The Office of Special Plans was one of those unique absurdities that only the Bush gang could come up with. The idea was fairly straightforward: administration officials wanted to start a war with Iraq, but didn’t have damning evidence to justify an invasion. Desperate, Dick Cheney and other top administration officials created the OSP to […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Unhinged activist Bill Donohue has already responded to the John Edwards blogger announcement, and needless to say, he’s not happy. In a press statement, Donohue said Edwards’ “goal is to loot the pockets of the Soros/Hollywood gang, and they — like him — aren’t offended by anti-Catholicism. Indeed, they […]
On the Hill, conservative war supporters have a reflexive, knee-jerk reaction to any disapproval of the president’s policy — critics are weak and cowardly. It doesn’t matter whether the conservative avoided military service and the critic didn’t; Bush backers believe in “strength” and “courage,” and his detractors might as well be terrorist sympathizers. It’s why […]
One of the most important under-reported news stories of the last few years is Iran’s 2003 efforts to reach out to the United States in order to strike some kind of peace deal. In June 2006, the WaPo’s Glenn Kessler reported on the document that the Bush administration chose not to take seriously. Just after […]
I’ve been reluctant to write much about the “controversy” surrounding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her use of military jets because the story is maddeningly dumb. I endorse Kevin Drum’s perspective wholeheartedly: “The continuing flap over Nancy Pelosi’s military jet accommodations is so knuckle-draggingly stupid that I can hardly stand to open the newspaper these […]
I’m delighted to see that Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and I are on the same page about reaching out to the government-trained military linguists, removed from duty because of their sexual orientation. (Carpetbagger regular Michael W already mentioned this in comments, but I wanted to give it a post of its own.) Condoleezza Rice got […]
Try as I might to resist, I just can’t help but enjoy Jonah Goldberg Day. It’s possible you haven’t heard why it’s Jonah Goldberg Day, so let’s review. On Feb. 8, 2005 — exactly two years ago today — Goldberg was engaged in one his pointless arguments, this time with professor Juan Cole. Goldberg told […]
John Edwards’ presidential campaign issued a press release a short while ago on work Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen did as “independent bloggers before joining the Edwards campaign.” Edwards said: “The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte’s and Melissa McEwen’s posts personally offended me. It’s not how I talk to people, and […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Barack Obama is taking a unique approach to campaign financing. On the one hand, he’s joined Edwards and Clinton in opting out of the public financing system and rejecting federal matching funds […]
I’ve been reluctant to go into too much detail in criticizing Bush’s latest federal budget, in large part because it’s too ridiculous to take seriously. It became irrelevant a few minutes after White House officials dropped off a copy at the Senate Budget Committee’s office. The document is helpful, however, in highlighting the president’s misguided […]