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Records Counter A Critic Of Kerry By / WaPo — Permalink Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry's most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events. | |
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David Adesnik: Given the WaPo's aggressive investigation of the Swift Vets — which has now turned up documents that seem to contradict... Richard Reeb: Displaying more interest in destroying the credibility of John Kerry's Vietnam War veteran critics than in their... David Allan Pell: According to a W. Post investigation, Larry Thurlow's (one of the nuts who insists Kerry did nothing to earn any of his... |
Donald Sensing: If the Washington Post can file a FOIA request and get the military records of Larry Thurlow, who commanded a swift boat... Barbara O'Brien: And Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post reported that military records directly contradict some of the allegations made in the ad. DeLong: Unfortunately, those in the White House are coming from a different place than you and I. They see things a little... |
| Also: Brian Montopoli, Joe Gandelman, Kevin Raybould, Jeffrey Dubner, Greg Ransom, Roger L. Simon, Armed Liberal, Charles Johnson, Nick Gillespie, Taegan Goddard, Aaron @LiquidList, Nathan Hallford, Jon Henke, James Joyner, Ezra Klein, Bill @INDCJournal, Soccerdad, Jeff Jarvis, Glenn Reynolds, Angry Bear, Richard TPD, Digby, Josh Marshall, Steve M., Oliver Willis, Lambert @Corrente, Atrios, Kevin Drum | |
Unwilling participants CNN — Permalink PATRAS, Greece — Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir scored a goal here on Wednesday night, setting off a rousing celebration among the 1,500 Iraqi soccer supporters at Pampeloponnisiako Stadium. | |
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Steve M.: Used: Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir scored a goal here on Wednesday night, setting off a rousing celebration among the... The Poor Man: And if you want to see how they are enjoying their freedom, why, head on over to Sports Illustrated and find out:... Oliver Willis: They Will Greet Us As Liberators — The darn Iraqi soccer team isn't sticking to the script. [snipped quote] Happy! |
Randy Paul: You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Nor Do you Welcome Me With Them — The Iraqi Olympic Soccer Team gives a major smackdown to President Bush in Sports Illustrated. Talking Dog: It would seem that the highly visible Iraqi national soccer team— which is wowing Olympic spectators with its 2 wins,... Matthew Yglesias: I hadn't even realized that the president was using the Iraqi Olympic soccer team as a prop for his campaign ads, but it... |
| Also: Xan @Corrente, Tbogg, KJL, Kos, Ezra Klein | |
Speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters Kerry for President Press Room — Permalink Boston, MA - Talk about a warm welcome! It's great to see my good friend, Harold Schaitberger. As you know, Harold and I spent a lot of time together in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's a terrific campaigner, and an outstanding leader. | |
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Josh Marshall: But this morning, in a speech to the International Association of Fire Fighters in Boston, he responded squarely to the attacks. Steve Soto: Kerry's speech this morning was blunt and direct, and pointed out that Bush owes answers to the American people about... James Joyner: Hat tip: Barry Ritholtz Related: Kerry ad reiterates his 'heroism' (AJC - AP) Veterans Battle Over the Truth (LA Times) ... |
Greg Ransom: More here. Quotable: [snipped quote] UPDATE: Here is the transcript of Kerry's speech. Jeffrey Dubner: Meanwhile, the Kerry campaign has a new ad out and John Kerry personally slammed George W. Bush for letting SBYY "do his dirty work." Jesse Taylor: I think we just entered the eighth inning. (Via Atrios.) |
| Also: Atrios | |
Bush Campaign Adviser Quits as Sexual Misconduct Case Is Recalled By / NYT — Permalink Deal W. Hudson, the publisher of the conservative Roman Catholic journal Crisis and the architect of a Republican effort to court Catholic voters, says he is resigning as an adviser to the Bush campaign because of a Catholic newspaper's investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct involving a female student at a college where he once taught. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: Karma — I know it isn't good for my soul to take any pleasure in someone else's pain, but after watching two religious... Steve M.: I suppose it would be a bit childish to snicker at Deal Hudson, who's leaving his position as the Bush campaign's chief... Taegan Goddard: Bush Loses Adviser on Catholic Vote — Deal Hudson, the "architect of a Republican effort to court Catholic voters," is... |
Kos: Bush's Catholic adviser — a hypocrite and worse — Bush's point man in his effort to woo Catholic voters, Deal Hudson, has just resigned. Ogged @Unfogged: It's the Upbringing — This might have been a great re-branding opportunity for Catholics, who would just get down with... |
Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground Reuters — Permalink SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) — A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday. | |
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Ace: Bear Drinks 36 Beers; Passes Out — I love bears. I love beer. I love this story. Top Ten Signs a Bear May Be Drunk 10. Joe Gandelman: Bear Guzzles 36 Beers And Passes Out At Campgrounds... And when he woke up he immediately started talking about how the... Clayton Cramer: Black Bears Just Love to Party — From CNN: [snipped quote] Somehow, I can't picture Rainier deciding to use this as an endorsement. |
Jan Haugland: Beer bear — A black bear was found sleeping at a campground in Washington State, after having poured down 36 cans of beer. James Joyner: Bear Guzzles 36 beers, Passes out at Campground — Clearly, a story that's not getting enough attention, what with the... Joel Foreman: A black bear shotgunned three dozen beers and passed out at a Seattle campground. The marketing department for Rainier beer must be doing cartwheels right now. |
| Also: Jack Cluth | |
A Historian's Tour of Duty By / Weekly Standard — Permalink "KERRY WENT into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions," historian Douglas Brinkley told the London Telegraph last week. "He had a run dropping off U.S. Navy Seals, Green Berets, and CIA guys. | |
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Greg Ransom: HUGH HEWITT — It's question time for Doug Brinkley. Captain Ed: Brinkley Must Answer For Incompetence — Hugh Hewitt writes another of his must-read columns in today's Weekly Standard... The Big Trunk: Hugh Hewitt goes in for a closer look in his Standard Online column this morning: "A historian's tour of duty." |
Hugh Hewitt: Here's my WeeklyStandard.com column, "A Historian's Duty," on John Kerry's bizarre tales of Cambodia cross-border... Michelle Malkin: Dogging the LA Times. Hugh Hewitt at The Weekly Standard online has questions for Doug Brinkley. Glenn Reynolds: SOME QUESTIONS FOR DOUG BRINKLEY that he ought to be able to answer. |
| Also: Betsy Newmark | |
Kerry faces tough veteran crowd Chicago Tribune — Permalink CINCINNATI — Sen. John Kerry tried Wednesday to win the hearts and minds of the nation's veterans, a group that traditionally has tilted Republican, by appealing to their sense of patriotism as well as more parochial concerns about government benefits. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Tough Audience... Comedy is easy, dying is hard — and John Kerry winning over an audience like this is harder than dying. Hugh Hewitt: Here's what the Chicago Tribune says about Kerry's Cambodian adventures: "Also Wednesday, the Kerry campaign disputed an... James Joyner: For background, see Kerry faces tough veteran crowd (Chicago Tribune) |
Greg Ransom: Sen. Kerry addresses the VFW. Quotable: [snipped quote] UPDATE: The records story makes page one of the WaPo — and the Kerry in Cambodia story? Orrin Judd: CAMBODIA IS THE EASY PART TO EXPLAIN: Kerry faces tough veteran crowd (Frank James and Rick Pearson, August 19, 2004,... |
Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' By / AP — Permalink BOSTON (AP) - Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Thursday of relying on front groups to challenge his record of valor in Vietnam, asserting, "He wants them to do his dirty work." | |
