Sunday School 8/16/20

What to do, what to do?  Full classrooms today, and I have to pick what to share with you...

Here's what I'll do:  Bernie Sanders - That Guy from Vermont (TGFV), remember him?  - made appearances with Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper and George Stephanopoulos - so we'll see how the three interviews stack up in tomorrow's Extra Credit.

Today, we'll hear from the president's 4th Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (a decision I might regret, we'll see), his 4th National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and I'll see if I can fit in his 1st son-in-law, the ever-whiny Jared Kushner, and the ever-hopeful Sen. Cory Booker.

Let's start with O'Brien, who talked with Chuck Todd on MTP. The conversation started with the agreement to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel; they've been working together for years, but this made all of that official. 

• On when Saudi Arabia might make a similar arrangement: It's possible they could be next. With this deal, you're now going to have direct flights from those fantastic airports... we're going to have Arab and Muslim pilgrims coming to Jerusalem and going up to the Mount and worshiping at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And we think that's something that will be a great confidence builder. 

• On the annexation question: ...we're pretty confident, the UAE is confident, that Israel will not unilaterally extend sovereignty or Israeli law to parts of the West Bank. And that's what part of this deal is about. 

• On whether the US would be in a better spot vis-a-vis the Iranian arms embargo if we were still part of the nuclear deal (the JCPOA): I think getting out of the JCPOA was the predicate for this fantastic deal between UAE and Israel. 

• On whether it's a policy failure that Russia is still interfering in our election: the DNI report...detailed the influence and the efforts of China and of Iran to denigrate President Trump and to make sure that he's not re-elected. It also talked about the Russian interference...we've spent millions and millions of dollars hardening election infrastructure, working with 50 secretaries of states on cyber security. And we've also sent very strong messages to all these countries. With respect to Russia, I mean, we've put so many sanctions on Russia, there's almost nothing left to sanction. 

And now, Meadows, who spoke with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union.

• On why the president is trying to prevent Americans from voting by mail: The president doesn't have a problem with anybody voting by mail, if you would look at it in terms of maybe a no-excuse absentee ballot.. this debate is really over a process. A number of states are now trying to figure out how they're going to go to universal mail-in ballots. That's a disaster, where we won't know the election results on November 3, and we might not know it for months.  And, for me, that's problematic, because the Constitution says that then... a Nancy Pelosi and the House would actually pick the president on January 20. So, we need to make sure that we do it right.

• On whether the president would support a standalone bill to fund the Post Office: Let's -- let's put it with enhanced unemployment extension. Let's put it with small business reform in terms of the PPP and extending that. Let's get that. Will the president sign that? Yes, he will sign that. And I'm certain...

• On whether Meadows would tell Louis DeJoy to respond to the bipartisan group of Secretaries of State who have requested a meeting with the him: Well, what I will tell him, and as he's already mentioned to Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi the other day, is -- is that he's willing to put the resources necessary to make sure the mail process -- is processed. 

• On the difference between voting by mail in Florida and say, voting by mail in Pennsylvania: So, here's the difference. I can't tell you about Pennsylvania, because I don't know the difference there. All I do know is, the governor of Pennsylvania is talking like he doesn't have any money to pay for enhanced unemployment and some of these other things, when he's got $3.6 billion sitting in the bank. So that was -- was a misnomer. But, as we look at that, here's what I can tell you, is absentee no- excuse, what I call no-excuse absentee, say, listen, I'm concerned because of the pandemic, will you send me an absentee ballot that comes directly to me, I certify that, I have a signature requirement that makes sure that it's me that's actually voting, and I send it back...

• On the fact that there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud: There's no -- there's no -- there's no evidence that there's not either. That's the definition of fraud. Jake. When we look at that, what we have seen are a number of mail ballots that get lost.

I can't take it anymore. I've cut out a lot of the stuff in between the bullets here, because it was all just more of the same. And there was more of the more of the more of the same. Let's have this one last exchange on voting.

• On whether the president will guarantee that he will do everything he can to help people vote: No, no, I'll give you that guarantee. I'll give you that guarantee right now. The president of the United States is not going to interfere with anybody casting their vote in a legitimate way, whether it's the post office or anything else.

And I'll close this part with the actual definition of fraud, from the good folks at Merriam-Webster:

And now, Sen. Cory Booker, also with Tapper:

• On whether he stands by his previous criticism of Joe Biden: As far as Joe Biden is concerned, I'm proud of the hard-fought primary that we had. He emerged from a wide field of people as our choice, as our champion. And I'm proud of that. And I'm proud of the dialogue that we had, rich, vibrant dialogue.

And now I am confident, looking at their criminal justice plans and partnering, especially now, as he's done, with Kamala Harris, one of the champions on criminal justice. I have no worry about the degrees at which Joe Biden will be tearing down the awful institutions of mass incarceration in America, that he will be a champion to help get the bill that Kamala and I wrote on the Senate side done that creates just -- excuse me -- police accountability.

So, as a United States senator, as an African-American, I am excited about what Biden and Harris will do for advancing criminal justice, rolling back mass incarceration, an really, frankly, having a broader view of what public safety is by investing in things like health care, environmental justice, education, and more.

• On whether he was surprised by the 'birther' attacks against Sen. Kamala Harris: ...when you have African-American women who are rising up in positions that there have never been African-American women in before, that people are going to viciously attack them on gender and race.  

...the gendered words that this president has been using about Kamala, attacking her in extraordinarily awful ways, just reflects the demeaning and degrading language he's used about blacks, about black and brown places, about congresspeople, telling them to go back where they have come from, when they were born in this country. This is nothing new, nothing surprising.

What I don't think Trump understands is that Kamala Harris has been fighting this fight her entire career, rising to positions where she was the first African-American woman in -- time and time again. So, if there's anybody that's ready for this kind of mess, it's Kamala Harris. 

And just like that, Jared ends up on the cutting room floor.  Sorry/not sorry. Don't forget the all-TGFV Extra Credit coming up tomorrow.

I'll see you around the virtual campus. You'll know it's me because I'm wearing a mask and keeping my distance - and I'll know you, because you're doing the same thing.