Sunday Snapshot -- Mr. Burris Goes To Washington?

The Sunday shows kicked off '09 with talk about ex-IL AG Roland Burris (D), IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) choice to fill Pres.-elect Obama's Senate seat.

During an appearance on "Meet the Press," Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid was asked the constitutional basis for denying Burris the seat.

Reid: "Blagojevich obviously is a corrupt individual. I think that's pretty clear. And the reason that he's done what he's done is to divert attention from the arrest that was just made of him and the indictment which will be coming in a few days. ... I don't know a thing wrong with Mr. Burris. It's not the person that has been appointed, it's the appointee. If Blagojevich would do the right thing, that is step down, or he'll probably be impeached. And he gave us Mr. Burris, he gave us Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis, Madigan, all the fine people who we have from Illinois, they would be taken care of just like this."

NBC's Gregory: "You say he's an obviously corrupt person. He has not been formally charged, nor has he had a chance to confront the evidence against him. Isn't that a rush to judgment?"

Reid: "We have to understand that this man has had a cloud over him prior to his arrest. That's why the Illinois state legislature's moving forward expeditiously -- in fact, next week -- to start impeachment proceedings. So I don't think we have many cheerleaders for Blagojevich that he's an honest, upright citizen."

After the jump, the economic stimulus and the Bushes don't want to bid farewell just yet.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

Reid, asked if he won't seat Burris if he shows up: "Well, we're going to do what we have to do, and we're going to follow all legal precedents. We think that we're pretty clear on what we believe is the law, and the precedent in the United States Senate that we are the ones that determine ... who is going to sit in the Senate. It's been that way since before 1800."

Reid, on a Los Angeles Times editorial arguing that the Constitution does not justify excluding a sen. because of the unrelated wrongdoing of the gov. making the appointment by citing SCOTUS' Powell case in '69: "The L.A. Times is wrong. They use the Powell case as precedent, that's not in keeping with what the problem is here today. They were talking at that time about the qualifications of Adam Clayton Powell, and the Supreme Court said, 'We are not going to deal with the qualifications of Adam Clayton Powell.' This is totally a different situation. This is not dealing with the appointee. I think everyone that I've talked to said that Burris is a good guy. We're talking about a cloud over anyone that comes from the state of Illinois, being appointed by Blagojevich."

Gregory: "But what in the Constitution allows you to judge Roland Burris in this manner, to not seat him?"

Reid: "The L.A. Times quoted part of it itself from the Constitution: We determine who sits in the Senate, and the House determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to. This goes back for generations."

Gregory: "Senator, isn't this really all about politics? Isn't your primary consideration who you deem to be electable in 2010?"

Reid: "No, I don't think so. This situation is this. I've spoken to the governor of the state of Colorado, because that's my responsibility as majority leader. ... And I said to [CO Gov. Bill Ritter (D)], 'Governor, you appoint whoever is best in your mind for the state of Colorado.' And he did. ... I've spoken to [NY] Governor [David] Paterson several times. ... And my one conversation with Blagojevich ... 'Blagojevich, make sure you give us someone who can hit the ground running.' Of course we're concerned about what happens in 2010, but this has nothing to do with 2010. It has everything to do with the corrupt governor."

Gregory: "Let's talk about those conversations you had with Governor Blagojevich. Apparently you made it clear that three men were not acceptable to you: Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis, Emil Jones. And yet you just said Jesse Jackson would be fine. Is that what you said, that these men would not be acceptable?"

Reid: "This is part of Blagojevich's cloud. He's making all this up. I had a conversation with him. I don't remember what was in the conversation, other than the generalities that I just talked about. I didn't tell him who not to appoint. He's making all this up to divert attention."

Gregory: "Don't you think these conversations are on tape?"

Reid: "Of course. ... I'm sure they are."

Gregory: "So he's wrong, Jesse Jackson Jr. was always acceptable to you?"

Reid: "Jesse Jackson Jr. is somebody that I think would be a good senator. And for Blagojevich to start throwing out these names of people who I wanted and didn't want he's making it up."

