." He is good for precisely this kind of service, but not for any other kind...

17 - Show true causality for your claims. Obama's policy towards N.K. did not deviate from Bush's. Not saying that in support of Bush, but asking you to demonstrate your claim with something other then blind fealty to party rhetoric.

Sorry, as much as I want Obama to succeed, he hasn't been in office long enough for his foreign policy to matter.

43,

Nice try.

-38

37 - Hahahaha! You're right, I'm also furious that the Democrats peacefully secured the release of American citizens!

You've got a real winner of an issue/argument there!

Hahahaha!

Seriously, it's best to draw attention to your opponent's failures rather than their successes.

What are you going to do next? Start screaming about how Obama's leadership has taken the dow from 6700 to 9300?

Hahahahaha!

Elie - nice work on this one. The pic is a nice touch too. Maybe we can find one with him smoking a stogie.

15 - you are simple minded. 10 supplying humor ftw.

This is cracking me up. OB has ousted Hillary into obscurity and is even getting Bill to join in the fun.

23 - He got a gold mine of propaganda for his people. I don't particularly give a damn in this case, but take a look at some of the other acts of "diplomacy" OB's engaged in over the past 6 months and try to come up with even one positive result.

48,

You're an idiot.

See, also "Evil, Axis of" circa 2001-2008.

Tell me again how Obama's approach isn't different?

Seriously, arguing with Republicans about diplomacy is like fighting with kindergartners... getting really pissed off and making a bunch of noise isn't the same thing as being effective.

Just so you know...

This post is AWESOME. Kudos to Elie. One of the best things that I have read on ATL. Thanks.

there is not yet enough sexual innuendo or double entendres here for my taste (ahem), I'll check back later

Elie, Was our adorable Bill disbarred for his hanky-panky? Or is he still a legal player?

33, Wow! You must be an incredibly high-ranked TOP level official if no secret negotiation with Kim Jong Il can go on without you knowing about it!

OK, I think Elie is normally terrible at both reasoning and grammar, and I can't stand Bill Clinton either.

That said, the title and first line of this post are the best I have ever seen on this site, and the picture is pretty great too. Excellent work.

Bill Clinton is the only Black man I will ever trust.

Boston Cop

52... WHAT??? Try the pirate fiasco.

Obama ftw!

52,

Destabilization of Ahmadinejad and Khamenei in Iran.

All the bellicose Republican approach has done is show us to be impotent/ineffective. Sometimes the soft touch is best. Enable the dissenting factions within Iran, and then make sure the hard liners can't point to us as a boogeyman to rally support.

It's a complicated answer to a complicated issue, so I'm sure you won't understand. But there it is.

Also, rather than "looking into his soul", Obama has been circumventing Putin altogether and is empowering Medvedev. Again, a nuanced approach to a complex situation.

Maybe not as satisfying as the patented Republican temper-tantrum approach, but way more effective.

The "reward" I saw was one of the world's most popular leaders (Bubba) groveling for the release of two of its citizens.

At least that's how it will read in NK.

Another failure for BO's foreign policy. He's almost as effective as Carter was.

Bill Clinton is one of the greatest Presidents in the history of this country.

53 - Actually, I'm not a Republican. You're the one resorting to making noise and failing to offer any credible hint of argument, debate or other tenable commentary.

Are you trying to say that Obama's administration took a soft approach to N. Korea?

As recent as Jun 16, 2009: President Barack Obama said Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear ambitions pose a "grave threat" to the world, and he vowed to end a cycle of allowing Pyongyang to create crises and then be rewarded with incentives to back down.

"This is a pattern they've come to expect," Obama said. "We are going to break that pattern."

Better get one of your paralegals to do some fact checking for you.

Wow 52, informed much? Even the WSJ called Obama's handling of the situation a success.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/04/13/political-wisdom-obama-pirates-success/

And that was in his first few months in office. Wow, that was really challenging to "come up with even one positive result."

Douche.

Good post Elle.

That first line needs to go into your "Best Of"

That along with, (something along the lines of) " Pray to me, I bring the rain and make the buffalo come"

I think we should have started a full ground invasion to return these two young journalists.

Nuance works most of the time. Soft words works most of the time when backed by big weapons.

Yeah, I'll buy that instead of the chest thumping rhetoric we received in the last 8 years.

Best. Blog. Post. Evah.

