Today’s edition of quick hits. <\/p>\n
* Oh my<\/a>: “At least six people were killed Wednesday after gunmen opened fire outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. Several armed men attacked the police post at the consulate’s entrance at around 11 a.m. local time, Turkish television channels reported. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said that three police officers and three attackers were killed during the 15-minute shootout. At least one suspect was believed to remain at-large.”<\/p>\n * I’m quite certain the war in Iraq isn’t over<\/a>: “At least 14 people were killed in bomb attacks on Wednesday, including a suicide bombing against an Iraqi general who escaped unharmed, the officer and security officials said. A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-filled car against the convoy of General Riyadh Jalal Tauffiq, the head of the security operations in Iraq’s main northern city of Mosul and its surrounding province of Nineveh.”<\/p>\n * In the wake of the FISA vote, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are already planning<\/a> to challenge the new legislation in court, presumably after Bush signs it into law.<\/p>\n * In dramatic fashion<\/a>, Sen. Ted Kennedy returned to the Senate floor this afternoon, helped break a Republican filibuster, and helped pass long-stalled Medicare legislation. I needed a little good news today….<\/p>\n * Today’s message<\/a> in Iraq doesn’t sound like yesterday’s message: “A deadline should be set for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Iraq, and the pullout could be done by 2011, an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday. Ali al-Dabbagh said any timetable would depend on “conditions and the circumstances that the country would be undergoing.” But he said a pullout within “three, four or five” years was possible. ‘It can be 2011 or 2012,’ al-Dabbagh said. (thanks to R.K. for the tip)<\/p>\n * In the latest example of the AP going out of its way to help John McCain’s presidential campaign, the wire service got the story about McCain’s “joke” on killing Iranians wildly wrong<\/a>. Note to the AP: the interesting angle here had nothing to do with McCain’s wife.<\/p>\n * On a related note, it’s not just the AP. All kinds of media personalities came forward today to, of course, defend McCain<\/a> and explain that his “joke” about killing Iranians shouldn’t be taken seriously. McCain’s “base,” in other words, remains very much intact. * Congress is unpopular, but it’s not that<\/i> unpopular<\/a>.<\/p>\n * True<\/a>: “Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) cannot win the presidency if the election becomes a referendum on President Bush, a prominent Republican lawmaker, Rep. Tom Davis (Va.), declared Wednesday. ‘If this is a referendum on Bush, then this race is over,’ Davis said on a conference call with reporters.”<\/p>\n * The McCain campaign is lying about Obama’s position on Iran<\/a>. It must be a day that ends in “y.”<\/p>\n * Some necessary pushback<\/a> against Fox News’ attacks against Michelle Obama.<\/p>\n * I enjoy all of the episodes of Bloggingheads.tv, but the latest, featuring Matt Yglesias and TNR’s Jamie Kirchik, was especially entertaining<\/a> (especially when Matt pushed back against Kirchik’s talk about Obama “flip-flopping” on Iraq, which, of course, never happened).<\/p>\n * You may have noticed the odd, news-free New York Times Magazine cover story this week on Rush Limbaugh. What readers probably didn’t realize, though, is that the NYT inexplicably gave the assignment to Zev Chafets<\/a>, a conservative who wants to defend the right-wing blowhard from the “liberal media<\/a>.” (Call me crazy, but the fact that Chafets even wrote the piece for the NYT magazine helps prove that there is no liberal media.)<\/p>\n * Note to Pat Buchanan: If you don’t want people to think you’re a racist, don’t advertise your new book on a neo-Nazi talk show<\/a>. Just a helpful hint.<\/p>\n * And speaking of racism, some Republicans in New Jersey are promoting a message that reads, “Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole<\/a>.”<\/p>\n * According to CBS News foreign correspondent Kimberly Dozier, Gen. David Petraeus<\/a> “won’t let folks use words like ‘triumph’ or ‘victory’ or say ‘we’re winning.'” I wonder if McCain will get that message.<\/p>\n
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\n* The White House nearly created an international incident<\/a> by plagiarizing from a site called Encyclopedia of World Biography, and then neglecting to read the text it stole. Ugh.<\/p>\n