Reid, on reports that he doesn't want an African-American to succeed Obama: "I've served in the United States Senate with two outstanding senators, Carol Moseley Braun and Barack Obama, both African-Americans from the state of Illinois. I worked harder than anyone in this country for Ron Kirk running for senator for the state of Texas. As a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, we spent more money in the state of Tennessee than any state in the country trying to get Harold Ford elected."

More Reid: "Anyone that suggests there's any racial bias in this instance doesn't realize I went to the Clark County district attorney's office to find people thought was a nobody to become a federal judge, Johnnie Rawlinson. She was a great judge. She's now on the Ninth Circuit. I did that myself. So anyone to suggest anything racial is part of the Blagojevich spin to take away from the corruption that's involved his office in Illinois."

Reid, on Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) saying he doesn't think any sen. wants to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated: "Bobby Rush, in 2004 we had a very good election in the state of Illinois. We had a tough primary. One African-American was on that primary. His name was Barack Obama. Mr. Rush did not support Barack Obama, he supported Blair Hull."

Reid, asked how the Burris appointment ends: "It's going to be very, be very difficult for that to occur. I've learned being a senator for the time I have that anything can happen. The best thing that would happen, as I've indicated on this program and I've said before Blagojevich should step down. He should do it today. If not, he'll be impeached."

Gregory: "But are you willing to go to the mat on this to deny Roland Burris, if it requires going to the Supreme Court? Is it worth that effort?"

Reid: "The state of Illinois deserves a vote in the United States Senate, and the people of the state of Illinois, the fifth most populous state in the union, deserve that vote. ... I'm going to meet with Senator McConnell, my Republican counterpart. I hope to do that Monday evening. ... I hope we can solve this issue on a bipartisan basis."

Gregory: "But there sounds to me like there may be some room here to negotiate and actually seat Burris?"

Reid: "Hey, listen, David, I'm an old trial lawyer. There's always room to negotiate" (NBC, 1/4).

Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the situation on "This Week."

Durbin, on Burris: "I've spoken to him repeatedly, and I've known Roland for over 30 years. ... If you listen to the commentary of those of us in Illinois, who know Roland Burris, no one has raised any questions about his integrity or his personal background. It's a question about the process. This governor, Rod Blagojevich, has taken the appointment of a Senate vacancy to a level no one even imagined."

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "But Senator, there's no evidence that the appointment of Burris himself was corrupt, and Blagojevich is the governor right now, so isn't this a legal appointment?"

Durbin: "I have to look at it in this fashion. The governor of Illinois has the state constitutional authority to fill the vacancy. The Senate of the United States has the U.S. constitutional responsibility to decide if Mr. Burris was chosen in a proper manner, and that is what we're going to do. Senator Reid has said from the beginning, and I agree with him, we have to look at this carefully, because Rod Blagojevich has ... raised questions by his conduct as to how this process unfolded. Not reflecting personally on Roland Burris, but to make sure that in the end, the person representing the state of Illinois, serving with me in the United States Senate, was brought to that position properly."

Stephanopoulos: "Back in 1996, Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was elected under contested circumstances. There was an investigation
of the election, but she was seated provisionally by the Republican leader of Congress at that time. Will the Democrats seat Mr. Burris
provisionally, as this investigation goes forward?"

Durbin: "I don't believe that is the intention. And there's a real difference between what happened with Senator Landrieu. In her case, it was a matter of counting the votes. And that has traditionally been the reason for any election contests and recounts, as we have in Minnesota. In Illinois, sadly, because of the allegations against Governor Blagojevich, there's a question of corruption. ... So I think that's the distinction, and why we're looking at this differently. There is no precedent. Nothing like this has occurred, at least in modern memory, in the U.S. Senate."

Durbin, on reports Reid advised Blagojevich not to pick African-American members of Congress: "It's an outrage, that the Blagojevich people, in the last days of their administration, facing impeachment in Springfield, are now flailing in every direction, trying to show defiance in the appointment of Roland Burris and attacking everybody in sight. Harry Reid did in this circumstance what anyone would have done as majority leader of the Senate. He called the governor to discuss filling the vacancy. He's done that, of course, in the states of New York, in Colorado, and in Delaware. It is the normal thing."

