Today’s edition of quick hits.
* How does John Edwards get some airtime in the midst of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama attacking each other? By attacking them for attacking each other.
* Bill O’Reilly thought he’d flex his muscles a bit by berating JetBlue into canceling its sponsorship of YearlyKos. He probably didn’t think about the equal and opposite reaction: “Liberal activists are stepping up their campaign against Fox News Channel by pressuring advertisers not to patronize the network. MoveOn.org, the Campaign for America’s Future and liberal blogs like DailyKos.com are asking thousands of supporters to monitor who is advertising on the network. Once a database is gathered, an organized phone-calling campaign will begin, said Jim Gilliam, vice president of media strategy for Brave New Films, a company that has made anti-Fox videos.”
* That has to hurt: “Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be “picked up” by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September. ‘My heart has always been with my good friend John McCain,’ said Dole, former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee. ‘But it’s just not happening, the buzz is gone.'”
* The WaPo ran a surprisingly dumb article last week about Hillary Clinton showing a modest amount of cleavage during a speech on the Senate floor last week. This week, the very clever campaign is turning it into a fundraising opportunity: “Frankly, focusing on women’s bodies instead of their ideas is insulting,” Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to Clinton, wrote in the e-mail. “It’s insulting to every woman who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It’s insulting to our daughters — and our sons — who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast.”
* For all the talk about Iran’s influence in Iraq, there is the other huge neighbor to consider: “Now, Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabia’s counterproductive role in the Iraq war. They say that beyond regarding Mr. Maliki as an Iranian agent, the Saudis have offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq. Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow. One senior administration official says he has seen evidence that Saudi Arabia is providing financial support to opponents of Mr. Maliki.”
* Speaking of Iraq, the Parliament hasn’t quite embarked on its month-long break, but in the meantime, Iraqi lawmakers aren’t doing much: “Missing from Thursday’s session of the Iraqi parliament were about half of the members, including the speaker, the former speaker and two former prime ministers. Also missing: a sense of urgency. American officials have been pressing Iraqi leaders to prove their commitment to ending sectarian strife by enacting landmark legislation before mid-September, when the Bush administration is to present its next report on Iraq to Congress. But even as parliament’s monthlong August break approaches, key issues aren’t being discussed. Quorums are marginal, or fleeting.”
* According to Bob Novak, heaven will be blog-free. The guy seems to have something of a hang-up, doesn’t he?
* Bill O’Reilly continues his habit of cutting the mic when a guest might mention something inconvenient. In this case, someone was about to tell O’Reilly’s audience about the hate speech that appears on BillOReilly.com.
* If you haven’t seen Max Blumenthal’s “Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour,” you really ought to take a couple of minutes to check it out.
* When Al Franken first announced his Senate campaign, the GOP treated it like a joke. I don’t think they’re laughing anymore.
* I suppose it’s possible that Limbaugh could be more loathsome, I’m just not sure how.
* Escalation architect ret. Gen. Jack Keane said today that calling the Army broken “is one of the most offensive statements we can make.” He has to pretty upset, then, with a whole lot of former Bush administration officials.
* And finally, I think it’s fair to say the WaPo’s Eugene Robinson has seen enough of our tragic Attorney General: “Over time, one becomes almost numb to this administration’s relentless lies and can-you-top-this transgressions. A kind of ‘outrage fatigue’ sets in, accompanied by the knowledge that whatever it is that they’ve done this time, it could have been worse…. For me, at least, Gonzo is the perfect antidote to midsummer apathy…. I hope they nail him.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.