meme orandum
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The Values-Vote Myth By / NYT — Permalink Every election year, we in the commentariat come up with a story line to explain the result, and the story line has to have two features. First, it has to be completely wrong. Second, it has to reassure liberals that they are morally superior to the people who just defeated them. | |
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John Cole: Even though the later analysis proves him wrong, Ken Layne really, really likes the idea that every state that did not... Stefan Beck: PostedIn a fine editorial in the NYT today, David Brooks makes a stronger case for something I asserted a few days ago. Pejman Yousefzadeh: "THE VALUES-VOTE MYTH" — David Brooks takes on the argument that "values" were the driving issues in this election |
Tom Maguire: Pushback on "The Moral Values Election" — David Brooks rejects the notion that Bush won because of "moral values" Jeff Jarvis: David Brooks, on whom I tend to be binary, writes a very good column on the bull that is "moral values" as an issue. Jim Lindgren: In David Brooks' latest editorial in the New York Times, he rightly dismisses the conventional wisdom about the... |
| Also: Ginny @ChicagoBoyz, Mindles H. Dreck, Steve @BeggingToDiffer, Laura Rozen, Ed Cone, Damian Penny, Tim Blair, Bird Dog, Jan Haugland, Glenn Reynolds, Orrin Judd, James Joyner, Jonah Goldberg, Betsy Newmark, Andrew Sullivan | |
Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS Israel Insider — Permalink Former White House speechwriter David Frum has joined the growing chorus of pundits, medical experts, and intelligence operatives who claim Yasser Arafat is likely suffering from AIDS. | |
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Bigwig: Chortle — Arafat's "mystery" disease identified. (lvtc) Earlier, John Loftus told John Batchelor on ABC radio on October 26 that Arafat is dying from AIDS. Jan Haugland: Obviously I am not alone: Yasser Arafat may be dying from Aids. Ed Driscoll: If True, Irony Can Be Pretty Ironic Sometimes — David Frum and IsraelInsider speculate that Arafat may be dying of AIDS. |
Orrin Judd: LOVE ME LIKE A ROCK (via Robert Schwartz): Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS (israelinsider staff, November... Charles Johnson: It's hard to avoid noticing that Yasser Arafat's sudden illness bears many of the signs of advanced HIV/AIDS: Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS. Jonah Goldberg: DOES ARAFAT HAVE AIDS? The plot thickens. |
U.S. Expands List of Lost Missiles NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - American intelligence agencies have tripled their formal estimate of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems believed to be at large worldwide, since determining that at least 4,000 of the weapons in Iraq's prewar arsenals cannot be accounted for, government officials said Friday. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Thinking of flying home for the holidays? Looks like Bush undermanning the Iraq invasion force caused more problems: [snipped quote] Wow! Cori Dauber: I'm having some posting problems, so all I'll say is that this Times article about missing shoulder fired missiles in... |
Tom Maguire: The New NY Times — This is the new NY Times - a front page story, but not a screaming headline, and placed on Saturday:... Paul Glastris: Guest: Paul Glastris — LOOSE STINGERS... Thousands of Iraqi surface to air missiles are now missing, according to The New York Times. |
Young Rove's dreams became everyone else's nightmare By / Salt Lake Tribune — Permalink The year was 1968. The Vietnam War and the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were shaping history. Little did I know that walking next to me in the halls of Olympus High School that year was a friend who would shape history in 2004 as profoundly as these events did in 1968, the year Karl Rove and I were 17. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: A Portrait of The Operative As a Young Man — From Salt Lake City, that well known hotbed of anarcho-syndicalism, a... PoliPundit: According to the latest liberal mythology, His Darth Vaderness was an evil genius even when he looked like that. |
Taegan Goddard: Young Rove — Brian Moench, a high school classmate of Karl Rove, notes that after one student body election "Karl... |
Saudi Religious Scholars Support Holy War By / AP — Permalink BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent Saudi religious scholars urged Iraqis to support militants waging holy war against the U.S.-led coalition forces as American troops prepared Saturday for a major assault on the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah. | |
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Michelle Malkin: OUR FRIENDS THE SAUDIS — From the AP: BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent Saudi religious scholars urged Iraqis to support... Charles Johnson: Peaceful Religion Watch — Dozens of Saudi "Islamic scholars" have issued an open letter supporting the mujahideen who... |
Richard TPD: Saudi Scholars Urge Iraqi Insurgents to Fight — It's nice to know that the beacon of democracy we set up in Iraq has spread its sweet light throughout the Middle East. |
Rove's Revenge By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Just how much did Karl Rove hate not being one of the cool guys in high school in the 60's? Enough to hatch schemes to marshal the forces of darkness to take over the country? | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Talk about framing! Modo, that dried-up worthless twit, once again obscures the real point with blather. PoliPundit: MoDo Unhinged — MoDo gets even more unhinged and unleashes another Michael-Mooreite tirade. |
