Dean Barnett

In the 1960s, history called the Baby Boomers. They didn't answer the phone.

Watching Mitt Romney’s excellent speech yesterday reminded me of my departed friend and colleague Dean Barnett.

Earlier in the day, I pointed out how Harry Reid's irresponsible not to mention idiotic comment about an unnamed insurance giant that was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy had caused insurance company stocks to stumble on an industry wide basis. At midday, the damage was only half as grave as it…

In stumping for the needed (though flawed) bailout bill yesterday, Harry Reid warned that an unnamed American insurance firm was teetering on bankruptcy. Those of us who cover Washington for a living have long since learned to ignore Harry Reid's every utterance. Unfortunately everyone can't afford…

Barack Obama yesterday: "I don't think me calling House Republican members would have been that helpful. I tend not to be that persuasive on that side of the aisle" Barack Obama today in Wisconsin: "I've been reaching out to leaders in both parties to do whatever I can to help pass this plan."

Jeff Dobbs over at the excellent Voice in My Head blog makes a great catch. Here was Barack Obama on "60 Minutes" a full nine days ago: KROFT: Why you? I mean, why do you think you would be a good president? OBAMA: Well, I was going to get to that. KROFT: Go ahead. OBAMA: You know, I'm a, I'm a…

"I don't think me calling House Republican members would have been that helpful. I tend not to be that persuasive on that side of the aisle." - Barack Obama, acknowledging he doesn't know how to do bipartisanship and that his whole post-partisan gestalt is about as fact-based as the Easter Bunny.…

From Ezra Klein's blog comes this lovely"let them eat cake" gem from Robert Borosage, co-Director of the lefty activist group Campaign for America's Future: The bail out will take place simply to avoid that depression. But depressions have some salutary effects - the scoundrels go belly up, the…

SO HERE'S THE state of play as the Great Depression redux edges ominously closer. The Paulson Plan failed today, with a solid majority of Republicans voting against it. The opposition Republicans fall into two camps:

So here's the state of play as the Great Depression redux edges ominously closer. The Paulson Plan failed today, with a solid majority of Republicans voting against it. The opposition Republicans fall into two camps: 1) The Mike Pence doctrinaires who welcome a free market curative like a…

And it's a whopper! Jules Crittenden provides the report: Washington Post's live fact check finds Obama out-and-out wrong on several counts but has to parse and pick apart assiduously to find McCain at fault. Whatever. A telling exercise. Where it gets bizarre is in the grand finale, this…

Far be it from me to differ with the punditocracy's mainstream, but I happen to feel that last night's debate was a pretty big win for John McCain. I'm aware that most observers have called it a draw, agreeing that both men performed rather ably. I'm also aware that the polls show a majority of…

Far be it from me to differ with the punditocracy's mainstream, but I happen to feel that last night's debate was a pretty big win for John McCain. I'm aware that most observers have called it a draw, agreeing that both men performed rather ably. I'm also aware that the polls show a majority of…

It's Joe Biden spokesman David Wade's thankless job to defend his garrulous gaffe-master of a boss. Here's Wade in action: "Joe Biden is getting the job done every day, and I guarantee Joe Biden will be Mr. October. He's a closer. He's the vice presidential nominee you want slugging it out in the…

Please don't construe what follows as an endorsement of the richly flawed Paulson Plan, but… Over the years, we've all gotten accustomed to Democrats referring to every single spending boondoggle as "an investment." You know the drill - we need to invest in infrastructure or we must invest in…

"Our nation has a long and proud tradition of news organizations that are ideological and partisan in nature, the Huffington Post and the New York Times being two such publications." --- The McCain Report

Mark Steyn has some rather pointed observations regarding John McCain's political maneuvers during the economic crisis: I dunno about a nine-point lead, Kathryn, but clearly the Obama campaign self-destruct effort managed to stall during Bailout Week. As a general rule, when economic matters are in…

Blogger "Angry Bear" has received an explosive communiqué: Dear American: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need…

Patrick Ruffini and I were colleagues at Townhall.com; he's one of the smartest young conservatives on the web. Thus, I found the following blog post he authored utterly dismaying. Here it is in full: Republican incumbents in close races have the easiest vote of their lives coming up this week: No…

Oil prices soairng! Yes, in light of other event this really is good news. The Wall Street Journal reports: Oil prices soared were up more than $25 and their intraday high and finished with a gain of $16.37, or 16%, at $120.92 a barrel in New York as the likelihood of a bailout prompted bets that…

From Bloomberg, "How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis" by Kevin Hassett This being a time of crisis, it is no time for finger pointing. Then again, why not? In this searing and much-discussed piece, Hassett explores who is responsible for enabling the twin ticking time bombs of Fannie Mae…

1) From the New York Times, "A Fine Mess" by William Kristol 2) From the American Scene, "Welcome to History" by Jim Manzi Is it a sign that we truly are approaching the End Times that the Boss and John Conyers agree on something of vital importance? Both find the administration's plan to give…

Good to see the Grey Lady is doing everything it can to deepen the economic crisis. Check out this amazing correction: An article about the effect of the Wall Street crisis on Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs cited two sources who were said to have been briefed on a conversation in which John J.…

Barack Obama has released a new two minute commercial in which he looks seriously at the camera and drones on about how he'll provide serious leadership for our serious financial crisis. The heart of the ad refers the viewer to his Plan, helpfully posted at his website. Given the Plan's utter…

When the Fannie/Freddie crisis simmered over a few weeks ago, I dismissed the possibility of it making a significant dent on the public consciousness. I figured Fannie and Freddie were too opaque for the common person to understand. After all, even genius congressmen like Barney Frank found the…

From Political Punch, "Does Obama Support the AIG Bailout" by Jake Tapper Barack Obama - still voting present after all these years. In dilating endlessly on the AIG bailout, Barack Obama declined to say whether or not he supported it. He did, however, condemn the bailout as sadly reflective on…

As John points out below, John McCain has released a commercial on the economy. The ad is titled "Enough is Enough." Did I miss the memo that says whichever candidate says this cliché the most times automatically wins? The video and the text follow: JOHN MCCAIN: The economy is in crisis. Enough is…

