Here it is, hot off the presses. Funny, we never used to get this kind of stuff from the last Presidential administration, and we still don’t get this kind of stuff from our own city hall.

Photographer Eric Draper has a collection of George W. Bush photos he’s showing around. The one above is of Bush and Cheney getting synchronized right before the swearing in of Colin Powell as secretary of state on January 26, 2001. As the nation gears up for the inauguration of Barack Obama in January, it seems like a good time to reflect back on some of the wisdom imparted by our 43rd President, courtesy of our friends at Shout! Factory, from their release: Bushspeak Volume 2.

Click here to listen to “the decider,” in his own words…

The AP reports that Hillary Clinton met with Barack Obama in Chicago yesterday, adding fuel to speculation that she might be Obama’s choice for secretary of state. If that happens, it has long been rumored that Brian Higgins would be appointed to her Senate seat. (BuffaloPundit reports that rumor this morning. And again this afternoon.) I know a couple prominent businessmen who are working to make that happen, and who knows? Downstate Democrats will make that decision, but maybe it’ll come to pass.

If Clinton does go to Obama’s cabinet, and Higgins does take her Senate seat, then who fills Higgins’ spot in the House? Byron Brown has had his eye on Louise Slaughter’s seat, should she retire soon. But Higgins’ seat is probably safer for Brown (for whomever winds up in it, hypothetically). After the 2010 Census, upstate New York is likely to lose another representative in Congress, and Slaughter’s seat might be the one to go. It’s one ugly-looking district:

There has been another rumor that Brown, not Higgins, would be appointed to Clinton’s seat, but that seems nutball. Higgins’ seat seems a more reasonable aspiration for the mayor.

Who, then, would join Mickey Kearns in the race to replace Brown next year?

Here’s a nice report from MSNBC’s Bob Sullivan:

That’s how Ralph Nader closed his third-party presidential campaign today at a small press conference in Washington D.C.’s National Press Club. He instructed reporters that he would only give one-word answers to all questions posed — in a sarcastic nod to the sound-bite nature of election coverage.

The stilted question-and-answer session felt at times like a bad game of “Jeopardy.” Reporters played along with little protest and reached for questions that led to one-word answers. Many even started asking one-word questions, though that wasn’t in the rules.

But there were some telling moments. Here’s a sampling:

What is your opinion of Obama? “Clever.”

What is your opinion of Palin? “Developing.”

How much money did you raise for your campaign? “Insufficient.”

Why do you keep running for president? “Justice.”

Will you be elected president? “No.”

When do you think you will win? “Sometime.”

What should Bush do on his last day in office? “Surrender.”

Will Obama be able to provide tax cuts to 95 percent of the population? “Impossible.”

What is your opinion of the media? “Servile.”

While he predicted a “landslide,” for Obama, he reserved his harshest words for the Democrat. Nader said in various ways Obama would disappoint supporters and not do much to change the power structure and status quo in Washington. Asked why the Obama years might not mimic the sweeping changes that marked the FDR presidency, Nader said, “Cowardliness.” Asked to elaborate, Nader said, “corporations.” He also called the money raised by Obama to support his campaign, “disgusting.”

Nader, finally, when asked if he would run again, he offered only this reply:

“Maybe.”

According to the Associated Press, Ohio’s three largest newspapers, the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer—as well as the Palm Beach Post in Florida, and Nevada’s Las Vegas Review-Journal—are being delivered with a free DVD insert. Remember the days when AOL CDs were in everything from your paper to your mailbox to your breakfast cereal?

“Hype: The Obama Effect” is a 95-minute piece of propaganda produced by Citizens United, a Washington-based advocacy group. Their Web site claims they are “Dedicated to restoring our government to citizen control,” and they appear to be prolific documentary filmmakers. Some titles include “We Have the Power,” hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich; “Blocking: The Path to 9/11” (which won an award at the San Fernando Valley Film Festival); and “Hillary: The Movie,” which was the subject of a Supreme Court decision earlier this year when Citizens United wanted to promote the film without disclosing that it was a hatchet job funded by enemies of the Senator. They lost, meaning that if they wanted to promote the movie they would have to indicate their sponsorship of it and list their political donors. The judges disagreed with Citizens United lawyers who likened the film to the PBS series “Nova,” or “60 Minutes.” It wound up playing at nine theaters.

But there’s good news for all you whackos who see this as a violation of your rights as an American to view paranoid rants by right-wing pundits. For only $35.95, you can rush-order a copy of “Hype: The Obama Effect” for your own viewing pleasure. Consider it the price you must pay to Citizens United, who only offer the trailer for free—unless you happen to live in hotly contested areas of Ohio, Florida, or Nevada—where you can get a copy of the entire movie at no additional cost, with your daily paper. Your contribution will help offset the $1 million the group is spending to give away 1.25 million copies of the DVD in those targeted areas.

But even if you act now, there’s no way you’ll receive your copy before Obama airs a half-hour message on NBC, CBS, and Fox tonight at 8pm. Fox asked for, and was granted permission from Major League Baseball to delay game six of the World Series tonight by eighteen minutes so they could sell the time to Obama.

That’s the kind of clout a candidate has when he shatters all previous records for private campaign contributions.

Julie Blust, press secretary for the Bush Legacy Tour, showed me around the bio-diesel bus that’s been traveling the country since June 24, highlighting some of the lows of George W. Bush’s presidency. The tour stopped briefly from 11am to 1pm at Elmwood and Bidwell today, en route from Ohio to eastern Pennsylvania.

Blust points out that the bus is not out campaigning for a specific candidate. “The Bush Legacy Tour,” she says, “is not just about President Bush’s failures. It’s about the failed conservative ideology he and his allies in Congress represent.”

The million-dollar bus tour is brought to us by Americans United for Change, a group founded in 2005 for the purpose of fighting Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. The group was successful. In light of the current financial “credit tsunami” (to use Alan Greenspan’s term), it’s interesting to speculate on the condition of Social Security now had the plan gone through back then.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund, VoteVets.org, MoveOn.org, Healthcare for America Now, American Rights at Work—along with big unions like AFSCME, SEIU, and the AFL-CIO—have sponsored or partnered to send the bus on its five-month, 20,000 mile tour of over forty states.

Here’s a little tidbit for you: In 2001, when Bush took office, gas was $1.37/gallon on national average. Today, that average is $2.91—and much higher in our area. Also, although the Bush Legacy Bus can run on biodiesel, it hasn’t always been able to because the fuel isn’t available everywhere.

Meanwhile, national emissions of greenhouse gases have increased by 316 million tons.

Katrina, education, worker’s rights, healthcare, and Iraq figure prominently in the traveling museum. Learn more about why John McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush by visiting the Legacy Tour Web site.

Thought we’d share this Saturday Night Live skit with Governor Palin, you know the Washington “outsider” hockey mom who just blew through $150,000 for new clothes at Saks 5th Ave, Neiman-Marcus, etc. John Stewart decided the Palins were Alaskan grifters using a hot looking babe to take advantage of an old man, John McCain, and then go on big spending spree.

Now when you look at it that way, suddenly the republican presidential ticket makes a lot more sense.