Europe without American leadership is a mere tourist destination.
Because we’ve drained the tank and lost our credibility, we have to hope the French would prefer to make peace, not love. Good luck! I’m ready to go back to “freedom fries.”
Ten presidential hopefuls, proving again that personal ambition trumps party unity, have signed a letter pledging to campaign in the New Hampshire primary even if it is held at a time not approved by the Democratic National Committee.
The DNC this past weekend set up a revised primary schedule, keeping the Iowa caucuses first, followed a week later with caucuses in Nevada and then the NH primary with the South Carolina primary a week later. The plan rightfully tries to give minorities — Hispanics in Nevada’s case and blacks in SC’s case — a greater voice in selecting the party’s candidates. Now, if one candidate wins the lily white Iowa and NH races, s/he becomes much harder to beat.
But NH has been whining about this for months and have threatened to reschedule its primary, maybe as early as late-2007.
Among the 10 signers is Virginia’s own Mark Warner, who, being a good Democrat, decided to form a circle with the other candidates, raise his rifle and aim. If the party is stymied by its loyalty to a collection of interests instead of a governing philosophy, it is no less held captive to personal ambition. No surprise here. Just Dems being Dems.
The headline on the A1 story in The Washington Post:
Bush Says Iraq Pullout Would Be “A Disaster”
Isn’t that what it is now?
“If you think it’s bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself and sustain itself,” he said.
…”If we[withdraw], there will be horrific sectarian cleansing in the mixed areas, particularly in Baghdad, and civil war,” [former ambassador Peter Galbraith] said. “If we stay the course, there will be horrific sectarian cleansing in Baghdad, and civil war.”
Ah, but then we get into that old definition of a “civil war.” Last week I ridiculed the debate. But it turns out I wasn’t far off.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued that Iraq would not have civil war until the Confederates attack Fort Sumter. “It seems to me that it is not a classic civil war at this stage,” Professor Rumsfeld argued. “It certainly isn’t like our civil war.”
No, so to help us keep things straight in our mind, let’s ask Sen. George Allen if he could lend his confederate flag to one side in the conflict. Then we’ll know who to root for — and who he’ll root for.
Footnote: From today’s stories in The Post, it’s clear we have achieved a nexus.
Several prominent Democrats rejected Bush’s call for staying the course in Iraq, saying the problem there is not a lack of will but lack of a winning strategy (emphasis added).
…ABC News’s Martha Raddatz was not satisfied [with Bush’s defense of the war]. “The violence has gotten worse in certain areas,” she reminded him. “Is it not time for a new strategy?” (emphasis added)
When the press and one political party ask the same question, it’s safe to say the other political party is in deep doo-doo, as W’s father might say..
In what can only be described as a mc-article in USA Today last week, the writer tells us,
Smith sports a growing TV fashion: a coat of moral gray.
The new CBS drama follows a band of master thieves and is the latest series to feature a lead character of questionable virtue, joining The Sopranos, The Shield and Rescue Me. With Smith, the trend gets a stronger foothold in broadcast TV. It also is an intriguing choice for CBS because the network’s lineup of crime procedurals has helped make it the most-watched network.
I will admit that I’m a Sopranos fan, so I’m living in a glass house here. But it’s not that I object on some moral basis. But I find the implied justification curious.
Smith, a law-enforcement term for an unknown suspect, raises the moral stakes in its opening episode with an art heist that results in the death of a museum guard. Characters will face consequences both direct and indirect, Wells says.
But [lead characters] Bobby and Hope aren’t caricatures. They’re a loving couple raising two kids. Bobby, who coaches Little League and has a day job as a salesman, even has thoughts of giving up the criminal life.
Those aspects may help viewers relate to the characters, CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler says. “The thing that’s so unique about what John Wells is doing is that he’s placing these characters in real life. To that end, you get a chance to see them going to PTA meetings, raising their kids, going to 9-to-5 jobs.”