From the Politico, "As Markets Reel, The Blame Game Begins" by Jeanne Cummings First, let's start with this little passage that hits Washington right where it lives: We have to pity the government in a lot of ways," says Robert F. Bruner, dean of the Darden School of Business at the University of…

David Brooks adds to the conservative oeuvre of Sarah Palin doubt this morning: If the Bush administration was anything, it was the anti-establishment attitude put into executive practice. And the problem with this attitude is that, especially in his first term, it made Bush inept at governance. It…

Jeffrey Feldman is one of the savvier Daily Kos diarists. In a post today, he offers some advice to the moribund/struggling/bumbling/incredibly lame Obama campaign and the campaign's destructive supporters: STEP 1: STOP WITH THE ENDLESS PALIN DIARIES I'm talking to you, friend. That's right.…

From the Weekly Standard, "Tax Cuts, Real and Imaginary" by Newt Gingrich and Peter Ferrara As you know, I have a self-imposed guideline that prohibits linking to pieces that appear in our own magazine. No reason to offend my unlinked colleagues. Anyway, new rule - this guideline will not apply to…

Unlike me, I bet you don't read the left wing blogs. I don't blame you - I sort of get paid to read them. But even before I hopped aboard the Weekly Standard gravy train, I read the lefty blogs. I liked to know what my ideological (and temperamental) opposites were thinking, even if I did find them…

David Axelrod has released a memo this morning that points to the tough and substantive strategy that will guide Team Barry from this point forward. "We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain's attacks and we will take the fight to him," vows the brains of the Obama campaign, "but we…

From the New York Times, "Hanging on to Biden's Every Word" by John Broder The New York Times finally has noticed that a garrulous gaffe machine serves as Barack Obama's running mate: (Biden's) a human verbal wrecking crew. This is the fellow who nearly derailed his nascent presidential campaign…

Perhaps the best and most moving commercial/homemade YouTube of the campaign season. It's a must-see.

Today marks a special day at the Weekly Standard. Mary Katharine Ham, the Mary Tyler Moore of the blogosphere and the real star of the O'Reilly Factor, officially joins our team to fill the capacious blogging gap left by the on-leave Michael Goldfarb. (Actually, we expect her to more than fill the…

Quoth the film critic Roger Ebert: And how can you be her age and never have gone to Europe? ... Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a hopeless provincial. ... Palin is a shallow, chirpy person with those vaguely alarming eyeglasses. Now her fans all want a pair. Remember back when women wore…

From Real Clear Politics, "Obama On His Heels" by Jay Cost On Sunday, David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Sunday and declared that Team Barry wasn't running against Sarah Palin. This pronouncement signaled that the Obama campaign had finally realized that attacking John McCain's running mate (not to…

From the Wall Street Journal, "The Foreign Policy Difference" by Fouad Ajami An op-ed piece bylined by Ajami is always cause for excitement. You know you're about to read something packed with original insights and expressed with great elegance. Today's work is no exception, as Ajami tackles the…

The Boston Globe reports: Campaigning in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday, Barack Obama, mocking claims by John McCain and Sarah Palin that they will challenge their Republican Party if elected, got off a pretty good line. "Maybe what they're saying is, 'Watch out George Bush,'" Obama said with…

The noble son of Welsh coal miners has stepped in it again. At a fundraiser last night, Biden talked tough about the kind of questions he would put to Sarah Palin. He vowed he would ask her about "the superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down...John…

The latest from Vets for Freedom On Capitol Hill, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are urging their colleagues to adopt a bipartisan resolution that recognizes the success of the surge. Say the senators in part: It was exactly one year ago today that General David Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill…

I'll tell you, the New York Times is a publication that really knows how to put lipstick on a pig. To put it simply, Barack Obama has been a darling of the derelict siblings Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while John McCain has not. Nevertheless, a Jackie Calmes article in today's ‘Paper of Record'…

Victoria McGrane reports: Biden had an awkward moment during a rally in Columbia, Mo., Tuesday. At the start of his remarks, he pointed out several state lawmakers in the audience for praise. When he got to Chuck Graham, a state senator from Green Meadows, Biden urged the lawmaker to "stand up…

From the Boston Herald, "Media Loves to Hate Sarah Palin" by Howie Carr Howie is something of a civic treasure up here in Boston - a great radio host and an even better writer. (His book on the Bulger Brothers is a tremendous read.) In this column, he hilariously documents the left's various…

Boston Things are pretty grim up here, and not just because John Kerry's reelection is a certainty. Many of us are sitting shiva for Tom Brady's knee while the TV sports anchors are replaying Tom Brady's injury like it's a latter day Zapruder film, pointing at his left knee and saying, "Down and to…

From the Washington Post, "You're Not Accountable, Jack" by Bob Woodward This gripping story recounts the amazing and pivotal role retired General Jack Keane played in getting David Petraeus the commitment he needed from the administration when the congressional vultures were circling above the…

Quoth Joe Biden in Green Bay yesterday: "She's going to have to answer questions," he says. "My plan is to do no different than I get ready to debate Elizabeth Dole on the floor of the Senate." He'll assume, he said, that she's "as smart as I am, as though as I am, and knows as much as I do." As…

From the Washington Post, "Too Cool to Fight" by Richard Cohen Before reading on, please be advised that I will not be held responsible for the coffee you are about to spit over your monitor. Proceed at your own peril. Richard Cohen has served up a piece of pro-Obama fluff so ludicrous in its…

From Townhall.com, "Is Trig at the Heart of Media's Reaction to Palin?" by Mona Charen Charen offers an excellent contribution to the growing field of theories as to why the left has suffered such a complete meltdown over Sarah Palin: Fully 80 percent of parents who receive a diagnosis of Down…

Blogger Beldar has an excellent idea for the McCain campaign: I respectfully suggest that the McCain-Palin campaign announce - simultaneously with Sen. McCain's carefuly considered change of position on drilling in ANWR, preferably from some of the mud flats there so that camera crews can capture…

From the Washington Post, "Program Aids Veterans Entering Corporate World" by Keith Richburg This is one of the most interesting and inspiring stories you'll find out there today: NEW YORK -- Ed Pulido joined the Army at 18 and spent 19 years in uniform. He lost his left leg four years after being…

