1) From the Wall Street Journal, “Who Obama Should See in Iraq” by Dan Senor Senor spent 2003 and 2004 as a senior advisor to the coalition in Iraq. From this experience, he has a pretty good idea what a naïve junior senator should look for in Iraq if he is in fact intent on having a serious fact gathering mission:
But does Obama care about the reality in Iraq? Over the course of the campaign, the longtime community organizer has shown a surprising disregard for facts. Remember, this is the guy who thought the Americans liberated Auschwitz and that Kennedy and Khrushchev sat down for a confab at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Obama has shown a steady preference for hewing to his pre-existing narratives, however erroneous they may be. His supporters will probably consider the following an admirable sign of backbone, but Barack Obama adamantly refuses to let the actual facts confuse him. And then there’s the secret plan that Obama’s advisors hold for his upcoming Iraq trip. Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin calls our attention to this leak:
I guess Obama is as serious about hearing from the commanders on the ground as he is on marching towards Afghanistan. 2) From the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, “Covington Partner Demonstrates Treatment of Detainees” by Dan Slater
Back in the 1990’s, the white-shoe law firm Covington & Burling was not-so-affectionately known as Covington & Boring for both its tedious practice and its lifeless environment. I haven’t had contact with that world for a while, but if Covington still retains that demeaning sobriquet, it’s not partner David Remes’ fault. Remes represents a handful of men at the Guantanamo detention center. In order to dramatize his clients’ plight, he dropped trou at a press conference in Yemen after meeting with the men’s families. As if the visual aids weren’t enough, Remes delivered a stirring soliloquy that would have made Clarence Darrow (or at least Corbin Bernsen) proud:
I can’t tell which is more offensive – Remes using the bizarre pejorative “corn-fed U.S. military” or showing his tighty-whities for all the world to see. Actually, looking again at the accompanying image, it’s clearly the latter. Still the use of the term “corn-fed U.S. military” is pretty damn offensive also. One wonders whether Remes realizes that the “corn-fed U.S. military” allows him the freedom to wear extremely expensive suits, even if he apparently discards the lower half when the urge strikes. As for the propriety of this entire adventure, there was a time when law firms like Covington considered their partners pantsing themsleves in public to be less than entirely cricket. There was also a quaint time when they frowned on crassly insulting the American military while on foreign ground. 3) From the Wall Street Journal, “Voters Want Economic Leadership” by Karl Rove I’m sorry, but this is one Rove column I just don’t get. Today, Rove suggests that politicians can make a winning issue out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
Let’s flash back to 1992 and the debate where the citizens got to question the candidates. One forlorn woman asked President Bush how the deficit had personally affected him. He rightly looked at her like she had two heads, having no idea how to answer such a strange question. What Bush didn’t know was that “the deficit” had become a catch-all phrase for “the stumbling economy.” Perhaps Fannie and Freddie could become the same thing, but with $4/gallon gas, the housing bubble and the credit crunch, such abstractions are likely unnecessary. Besides, do we really think the American public is ready for a serious and substantive conversation on mortgage backed securities? (“Mortgage-backed whats? Give me affordable gas!!”) Alas, have we become so boring as a nation? And even if we were ready for such a national dialogue, there’s no indication that either presidential candidate has the private sector chops to participate in such a conversation let alone lead it. 4) From the Washington Times, “Democrat Centrists Duel with Netroots” by Christina Bellantoni I don’t know who the “centrists” in the title refers to. Harold Ford seems to be the only centrist dueling, and he’s not even an office-holder. Joe Lieberman’s a centrist, but he’s not really a Democrat and he wouldn’t touch the Netroots with a ten foot modem. Anyway, Ford is off to Netroots Nation, the rechristened version of the Yearly Kos, to debate Markos Moulitsas.
Since the Netroots’ ascendancy, times have been good for the Democratic party. I would argue crediting the Netroots for the good times is akin to crediting the trees for pushing the wind, but the records between the Democrats “under” Kos and the Democrats “under” the DLC provide a dramatic contrast.. The DLC lost congress; with the Netroots at the party’s forefront, the Democrats regained congress. But good luck to Harold Ford in making his case to Netroots Nation. 5) From the Wall Street Journal, “Smooth Sailing Gets Ugly with Russian Billionaire’s Yacht” by Robert Frank
For people who make truly obscene amounts of money, there is I believe a moral obligation that they labor mightily to enjoy that money and in so doing fuel the dreams of countless other businessmen and craftsmen who have long waited for a profligate billionaire to enter their lives. If I had the billions that 36 year-old Russian industrialist Andrey Melnichenko possesses, I would take this responsibility seriously. I would probably start modestly by building the world’s five best golf courses. But once I was warmed up, there’s no telling what I would do. Melnichenko discharged his sacred responsibility of blowing a huge wad of money on something stupid by building the world’s ugliest yacht. Philipe Starck, who normally crafts kitchen appliances and hotel lobbies, did the design honors. I think after glancing at the picture of the boat you’ll agree Starck should henceforth stick to lemon-squeezers. Yes, it’s true that Melnichencko’s $300+ million should have gotten him an attractive yacht. But kudos to the guy for trying. And if you read the story, I’m sure you’ll agree the yacht sounds very cool even if it looks positively wretched.
