May 2008

WE WENT THROUGH similar times in the early 1990's. The Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union crumbled and we won the Cold War. Yet it was beyond the typical liberal's ability to acknowledge that Ronald Reagan had anything to do with these accomplishments. So you had the ludicrous spectacle of…

On MSNBC today, David Axelrod said that Barack Obama "never disputed the fact that if you throw a surge of American soldiers in an area that you can make a difference." Oh really? Here's what Obama said on January 14, 2007: "We can send 15,000 more troops, 20,000 more troops, 30,000 more troops: I…

We went through similar times in the early 1990's. The Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union crumbled and we won the Cold War. Yet it was beyond the typical liberal's ability to acknowledge that Ronald Reagan had anything to do with these accomplishments. So you had the ludicrous spectacle of…

Saleh Riqab, Hamas' deputy minister of religious endowment, took the time on a TV interview a couple of weeks ago to explain Bill Clinton's scandals to the Al Aqsa TV audience: Riqab: Both Democrats and Republicans compete to please the state of the Jews. That's why when a Democrat comes to…

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Just as he did with Barack Obama, The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg scored an interview with John McCain. Once again, the results were fascinating. A couple of snippets: JG: Do you think that Israel is better off today than it was eight years ago? JM: I think Israel, in many respects, is stronger…

Maxine Waters is talking about nationalizing America's oil sector. She might want to consider an object lesson on how that's working for one of the world's major oil producers: Venezuela's state petroleum company, Petroleos de Venezuela, increased petroleum imports by nearly 150% between the first…

At a campaign event yesterday, John McCain said, "I can look you in the eye and tell you [the surge] is succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels." Obama-supporter John Kerry then attacked McCain on his "comprehension" of Iraq: "It's very disturbing to have John McCain constantly raise…

Last week, Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist political movement, called for massive demonstrations against the negotiations between the US.. and the Iraqi government over the basing of U.S. troops in the country beyond 2008. This Friday, the Sadrist movement carried out…

I guess Scott McClellan won't be brunching with Bob and Liddy Dole this Sunday. Jonathan Martin at the Politico got a copy of an email the former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate sent to McClellan yesterday. Dole does not skimp on his famous biting rhetoric when he smells…

Jon Henke makes an interesting point about those who believe the economy is terrible: Yet those who have become extremely concerned about the economy since last fall show no significant difference from everyone else in backing a presidential candidate. Both groups divide about evenly between…

Warner Huston points out that when Barack Obama was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, he sought (and received) the endorsement of Illinois' Marxist New Party: The New Party was a Marxist political coalition whose objective was to endorse and elect leftist public officials -- most…

fallingoil.jpgAccording to the Energy Information Administration, global oil exports are on the way down -- and appear set to continue to decline: The world's top oil producers are proving unable to put more barrels on thirsty world markets despite sky-high prices, a shift that defies traditional…

If this guy were American, he'd be President Obama's Secretary of State: Britain should negotiate with leaders of al-Qaida as part of a new strategy to end its violent campaign, one of the country's most senior police officers has said. Speaking to the Guardian, Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Police…

Alicia Kolar Prevost, who writes for the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies blog, notes that 366 Democratic delegates could be at stake tomorrow as the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) meets to decide the fate of the Michigan and Florida delegations.…

A sign of reconciliation in Iraq: Some 800 Sunni Muslims are among 2,000 newly trained recruits in the Iraqi National Police, a force that a Pentagon report a year ago called a brutal organization infiltrated by Shiite militias and even death squads. Another 2,000 Sunnis are expected to be trained…

If you're not big enough to have a Washington lobbyist, it's hard to take you seriously. According to lobbyists.info, there are currently more than 22,000 registered federal lobbyists, representing everyone from the Thai Frozen Foods Association to the Religious Broadcast Music License Committee.…

While Barack Obama's serial gaffes had a strangle-hold on my attention this week, I completely ignored the story of the ongoing lunacy being spouted from his church's pulpit.. Personally, I consider Father Michael Pfleger's oratory from this past Sunday at Obama's Trinity United Church less…

"We weren't interested in a book that was just a defense of the Bush administration." Peter Osnos, founder of PublicAffairs books and publisher of Scott McClellan's new book. More here.

TWO YEARS AGO I wrote a piece in New Atlantis on Japanese horror films, their remakes in America, and the anxieties in the Japanese and American psyches they reflected. The J-Horror genre, I thought, was a critique of technology and tech-connected life, turning everyday devices like televisions and…

U.S. FEDERAL AGENCIES charged with high responsibilities in defending the nation have achieved new levels of semantic obsession, thinking that the goal of defeating Muslim terrorists is undermined by improper terminology. We have already suffered debates about "Islamofascism" and the nomenclature…

Eagle-eyed TWS reader Jose Antonio points us to the lede of a New York Daily News story about the romance between Congressman Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin. "Rep. Anthony Weiner, a likely 2009 mayoral candidate, is pouring his heart into Hillary Clinton's White House bid -…

Sunni al Qaeda doesn't have a relationship with Shia Iran, right? ABC reports: Al Qaeda is a Sunni Muslim group that has a complicated, sometimes tense, relationship with Iran. The United States has a complicated, sometimes tense, relationship with France, but that doesn't mean we won't go over and…

Lest you think there's no hope at all for Republicans in Congressional races this year, I'll point you to some good news in an unexpected area--New York: Four of NY's six GOP seats could swing to Dems this fall. But one of those four, retiring Tom Reynolds' (R) NY-26, looks less and less everyday…

It has been 20 years since a Republican won Michigan in a presidential election. George H. W. Bush carried the state over Michael Dukakis in 1988, but Democrats prevailed in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Most agree Barack Obama cannot win the White House without carrying the state's 17 electoral…

Has the surge been a success? If so, Pelosi says the credit belongs to Obama's friends in Tehran: Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn't happen. Whatever the military success, and progress…

Given the attention to Scott McClellan's book, it was only a matter of time before Democrats' dreams again turned to impeaching the president. How much time did it take? Less than a day: Today Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) called for former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to appear…

For the Clinton bitter-enders out there, comes big news: Rickey Martin has endorsed the Senator from New York! From the campaign: "These elections will have historic repercussions both in the United States and the world. Senator Clinton has always been consistent in her commitment with the needs of…

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Susan Sarandon is doing the rounds promoting her latest movie, Speed Racer. She found time to talk to the Telegraph about the movie, her career, and U.S. politics: Her financial and vocal support for Barack Obama has not endeared her to some fellow Democrats. "I've got a lot of flak from feminists…

Gallup has released the results of a lengthy survey on gas prices, which asked both about causes and responses. Only 20 percent of Americans believe oil companies are responsible for the high prices, and 57 percent believe the correct response is to allow drilling in areas currently off limits:…

We know that elite German commandos are not permitted to kill known Taliban commanders, even if they are behind the most gruesome suicide attacks in Afghanistan to date or are directly targeting German soldiers or civilians. The Taliban, on the other hand, are eager to kill German soldiers and…

A tipster tells Wizbang's Kevin Aylward that Arthur Culvahouse -- who is heading up McCain's vice presidential search team -- is in Alaska: ...There's only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position. This comes on the heels of McCain's…

After ending 2007 with abysmal approval ratings, Congressional leaders seemed to recognize that protracted fights over Iraq funding bills were damaging their credibility. They acknowledged that it made little sense to split their conference, only to capitulate to the president at the last minute.…

The highly enjoyable website 538.com has updated its review of the pollsters. A word about the site before getting into the pollster's grades - While a former Daily Kos diarist runs the site, his statistical analysis is insightful. His commentary, while leftish, is thoughtful and decidedly…

Jim Manzi has established himself as a brilliant writer over at National Review's The Corner, but he has outdone himself with this post on Barack Obama's commencement address at Wesleyan. This passage from Obama's speech especially stood out: But during my first two years of college, perhaps…

EARLY LAST EVENING, I was speaking with a friend and he jokingly asked if Obama had made any gaffes during the day. "Well," I responded, "only if you consider his claim that his uncle was one of the first soldiers in to liberate Auschwitz a gaffe." My friend laughed, knowing that the Red Army had…

SCOTT McCLELLAN HAS LAUNCHED a scathing and unexpected attack on the Bush administration. The media's punching bag will soon be its darling. Much has already been made of McClellan's preposterous claim that the White House operated in "permanent campaign" mode. Alas, if the campaign had been run…

Fulsome Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan writes today: "Obama is one of the least gaffe-prone politicians out there." You know what else Barack Obama is? The most qualified presidential candidates ever! The blinkered nature of the Obama supporter never ceases to amaze, does it?

I've always scoffed at the notion that the Democrats could win control of a 60-seat filibuster-proof Senate majority in November, but the Hill's Aaron Blake points out that "Democrats have now polled ahead or within the margin of error in 11 Republican-held seats, as polls conducted in recent weeks…

Gallup recently released the results of a survey showing a large partisan "confidence gap" in terms of who will win in November. The study finds 61% of Democrats are confident (37% not confident) their candidate will prevail this fall. Among the Republicans, only 39% are confident the GOP will win…

Jake Tapper reports on how Scott McClellan trashed Richard Clarke's tell-all during a March 2004 press conference: McCLELLAN: Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner? This is one-and-a-half years after he left the administration. And now, all of…

Al Franken's bid to unseat incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) has hit a rough patch, as he tries to explain why he failed to pay worker's compensation insurance on his employees in New York. The state says that he failed to pay for insurance on as many as 17 workers at a time, and that they…

Joe Trippi served as a senior adviser to John Edwards before he gave up his presidential bid earlier this year. In the journal Politics, Trippi laments that he didn't press Edwards to stay in the race: I didn't tell him what I should have told him: That I had this feeling that if he stayed in the…

Someone here should say something about the Scott McClellan's Bush-bashing book that has turned out to be the rage of the day in the blogosphere. Having drawn the short straw, the task falls to me. First reaction: Who cares? Second reaction: Knowing a little about how the publishing industry works,…

If you're a fan of Project Runway, you may appreciate Hillary Clinton's Project T-Shirt, where you can be Heidi Klum for a day and vote for Hillary's next campaign t-shirt design (H/T TNR). I think the popsicle-colored Warhol-inspired design is the best choice, because it will make a great beach…

Articles such as this one are the best refutation of the frequent conservative claim that the media tilts left: Four years after a failed presidential bid and amid a race for a fifth Senate term this fall, Kerry's moves have prompted some questions: _Is the Massachusetts Democrat positioning…

There is a case to be made: Republican Mitt Romney, whose father served as governor of Michigan from 1963-1969, would help John McCain beat Barack Obama in the presidential election in that state, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll looking at Vice Presidential pairings. When Michigan…

America's labor unions have argued that globalization is a bad thing -- that workers and consumers are the victims when companies go multinational. When unions do it however, it's apparently a good thing: The long-discussed merger between Pittsburgh's United Steelworkers and Britain's Unite,…

The Washington Post's official "fact-checker," Michael Dobbs, has taken Barack Obama to the woodshed over his Auschwitz-related ignorance: "Many Americans might have problems distinguishing Buchenwald and Ohrdruf from Auschwitz. But should we not expect more from a Harvard-educated presidential…

Above is a commercial from the advocacy group Vets for Freedom urging Barack Obama to go to Iraq, see for himself what's happening there and meet with David Petraeus. Go ahead, watch the spot - I'll wait. We all know this idea will have absolutely zero interest for Senator Obama. If there's one…

Yesterday, the AP reported that John McCain "sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for not having been to Iraq since 2006, and said they should visit the war zone together." Why not? They could visit the troops, bond a little before the coming bitter end of the campaign season, and not…

Why should Mother Nature have to bear the burden of man's cruelty toward his fellow man? After all, if we can send a man to the moon, why can't wet we find a way to kill people and break things, but still leave the battlefield in a pristine, park-like setting? Well, the Germans are working on it:…

Members of the British Parliament don't just earn a fixed salary; they receive a salary plus $44,000 a year in expenses for a second home. Fortunately, for rabble-rousers, a list of these expenses has just been released. My guess is if he had known his expenditures would see the light of day,…

Jim Geraghty notes that the Obamas have frequently referred to their experience with student loan debt as one tangible demonstration of how they understand and relate to the experience of middle class voters. But Geraghty points out that one reason the Obamas were dealing with student loans and…

Early last evening, I was speaking with a friend and he jokingly asked if Obama had made any gaffes during the day. "Well," I responded, "only if you consider his claim that his uncle was one of the first soldiers in to liberate Auschwitz a gaffe." My friend laughed, knowing that the Red Army had…

IF YOU ARE HAVING difficulty reading the conflicting signals coming out of the American economy, you are not alone. Consider this: An LA Times/Bloomberg poll shows that 78 percent of Americans think we are in an economic recession. A virtually simultaneous CBS News/New York Times poll found that 72…

BARACK OBAMA FIRST VOWED to meet unconditionally with the leaders of America's foremost enemies in the YouTube Democratic candidates' debate on July 23, 2007. Since then he has reaffirmed and expanded on the commitment in a variety of contexts, promoting such meetings as a sort of panacea for…

Ask fifty Washington reporters for an assessment of Scott McClellan and forty-nine of them will give you some version of this: He's a nice guy who was in way over his head. (Most of them will be tougher in their analysis of his intellect.) Given the imminent release of McClellan's "surprisingly…