More Durbin: "This is not about race. We are so proud in our state to have elected great African-Americans. ... When we said at the beginning, Democratic senators said we are not going to seat an appointment of Governor Blagojevich, it was before he'd chosen anyone, black, white or brown.
So it has nothing to do with race" (ABC, 1/4).

Among the other responses to Burris:

Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell, asked if he supports the Dem' refusal to seat Burris: "I think there ought to be a special election in Illinois. Again, Senator Durbin suggested that initially, and then did a 180 today after that, and decided they didn't want to have a special election. I think the fear is that Republicans might somehow win the seat in Illinois if there's a special. But the process is so tainted, it is such a tangled mess, as you can see, that the only way to clear the air and to have a successor chosen in Illinois that everybody can have confidence in, and a process that they can have confidence in, would be to have a special election" ("This Week," ABC, 1/4).

Dem strategist James Carville: "As a Democrat, I don't like this. This looks ridiculous. This governor is under serious investigation. There's a lot of questions being raised. It looks like they're playing, sort of, politics with this thing. ... I think there's got to be a more reasonable way to do this."

GOP strategist Ed Rollins, asked if the Senate has the authority to block Burris from being sworn in: "Well, they certainly can attempt, procedurally, to do it. I think it's idiotic to try and do this. I think Burris will be a good Democrat senator. He's been elected, statewide, four times, including the job of attorney general. The governor does have the power, whether we like it or not."

More Rollins: "For Harry Reid to make phone calls and recommend that African-American congressmen don't be appointed, and that someone else should, I think, is very foolish on his part, and to draw this thing out when they have all these other problems. And it will go to the Supreme Court regardless if they try and block him. I think it's a big distraction. And they don't need any distractions. They need to get to work" ("Late Edition," CNN, 1/4).

COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW

The economic stimulus was also heavily discussed. House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer discussed the Dems' stimulus plan and what's ahead for the first 100 days of the new admin. on "Fox News Sunday."

Hoyer, on a stimulus package: "We have two criteria -- do it as quickly as possible, but do it right, and do it so the American people know what we're doing, do it so that members of Congress are confident of the action that we're taking. ... I think that time frame is hopefully certainly by the end of the month."

Hoyer, on talk that some House Dems want to make the package close to $1T: "I think we've been talking in that neighborhood. And I'm not going to set a figure on it. But clearly, it needs to be very substantial. Every economist from right to left, Republican, Democrat, advises that it has to be a very substantial package if, in fact, we're going to accomplish the objective, which is, of course, to stabilize the economy and try to start bringing it back."

Fox's Wallace: "There are reports that House Democrats may push for a vote on this not this week but the next week. Is that something that you have in mind?"

Hoyer: "We had talked about that. I think that's probably going to slip. It's probably going to slip because this has been a complicated effort and a cooperative effort between the Congress and the incoming administration."

Hoyer, asked if the package can be passed before Inauguration Day: "I doubt that, frankly."

Wallace: "Your counterpart, House Republican leader John Boehner, has laid down what he believes should be several markers for the way that this is handled. ... There should be public hearings. The plan should be available for the public to review online for one week. And there should be no special interest earmarks. Congressman Hoyer, are you willing to agree to all of those?"

Hoyer: "I think all of those are objectives that we'd like to attain. We've all talked about that this is not a bill for special interest earmarks or add-ons. ... I'm for public hearings and I hope we're going to have public hearings. But let me say this, which Mr. Boehner ignores. We've had over 20 public hearings since October on this package -- not the package that's going to be ultimately put together, but on the elements that are going into this package. So we've had over 20 public hearings in five or six different committees."

Hoyer, on earmarks: "It is our intention -- the leadership, the speaker, myself, Mr. Obey and others -- that we do not have a bill on the floor that has specific items -- monies going to be distributed largely on formula basis. ... We are in, and have been over the last few months since the election, extensive discussions with the Obama president-elect, but we're not going to give informal vetoes."

Hoyer, on the expansion of SCHIP: "We think it's critical to move quickly on ensuring that children in this country have availability of health care. So yes, that's going to be an early bill for us, and I'm not going to put a time frame on it, but I expect to see that bill early. There are some other things, obviously, we have to do. We're going to complete the '08-'09 appropriations process. That needs to be done early. We're going to address the Lilly Ledbetter and pay equity issues."