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Steve Soto: And amazingly, Ron Fournier of the AP (who I trashed yesterday) covered the Kerry speech in a favorable way this morning. Oliver Willis: Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' [snipped quote] The campaign also launched a new ad with Jim Rassman. |
Dave Johnson: AP headline at My Yahoo: Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' [quote] "Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Thursday...[end quote] James Joyner: Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' — Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work' (ABCNEWS.com - AP) "Sen. John Kerry... |
Was Kerry in combat on Dec. 2, 1968? Washington Times — Permalink One of the criteria for awarding a Purple Heart is that the person in question was involved in action against the enemy. A wound resulting from friendly fire still qualifies for a Purple Heart as long as it was incurred while engaged with the enemy. | |
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Greg Ransom: CAPTAIN ED at Captain's Quarters makes the Washington Times. Michelle Malkin: Ed Morrissey raised questions about Kerry's first Purple Heart claims and the Washington Times editorial board picked up on the angle, asking "Was Kerry in combat on Dec. 2, 1968?" Betsy Newmark: The Washington Times picks up on his scoop yesterday that Kerry himself claimed not to have seen combat before on December 11, 1968 when his first Purple Heart was for December 2. |
James Joyner: Related: Records Contradict Kerry Critic's Charges -Report (Reuters) Was Kerry in combat on Dec. 2, 1968? Captain Ed: Captain's Quarters Inspires Washington Times Editorial — Reader and fellow blogger Pat Curley and also William Millan... |
I was Cipel's lover... NY Daily News — Permalink The mystery man who claims to be Golan Cipel's ex-lover said yesterday that not only is the handsome Israeli gay - he's also still in love with Gov. Jim McGreevey. "Golan says he's not gay? | |
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Clayton Cramer: Who Does This Guy Work For? If he's trying to make McGreevey look like the victim of an extortion plot, he's failing. Greg @BeggingToDiffer: Meanwhile, The New York Daily News, in fine tabloid style, has this story (via BuzzMachine) about Dr. David Miller, a... |
Orrin Judd: JUST A LIFESTYLE CHOICE...: I was Cipel's lover...: ...and he's still in love with the gov, says prof (RALPH R. ORTEGA,... Jeff Jarvis: Then, today, the Daily News printed a story about this professor. |
Bush Nails Kerry's Poor Attendance at Intelligence Committee Hearings FactCheck.org — Permalink A Bush-Cheney '04 ad released Aug. 13 accuses Kerry of being absent for 76% of the Senate Intelligence Committee's public hearings during the time he served there. The Kerry campaign calls the ad "misleading," so we checked, and Bush is right. | |
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Jonathan H. Adler: KERRY'S ABSENTEEISM — The Annenberg Center's FactCheck.Org verifies the Bush campaigns claim that Kerry's been AWOL at... Glenn Reynolds: Here's the latest from the Annenberg outfit, FactCheck.org: "A Bush-Cheney '04 ad released Aug. 13 accuses Kerry of... |
Betsy Newmark: Instapundit links to a factcheck.org story saying that the Bush ad about Kerry missing 78% of the Intelligence Committee meetings is absolutely correct. |
Democrats' Legal Challenges Impede Nader By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 - Ralph Nader's efforts to get his name on presidential ballots in important swing states are becoming mired in legal challenges and charges of fraud by Democrats who have mounted an extensive campaign to keep him from becoming a factor in this year's election. | |
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James Joyner: Counting Every Vote? Megan McArdle: [snipped quote] Of course, this is different, in that it helps Democrats. Jane Galt: Department of Dirty Pool — I don't want to hear one more word from Democrats saying that all they really wanted in... Taegan Goddard: Legal Challenges Stall Nader — Ralph Nader's "efforts to get his name on presidential ballots in swing states are... |
Digby: Their hardball approach to the Nader problem has been excellent. Jesse Taylor: Fighting Back — The NYT details Democratic anti-Nader efforts today. Joe Gandelman: Note this New York Times piece: "Ralph Nader's efforts to get his name on presidential ballots in important swing... |
Babies and Bath Water By / NYT — Permalink Maybe it's just that I'm having too many long talks with my 16-month-old these days, but I find myself sensitive to the language of "daddies" and "dummies." This is the language of toddlerhood; it's not how we should be framing a national conversation about the president. | |
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Tbogg: Couple this with some wise words from Dahlia Lithwick: One of the most enduring memories from the Bush-Gore debates in... Matthew Yglesias: Today's Dahlia Lithwick column leaves the law behind to take on unnamed persons who've been arguing lately that George... Stirling Newberry: Dahlia Lithwick is Dumber than the Post — Dahlia, being a professional imbecile means not say things that are this obviously stupid. |
Kevin T. Keith: Bush Is Too Dumb to Hold Office Dahlia Lithwick, of Slate.com, has an editorial in today's New York Times arguing that... Barbara O'Brien: L'enfant terrible — Dahlia Lithwick writes in today's New York Times that we shouldn't be "infantilizing" President Bush. Betsy Newmark: Even Dahlia Lithwick is sick of liberals criticizing Bush as stupid or a child. |
| Also: Digby | |
Military records counter a Kerry critic By / MSNBC — Permalink WASHINGTON - Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry's most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events. | |
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Joe Gandelman: TO BOTH SIDES: There are some voters (like me) who could care less about the ongoing controversy over the military... Jon Henke: The Media Plays Defense — I'm having a bit of trouble piecing this Washington Post story together...(alt: here) Betsy Newmark: Newsweek reports that one of Kerry's critics who claims that there was no fire in the Rassman rescue event himself received a Bronze Star citing enemy fire for the same incident. |
Joel Foreman: Now WaPo via MSNBC is reporting that Larry Thurlow, a swift boat commander on another vessel alongside Kerry's during the now-infamous Bay Hap mine incident. James Joyner: Records Contradict Swifty Charges — Records Counter a Critic of Kerry (Michael Dobbs, WaPo) Military records counter a... Ace: MSNBC actually deigned to lower itself to report, obliquely, on the Kerry allegations. The headline? |
Follow the Money Washington Monthly — Permalink Two decades ago, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a highly respected financial titan. In 1987, when its subsidiary helped finance a deal involving Texas oilman George W. Bush, the bank appeared to be a reputable institution, with... | |
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Soccerdad: David Sirota and Jonathan Baskin have a really good article, Follow the Money, in the Washington Monthly. Atrios: David Sirota has a new piece in the Washington Monthly which tells us all about it. |
Daniel Davies: Kerry and BCCI — Gosh, I remember this from my small collection of BCCI books, but had never realised it was the same John Kerry. |
Porn star tells U.S. military: 'Bullets, not boobs' Reuters — Permalink LOS ANGELES - A group supporting natural breasts staged a small street protest in Hollywood Wednesday against a U.S. military policy offering free breast implants to female soldiers. | |
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Donald Sensing: MSBNC reports porn star Mary Carey is trying to lead a protest against the Army because it offers free breast... |
Glenn Reynolds: NOW HERE'S A PROTEST AIMED AT THE MILITARY that I might be able to get behind. Or not. |
Kerry 'ex-flame' in web backlash BBC — Permalink A woman who claims to be an old flame of US presidential hopeful John Kerry says she plans to take down details of their relationship she put on the web. Lee Whitnum, an aspiring novelist writing under the surname Roystone, said she had received 500 hate e-mails from Democrats and Republicans. | |
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Taegan Goddard: Kerry's Ex-Girlfriend Takes Down Site — "A woman who claims to be an old flame of US presidential hopeful John Kerry... Robert Cox: WITHOUT WARNING OR EXPLANATION According to the BBC, the woman with the Kerry Scrapbook, Lee Whitnum, was trying to sell books. |