A common narrative about the war in Iraq is that fighting against the enemy in urban environments creates more insurgents, thus it is fruitless to even try. But today's Los Angeles Times finally asked Iraqis in Sadr City what they think about the recent fighting and how it impacts their views of…

Because of his recent string of gaffes and his unrepentant super-liberalism, many supporters are having if not second thoughts then a touch of buyer's remorse regarding Barack Obama. Even Andrew Sullivan has shown diminished enthusiasm, commenting today, "Intellectually, I find so much of Obama's…

Over at Commentary, Jennifer Rubin notes this oddity from a Telegraph profile of failed statesman and Barack Obama advisor Zbignew Brzezinski: Mr Brzezinski said "it's not unique to the Jewish community - but there is a McCarthyite tendency among some people in the Jewish community", referring to…

This is one of those times when I like to remind readers that "early Senate polls don't matter." Nevertheless, these numbers showing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell trailing in his reelection bid will likely get a lot of attention among lefty blogs in the next few days. It shows the…

Above is video of John McCain dealing with some hecklers at the University of Denver. A quick question to ponder while you enjoy the highlights: How come this kind of rudeness seems to be almost the exclusive province of the left? Regardless, these protesting types probably cost the Democrats swing…

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev was the first foreign head-of-state to visit China since the May 12 earthquake. Although the May 23-24 trip had been planned before the quake struck, Chinese media nonetheless characterized it as "earthquake diplomacy" that provided the Chinese people with "mental…

Barack Obama continues to use weasel words and equivocations in his lame effort to step back from his pledge that as president he would chat with any malefactor willing to stand still with him long enough for a photo-op. Let's first remember the policy pronouncement from the YouTube debate:…

While Americans remembered the servicemen and women who gave their lives for their country, a couple of people who wear make-up and costumes for a living marked Memorial Day weekend a little differently. Benicio del Toro won the best actor prize at Cannes as the star of Steven Soderbergh's…

Obama supporters are asking why their man had to go and open his mouth again. As ABC's Jake Tapper says, Obama is a "one-man gaffe machine," and this Memorial Day was no exception. At his Memorial Day speech in New Mexico, Obama said (along with other questionable statements), On this Memorial Day,…

"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong." - Barack Obama, yesterday.

Obama continues to demonstrate strong support among those deeply opposed to American foreign policy goals: He also is full of opinions, and on Monday he gave Senator Barack Obama an endorsement of sorts, calling him "the most progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency" while also berating him for…

When April proved a bloody month for American soldiers in Iraq, the American left swarmed. 52 U.S. soldiers died in April, the most since September 2007, and the left rushed to express its special brand of concern for "the children" as it so often patronizingly refers to our fighting men and women.…

Some time last week, the New York Times' Frank Rich scored tickets to see the highly lauded revival of "South Pacific" that's currently playing on Broadway. Being the Times' former theatre critic before he turned his all-knowing eye to politics, this must have been quite the trick. Everyone loves…

There has been lots of buzz this weekend about what the New York Times calls "an unusually blunt and detailed" report on Iran from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Among the findings: Iran's military has produced powerful centrifuges -- the kind that can be used to enrich uranium and speed…

We all expected it, and most of us still do, but it's odd that it has failed to materialize. Obama has slipped in the new poll from Newsweek and now runs even with McCain at 46-46. More interesting is his decline in both Gallup tracking polls. Those polls don't reflect the brouhaha over Clinton's…

In a memo to Team Obama, Evan Thomas explains Newsweek's ingenious new system for quantifying racial prejudice: NEWSWEEK pollsters recently created a "Racial Resentment Index" to measure the impact of race on the 2008 election. White voters were asked a series of 10 questions about a variety of…

A most predictable editorial: Mr. Bush - and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain - have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put. They…

An interesting piece in Haaretz includes this tidbit: Until the war in Iraq in 2003, CENTCOM refused any direct contact with Israelis. Dan Shomron, who visited MacDill as chief of staff in 1989, visited only SOCOM; he was not permitted to cross the fence to CENTCOM, lest the shocking presence of an…

I don't much care for the article in today's Washington Times making the case for Sarah Palin. It focuses almost exclusively on the fact that she recently gave birth to a son with Down syndrome, rather than aborting the child. I'm sure everyone will agree that was an admirable choice, but it also…

Andrew Sullivan links this report from Iran's Press TV: Iraq's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has strongly objected to a 'security accord' between the US and Iraq. The Grand Ayatollah has reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as…

Jill Simpson is an unusual woman. A lawyer, she has scratched out an uncertain living in DeKalb County, Alabama. Fellow DeKalb County lawyers describe her as "a very strange person" who "lives in her own world." The daughter of rabid Democrats, she has rarely if ever been known to participate in…

Already dogged by a reputation for promoting religious extremism abroad and repression at home, the government of Saudi Arabia now faces growing resentment at the soaring price of oil. As is their custom, Saudi rulers have responded with a public relations campaign. It's a campaign built on…

In recent weeks, while the penultimate chapter of the Democratic nomination race has monopolized our attention, John McCain has engaged in a series of auditions of general election themes for his campaign. In early April, he set out on a "Service to America Tour," highlighting key points of his…

Moment of Truth in Iraq

About half way through its 12th season, South Park (Comedy Central, Wednesdays, 10 P.M. ET) has attacked, to take just the first five letters of the alphabet, AIDS research, Britney Spears, Canadians, drug-related social panics, and Eliot Spitzer. Indeed, it's difficult to find an interest group,…

Sins of the Assassin

The Strong Man

Giving Well, Doing Good

Eight years ago, 4,618,673 California voters--61 percent of those casting ballots--approved an initiative that stated: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Last Thursday, four of the seven justices of the California supreme court struck down that law,…

As the Democratic primaries near their end, supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have used a time-honored yet unexpected device to attack each other: old-fashioned redbaiting.

It's not often people have anything nice to say about their department of motor vehicles. On The Simpsons, sisters Patty and Selma, who both work at Springfield's DMV, tell their nephew Bart that some days they don't let the line move at all. "We call those days weekdays."

More than any other politician in recent memory, Barack Obama has been the subject of iconography. His campaign's official posters often portray Obama in a beatific light--clad in a white shirt and silver tie, eyes squinting and looking into some middle distance above the camera, a nimbus of wispy…

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, the Mr. Magoo of American politics, stumbled onto the truth last week. He discovered the law of supply and demand. "We want to put [more oil] on the market to increase supply and lower prices," Reid said. "With oil and gas prices continuing to break record highs…

New Jersey's Hall of Fame, Seriously

Students of energy policy despair, and at times believe that Dante's inscription on the entrance to hell should be emblazoned on the entrances to the Capitol and the White House, "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."

Novosibirsk, Russia

There are natural disasters, and there are man-made disasters. Cyclones and earthquakes are, of course, natural. But the devastation wrought by a government's refusal to allow aid workers entry into crisis areas; by its confiscation of aid; by its diversion of resources so it can fix a referendum…

Northwestern, the university where I taught for 30 years, appears to have caught its nether parts in a wringer. It seems they approached the Reverend Jeremiah Wright about accepting an honorary degree, and, now that Wright has made clear the kind of clergyman he is, Northwestern has withdrawn its…

Obama's been hitting McCain over and over about his ties to lobbyists, so obviously we're all shocked to learn that Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, has some seedy lobbying of his own to account for: When Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison wanted state lawmakers to back a hefty rate hike…

Weigel reports: I've seen Barr chatting with Gravel and Ruwart delegates, making the electability case. So is the Democratic party the only political party that frowns on the electability argument? And how is it that Barr's electability argument is taken seriously when he has zero chance of being…

The New York Post on Obama's GI posturing: For a good illustration of just how vulnerable Barack Obama apparently feels on national security, look no farther than the fight he picked with John McCain on the Senate floor last week. Obama lashed out at McCain over the latter's opposition to an…

That's what ABC's Jake Tapper calls Obama in this report: On Thursday Obama told the Orlando Sentinel that he would meet with Chavez and "one of the obvious high priorities in my talks with President Hugo Chavez would be the fermentation of anti-American sentiment in Latin America, his support of…

Elisabeth Bumiller writes in the New York Times: Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain have both derided Mr. Obama as "elitist" for his remarks about bitter rural voters who "cling" to guns and religion, even as Mr. Obama, in a counterpunch, mocked her courtship of gun owners, depicting her as a kind of…

The U.S. military is doing a lot of good these days: The increasing success and pace of airstrikes this year indicates that American spy agencies and their allies have made progress in infiltrating Al Qaeda in Pakistan, said Louis Caprioli, a former anti-terrorism chief of France's DST intelligence…

At the risk of waddling in late to a controversy, I simply must comment on Hillary Clinton's latest gaffe. As you've no doubt heard by now…well, let's let the New York Times tell the story:< Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defended staying in the Democratic nominating contest on Friday by pointing…

Christie Hefner, Playboy's CEO, recently hosted a fundraiser for Al Franken, and now, the Hill's Aaron Blake reports, "Minnesota Republicans unleashed one of their harshest piece [sic] of opposition research yet on Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken, pointing out a 2000 column, including…

Obama talks about a possible meeting with Raul Castro: HOLLIS: If I can ask one more question. Sort of a follow-up to comments you made yesterday. Will you meet one-on-one with Raul Castro and other leaders of the Cuban government? OBAMA: Not immediately. But what I've said is that if we start…

Max Boot has a good piece on absurdity of the latest "lobbying scandal" to engulf the McCain campaign: In other words, McCain (whose campaign I advise on foreign policy issues) was in favor of NATO expansion long before Randy was lobbying on those issues. Anyone who knows either McCain or…

There's some truth to this, but surely one of the first things Obama will do after wrapping up the nomination is make a trip to Iraq to meet with the commanders on the ground there. The question then will be whether he takes anything they say to heart. If Petraeus and Maliki plead with Obama to…

Israeli Defense Forces allegedly shot dead Mohammed al-Dura, a 12-year-old boy, on September 30, 2000 during a gunfight in Gaza, and it was all supposedly captured on video. Al-Dura's martyrdom was hailed by millions of Muslims at the outset of the second intifada. Osama Bin Laden even commented,…

Chris Bowers is one of the brighter minds on the left side of the blogosphere -- particularly when it comes to political strategy and analysis. Bowers writes that despite the pro-Democrat mood of the country, Obama cannot be regarded as a favorite in a race against McCain: The answer is simple, and…

Earlier this week when fundraising numbers were released for the major campaign committees, there was a little bit of good news for the GOP. While the Republican House and Senate committees still trail their Democratic counterparts badly, the RNC is far outraising the DNC. Further, the RNC has…

Joe Klein gets Clintonian in his defense of Obama: [Novak] goes on to misrepresent (a) my questioning of McCain this week and (b)Obama's position on talking to Ahmadinejad, which is muddy, to say the least, but has never included the following statement, "I will meet unconditionally with Mahmoud…

Various lefty blogs are having fun with a 2000 quote from Senator McCain in which he speculates that he might be too old to run for president in 2008: Well, in 2004, I expect to be campaigning for the reelection of President George W. Bush, and by 2008, I think I might be ready to go down to the…

With the Iraqi Army's push into Sadr City after Muqtada al Sadr blinked and cut a deal with the government, the narrative on failure in Iraq has shifted. The latest story from the Associated Press indicates that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has secretly issued fatwas, or religious edicts, to select…

For political junkies, it may be a finding against interest, but this recent Pew report demonstrates that the content of cable news coverage and Americans' news interest are out of sync. Media is heavily focused on the 2008 presidential race, devoting nearly 40% of its total coverage to this topic…

Maxine Waters let the cat out of the bag yesterday. Congressional Democrats talk a moderate game, but when they speak candidly it's clear they have an extreme agenda in mind. It may be unfair to pick on Representative Waters; she is probably the most confused Representative in Congress. Want proof?…

Break out your love beads, dust off your Moby Grape albums -- it's 1968 again! Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is catching grief for suggesting John McCain's family history of military service makes the presumptive Republican presidential nominee unfit to be commander-in-chief. Harkin, who has a history of…

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: Clinton Has the Numbers, by Jonathan V. Last. From the Washington Post: Obama's Metastatic Gaffe, by Charles Krauthammer. From the Wall Street Journal: Republicans and Our Enemies, by Joe Biden. From Contentions: Biden to the Rescue, by Max Boot. From the Wall Street…

John Mercurio writes on the speculation over who will be appointed to the Senate to succeed either John McCain or Barack Obama. For the moment, I'm concerned only with McCain's seat, since in the case of Barack Obama, a Democrat Governor will undoubtedly appoint a Democrat to succeed a Democrat. In…

Yesterday Obama offered this rationale for putting Hillary on the ticket: I can tell you this. My goal is to have the best possible government. And that means me winning. So, I'm very practical in my thinking. I'm a practical guy. One of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln. Awhile back, there was a…

As noted the other day, the Germans have serious reservations about killing the Taliban in Afghanistan. So much so, that its elite commandos have been restricted from attacking known Taliban murderers. They are only allowed to detain these "fugitives." The Taliban, on the other hand, have no such…

David Saltonstall of the NY Daily News writes that "John McCain is winning the fund-raising battle [against Obama]--when cash from the increasingly rich Republican National Committee is added to his tally." That's true enough: If you look at cash on hand at the end of April, McCain's $24 million…

Bob Barr chats with Borat

I just knew that the equivocations issued by the Obama campaign and its eager surrogates like Joe Klein regarding the longtime community organizer's diplomatic plans with Iran were bound to confuse the slow-witted. Sure enough, Joe Biden has taken to the pages of the Wall Street Journal and shown…

EVERY FOUR YEARS, when I deliberate over who should get my vote for president, I ask myself one vital question: who cares about celebrity endorsements?

THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN the Chronicles of Narnia series has a problem. Unlike the first film, Prince Caspian is, at heart, in the action-adventure genre. It's stacked with stunning set-pieces: the evil Telmarines on one side, the noble centaurs, fauns, and dwarves on the other. But this is not…

During General David Petreaus' confirmation hearing for his appointment as CENTCOM commander, he released the latest statistics on the violence levels in Iraq (click the image to view a larger version). The data shows that the attack incident levels have largely remained constant since September…

This new Zogby poll is interesting for a couple reasons. First, as I've suggested in earlier posts, Obama's numbers will creep up in head-to-head match-ups as it becomes clear to people he's the nominee, giving Clinton partisans some time to reassess--and conduct anger management therapy. This poll…

General Petraeus, in testimony today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that he will be able to recommend further troop reductions in the September time frame: "My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time for further reductions," Gen. David H. Petraeus…

It seems to be pretty universally recognized that something needs to change for Republicans to avoid another significant loss in November. Opinions vary on precisely what must be done, but many conservatives have argued that the party needs to return to its fiscal conservative roots, while at the…

I finally got around to reading that George Packer piece in the New Yorker that heralds the fall of conservatism and that everyone is talking about. I would offer the old "read the whole thing," but it's awfully long, kind of rambling and not particularly insightful. So instead I'll say have a…

The New York Times is catching on to Obama's Jewish problem, but still manages to miss the point. The article doesn't focus on Obama's desire to meet with Iranian leaders without precondition. Rather, it attributes the lack of support to racism and his lack of experience. Because Mr. Obama is…

On Fox News yesterday, Obama, asked about Iran, said: "The fact that we have not talked to them means that they have been developing nuclear weapons, funding Hamas, funding Hezbollah." This statement goes to the very heart of what's wrong with Obama's foreign policy view, and the leftward swing of…

Bob Wright, in his latest bloggingheads segment with Mickey Kaus, endorses the idea of General Petraeus serving as Secretary of State in an Obama administration (around 2:37), but can't finish the thought as he begins laughing. He also compliments Petraeus for his strategy of 'killing the…

Those of us with children in their junior and senior years of high school are quite familiar by now with the wringer that is the college admissions process. At the center of that process is the dreaded Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) administered by the College Board, supposedly as a predictor of…

This video is rather lengthy, but you don't need to watch the whole thing. The interesting portion is about 45 seconds in: "Believe it or not, a majority of union members like John McCain right now." The AFL-CIO however, wants to 'educate' its membership on how McCain opposes their agenda. Most…

The American Idol finale last night provided a ray of hope for the McCain campaign. How is that, you ask? Follow along with me on the most tortured political analogy of the decade. If. You. Dare! Okay, so the Idol final pitted David Cook against David Archuleta. For non-Idol watchers, Cook is a…

I'm starting to see a pattern here: While Senator Barack Obama gingerly commended his rival's "perseverance," the shrinking candidacy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has all but vanished from the television set, sidelined by bigger news. For several weeks, editorial cartoonists and others have…

Jonathan Martin reports that Florida governor Charlie Crist, a possible McCain VP choice, "was once pro-choice and is now pro-life, though he displays little enthusiasm for the issue." That's not quite accurate. In this profile for National Review, John J. Miller noted Crist's muddled thoughts on…

From the Wall Street Journal: Obama's Troubling Instincts, by Karl Rove. From the New York Times: Florida Jews Express Doubts About Obama, by Jodi Kantor. From Haaretz: Palestinians' Time is Running Out, by Bradley Burston. From the New York Times: Contrarian Carbon Cutters, by John Tierney. From…

Hillary Clinton, in a remarkably craven moment even by Clinton family standards, has compared the purported plight of people who voted for her in Michigan and Florida to that of Zimbabweans: (It is wrong when) people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded.…

Rasmussen's daily tracking poll offers some good news today, showing John McCain with a 4 point lead over Barack Obama. While overreacting to each day's numbers is certainly unwise, for sanity's sake well have to seize on and cherish every piece of good news that we can find this cycle. There's…

Now that Obama has claimed he wasn't talking about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he said he'd meet with Iranian leadership (even though he was), it's time to take this political brouhaha to the next level. Rove advises, "If Mr. Obama believes he can change the behavior of these nations by meeting…

Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith write in the Politico: The spread of these e-mails has forced Obama to embark on a campaign to Americanize his image and his biography. Pivoting away from his pitch to a primary election audience uninterested in flag-waving and nationalism, he's returning to the…

Jim Geraghty calls our attention to this Houston Press story that appeared a few months ago. Writer Todd Spivak recounts a horrifying encounter he had with Barack Obama while covering Obama's part-time work as a state legislator back in the year 2000: It's not quite eight in the morning and Barack…

On the New York Times op-ed page, Nathan Thrall and the very coolly named Jesse James Wilkins provide a highly public history lesson to longtime community organizer Barack Obama: IN his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy expressed in two eloquent sentences, often invoked by Barack Obama,…

BEFORE YOU SEND ME IRATE emails, allow me preface this by stating how thoroughly I enjoy the Indiana Jones films, most notably Raiders of the Lost Ark. But at the end of the day, does our beloved archaeologist actually "save the day"? Does he truly prevent the armies of darkness from taking over…

When Hezbollah gunmen took over the Lebanese capital earlier this month, Obama released a statement that said, in part: It's time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the…

The key graph in the statement: "After Senator Obama's own advisors and supporters backtracked from his stated desire to hold summit meetings with the leaders of the world's worst regimes, Senator Obama himself has begun to reinterpret his stand. He now claims that some 'fear' to 'negotiate' with…

Some folks are up in arms about this clip

Gallup has this poll out today with some interesting news on both race and gender in the presidential contest. Not surprisingly, Gallup's most recent poll shows Obama's continued weakness among white voters, not only overall, but within certain key subgroups. For example, the survey shows McCain…

The other day I pointed out that one of the great solutions advanced by Democrats in Congress to help bring down gas prices was to outlaw OPEC. (On tap: legislation to outlaw rainy days and the common cold.) I wasn't aware at the time however, exactly what the legislation sought to outlaw. The text…

Jaime notes the good news that the RNC has $40.1 million in the bank, while the DNC only has $4.4 million. Here's the bad news: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $44.3 million in cash on hand at the end of March; the National Republican Congressional Committee had $7.2 million. As…

The first rule about handicapping Congressional races is not to assume that just because Congress is unpopular, individual Members of Congress are endangered. If you mistakenly made that assumption, you might think that just because the Democratic Congress is held in historically low esteem by the…

From Newsmax: Iranians Would Welcome Airstrikes, Sources Say The "sources" are said to be opposition figures. Of course, it is also an article of faith on the left that Iranians would welcome airstrikes, though there the consensus seems to be that it is the regime that would be doing the welcoming.…

If you've paid any attention at all to politics over the last year, you would think that the American people had clearly shifted to the left and rejected the basic underpinnings of conservative philosophy. That would be a mistake: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that…

Goldfarb notes below the New York Times' knee-slapping correction regarding Larry Rohter's column where he notoriously insisted that Barack Obama had not called for direct talks with Iran and its kook-in-chief. More knee-slapping still is the way the corrected version of Rohter's column now reads…

Does killing the enemy have an impact on the outcome of a battle? Over at The Wonk Room, a blog run by the Center for American Progress, I have been criticized for conducting "body counts" of Mahdi Army fighters. The author goes on to state that killing Mahdi fights only breeds more Mahdi fighters,…

On May 10, New York Times reporter Larry Rohter offered this analysis of the back and forth over Obama pledge to meet with Ahmadinejad: But important nuances appear to have been lost in the partisan salvos, particularly on Mr. McCain's side. An examination of Mr. Obama's numerous public statements…

Conservatism is allegedly dead, but the RNC is alive and well. The national Republican Party had nearly 10 times more cash on hand than its Democratic counterpart at the end of April, a notable GOP advantage in what otherwise has been Democratic fundraising dominance this election. The Republican…

I wish I could be as choosy as Hillary Clinton about paying debts: According to a campaign release put out Tuesday evening as election returns revealed her big win in Kentucky and loss in Oregon, Clinton raised "approximately $22 million" from other people in April. The release also touted that $10…

From TWS Online: Thwarting the Clintons, by Fred Barnes. From NRO: To Meet or Not To Meet, by Andrew McCarthy. From TNR: The Clinton Autopsy, by John Judis. From the Times: Missing One Concession Speech, by Gerard Baker. From NRO: Barack Gaffes, by Michelle Malkin.

McClatchy reports: After eight years of stalemate and periodic tension, Israel and Syria announced Wednesday that they have launched "serious and continuous" indirect peace talks aimed at ending one of the region's longest-running disputes. In identical statements issued from Damascus and…

No one has commented here yet on the New Yorker article declaring conservatism dead. My weak stomach makes mining liberal blogs unappealing, but I'm sure there are plenty of posts applauding this obit. But before the left gets too excited, a few words: even if conservatism is dead, it's not at all…

The following is an excerpt from Joe Lieberman's speech at the annual Commentary Fund dinner at New York's University Club this past weekend. You can read the full text here, and his criticism of Obama below. Lieberman's op-ed in today's Journal here. _________________________ "By considering…

In the course of a rambling speech yesterday at the Center for American Progress about why the United States should embrace the anti-American terrorists who run Iran, while abandoning the pro-American moderates who run Iraq, Joe "Malarkey!" Biden attempted to take a couple swings at John McCain's…

In a moment of graciousness, Barack Obama made a rather charitable comment regarding Hillary Clinton last night: "Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age." I realize that in this particular campaign, Obama has…

The Democrats are having a tough time figuring out how to attack John McCain. He's not a doctrinaire Republican, he has bucked his party on numerous occasions and he has a limited affinity for George W. Bush and his policies. Since the Democrats would prefer to be running against the incumbent…

I didn't want to watch Hillary Clinton's "victory" speech last night, but I had to. Since I was analyzing it on TV, I figured I would be derelict in my journalistic duties if I took a nap or switched the studio monitor over to the Celtics game (as I desperately wanted to) while the erstwhile First…

TWO WEEKS AGO, Admiral Eric T. Olson, former Navy SEAL and commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), complained in an interview that U.S. special operations forces are overcommitted and stretched too thin. "We are going to fewer countries, staying for shorter periods of time, and with…

THE LAST PERSON BARACK OBAMA wants as his vice presidential running mate is Hillary Clinton. But could she, with key assistance from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, force her way onto an Obama ticket? The answer: don't bet on it.

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Tapper gets an interview: TAPPER: In recent days it has seemed that some of your staffers and supporters have walked back from your statement that you would be willing to meet with the leaders of rogue nations, countries hostile to the US, without preconditions. Your foreign policy adviser Susan…

Speculation about disgruntled Clinton Democrats defecting to McCain has been one of the subtexts of this very long primary season. I don't buy it. I think Obama will eventually unify the self-identified Democrats and score big margins among these partisans in November. Independents may be a…

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) embarrasses himself: Yesterday, while voting on the war supplemental spending bill in the House of Representatives, I couldn't help but notice a contingent of approximately 20 flag rank Army officers sitting in the House Gallery watching the debate and vote for a…

Politico's Jim VandeHei and Josh Kraushaar report that "the GOP is heading into the 2008 election without a single minority candidate with a plausible chance of winning a campaign for the House, the Senate or governor." The words "plausible chance of winning" are meant to exclude candidates like…

Roggio had an interesting piece the other day on "over the horizon" strikes into Pakistan. There are some technical aspects of such strikes that raise a lot of questions. First of all, "over-the-horizon" implies non-line of sight and a lock-on after launch weapon, probably with some sort of…

Secretary of Defense Gates testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee today. He touched on the failure of Congress to provide funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: "After June 15, we will run out of funds in this account to pay soldiers, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan,"…

This Congress will adjourn in a few months, with little to show for their two years in power. One issue they have steered far away from is the growth of entitlement spending. The Congressional Budget Office has recently responded to a request from Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) for specifics on how…

The New York Times reports: According to the account of Mr. Aubin de La Messuzière, however, his Hamas interlocutors told him nothing that they had not repeatedly stated in public. "They assured me that they were ready to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, which amounts to an…

Sunday night, in advance of the theatrical release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Sci Fi Channel aired its special, Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, hosted by NBC's Lester Holt. Not knowing much about this occult subject (unlike, say, Big Foot or the Amityville Horror), I…

Joe Klein writes: On Friday, I promised to check into whether Obama had ever said that he would negotiate--specifically, by name -- with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Indeed, according to the crack Time Magazine research department and the Obama campaign, he never has. I can't say I'm surprised that Time…

The issue of fighting as a coalition in Afghanistan has been problematic since NATO first assumed a greater role in securing the country. Goldfarb and I have discussed these issues here and here, and I've mentioned "caveats"--the restrictions NATO countries place on their troops to limit when,…

From the New York Post: Success in Iraq: A Media Blackout, by Ralph Peters. From the Wall Street Journal: Obama and the Jews, by Bret Stephens. From the New Nixon: McCain's Vulnerability: Bush's Pessimism, by John H. Taylor. From Pajamas Media: Obama's Iraq Minefield, by Michael Weiss. From Human…

Obama sure has been saying some goofy things lately. First, Obama shocked many of us when he said, "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times...and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK." We can't? Isn't this America? Power…

W.C. Fields had a joke about the closing of bars on Election Day: "That's taking democracy too far!" Sen. Joe Lieberman rightfully feels the same way about al Qaeda and its newest recruiting tool, now available as close as your child's bedroom: Searches on YouTube return dozens of videos branded…

Who's out of touch? Fried shrimp on a bed of jasmine rice and a side of mango salad, all served on a styrofoam plate. Bottled water to wash it all down. These trendy catering treats are unlikely to appear on the menu at parties sponsored by the Denver 2008 Host Committee during the Democratic…

Men's Fitness now has him ranked as one of the 25 "fittest guys" in America. Along with, you know, Tiger Woods, Wladimir Klitschko, Brady Quinn, and assorted other professional athletes and dudes with 5 percent body fat. Is there anything he can't do?

