Newly confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry joked today that he is a “recovering politician,” relating a funny story about the occasional perils of being such a widely recognized public figure.
Watch the clip:
Are there any intellectual property lawyers who want to represent me in a lawsuit?
UPDATED: February 22, 2012
From today’s Washington Post, writes Al Kamen in an article titled, “John Kerry, a ‘recovering politician’“:
Back when he was running for president in 2003 and 2004, then- Sen. John Kerry was giving speeches ripping into President George W. Bush for spending money overseas and allowing “a preparedness gap” in terms of the fight against terrorism.
“We should not be opening firehouses in Baghdad,” he told a crowd in a Roanoke fire station Feb. 9 2004, “and shutting them in the United States of America.”
But at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Wednesday — about a two-hour drive from Roanoke — Kerry made a pitch for not cutting funds for foreign policy and overseas aid, noting that it’s only a bit more than 1 percent of the overall budget.
And “every embassy, every program that saves a child from dirty drinking water, or from AIDS, or reaches out to build a village, and bring America’s values, every person” comes out of that “one penny plus a bit, on a single dollar.”
So why do people criticize foreign aid spending and think it’s a quarter of the budget?
“Well, I’ll tell you,” he said, according to a State Department transcript, “It’s pretty simple. As a recovering politician (laughter) … I can tell you that nothing gets a crowd clapping faster in a lot of places than saying, “I’m going to Washington to get them to stop spending all that money over there.”
Contributing RP and former Missouri State Sen. Jeff Smith talks about his political advice column, “Do As I Say,” which helps other politicians and professionals who find themselves in compromising positions:
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 31, 2013 at 4:43 PM ET
From my No Labels co-founder, Bill Galston:
You’re not going to believe this! Thanks to you, we just made history. I just got word that No Budget, No Pay passed the Senate and now awaits the president’s signature.
Folks, this is huge. Your calls, your emails and your passion just shattered Washington gridlock and introduced real accountability in a way that seemed impossible just a few days ago. We’ve been calling for this for more than a year with Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Jim Cooper, and now we made it happen – we’ve shown our democracy can work.
This is a turning point for our nation. Our leaders worked together for progress and prosperity, and America is stronger for it.
The following is the prepared text of a speech Artur Davis delivered at the National Review Institute on January 27, 2013
Rich Lowry, thank you. Rich said that he wanted to get together a few friends for lunch after the campaign, and now I see what he means. And thank you for letting me be the warm-up act for Bobby Jindal, whom I deeply admire, and whom I served with in the House of Representatives.
I want to begin by saying something that needs to be said: I am not going to tell you that we have the luxury of feeling good about where we are as a movement, or that we don’t have lessons to learn. But this is the movement and the cause that rescued this country 30 years ago, when serious people thought we were too complex to be governed anymore. This is the movement and the cause that refused to believe freedom was exhausted; only that it was tired of not being defended. And you held up freedom and made it so vibrant that prisoners in Prague and shipbuilders in Gdansk and freedom fighters in Managua and dissidents in gulags in Russia saw it and were moved by it.
And not only have you been right about these large cosmic things, you have been right about more basic things: we can’t grow an economy by making audacity cost too much, we can’t strengthen people by penalizing them for work, we can’t own our future by living on the credit of countries who want to dominate us. Those values are as right today as they were yesterday, and may they always define us. I have not always been with you but I am with you now and I am proud to stand with you to wage this fight.
So, about this election. Yes, we have learned that we the American people can trust us to do a better job on the three things they said mattered the most to them, the economy, healthcare and spending and still not vote for us. We learned that 5 million fewer people can vote for the president and that he can still get reelected, the first time in 120 years that an incumbent has won and gotten fewer votes than he got the first time—in contrast, 12 million more people voted for George Bush in 2004 than 2000. How is that we lost when so many Americans agreed with our broad principles, and when 5 million people abandoned Obama?
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: A Winning Conservative Message
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Jan 27, 2013 at 12:30 PM ET
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In these roles, she had the honor of editing some of the best political reporters in Kentucky and had responsibility for Washington, Frankfort and Sacramento bureau coverage for the newspapers and their Web sites. Her favorite political ad of all time is the Kentucky radio spot from an 1980s campaign that said “Just because you sit in the garage for 10 years, that don’t make you a Buick.”
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By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jan 23, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Remember, the the “art of negotiation” is really the “art of problem solving.”
To get what you want in negotiating, however, you have to first be able to give the other side what they want, too.