Orrin Judd: Rove's Revenge (MAUREEN DOWD, 11/07/04, NY Times) [snipped quote] Here's as good a definition of the difference between... |
Local & State AP — Permalink N.C. GOP office vandalized RALEIGH, N.C. - An apparent mob of vandals attacked North Carolina Republican Party headquarters late Friday, leaving behind minor smoke damage, broken windows and vulgar messages, authorities said. | |
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Lorie Byrd: The Stupidity Continues — Even after the election, the stupidity and the violence continue. Orrin Judd: Vandals attack N.C. GOP offices (CINDY GEORGE, 11/06/04, Charlotte News-Observer) "Vandals attacked the state... Charles Johnson: NC GOP Headquarters Attacked — A mob of masked thugs attacked and vandalized North Carolina Republican Party headquarters last night. |
Xan @Corrente: This is from the local Raleigh News & Observer: "RALEIGH - Vandals attacked the state Republican Party headquarters... Betsy Newmark: Or look at an episode like what just happened to the GOP office in Raleigh, NC. |
Man Kills Self at Ground Zero AP — Permalink NEW YORK — A 25-year-old university worker from Georgia shot and killed himself at ground zero (search) Saturday morning, authorities said. The man, Andrew Veal (search), of Athens, Ga., was found atop the structure housing the 1 and 9 subway lines after... | |
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Acidman: christ!!! Nope. The Democrats don't resemble a religious cult. They don't have suicidal maniacs in their ranks. |
Charles Johnson: Man Kills Self at Ground Zero — The first self-inflicted casualty of the 2004 election: Man Kills Self at Ground Zero. |
BUSH OR BUST By / New Orleans Times-Picayune — Permalink Debbie Dupeire was so intent on helping to re-elect the president Tuesday that she shucked her Bush-Cheney T-shirt and voted in her bra after being told that state election law prohibits displaying a candidate's name in a polling place. | |
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Hindrocket: Read the story of Debbie Dupeire, who refused to be banned from the polling place because of her Bush-Cheney tee-shirt: bush_bust.jpg Glenn Reynolds: BUSH OR BUST! I think they should have taken this picture a bit earlier, though. |
Jeff Jarvis: Bush or bust : Nola.com reports that a voter had to take off her shirt to vote. Well, people have taken off a lot more for a lot less in New Orleans. |
Believe it or not, it wasn't just rednecks who voted for Bush By / Telegraph — Permalink The big question after Tuesday was: will it just be more of the same in George W Bush's second term, or will there be a change of tone? And apparently it's the latter. The great European thinkers have decided that instead of doing another four years of lame Bush-is-a-moron cracks they're going to do four years of lame Americans-are-morons cracks. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Mark Steyn unleashes a must-read can of whoop-a** on European elites who are so contemptuous of our election results. |
Lorie Byrd: Steyn - Must Read, As Always — If there is anyone in the Polipundit reading audience that is not already familiar with... |
The Reds are dead, but the spies are still around US News — Permalink We're shocked—shocked—with word from intelligence insiders that Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself once a top KGB spook, has boosted Moscow's spying on U.S. interests to Cold War levels. "You dance with the ones who brought you," said a U.S. intel tipster. | |
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Betsy Newmark: I love the mental picture that this scene describes. "It was about 2 p.m. Election Day, and White House political chief Karl Rove was steaming mad. |
Orrin Judd: KEYES TO VICTORY: The Obama factor (Washington Whispers, 11/05/04, US News) [snipped quote] He needs to get back to the center after the drubbing Alan Keyes adminstered. |
Teaming Up Newsweek — Permalink At BC04 headquarters, strategy boss and chief pollster Matthew Dowd was having the same gloomy thoughts. Dowd had known that the prison scandal would hurt with women. The corridor outside his office was decorated with a NASCAR racing poster; the area was known as Pit Row. | |
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Jim Lindgren: Evan Thomas' great Newsweek story about the two campaigns. Jan Haugland: Then came the biggest disaster in the Bush presidency, the Abu Ghraib scandal. If Bush had lost the election, that could well have been the primary cause. |
Eric Soskin: According to Newsweek's election post-mortem, the real NASCAR swing voters are the women: [snipped quote] Come to think... |
Time to Get Religion By / NYT — Permalink If Democrats want to know how to win again, they have a model. It's the British Labor Party. When I studied in England in the early 1980's, the British Labor Party seemed as quaint and eccentric as Oxford itself, where we wore gowns for exams and some dons addressed the rare female student as "sir." | |
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Tom Maguire: Nick Kristof offers advice on how to remake the Dem Party, and delivers a line we will surely see again: "Time to Get... John Rosenberg: I know his picture appears by his column in the New York Times, and he may have been spotted on TV once or twice, but... |