David Freddoso takes a look at the tight primary race between Rep. Don Young and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell for Alaska's lone House seat: Famous for championing such pork projects as the "Bridge to Nowhere," Young last year berated a fellow House Republican on the floor for attempting to remove one of…

Yesterday I posted the news that Geraldine Ferraro may not vote for Barack Obama because of his "terribly sexist" ways. I mocked Ferraro's shrill claim of sexism, but I now realize that perceiving sexist activity is not a strength of mine. Fortunately, a presumed Hillary supporter and definite…

Last night, 24 year-old Red Sox lefty Jon Lester pitched a no-hitter at Fenway Park. Lester is a remarkable story - 20 months ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. Seven months ago, he won the clinching Game 4 of the World Series. And last night, Jon Lester pitched the game of his life, giving Red Sox…

Obama advisor Susan Rice serves up the nuance to Wolf Blitzer: BLITZER: "How does Senator Obama defend that decision to meet without preconditions with a leader like Ahmadinejad?" RICE: "Well, first of all, he said he'd meet with the appropriate Iranian leaders. He hasn't named who that leader will…

FEW IN THE MEDIA HAVE reported it, but the recent governing General Conference of the 11.5 million member United Methodist Church revealed some fascinating new alliances involving American evangelicals, Africans, and Jews.

THE DEVESTATION AND DEATH toll from last week's earthquake centered in China's Sichuan province continues to rise. The quake registered a 7.9 on the Richter Scale (and has been reported as an 8.0 magnitude on some Chinese television networks--roughly equivalent to a 600 megaton explosion) and is…

How could I have missed this one? ObamaForward8.jpg

It was a busy two days on the campaign trail. Yesterday, Barack Obama minimized the threat Iran poses, spontaneously burbling, "Iran may spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance." The right wing blogosphere,…

See Jonathan Chait rant.

So much Lieberman in the news today. First, Joe gave a speech at the annual Commentary Fund dinner at New York's University Club. I haven't seen a copy of the text yet, but it is getting rave reviews. Jennifer Rubin has a write up of the speech here and there's another from Larry Kudlow at the…

McCain has ties to lobbyists who have represented some odious regimes, and he has since ushered them out of his campaign as he rightly should have. But Obama, well, he's one-upped McCain: Craig is not a peripheral figure in the Obama campaign. He was among the earliest senior Washington figures…

Israel gets its first Hooters: Ofer Ahiraz, a gray-haired 48-year-old, wears a finely-pressed white button-down shirt and flashes a warm, all-around-good-guy smile. He and his wife Ilana live with their three children, ages 17 to 22, in Givatayim. They opened the Hooters franchise last November,…

Brian Schaffner points out a potential oddity in this week's Oregon primary. The state has a vote-by-mail system, so while the election's tomorrow, many of Oregon's citizens have already voted. That makes polling a little more challenging. So here's the interesting twist in two recent surveys.…

Bloomberg's Juliana Goldman takes note of the Obama campaign's clumsy attempts to tack rightwards: The flag pin that appeared on Barack Obama's lapel is just the opening salvo of Operation Patriotism for the Democratic presidential candidate… The campaign also will roll out more supporters among…

Global warming -- what CAN'T it do? Hurricanes and tropical storms will become less frequent by the end of the century as a result of climate change, US researchers have suggested. But the scientists added their data also showed that there would be a "modest increase" in the intensity of these…

Obama goes after McCain at townhall today: "We need a president who sees government not as a tool to enrich friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American," Obama said at a town hall meeting here. Isn't that a little rich, considering the…

The Democrats always tell us that addressing our energy needs requires a long-term plan that includes some tough choices. Apparently the first such choice is outlawing OPEC: With oil prices hitting new highs almost daily, the House was scheduled to take up legislation Monday intended to make…

This morning Dean posted the video of Obama's comments in Oregon yesterday: I mean think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us....You know, Iran, they spend one-one…

Although it's not getting much play in the states, the British media is picking up John McCain's proposal for an American Prime Minister's Questions. In a speech in Columbus Ohio, he will say: "I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address…

nancy39.jpg Yes Nancy, the surge is working.

Since the devastating earthquake a week ago today, Beijing has loosened its grip on the press and the Internet. Last Friday, in an effort to provide greater transparency and accountability, officials from the education and housing ministries appeared on People's Daily Online and addressed, in real…

The former Klan member endorses Obama: "Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support," Byrd says. Would Byrd endorse a Jew for president, or a Muslim? I'll be eagerly waiting the left's denunciation of Byrd for injecting religion into his…

The wages of identity politics continue to ravage the Democratic party. Now comes a blow of the cruelest sort. Path breaking gyno-politician Geraldine Ferraro has told the New York Times she might not vote for Barack Obama if he's the Democratic nominee (which of course he will be). What has driven…

Barack Obama complains about Japan's closed market: Speaking to a crowd of farmers in a barn, Barack Obama cited the Japanese not selling American beef as an example of how current trade policies have hurt rural communities. "You can't get American beef into Japan…even though we have the highest…

From the New York Times: McCain Exceptionalism, by the boss. From the Wall Street Journal: Bring on the Foreign Policy Debate, by John Bolton. From the New York Sun: The Logic of Lieberman, by the editors. From Real Clear Politics: The Year of the 'Sweetie', by Susan Estrich. From Powerline: Oh,…

The world is atwitter over the Beatle-esque crowd that greeted Barack Obama in Oregon yesterday. But if the most recent polls are to be believed, he's going to need all of them to show up at the polls to salvage a respectable win: In Oregon, Obama (45 percent) led Clinton (41 percent) by 4 points,…

Dean has an excellent analysis of Obama's simplistic foreign policy views, but I thought I'd append some numbers that help give perspective: Iran today 1,648,000 square km 66 million people Germany in 1939 (after annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland) 586,000 sq. km 80 million people Japan in…

A new poll conducted by Israel's Television Channel 10 was released over the weekend: What would you prefer for the Government of Israel to do today: reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas or continue the war against it? Total: Reach deal 33% Continue war 56% Other replies 11% Should the IDF act…

The McCain campaign notes that on yesterday's talk shows, three prominent Democrats distanced themselves and their candidate from his call for direct, presidential talks with the leaders of rogue states. On This Week, Joe Biden explained that Obama had given the "wrong answer" at last summer's…

In a speech in Oregon last night, Barack Obama continued to display his lack of sophistication regarding world affairs. "Iran may spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military," observed the long time community organizer. "If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a…

Hillary talks to Wolf Blitzer: "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that anyone who supported me -- the 17 million people who have voted for me -- understand what a grave error it would be not to vote for Sen. McCain . . . uh, Sen. Obama, and against Sen. McCain." Message received…

Yesterday, the Celtics won a thrilling Game 7 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. For what it's worth, here are the scattered thoughts of an emotionally exhausted and more-frustrated-than-delighted Celtics fan. The parallels between yesterday's Paul Pierce/LeBron James match-up and the legendary…

While news reports like to speak of a "resurgent Taliban" in Afghanistan, in the 14 provinces that make up Regional Command East in Afghanistan they are a defeated military force. Not only do the Taliban refuse to engage American forces directly, they have not won an engagement with the Afghan…

Iron Man

Thwart. Yes, thwart is a good word. Thwarted. Athwart. A kind of satisfaction lives in such words--a unity, a completion. Teach them to a child, and you'll see what I mean: skirt, scalp, drab, buckle, sneaker, twist, jumble. Squeamish, for that matter. They taste good in the mouth, and they seem to…

What are we going to do about Iran? When Hillary Clinton surreally promised to obliterate the Islamic Republic if the mullahs nuked Israel, she at least recognized that a nuclear-armed clerical regime is a serious menace, and that successful diplomacy with Tehran without the threat of force is…

First, the good news. Conservatives won a sweeping victory in an enormously important election the week before last. Unfortunately, it happened in England, where Boris Johnson won the race for mayor of London and Conservatives trounced Labour all across the country. Now, the bad news. Prospects for…

Living Like Ed

To the question of the moment--What did Barack Obama know and when did he know it?--I answer, Obama knew everything, and he's known it for ages. Far from succumbing to surprise and shock after Jeremiah Wright's disastrous performance at the National Press Club, Barack Obama must have long been…

Ask What You Can Do for Your Own Boss

Those who love opera can scarcely imagine a world without it. Yet on the very face of it--what a queer notion it is to translate drama into song, and to saturate this nonpareil artistic outpouring with emotion so extravagant that it bears the scantest resemblance even to the most heightened…

MCCAIN'S VIRTUE

America's Rasputin

There's the war in Iraq and then there is the war over the war in Iraq. The first is about gaining ground against the sectarian militias and terrorists who plague that country. The second is about storytelling.

London

Forgotten Continent

This Common Secret

During a campaign debate on April 16, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were asked if the District of Columbia's ban on gun possession, now facing a challenge before the Supreme Court, is constitutional. "I think a total ban, with no exceptions under any circumstances, might be found by the Court…

Eight months from now America will have its first president in nearly five decades with zero executive branch experience at the federal or state level. The shock to the new occupant of the Oval Office will be profound. Within a matter of weeks he will have to fill about 1,500 jobs and propose a…

Obama in Oregon yesterday: Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries. "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as…

The Washington Post reports: "There's gale-force pressure for Obama to choose a Clinton loyalist as a running mate to heal the party but avoid putting her and her formidable baggage on the ticket," said one Obama ally in Washington. "You hear the names [Ohio Gov. Ted] Strickland, [Indiana Sen.…

The Washington Post says McCain should be afraid: Sen. John McCain is champing at the bit to run against Sen. Barack Obama in the fall. But while the presumptive GOP nominee focuses on his likely Democratic rival, he should also worry about his own right flank. Bob Barr entered the presidential…

Nancy Pelosi was in Baghdad yesterday, where she got a rather chilly reception from the Iraqi people--or at least the Iraqis who are on our side. As Time reports, "for all of Pelosi's unpopularity, in many ways she got a nicer arrival treatment than the last senior female American official to…

On Friday I noted this column by Bruce Ramsey in the Seattle Times. Rather than rebuke the president for his speech in Israel comparing those who sought to appease Hitler with those who would now appease terrorist groups and their sponsors, Ramsey defended Chamberlain's appeasement outright: What…

Barack Obama continued to display his surprisingly flimsy grasp of American history yesterday. "This whole notion of not talking to people," began the longtime community organizer. "It didn't hold in the '60s, it didn't hold in the '70s ... When Kennedy met with (Soviet leader Nikita) Khrushchev,…

Here's the transcript: CNN'S DANA BASH: "You remember these interviews were done shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian elections. Lou, the McCain campaign just in the past couple of hours, found a link to more of Jamie Rubin's interview from back then. In it, I'll read you a quote from the rest…

Bruce Ramsey writes in defense of appeasement at the Seattle Times: Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to "negotiate with terrorists and radicals" is "appeasement." The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the…

On May 15, a convoy transporting two Iranian diplomats was ambushed as it traveled to "a revered Shiite shrine" in the western Baghdad district of Kadimiyah. The two Iranian diplomats and "an Iranian and an Iraqi administrative employee" were wounded in the ambush, the AP reported. Iran's foreign…

Paul Maslin, a respected Democratic pollster who worked for Howard Dean in 2004 and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's presidential campaign in 2008, posts this thoughtful analysis about how Barack Obama gets the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House in November. Maslin's analysis…

Recent actions by Senate Democrats put the lie to the claim that they want to wean the U.S. off our dependence on foreign oil. Yesterday, in a strict party-line vote, Senate Democrats defeated an amendment to lift a moratorium on oil shale development in Colorado: The moratorium prevents the…

This would be an awfully narrow win: Clinton 45% Obama 50% Undecided 5% According to the Real Clear Politics summary, Obama has led by 20, 14, and 12 in the most recent polls. And the American Research Group poll released today is not a victim of small sample size, at least: It's a poll of 600…

Jennifer Rubin has a good suggestion for McCain: But chances are that there will be an even larger Democratic Congressional majority come next year. One consequence of this very safe projection might be that McCain will start running on that old crowd-pleaser, divided government. The prospect of a…

From the New York Times: Obama Admires Bush, by David Brooks. From the Wall Street Journal: Flirting With Disaster, by John Fund. From the Times: Barack Obama: the new Great Redeemer, by Gerard Baker. From Pajamas Media: How Iran is Killing U.S. Troops, by Bob Owens. From the Washington Post:…