Hindrocket: The BBC reports; its story is titled "Kerry 'ex-flame' in web backlash": [snipped quote] I checked our link, and it appears that the Kerry scrapbook has been taken down. |
Friendly Fire: The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad NYT — Permalink A damage report to Mr. Thurlow's boat shows that it received three bullet holes that day, suggesting enemy fire, and later intelligence reports indicate that one Vietcong was killed in action and five others wounded, reaffirming the presence of an enemy. | |
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Roger L. Simon: But The New York Times, writing for the first time on this scandal they have so assiduously avoided, buries what surely... |
Betsy Newmark: Well, here is the New York Times hit piece on the SBVT. Basically, they spend a lot of time looking at who contributed to the group and how they were organized. |
Unfit for bookstores By / Salon — Permalink The Kerry campaign has told Salon that the publisher of "Unfit for Command," the book that is at the center of the attack on Kerry's military record by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, is retailing a hoax and should consider withdrawing it from bookstores. | |
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Digby: Kerry's campaign is going after Regnery, saying that they should withdraw the book because it is a hoax. |
Oliver Willis: Swift Boat Blowback — GOP loyalists are starting to reconsider the Swift Boat smear, and abandoning ship. |
Lessons learned in year since blog blastoff By / Chicago Tribune — Permalink Skeptics wondered if I'd lost my mind. A year ago this week when I launched the Tribune's first daily Web log, they pointed out I was signing on to do lots of extra work that would reach, at best, a small fraction of those who see this column, that my... | |
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Daniel Drezner: His column in today's Trib reflects on the past year: [snipped quote] Read the whole thing. Jeff Jarvis: Blog bday : The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn has been blogging for a year and he writes a column reflecting on this change in life. |
ArchPundit: Wish Eric Zorn a Happy Anniversary — His web log is one year old. |
CBS Poll: Kerry Leads Bush, 46-45% CBS News — Permalink (CBS) The race for the presidency is now essentially tied, with a gap between the two major party candidates within this poll's margin of error. Voters are paying more attention to this campaign now than at this point four years ago, and their overall opinions about each candidate's strengths and weaknesses remain relatively stable. | |
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Taegan Goddard: New Polls — According to the latest CBS News poll, the race for the presidency [snipped quote] In a three-way race, Kerry would get 46%, Bush 45% and Nader 1%. |
Betsy Newmark: Given that the CBS poll often skews pro-Democratic and that polls of registered voters often skew pro-Democratic, it... |
Evidence of an electoral fraud is growing IHT — Permalink CARACAS The perception that a massive electronic fraud led to President Hugo Chávez's mandate not being cut short in the recall referendum on Sunday is rapidly gaining ground in Venezuela. All exit polls carried out on the day had given the opposition an advantage of between 12 percent and 19 percent. | |
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David Adesnik: COUNTING THE VOTES: I haven't followed the Venezuelan situation closely enough to say whether or not there was any fraud... Jan Haugland: Most western media goes with the "no evidence" line, but the IHT prints an article called Evidence of an electoral fraud is growing. Michael Totten: UPDATE: Another fellow Portland blogger Sean LaFreniere found some evidence of vote fraud in Venezuela, and the International Herald Tribune found plenty more, too. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: NOT SO FAST — It appears that Hugo Chavez and his supporters ought not to be celebrating right about now: "The... Orrin Judd: YES, NO, WHATEVER: Evidence of an electoral fraud is growing (Enrique ter Horst, August 18, 2004, International Herald... Ezra Klein: Comforting — Well, this leaves me feeling confident for electronic voting: [snipped quote] Why, as Brad DeLong would... |
| Also: Damian Penny, Glenn Reynolds | |
Unfriendly Fire Slate — Permalink "Any Questions" was produced for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth by Stevens Reed Curcio. "Swift Response" was produced for MoveOn PAC by Zimmerman and Markman. To watch "Any Questions" on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Web site, click here. To read the script, click here. | |
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Brian Montopoli: Jumping off from an exchange in Slate, he also takes to task journalists who equate the Swift Boat ad with those being run my Moveon.org. Josh Marshall: That's a quote from Jacob Weisberg, Editor of Slate, from an exchange he has with his colleague Will Saletan today about... Kevin Drum: UPDATE: William Saletan and Jacob Weisberg debate the Swift Vets smear ad here. |
Matthew Yglesias: We had a full and frank exchange of views (as the saying goes) on the subject, so I'll say no more about it, except to... Ogged @Unfogged: Lies — The definitive analysis of the Swiftvets ad. UPDATE: More from Kevin Drum, including on Cambodia. |
Bush Uses Surrogates for 'Dirty Work,' Kerry Says By / Reuters — Permalink BOSTON (Reuters) - John Kerry accused President Bush of using surrogates to "do his dirty work," as the Democratic presidential challenger hit back on Thursday at a Republican assault on his Vietnam War record. | |
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Jack Fowler: KERRY & BUSH "DIRTY WORK" — As mentioned this morning, in a speech today to International Association of Fire Fighters... Joe Gandelman: UPDATE: Today John Kerry used the dreaded phrase (see towards end of linked article). |
Dave Johnson: Reuters headline at My Yahoo: Bush Uses Surrogates for 'Dirty Work,' Kerry Says [quote] "Kerry said a group called the Swift...[end quote] |
Former Iraq Arms Inspector Faults Prewar Intelligence By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 - A former Bush administration official who led the fruitless postwar effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq told Congress on Wednesday that the National Security Council led by Condoleezza Rice had botched intelligence information before the war and was "the dog that did not bark" over Iraq's weapons program. | |
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DeLong: "The New York Times > Washington > Former Iraq Arms Inspector Faults Prewar Intelligence: By PHILIP SHENON ... Matthew Yglesias: The latest from David Kay seems to support that contention: [snipped quote] Poor president Bush, duped by the CIA and left unprotected by his national security advisor. |
Tbogg: Oh-Kay — There's no nice way of putting this: David Kay bitch-slaps Incompetent Condi: A former Bush administration... Laura Rozen: Where was the NSC? asks former Iraq weapons inspector David Kay, at a Senate intelligence committee hearing on pre-war... |
Foreign Policy Attitudes Now Driven by 9/11 and Iraq Pew Research Center — Permalink For the first time since the Vietnam era, foreign affairs and national security issues are looming larger than economic concerns in a presidential election. The Sept. 11 attacks and the two wars that followed not only have raised the stakes for voters as they... | |
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James Joyner: Overview: Foreign Policy Attitudes Now Driven by 9/11 and Iraq — Pew Research has published an interesting report which... Cori Dauber: PUBLIC ATTITUDES — Don't have the time to give this the attention it deserves right now, but here's the poll that I... EDM: Pew Research Center Report Shows Swing Voters Closer to Kerry Than Bush — The report, released August 18th, notes that... |
Dwight Meredith: A short Germond interview at TAP The Pew Study on American's foreign policy attitudes. Karl-T: Kerry Message — Matthew Gross sees something in the new Pew Research Center Poll... [snipped quote] Kerry's message? Oliver Willis: Help Is On The Way — Considering that the Bush administration has made Iraq/terror the centerpiece of their reelection... |
| Also: Taegan Goddard | |