Bill Clinton was successful because North Korea still thinks he's the current U.S. President. Boy will they feel stupid in 10 years.

This is so fabulous. Send in Da MAN to bring back Da Women. THink of the gratitude Da Women will feel.
How will they ever repay him? From a work camp into the p---ts of BC? A Quantum Leap.

"If the mainstream media outlets didn't report secret negotiations between Kim Jong Il and the State Department, then they never happened."

- 33

"That man is a closer."

Alas, Jimmy Carter is still not allowed to have any coffee.

That picture has BIG PIMPIN' written all over it. And when I say BIG, I mean, Monica Lewinsky BIG.

James Earl Carter simply didn't have the stones or the smarts to be our president which is why he got only one term.

And which is why he is working for Habitat for Humanity, coddling elderly Nazis, and standing up for the rights of Palestinian terrorists.

Turning the other cheek rarely translates into a successful presidency.

Is it true that attorneys are the new blue collar workers?

"that man is a closer"

unless you are a woman. Then he opens. Legs.

He went there for peace and came back with two pieces.

50 - They were also arrested under the Dem administration, or did that escape your memory. If the Obama team is so effective, why weren't they released immediately and not tried?

And how's it going with the hikers in Iranian custody right now? Bill gonna swing by on his way home and pick them up too?

60 - are you saying that SEALs taking down some 15 year old Samalis (which I was totally in favor of and give him credit for) was diplomacy?

61 - maybe he didn't totally screw up the Russia endeavor, and 52 was probably a little off based with "even one," but you just named 2 of perhaps 10 tries Russia & the EU giving us a lot of help in Afganistan now are they? Israel going pretty well? condemning a constitutional uprising in Honduras (which was backed by their entire legislature as well as the judicial system) in favor of a Chavez-friendly leader who was trying to circumvent their constitution so he could rule in perpetuity?

Now hold on, 62, how exactly was this a failure?

I swear, Obama could birth the baby jesus outta his ass and the Republicans would call it a failure.

76

You are the living proof of the axiom that intelligence does not always equate to success in life.

It seems the best way to get a phone call from Obama is to throw a perfect game or throw one of his black friends in jail.

73,

Thanks for the Glengarry Glen Ross reference. Came here looking for it - leaving satisfied.

So I guess Bill C. and his chum Ron Burkle taught Kim Jong Il how to part-ay!

"The DPRK was impressed with Mr. Clinton's endowment, which was the main factor in the release of the two American criminals."

-Kim Jong-IL's official statement to abovethelaw.com.

One wonders if the DPRK now will immediately start cloning efforts now that they're received genetic samples from Bill Clinton after a "chance" encounter with the sloe-eyed female greeters.

The last time Clinton dealt with N. Korea, they got nuclear technology that was only supposed to be used for power generation. How'd that work out?

I HOPE THOSE WHO SUPPORT OBAMA ARE THE ONLY ONES LEFT TO DEAL WITH HIS MESSES>>>>LIBERALS PLEASE DIE AND SAVE US MONEY ONHEALTHCARE COSTS

NIce to know Slick Willie can get something accomplished besides convincing fat ugly girls to polish his knob. Way to go!!

THIS IS REDICULOUS. Bill did nothing here. He would not have went over there if it wasn't already determined the journalists were coming back with him. I bet he offered them a cigar for the plane ride home

Big Willie's a pimp

The worst part about this whole situation (ploy) is that of COURSE someone like Clinton would step up and go to North Korea to bring these two journalists home. The truth is that Kim Jong Il ordered that these ladies be held--so the U.S. would inevitably send someone of Clinton's stature--and then North Korea could assert that it is a peaceloving nation. It's purely political. And who benefits? 1) North Korea. 2) Bill Clinton. Bill is smart, I'll give him that, but I don't like him or this situation one bit. Ten to Fifteen years from now Obama will be doing the same thing....Can't wait...

Right now, as the trio fly home, the ugly one is licking Cltinton's balls and the not so ugly one is rimming him.

81, 62 means that the return of two american citizens unharmed is a "failure" in the way that anything positive that happens while Obama is in office is a "failure."

By the same reasoning, Michael Scheuer got on Fox News and said America's only hope is for another terrorist attack. There be some twisted people up in the Republican party.

