I’ve seen the polls, watched the debates, and read the fundraising reports. Rudy Giuliani, for reasons that continue to escape me, is at or near the front of the Republican presidential field, based almost entirely on the belief the former mayor is strong on counter-terrorism policy based on the events of Sept. 11. About a […]
‘Come Sept. 30, if you don’t have a resolution, wait for one’
At this point, I simply have no idea what Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is going to do. On Wednesday, it looked like Craig was moving forward aggressively with a plan to salvage his career. On Thursday, his spokesperson said the senator would almost certainly resign by the end of the month, and that the door […]
Why Petraeus’ concession is less than it appears
At first blush, it may seem encouraging that Gen. David Petraeus is suddenly open to the idea of withdrawing about 4,000 troops from Iraq in January. The news, however, isn’t nearly as heartening as it may appear. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus has indicated a willingness to consider a drawdown of one brigade of between […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The story surrounding Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) sure is tough to keep up with: “Republican senators expressed relief Thursday that embattled Sen. Larry Craig has signaled he is highly likely to surrender his seat within a few weeks rather than fight to complete his term…. Craig spokesman Dan Whiting […]
‘I don’t even remember the details of his plan’
One of the principal knocks on actor/lobbyist/senator Fred Thompson’s presidential aspirations is that he’s kind of lazy and unwilling to go beyond the pleasantries and soundbites. He’s an all-hat, no-cattle candidate who doesn’t even take his own policy priorities seriously. After one day as a candidate, Thompson is already reinforcing the conventional wisdom. Fred Thompson […]
GOP Strategy 101: Identify the obstacle, smear the obstacle
The new report from the Government Accountability Office is obviously a thorn in the side of the Bush administration and supporters of its Iraq policy. They have a lot of non-existent progress to point to, and the GAO has produced a detailed, objective, and well-researched document highlighting the failures of the president’s “surge.” So, naturally, […]
How Bush defines ‘strategic thought’
It looks like Robert Draper’s Dead Certain is just a wealth of information. Kevin Drum noted this excerpt, published earlier this week in Slate, which had me laughing out loud. Bush, as always, bridled at the request to navel-gaze. “You’re the observer,” he said as he worked the cheese in his mouth. “I’m not. I […]
Petraeus for President?
The last time the New York Sun looked beyond the existing Republican presidential field for their dream candidate, the conservative paper’s editorial board begged Dick Cheney to throw his hat into the ring. Today, the Sun’s imagination went in an even more creative direction. “I am prepared, even eager, to command our forces in this […]
The search for a ‘middle-ground’ proposal
It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to some kind of compromise on Iraq. There’s a Democratic Congress and a Republican White House. The Senate is practically split right down the middle. Given reality, it should be fairly obvious that the president’s policy is misguided and lawmakers have to impose a major change in direction, but […]
‘It began to look like spaghetti’
Hoping desperately to maintain the status quo, the Bush administration insists that Iraq is less violent now than it was before the “surge” policy went into effect. Forget political progress, reconciliation, and the agreed-upon benchmarks, they say; reduced violence proves how effective the strategy is. The WaPo’s Karen DeYoung wrote a must-read on the subject […]