[Actor Ray] Liotta is drawn to his character’s contrasts. “Hope is the girl of my dreams. I’m not a philanderer. I love my wife and kids. I just also love to steal.”
Just wondering: What are the chances we’d see a series about young black kids who commit crimes, yet are portrayed sympathetically as part of a stable home, but maybe “love to steal”? My guess is there would be a hue and cry about the glorification of the criminal culture.
By the way, though not cited in the column, apparently Al Sharpton’s plea reverberated with Juan Williams. He’s not glorifying anything.
A few months ago, Karl Rove told us the GOP would win the Congressional elections on the strength of the Iraq War. He said voters would back the president. When the war would not diverge from its downward spiral and the terrorist plot in Great Britain was foiled, we were told that the war against terror would win the day. But when polls showed that the president didn’t get a rebound after the arrests, it’s time to again change strategies.
“If I were a candidate … I’d say, ‘Look at what the economy has done. It’s strong. We’ve created a lot of jobs. … I’d be telling people that the Democrats will raise your taxes. That’s what they said. I’d be reminding people that tax cuts have worked in terms of stimulating the economy,” Bush told reporters at a news conference.
Of course, there’s a slight problem with this approach, too.
The economy has slowed in recent months, in part because of the slump in the housing market. Recent economic indicators showed a 4.8 percent jobless rate in July and 4 percent annual economic growth rate through the first half of the year.
The Labor Department recently said employers added just 113,000 new jobs in July, down from 124,000 in June.
Only 37 percent of Americans support Bush’s handling of the economy, according to the Associated Press-Ipsos poll in early August.
Thirty-seven percent? Well, it’s probably better than support for his war and nobody really believes that Iraq is related to the war on terror, although I’m not really sure what that it. His overall support is back down in the 33% range, so 37% is better than that.
Next thing you know, Bush will be telling Republicans to invoke the name Terri Schiavo in their campaigns. What’s sad is that at this point, it can only help.
Bush promised much after Katrina, but as usual, didn’t deliver.
I listened to Chris Matthews yell tonight (click on ‘Security Moms”) with three reporters – Jim VandeHei of The Post, The Hotline’s Chuck Todd and A.B. Stoddard from The Hill.
Todd makes the statement that half of Democrats are against the Iraq War and half are “anti-war,” as in “pacifists” who are “against any war.” Where does he get that statistic? Half of Democrats are against any war? He cites no proof for what he’s saying.
The host asks why can’t the Democrats come up with a counter to “cut and run”? Wait a minute. Most of the country is against this war and most want a timetable for getting out and a sizable minority is growing for getting out now. Seems like the Dems aren’t the ones needing a counter, as they’re winning the argument.
Stoddard says the Dems are having problems because a majority of Americans are not willing to get behind a timetable. Again, with a solid majority now thinking the war wasn’t worth it, it doesn’t appear the Dems are having that much of a problem getting their point across. Oh, and by the way, the last CNN poll (scroll down) found over 60% said bring home troops at least by the end of the year and 57% want a timetable.
And if you weren’t sure that it’s OK to think the war in Iraq was a dumb move, Todd says even George Will is against the war. I was waiting for the go sign from Georgie.
What do you think the odds are that the Dems sent Matthews an email within the hour rebutting these points? By this morning? Yeah, me neither.
And with it they should have named three people willing to appear on Matthews’ Sunday show to discuss the Dems’ point of view.
I’m going to bed and dream…
Frankly, I wouldn’t have expected to hear this from Al Sharpton, so instead of applauding him, let me give him a standing ovation.
Many potential young black leaders fall under the spell of the “gangster mentality” and are preventing themselves from making a positive impact in politics, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday.
…Sharpton, who is considering another run for president, faulted Hollywood and the record industry for making “gangsterism” seem cool and acceptable.
“We have got to get out of this gangster mentality, acting as if gangsterism and blackness are synonymous,” he said. “I think that challenge has to be given to Hollywood and the record industry. I think we’ve allowed a whole generation of young people to feel that if they’re focused, they’re not black enough. If they speak well and act well, they’re acting white, and there’s nothing more racist than that.”