Obviously at the heart of yesterday's little tussle over the president's speech in Israel was the question of whether or not Barack Obama is tough enough to be president. This meme has been bubbling for a while. Even the New York Times' Bob Herbert suggested that Obama was a wimp (in so many words)…

Mark Ambinder is reporting that the White House sought to "get" Jimmy Carter, not Barack Obama, in George W. Bush's speech yesterday. He's wrong. What Ed Gillespie actually said was that the White House anticipated that the passage in question might be interpreted as an attack on Carter, not that…

Obama responds to Bush and McCain: "That was frustrating enough," he said of Bush's words. "Then John McCain gives a speech. He gave a speech in the morning where he talked about the need for civility in our politics. He talked about elevating the tone in our country.... Not an hour later, he…

That didn't take long. The video of McCain on the same day, in the same clothes, and saying basically the same thing, although this time in a way that some dishonest lefty like Rubin can't possibly twist it to make it sound different. The other video can be seen here, still being touted by HuffPo…

James Rubin argues that it's McCain who's really soft on Hamas: I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?" McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are…

A key House Committee has approved legislation that addresses the controversial tanker contract awarded by the Air Force to an EADS consortium, instead of a rival Boeing bid. But the legislation leaves the status quo in place -- at least for now: House defense authorizers are directing the Air…

This is a surprise: "Based on our careful and comprehensive forensic examination of each of the eight seized FARC computer exhibits and on consideration of all the evidence reviewed by our experts, Interpol concludes that there was no tampering with any data on the computer exhibits following their…

Hopefully the Senate will remember that our troops deserve to be armed, fed, and paid: The House voted 141-149, with 132 Republicans voting present, to reject the war funding portion of the supplemental spending bill. The vote means the Senate will have to add the money to the bill. The Senate…

In the wake of President Bush's speech to the Knesset yesterday in which he criticized those who would negotiate with "terrorists and radicals" as delusional types who seek the "false comfort of appeasement," many on the left have had a meltdown. They've been so vituperative, one would have thought…

IT ONLY TOOK 61 years, but Paraguay's conservative Colorado Party finally lost an election. In last month's presidential poll, a plurality of voters cast ballots for Fernando Lugo, a left-wing candidate who does not belong to an organized political party. Lugo focused his campaign on poverty, rural…

HOT ON THE HEELS of the first blockbuster of the Summer season (Iron Man) we have its first bomb: Speed Racer, the $120 million Wachowski Brothers production, grossed only $18.5 million in its first weekend. Reviewers were no kinder than the audience: It rates only 36 percent "fresh" on the…

AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE world's first vineyards, Georgia (the country, not the home of Michael Vick's unfortunate employer), might not seem the likeliest spot for a conflict that could derail critical U.S. foreign policy interests.

As President Bush's speech today continues to cause the Democratic party to spiral into spluttering, expletive-spewing fury, it's worth taking a step back for a moment and asking what the reaction of the Israelis seated at the Knesset was to the supposedly controversial remarks. Were they shocked…

In another blogger call this afternoon, McCain continued to hammer at Obama's willingness to meet personally and without precondition with the leaders of the world's most odious regimes. Echoing a statement he'd made earlier today, McCain asked: If Senator Obama wants to sit down across the table…

This is reminiscent of Obama's '100 year war' lie: Now, when John McCain came to Michigan in January and said that we couldn't bring back all the jobs that had been lost back to America, he was right. We can't bring back every single job. But where he's wrong was in suggesting that there's nothing…

President Bush, speaking to the Israeli Knesset, today: Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in…

In February, many commentators lauded the elections in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)--in which the region's religious parties were swept out of power in favor of secular-minded parties--as a major victory in the war on terror. Others warned at the time that the significance of the…

The approval rate for Congress has now fallen to just 18 percent. Considering how unpopular the Democratic Congress has become, it's amazing Republicans continue to lose seats. (To paraphrase Jon Lovitz as Mike Dukakis, 'I can't believe I'm losing to this guy!') Freedom's Watch points out how you…

CBS: Calling Barack Obama naïve and inexperienced, John McCain sharpened the Republican criticism that President Bush alluded to earlier today. "Why does Barack Obama want to sit down with a state sponsor of terrorism?" McCain asked today, referring to Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iranian…

The Wall Street Journal reports: As we content ourselves with the fallacy that never again shall we have to fight large, technological opponents, China is transforming its forces into a full-spectrum military capable of major operations and remote power projection. Eventually the twain shall meet.…

PH2007101901653.jpg Will Obama and Edwards be hoping and changing together?

On MSNBC a few minutes ago, Senator John Kerry was on, furiously trying to explain Barack Obama's increasingly tortuous position on Iran. (Kerry as Obama's foreign policy proxy? You know where this is going…) Senator Kerry attempted to claim that Obama doesn't necessarily want direct,…

The GI Film Festival in Washington, DC: The GI Film Festival (GIFF), a 501 c(3) non-profit organization, is the first film festival in the nation to exclusively celebrate the successes and sacrifices of the American military through the medium of film. The four-day festival will be held on May…

The U.S. military appears to have conducted yet another "over-the-horizon" strike into Pakistan's Taliban and al Qaeda-controlled tribal areas. At least 14 Pakistanis and "foreigners" - which means al Qaeda - were killed in a missile attack on the home of a Taliban commander in the tribal agency of…

I never knew Republicans had so many strategists. It's hard to avoid the free advice crowd today in Washington. Secret meetings, public meetings, secret meetings that become public -- if the GOP had a swimming pool, they could fill it with the perspiration from all the hand-wringing and sweaty…

The president speaks to the Knesset: "Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," Bush said at Israel's 60th anniversary celebration in Jerusalem. "We have heard this foolish delusion…

Above is John McCain's new campaign ad. In spite of Powers Boothe's stirring narration, I have to confess to being less than thrilled with the spot. The ad boasts that at the end of John McCain's first term, the Middle East will be "stabilized," the nuclear terror threat "reduced," border security…

April 30 marked the 33rd anniversary of Saigon's fall to the North Vietnamese Communists. The former capital of South Vietnam is now called Ho Chi Minh City, a name that better reflects Vietnam's past than its present and future. As John O'Sullivan has observed, "A Martian landing in Saigon or…

The New York Times Magazine is running a long profile by political reporter Matt Bai on John McCain's foreign policy vision this weekend. Although the story of McCain's foreign policy expertise and record is sufficiently sterling that even the Times has a hard time sliming him, it's not for lack of…

Over at Real Clear Politics, Tom Coburn responds to Michael Gerson's "contemptuous and factually loose" Washington Post column that smears the "Coburn seven" for not caring about AIDS victims enough: Part of Gerson's moral outrage is focused on my controversial stance that AIDS treatment dollars be…

Virginia Rep. Tom Davis has circulated a lengthy memo to the Republican leadership warning of the serious dangers the party faces heading into the November election. Davis writes: The political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than…

I've been waiting patiently for Matthew Yglesias to explain the sudden end to Obama's "Accidental Foreign Policy," which met its demise over the weekend with a report in the New York Times that the candidate does not now, nor has he ever, supported direct and immediate talks with the leader of…

Obama made the biggest blunder of his campaign in agreeing in theory to do town halls with John McCain, and not just because he will inadvertently reveal his extreme left-wing agenda. McCain has a decade experience endearing town hall audiences with his wry sense of humor and turning hostile…

A central complaint of Congressional Democrats in explaining their opposition to a vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement was to cite the alleged failure of that country to do enough to oppose paramilitary groups. President Alvaro Uribe is therefore seeking to take away that objection: House…

That's what this amounts to, isn't it? A group of Democratic Senators Tuesday threatened to block a multi-million dollar US arms deal with Saudi Arabia, unless the kingdom ups oil production and helps cut soaring gasoline prices. The senators introduced a resolution of disapproval on the arms sale,…

Ronald Reagan ran against Washington in 1980, saying the federal government was "part of the problem, not the solution." He was responding to the public mood not long after Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech. The hapless one-term president from Georgia's handling of everything from hyperinflation, to…

From the Financial Times: The Case for a League of Democracies, by Robert Kagan. From the New York Post: Enabling Hezbollah, by Ralph Peters. From the New York Times: Aid at the Point of a Gun, by Robert Kaplan. From National Review: Hillary Not Going Anywhere, by Byron York. From Contentions:…

Edward N. Luttwak is one of the foremost strategic thinkers of our time, a far-sighted man given to challenging conventional wisdom in a manner guaranteed both to get public attention and generate controversy. This one-time enfant terrible of strategic analysis, author of such classic works as Coup…

It's a novel approach: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday called for the elimination of the House rule that prohibits holding votes open for the purpose of changing the outcome. "Rule 2(a) is not enforceable," Hoyer told the Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of…

Your good Cardinal has done some happy work among the good people of Puerto Rico, so I cannot help but opine a little on all this Hillary talk about her coming landslide in the sunny Commonwealth. Puerto Rican politics are very organizational and somewhat boss-oriented. Political bosses firmly…

Just over one and a half years ago, Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq's leader, was riding high. His terror group seemingly brought the U.S. to the edge of withdrawal in Iraq. His tactics may have cost the Republican party the 2006 midterm elections. He worked to unite disparate Sunni militants…

The big election related news from yesterday had nothing to do with the nothing-burger in West Virginia. Sorry Clinton dead-enders - it's still over. The big news came from Mississippi where in a special congressional election, Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis, 53-47.…

Somewhere in an Iraqi prison, Saddam's famous "up is down" spin king Tariq Aziz is watching HRC's West Virginia "victory" speech with considerable professional respect and saying, "Not bad." This is becoming silly. The Clintons have always seen the truth as a sort of Silly Putty, something easily…

Harry Reid and the Democrats promised in 2006 The Frist & Hastert Reform: Prohibit "Dead of Night" Special Interest Provisions. Require that all conference committee meetings be open to the public and that members of the conference committee have a public opportunity to vote on all amendments.…

Iran's kook-in-chief is once again rattling his beheading scimitar in Israel's direction: Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Israel would "be soon swept away" from the Palestinian Territories by the Palestinians. It is the second time within less than three years that…

Chuck Hagel refuses to rule out the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket: "I don't expect to be on anyone's ticket this year. I don't expect to be in anyone's government next year," Hagel, who is retiring from the Senate this year, told John Roberts on CNN's American Morning. But would…

Abe Greenwald: There is one possibility that explains the reappearance of the flag pin as something other than pandering. Perhaps, like his wife Michelle, Obama is for the first time in his adult life, proud of his country. In making him the Democratic nominee, the U.S. has earned his patriotism at…

Reihan Salam has a typically thoughtful take on events in Basra. His bottom line: At first, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's decision to confront Moqtada al-Sadr's Iranian-backed militas looked like a major strategic misstep. Now it appears to have transformed Iraqi politics, potentially…

According to the Financial Times, "Lycos Europe, a vestige of one of the first internet search engines, is touting itself as a possible acquisition target for a US media or telecoms group seeking scale in Europe's fragmented online markets." Note to the company that buys Lycos: I just found an…

Variety reports: Producer Robert Moresco ("Million Dollar Baby," "Crash") has partnered with Artist Relations Group to produce a biopic about Fidel Castro's exiled daughter, Alina Fernandez. Castro recently ceded power to his brother Raul after almost 50 years in power. Story, set in 1958, begins…

It's received relatively little attention, but even more information is emerging from FARC leader Paul Reyes's computers, which were recovered by the Colombian government after his death. And the evidence suggests that Chavez was working hard to upgrade FARC's weaponry and reach: The…

Primary election enthusiasm doesn't guarantee general election wins. A general election win requires hard work, organization, and an effective primary follow-up plan to keep excitement stoked--and even then there are no sure things. This piece by Donald Lambro in yesterday's Washington Times sums…

Newsweek hearts Obama

In the course of Obama's winding interview with Jeffrey Goldberg yesterday, there was very little discussion of the substantive issues that impede a comprehensive settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Obama briefly touched on Israeli settlements, which "at this juncture are not helpful"…

Each day seems to bring another step backwards in the effort of Congressional Republicans to make up ground against the Democratic majority. Today the question is whether GOP Congressman Vito Fossella of Staten Island will be forced to step down in the wake of his DWI arrest, and the revelation of…

Spencer Ackerman posts an IM conversation he had yesterday with a friend who lives in Iraqi Kurdistan: Bilal Wahab: my point is that Obama and Clinton are not clear on Iraq, at least from here Ackerman: you think they're saying "end the war, but not immediately"? or …? or just not thinking about…

From THE WEEKLY STANDARD: The War Over the War, by Reihan Salam. From National Review: Obama Rules, by Rich Lowry. From TNR: The Big Race, by John B. Judis. From Contentions: The World's Largest Trope, by John Podhoretz. From the Los Angeles Times: Why We Need Nukes and Gitmo, by Jonah Goldberg.

