Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* Just go watch Olbermann<\/a>. You’ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n * When Dems run a web video featuring a picture of flag-draped coffins, it’s an outrage that sparked days of political controversy. When Republicans run two<\/i> campaign commercials featuring a picture of flag-draped coffins, no one seems to care<\/a>. Do you suppose there are different standards for the parties?<\/p>\n * If you missed it, the NYT had a very good editorial<\/a> today: “As President Bush throws himself into the final days of a particularly nasty campaign season, he’s settled into a familiar pattern of ugly behavior. Since he can’t defend the real world created by his policies and his decisions, Mr. Bush is inventing a fantasy world in which to campaign on phony issues against fake enemies.”<\/p>\n * Remember Ann Coulter’s voting “problem<\/a>“? As it turns out, she’s refused to cooperate with a criminal investigation, and as several alert readers mentioned (including G.D., S.W., and K.Z.), her case is being turned over to prosecutors<\/a>.<\/p>\n * I knew Andrew Sullivan wasn’t getting along well with the Bush gang anymore but I didn’t appreciate the extent to which he’s disillusioned<\/a>. On CNN yesterday, Sullivan denounced the latest Bush statement in support of Rumsfeld, stating that the president is so delusional, “This is not an election anymore, it’s an intervention.” Sullivan said the president was “so in denial,” comparing the Rumsfeld endorsement to applauding the job FEMA’s Michael Brown did on Katrina: “It’s unhinged. It suggests this man has lost his mind. No one objectively could look at the way this war has been conducted, whether you were for it, as I was, or against it, and say that it has been done well. It’s a disaster…. For him to say it’s a fantastic job suggests the president has lost it, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to say it…..These people must be held accountable.”<\/p>\n * If Barack Obama decides to run for president, he’ll instantly be a top-tier candidate. A CNN poll<\/a> shows Hillary Clinton continuing to lead the Dem field with 28% support nationally, but Obama cuts into her support and comes in a strong second with 17%. John Edwards, Al Gore, and John Kerry (D-MA) are tied for third place. * Less than a month ago, Iraq hawk Ralph Peters said<\/a> he’d give the war in Iraq another year, but that’s it. Now, Peters appears to have lost his patience<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Joe Lieberman’s campaign finance controversy — remember that “slush fund”? — seems to be getting pretty interesting<\/a>.<\/p>\n * My friend Homer alerted me to an interesting award that Bill Clinton won this week: a foundation named Clinton a recipient of an award that grants them one wish to change the world<\/a>. (Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and Time magazine photojournalist James Nachtwey also won awards)<\/p>\n * When CNN does two panels featuring four pundits, you’d think it’d be two from the left and two from the right. Last night, viewers found Ann Coulter, Mickey Kaus, Christopher Hitchens, and Andrew Sullivan. Balanced? Not so much<\/a>.<\/p>\n * David Brooks thinks Iraq has “always been a bloody mess.” Now he tells us<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n* I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I’m amazed nine former Republicans in Kansas are running for public office this year as Dems<\/a>.<\/p>\n