Apparently excessive blogging can be deadly, so I'll try and keep it light today. Matt Stoller has a post up on how the Democrats should go about " framing Petraeus" this week. Stoller chides the Democrats for a lack of message discipline. He says:
Some of them want to drill into the tactics of the surge, some want to discuss larger national security questions, and some want to concede the surge worked but that the Iraqis are somehow at fault.
At fault? You mean Iraqis might be responsible for the disastrous success of the surge? Via Hot Air, Time magazine's Bobby Ghosh reports that "every Iraqi who offers me a view on American politics seems to be praying for a McCain victory." Apparently Ghosh didn't get the memo that the only reliable sources inside Iraq are commanders in Sadr's militia. Joe Klein questions the patriotism of anyone who doesn't share his optimism about universal health care, social security, and alternative energy. I thought dissent was patriotic, but apparently "it is more patriotic to be optimistic about the chance that our collective will--that is, the best work of government--will succeed, rather than that it will fail or impinge on freedom." Somehow I don't think Klein counts preventing civil war and ethnic cleansing in Iraq as "the best work of government." Ezra Klein responds to Jamie Kirchick's scathing review of Matthew Yglesias's new book. Klein accuses Kirchick of failing to read the book cover to cover, the implication being that even people who are paid to read the book can't make it all the way through. This Klein might be on to something. And finally, Charlton Heston passed away late last night. Heston was a subscriber to this magazine and I've posted a letter he once wrote us in response to a piece on Shakespeare by Paul Cantor. It's an excellent read. Also McCain put out this statement on Heston's passing:
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Charlton Heston. In taking on epic and commanding roles, he showed himself to be one of our nation's most gifted actors, and his legacy will forever be a part of our cinema. Off-the-screen, Charlton Heston was also a real-life leader. He served his country and proudly gave his voice in support of some of our most basic rights. He was devoted to the cause of freedom for all Americans from the battle for civil rights in the 1960s to protecting Second Amendment rights in the 1990s. At this time of grief, let us honor a life that has truly touched millions."
Our friends on the left are also honoring Heston, but for some reason Arianna Huffington has shut down the comments on this story at her site. Surely many of her readers want to express their thoughts and prayers at the passing of a man who's done so much to protect their Constitutional rights, no?