Hoyer, asked if the Free Choice Act will be passed in the first month: "I don't know about the first month, but we're going to pass it early."

Hoyer, asked why Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) shouldn't step down pending the investigation: "Well, I think that that's not going to be necessary, and we haven't asked him to do that. The Ethics Committee is -- got this matter under consideration. ... As you know, the work of the Ethics Committee is done in private, so I cannot give you a specific time frame. I can tell you that both the speaker and I are very hopeful that this will be done very early on this year."

Hoyer, asked if he will vote to release the second half of the $700B financial rescue package: "Yes, I will personally, but I have talked to Chairman Frank yesterday and a lot of members who are all very concerned about two principal items. First of all, I think we're all outraged that Merrill Lynch gets billions of dollars and then one of their executives goes out, after being with them three weeks, and buys a $27 million apartment on Park Avenue. We need to make sure that we have appropriate constraints in any money that is authorized under the second tranche of the TARP. Secondly, we need to make sure that we're focused on helping out in the mortgage area, which was the basis of this particular crisis and the onset of this financial crisis."

Wallace: "Do you think this gets passed before or after President Bush leaves office?"

Hoyer: "I think it's possible to pass it before" (1/4).

McConnell also weighed in.

McConnell, on a stimulus package: "The president has said he wants to create 3 million new jobs, presumably as a result of this economic stimulus package. We want to make sure it's not just a trillion-dollar spending bill, but something that actually can reach the goal that he has suggested. ... Hearings and some kind of bipartisan considerations would be helpful."

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "Two other ideas the Democrats are discussing on Capitol Hill right now are extending unemployment benefits to part-
time workers and expanding health care benefits for the unemployed. Can you support that?"

McConnell: "I might, but those are very big, systemic changes. What the speaker said last year with regard to stimulus packages I think makes sense -- timely, and temporary, and targeted. Do we in the name of stimulus want to make long-term, systemic changes that will affect spending every single year? I think that's at least worth considering, having hearings about, having bipartisan discussions. What I worry about here is the haste with which this may be done. This is an enormous bill. It could be close to a $1 trillion spending bill. Do we want to do it with essentially no hearings, no input, for example, in the Senate from Republican senators who represent half of the American population? I don't think that's a good idea."

Stephanopoulos: "So you think it's unwise for the Democrats to push for this to be done by the time that President-elect Obama takes office?"

McConnell: "No, it shouldn't be done. ... This was, I think, the Democrats in Congress idea, not the president's idea, to have it on his desk by January 20th. That's just not a practical thing to do. If we want to do a bill immediately, again, my recommendation is the omnibus appropriations bill. It's ready. These were nine bills that were not passed by October when they should have been passed. They're ready to go. They've already been vetted by both sides, would pass on an overwhelming, bipartisan basis, and much of that spending would be on things similar to what the president may be asking for in that package."

McConnell, asked if Obama will get the votes he's looking for in the Senate: "I think if they pursue a fair process, in the Senate at least, where fairness is typically the rule, and give both sides an opportunity to have input, to have it -- a true bipartisan stamp -- he's likely to get significant support" (ABC, 1/4).

Ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R): "I frankly wish that the last Congress would have dealt with the stimulus issue and that the president could assign that before leaving office. ... I think a stimulus program is needed. I'd move quickly. These are unusual times. But it has to be something which relieves pressure on middle-income families. I think a tax cut is necessary for them as well as for businesses that are growing. ... But let's not make this a Christmas tree of all of the favors for various politicians who have helped out the Obama campaign, giving them special projects. That would be wrong. You'll see Republicans fight that tooth and nail if that happens. Let's do what's right for the economy, and let's not do what's a political expedient move" ("Late Edition," CNN, 1/4).

Reid, asked if he sees a stimulus being signed into law before Feb. '09: "We're going to do our very, very best. Now, he doesn't become president until January 20th, and I want to make sure that we do this on a bipartisan basis. ... The urgency of this, everyone knows about. But I'm not going to have some false deadline, whether it's February 1 or whatever it is. I want to make sure that all senators have some input in what goes on here and do it as quickly as we can" ("Meet the Press," NBC, 1/4).