Vatican resists drive to canonise EU founder By / Telegraph — Permalink A campaign to sanctify the European Union through the beatification of its founding father, Robert Schuman, has run into stiff resistance from the Vatican and now appears likely to fail. | |
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David Carr: God's Bureaucrats on Earth — Clearly not satisfied with mere temporal power, some of Europe's ruling elite are now... Peter Burnet: AFTER BLESSED ROBERT, MAYBE BLESSED JACQUES — Vatican resists drive to canonise EU founder (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard,... |
Andrew Stuttaford: The Daily Telegraph has more, but the most interesting detail is the sinister, and, one hopes, disqualifying fact that Schuman "lived on eggs and lettuce." |
The Downside of a Presidential Visit By / WaPo — Permalink Getting a visit from the president of the United States is losing some of its charm in swing-state communities that are frequently being used as backdrops for the presidential campaign. That's because when the campaign has moved on and the excitement has died down, there are some hefty expenses left to be paid. | |
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Magpie @PacificViews: If you believe in the Easter Bunny ... You won't have any trouble believing the rationalizations that Boeing officials... DeLong: Boeing Gives a $1 Million Gift to the Bush Campaign — Dan Froomkin writes: "The Downside of a Presidential Visit... |
Matthew Yglesias: If you scroll down a bit, Dan Froomkin's got an enlightening item on how Boeing just made a de facto $1 million... |
Bush and Kerry Neck and Neck Says Harris Poll PRNewsWire — Permalink ROCHESTER, N.Y. , Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ — The presidential election is still very close. Neither President George W. Bush nor Senator John Kerry is campaigning hard, but neither has found a way to pull ahead. In the latest Harris Poll, the two candidates are tied 47 to 47 percent among likely voters. | |
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Ace: Harris Poll: 47-47 Tie Among Likely Voters; Bush Approval at 48 (51% Negative) Not a terrible poll at all, really. |
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, a new Harris Poll shows Bush and Kerry are tied, 47% to 47%, among likely voters. |
Media Matters: A Devil's Bargain By / TCS — Permalink The "mainstream press" may be in the process of squandering a precious resource that its leaders no longer have the institutional memory to recognize as the source of its legitimacy and its living. | |
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Maimon Schwarzschild: The Media Meltdown — Very thoughtful and reflective piece by Frederick Turner at Tech Central Station on the... |
Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: Roger Simon has further thoughts. ANOTHER UPDATE: Frederick Turner: [snipped quote] Indeed. Read the whole thing. |
Kerry Pushes Back at Vietnam Critics By / AP — Permalink BOSTON (AP) - Fighting back, John Kerry called on the White House Thursday to condemn criticism of his Vietnam War record and released a television commercial featuring a veteran who says the Democratic presidential candidate "risked his life to save mine." | |
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Greg Ransom: JOHN KERRY has a new "Hero in Vietnam" ad up — and calls on George Bush to condemn the Swift Vets who continue to challenge Kerry's integrity. |
Betsy Newmark: So Kerry is fighting back and calling on the White House to repudiate the SBVT ad. |
Tense Situation Surrounds Al-Sadr in Najaf Fox News — Permalink NAJAF, Iraq — The Iraqi military is poised to go after radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (search) after he reportedly rejected Iraqi government demands to end the bloody uprising in Najaf. | |
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Jeff Goldstein @ 02:00 PM: I'll be damned if my last meal on earth is gonna be moldy dates and freakin' chick peas."* update: "You know what?—pass me that bottle of Coke, too. Jeff Quinton: Explosions, Fighting in Najaf — Fox News Channel has video showing clouds of smoke rising over Najaf and there are... |
Jeralyn Merritt: U.S. Warplanes Hit Najaf — Fox News is reporting that U.S. warplanes are bombing Najaf according to Fox ews, after al-Sadr rejected a final appeal to disarm. |
Kerry: Bush lets attack ads do 'dirty work' CNN — Permalink BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate and Vietnam War veteran John Kerry on Thursday shot back at attack ads questioning his service record during the war and called on President Bush to denounce the TV commercials. | |
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Robert Garcia Tagorda: Fighting Back — Kevin Drum and Steven Taylor wonder whether John Kerry is wise to start counterattacking the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. |
Kevin Drum: The mud is too deep to ignore. Anyway, today is the day: [snipped quote] New Kerry ads are here. |
Troop Movement By / TNR — Permalink President Bush announced Monday that he wants to reduce our city-like bases overseas by 70,000 troops and 100,000 family members and civilians over the next ten years. | |
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McQ: Troop realignment: Pro/con — David Englin of The New Republic says our troop withdrawls will have a devestating effect... |
Orrin Judd: OF PARODY AND POWER: Troop Movement (David L. Englin, 08.18.04, New Republic) [snipped quote] Bad enough these guys have to go into combat, why should we make them live in Europe? |
U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities By / WaPo — Permalink SAN DIEGO — Omar Abdi Mohamed, a lanky, soft-spoken political refugee from war-ruined Somalia in East Africa, had been preaching the word of Islam in the United States for the past nine years. Two things make him unusual. | |
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Orrin Judd: THERE'S MORE MONEY WHERE THAT CAME FROM: U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities (David B. Ottaway, August 19,... Cori Dauber: The flow of money from Saudi has escalated over the years, funding mosques, training imams, all in an effort to ensure that their brand of Islam becomes dominant worldwide. |
Glenn Reynolds: MORE ON THE SAUDI MONEY TRAIL: [snipped quote] Yes, and the Bush Administration's greatest vulnerability is that it hasn't done enough about this. |
HARKIN: DENOUNCED CHENEY'S 'DODGE,' BUT NOT EDWARDS'. By / New York Post — Permalink Dick Cheney a "coward" because he didn't serve in Vietnam. Referring to Cheney's criticism of Kerry's record on the war on terrorism, Harkin — who was a Naval fighter pilot — declared: "When I hear this coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil." | |
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Dale Franks: The Coward Cheney — Out of curiosity, if Dick Cheney was a coward for getting a draft deferment during Vietnam what was John Edwards doing in 1971, when he turned 18? Betsy Newmark: Eric Fetterman looks at how Tom Harkin criticized Cheney for using student deferrments but neglects to mention that John Edwards did the same thing. |
Steve M.: Under the headline HARKIN: DENOUNCED CHENEY'S 'DODGE,' BUT NOT EDWARDS', Fettmann writes: Dick Cheney wasn't the only... |
A Smarter Way to Use Our Troops By / WaPo — Permalink The new U.S. global force posture President Bush announced on Monday will strengthen our military, invigorate U.S. alliances and improve the lives of our military personnel. Our new posture will allow us to deploy capable forces rapidly anywhere in the world on short notice. | |
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McQ: Doug Feith, in WaPo has a completely different take: [snipped quote] Feith makes a point that Englin ignores or overlooks. |
James Joyner: Meanwhile, Doug Feith notes in WaPo (A Smarter Way to Use Our Troops), "A further benefit to this restructuring will be... |
Military Documents Contradict Kerry Critic AP — Permalink WASHINGTON - A Vietnam veteran who claims Sen. John Kerry lied about being under fire during a Mekong Delta engagement that won Kerry a Bronze Star was under constant fire himself during the same skirmish, according to the man's own medal citation, a newspaper reported. | |
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Charles Johnson: Except that, well, he didn't actually deal with one single substantive point: Kerry: Bush Lets Groups Do 'Dirty Work'. Dean Esmay: Thurlow Problems — It looks like one of the Swift Boat Vets has has developed a credibility problem. |