Jeff Jarvis: He also says our model should be Labor under Tony Blair and he's way right. |
A Question of Values By / NYT — Permalink A poorly devised exit poll question and a dose of spin are threatening to undermine our understanding of the 2004 presidential election. The news media has made much of the finding that a fifth of voters picked "moral values" as the most important issue in deciding their vote - as many as cited terrorism or the economy. | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Whose values II : The NY Times op-ed page today reflected the post I wrote Thursday on the bogus impact of "moral... Cori Dauber: Today in the Times, one of the pollsters on the committee what produced the exit poll — the one who tried to talk the... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: See also Gary Langer: "A poorly devised exit poll question and a dose of spin are threatening to undermine our understanding of the 2004 presidential election. Betsy Newmark: ABC's pollster explains why putting "moral issues" on the poll was a terribly written choice and doesn't mean much of anything. |
Bush Secured Victory in Florida by Veering From Beaten Path By / NYT — Permalink LAND O' LAKES, Fla., Nov. 5 - Pasco County might be unheard of outside Florida, but that did not stop President Bush, Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Republican luminaries from visiting as Election Day approached. | |
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John Cole: The Burbs — Interesting story on the Bush/Cheney strategy in Florida. |
Orrin Judd: AND REDDER: Bush Secured Victory in Florida by Veering From Beaten Path (ABBY GOODNOUGH and DON VAN NATTA, 11/07/04, NY... |
Mars Rovers Get Mystery Power Boost By / AP — Permalink LOS ANGELES - As NASA's Mars rovers keep rolling past all expectations of their useful lives, scientists have a happy mystery: For some reason one of the vehicles has actually gained power recently. | |
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James Joyner: The two Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are still going, well beyond expectations. |
Jan Haugland: JPL's Jim Erickson is not too sad about having a pleasant mystery to solve: "Now we're assuming they're cleaning, but... |
Second Term, Second Chance By / Fox News — Permalink President Bush is now the first president since his father in 1988 to win the majority of the popular vote. Both houses of Congress are now under Republican control. With this decisive victory, Bush no longer has to fight the "selected, not elected" rhetoric of 2000, nor does he have to worry about a divided Senate or his own re-election. | |
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Jim Henley: Department of Strategic Point-Not-Getting - Radley Balko observes that the political party controlling all branches of... |
Radley Balko: Bush's Sorta' Mandate — My new Fox column gives suggestions as to what Bush should make a priority in his second term. |
Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — Reeling from their party's loss in the presidential election, some key Democratic financiers and strategists say they have learned a clear lesson: Next time around, no Northeasterners need apply. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Southern Strategy — Kevin Drum disparages the notion that nominating a southerner is the key the victory. I sort of agree. Orrin Judd: THANKS, MR. HARTPENCE: Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy: The 2008 nominee must appeal to red states, analysts say. |
Kevin Drum: SOUTHERNERS ONLY NEED APPLY?...I sure hope that Democrats don't pay too much attention to "insiders" with advice like... |
Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations By / WaPo — Permalink President Bush will not ask his appointees for the mass resignation letters that sometimes have been requested with a change of term but instead wants the aides to keep doing their jobs unless they are told otherwise, White House officials said yesterday. | |
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Lambert @Corrente: Great headlines of our time — Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations In His great mercy... Of course, what that means is... James Joyner: Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations — Bush Will Not Seek Mass Resignations (WaPo) [snipped quote] This strikes me as a reasonable approach, especially in a wartime environment. |
Daniel Drezner: Reading Mike Allen's story in today's Washington Post, I have my doubts: [snipped quote] What astonishes me is not that... |
The Vets Attack Newsweek — Permalink New Battles: Underestimating the Swift Boat ads, the Kerry team suffered from their slow response. Then Bill Clinton's former aides arrived and staged a silent coup. Nov. 15 issue - The attack of the Swift Boat vets did not catch the Kerry campaign by surprise, not entirely at least. | |
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Charles Johnson: MSM Starts Coming Clean — Reading Newsweek's second major exposé of the Kerry campaign's venality and corruption... |
PoliPundit: Kerry and the Communists — More on Kerry's secret conclaves with our North Vietnamese Communist enemies in Paris:... |
Arafat poisoned? By / NY Daily News — Permalink A Palenstian diplomat accused the Israelis yesterday of poisoning Yasser Arafat. "The doctors until now could not diagnose precisely what is wrong with him, but it is believed there is a poison," Ali Kazak, who heads the Palestinian delegation to Australia, told the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne. | |
