New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said he was pleased by the rescue of 15 hostages in Colombia, but he seemed surprised that a military operation and not diplomacy led to their freedom.
"Well, I'm enormously pleased, especially for the three Americans," said Richardson, a former ambassador to the United Nations, when asked for his reaction to the rescue on CNN Thursday. "You know, I spoke to those families. They asked me to go try to help. And it must be pure moments of joy."
He continued: "But, you know, what is ironic is in the last five or six years, all kinds of negotiations, mediations have moved forward -- the Catholic Church, several countries, mediators like myself. And it's ironic that a successful military operation has secured the hostages."
Asked why he thought the rescue of hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was 'ironic,' Richardson said: "Well, it's ironic because it shows that the FARC was probably not interested in serious negotiations. And the military operation that took place worked. Usually these situations are resolved through third parties, through mediation. The fact that it was a military hostage rescue is very welcome news. And I think a lot of credit needs to go to the Colombian military, to President [Alvaro] Uribe."
Richardson, who touted his diplomatic meetings with Saddam Hussein and North Korean leaders during his presidential bid, has been mentioned as a possible running mate or cabinet member for Barack Obama.
Richardson added that the rescue, in which undercover Colombia spies tricked FARC into handing over the hostages, and the recent deaths of FARC leaders suggest that the rebel group may be decimated. That could open the door to more Colombian military operations or negotiations to get FARC members to re-enter society.
Eliminating threats from FARC, Richardson said, could lead to reduced tensions between Colombia, a U.S. ally, and other countries in the region, including Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, has been a vocal opponent of the Bush administration.
"They've all been fighting over the FARC, over moving into each other's territory to go after the FARC," Richardson said. "And so, maybe, hopefully, some very good diplomacy will take place after this."
Barack Obama called on Congress and President Bush to take economic relief measures in response to the Labor Department's June employment numbers, which were released today.
Unemployment held at 5.5 percent in June, while 62,000 jobs were lost, the report stated. Obama called for immediate action.
"I'm calling on Congress and the President to enact real, immediate relief with energy rebates for working families this summer, a fund to help families avoid foreclosure, extended benefits for the long-term jobless, and assistance to states that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn," Obama said today in a written statement circulated by his campaign.
Obama worked in a shot at GOP rival John McCain, comparing the Arizona senator to Bush: "We can't afford four more years of more of the same," Obama said. "That is the essential issue of this campaign because Senator McCain has fully embraced the Bush economic agenda."
McCain also called for immediate tax relief in response to the report today. As small businesses struggle to grow and create new jobs, McCain said, "We cannot raise taxes, increase regulation and isolate ourselves from foreign markets."
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin will leave his job this month to take a job in the private sector.
"The President said that he thanks Joe for his service to the White House, that Joe's been a loyal friend, and that he is excited about the next chapter in Joe's life," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Hagin, who has worked for President Bush since the 2000 campaign, announced his decision in an email to coworkers this morning. Hagin also worked for George H.W. Bush White House for six years. His last day will be July 20.
Barack Obama leads John McCain, 48 percent to 43 percent in Montana, according to Rasmussen. In April, the numbers were flipped with McCain up 48 percent to Obama's 43 percent.
The two presidential candidates have nearly identical favorability ratings in the state, but the view voters have of Obama is more extreme than of McCain. Obama leads McCain in both the very favorable and very unfavorable rating.
The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Montana was Bill Clinton in 1992, but Clinton won the state with 38 percent of the vote, thanks to a strong showing by Ross Perot who got 26 percent of the vote. Since then the state has been safely red in presidential elections, but both senators and the state's governor are currently Democrats.
Obama beat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), 56.4 percent to 41.2 percent, in state's Democratic primary on the last day of the primary.
Sources have confirmed that President Bush is expected to be briefed on these pressing GTMO issues--and may reach a decision on the future of the naval base as a prison for al Qaeda suspects--before he leaves for the G8 on Saturday. An announcement, however, is not expected before he leaves the country.
If the detention camp is closed it will take an issue off the table for Barack Obama who has promised to close the facility.
A June Supreme Court decision granted suspected terrorists being held at the detention facility the right of habeas corpus. John McCain sided with the White House in blasting the decision. Obama applauded the decision.
John McCain decried the report Thursday that U.S. employees reduced payrolls by 62,000 last month.
The quick response comes as McCain's campaign adjusts to a new day-to-day manager, Steve Schmidt, and places more emphasis on the U.S. economy.
Here's McCain's statement:
"Americans across this country are hurting and today's job numbers are just the latest indication. From rising gas prices to home foreclosures, families are struggling to meet economic challenges that become greater every day. Washington can no longer abdicate its responsibility to act. Our focus must be clear: enact policies to create jobs today."
"To get our economy back on track, we must enact a jobs-first economic plan that supports job creation, provide immediate tax relief for families, enact a plan to help those facing foreclosure, lower health care costs, invest in innovation, move toward strategic energy independence and open more foreign markets to our goods.
"The American people cannot afford an economic agenda that will take our country in the wrong direction and cost jobs. At a time when our small businesses need support from Washington, we cannot raise taxes, increase regulation and isolate ourselves from foreign markets. These are the same old siren songs that have failed the American people time and time again."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is hailing the rescue of three American defense contractors from Colombian rebels.
Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes had been held by rebels, along with kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, since 2003 when their surveillance plane crashed in the Colombian rainforest.
Colombian spies rescued the hostages yesterday, posing as rebels and tricking their captors into handing them over.
"The news that three Americans and their fellow captives held by Colombian rebels have been freed is the answer to the hopes and prayers of so many," Pelosi said in a statement last night.
Barack Obama and John McCain praised the rescue Wednesday in Colombia of 15 hostages, including a former presidential candidate and three U.S. military contractors, who were held by rebels.
Colombian spies tricked the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia, also known as FARC, into handing over Ingrid Betancourt, who ran for the country's presidency in 2002. She was abducted that year along with the contractors and 11 Colombian police officers and soldiers.
McCain, who was in Colombia Tuesday and Wednesday, said that President Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian defense minister had told him of the rescue plans.
"I'm pleased with the success of this very high-risk operation," McCain said in a release. "Sometimes in the past, the FARC has killed the hostages rather than let them be rescued. So I congratulate President Uribe, the military and the nation of Colombia. It is great news. Now we must renew our efforts to free all of the other innocent people held hostage. With regard to the three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt -- they had been held many years, as many as six years."
Obama said he looked forward to the reunion of the hostages with their families. Obama also praised Colombia's hard-line stance toward FARC.
Vets for Freedom, a veterans group opposing withdrawal from Iraq, will launch a multi-million dollar television ad campaign next week calling attention to security gains achieved by the so-called surge, the group announced today.
The ads will feature Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and are "aimed at informing the American people about the truth regarding progress in Iraq and Afghanistan," the group said today.
The group will unveil its first ad at a press conference Wednesday, where it will also launch a national "Four Months, For Victory" media and grassroots campaign.
Grassroots efforts will be concentrated in 12 states identified as home to key lawmakers: Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Those 12 are also all battleground states in November's presidential election.
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