Here's Obama in Flint, MI today, obviously rejecting David Axelrod's command that he's not running against Sarah Palin: Well, how about Gov. Palin? She's you know, an up and comer from Alaska. She - they're starting to run an ad now saying she opposed the bridge to nowhere. Well now, let's get the…

From Mother May I Sleep With Treacher, "Here's how Palin should handle those who are trying to destroy her, sometimes known as 'the press'" by Jim Treacher Treacher, one of the sharpest and funniest guys on the web, knows how Palin should handle the jackals in the press if/when they should escape…

From the Daily Kos, "Tie-Breakers. Advantage Obama. Advice? Take Nothing for Granted" by Joe Trippi Having scrubbed itself of the ugly Trig Trutherism that more prestigious publications still wallow in, the Daily Kos is still able to host diaries written by respectable people like Joe Trippi.…

From the New York Times, "A Heartbeat Away" by William Kristol The Boss and I both found David Axelrod's Fox News Sunday declaration, "We're not running against Governor Palin," to be rather pregnant with implications. After ten days of wild and sometimes unnervingly insane thrashing, the Obama…

Blogger Charlie Martin has helpfully compiled all of the smears that the left has hurled at Sarah Palin. 54 and counting! Given that we're more than halfway to the century mark in Palin smears, I think it's time to take another brief look at the left's method of smear dissemination. Yesterday on a…

From the Iowa Hawk, "When America's Communities Need Organizing, America's Community Organizers Will Be There to Organize Them" by David Burge We all knew Dave was the most brilliant satirist on the internet (or anywhere in the media for that matter). What we didn't know was that Dave is also a…

Obama did get something done as a community organizer! It was the first step in an informal partnership between Obama's constituents and Friends of the Parks that led to renovations and increased security in a handful of far South Side parks and playgrounds. Ensuring that swings have seats and…

Personally, I credit the green jell-o backdrop. The Gallup tracking poll is in and like Rasmussen before it, Gallup is showing a big bounce for McCain. McCain is up three from yesterday, and now trails Obama by four points. More importantly, both polls consist of three day rolling averages. Only…

As you know, the Republican party bravely cast aside the massive community organizer vote this week. Some have questioned whether the serial shots that RNC speakers took at community organizing were fair. Since I've been sarcastically referring to Barack Obama as "the longtime community organizer"…

1) The Speech - In case we needed a reminder that the great orator in the race represents the other party, Senator McCain's acceptance speech provided it. Soaring rhetoric and a mastery of the teleprompter aren't this candidate's strong suit. The general mediocrity of the speech and the…

1) I know I'm waddling in late here, and my tardiness presents a bit of a problem. There aren't many ways of saying, "It was a great speech!" that haven't already been exhausted. But it was a great speech, a campaign altering speech. For reasons still unknown, the Democrats based their entire…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Why McCain Still Has a Chance to Win" by Peter Robinson Forget the somewhat off-key title, which I would wager Robinson had nothing to do with. (That's how it goes when you contribute op-eds to major dailies - trust me.) You'll love this column, as it more clearly…

From Political Radar, "Huckabee Strikes Partisan Tone at RNC; Blasts Biden, Defends Palin" by whoever at ABC has to write Political Radar Since I'm a Romney guy, Huckabee once had an unerring ability to get under my skin. But now that we've all come together under the same happy big tent, I must…

Ed Morrissey has gone through the bother of producing a thorough transcript of Barack Obama's painful soliloquy on why he's ready to handle any disaster as president. I think you'll find the Hyde Park Hamlet's logic as impressive as his eloquence: Anderson Cooper: Some Republican critics say, you…

Having spent over a decade as a headhunter for lawyers in another life, I've seen many résumés. And every résumé tells a story. The stories told by Barack Obama's and Sarah Palin's résumés could hardly be more different for two people of roughly the same age and aspirations.

From the Washington Post, "Palin's Pregnancy Problem" by Sally Quinn Behold the logical train wrecks and serial cheap-shots that ensue when big media types pretend to try to understand the Evangelical community: And now we learn the 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. She and the father of…

From Time.com, "In Wasilla, Pregnancy Was No Secret" by Nathan Thornburgh The suddenly ubiquitous Thornburgh provides actual reporting in lieu of speculation regarding Bristol Palin's pregnancy. Thornburgh better be careful - he could receive a lifetime ban from some fevered precincts in the…

From Time.com, "Where Palin Made Her Name" by Nathan Thornburgh This is a touching and extremely well written profile of Wasilla, AK and its most famous resident: It's Friday night, and there have got to be 500 people packed into the Sluice Box, a beer-soaked clapboard honky-tonk at the Alaska…

The New York Times reports: In a brief press conference in Monroe, Mich., here to talk about Hurricane Gustav, Senator Barack Obama was asked about the suggestion by some Republicans that Democrats - particularly liberal bloggers - have pushed a story about the family of Ms. Palin, who was named…

For over a decade I worked as a headhunter specialized in placing lawyers. I've often wondered what I would have made of Barack Obama's résumé if it had come across my desk.

Earlier today, we took a look at Alan Colmes' comments about Sarah Palin's most recent pregnancy. Colmes wrote: Rogers Cadenhead gives the timeline associated with the birth of her newest child. She had a speech in Dallas and, even after the water broke, continued with her activities, and then…

Already lower than I imagined. HotAir reports that under the headline "Did Palin Take Proper Pre-Natal Care," Alan Colmes has "rocketed into the gutter," writing: Rogers Cadenhead gives the timeline associated with the birth of her newest child. She had a speech in Dallas and, even after the water…

In 1981, former Harry Truman consigliere and LBJ Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford memorably labeled the new Republican sheriff in town an "amiable dunce." At the time, Clifford was the living embodiment of the Washington establishment, and his glib analysis showed that while you can find the…

Quoth lefty blogger Publius after Obama's Invesco coronation: I think McCain's decision to announce the VP pick tomorrow may be too clever by half. I mean, it will certainly draw some attention. But it's not like the press will completely ignore Obama's speech tomorrow or over the weekend. In this…

From NRO, "The Hostess with the Moosest" by Mark Steyn Steyn has at least momentarily emerged from his self-imposed semi-seclusion to remind us of how much we miss him: First, Governor Palin is not merely, as Jay describes her, "all-American", but hyper-American. What other country in the developed…