I love how the liberals are naive enough to actually believe that we didn't bribe North Korea in order to secure the release of the journalists. This was standard procedure under both Clinton and Bush, and it seems like it will continue under Obama as well. We give North Korea aide in the form of cash, oil, and food in exchange for the regime abandoning its nuclear weapons program... and then the regime turns around and uses that cash, oil, and food to fund and supply its nuclear weapons program.

Go fuck yourself 38. You wouldn't know "reasonably intelligent" if it smacked in your goddamn retarded face.

Not 32 or 43, but possibly 97

93,
In your list of winners you forgot to mention the 2 journalists who are now going home to their family. Ehhh, but I guess they don't matter too much......

I've never been captured by North Korea. Know why? Because I don't unlawfully wander into North fucking Korean territory.

Thos bitches should have been left to suck Kim Jong Il;s dong the rest of their lives. Would have taught them a lesson.

Now we'll see these two WGWAG magnets all over the goddamn boob. I'm already sick of hearing them.

96, not all liberals are that naive.

It's standard procedure under all administrations. It's just the way of the world, and hell, the way of diplomacy these days. Lesson to be learned? Don't fucking inadvertently walk across borders into North Korea or Iran. How is that hard?

Speaking of naive, how about the republicans who don't believe Obama has a Hawaii birth certificate? Or who believe that a public option plan would euthanize the elderly? These lies are being put out there on purpose, and that is more shameful than the folks that actually believe the stuff.

101--

Is it naive to believe that Obama is not black, but rather is white and was able to check the black box so he could gain admission to Columbia and Harvard?

Is Mariah Carey black?

101 -

I agree. The Birthers are completely idiotic. As for the "euthanizing the elderly" claim, I guess it depends on whether it is meant literally or as a figure of speech. Under the plan, there would be less focus on research into cures, less ability to access life-sustaining care, and less individual choice. The end result is a decrease in the quality of care. If someone honestly believes that government control of health care will result in improved care, then I have a bridge for sale.

I also agree that hikers should stay away from Axis of Evil nations. There is a reason why Bush gave them that label... they are the kind of place where you can be sentenced to labor for simply crossing the border.

- 96

Wasn't one of them formerly of the View? Can we send that fat black bitch Star Jones over there? Maybe Elie would go with.

Any of you punks alive in 1980 when, just as Reagan was being sworn in, 52 Iranian hostages were released? Methinks it was Carter who did the job.

well what do you know....bill clinton rushes to north korea to seize another media moment! now he'll get paid millions to speak about it and will probably write a book! what a calculating, and clever guy he is!!!! LB santa monica, ca.

God, give me the grace to understand you idiots....Clinton did a great service to these two women and to the Uniteds States....forget Monica..Kennedy did the same thing with LOTS of women and he was still one of the greatest presidents of this nation.I was around to see and to understand all of this , were any of you??????

Samali -- yum. With beer and smoked cheese.

God, give me the grace to understand you idiots....Clinton did a great service to these two women and to the Uniteds States....forget Monica..Kennedy did the same thing with LOTS of women and he was still one of the greatest presidents of this nation.I was around to see and to understand all of this , were any of you??????

God, give me the grace to understand you idiots....Clinton did a great service to these two women and to the Uniteds States....forget Monica..Kennedy did the same thing with LOTS of women and he was still one of the greatest presidents of this nation.I was around to see and to understand all of this , were any of you??????

108/110/111 -

No. I was too busy learning how to not TRIPLE POST!! And check your spelling... moron.

Kennedy, the last Democrat to understand that "a rising tide lifts all boats".

#101 & 104, you know your stuff. We're way overpoulated. Were any of you alive back in 1973?
if so did you see, Soylent Green? If not rent it. It's terryifying and on the nose:

Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which overpopulation leads to depleted resources, which in turn leads to widespread unemployment and poverty. Real fruit, vegetables and meat are rare, expensive commodities, and much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green" wafers.
The film overlays the science fiction and police procedural genres as it depicts the efforts of New York City police detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) and elderly police researcher Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson) to investigate the brutal murder of a wealthy businessman named William R. Simonson (Joseph Cotten). Thorn and Roth uncover clues which suggest that it is more than simply a bungled burglary.
The film, which is loosely based upon the 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room!, by Harry Harrison, won the Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 1973.

106 you fucking complete moron. Iranian hostage release had zero to do with Carter and everything to do with Reagan's promise to use force against them. What are you 25?