With the denouement of Spygate mercifully near, a fascinating piece appeared on an ESPN chat board. Written by a guy styling himself "NEInsider," it ostensibly gave the Patriots' side of the story. A sample: We were wrong and made a mistake. We as an organization failed and it will never happen…

Reacting to the news that Barack Obama has indicated a willingness to appear with John McCain at town halls over the course of the campaign, Dean Barnett calls Obama "the king of the teleprompter" and further argues that "Obama does poorly at debates, and is a weak extemporaneous speaker." Dean's…

The indefatigable Jake Tapper has tallied ten times where Barack Obama has blamed his staff for some sort of foul-up. A sample: (Sunday), in an interesting New York Times look at Obama's rise in Chicago politics, we learned that in 2004 some Jewish supporters became alarmed to learn that in a…

You've heard about Obama's Atlantic interview. You've witnessed some House Republicans' painfully lame effort to distort his "sore" comment. But here's a nugget that I haven't seen commented on anywhere else. Quoth the presumptive nominee: "You know, when I think about the Zionist idea, I think…

Maybe they're just conducting a thorough investigation, but there doesn't seem to be anything to investigate. On Friday, Josh Patashnik posted an item to the magazine's Environment & Energy blog in which he asserted with near certainty that hurricanes have "becomes more intense, on balance, as the…

According to the Wall Street Journal, Fannie Mae is riding to the rescue of as many as 150,000 struggling homeowners by offering to refinance up to 120% of the property value of the homes it insures: "We're saying to the consumer, 'You're not trapped any more,'" said Jeff Hayward, a senior vice…

THE MONEY MEN SAY it is over. The economists say it has just begun. And the politicians are loving every minute of it. Perhaps it all depends on what the meaning of the word "it" is.

J-11B_+_J-8F_2x (2).jpg The J-11B fighter seen in the foreground is Chinese industry

John Boehner puts out a statement in response to Obama's interview with Jeffrey Goldberg: "Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a ‘constant sore' as Barack Obama claims. Obama's latest remark, and his commitment to ‘opening a dialogue' with…

From Matt Duss at Think Progress: The attacks of 9/11 made bin Laden a major figure in Arab media and culture; the decision by Bush and the neocons to cast him as the sinister leader of a global Islamofascist movement made him a legend. Simply put, Bush's policy response to 9/11 has done more to…

Dan McLaughlin (who blogs as the Baseball Crank) has written what may well be the seminal essay to date on Barack Obama's experience, or what little there is of it. By all means take a few minutes and read the whole thing, but here's a sample: He's never run anything at all, not even a small law…

Once you put it together with Jennifer Chou's details about the religious crackdown in China in advance of the Olympics, does this mean Beijing is pursuing a 'good cop/bad cop' strategy? A senior Chinese official has asked whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the…

In light of today's New York Times story on the success in Basra ("In a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city, to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi…

Andrew Sullivan calls our attention to this essay by John C. Hulsman and A. Wess Mitchell which attempts to view our current politics through the prism of "The Godfather." While this is of course a noble exercise since "The Godfather" can shed light on all areas of human endeavor, the authors are…

The House Democratic Blue Dogs have enshrined one policy goal above all others: balancing the federal budget. So far this Congress they've rolled over and allowed Democratic leaders to push through legislation to increase spending and maintain existing tax rates, even where such moves have expanded…

House Republicans, who will unveil their "Change You Deserve" agenda later this week, released a memo today outlining their plan's broad principles and rationale. Also included in the memo were a set of legislative proposals called The American Families Agenda. Measures in the package include:…

Courtesy of Mary Katherine Ham, who writes: I've heard about the so-called "Obamacans," Republicans who allegedly fall head over heels for Obama's message of hope. I'm assuming the sign above, spotted in Durham, is targeting "Obamacoms," the 20-something, untucked, college-educated students of Marx…

Craig Crawford points out that West Virginia -- which seems about to reject Barack Obama by an overwhelming margin -- has picked the winner of the White House in every presidential election since 1916: West Virginia might not matter to Barack Obama's tightening grip on the Democratic nomination,…

Senate Republicans face a difficult electoral map this November--23 GOP seats up for reelection, compared to only 12 for Democrats. The open GOP seats in Virginia (which most consider already lost to former Democratic Governor Mark Warner), Colorado, and New Mexico look very challenging. Moreover,…

It's been plenty fun watching what Dean Barrett refers to as the Fall of the House of Clinton (although, as a fan of old horror movies, I lean toward the House of Clintonstein). Still, I urge my fellow righties not to succumb to our own version of Nixon Hatred Syndrome--a disease afflicting many on…

With less than 100 days to go before the Beijing Olympics, China has stepped up its crackdown on the country's underground Christian church. Since the beginning of May, the authorities have conducted at least eight raids on house churches. The latest such incident took place yesterday in Beijing.…

Jeffrey Goldberg scores an interview with Obama on Israel. A few comments jump out, starting with this one: One of the things that is frustrating about the recent conversations on Israel is the loss of what I think is the natural affinity between the African-American community and the Jewish…

The Obama veep discussion yesterday on This Week (via Newsbusters): COKIE ROBERTS: I don't think that it's good for the Democratic Party to have two liberal Senators from states that are going to go Democratic anyway. I mean, he needs a Bible-thumping, gun-owning, white guy from a swing state. I…

Over the weekend, bloggers discussed a few more of Obama's problems. And as these bloggers note, you have to rely on the blogs to hear about these issues, since the mainstream media just loves him too much. First, Obama had to get rid of yet another friend. Obama fired Robert Malley, his Middle…

From the New York Times: The Jewish State at 60, by the boss. From Fox News: Could Obama Be Another Dukakis? by Susan Estrich. From the Los Angeles Times: South Africa's Unseemly Alliance, by Jamie Kirchick. From ABC News: Dems to Clinton: Don't Say Anything to Hurt Us, by Jake Tapper. From…

This sounds odd. Bloomberg reports that Barack Obama, the king of the teleprompter, is "willing" to debate John McCain at Town Halls during this campaign season. Presumably, there would be no teleprompters available to tell Obama what to say at such forums, so agreeing to such a format would be a…

For the past month and a half, the Democrats and their anti-war propagandists have had a very clear narrative about what happened in Basra since Prime Minister Maliki ordered an offensive there on March 24. First, they said, Basra proves that the Iraqi Security Forces remain feckless and…

Mark Halperin does the math: Number of convincing explanations the Obama campaign has given for why he won't be competitive with Clinton in West Virginia: 0 Number of endgame visits by Obama to West Virginia: 1 Number (as a percentage) Hillary Clinton has to get of the vote in West Virginia for the…

The AP reports: At this huge oil field in southwest Iran, one building stands out among the pumps and maze of pipelines: On its roof in giant letters, big enough for satellites or pilots to see, are the words: "We can do it." It was the catchphrase of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, though it does…

Much was said over the weekend regarding Barack Obama's abandonment of his previous promise to talk to our most bitter enemies, just like Roosevelt did with Hitler and the Japanese. In case you haven't heard of this little situation, it's quite something. During the YouTube debate last July, Obama…

Much has been written about John McCain's presidential campaign, about his conservative ideology (or insufficient supply thereof), about his age, his military service, and his remarkable life story. Most of what's been written, however, proceeds from the assumption that McCain, for all his maverick…

Smooth Operator

In the old TV commercials for the E.F. Hutton brokerage firm, conversations would come to a screeching halt when someone dropped the Hutton name, and everyone would lean in to hear what E.F. Hutton was advising. The tagline: "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen." The Washington version of this is…

'Strange new respect' is the term coined by Tom Bethell, an unhappy conservative, to describe the press adulation given those who drift leftward, those who grow "mature," "wise," and "thoughtful" as they cause apoplexy in right-wingers, and leave their old allies behind. But no new respect has been…

Can bad companies fund good research? That's the question raised by recent reports of a promising new test for lung cancer, which turns out to have been developed with funding from a leading tobacco company.

Symmetry

Over the past 40 years, starting with the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, Congress has sought to guarantee the right of every American citizen to vote. But there is still a large and significant group of Americans who are needlessly disenfranchised: the millions of men and women who serve…

On the inside back cover of books published by Gallup Press there is the following breathtaking statement:

Speed Racer

Space Vulture

Every spring in Washington, a ritual commences with the predictability of the cherry blossoms blooming around the Tidal Basin or the silvery hickory shad making their spawning run up the Potomac. Frumpy reporters put on their party heels and enshroud their hunchbacks in Men's Wearhouse tuxedos,…

A Conservative History of the American Left

Billy Graham

Last week's highly entertaining episode of the Jeremiah Wright Show didn't tell us anything new about the demagogic reverend. He stands by his sick notion that American foreign policy and jihadist terrorism are equivalent, his defense of Louis Farrakhan, and his wacky conspiracy theory that the…

Friends of Zimbabwe have long hoped for a peaceful transfer of power in that country. But in spite of losing the March 29 elections to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the regime of Robert Mugabe is clinging to power. Once again, the world's democracies look to Zimbabwe's…

You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

STUDY THE TRIBES

The cover story in this week's issue of Newsweek includes this bit of objective analysis: The Republican Party has been successfully scaring voters since 1968, when Richard Nixon built a Silent Majority out of lower- and middle-class folks frightened or disturbed by hippies and student radicals and…

From yesterday's front-page love note to Obama in the Times: But for all of Mr. Obama's attentiveness to Jewish concerns about Israel, Republican Party officials have made it clear that they think this is an area of vulnerability. Though Mr. Obama has condemned Hamas, a militant Palestinian group,…

New York Times reporter Larry Rohter wrote yesterday: But important nuances appear to have been lost in the partisan salvos, particularly on Mr. McCain's side. An examination of Mr. Obama's numerous public statements on the subjects indicates that he has consistently condemned Hamas as a "terrorist…

It's not just the Obama campaign's denials that are disingenuous. The New York Times article that includes those misleading comments is designed as something of a corrective to the McCain campaign's supposed distortions. But important nuances appear to have been lost in the partisan salvos,…

With regard to Obama's sudden climbdown, if that's what it is, from earlier pledges to meet directly with the leaders of Iran, Syria, and North Korea during his first year in office, I just cracked the new issue of the Atlantic and see that Matthew Yglesias has a piece titled "The Accidental…

In today's New York Times, the Obama campaign clarifies their position on holding talks with Iran: Susan E. Rice, a former State Department and National Security Council official who is a foreign policy adviser to the Democratic candidate, said that "for political purposes, Senator Obama's…

Of all the scummy things the Hezbollah and its allies have done during their takeover of West Beirut, the burning of pro-government media outlets is one of the worst. Prominent anti-Syrian media figures have long been the target of political violence: journalists Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni were…

Earlier this week, Germany's ruling conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group boldly called for the creation of a new "National Security Council." The German NSC would be tasked with coordinating the country's various ministries and agencies as they manage foreign and security policy challenges at…

Here's a patriotic lapel pin that Barack Obama can wear with pride. After all, I think it's safe to say that no one else is wearing this pin -- due to false patriotism or any other reason.

What's the right message for Democrats trying to beat John McCain? It's not the one that the Democratic base wants to hear -- that McCain is just like George Bush -- for reasons that ought to be obvious. The Democrats have chosen to run the same campaign against McCain as they would have run…

On the Environment & Energy blog run by our good friends at the New Republic, Josh Patashnik defends Al Gore's unverifiable claim that the severity of Cyclone Nargis "might be associated with continued global warming." Patashnik's first mistake is to call the storm a typhoon--three times. There are…

By now you've seen the footage of Barack Obama ruing the fact that he hasn't been able to visit all 57 states in this great union of ours. If you haven't, scroll down a bit and read Goldfarb's post on the matter. I'll wait. This faux pas is beyond weird; I know the guy is tired, but "How many…

Ambinder assures us that Obama is simply "tired, nothing more." I guess he was also pretty tired last week when he didn't know what month it was, or how many months were left until the election (he thought it was March and that there were nine months left until November). If McCain made these kind…

ARG:

If you get your news from NPR, the television networks, the New York Times and the newsweeklies, you could be forgiven if you believe that most of the alleged terrorists the United States is holding (and mistreating) at Guantanamo Bay are of the wrong-place, wrong-time variety. You know, the…

I'll qualify this by saying that it's always a bit of a cheap stunt to pull comments off a website and hold them up as representative of the website as a whole, or indicative of the kind of ideas that drive that particular online community. On any given day, if one were to take a sampling of…

In honor of this weekend's The Players Championship, or simply The Players as it now prefers to be called, here's a completely irrelevant although politically resonant Lee Trevino anecdote that appeared in the latest issue of Golf Digest: Speaking of fistfights, the last one I had was in 1978 with…

As noted last night, reports of the capture of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al Masri must be tempered with healthy a dose of caution until the U.S. military can confirmed the news. This morning, the U.S. spokeswoman in northern Iraq said al Masri was not in the U.S. military's custody, nor has…

Roll Call has the story: The Clinton campaign, arguing that the New York Senator is the more electable candidate nationally against the presumptive GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), pointed out to reporters Friday morning that she has beaten Obama in 16 of 20 House districts that went for…

Polls consistently show that the American people have a greater appetite for expanded, activist government than they have in recent memory. A key for the election will be for McCain to demonstrate that apart from being too naive to protect the nation from terrorist threats, Obama will also…

The American Petroleum Institute explains effectively that a huge swath of the American public owns shares in the energy companies that Democrats are blaming for high oil prices: 29.5 percent of U.S. oil and natural gas company shares are owned by mutual funds and other firms 27 percent are owned…

Hezbollah does seem to have the upper hand in Lebanon at the moment, and while David Kenner reports that, "Now more than ever, the Sunni, Druze and Christian communities are firmly aligned on the side of the central government," that may not be worth much if they are only united in getting…