Hindrocket: So this morning, speaking to a union group, Kerry struck back: [snipped quote] Needless to say, Kerry did not respond... |
Dog Eats AFT Homework Opinion Journal — Permalink It is not unusual for interest groups to issue misleading reports that further their political agenda. And for this reason, newspapers generally ignore them, treat them with great skepticism, or make sure they vet the study with independent observers. | |
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Daniel Drezner: As Harvard researchers Will Howell, Paul Peterson, and Martin West point out in their Wall Street Journal op-ed: "These... Jonathan H. Adler: DEFENDING CHARTER SCHOOLS — The WSJ published this article crtiquing the recent AFT-funded study attacking the value of charter schools. |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: Still more can be found here. An excerpt: [snipped quote] ANOTHER UPDATE: Stuart Buck has more on this story. Michelle Malkin: Update II: Researchers from Harvard and the Hoover Institution take on the American Federation of Teachers' "dishonest study." |
Kerry blasts Bush over veterans' ad AP — Permalink BOSTON - Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush on Thursday of relying on front groups to challenge his record of valor in Vietnam, asserting, "He wants them to do his dirty work." | |
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Jack K.: He shoulda listened to what his momma said, because it looks like his fifteen minutes are just about up and his only... |
Skippy: the asspress: [snipped quote] while you're at this msnbc page reading the asspress story, be sure to freep the poll in the right hand sidebar |
For Post-9/11 Material Witness, It Is a Terror of a Different Kind By / NYT — Permalink LAS VEGAS - Abdullah al Kidd was on his way to Saudi Arabia to work on his doctorate in Islamic studies in March 2003 when he was arrested as a material witness in a terrorism investigation. An F.B.I. agent marched him across Dulles Airport in Washington in handcuffs. | |
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DeLong: The presence in office of George W. Bush and his henchmen is a horror, as Michael Froomkin reminds us this morning Phillip Carter: Material witness warrants: the most effective secret detention method around — Adam Liptak has a provocative article in... |
Michael Froomkin: 'Free Country' Datum III—"Material Witness" Detentions — The New York Times reports on the saga of Abdullah al Kidd. 1. Jeralyn Merritt: Terror Cases: Material Witness Nightmare — The New York Times writes about the abysmal treatment accorded those arrested on material witness warrants in terror cases. |
Democrat at Garden Party NYT — Permalink The Republican National Committee is turning to a Democrat to nominate President Bush in New York at the convention. The choice of Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, who leads a committee of Democrats for Mr. Bush, will be announced by party leaders on Thursday, officials familiar with the decision say. | |
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Jesse Taylor: Zell Sucks Ass — That's about the deepest response you can give to this. |
Taegan Goddard: Miller to Nominate Bush — "The Republican National Committee is turning to a Democrat to nominate President Bush in New York at the convention," the New York Times reports. |
Word Up Slate — Permalink On the third day of the tournament, camera crews from ESPN and CBS came to film the action. Of course, the focus was not on me. It was on Trey Wright, a pianist from L.A., who had an amazing streak of 16 straight wins to take a lead of three full games over his closest competitor. | |
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Sylvain Galineau: So much so that non-English speakers can dominate English scrabble. |
Will Baude: Mother Tongue, or The tale of Gonya — Writing in Slate, Dan Wachtell argues that knowing English can be a disadvantage... |
Candidate Harkin Stretches the Truth By / Opinion Journal — Permalink WASHINGTON—If running for president is a game of truth or consequences, then a lot of Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's critics would like to see him face the consequences. Already in the presidential campaign, the Iowa lawmaker has found himself accused of misleading reporters about the troubles of his deaf brother. | |
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SLZoll: Well, InstaGlenn, the Two of Wingnuts, is also all over the Harkin remarks and gives us this link to a 1991 Wall Street... Glenn Reynolds: TOM HARKIN UPDATE: A 1991 Wall Street Journal article about his invented Vietnam service (mentioned below) is now available on the web. |
Betsy Newmark: The WSJ also repeats a column from 1991 about Harkin's mendacity. Donald Sensing: Update: OpinionJournal has republished its 1991 editorial on Harkin's whoppers, "Candidate Harkin Stretches the Truth, Vietnam isn't the only instance." |
Press Gaggle by By / White House — Permalink MR. McCLELLAN: All right, let's get started. The President had his usual briefings before we departed the White House. He just a short time ago finished an interview with Newsweek here on the plane. | |
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Josh Marshall: (In other words, this is no different from the Moveon ads that say Bush has piled up a deficit for our grandchildren or... Atrios: I really don't understand why there hasn't been more attention paid to this, from little Scott McClellan: "We've called... Sadly @SadlyNo: Well, it comes straight out of Scooby Doo McClellan's press gaggle for August 18: "Under the President, funding* for... |
Ted Barlow: Atrios has a good question: I really don't understand why there hasn't been more attention paid to this, from little... Digby: "Q There's a new ad by MoveOn.org that talks about — that criticizes Bush's record in the National Guard. |
Catholic publisher quits Bush campaign AP — Permalink Deal W. Hudson, the publisher of the conservative Roman Catholic journal Crisis and the architect of a Republican effort to court Catholic voters, said he is resigning as an adviser to the Bush campaign because of a Catholic newspaper's investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct. | |
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Digby: Another One Bites The Dust — May I just say how comforting it is to know that this man has been advising George W. Bush on how to court Catholic voters. |
Susan Madrak: CARL JUNG: RIGHT AGAIN — Speaking of the fringe, isn't it interesting how consistently the sins they project on everyone else are actually a lot closer? |
Rising Cost of Health Benefits Cited as Factor in Slump of Jobs By / NYT — Permalink A relentless rise in the cost of employee health insurance has become a significant factor in the employment slump, as the labor market adds only a trickle of new jobs each month despite nearly three years of uninterrupted economic growth. | |
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James Joyner: Rising Cost of Health Benefits Cited as Factor in Slump of Jobs — Rising Cost of Health Benefits Cited as Factor in... |
Kash: The Health Insurance Problem — The NYTimes has a story today on the rising cost of health insurance, and its role as a factor making firms reluctant to hire more workers. |
W.'s Big Fat Greek Pride By / NYT — Permalink The White House has become the palace of paradox. The war that was supposed to let us swagger and strut in the world is impeding our swagger and strut in the world. | |
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Paradox: Normally I would approach critiquing one of her columns with the same mindset I have to meeting my old fiancé: avoid the horrible experience at all costs. |
Ann Althouse: Maureen Dowd writes (in a column about how our foreign policy has toned down athlete exuberance at the Olympics): "Even... |
Bereuter: War in Iraq not justified By / Lincoln Journal Star — Permalink In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter says he now believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified. | |
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Oliver Willis: Bereuter: War in Iraq not justified "In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug... Josh Marshall: Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska made the statements in a four page letter to constituents detailed in an article in today's Lincoln Journal Star. |