I normally don't link to the work of my Weekly Standard colleagues in these Required Reading thingies, fearing that doing so could set off a frenzy of bribery and what-not as everyone lobbied for inclusion. But I have to make a one-time exception today because our coverage both here and in the…

From Rasmussen Reports, "Palin Makes Good First Impression: Is Viewed More Favorably than Biden" by Scott Ramussen From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen Now I know why the left was so angry when John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate (apart from…

Our long national nightmare is over. Below, some brief thoughts on Day 4 of the DNC. 1) What a spectacle! It must be acknowledged that whoever thought of putting on this show at Invesco knew what they were doing. Oh, how we mocked the decision to move the coronation to a stadium and what fun we had…

If I were a man of means and could fund a 527, I would devote extraordinary resources to ensure that Al Gore could drone on endlessly in highly public settings about the climate crisis while supporting Democrats and positing that Barack Obama is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln. Alas, I am not…

And lord I hate to say it, but watching the pre-ordination proceedings at Invesco, they are indeed impressive. Chris Wallace just said it feels like history in the making. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it does feel like something biggger than (not to mention different from) a pedestrian…

From the Politico, "MSNBC Prez Defends Convention Team" by Michael Calderone Things are getting ugly at MSNBC: In addition to Olbermann, MSNBC personalities Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough and David Shuster were involved in Denver controversies. On Monday evening, Olbermann interrupted Scarborough…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Economy Grew 3.3% in 2nd Quarter, Much Higher Than Initial Reading" by Jeff Bater and Brian Blackstone Okay, lets' get a couple of things straight. There have been two whopping dislocations in the economy over the past year or so. The decline in home values and the…

The progress of TradeSports/Intrade during the convention week illustrates just what a stellar show the Democrats have put on. Obama's now trading at an all-time low, McCain at an all-time high. Bring on Invesco! tradesports1.jpg HT: Ace

Our four day national nightmare is almost over. If we can just get through tonight! In the meantime, some thoughts on yesterday: 1) THE BIG HE - Everyone else went gaga over Bill Clinton. I didn't, but then again objectivity when it comes to this particular political figure has never been my…

When John Kerry tabbed John Edwards as his running mate in 2004, certain members of the pundit class swooned. They figured Edwards' immense political skills would dramatically bolster Kerry's chances. Me, I was perplexed. If John Edwards was in fact such a magnificent political talent, how come he…

From the New York Times, "High Anxiety in the Mile High City" by Maureen Dowd On the occasions when Maureen Dowd is good (which admittedly are rare), her work officially rises to the level of "guilty pleasure." So smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, because here comes MoDo at her best: I've been to a lot…

From City Journal, "Fire in the Night" by John Murtaugh This excellent essay and the film snippet above provides insight into Obama buddy William Ayers, while casting doubt on the candidate's typically sly evasion of his moral responsibility for hanging around with such a cretin. During the April…

Eagle-eyed reader (and Iraq War veteran) JB Smith emails that if the Republicans feel it necessary to counter Obama's master stroke of tapping Joe Biden as vice-president, there's only one serious option - Trent Lott. Think of it. Both have comical pseudo-hair. Both gravitate to the career-ruining…

From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen While dominating the last several news cycles by selecting Joe Biden as his running mate and holding the first night of his convention, Barack Obama still managed to lose four points in the Rasmussen tracking polls.…

Our four day national nightmare is now half over. Herewith, some thoughts on day two of the DNC. 1) I was doing commentary last night for New England Cable News last night, so I got to watch Hillary Clinton's speech in the company of a couple of co-panelists who were devoted Hillary Clinton fans.…

According to the New York Post, our occasional contributor and star of Weekly Standard cruises, Mike Murphy, was bumped from MSNBC Monday night, and a TV-watching friend didn't see him anywhere on air Tuesday night. This after MSNBC had touted the signing of its new contributor, who has starred in…

From Time.com, "McCain Prepared Remarks at American National Legion Convention" by John McCain While the speech John McCain gave this afternoon will lack the psychodrama of the Clinton antics this evening, I guarantee you McCain's content will be more memorable: There are those who say that our day…

Desperately searching for its long lost mojo, the Obama campaign has taken dire measures. It has dropped the beloved slogan, "Change We Can Believe In" in favor of the far more substantive, "The Change We Need." When I ran for state representative in Massachusetts in 1992, the electorate was…

From The Hill, "Bill Clinton in Denver Again Undercuts Obama" by Sam Youngman Let me be clear - since he burst onto the political scene some 17 years ago, I have been no fan of Bill Clinton. It is thus confusing and disorienting to be feeling a tingling up my leg nearly every time the former…

From National Review Online, "A Couple More Cents on Biden" by Jay Nordlinger A_Thousand_Monkeys.bmp

Our four-day national nightmare is 25% over. Unlike many of my braver and more industrious colleagues, I didn't make it out to Denver this week. So like most of you, I'm enjoying/enduring the DNC via the television coverage. Here are some thoughts on day one as we wait for Invesco. 1) I guess the…

but I'm not. As I type, Wolf Blitzer is profusely praising Michelle Obama's as yet undelivered speech. He assures us it is very moving. Does that mean we needn't watch it?

From the Politico, "Obama Preps in Solitude for Speech" by Carrie Budoff Brown Behold! The most egregious Obama puff piece of the day! As you read, you'll almost hear echoes of Ms. Budoff Brown chanting "O-ba-ma!" while she worked the keyboard. CHICAGO - For three days in a row, Barack Obama traded…

Gallup shows the race tied at 45-45, meaning Obama has gotten no bounce from his selection of garrulous gaffe machine Joe Biden as his running mate. Or does it? Reports the pollster: The latest update includes two days of interviewing following Obama's selection of Sen. Joe Biden as his vice…

Not that the Obama campaign proactively seeks out my advice, but if I were a neophyte candidate looking to make the transition from celebrity to serious leader, I would forego set pieces like this: Denver's Rocky Mountain News reports on its site today, "The Jersey boys are coming, and we ain't…

From the New York Times, "A Joe of His Own" by Bill Kristol In his weekly Times column, the Boss tries to analytically work out what a McCain/Lieberman ticket would mean to the presidential race and the country: Now as a matter of governance, there's no reason to think this would much matter.…