108--How, precisely, was Kennedy one of the greatest Presidents? I mean, besides, liberal media hyperbole. I mean, he did lead a botched CIA invasion of Cuba, and allow the Soviet Union to force us to the brink of war. I think his 2 and 5/6 years of Presidency was anything but magical.

He did fuck Marilyn Monroe though. I have to give it to him there.

And did I mention that his election was rigged by his bootlegger criminal father?

115 -

You complete fucking idiot. You discount Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980 (when Carter was president) as not being military force? It started with Carter you blathering right-wing conservative asshole Republican.

# nr 106 ....you are right on !

117--you unbelievable asshole. Carter's mission was an abject failure. learn your goddamn history outside of wikipedia.

Opinions are great if you know what you are talking about........and I don't think most of you do !!! Sorry about the three posts ........the damned computer stuck......and guess what ....#112....I was so incessed about posting to you idiots I that I forgot to check the one little word that was hit by my little finger and mis-spelled incorrectly.....sorry 'bout that !!! Can any of you tell me what Kennedy accomplished within his presidently.....probably not....most of you are probably 19 to 30 year old degenerates.

Opinions are great if you know what you are talking about........and I don't think most of you do !!! Sorry about the three posts ........the damned computer stuck......and guess what ....#112....I was so incessed about posting to you idiots I that I forgot to check the one little word that was hit by my little finger and mis-spelled incorrectly.....sorry 'bout that !!! Can any of you tell me what Kennedy accomplished within his presidently.....probably not....most of you are probably 19 to 30 year old degenerates.

Did it again....sorry 112

Did it again....sorry 112

Did it again....sorry 112

Did it again....sorry 112

Bill Clinton photo caption contest:

"Lisa Ling is going to be soooo greatful...."

I bet you money they were spies--

journalists is a common cover.

What are the odds that Slick Willie had sex with one or more of these women on the plane ride home?

Mystal, if Clinton was a sandwich, would you eat him really fast, or take your time and savor him?

Dear 128:

Keeping in mind that he already has a deal with Lisa Ling--68.34%.

Once again mystal has proven (proved?) that he is ready, willing, and able to suck the cock of every liberal politician in this country.

The first line of this post is hilarious. Great job Elie!
And I'll nominate #70 for comment of the month.

When a post like this is funny, there isn't much complaining about how it doesn't really have all that much to do with law.

I'd let Bill wingman for me anytime.

So many Mystals in the comments.

The Good Old Days, when Democrats were rational and effective. Remember the balanced budget, peace and prosperity? Should have voted for Hillary you Obamabots, now you will get the socialist paradise you asked for. Hopefully we'll at least be able to eat, unlike the Dear Leader's people.

Clinton went to North Korea, and all he brought back were two ugly bitches.

G.W. went to Columbia and brought back three pounds of cocaine and eight indentured servants.

Now who was the better President?

To all you non-birthers out there, let's think about the situation for half a minute.

Is the Obama family so rich that they as a family can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in atty fees to stonewall the publication of the original birth cert rather than just providing it? Certainly, the cost of acquiring a long form B/C is less than $20, even in HI. Even if he personally thinks he can afford the legal bills, this is family money that he personally is intentionally transferring from his precious family and kids to his lawyers. I guess he hopes their kids are better provided for than his. Moreover, what American women, seriously, would willingly agree to their spouse wasting family assets of this magnitude when clearly providing the long form B/C would wholly and instantly disarm the whole situation, leaving precious family assets safely intact for future Obama generations.

Or, are the US taxpayers footing these completely unnecessary legal fees? In which case, I am requesting that the IRS grant me a tax credit equal to my portion of these fees, as I personally will never, ever, never, never, ever, ever, never understand why running up completely unnecessary legal fees paid for by US taxpayers is a smarter alternative than just producing a $20 original B/C.

Transparency, right! Happy frickin’ birth certificate day Obama!

The posters who believe that Slick Willie visited North Korea for little more than a photo-op and a bit of sexy conversation to unleash two Gore newspaper journalists are idiots. When has any world leader, especially one who is hell-bent on captivating the world's attention through missile tests, nuclear weapons, etc., gonna bend to the kindness of America's former President?

Quit living in a god damn dream world; that "hand written" letter from Obama delivered by Clinton was little more than ransom money. Way to stick it to a country that starves millions of its people by gracing them with our former President's presence. Retards.

