I really have to take my hat off to Ron Brownstein today for coming up with one of my favorite analogies in recent memory. Brownstein was following up on the budget debate from last week, in which Senate moderates successfully pared down Bush’s tax cut plan, and restored a modicum of sanity to the budget. […]
Fred Hiatt has an interesting column in the Washington Post this morning about Bush’s critics arguing overlooking the fact that Clinton took several of the same steps when it came to international relations as his successor. As Hiatt explained, critics argue that “Bush had doomed his chances by arrogantly thumbing his nose at the International […]
As many of you know, Carpetbagger has more than a passing interest in Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign. This is a big week for Dean for America, and even though it’s early spring and there’s a war going on, this very week will be of critical importance for Dean in the coming months. First, today […]
You had to know this was coming. As I’ve mentioned from time to time, there are substantive, qualitative differences within the Bush administration about foreign policy. I don’t mean disagreements about how many troops to send to Iraq, or how best to punish our allies have declined to participate in the war. I mean different […]
There is a commonly-found belief in the Middle East that the U.S. is invading Iraq as part of a broader crusade against Islam. Many Muslims in these countries perceive Bush as a fundamentalist Christian, closely allied with many American religious “leaders” who have condemned Islam, and fear that the U.S. will follow Ann Coulter’s advice […]
Here’s something I had hoped to share on Friday, but was delayed due to some technical difficulties. At this point, it seems a little dated, but I nevertheless wanted to share. You may recall my dismay about the administration’s diplomatic bullying tactics against Canada. Naturally, once Canadian officials heard that their doubts about war were […]
At this point, it doesn’t matter how big Bush’s so-called “Coalition of the Willing” is in Iraq. The administration tried, sort of, to get some allies together, they came up with England and Australia, and they launched the invasion. The debate over the president’s success or failure in convincing allies of the war’s efficacy is […]
Last week I was complaining about obvious inconsistencies in the Bush administration’s approach to foreign policy. On justifying war with Iraq, dealing with the North Korean crisis, and even tacitly supporting a coup in Venezuela, the White House’s approach to foreign policy has repeatedly lacked coherence and consistency. It prompted the LA Times’ James Mann, […]
I had some technical difficulties that prevented me from uploading after about 1pm yesterday. I actually started having withdrawal symptoms, but fortunately all is well again. It appears that all the problems I was having have been fixed. Or more accurately, my wife, let’s call her Evening, was able to fix them for me. Many […]
As expected, the House voted overwhelmingly today to “recognize the public need for fasting and prayer.” It was surprising that the vote was not unanimous. The final tally was 346 yeas, 49 nays, and 23 members voting “present.” Sure, that’s pretty lopsided, but 49 politicians were willing to vote against government-promoted religion during a time […]