You'll pardon me for having some confusion over the current state of Democratic thinking regarding multiple home ownership. In 2004, the Democratic standard bearer owned multiple houses, and yet the party figured his wartime valor trumped that purported stain. Present-day secular saint Al Gore has…

From Obamaweek, "A Liberal's Lament" by Sean Wilentz First, a little quiz - who said it? "This year will not be a year of politics as usual. It can be a year of inspiration and hope, and it will be a year of concern, of quiet and sober reassessment of our nation's character and purpose. It has…

obamabiden.JPG I have to admit to puzzlement over the Joe Biden selection. The conventional wisdom regarding vice-presidential nominees is first do no harm. Given that Biden has been a garrulous gaffe machine for his lengthy political career (36 years in the senate, although it feels like longer),…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Saddleback: The Inner Game of Politics" by Daniel Henninger The normally excellent Henninger stumbles here, clumsily working Peggy Noonan's side of the street and lamenting that everything was better in a mythical yesteryear: Can one imagine Dwight Eisenhower, FDR or…

Barack Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. For those of you completely unfamiliar with Latin, "magna cum laude" in this context translates into "he had really good grades." Joe Biden, on the other hand, graduated 76th in a class of 85 from the University of Syracuse Law School.…

From Reason.com, "The Loser Now is Later to Win" by David Weigel In this odd yet thoughtful (although sometimes incomprehensible) essay, Weigel diagnoses and seemingly laments Barack Obama's latest predicament: The dynamic of the race now is summed up by the usual batch of oddly sexual verbs:…

From the American Spectator, "Teleprompting Obama" by the Prowler Not that long ago, even friendlies in the media suggested that I was off-base in observing that Barack Obama is a dreadful extemporaneous speaker. Without a teleprompter guiding him, Obama is the total package of horrors - hesitant,…

From an interview with TIME Magazine: TIME: One of the biggest moments in the campaign is going to be your announcement of a vice president. What is that decision going to tell voters about you? Obama: Hopefully, the same thing that my campaign has told the American people about me. That I think…

Yesterday was one of the truly happy days in my life. My Verizon/FiOS service added something like 50 additional high definition channels, including almost a dozen premium movie channels. The FiOS service now offers not just blazing fast internet service that never crashes but also the Golf Channel…

From Talking Points Memo, "Fibbin'" by Josh Marshall Here's the post in its entirety: From a Republican pal ... "You didn't get this from me, but use it as you will. Is it just me -- as a Republican knowing how we've played this game before -- or should there be genuine puzzlement why Obama isn't…

From the Los Angeles Times, "Barack Obama's Image Suffers Amid John McCain Attacks, Poll Finds" by Michael Finnegan More good polling news for the Maverick. The latest L.A. Times/Bloomberg effort shows McCain pulling within two of Obama, trailing by the razor thin margin of 45-43. In June, the…

From 538.com, "538's Battlegrounds as of Mid-August" by Sean I've mentioned 538.com in the past, but here's a timely reminder. It is without question the best site for poll analysis on the internet. If you like following the presidential horserace (and who doesn't?), it should be a daily stop. This…

From the British paper the Evening Standard, "Barack Obama's Broken Promise to African Village" by David Cohen In the Obama family's hometown in Kenya, the secondary school is named after the presumptive Democratic nominee. Obama visited there in 2006: At that historic homecoming in August 2006…

From the Wall Street Journal, "For Obama, Taxes Are About Fairness" by William McGurn Great column here by McGurn, exploring the "soak the rich" tax mentality that characterizes Barack Obama's campaign: Mr. Obama, by contrast, started out much more directly, suggesting that if you make $150,000 or…

From HotAir.com, "POW: I Remember McCain Telling the Cross Story in 1971" by the Allahpundit My friends, the obtuseness of the angry left sometimes shocks me into a benumbed silence. While I've been staring at the intertubes in slack-jawed silence, Allah has summed things up well: Anything that…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Now Phelps Chases Gold on Land" by Christopher Rhoads According to this story, Michael Phelps' haul of eight gold medals may be worth nine figures. Given the physical torment and mental ennui involved with swimming great lengths, the kid has earned every penny he…

From the Boston Globe, "Hindsight Isn't 20-20" by Jeff Jacoby The outstanding Jacoby, the lonely conservative presence on the Globe's op-ed page, makes an excellent case for why the Iraq war was worth doing: Hindsight isn't always 20-20, particularly in wartime, when early expectations of an easy…

Here's the real scandal behind the whole cone-of-silence non-scandal. Per Rick Warren, both McCain and Obama had a heads-up regarding the tougher questions at Saturday's forum. The pastor didn't want the candidates to be struck dumb by the hard ones. Warren specifically cited the inquiry where the…

In a strange frenzy of increasing desperation, the left has unsheathed two new attacks aimed at John McCain. The first suggests that McCain somehow evaded the "cone of silence" at the Saddleback debate and thus had an unfair advantage. After all, how could McCain have given a better answer to who…

From the New York Times, "Showdown at Saddleback" by William Kristol From Real Clear Politics, "McCain Shines at Saddleback Forum" by Michael Gerson From Commentary, "McCain Tonight" by John Podhoretz I didn't see the Obama-McCain semi-showdown live on Saturday night. Instead, I was out catching…

From National Review, "The Lieberman Option" by Rich Lowry From The Politico, "McCain Alarms Base with Abortion Comment" by Jonathan Martin From Commentary, "The Argument for Lieberman" by John Podhoretz First from the Politico: Top social conservative leaders in key battleground states are urging…

An interesting nugget from today's Rasmussen Daily Snapshot: "Despite the Russian invasion of Georgia, daily tracking data shows no shift in voter priorities for Election 2008. Forty-one percent (41%) say economic issues are most important while just 22% name national security issues as the top…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Bush Toughens Up" by the Editors Like many conservatives, the Journal's editors have been hard on the administration's dilatory response to the situation in Georgia. Also like many conservatives, they are now pleased that the Bushies have rediscovered their spine. The…

Rasmussen has a poll up whose results will chill the hearts of those of us who enjoy (and occasionally guest-host) conservative talk radio shows: Nearly half of Americans (47%) believe the government should require all radio and television stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal…

