Somebody 'splain' to me how Obama is going to defend Simpson's comments on veterans.

[Elwood P Dowd]

As a Vietnam Era Veteran who had friends die from Monsanto's Agent Orange, the guillotine would be too nice for this piece of shit.

[Skittles]

1. aw, he'll accept his apology and that will be the end of it

[Booster]

2. I agree. This piece of shit needs to go home & stay there.

[dflprincess]

3. Given Glenn Beck's dedication to the troops

(or so he said at the Beckapalooza Saturday) you'd think this would upset him. And, if he get upset about it and starts foaming at the mouth, maybe the other talking heads at Fox will also go after Simpson.

Then and only then will Obama remove him.

Until then, the vets will just have to join the rest of us under the bus. I'm sorry & ashamed that you have been put here.

[babylonsister]

4. Obama would never defend what he said. And since you

failed to share what Simpson said, I will: and for the record, I think Simpson is so focused on 'the deficit', he's being an asshole. He's done this before. Maybe he does need to go away.

Aging vets' costs concern Obama's deficit co-chair

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/08/31/aging_vets_costs_concern_obamas_deficit_co_chair/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

[ljm2002]

22. Obama did not defend his remarks about SS either...

...but he did not see them as egregious enough to kick Simpson off the deficit commission.

This time Simpson is saying that vets who want treatment for injuries due to the use of Agent Orange in their combat zones, are being unpatriotic because they are pushing the country further into debt. These remarks are beyond reprehensible and if I had my way I'd send the bastid to Afghanistan but of course that is not an option, so I'd settle for Obama firing his ass. Which of course will not happen either.

[TheKentuckian]

5. Label them as inartful and/or misunderstood and rock on.

[bobbolink]

23. I vote for "inartful"

It sounds sooo eloquent.

It wouldn't do to call an ass an ass.

[madrchsod]

6. i do hope he man's up and fires this old bastards ass.

[Poboy]

7. White House reaffirms support of Alan Simpson. He will "continue to serve".

Link-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9050114

[G_j]

8. same way he forgave Alan's comments on Social Security retirees and women?

just guessing

[Canuckistanian]

9. "Simpson will continue to serve"

That's his defense.

[global1]

10. And Hearing This On The Day The President Honors All Vets.......

this is the last straw. This is absolutely 180 degrees opposite what the President said tonight. The President needs to silence this guy immediately. I thought his last comments were terrible - but this goes beyond the pale. I'm calling the White House the first thing in the a.m. and asking for Obama to fire this guy. There are no second chances. What was it Bush tried to say:

Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me. Don't be fooled twice by this ass Mr. President. Fire him from this commission and silence him before he strikes again.

The White House phone number is: 1-202-456-1111. Everybody out there that believes in our veterans that allow us to have the life we have here in this country - needs to call the White House tomorrow and put pressure on the President to fire him.

No apology accepted this time.

[Autumn]

11. He will apologize, it will

all be good. Personally I agree with you 200%.

[msongs]

12. maybe simpson's in on the commission BECAUSE of his well known views nt

[customerserviceguy]

13. He won't defend Simpson's remarks

He'll merely ignore them.

Simpson is on this commission for a reason.

[burrowowl]

14. Simpson is scary!

Obama needs to FIRE him, already!

[DCBob]

15. It's hard to imagine how Agent Orange can cause diabetes..

Not an expert but I do have some knowledge of the chemicals and toxicants in Agent Orange. Diabetes is more likely caused by diet especially excess consumption of soft drinks.

[dflprincess]

16. It can cause cancer

so it's not too much of a stretch to think it can damage the pancreas. Too much ibruprofin can bring on panreatitis so chemicals you're exposed to can affect it.

But I'm just guessing.

[eridani]

17. It isn't clear to me whether the reference was to type I or type 2 diabetes

Not seeing any reasonable relationship to type 2, but Agent Orange might very well damage the pancreas enough to cause type 1.

[blueworld]

20. There are numerous studies tying dioxin to diabetes. I put in a link in my post below. n/t

[Scuba]

18. Obama's plan is working...

...Simpson is a quote machine for the left.

[blueworld]

19. Simpson is really continuing to make the Prez look bad - enough is enough

IMO, Obama should fire his ignorant ass. Simpson ONLY looks at the deficit, again IMO, without perspective as to types of gov't spending. He cherry-picks his facts & topics. And arrives at brilliant conclusions like, old & sick people cost money. And cutting Veteran's benefits???? How much do we spend on Congressional benefits & Commission benefits etc?

In order to balance the big budget, Simpson wants to scrap for change under the couch cushions? And Jim Webb too? Disgusting.

There are numerous reports tying dioxin to diabetes; one simple Google search would overwhelm any member of his staff with specifics. Here's just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9115019

[Hawkowl]

21. This is why he should've been fired immediately

Simpson will continue to make inflammatory comments and literally ENRAGE Obama's constituency. Obama will have to continually play defense and apologize until he's blue in the face.

All this does his highlight Obama's bad judgment in appointing this human excrement to a position of power.

I stopped thinking Obama was a political genius a while ago. Now, I wonder if he really is as politically suicidal as he appears.

[blueworld]

24. I honestly don't think it's that, I think he's playing the wrong game

In order to become POTUS you have to have guts, fight, smarts in addition to money. He couldn't have climbed that far by being suicidal politically.

However now, IMO, he's trying to be an amalgamation of FDR, Lincoln, MLK Jr. & Gandhi. He frequently seems to temper his INSTINCTS with an eye on the history books.

Politics is not billiards or pinochle or croquet on the lawn. That same confusion is so obvious here on the DU among those who believe he should emanate wisdom & nobility from every orifice, as opposed to those who think he should should be holding a hockey stick & screaming 3 days per week.

He can't continue to try & train a pack of rabid pit bulls.

[gratuitous]

25. If Obama disagreed with Simpson, he'd demand an explanation or Simpson's resignation

I suggest not holding your breath waiting for either development.

Note to the usual suspects: This does not mean that I prefer John McCain sitting in the Oval Office, nor does it mean that I'm voting Republican, sitting out the next election, or secretly wish I had a pony. It means I voted a Democratic ticket, and expected to see Democratic principles put forward when the Democrats won.

Side note to the triangulators: My vote for you in 2010 is not validation of your policies during 2009-10.