43, the trend in modern legal writing is to not hyphenate, when possible.

I admit I am a "Clinton Democrat" (e.g., conservative democrat/liberal republican swing voter) but if Obama were 1/4 the President Clinton was, the economy would be far less of an issue. Clinton was a doer that appealed to both sides of the aisle, not a ultra liberal who only appeals to the liberal 1/2 of the Democrats. Too bad Clinton had an unfortunate indiscretion with ML, otherwise, he would have gone down as one of the best Presidents in American history.

For goodness sake, are some of you really that naive? I mean for the love of all things sacred....

If you really think that Clinton waltzed over there and, after 20 passionate minutes, changed KJI's mind and convinced him to let the women go, you're all fooling yourselves.

When will you all wake up and get wise to what this liberal media is spoonfeeding you? Spit that crap out and realize that in the real world, reclusive totalitarian regimes don't just give up two huge bargaining chips because some former president showed up and told them to do so.

Good ol' fashioned US diplomacy? Really? Christ...there are a lot of dumb people on this board.

I like Bill Clinton, but I am 90% sure he did nothing to save these women. He wouldn't risk his political reputation to go all the way over there if an agreement wasn't already made.

who smoked more weed, bill or barack?

Elie, you are a naive imbecile.

136, George Washington never went to Columbia (which was still the Viceroyalty of New Granada at the time of his death - the Bolivarian Revolution didn't succeed until 1819). Also, it is ColOmbia, not ColUmbia.

The first president to leave the country while in office was Teddy Roosevelt, on a trip to inspect the construction of the Panama Canal.

If he's a god, I'm a heretic.

These two stupid bitches are on the boob right now. They deserved what they got. Why anyone should care about them is beyond me.

Oh God. Gore is coopting the media attention. What a fucking whore. I guarantee that the parents of these stupid bitches are republicans.

106 - Youthinks wrong. They were not released until specifically AFTER Carter the non-starter was OUT of office. To prove that he, in fact, did not effect their release.

5 - I also agree with Bolton. This was a VERY stupid thing, and the libs who can't see that are idiots....

Fom today's Washington Post:

Clinton's Unwise Trip to North Korea

By John R. Bolton
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 1:09 PM

The Obama administration characterized Bill Clinton's unexpected visit to Pyongyang to secure the release of two American reporters, held unjustifiably by North Korea for nearly five months, as a private, humanitarian mission. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has insisted that the fate of the women who strayed into the North (whether accidentally or deliberately is still not clear), should be separated from the unresolved issue of the North's nuclear weapons program.

But North Korea has seen it very differently. Former president Clinton was met at Pyongyang's airport by notables led by Kim Kye Gwan, the North's long-time chief nuclear negotiator, an unmistakable symbol of linkage. In Pyongyang's view, the two reporters are pawns in the larger game of enhancing the regime's legitimacy and gaining direct access to important U.S. figures. The reporters' arrest, show trial and subsequent imprisonment (twelve years hard labor) was hostage taking, essentially an act of state terrorism. So the Clinton trip is a significant propaganda victory for North Korea, whether or not he carried an official message from President Obama. Despite decades of bipartisan U.S. rhetoric about not negotiating with terrorists for the release of hostages, it seems that the Obama administration not only chose to negotiate, but to send a former president to do so.

While the United States is properly concerned whenever its citizens are abused or held hostage, efforts to protect them should not create potentially greater risks for other Americans in the future. Yet that is exactly the consequence of visits by former presidents or other dignitaries as a form of political ransom to obtain their release. Iran and other autocracies are presumably closely watching the scenario in North Korea. With three American hikers freshly in Tehran's captivity, will Clinton be packing his bags again for another act of obeisance? And, looking ahead, what American hostages will not be sufficiently important to merit the presidential treatment? What about Roxana Saberi and other Americans previously held in Tehran? What was it about them that made them unworthy of a presidential visit? These are the consequences of poorly thought-out gesture politics, however well-intentioned or compassionately motivated. Indeed, the release of the two reporters -- welcome news -- doesn't mitigate the future risks entailed.