From the New York Times, "Creep Show" by Buzz Bissinger Buzz hates the Olympics even more than I do! As you may know, Bissinger is the author of the seminal fly-on-the-wall sports book, Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights was a searing look at the world of high stakes high school football as…

From the New York Times, "The Wrong Force for the Right War" by Bartle Breese Bull The generally hawkish and specifically pro-surge Bull questions the bipartisan wisdom that we should flood a bunch of troops into Afghanistan in order to better pursue "the right war." But what are the real prospects…

From Salon.com, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" by Walter Shapiro Shapiro laments how he bought John Edwards's long stream of shinola only to be betrayed when Edwards' true nature finally revealed itself in that Beverly Hills men's room: Beginning with a trip to North Carolina in the spring of 2001 to…

"China's Communist rulers, while basking in the glow of their Olympics bash, are surely checking the tea leaves for what this might presage about U.S. support for another U.S. ally: the democratic Republic of China on Taiwan. If the U.S. will not stand up to North Korea, will not stand up to Iran,…

From Rasmussen Reports, "59% see Russian Invasion of Georgia as Threat" by Scott Rasmussen The pollster reports: Just over half (51%) believe that John McCain is the best equipped of the two major presidential candidates to handle a similar crisis in the future, while 36% believe Barack Obama is…

From the Daily Dish, "Cheney or Putin" by Andrew Sullivan Andrew Sullivan provides a wonderful example of the moral confusion brought on by an acute case of Bush Derangement Syndrome: A key point: Russia is not exporting a totalitarian ideology; it is flexing its military power in its backyard, as…

From the Washington Post, "A Path to Peace in the Caucasus" by Mikhail Gorbachev Even Gorbachev, a.k.a. Russia's Jimmy Carter, is flush with militaristic pride based on Putin's Georgia adventure. What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South…

From National Review, "Moscow's Sinister Brilliance" by Victor Davis Hanson In this brief essay, Professor Hanson gives you just about everything you need to know about the Russia-Georgia conflict. You'll want to read the whole thing, but the following passage is my favorite: The Russians have…

Showing the same sort of rapid response that He displayed during the 14 month Jeremiah Wright "problem," Barack Obama and His campaign have belatedly issued a rejoinder to the McCain campaign's almost two week old "Celebrity" ad. I think you'll agree it's a stroke of genius. The Obama campaign,…

From Pravda, under the headline, "Russia: Again Savior of Peace and Life:" The international community collectively held their breath waiting for the reaction of Russia after the savage, brutal, criminal attack by Georgia on South Ossetia. After having offered a ceasefire in hostilities, the…

Above is John McCain's entertaining new internet ad. Will Joe Klein find it scurrilous? Will Andrew Sullivan be gobsmacked? Will Barack Obama show a heretofore hidden ability to laugh at himself? You'll have to stay tuned.

From the Wall Street Journal, "Volunteering for Torment" by John Paul Newport It's been a while since I've indulged in some golf blogging. Please forgive me for surrendering to temptation. Besides, it's not like anything interesting is happening in the world like a war breaking out or a major…

From the New York Times, "Will Russia Get Away With It?" by Bill Kristol From the Washington Post, "Putin Makes His Move" by Robert Kagan If I worked for the Atlantic or The American Prospect, I would be forced to write about stuff that I have little or no familiarity with. Fortunately, I'm under…

From the New York Times, "Sometimes, There's News in the Gutter" by Clark Hoyt In an unintentionally laugh-out-loud essay, the Times' ombudsman provides some insight into how the Grey Lady and her fellow media travelers managed to overlook the John Edwards story: Still, Edwards-Hunter was…

Over the past week, several of our friends from the organization Vets for Freedom (VFF) have returned to Iraq. All of the men and women on the trip are veterans of the Iraq War, most of them combat veterans. The idea was that they would return to the areas where they served so they could see what…

When the Olympics enter the public consciousness, we like to think it should be for sports-related reasons, even if some of us hardly consider the likes of synchronized swimming and curling real sports. But the Beijing Games have made news for all the wrong reasons. When the International Olympic…

From this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly: EW: Everyone knows you're a Jay-Z fan, but who else is on your iPod? Barack Obama: My staff teases me about how eclectic my tastes are. I've got Frank Sinatra, I've got Sheryl Crow, I've got John Coltrane, I've got Bob Dylan. There's Javanese flute…

From HotAir.com, "Edwards Admits Affair" by the Allahpundit It's been a long week of blogging, and yet I still can't seek safety on the golf course - I must say something about the John Edwards affair. As is so often the case, Allah has the best and most insightful rundown. If you're keeping score…

Under the breathless headline "'Adlai Stevenson's Lasting Legacy' panel to feature Adlai Stevenson III, Sept. 24", Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School offers details of a compelling program you won't want to miss in addition to wrapping up this week's "Not a Parody" prize: A panel discussion titled…

From National Review, "On Energy, Do Everything" by Charles Krauthammer It was my great honor during one of my stints guest-hosting the Hugh Hewitt Show to be able to tell Charles Krauthammer publicly to his face (or at least over the phone) what I've often said in private - he is the best…

From the New York Times, "Know-Nothing Politics" by Paul Krugman In his trademark understated and genteel manner, Paul Krugman tries with today's column to buck up the fortitude of the Don't Drill Democrats. I truly wish him the best of luck in the endeavor. The column highlights what a tough spot…

Apropos of Jake Tapper's scoop showing that Barack Obama receives more money from Exxon/Mobil than John McCain, blogger Jeff Dobbs of The Voice in My Head (which you should be reading every day) has come up with a logo to convey the gravity of the situation. barackbigoil.jpg

From Rasmussen Reports, "News You Watch Says a Lot About How You'll Vote" by Scott Rasmussen Fascinating stuff here. 87% of Fox News viewers plan on voting for John McCain. By way of comparison, 63% of MSNBC viewers plan on voting for Barack Obama. Yesterday, I posited that Keith Olbermann was…

Above is the McCain campaign's new ad. Not that anyone asked my opinion, but I like it. Facing an unpleasant reality, there's no way a normal Republican would have had a chance in the 2008 general election. The Republican brand at this moment is badly damaged and in disrepute. It's something of a…

