Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the United States Senate, is the latest Republican to back Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Politico learned Sunday.
Pressler, who said that in addition to casting an absentee ballot for Obama he'd donated $500 to the Illinois senator's campaign, cited the Democrat's response to the financial crisis as the primary reason for his decision.
"I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul] Volcker better," he said. By contrast, John McCain's "handling of the financial crisis made me feel nervous" [Alexander Burns, "Former GOP Senator, Vet Backs Obama," Politico.com, 2008.10.26]
Good call, Larry! Whether you did it for the reasons above or to lead Operation Chaos II, you did the right thing.
File this one under "Republicans that can no longer ignore the facts".
ReplyDeleteRINO
ReplyDeleteThat's why he's no longer in office.
Larry's vote is so non-credible anymore. I remember when he was in office and he stayed in the same hotel we stayed at in Atlanta. We had supper with he and his handler and when he left to go back to his room, his staffer was telling us the hillarious story of how he just lost his briefcase. He called the airline, taxi company, hotel and anyone else that would listen. Lo and behold, it was sitting outside his room, right next to his door. Not the first time that happened with Sen. Pressler. He set it down when he unlocked the door. DUH! Now, if Governor Rounds or Russ Olson votes for Obama, then you've got something worth reading!
ReplyDeleteWhat was Larry promised?
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:39: Pressler lost because he's a "Republican in Name Only"? Um, yeah, that's why South Dakota replaced him with Tim Johnson... right? As usual, Anon lacks clarity.
ReplyDeleteAnon 3:09: O.K., one story about a missing briefcase. Show of hands, readers: how many of you have run around looking for something you lost, only to find it right where you left it? Anon offers no credible evidence of Pressler's non-credibility, just baloney and wishful thinking. The headline stands: Pressler's a Vietnam veteran, a former Republican senator, and he's voting for Obama. That's news. (And you know, I haven't heard how Russ is voting for President -- someone get Russ on the line!)
By the way, according to Wikipedia, "Pressler is currently an Adjunct Professor of Telecommunication/Internet Policy at Baruch College (City University of New York). He has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Lectureship at the University of Bologna, Italy for Spring semester '09 to lecture on international relations." Even if he can't find his briefcase, Professor Pressler still knows enough to vote intelligently.
The University of Bologna is perfect for a guy who spearheaded the deregulation of our nation's communications. I used to pay $30 a month for a phone. Now I pay over $200 and I have three phones. Great forward thinking. Is Pressler's title in Bologna, Oscar Mayer Emeritus?
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:41: I have to admit, that's funny! And I'm no fan of the deregulation of telecommunications, either. Thanks for reminding us of another example of Republican thinking enriching corporations and hurting regular folks. (And still, Pressler picks Obama over McCain. Amazing!)
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