Negotiation isn’t about who can yell loudest what they want until the other side capitulates. It’s a process of understanding until the wisest —and often most creative—resolution of the problem is discovered and properly disclosed and proffered. And you can’t do that unless you know fully what the other side “really” wants–both what they say they want and what they actually want (the two aren’t always the same….not because the other side is concealing something but because they may not have fully thought through the process themselves and can answer clearly and candidly.)
A great example I’ll never forget from my MBA program went something like this. Two companies in different industries were negotiating for a rare orange available in scarce supply from South America. They went to war in negotiations for the orange, escalating the price and trying to undermine the others need and use for the orange. Each needed more than “half” the supply and were willing to pay premium pricing for it. The two sides exhausted the different ways of dividing up ownership of the oranges between the two but none were satisfactory. And then, at the end of this disastrous and destructive and costly negotiation, it is discovered that Company A needs only the rind of the orange and Company B the pulp. But neither side took the time to find that out about the other before it was too late and both companies paid exorbitant prices and didn’t get what they wanted.
Why?
Ignorance of the situation.
Or more pointedly, self-absorption and an unwilling to try to “solve a problem” rather than merely “getting mine.”
This is a great life lesson and business lesson to understand what each side is really needing and seeking. Knowledge is power. And smart. And ignorance is so very costly and wasteful. And ultimately humiliating and does a disservice to all involved. It’s never enough to know only what you want. The key, ironically, to the most successful negotiators (problem solvers) is that they also know what the other side wants –and how to deliver it to them.
If you enter a negotiation without a strong sense of that understanding, you aren’t really negotiating or problem solving. You are just making petulant, uninformed demands.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Jan 18, 2013 at 3:01 PM ET
In the wake of No Labels’ historic Meeting to Make America Work! of 1,300 citizen problem solvers and leaders in New York City last week, Washington has torn a page out of the No Labels Make Congress Work! action plan and announced support for a No Budget, No Pay concept that would dock pay for members of Congress if the Senate can’t pass a budget.
In December of 2011, No Labels introduced the No Budget, No Pay Act in the House with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and with Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) in the Senate. It had over 90 co-sponsors in the 112th Congress, and received a hearing in the Senate in March of 2012. This bill has been pushed by No Labels’ hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters — Democrats, Republicans and everything in between — with 88 percent approval ratings from voters, who want more accountability in Washington.
“No Budget, No Pay is a common-sense idea that should gain the support of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate — because it’s not one party or the other that needs a budget, it’s America that needs a budget,” says No Labels Co-Founder Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“The House GOP leadership has evidently decided to endorse the No Budget, No Pay concept,” No Labels Co-Founder and former Comptroller General of the United States Dave Walker says. “This is a major step forward to helping ensure that the Congress passes a budget and is held accountable if it fails to do so.”
Do you support “No Budget, No Pay”? Then tell your Senators and Congressman RIGHT NOW. Click here for an easy link to let your Congressmen know how you feel.
No Labels is a grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans and independents dedicated to promoting a new politics of problem solving.
Read this article by Ron Fournier in theNational Journal about a dinner he attended with some of the Problem Solvers.
Read this column by Joe Klein inTIME about how No Labels is helping him to feel a little bit of hope again.
Read this article in the National Journal about a political “revolution brewing” due to No Labels’ efforts.
Read this article in theAssociated Press about the excitement and optimism that emerged from Members of Congress out of the Meeting to Make America Work.
Read an Op-Ed from Bill Galston inPOLITICO on why a Clintonian helped found No Labels
Read an Op-Ed from Sen. Joe Manchin and Gov. Jon Huntsman in The Washington Post on why they believe in the importance of No Labels
Read this article inThe New York Times about a group of No Labels lawmakers who are ready to buck the trend of gridlock.
Read this article in theNational Journal about the new leaders of No Labels, and why it shouldn’t be labeled a Kumbaya Caucus.
Read this story inThe Wall Street Journal that asks if No Labels can help lawmakers to ‘get along.’
Read this article inThe Huffington Post about how each of the No Labels national leaders decided get on board.
Read this article inThe Wall Street Journal about some of the measures No Labels has outlined in Make Congress Work.
Watch CNN’s ‘Starting Point’ interview with Joe Manchin and Jon Hunstman live from the New York “Meeting To Make America Work”.
Watch Sen. Joe Manchin and Gov. Jon Huntsman discuss the Meeting to Make America Work on State of the Union with Candy Crowley.
Watch Sen. Joe Manchin and Gov. Jon Huntsman discuss their experiences with bi-partisanship on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
Read Rebekah Metzler in U.S. News and World Report noting widespread youth enthusiasm at the No Labels New York launch meeting.