From the Wall Street Journal, "What McCain Should Do Next" by Karl Rove Quoth the Architect: "Then there's character. Mr. McCain is the most private person to run for president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. He needs to share (or allow others to share) more about him, especially his faith. The…

From the Washington Post, "A Way Back to the High Road" by David Broder It's become a quadrennial tradition more reliable than the Olympics and almost as boring. Every presidential election, the media shed crocodile tears over how negative the campaign process has become. Today, David Broder…

From the Huffington Post, "John Kerry, Surrogate-in-Chief" by Sam Stein A few months ago, I urged the Obama campaign to consider John Kerry as its running mate. Forget the fact that Kerry would fulfill His needs; Kerry would also fill my need for non-stop comedy: There is one man that Barack Obama…

From the New York Times, "Learning to Speak Climate" by Tom "The World is Melting" Friedman Tom Friedman has written his fourth straight column on environmental matters. Yippee! Obviously, Friedman is trying to get on to the Al Gore gravy train, the one that allowed the prophet of environmental…

madashelloi4.jpg From National Review Online, "MSOBAMA" by Pete Wehner Like many of us, Wehner has taken a fascination in the falling out between Dana Milbank and Keith Olbermann. In case you haven't heard, Olbermann happily greeted the news that his longtime partner in purported news analysis…

From the Boston Globe, "Obama Shows Hints of His Year in Global Finance" by Sassha Issenberg I know what you're thinking: Obama spent a year in global finance? Where did He find the time, what with already being a community organizer, a part-time lawyer, a law school lecturer and a state…

Yes, it's true - we should all check our tire pressure regularly. Our vehicles will be more fuel efficient if we do so. We should also wear our galoshes in inclement weather. What we don't need is a president to remind us of these things. Take it from someone who lived for 12 years under Michael…

From the Wall Street Journal, "My Bet with Francis Fukayama" by Bret Stephens Stephens begins the process of figuring out how history will view the Iraq War. He also details how he took $100 from fickle philosopher Francis Fukayama: I'll grant that Mr. Fukuyama had decided the war was a mistake --…

From the New York Times, "Where's the Landslide?" by David Brooks In this provocative yet oddly silly column, Brooks purports to diagnose why Barack Obama hasn't run away with the election. He's a sojourner! The root of it is probably this: Obama has been a sojourner. He opened his book "Dreams…

From McCain '08, "Broken" by some really clueless campaign workers Please - bring back the allegedly juvenile ads that moved the debate! Yes, it's true that only Lowry and I liked them when they first came out, but we were a lonely majority of two. I'll make a bold prediction - the above ad will…

From The Hill, "MoveOn Plans to Push Back Hard Against House GOP" by Klaus Marre Here's perhaps the best news of the morning! MoveOn is going to mark out the "don't drill" territory of the energy debate as its own. Perhaps the organization can play the same constructive role it did when David…

From the New York Times, "Not Quite Ready to Go Home" by Stephen Biddle, Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack The three authors have just returned from Iraq and are soberly analyzing the progress made and the road ahead: Violence in Iraq declined because the key combatants were either defeated in…

Henry Kissinger has written a very moving letter to the Washington Post regarding his friend and mentee, Peter Rodman. It's well worth reading in full: The generation that saw us through World War II and its aftermath is often called "the greatest generation." Without doubt, it performed signal…

The Boss emails some observations from the road: Larry Kudlow makes an interesting suggestion in his article on NRO: As Sen. John McCain and the GOP leadership nationalize the drill, drill, drill message, the Republican party might conceivably be riding a summer political rally. The question of…

intrade.jpg Here's another one for our "Miraculous Fortnight" file. Above is a graphical representation of how Barack Obama has done on the InTrade markets the past three months. You'll want to pay special attention to the end of the graph which represents the last few weeks, or the entire…

From the great James Lileks: In the summer of '78 I was back home in Fargo between college years - exiled from the civilized world, cast into barbarity. During the day I labored under the hot sun painting giant fuel tanks in the hot sun, next to an auto-body shop that exhaled poison and Eagles all…

A month ago, Barack Obama righteously (not to mention correctly) opposed tapping the Strategic Oil Reserve. Back then, Obama said that we should only tap the reserve in the event of an emergency. Since then, oil prices have plummeted by $25/barrel, or more than 16%. And yet now, inexplicably, the…

From the New York Times, "How to Pick a V.P." by William Kristol The boss looks inside Team McCain's veep selection process, and has them foreseeing four possible scenarios: 1. "We're going to defeat Obama straight up." That means Pawlenty or Portman, the two least controversial and most…

From the New York Times, "McCain, the Analog Candidate" by Marc Leibovich My former basketball teammate Leibovich* has written an enormously entertaining article on the technologically challenged Republican nominee: "I don't expect to set up my own blog," he told the New York Times reporters Adam…

Obama brain.JPG From BarackObama.com, "New Energy for America" by Barack Obama Linked is the text to a "major address" that Obama gave today on energy policy. Just once, I would like a presidential candidate to give a minor address. The context of the major address in question is full of big…

From CBSNews.com, "O-Force One" by Allison O'Keefe This story will really help Obama with all of those arrogant/presumptuous storylines that have burgeoned in recent days. Apparently, He has spent his bountiful campaign funds (donated in dribs and drabs by poor people!) on a campaign plane worthy…

From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen Barack Obama's "miraculous fortnight" continues! He now trails John McCain by one point. Yes, you read that right - the Maverick has surged into the lead. The most interesting findings: A week ago today, Obama had a…

As John Kerry and Joe Lieberman dueled on Meet the Press, I had an epiphany. Many times over the past few months, people have asked me what they can do to help John McCain win the election. Often, these have been people of means. I have yet to offer any creative or even hackneyed ideas. But that…

Andrew Sullivan has returned from his two week vacation, swooning more than ever: "Yes, the last couple of weeks of the campaign, even from my remote perch, were pretty uninspiring on the GOP side. Here's my brief take, for what it's worth. Obama's fortnight was an objectively miraculous one." In…

1) From the Washington Post, "The Curious Mind of John McCain" by Robert G. Kaiser A couple of days ago, we glanced at a Jonathan Chait column that whined about the way Democratic general election candidates are always labeled flip-floppers. Well, today it's the Republicans' chance to whine. Every…