And Govs. Mark Sanford (R-SC) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) discussed Obama's general approach to try to stimulate the economy on "Late Edition."

Sanford: "I think it's a horrible mistake. I think the Bush administration has been making a horrible mistake with bailout after bailout after bailout. And it sounds like he's going to repeat that process. And I think it has absolutely dire consequences for the value of the dollar. I think it has absolutely dire consequences with regard to inflation, that the middle class and all Americans will one day face. And I think it has absolutely dire consequences with the regard to the purchasing power of the dollars we hold globally. ... And most of all, it has dire consequences for the next generation, in paying for all this debt that's been stacked one dollar bill upon the other."

Corzine: "I think we need a bold step to restart the economy. ... I think President-elect Obama is exactly right that we need a strategic short-term program that restarts the economy. We see GDP declining 3 percent or 4 percent. That's $400 billion to $500 billion decline in the absolute production of our economy. And that needs to be replaced. ... The $1 trillion, by the way, is over two years. It matches the kind of short fall we see, or decline in our gross national product. And we will have incredibly dire consequences on human beings if we don't take investments that create jobs in infrastructure, if we don't take countercyclical measures to make sure people have health care, unemployment benefits, if we don't educate our children so they have the tools to have a productive economy as we go forward into the future" (CNN, 1/4).

JUMP FOR MY LOVE

And George H.W. Bush stopped by "Fox News Sunday," where he offered advice to Obama and encouraged son/ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to run for the WH.

Fox's Wallace: "Next Saturday, the Navy will commission the newest aircraft carrier in the fleet, the USS George H.W. Bush. As someone who was the youngest pilot in the Navy back in 1943, who was shot down over the South Pacific and almost lost your life, what does this mean to you?"

Bush: "Well, it's very emotional for me, and it's kind of the last big thing in my life. ... My going into the Navy at a young age was probably the best thing I ever did in my life. And then now to be, you might say, rewarded, certainly honored, in this way is just mind-boggling. It's everything."

Wallace: "I hear that you have been telling friends that this is the last big event of your life, as you just told us. Do you see it as the culmination of a life of public service?"

Bush: "Well, I do. I really do. I'm going to make one more parachute jump at 85. But that's not -- I don't see that as culminating anything."

Bush, asked what key piece of advice he'd give Obama if he gets the opportunity to take Obama aside during the upcoming lunch with ex-POTUSes: "At this juncture, it really would be gratuitous for me to be giving advice to Barack Obama. It would be more to wish him well. I talked to him right after the election and did that then, assured him that he was my president. ... I don't really think at this age in my life I can contribute much to his well-being in terms of governing. But if I saw something I thought was wrong, I'd like to have the feeling I could bring it up with him just based on some experience in the past, war and peace, Middle East, Europe, Germany."

Wallace: "From your four years in the Oval Office, is there any piece of advice that you'd give any president coming into office? ... Less about the issues and more about how you handle the job and the pressures."

Bush: "I'd say get people around you in whom you have confidence. Get people around you whom you're confident will not be out there talking to the press and painting -- building their own nests. ... I think he's off to a good start in that. ... But that will change. Something will come up. Somebody will err. Something will come out of the unforeseen."

Wallace: "You're saying the honeymoon isn't going to last forever."

Bush: "Not forever. And I don't know how soon. He's facing such enormous problems that I don't know how long it will last. But I think he's a good, strong guy and I think he can take it. ... I wish I knew him better. I don't really know him. ... But I'm impressed with him. I'm very impressed with his style on the campaign and his coolness and his articulate nature. I think he can give a sentence and it will sound like it's been thought out by Shakespeare or something. ... After my little lunch there with the president and two other presidents, maybe I can fill you in more."

Bush, asked if he has any advice for his son leaving the WH: "It's very tough -- I think it is -- to actually get under way as a private citizen. But it wasn't that hard for me, and I don't think it will be that hard for him. ... I don't think the president has ever felt he was entitled to anything. ... I'm sure glad he's coming home."