Watch this clip fromMorning Joe, where Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), former Governor Jon Huntsman (R-UT) and Co-Founder Mark McKinnon discuss an identity crisis within the Republican party.
Watch Ron Shaich, Co-Founder & CEO, Panera Bread’s interview on No Label’s pro-business agenda with Fox’s Neil Cavuto Business Report
Watch James Himes (D, CT) on Bloomberg Television as he explains how No Labels makes a difference in helping Congress to stop gridlock (segment at close of fiscal cliff intro).
Watch this interview onHuffPost Live between Abby Huntsman, Mayor Cory Booker and her father, Jon Huntsman, about No Labels.
Watch CNN’s ‘Newsroom’ covering “Meeting to Make America Work” highlighting Problem Solvers Bloc and Jon Huntsman and Joe Manchin.
Read this article by Rachel Cromidas inThe Wall Street Journal about the means by which the Problem Solvers hope to change Congress.
Read Martha Moore in USA Today observing that No Labels’ Problem Solvers Bloc is a new political force.
Watch John Avlon, No-Labels Co-Founder, on CNN’s Out Front With Erin Barnett discussing how the new No Labels Problem Solvers Bloc will address overcoming gridlock.
Read Joy Resmovits ofHuffington Post covering the Meeting to Make America Work.
Read this editorial in The Pantagraph urging No Labels as a good start toward restoration of our government.
Read this article inU.S. News & World Report explaining the ideas behind the Problem Solvers in Congress and No Labels’ Meeting to Make America Work.
Read this editorial inThe Intelligencer Journal, which says that No Labels’ ideas make sense and that it hopes that we are tested further in the future.
Watch this clip fromJansing & Co. showing an interview with Joe Manchin as he explains some of the ideas behind No Labels.
Read this article by Jennifer Harper in The Washington Times about John Huntsman and his participation at the No Labels meeting in Manhattan,New York.
Watch Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) speak on the House floor about the point of the Problem Solvers and urging his colleagues to join.
Watch CSPAN highlights of Janice Hahn’s House Floor address calling for a problem solver’s approach in Congress (via YouTube).
Read this editorial from The Frederick News Post saying that No Labels has “great potential.”
Read Ruby Cramer of Buzz Feed analyzing No Labels leader Jon Huntsman’s perspectives on environmental protection.
Watch this clip from Morning Joe, where Co-Founder Mark McKinnon says that Mayor Cory Booker “was No Labels before No Labels was cool.”
Watch this clip from Morning Joe, where Joe Scarborough says that No Labels is “very important.”
Read the rest of… Press from No Labels’ Meeting to Make America Work
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Jan 16, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
We did it. The Meeting to Make America Work! was a huge success — we unveiled Gov. Jon Huntsman and Sen. Joe Manchin as new national leaders, and introduced our group of congressional problem solvers.
One of my Russian martial art coaches loved chess; which may be more of a national sport than Sambo.
Often he’d see me worried about the size, strength or speed of my opponents, and he’d recount an old proverb, “After the game, the king and… the pawn go into the same box.”
He had once continued, “You have anxiety because you are getting sucked down into the mere game. Look from the top. imagine you are pieces on a chessboard. Your pawn only weakens because you feel small next to his front, and so you feel anxiety about your lack of potential. But now view it from the top, see your pawn in its full strength, what it represents to your opponent, and realize it is the most important piece on the board.”
He taught me that my pawn could have the greatest courage and cause the entire opposition to rattle. If I remained brave enough to approach the opponent’s rear line, even a pawn could transform into the most powerful piece on the board: a queen. “Even the humble, unexpected pawn can change the course of a game,” he’d insist.
So what are you going to do in this game? If all you are doing is going back into the box, if you can’t take it with you, then HOW you play the game remains the only point to this all.
Your true powers exceed the movements you may feel restricted to execute. Your importance lies not in your potential powers, but by your very courage. So, how you choose to stand, how you decide you will act while you are on the board, is the entire point of our game. Even the humble, unexpected pawn can change the course of the game through bravery. None of us are getting out of here alive, so let us enjoy the game, but more importantly, let us not be deluded into collecting pieces or wins.
Let us focus our goals upon the courage to follow our values even against overwhelming odds, even with those who have become blind to the point of he game, and the inevitability that we will all go back in the box.
Ignorance of the situation.
Wowza:
We did it. The Meeting to Make America Work! was a huge success — we unveiled Gov. Jon Huntsman and Sen. Joe Manchin as new national leaders, and introduced our group of congressional problem solvers.