1) From SlateV.com, "Leave Obama Alone" by Christopher Beam (Please see update below) This is a first in Required Reading history - Required Viewing! Before diligently completing your assignment, be forewarned: Those pretend whiny Obama supporters can be a salty bunch. There is obscenity in the…

As you know, I haven't exactly established myself as a robotic defender of the McCain campaign. Thus, in the spirit of a very minor league Nixon going to an even more minor league China, I will be the first member of the right wing press to unequivocally defend the McCain ad that compares Barack…

1) From Gallup.com, "Presidential Race Tightens to 4 Points" by some guy who works for Gallup The Ego has landed! A mere three days ago, Barack Obama sat comfortably perched atop a nine point lead in the Gallup tracking poll. Now it's down to four. Rasmussen shows an even tighter race. In…

Jake Tapper notes that frantic Democrats are attempting to add "context" to Barack Obama's latest mega-gaffe. In case you've already forgotten, Obama's latest homage to Himself found Him saying, "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." Anyhoo, per…

Speaking to a bunch of Democratic congress-crtitters last night, Barack Obama proved beyond any measure of a doubt that his ego has completely run away with him. Quoth the longtime community organizer: "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." Somehow…

1) From the Politico, "Ted Stevens indicted on 7 Counts" by Martin Kady II and John Bresnahan As they say up in Alaska, oy gevalt. At least that's what they say up there in a Michael Chabon novel. Anyway, the Republican party has a new poster boy for the 2008 election. He's an 84 year-old whose…

ObamaAbroad.JPG When Hillary Clinton kicked off her 2000 campaign for senate, she gaudily commenced a "listening tour" in which she traveled New York listening to the concerns of ordinary voters. The cynics among us never wholly swallowed the notion that the then-First Lady really cared what the…

Last night, Mike Huckabee appeared on Hannity & Colmes. I was occasionally critical of Huckabee during the primaries - okay, I was more like "very often" critical of Huckabee during the primary season - but his appearance on H&C was extremely impressive. The McCain campaign should be listening to…

1) From the Horse Race Blog, "On Obama's Message" by Jay Cost The always cogent Cost does a magnificent job laying out Barack Obama's meta-narrative: Obama's organization is built around a faulty, occasionally absurd meta-narrative. A meta-narrative is just a campaign's central message, the core…

Brian Williams held an interview with Mahmoud Ahmadenijad that you'll be able to see on NBC tonight. The following exchange will likely make the most news: BRIAN WILLIAMS: Is Iran's goal to have nuclear power or to be a nuclear power? Pres. AHMADINEJAD: (Through translator) We are not working to…

It was a very smiley version of the Sunday news shows. Barack Obama appeared on Meet the Press, and John McCain popped up on This Week. And both of them smiled a lot. Perhaps McCain's aides thought he had been coming through as too cranky and that the best way to counter to such an impression would…

ObamaAbroad.JPG I know. Barack Obama inspired you yesterday. And yet you're frustrated. You too long to be a "citizen of the world." But you feel stymied. You're asking yourself, "How do I go about such a thing?" Well, I'm here to help. If you click here, you will be directed to a website that will…

1) From the New York Times, "Playing Innocent Abroad" by David Brooks Brooks takes a savage scalpel to Barack Obama's soon-to-be- infamous Ich bin ein Weltburger speech. ("Weltburger" means "citizen of the world," by the way.) Obama speeches almost always have the same narrative arc. Some problem…

Passionate Obama supporter Meteor Blades titled his Daily Kos essay on today's colossal failure of a speech, "By This Foreign Policy Speech Will Future Ones Be Measured." Fair enough - that's why they make paint in different colors. In spite of mine and Mr. Blades's disagreement on the speech's…

1) From Barack Obama.com, "A Magical Cure for All Insomniacs" by Barack Obama Greetings, fellow citizens of the world! If you're like me and suffer from insomnia, you'll want to keep the link to Obama's speech in Germany today handy. Free yourself from Ambien! The speech was so dull, even Obama…

1) From Swampland, "McCain Meltdown" by Joe Klein Huge news! Joe Klein is scandalized. The following John McCain quote has made the longtime and battle hardened campaign coverer hie to his proverbial fainting couch: "This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the…

Obama brain.JPG As you know, Barack Obama is still trotting across the globe, sinking three pointers, ignoring military counsel and healing the occasional leper. Amidst all the hullabaloo, these Obama comments regarding Israel and terrorism have been sadly overlooked: "Um, let me be absolutely…

In the past, I've noted how elites in the Bos/Wash/NY/Hyde Park corridor have shown a benign indifference to soaring gas prices. Mind you, I'm a self-confessed arugula-munching/latte swilling Boston-based elitist myself who visits his local filling station on average a bit more than once a month.…

1) From the Los Angeles Times, "For McCain, the Surge is a Losing Strategy" by Jonah Goldberg A couple of week ago, I mentioned my depression over the way the McCain campaign was functioning. My sad mental state had driven me to beat myself over the head with a baseball bat. After a jot of…

In July 2007 when he was still frantically courting the far left, Barack Obama flatly declared that genocide wouldn't be a good enough reason to keep American troops in Iraq: SUNAPEE, N.H. - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday the United States cannot use its military to…

ObamaAbroad.JPG 1) From the New York Times, "No Substitute for Victory" by William Kristol In discussing the portion of Barack Obama's road show that will soon stumble across Germany, Kristol avoids any pettiness regarding the campaign's choice of venue for Obama's benediction/mass leper healing…

1) From RealClearPolitics.com, "The Audacity of Vanity" by Charles Krauthammer 'hammer time! Dr. Krauthammer's article has justifiably set off quite a firestorm of delight in conservative circles. My email box has overflowed with links to the column and comments like "Krauthammer's best ever!"…

Obama brain.JPG Barack Obama delivered a speech in West Lafeyette, IN on Wednesday and once again mangled some well known historical facts: Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, from the bomb…

1) From the Wall Street Journal, "Who Obama Should See in Iraq" by Dan Senor Senor spent 2003 and 2004 as a senior advisor to the coalition in Iraq. From this experience, he has a pretty good idea what a naïve junior senator should look for in Iraq if he is in fact intent on having a serious fact…