Do the Democrats really need an alternative to the Bush “stay-the-course” policy in Iraq? The Republicans think so. I’ve thought so. But the reality is even if both houses turn Democratic, there is little the Democrats can do to effect change in Iraq. Given this administration’s view that it has extraordinary powers to conduct war without Congressional approval, challenging its authority in court would run the remainder of the Bush’s tenure and then, we hope, become moot. So we’re stuck with Bush’s belligerent ideology for another 2-1/2 years.
In a strategy memo by the progressive web site MyDD and the non-partisan 527 group Courage Campaign, they suggest that simply running against Bush’s policy is not only a winning strategy but an intellectually honest one. The groups say that polling conducted in the aftermath of the special election in California’s 50th district between Francine Busby and Brian Bilbray, reveals that Bush’s failures resonate with the public.
– 63% of Republican voters believe that Bush has made some or a lot of mistakes in Iraq.
– 34% of Republican voters believe that Bush has definitely or probably not told the truth
about the situation in Iraq.
– 34% of Republican voters believe that Bush should probably or definitely be held
accountable for the situation in Iraq.
– 40% of Republican voters believe that the Democratic Party is more likely to hold Bush
accountable for mistakes in Iraq
Holding Bush accountable, something that rarely has been done in connection with many of his failures in life, trumps offering an alternative, including a withdrawal plan.
While the country is open to the idea of partial or total troop withdrawal, according to our
data in CA-50 existing withdrawal messaging loses badly to Republican ‘cut and run’
counter-attack messaging. This suggests that voters are seeking a set of actors in
Congress who will tell the truth about the war and hold Bush accountable for mistakes.
This is in contrast to an immediate end to the conflict and /or yet another withdrawal plan
that Congress cannot enact. Voters intuitively understand that Congress doesn’t run the
military, and that regardless of the outcome of the 2006 election, Bush will be in charge
of the military until 2009. (emphasis added) As such, framing the election as a choice between rival Congressional military plans sacrifices the credibility of Democratic candidates who can only legitimately promise to hold hearings, restore congressional oversight of military matters, locate and identify blame, and serve as a check on a widely disliked and distrusted President. (emphasis original)
As the memo states, the debate over Bush’s competency is over. Even I’m beginning to feel sorry for the guy. Not as sorry as I feel for the country that has endured the most inept administration in the country’s history, but clearly his reputation is shattered, never to recover in our lifetime. But for larger reasons, he must be held accountable: Accountability is fast becoming a lost concept in this country, where corporate executives plunder companies too often without consequence, public figures spew hate only to recover after public mea culpas and entertainment concerns reap profits by producing misogynist music while hiding behind the first amendment.
Republicans will holler that “we can’t play the blame game,” but accountability may just be a conservative concept that Democrats can win on.
The man once tapped to represent the U.S. in that body that is designed to promote world peace and harmony has suffered an attack of Malgibsonitis.
Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young has resigned as WalMart’s chairman of Working Families for Wal-Mart, “a group created and financed by the company to trumpet its accomplishments,” according to the New York Times, after he said WalMart should try to replace mom-and-pop stores in urban areas because
“You see those are the people who have been overcharging us,” he said of the owners of the small stores, “and they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they’ve ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it’s Arabs.”
He’s baffled about where those words could have possibly come from.
“It’s against everything I ever thought in my life,” Mr. Young said.
Mel Gibson was equally baffled.
“I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery,” [he said shortly after his arrest for drunken driving and subsequent anti-Semitic tirade.]
So I feel it’s only fitting that I make a similar admission. All those times on this blog when I called Bush an idiot or a liar are just against everything I ever thought in my life. I don’t know where such hateful words came from. I have believed in Republican principles all my life. This country would be so much better off if we just did away all that crap about equality, tolerance and fairness. To George W: I love you, man! To all of you, please forgive me and help me through my journey of recovery.
Oy-vey!