Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman, arguably Bush’s most enthusiastic war cheerleaders, teamed up today to write a wildly unpersuasive op-ed in (where else?) the Wall Street Journal. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few errors of fact and logic in the piece. McCain and Lieberman attribute progress in Anbar to the surge. They cite […]
‘Crisis in Confidence’
Given that we, in the political world, have been waiting for this week’s discussion on conditions in Iraq for months, it seems like this would be a good time for some broad, over-arching post about the entire dynamic — the troops, the White House, Gen. Petraeus, Amb. Crocker, congressional Dems, congressional Republicans, the media, everyone. […]
Iraqi public opinion decidedly negative
There are a handful of interesting new polls out this morning, most of which show Americans’ thoroughly unsatisfied with the status quo when it comes to Iraq. Perhaps the most interesting new survey isn’t the one that gauges public opinion in the U.S., but rather, in Iraq. Barely a quarter of Iraqis say their security […]
Playing for more time
In talking to Robert Draper for his book “Dead Certain,” the president conceded that his goal was not to end the war or to bring U.S. troops home, but rather, to bide his time. “I’m playing for October-November,” Bush said. For nearly five years, every defense of the administration’s war policy has been just that, […]
The friendly confines of Fox News
Given that he’s working hand-in-hand with the White House’s public-relations team, Gen. David Petraeus enters tomorrow’s congressional testimony as an advocate for the president’s policy, not a neutral and objective observer. To reinforce this belief, Petraeus has decided to spend some of his evening tomorrow night with the “fair and balanced” team at Fox News. […]
West Wing, Petraeus’ shop ‘hard-wired’
There are quite a few noteworthy tidbits in today’s front-page piece in the Washington Post about internal Bush administration divisions over Iraq policy, but this one is probably the key piece to remember: Another new arrival in the West Wing set up a rapid-response PR unit hard-wired into Petraeus’s shop. Ed Gillespie, the new presidential […]
A question of credibility
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), this morning: “Americans are sad, they’re frustrated, they’re angry, and they want out. And I understand that; there were four years of failure under Rumsfeld. As you know, I spoke out early on, in November of 2003, saying that strategy was doomed to failure.” McCain, in December 2003: “This is a […]
Back to the ‘law enforcement’ talking point
On its face, it’s rather mystifying that Meet the Press has made David Brody a regular contributor. While progressive voices have been effectively absent from the Sunday morning shows in recent years, Tim Russert has invited the Capitol Hill correspondent for TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network on for political analysis three times in […]
The public already knows the score
I get the sense that congressional Democrats are deeply worried about how best to respond to tomorrow’s testimony from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Everyone seems well aware of what we’re likely to hear in terms of their assessment, but challenging their conclusions seems trickier. If opponents of the war treat Petraeus and […]
When Bush and the AP have different standards
On Friday, the president was poised to tell the APEC conference in Australia that his policies in Iraq have been so successful, he was able to land at a well-guarded airport in Anbar province and visit with troops at a well-guarded base. As David Kurtz discovered, Bush realized how foolish this was, and wisely decided […]