Taegan Goddard: Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE), commenting on the Iraq war "in a letter to constituents in the final days of his congressional career," quoted by the Lincoln Journal Star. Rich Lowry: REP. BEREUTER GOES SOUTH ON IRAQ... for what its worth. |
'Sampan incident' belies heroic image Washington Times — Permalink A number of the combat commanders, fellow officers and other men who served with Sen. John Kerry in Vietnam challenge his accounts of combat heroism in a new book, "Unfit for Command" (Regnery Publishing), by John E. O'Neill, who took over command of Swift... | |
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Jeffrey Dubner: (Witness today's Unfit for Command excerpt in The Washington Times, which involves entirely unverifiable incidents. |
Betsy Newmark: Perhaps they could read the excerpt today in the Washington Times. |
Key Briefings for Kerry Delayed By / WaPo — Permalink Aides to President Bush and John F. Kerry are sparring over the terms for intelligence briefings for the Democratic presidential nominee, delaying the post-convention overview typically given to the challenger. | |
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Captain Ed: Kerry Loves A Crowd — The Washington Post reports today on a kerfuffle between the Kerry campaign and the... |
Betsy Newmark: Dana Milbank reports on the disagreements between Kerry and Bush's intelligence people over his intelligence briefings. |
All eyes on Ohio By / CNN — Permalink (CNN) — The nation's political epicenter traditionally sits in Washington, D.C. But this year, it may shift several hundred miles west to Ohio. An evenly divided electorate, telltale political precedent and, most important, 20 electoral votes have focused the attention of party stalwarts and political pundits on the Buckeye State. | |
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Dwight Meredith: I was particularly pleased with the Gallup poll from Ohio. Kos: OH-pres: Gallup gives Kerry lead — Gallup. 8/13-15. MoE 4%. (7/19-22 results) [snipped quote] The new CNN piece doesn't reference the results from a month ago. |
Jerome Armstrong: Ohio on the Ground — I'll be blogging from NYC during the GOP convention at the end of the month, but light blogging... Taegan Goddard: Here are the latest state polls from the presidential race: Pennsylvania: Kerry 48%, Bush 43% (Quinnipiac) Michigan:... |
Rebel Cleric in Najaf Sends Messages of Conciliation By / NYT — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 18 - Displaying the brinkmanship that has made him one of the United States' most powerful adversaries in Iraq, the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr sent last-minute messages of conciliation on Wednesday that appeared to have staved off an imminent assault on his fortress in the country's holiest Shiite shrine. | |
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Cori Dauber: CHEAT AND RETREAT AND SOME OTHER STUFF — Well, like the old joke goes, he may be crazy, but he ain't stupid. |
David Adesnik: On the other hand, Burns is now reporting that Sadr may have proposed negotiations because his military position is untenable. |
Kelly introduces Bush in St. Paul AP — Permalink President Bush was introduced by St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly after his arrival tonight at Xcel Energy Center. Although Kelly was elected mayor as a Democrat, he said recently that he was supporting Bush's bid for re-election. | |
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The Big Trunk: The Pioneer Press report is "Bush embraces support." The Star Tribune report is "A wide embrace for Bush." |
Hindrocket: The Minneapolis Star Tribune has an AP dispatch that seems to have been written around the time President Bush took the stage. |
Extreme Supreme By / NRO — Permalink No number of laws — or votes — can overcome a court bent on enforcing its own views in the name of federal (or state) "constitutional rights." Liberals know this. They also know that the core of their political agenda will rarely, if ever, command majoritarian support. | |
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Christopher Kanis: Over at NRO, Walter Weber takes the opposite view. Weber's piece is unpersausive. |
Michael DeBow: The fire next time: Musings on the Supreme Court under Kerry, on NRO today. |
Bad News on the Charter Front NYT — Permalink The Bush administration's education program received a devastating setback this week when long-awaited federal data showed that children in charter schools were performing worse on math and reading tests than their counterparts in regular public schools. | |
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Daniel Drezner: Shame on the Times — and its editorial board, for that matter — for buying the AFT spin hook, line and sinker. Stefan Sharkansky: Biased in favor of the AFT (II) The New York Times compounds yesterday's biased misreporting of an AFT study about... Joanne Jacobs: NY Times vs. charters — Charter schools are bad and it's all Bush's fault, editorializes the New York Times. |
Stuart Buck: The Times had a typical editorial announcing that the study was a "devastating setback" for the "Bush administration's education program." John Cole: Charter Schools — Who do you believe? The NY Times, or the WSJ? |
Kerry deals away his ace in the hole By / Seattle Post-Intelligencer — Permalink WASHINGTON — It appears American voters have little choice between the presidential candidates in the November election when it comes to the disastrous war against Iraq. | |
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Ace: Professional barking moonbat/bag lady Helen Thomas is the first canary in the conspiratorialist coalmine to begin... |
Glenn Reynolds: Meanwhile, Helen Thomas is calling him a warmonger, though in typical Helen Thomas fashion she's utterly clueless:... |
Bush Promotes His Plan for Missile Defense System By / NYT — Permalink HEDGESVILLE, W.Va., Aug. 17 - Saying he was "living in the future," President Bush promoted his plans for a missile defense system on Tuesday and said that its opponents were putting the nation's security at risk, as he courted aerospace workers in Pennsylvania before rallying supporters in West Virginia. | |
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Giblets: In the future Osama will be made of lasers — So on Tuesday George Bush said his plan for a missile defense shield showed he was living in the future. |
Liz Cox Barrett: (The New York Times' dutiful David M. Halbfinger also complies, ending his piece today with the cheese steak anecdote. |
Speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars 105th Annual Convention Kerry for President Press Room — Permalink Cincinnati, OH - Thank you. I am proud to be a lifetime member of this organization and grateful for your continued deep commitment to veterans and to the defense and security of our nation. For more than 100 years now, you have had many distinguished veterans come before you - some Republican, some Democrat, some presidents. | |
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KJL: YESTERDAY, TO THE VFW: "Finally, I want to say something about the plan that the President announced on Monday to withdraw 70,000 troops from Asia and Europe. John Cole: Kerry's Peech IMspediment — Bush can't say nuclear (and a helluva lot of other words, for that matter), but what the... |
Greg Ransom: UPDATE IV: Here is the transcript of Kerry's VFW speech. Greyhawk: As he spoke of not breaking faith with those who are serving or had served in the past, as he casually dismissed his... |
Tape shows Marwan Barghouti breaking hunger strike By / AP — Permalink Many cases of strike breaking have been reported on the fourth day of the Palestinian security prisoner hunger strike, including imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and other strike leaders, who have been put together in separate cells, Army Radio reported Wednesday. | |
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Mike Hendrix: Meanwhile, Palestinian hunger-strikers aren't really all that hungry after all. Only their tapeworms know for sure. Roger L. Simon: Comic Relief from Haaretz — Haaretz Flash News 13:54 Leaders of Palestinian security prisoners' strike, among them... |
Charles Johnson: Marwan Barghouti: Not Hungry — The Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike is the same sort of event as their various... |