The Clinton visit may have many other negative effects. In some ways the trip is a flashback to the unfortunate 1994 journey of former president Jimmy Carter, who disrupted the Clinton administration's nuclear negotiations with North Korea and led directly to the misbegotten "Agreed Framework." By supplying both political legitimacy and tangible economic resources to Pyongyang, the Agreed Framework provided the North and other rogue states a roadmap for maximizing the benefits of illicit nuclear programs. North Korea violated the framework almost from the outset but nonetheless enticed the Bush administration into negotiations (the six-party talks) to discuss yet again ending its nuclear program in exchange for even more political and economic benefits. This history is of the United States rewarding dangerous and unacceptable behavior, a lesson well learned by other would-be nuclear proliferators.

We cannot presently foretell whether or not Clinton's visit will lead to renewed negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program, but that appears to be the conclusion the Obama administration hopes to draw. Ironically, both Kim and Obama may well want to kick start bilateral negotiations, or, failing that, at least renew the six-party talks. Obama's "open hand" promise in his inaugural address isn't having much success around the world, and North Korea can always use new infusions of economic aid, which may well be the hidden cargo of the Clinton mission.

The point to be made on the Clinton visit is that the knee-jerk impulse for negotiations above all inevitably brings more costs than its advocates foresee. Negotiating from a position of strength, where the benefits to American interests will exceed the costs, is one thing. Negotiating merely for the sake of it, in the face of palpable recent failures, is something else indeed.

The writer, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006.

These two stupid cunts just made this Country far less secure just because they wanted to earn an Emmy.

I wonder how difficult it will be negotiating with that regime after they just released these idiots. These bitches should be flogged not praised.

Thank you 149! All these idiot journalists wanted was a Pulitzer Prize for a story on N.Korea, and they crossed the border without any regard for their friends, families and country. So now we're left to wonder, what exactly did the US have to give up to secure these women's release? The US should confiscate their passports for the12 years they should've been imprisoned, so we won't have to worry about their accidently crossing anymore borders.

No you are all right, the neo-cons would have left them to rot in prison until we bombed the whole country. The neo-cons also wanted us at home to be hiding under our desks. The neo-cons insist it is important that the country keep tabs on everyone and the President have absolute power. It seems th neo-cons have a lot in common with the North Korean leadership.

And let's be very clear here, that was a letter from Bolton, not the opinion of the Washington Post or any other mainstream, sane, person.

LOL @ Bolton' opinion meaning anything. Conservatives are desperately looking for someone credible to hang their hats on. They need to keep looking. Maybe post a rant from Rush Limbaugh "proving" how stupid liberals are?

I can't wait until the death throes of the Republican Party are over and we can have a legitimate 2nd party to run against the Dems.

Neocons are so funny. When it comes to this kind of thing, they don't need to think through the consequences of their actions. They just focus on principals. So what would Bolton have done? Start dropping bombs to obtain the release? Sacrifice American citizens for the greater good because we don't negotiate with rogue states?

And neocons think liberals are the idealistic airheads out of touch with reality.

I've been saying it since I was 19, and will keep saying it for the rest of Bill's life...I would SO love to do him.

Adding to 149's point, this from Claudia Rosett (see pajamasmedia):

Bill Clinton in Pyongyang

Posted By Claudia Rosett On August 4, 2009 @ 1:41 am In Uncategorized | 62 Comments

UPDATE: “Clinton Delivers” is the headline on the Drudge Report, with breaking news [1]that in response to Bill Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il has pardoned the two jailed American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. They are expected to be home shortly, and it will be a welcome relief when they are free of North Korea.

But the huge and disturbing question is, what else has Bill Clinton delivered? And to whom? The White House is calling Bill’s trip a “private mission,” but there are reports that Bill was met at the Pyongyang airport by North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye Gwan – a curious choice of host if Clinton went only to discuss the two hostage journalists. Likewise, just how private is it when Clinton had a long talk with Kim Jong Il over a dinner hosted by North Korea’s National Defense Commission.

Kim Kye Gwan and Kim Jong Il led the Bush administration on a merry dance via the Six-Party Talks of recent years, in which North Korea raked in concessions and aid from the U.S. — and cheated, with the resulting collapse of the deal late last year. The same regime did the same to Bill Clinton when he was president in the 1990s — talk, sign, collect, and cheat. North Korea’s totalitarian regime is not a system in which morality, decency or human kindness figure as motivating factors. Kim Jong Il got something from the U.S. for those journalists — the question is, did he simply get the already huge concession of a visit from a former U.S. president and husband of Obama’s secretary of state? Or did Bill Clinton deliver a lot more to Kim, which we have yet to hear about?