More Bush: "I don't know about him, but it's been tough on his father and his mother. We're not very good sports about sitting around and hearing him get hammered, I think unfairly. Now, there's some things that clearly he deserves criticism for, but I think the idea that everything that's a problem in this country should be put on his shoulders -- I don't think that's fair."

Bush, asked for specific things his son could be fairly criticized for: "I don't need to go into that. You can go back to your -- what do you call it? -- your Google and you figure out all that."

Bush, asked if J. Bush should run for FL SEN: "I think if Jeb wants to run for the Senate from Florida, he ought to do it. And he'd be an outstanding senator. Here's a guy that really has a feel for people, the issues in Florida and nationally, and his political days ought not to be over, says his old father. Now, if he decides they should be over, I'm all for that, too. ... I'd like to see him run. I'd like to see him be president some day."

Wallace: "Really?"

Bush: "Or maybe senator. Whatever. Yes, I would. I mean, right now is probably a bad time, because we've had enough Bushes in there. But no, I would. And I think he's as qualified and able as anyone I know on the political scene" (1/4).

ASK NOT AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

VP Cheney was also asked if he had any advice for Obama during an appearance on "Face the Nation."

Cheney, asked if he would suggest to Obama that he continue this admin.'s use of aggressive interrogation techniques: "If he were to seek my advice. He hasn't. But if he were to seek my advice, I would say, look, before you go out and start to make policy based on the campaign rhetoric we heard last year, what you need to do is to sit down and find out what we've done, find out how we did it, what the justification was for it, what kind of results it's produced, and then make an informed judgment about whether or not you want to keep these things."

More Cheney: "But I would hope he would avoid doing what others have done in the past, which is letting the campaign rhetoric guide his judgment in this absolutely crucial area. We were very careful. We did everything by the book. And in fact, we produced very significant results. And I would hope that for the sake of the nation, that this administration and future administrations will continue those policies" (CBS, 1/4).

ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP

The "This Week" roundtable discussed the Burris appointment, the economy and the Israel/Hamas conflict.

ABC's Karl, on the Burris appointment: "Every election law expert I've spoken to about this says that the Senate is on shaky legal ground here."

Cokie Roberts: "These battles don't play out nicely on Capitol Hill. And it's really kind of a shame that it happens at this moment, because everybody is kind of in a mood to work and play together" (1/4).

The "Fox News Sunday" roundtable discussed the Burris appointment and the Israel/Hamas conflict.

Fox's Hume, on the Burris appointment: "I continue to marvel at the mess that the Democrats in Washington, and in Illinois as well, have got themselves into. And does it occur to any of these Democrats, many of whom exhibited an exquisite sensitivity to the rights of imprisoned enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay who have been convicted of nothing -- do any of them notice that this man, Rod Blagojevich, has not even been indicted, let alone convicted of anything? ... I don't think the Senate has any grounds for refusing to seat him. And I think in the end that that will be the way it turns out" (1/4).

The "Late Edition" roundtable discussed the Israel/Hamas conflict, the Burris appointment and NY SEN.

CNN's Henry, on the Burris appointment: "There are a lot of Democrats in Washington who believe that the governor knew that he was putting Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders just in that position by picking a very highly respected African-American leader ... that it would make it that much harder for Senate leaders to block an African-American from taking Barack Obama's seat. ... There are a lot of Democrats who believe privately that Rod Blagojevich is trying to play to a potential African-American jury pool here in Chicago in that trial by picking an African-American" (1/4).

The "Meet the Press" roundtable discussed the Israel/Hamas conflict.

BBC's Kay: "There's a huge amount of goodwill at the moment towards Barack Obama throughout the world, and even to some extent in the Middle East. Even members of Hamas have said that they believe that Obama will be better than President Bush. ... This is making the reality on the ground that much more difficult for Obama. And there is only a certain distance that goodwill can go."

NBC's Mitchell, on Obama: "He is now going to be under enormous pressure to do something to restrain Israel. And that is a very difficult position for Barack Obama to take. Hillary Clinton can give him some cover on that because of her staunch support for Israel along the way, but there's going to be almost universal pressure on him to do that" (1/4).