Despairing over Kerry By / Naples Daily News — Permalink Privately, but no longer quietly, Democrats are beginning to despair. They cannot fathom why their man, John Kerry, cannot seem to fathom how easy it should be to put President Bush away, seize the high ground and take command of the issues of the war on Iraq and the war on terror. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Still, this one strikes me as being rather interesting: [snipped quote] Actually, Kerry's defined conceptual framework regarding Iraq is quite clear. Betsy Newmark: Marty Schram, a liberal, says that Democrats are falling into despair about Kerry's inability to enunciate a clear position on the war on terror and the war in Iraq. |
Ace: Liberal Lunacy Becomes Democratic Despair ...which is, sadly, the normal pattern: Privately, but no longer quietly, Democrats are beginning to despair. |
Al-Sadr Agrees to Quit Najaf Mosque, Give Up Arms, Reuters Says Bloomberg — Permalink Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al- Sadr agreed that his militia should lay down their arms and quit Najaf's Imam Ali Mosque, acceding to demands from an Iraqi delegation to end an uprising in the city, Reuters reported. | |
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Michael Totten: Sadr Quits Najaf (Updated) Moqtada al-Sadr has quit his Iraq insurgency (for the second time): "Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) —... Rich Lowry: SADR QUITTING? |
Jane Galt: Al-Sadr throw in the towel — According to Reuters, Al-Sadr and his followers are quitting their shrine in Najaf, and... |
Education Secretary Defends Charter Schools By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 - The federal secretary of education issued a statement Tuesday saying he stood by charter schools and challenged the conclusion of recent test data that their performance largely trailed that of regular public schools. | |
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Stuart Buck: Charter Schools — The New York Times has been giving a bit of publicity to a study by the American Federation of... |
Jonathan H. Adler: Education Secretary Rod Paige also rose to charter schools' defense. |
Sez Gov lover's his ex NY Daily News — Permalink The New Jersey gay sex scandal took an explosive new turn as a man claiming to be Golan Cipel's lover came forward and reported the affair to aides of Gov. Jim McGreevey, sources said yesterday. | |
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Susan Madrak: THE LATEST FROM NJ — In the latest on the McGreevy case, a New Jersey college professor has contacted the governor's... Francis Beckwith: Just saw this online here: "'[McGreevy] should step aside right now,' [Former New Jersey governor, Christie Todd]... |
Ace: Shock: McGreevey Boy-Toy Might Not Be Quite as Straight as Previously Asserted — A college professor proudly proclaims... |
Unscripted Candidate a Hit With Audiences WaPo — Permalink KETCHUM, Idaho, Aug. 17 — As John F. Kerry's well-rehearsed speech on the economy in Carson, Calif., reached a crescendo last week, revved-up supporters began a chant familiar to those who fought for the rights of migrant workers in the state. "Si se puede! | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: GROAN* This represents the lengths to which a newspaper will go in order to "prove" that John Kerry is cool and relaxed: [snipped quote] That's it? Hugh Hewitt: The Washington Post reports that Kerry is getting better at unscripted moments. Heh. If that's getting better, I'd like to see him on his bad days. |
Ken Masugi: The Bathos of the Pathos: Kerry Campaign Greatest Hits — I sneered when I read this last night, figuring it was a WaPo... |
Afghan vote threatens Bush's credibility Toronto Star — Permalink KABUL—With evidence mounting of plans for widespread vote-rigging in Afghanistan's upcoming elections, U.S. experts say the controversy could emerge as a serious liability for U.S. President George W. Bush's re-election campaign. | |
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Kash: What's Wrong With This Headline? From the Toronto Star: "Afghan vote threatens Bush's credibility" Hmmm. Matthew Yglesias: Today, via Pandagon's Jesse Taylor I see an interesting report in The Toronto Star (Afghanistan, while off the radar... |
Chris Bowers: October Surprise — Of all the October surprises the tinfoil hat crowd comes up with, I am surprised so few people are... Jesse Taylor: I Won Multiple Voters Running Away — John Kerry. I'm talking to you right now. Yes, you. Get on this. Right. Now. |
Kerry disputes allegations on Cambodia By / Boston Globe — Permalink WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry is disputing an allegation made by a group of veterans opposed to his presidential candidacy that he never operated inside Cambodia during the Vietnam War. | |
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David Adesnik: CAMBODIA UPDATE: The Boston Globe finally decided to run a story on the Kerry-in-Cambodia debate but left out the most... Kos: ' Kerry responds: [snipped quote] And this just in — Bush wasn't inside a pool playing pool volleyball with ambitious... Hugh Hewitt: What is really amazing is the lame story that the Boston Globe's Michael Kranish put out on Kerry's cross-border adventures. |
Virginia Postrel: Explaining Kerry's Cambodia Story In response to my post below, Paul Donnelly sends this Boston Globe story by Michael... C. D. Harris: I Wish To Register A Complaint! John "Weeble" Kerry's Cambodia Chronicles have been updated and revised. Again. Roger L. Simon: The Blowhard's Lieutenant — I'm getting mighty sick of this subject... Kerry in Cambodia (or not)... and the idea that... |
| Also: John Cole, James Joyner, The Big Trunk, KJL, Greg Ransom | |
Just Keep It Peaceful, Protesters; New York Is Offering Discounts By / NYT — Permalink Thinking about smashing windows or overturning cars during the Republican National Convention? Think again: that will cost you a discounted buffalo chicken salad from Applebee's or a cheaper ticket to see "Tony n' Tina's Wedding." | |
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Joe Gandelman: The next step will be "non-opposition opponents." Here are some of the details (did Alan Keyes think this one up?) Allah: It's over — supposedly — in Najaf. UPDATE: Hold the phone. Debka: [snipped quote] UPDATE: Ledeen to Bush: Let al-Sadr go. Charles Johnson: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has an ... innovative ... idea for preempting the violent protesters at the Republican... |
Tim Cavanaugh: Just don't smoke, yell, sit on a milk crate, take up two seats on the subway, jaywalk, ride a bicycle without a bell,... Tom Burka: Anarchists Say Bloomberg Discount Button Crucial Chink In City's Armor — [snipped quote] Anarchists are planning to... Bob @Unfogged: Carrots before sticks NYT: Thinking about smashing windows or overturning cars during the Republican National Convention? |
| Also: Gary Farber, Jesse Taylor, Tom Tomorrow, Michele Catalano, Michelle Malkin, Cori Dauber, Steve Gilliard | |
ANTI-KERRY AD A HIT By / New York Post — Permalink WASHINGTON — Vietnam veterans opposing John Kerry have scored a hit with a tough TV ad that claims he lied about his war record — it makes swing voters think twice about backing Kerry, an independent study has found. | |
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Digby: One little note about the Deborah Orin's New York Post story today about the success of the Scumbags for Truth ad. C. D. Harris: Just a passing reference to the fact that their ad exists as a lead-in to a recounting of the long-since debunked Bush was AWOL nonsense. Betsy Newmark: Deborah Orin reports that the SBVT ad is having an effect. Feel free to contribute to keep the ad on the air. |
Hugh Hewitt: The New York Post's Deborah Orin reports that the Swift Boat vets' ad is taking a toll on Kerry. (Hat tip to Betsy's Page.) Bill @INDCJournal: Pardon dance-snoopy2.gif I must interrupt my break to say the following: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ! Ace: Guess what? It is hurting him, and polls show it. |
| Also: Greg Ransom | |
John H. Hinderaker and Scott W. Johnson: Unwrapping Kerry's story of Christmas in Cambodia Minneapolis Star Tribune — Permalink On March 27, 1986, John Kerry took the floor of the U.S. Senate and delivered a dramatic oration indicting the foreign policy of the Reagan administration. As is his habit, Kerry drew on his Vietnam experience in explaining his opposition to the policy. | |