From TWS Online: The War for Lebanon, by David Kenner. From the Denver Post: Obama's Radicalism on Judges, by David Harsanyi. From Real Clear Politics: Obama Needs a History Lesson, by Jack Kelly. From Stars & Stripes: Military Says Porn Ban May Hurt Morale, by Seth Robson. From the Wall Street…

George Washington University political scientist John Sides believes the mainstream media hand wringing about whether Obama will unify the Democrats is without merit. Sides argues the exit polls are unreliable predictors of Democrats' ultimate behavior in November. And, he offers some research to…

Rasmussen's Daily Tracking Poll shows Barack Obama opening up an eight point lead over the Lioness of Tuzla. Six days ago, Hillary led by three. For those of you who flunked remedial math or happen to be Philadelphia Eagle fans, that's an 11 point swing in less than a week. The cause? One of the…

In an editorial today, the New York Times bashes the Republican candidate who received her endorsement some four months ago: So far, Senator John McCain is shaping up as Bush the Sequel - neverending war in Iraq, tax cuts for the rich while the middle class struggles, courts packed with right-wing…

Michael Gerson with our quote of the day: The issue of the lapel flag pin is a good illustration. Obama's explanation for its absence -- that it had become a "substitute" for "true patriotism" in the aftermath of 9/11 -- is perfectly rational. For a professor at the University of Chicago. Members…

To help you better enjoy the Fall of the House of the Clinton, I present to you the above footage of Bill Clinton angrily quarreling with a voter at a sparsely attended West Virginia forum yesterday. Behold the righteous anger! Enjoy! By the way, for those of you wondering why the Clintons fight so…

Deftly pivoting on a dime, the Obama campaign has emphatically declared the irrelevancy of the Hamas endorsement. But it was not ever thus. Let's enter the way-back machine and journey all the way back to April when Hamas let its preference be known: When asked about the endorsement, Obama's chief…

Beirut, Lebanon

AT THE FIRST ANNUAL conference of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa this past weekend, even the least discerning listeners had no trouble interpreting the words of founding chairman Bernard Lewis: "A combination of political correctness and multi-culturalism have combined…

THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE of the first film in a superhero franchise varies little. The first two acts introduce us to our hero, with excruciating detail about how he got his powers and what sort of trauma inspired him to use them for good. In the last act--which is typically rushed, unenjoyable, and…

THERE MAY BE NO SECOND acts in American lives, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once suggested, but that doesn't keep us from second-guessing politics, politicians and the art of campaigning.

Somebody sent me this in an email and I didn't think it could be true. Then I followed the link to the Code Pink website and I was still dubious because the page looks like a mock-up, and it's so nutty...I still didn't think it could be true. But now Fox confirms, Code Pink is engaging in…

Last night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart asked McCain about Hamas's endorsement of Barack Obama. Stewart gave McCain an opportunity to distance himself from an earlier statement that the endorsement made it "very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States." McCain passed,…

Unconfirmed reports from Iraq indicate the Iraqi Army may have captured Abu Ayyub al Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq who was hand picked by Ayman al Zawahiri to succeed Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Al Masri has reportedly been captured in the northern city of Mosul, where al Qaeda is attempting to…

It's called Johnny's Mom, and it will run on "select DirecTV channels including ABC Family, A&E, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, Oxygen and TLC." Notice anything interesting about those channels? They do seem to reflect the targeting of a certain older, female demographic, i.e. the core supporters of…

Hillary speaks: "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how…

The White House just put out the president's statement on Mother's Day: On Mother's Day, we honor the grace, wisdom, and strength of our mothers, and we celebrate the special bonds shared between mothers and their children. Every child blessed with a mother's love has been given one of life's great…

How many times have we seen this happen? The Senate Appropriations Committee postponed its scheduled Thursday markup of this year's war supplemental spending bill, after the House delayed floor consideration of the legislation until next week... Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Join Chiefs of…

THE WAR AGAINST GLOBAL warming is producing collateral damage to family life. One American city may even ban the hearth--San Francisco is contemplating a prohibition on private fireplaces to reduce air pollution. But this is nothing compared to the family sacrifice of the future: babies.

Obama and Clinton are back in Washington after the primaries this week, and they're taking their superdelegate fight to the halls of Congress. Senator Clinton is meeting with Members of Congress, all of whom are also superdelegates, to plead her case. However, things don't seem to be going all that…

Today's Iran's intelligence chief accused the U.S. and the Britain of sponsoring the bombing of a mosque in Shiraz in April. "The blast ... was caused by a bombing by a terrorist group with links to Western countries, especially Britain and America," said Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran's…

I wrote last week about the worries among some policymakers that the U.S. will depend on Russia to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station from 2010-2015. Today it's reported that Lockheed and Boeing are pressing Congress to appropriate $2 billion to speed the development…

The Boston Globe reports that the New England Patriots's "Spygate" scandal has likely reached its end: Former Patriots employee Matt Walsh certified in writing that he will turn over eight stolen videotapes to the NFL that show the signals of opposing teams, but the smoking gun that some believed…

Senate Democrats have debuted their plan for addressing the high price of gasoline. Hold on to your hats: Democrats unveiled a plan that sets up an Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund to be financed by a repeal of $17 billion in oil and gas industry tax incentives and a 25 percent windfall…

Despite voting for Democrats in every White House race since 1984, Wisconsin is always competitive for both parties. For example, it went for Kerry over Bush in 2004 by a razor-thin 50%-49% margin. So there is no doubt the Badger state will be high on the target lists of both the McCain and Obama…

From TNR: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, by John Judis. From TWS Online: Abetting Burma, by Joseph Loconte. From Townhall: Europe's New Pro-American Direction, by John Bolton. From Radio Free Asia: Tibetan Sichuan Undercover, by Wei Si. From the Hill: Michelle Obama's Tale of Woe, by Byron York.

This is the second half of McCain appearance on the Daily Show last night (Dean covers the first half below). The appearance went off pretty well, as Dean says, and it must infuriate Stewart's lefty fans that he seems to hold the Senator in such high regard. Stewart also proposed an alternative…

John McCain did the Daily Show last night, and acquitted himself quite well. While performing decently in such venues has become an important part of our distended presidential selection process, it's not the be-all-and-end-all. If it were, we could just be done with everything and appoint Mike…

Karl Rove has another piece in the Journal today: The primary has created a deep fissure in Democratic ranks: blue collar, less affluent, less educated voters versus the white wine crowd of academics and upscale professionals (along with blacks and young people). Mr. Obama runs behind Mrs.…

Gov. Bobby Jindal is a rock-star, and it's no wonder he's generated a lot of VP buzz. If he graced the GOP ticket, it would be a coup for McCain. I do have one, albeit minor reservation about Jindal. It was sparked when a friend emailed me his congressional bio a few years back, an archived version…

Gee, and I thought it was just because we were, you know, correct on the issues: Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities. Regardless of marital status, income or…

We'll always have May 2, or El Dos de Mayo as I like to think of it. On that day, John McCain led presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama by a healthy six point margin in the Rasmussen Tracking Poll, 48-42. Today, a mere six days later, Obama leads McCain 46-44. What could account for such a…

IF THERE IS A DEFINING mood about the catastrophe that has engulfed Burma, it is the sense of denial. When a devastating cyclone ripped through the country over the weekend, the military regime reported that the storm had killed 351 people. While residents of Rangoon, the largest city, scrambled…

The president made clear today in his comments before the Organization of American States that he will continue to press ahead for Congressional consideration and passage of outstanding trade deals: Yesterday I met with the President of Panama. I assured him our efforts to get the Panamanian trade…

Drudge posts that 23 percent of voters in Indiana and 27 percent of voters in North Carolina voted for a candidate other than John McCain in the Republican primaries. Thus Mark Levin concludes that "McCain still has not united the GOP behind him in these primaries." Now, McCain may need to do more…

With the proliferation of public and private polling this election season, one needs a scorecard to keep them all straight -- both in terms of predictions and accountability. Last night's big winner in terms of accuracy -- at least in North Carolina -- was Zogby. He predicted a 14% Obama win in the…

This is very interesting: A self-described Republican asked McCain about his well-documented temper, prompting the AZ senator to quip: "How dare you ask that question? Get that microphone away from him." But McCain said more seriously that he's often angry about governmental failures. "I will…

Home to the likes of Bob Torricelli, Jim McGreevey, the Sopranos, and a cast of thousands of other lawbreakers, New Jersey will never be seen as a 'Garden State.' But even for New Jersey, this must constitute scraping the bottom of the barrel -- at least among Democrats. Incumbent Senator Frank…

David Axelrod responded to McCain's speech on judges yesterday: Barack Obama has always believed that our courts should stand up for social and economic justice, and what's truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves. Search…

Remember how women wanted to smash those glass ceilings? Well, it looks like they're the ones getting smashed: Men set the bar, but women are catching up - there's been a big increase in drinking and alcohol dependence as American gals have become freer to do what guys have always done, a new study…

From TWS Online: Obama-Rendell? by Fred Barnes. From Townhall: The Obama Rally, From Two Angles, by Mary Katherine Ham. From the New York Times: The Nominee Emerges, Hobbled, by David Brooks. From the Current: Why Hillary Can't Win, by Ross Douthat. From the Politico: Liberals' New Cause: Religious…

I've written before about Congressional Democrats who stubbornly stick to their plans to raise taxes on gasoline, regardless of the realities facing American consumers. But what to do with a senior House Republican -- like former Chairman Don Young (R-AK) who still wants to raise gas taxes by a…

The NOTION THAT BARACK Obama should pick Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate is crazy. She passes the first test of a veep selection: she's a plausible president. But she fails the second. She doesn't qualify as a partner on the Democratic ticket (and possibly in the White House)…

The general consensus seems to be that last night's results settled the Democratic nomination fight. But I'm not exactly sure why that is. For months now--since South Carolina--it has been pretty obvious which states Obama would win and which Clinton would carry. It seemed clear all along that…

After losing to Obama in North Carolina and barely winning Indiana (as of now, anyways), Hillary is nearly finished. As I write this, Drudge is already calling Obama "The Nominee." The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains, "A substantial margin by Obama in the Tarheel State and--at best--a VERY narrow…

Following the Kentucky, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico primaries, which Hillary seems poised to win, and the Oregon, South Dakota and Montana primaries, which will likely go heavily for Obama, it is expected that Hillary will suspend campaigning at a minimum, or perhaps even withdraw from the race…

She knows it. You could tell during her speech. As she slogged gamely through the new sound-bites somebody gave her, a final concession speech kept breaking through. She became animated when thanking family and volunteers, then robotic and hollow as she promised to fight on. But she knows the score…

At the risk of stating the obvious, the fight for the Democratic nomination effectively came to an end last night. Barack Obama has won. My suggestion for grieving conservatives? Deal with it. I've been saying all along that the long primary fight was the best thing that could have happened to the…

You can view the CNN Indiana initial exit polls here. A couple interesting notes from the preliminary numbers. First, Clinton does very well among the late deciders (again) -- winning between 55%-60% of those who made up their minds either today or in the last few days. Second, huge racial divide.…

First off, don't believe them. That said, the results seem to indicate that racial polarization has reached an unprecedented level. Ambinder: In both IN and NC, two thirds of Clinton supporters say they'd be dissatisfied if Obama were the nominee -- I believe that's the highest number recorded for…

From Congress Daily: The president is described as passionate, convinced the FTA is necessary to buck up a beleaguered democratic ally and provide a bulwark against encroaching totalitarianism in South America. "I can't underscore how very much he believes in this," said one senior administration…

Philip Bobbitt, author of The Shield of Achilles, has just written a new book, Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century. In it, he talks of the need to rethink our approach to the war on terror, our concept of conventional warfare, and our understanding of victory (i.e., the Geneva…

Mohamed Hussein, an Iraqi employee of the New York Times who fled to Syria in 2006, has returned to his neighborhood in Baghdad and files a report for the paper's Baghdad Bureau Blog: I think that the Iraqi police and army are working in the right way because there is an American military center…

The public polls over the last several days show lots of variation in today's two primary states. As Mark Blumenthal at Pollster.com points out, the North Carolina numbers find Obama leading anywhere between 4%-14%. The Indiana polls demonstrate even more variation. They find Obama leading by 2%…

Boris Johnson might look like a sheepdog, but there's nothing common about the new Mayor of London. And he's perfectly comfortable with this fact too, freely discussing his days at Eton and Oxford, where he was a member of the Bullingdon. Never heard of the Bullingdon? Well, imagine the richest…

The confrontation between Coalition forces and the Mahdi Army and the Iranian-trained Special Groups in Baghdad, Basra and the wider south is having some nasty consequences for the Iranian regime. The Iraqi government sent a delegation to Iran to present evidence of Iranian collusion with the Mahdi…

From the Washington Times: Military Check-Up Time, by Michael O'Hanlon. From Salon: Obama is Wrong About the Gas Tax, by George Frost. From the New York Times: Combat and Composure, by David Brooks. From Slate: Are We Getting Two for One? by Christopher Hitchens. From TNR: McCainiac, by Eric…

Yesterday, ahead of crucial primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, two people caused trouble for Obama: his wife Michelle, and his first fundraiser Bill Ayers. Will he disown them if he loses today? Michelle Obama has been projecting anger and bitterness on the campaign trail. First, bloggers are…

John McCain has recently launched the Spanish-language version of the campaign site (here). There's not a ton of Spanish-language content -- apart from his biography and testimonials from four Spanish-speaking Florida Republicans. I thought I'd provide a quick look at what those commentators have…