More on the Pyongyang calculus below, as posted just after Clinton arrived in Pyongyang, but before the report that “Clinton Delivers”:

Snatch two American journalists, get yourself a visit from an American ex-president — with added payolas likely to follow.

That’s the conclusion the strategists of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il regime might reasonably draw, as Bill Clinton arrives in Pyongyang to navigate the release of the two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were nabbed by North Korea, accused of trespassing on its turf and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. I use the word “navigate” rather than “negotiate” for whatever Clinton is about to do in North Korea, because his arrival there — as ex-president and husband of President Obama’s secretary of state — is, in itself, already a U.S. concession to North Korea; a deal already struck, with more U.S. concessions likely to follow).

There’s every reason for North Korea to be pleased with this arrangement. The last American ex-president to tread the corridors of Pyongyang was Jimmy Carter, who went to North Korea in 1994, while Bill Clinton was president. Out of that visit, 15 years ago, came the Agreed Framework nuclear freeze deal, in which North Korea was promised two modern nuclear reactors and a flow of aid, and got to store in-country its spent nuclear fuel (which later came in handy when Kim decided to reprocess it for nuclear bombs). On Clinton’s watch, construction began on the reactors, the aid flowed, Madeleine Albright dropped by in 2000 in a propaganda coup for Kim — and North Korea cheated on the deal.

The net effect was to help Kim Jong Il consolidate power and sustain his regime. Kim enhanced his missile arsenal, expanded his proliferation networks, starved an estimated million or so of his countrymen to death, and conducted nuclear and long-range missiles tests in 2006 and this spring.

Now Bill Clinton has come calling on Pyongyang. One can feel enormous sympathy for the two journalists whose release he’s gone to obtain. It would be a very good thing to see them come home. But this is a terrible way to handle it, and the precedent now being set is monstrous.

What will be the real costs of this high-profile brand of ransom payment? It’s not only the tyrant regime of Pyongyang that’s noting the rewards of hostage politics – which is becoming hard to distinguish from Obama’s broad efforts in any event to engage with the world’s most ruthless and manipulative tyrannies. Iran has just picked up three Americans accused by Iranian authorities of straying over the border from Iraq. Which ex-president should Iran now expect to come calling? Or, given the current calculus of hostage politics, and appeasement whatever the cost, should we expect that Obama will do it himself?

149 and 157 = two people stupid enough to still value the opinion of one of the architects of the debacle in Iraq.

Just out of curiosity, what would a right-winger have to do for you to abandon their advice? Obama gets tangible results, and he's bad.

The neocons shit on everything and tarnish our image, and you still want to follow their advice.

No wonder Republican party ID is at an all time low and the party is now a regional rump.

Tell the whigs I said hi...

158 - you're so smitten with the obamation, check this out ... and see how your obamassiah is bankrupting our country:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5yxFtTwDcc

159-

So Bush runs up record deficits for 8 years, but it's OBAMA that is bankrupting the country? Really? Tax CUTS and spend is an OBAMA creation? I think we can thank Ronald Reagan for this river of shit we're all swimming in right now.

Viva la Republican Fiscal Policies!

obviously 160 isn't smart enough to understand the simple MPH explanation in the video link, so let's discount all of his posts (158, etc.)

obviously 161 is strawmanning. 160 never even mentioned the video but like a Pavlovian dog, he jumps to the defense of his precious neocon gods.

162 is an idiot, also unlikely to understand the video's simple MPH explanation of how Obama's own stated budget will increase the national debt at multiples beyond any previous president

http://bedlammagazine.com/files/images/news/Obama-socialism_0.jpg

I didn't even look at the video and I don't need to. Obama is just continuing the reckless fiscal policies of Bush and Reagan and others of that ilk. There is no difference between the parties as far as fiscal responsiblity goes. Sickening.

Only Clinton could balance a budget and even run a SURPLUS. Imagine that. A government that actually took in more money than it spent. Unfortunately, that is an anomaly these days.

Bolton 3:16

ATL is full of Clinton love pump loving poor commies, I'm going back to Dealbreaker (despite Bess Levin's absence).

you're both fucking idiots 165 and 163. Why don;t you two dorks team with Elie and meander across the No. Korean border, m'K? best,