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Michelle Malkin: John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson penned a fantastic piece for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Unwrapping Kerry's story of Christmas in Cambodia." Charles Johnson: Unwrapping Kerry's Story — John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson of Power Line have a good piece in the Minneapolis Star... Captain Ed: Since the Strib has decided not to cover questions regarding John Kerry's credibility in its news section, the... |
Vox Day: Unfortunately for them, this "fact" is an incorrect assertion which doesn't hold up any better than those haunting and... Bill Hobbs: Christmas in Cambodia Update — Kerry lied. Greg Ransom: 'KERRY IN CAMBODIA' FOR BEGINNERS — on the Op-Ed page of today's Star Tribune. Written by bloggers John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson of Powerline. |
| Also: Hugh Hewitt, Orrin Judd, The Big Trunk | |
Kerry's fellow 'Swiftees' dispute his Purple Hearts Washington Times — Permalink In the history of Swift Boats in Vietnam, all military personnel served a tour of duty of at least one year unless seriously wounded. Among the few exceptions was John Kerry, who requested to leave Vietnam in 1969 after four months, citing a regulation that permitted release of personnel with three Purple Hearts. | |
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Susan Madrak: They did accuse Kerry of self-inflicted wounds: [snipped quote] If I may clarify: The military makes a distinction... John Hawkins: In fact, the Washington Times has posted a very convincing piece from Swift Boat Vets for Truth John O'Neill and Jerome... Betsy Newmark: The Washington Times, bless its heart, publishes excerpts from Unfit for Command. |
Michelle Malkin: SWIFTEE JUSTICE — The blogosphere has been teeming with great stuff on the Swift Boat Veterans, Kerry's Vietnam War record, and related matters. Nick Gillespie: A snippet: [snipped quote] Whole thing here. The charges are pretty incendiary. Greg Ransom: THE 'PURPLE HEART' section of "Unfit for Command" in today's Washington Times. |
Bush Assails Kerry on Missile Defense WaPo — Permalink RIDLEY PARK, Pa., Aug. 17 — President Bush reaffirmed his administration's commitment to building an antimissile system, accusing opponents of the program of "living in the past." | |
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Matthew Yglesias: In a sane world it would be insane for the Bush campaign to be drawing attention to the fact that it believes... Hugh Hewitt: Yesterday President Bush put the focus on national missile defense which John Kerry opposes, and his campaign released... Digby: The Expert [quote] President Bush reaffirmed his administration's commitment to building an antimissile system, accusing opponents of the program of "living in the past."[end quote] |
Sam Rosenfeld: At first I was fairly startled by George W. Bush's comments on national missile defense at a rally in Pennsylvania yesterday. Kash: From a Washington Post article: [snipped quote] I think that the phrase "living in the past" does not mean quite what Bush thinks it does. |
8-Day Battle for Najaf: From Attack to Stalemate NYT — Permalink NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 17 - Just five days after they arrived here to take over from Army units that had encircled Najaf since an earlier confrontation in the spring, new Marine commanders decided to smash guerrillas loyal to the rebel Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. | |
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David Adesnik: Anyhow, the effect of a high-body count may not kick-in for some time, a fact that explains the current stalemate in Najaf, as reported on by the redoubtable John Burns of the NYT. Kevin Drum: The New York Times reports that Marine officers turned a small firefight into a pitched battle without authorization... Cori Dauber: Now, this list isn't so much strictly following that in the article, as using the article as a basis for generating a list. |
Gary Farber: NOT. What a SNAFU. [snipped quote] This all explains a lot, and it doesn't reflect at all well on anyone on our side. Matthew Yglesias: Today's New York Times features an important scoop by Alex Berenson and John Burns (the Times, oddly, seems to have... |
Bush's Withdrawal From the World By / WaPo — Permalink Harry Truman must be turning over in his grave. The planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe and Asia that President Bush announced this week, if allowed to stand, could lead to the demise of the United States' key alliances across the globe, including the one that Truman considered his greatest foreign policy accomplishment: NATO. | |
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Dale Franks: Withdrawing from the world — Ronald Asmus, the State Department's big Euro-boy in the Clinton Administration, has read... Steve Clemons: BUSH AND THE BASE DEBATE: DEMS NEED A BETTER RESPONSE — RON ASMUS HAS AN INTERESTING OP-ED IN THE WASHINGTON POST today. Stephen Green: A Fisking — Ronald Asmus, former Clinton-era deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs, doesn't like the... |
Sir George: More Morons on Troop Withdrawals — This is the funniest piece of bilge I've seen today, at least ignoring the constant stream of effluent flowing out of the Kerry camp. Nelson Ascher: Significantly titled Bush's Withdrawal From the World and signed by Ronald D. Asmus who, according to the paper is a "... |
Bush Consolidating Base in Core Republican States By / Gallup — Permalink PRINCETON, NJ — George W. Bush has over the last two months consolidated his base vote in core Republican states and made slight inroads in swing states in the process of moving to a somewhat more competitive position against John Kerry. | |
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Ken Layne: BREAKING, DEVELOPING HARD ... Drudge headline: "GALLUP: Bush Consolidating Base inCore Republican States..." Actual... Jesse Taylor: I Lead An Army Of Misfits And Conservatives — Gallup has a new poll out which shows that much of Bush's movement closer... Ace: Our Corporate AntiChrist WarMaster (TM) Gains in Red & Battleground States — He's still down 2 in the battleground... |
Hugh Hewitt: Gallup reporting more great news for the president. The key is that in one month Bush moved from 10 points down in the battleground states to 2 points down. Betsy Newmark: And here comes Gallup today with a poll showing that Bush is increasing his lead over Kerry in the red states. |
Senator No-Show By / Opinion Journal — Permalink Maybe national emergencies shouldn't be political events, but they are. So after Hurricane Charley ripped through Florida this past weekend, President Bush understood the political imperative: Get down there. | |
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Robert Garcia Tagorda: Today, Brendan Miniter argues that the Democratic candidate should have toured the devastation: "If 90% of success in... Betsy Newmark: Brendan Miniter says that Kerry is missing out on some powerful photo ops. |
James Joyner: Brendan Minter thinks so: Maybe national emergencies shouldn't be political events, but they are. |
Iraqi official: Raid prepared on Najaf mosque CNN — Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi forces are prepared to raid a Najaf mosque where Shiite Muslim militiamen are holed up, and the "rebellion" won't be allowed to continue, Iraqi officials said Wednesday. Iraq "will not stand with arms folded," said a statement issued by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. | |
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Oliver Willis: Oh, look, another truce. Color me pessimistic. Talking Dog: The interim Iraqi government, which only a few odd American morons even might believe is not wholly under the control of... |
Andrew Jaffee: Al-Sadr to Disband Militia, Leave Imam Ali Mosque — By Andrew L. Jaffee; netwmd.com Threatened with an imminent raid of... |
Keyes says state needs an outsider Chicago Tribune — Permalink Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes charged Tuesday that politics in Illinois is chronically corrupt and that Democratic opponent Barack Obama wants to control the system, not reform it. | |
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ArchPundit: Tax Lien is Gone, but the Next Assault on the GOP is Probably Coming — The Trib confirms the Maryland tax lien is taken... Aaron @LiquidList: The big news in Chicago for the duration of my visit was Alan Keyes and his carpetbagging. |
Orrin Judd: KEYES 5, OBAMA 0: Keyes says state needs an outsider: Illinois corrupt, Obama not for reform, he says (H. Gregory Meyer,... |