Robert F. Worth writes in the New York Times: "Kuwait used to be No. 1 in the economy, in politics, in sports, in culture, in everything," [Ali al-Rashed] said, his voice floating out in the warm evening air to hundreds of potential voters seated on white damask-lined chairs. "What happened?" It is…

The U.S. service sector expanded in April, in an unexpected reversal of a three-month trend: Encouraging news for the slumping U.S. economy came Monday as a key survey of non-manufacturing business executives showed unexpected growth in the service sector in April. The Institute for Supply…

If the Will.i.am videos were counterproductive and creepy, this is mainly just counterproductive. HuffPo's Mayhill Fowler made an interesting observation from the trail in North Carolina yesterday: "He has to find a way out of the circle of devotion." If he doesn't, it's going to be raining McCain…

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From Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) writing at the Huffington Post: Had the French been victorious in that original Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, they could have continued their influence across the Mexican nation, and would have likely supported the Confederacy in its battle against Union forces.…

ONE TEAM OF ECOMEDICS has done what it can. Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve Board monetary policy gurus dropped its short-term interest rate another 0.25 percent last week, to 2.0 percent, and told its patient, the U.S. economy, not to look for still another shot in the arm. We might do more for a…

THE LABOUR PARTY'S CRUSHING defeat in last week's local elections for England and Wales marks the beginning of the end for New Labour and the premiership of Gordon Brown. The opposition Conservatives inflicted their heaviest defeat on Labour in 40 years, securing 44 percent of the vote against the…

Fred Thompson is the featured guest on the latest episode of the Glenn & Helen Show (aka Mr. and Mrs. Instapundit). The big news: Thompson says he has no interest in serving as attorney general in a McCain administration. That's fine. Better that McCain make him the top spook. I had the opportunity…

SurveyUSA has released its final batch of North Carolina numbers. In the primary eve SUSA poll, Obama leads by five. Here are some analytical goodies for your Endless Campaign of '08 Scrapbook: According to SurveyUSA's 8th and final tracking poll, conducted exclusively for ABC11 Eyewitness News, on…

North Carolina reports some demographic statistics on its early voting results, and American University political scientist Brain Schaffner has posted several short and interesting breakdowns over the past week, including the latest numbers from this weekend. Read his latest analysis here. A few…

The push to expand use of nuclear power in the U.S. has gotten a favorable reception from those concerned about global warming, but other environmental groups have been cool to the idea. Recognizing that they're more likely to face oppositions from Democrats than Republicans, proponents of nuclear…

The latest victim is the T-38 Talon, the Air Force's half-century old fighter-trainer: The Air Force grounded all T-38C training jets Thursday, after the second fatal crash involving the aircraft in eight days, officials said. Two airmen were killed when their T-38C Talon went down during a routine…

McClatchy reports: In Indiana, ahead of Tuesday's primary, Obama supporters can go to a campaign web page devoted to the state, type in their ZIP codes and locate the closest pro-Obama group, such as Bloomington for Obama, or Central Indiana for Obama.... The networks ultimately created legions of…

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boris_johnson_3.jpg Boris Johnson

LCS Indy2.jpg Photo courtesy of Navy blogger Instapinch.

Kurt Beck, the leader of Germany's left-wing SPD party, which is part of Chancellor Angela Merkel's "grand coalition" government, has been hit hard by new polling data suggesting that even a majority of his own party members think he's not the right guy for the top job in Berlin. The 59-year-old,…

From the New York Times: McCain-Jindal? by the boss. From the Daily News: In Iraq, A Storm Before the Calm, by Michael Yon. From Hot Air: State of the Race, by Allahpundit. From the Wall Street Journal: The Truth About Iraq's Casualty Count, by Max Boot. From the Washington Post: Strike From Afar,…

Survey USA, the most accurate outfit in the game this cycle, is trotting out its most recent poll results. The North Carolina numbers aren't in yet, but the Indiana numbers look very promising for the Lioness of Tuzla. SUSA shows Hillary Clinton with an impressive 54-42 lead in Mellencamp Country.…

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may be raising money hand over fist, but Howard Dean seems to be unable to get people to donate to the Democratic National Committee: According to the latest Federal Election Commission reports filed through the end of March, the RNC had $31 million in cash on hand,…

Raise your hand if this shocks you: Rock star Sting's celebrity-studded Carnegie Hall charity concert in 2006 to save the world's rainforests raked in millions, but less than half the riches actually funded tree-saving programs, according to charity watchdogs and a Post review of tax records. It's…

little_shop_horrors_xl_01.jpg Remember what happens when plants have rights?

Your diligent Cardinal got plenty of email from the Faithful regarding the correct name for the freedom loving citizens of Guam. It's "Guamanian." Though I still prefer the hipper "Guammie." On the topic of citizen monikers, I am reminded of when the noble phrase "Michigander" for the good people…

With the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) poised to take the helm in Kathmandu, Sino-Nepalese relations are expected to improve greatly. On April 25, a high-level Chinese delegation visiting the country announced that Beijing plans to link Tibet with Nepal by extending a railway line from…

On Meet The Press yesterday, Obama was asked about a report that he apologized to Rev. Wright for not letting Wright perform the invocation at Obama's presidential announcement ceremony. Obama replied: "Well, what happened was is that, you know, I was sorry that he felt, that he felt hurt by that…

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton showed up on Meet the Press and This Week, respectively, to talk about the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. More interesting than the normal campaign platitudes, however, were the views espoused by the candidates on Iran. Clinton came off as slightly…

Still Crazy, After All These Years

"Senator Obama does not agree with President Carter's decision to go forward with this meeting because he does not support negotiations with Hamas until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements."

Education's End

Last week's Pennsylvania primary demonstrated that Barack Obama is not unbeatable. This might sound a strange way to put it. Hasn't it always been true that Obama is beatable?

Then She Found Me

The Canon

When Democrats swept the 2006 midterm elections, several freshman House Democrats won on conservative platforms. A number of these so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats hail from districts that President Bush carried at least once. But the House belongs to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not to Bush, and the Blue…

The president's nomination of generals David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno to take command of U.S. Central Command and Multinational Force-Iraq, respectively, was obviously the right decision. By experience and temperament and demonstrated success, both men are perfectly suited to these jobs. Given…

New Orleans

Anglican Communion in Crisis

One early sign of man's superior station in the natural hierarchy was that he got to name the animals--this according to the Book of Genesis. If the job had fallen to me and my wife Cynthia, I'm afraid the story would have ended right there. Instead of a mess of well-named beasts and long chains of…

New Haven

There are parts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that seem to me like home. So it was with some trepidation that I wandered in to see the recent reinstallation of the 19th- and 20th-century painting galleries. I'm constitutionally opposed to change, and rehangings are generally done for the worst…

Hollywood's Censor

If Walter Cronkite's mom was going to put together a scrapbook of her son's career--well, it would be a miracle, because she'd be about 125 years old by now. But if she did, I doubt that it would contain more admiring images of the former CBS newsreader than you'll find in the Newseum, the new…

President Bush's decision to elevate General David Petraeus to lead the Central Command is not only an act of courage, it may prove to be transformative in the global war on terror, and even in the 2008 election. God has apparently seen fit to give the U.S. Army a great general in this time of…

E.J. Dionne's column in the Washington Post asked this question about Barack Obama: "Is he Adlai Stevenson or John F. Kennedy?" In the New Republic online, John Judis wondered if Obama might be "the next" George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who lost in a landslide. Both are…

Hyperventilated spin often creates a alternative reality that is both specious and still formidable. The hubbub over the Louisiana special election is a perfect example. The NRCC tries the usual -- and seldom very effective -- tactic of trying to tie the formidable local Democrat candidate to a…

Does Michelle Obama understand that part of Barack's (limited) appeal is that he does not seem to be an angry person? Does she recognize that part of her husband's strategy to win is to goad his opponent into showing that he is angry? It isn't clear: Michelle Obama lifted the lid on the irritation…

Commentary's Jennifer Rubin noted this Michelle Obama gem from the Obamas' appearance on The Today Show this week: The fundamental changes that he has made in just 15 months in the way people see themselves, the way people see their futures, the way young people are looking at their possibilities,…

Our friend David Frum offered some provocative thoughts earlier in the week on the changes that are afoot in the media: Ratings are declining and circulations are plunging. Advertising revenues are tumbling, layoffs, buyouts, marquee properties sold, bought and sold again. Yet, troubled as the news…

It's not surprising that the Democratic primary campaign lacks sharp differences on policy issues. After all, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton--when it comes to substance--are both doctrinaire liberals. Most self-identified Democrats would agree with both candidates on the bulk of their platforms.…

Lots of interesting stuff over at Rasmussen today. In order of topicality: 1) 58% of voters say that Barack Obama threw Jeremiah Wright under the bus out of political convenience. Only 30% of likely voters say he did so because he was truly outraged. Although I am typically loath to offer…

PGA professional John Daly, fresh from a new workout regimen, takes a shot at Bill Clinton in this interview with a local TV reporter. After the reporter acknowledges that he's going to take as many shots as it takes to make him look good, Daly asks: "You playing Clinton golf?"

IF YOU'RE ONE of those parents who worries about what effects standardized testing will have on your teen's self esteem, fear not: The University of California is poised to rush to Generation Y's emotional rescue.

SUMMER IS FINALLY here, arriving with a bang in the guise of Iron Man. The latest hero from Marvel comics to get the big screen treatment, Iron Man is brought to life with vigor by the newly rehabbed Robert Downey Jr.

IF YOU'VE SPOKEN WITH someone who has swooned for Barack Obama, chances are you've heard them say the word "judgment" a lot. The Obama campaign's central talking point has devolved into, "You have to vote for Barack Obama because he has such wonderful judgment."

Looking at one poll is sometimes dangerous. But several together--all pointing in the same direction--can tell a story. And for Barack Obama, this narrative is scary. Rasmussen, Gallup, and Fox released national polls in the last two days that break out this way: Gallup: Clinton 49%, Obama 45% Fox:…

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Boston Bruins had a player named Randy Burridge who became emblematic of the franchise. Burridge always gave the proverbial 110 percent, and was a good little player. Problem was, he did much better in the regular season than he did in the playoffs. Over the…

There may be a legitimate question as to whether drivers will pay less at the pump if federal gas taxes are suspended. But what if gas taxes are raised, as some in Congress still favor? Two Pittsburgh-area congressmen hosted the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee…

Mason-Dixon's latest poll shows Obama leading Clinton by 7 points in North Carolina. The poll was conducted this past Monday and Tuesday; Jeremiah Wright's speech at the National Press Club was Monday, so this poll will have captured at least some of the reaction: A WRAL news poll released…

Gee, I thought only Republicans did this: A D.C. advocacy group called Women's Voices, Women Vote is being accused of waging a high-tech voter suppression campaign, after voters in predominantly black districts in North Carolina began receiving automated phone calls implying that they hadn't…

A few thoughts on the good Rev. Wright. First, what fun this is. Nothing like a candidate's crank associate going off on an egocentric rant in front of the media to spice up a political campaign. Though I'm not sure it will be as ultimately bad for Obama as it now appears since he got the excuse he…

Last night, Hillary appeared on The O'Reilly Factor with part one of a two-part interview in the "no spin zone." The left was up in arms about the interview. Blogger "SilentPatriot" at Crooks and Liars, for example, complained, "I really don't understand why Clinton (and Obama last Sunday) would…

From the New York Post: Flattop Follies, by Peter Brookes. From the Atlantic: A Colombian Vision for Iraq, by Robert Kaplan. From TNR: Can Hillary Win, by Noam Scheiber. From Slate: Let Murdoch Be Murdoch, by Jack Shafer. From National Review: Wright and Political Wrongs, by Peter Wehner.

The latest numbers from Rasmussen: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that Barack Obama's former Pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has had a significant impact on the race for the White House. The news is not good for Obama. In general election polling John McCain now…

Following up on this post yesterday, a friend emails: "It's too bad that Laurie Mylroie missed the opportunity to drop her absurd defense of the Blind Sheik and pick up on the fact that the latest Iraqi documents talk explicitly about cooperation between Saddam's Mukhabarat and the Egyptian Islamic…

For several weeks, Barack Obama has decried the many "distractions" that have hounded him. This week, Hillary Clinton must be thankful for the distraction of Rev. Wright, since nobody paid much attention to Tom Hayden's scorned-lover piece in the Nation. Clearly drunk on the Obama-spiked Kool Aid,…

As reported by Mayhill Fowler of bittergate fame: Did Senator Obama know to whom he was speaking? Likely not. That's been his problem lately on the campaign trail--not knowing exactly where he was. He even made a joke about it in Hickory when he tried to recall where he had just met someone whose…

Ted Stevens (R-AK) needs all the friends he can get. He's the subject of a Justice Department investigation and he faces a real Democratic challenger for the first time in years. It's made him one of the top Democratic targets this year. But in a strong demonstration that Congressional…

Noah Millman makes an excellent point at the American Scene: You know, the forces of the United States have been engaged in Iraq since January 1991. That's seventeen years. This year will see the last American election in which all eligible voters were born before our conflict with Iraq. Our…

IN RECENT DAYS, the Bush administration has taken three small steps to shore up America's position in East Asia. While important, these steps are not enough in themselves to stave off our long-term decline in the Pacific. Rather, they should serve as the first salvos in a full-fledged redefinition…

Linköping, Sweden