As a rule, I generally ignore Jonah Goldberg’s columns — they’re hardly worth responding to — but his argument today has become increasingly common among conservatives, and therefore needs to be shot down quickly and thoroughly. Here we have a president forthrightly trying to win a war, and the opposition — which not long ago […]
There were a variety of insightful, important exchanges during Secretary of State Condi Rice’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, but one of the pre-hearing comments, overhead on an open mic, raised eyebrows. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice let slip her news media preferences Thursday, saying, “I love every single one” of Fox […]
If last night’s presidential address was Bush’s “last chance” to convince Americans that he has a sound and effective plan for the war in Iraq, the White House has a problem. Initial overnight polls show the speech wasn’t particularly persuasive. A majority of Americans oppose sending additional troops to Iraq as outlined by President Bush […]
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: * CNN is reporting that the DNC has picked Denver as the host city for its 2008 national convention. * Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) was embarrassed, again, when a video of a […]
Of all the coverage of the president’s “new” policy in Iraq, this may be the most helpful in understanding Bush’s perspective. As part of a campaign to market the new strategy, Mr. Bush’s aides insisted that the plan was largely created by the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Yet Mr. Bush sounded less […]
Over the course of the president’s 20-minute address last night, he used one word six times: “Iran.” As in: * “Radical Shia elements, some supported by Iran, formed death squads.” * “The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits…. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit […]
The decisions made by the White House yesterday — before and during Bush’s national address — only solidified Democratic opposition to the president’s escalation strategy, but it’s worth remembering that Republicans are, with less and less hesitation, jumping ship. President Bush’s plan to deploy more US troops to Iraq drew rebukes from a range of […]
When the president addressed the nation last night, in just the second sentence, he told the country that he would “outline” a “new strategy.” That, in and of itself, was misleading — the “strategy” hasn’t changed at all. Putting the particulars aside for a moment, last night was, almost literally, more of the same. As […]
I’m afraid I’ll be away from my computer at 9 (ET), and won’t be able to comment on the president’s national address until morning. But that’s no reason not to have an open thread on the big occasion. We don’t have to wait for Bush for all the details, though. In advance of the speech, […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The “escalation” vs “surge” rhetorical debate is surprisingly important in helping shape public opinion. ThinkProgress made a fascinating observation today about the results of a recent CBS poll: when Americans were asked if they support an escalation of forces in Iraq, only 18% said yes. Asked if they support […]