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Tom Maguire: Arafat's Condition - Spin/Counterspin — Arafat with AIDS? Or was he poisoned? One can see the spinners at work. |
Steve @BeggingToDiffer: In the same vein, the new counter-spin holds that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning statesman was poisoned by the Jews!! |
On a Word and a Prayer By / NYT — Permalink George W. Bush was elected without a clear, specific "morality" agenda. Yes, 22 percent of those who voted listed "moral values" as their No. 1 concern. Putting aside the obvious point that 78 percent of voters said they did not view moral values as the... | |
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Jeff Jarvis: Finally, Steven Waldman of Beliefnet looks like a bit of a fool quoting the "moral values" poll results as if they mean something, surrounded by those who show how it doesn't. |
Laura Rozen: Writing in the NY Times, BeliefNet's Steve Waldman say Bush's conservative evangelical supporters expect him to deliver... |
Three Senators Consider Bids for Governor NYT — Permalink In a sign of growing Democratic powerlessness and despair in Washington after Tuesday's elections, Senator Christopher J. Dodd is considering running for governor of Connecticut in 2006, fellow lawmakers and an adviser to the senator said yesterday. | |
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Orrin Judd: WELCOME TO THE GOP CIRCA 1965: Three Senators Consider Bids for Governor (RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and ALISON LEIGH COWAN,... DemFromCT: Senators from NY, NJ and CT Consider Statehouse Runs — Despair, realism or ego, this NY Times story highlights Chris... |
Taegan Goddard: Three Senators Consider State House Bids — "In a sign of growing Democratic powerlessness and despair in Washington... |
Car bombs kill at least 21 in Samarra AP — Permalink NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - Insurgents set off at least two car bombs and attacked a police station Saturday in the central Iraqi town of Samarra, killing at least 21 people and wounding 22 in what could be an effort to take pressure off Fallujah, where U.S. forces are gearing up for an assault. | |
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Jim Henley: Not long after that, it will be time for our next decisive victory in Samarra. |
Skippy: meanwhile, in samarra, a deadly car bomb kills 21, sez msnbc: "insurgents set off at least two car bombs and attacked a... |
The Gurus of What's In Wonder if They're Out of Touch NYT — Permalink Disappointment was thick and palpable, an ill-tempered fog at the United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills where - who could concentrate? - the business of Hollywood was interrupted by constant discussions of What Went Wrong. | |
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Ken Masugi: From the NY Times (thanks to Noleftturns): 'Of course, there were some in Hollywood and New York who voted for the president. |
Hindrocket: What Went Wrong, Hollywood Wonders — Reader Laurence Zuriff pointed out this article in today's New York Times. |
The 'Moral Values' Issue By / NYT — Permalink The election of George W. Bush, it seems, turned on moral values. Hardly had the exit polls shown that 22 percent of the voters named "moral values" as the issue mattering most in their choice for president when Andrew Kohut, the president of the Pew Research Center, called that conclusion misleading. | |
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Tom Maguire: Peter Steinfels of the Times rejects the conventional "moral values" argument. Paul Freedman, writing in Slate, rejects "the gay marriage myth". |
Betsy Newmark: And Peter Steinfels looks at the values question and admonishes the left for assuming that anyone who disagrees with them is a fundamentalist moron. |
At the End, Pro-GOP '527s' Outspent Their Counterparts WaPo — Permalink In the final three weeks of the campaign, independent "527" groups backing President Bush bought nearly $30 million worth of television and radio ads, three times what their Democratic counterparts spent, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity. | |
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PoliPundit: 527s — Republican 527s: More effective than you think. Remember the Ashley ad, on which they spent $14 million? |
Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post reports that GOP 527s and special interest groups were more dominant in the last few weeks of the campaign than Democratic groups. |
MoveOn's backfire By / Townhall.com — Permalink WASHINGTON — Only four of the 26 Democratic challengers for Congress and governorships endorsed and bankrolled by the left-wing MoveOn PAC were elected Tuesday, but some suffered from that organization's support. | |
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Orrin Judd: REWRITE CFR: MoveOn's backfire (Robert Novak, November 6, 2004, Townhall) [snipped quote] considering all the money they... |
Betsy Newmark: Oh, darn. Moveon.org's endorsement was the kiss of death for several Democratic candidates. |
Representative-elect's son arrested in tire slashings By / JSOnline — Permalink The 25-year-old son of newly elected congresswoman Gwen Moore was arrested Friday by Milwaukee police and later released in connection with the election day slashing of tires on 20 vans and cars rented by the Republican Party, according to police records. | |
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Hindrocket: Tire Slashing Update — The Muilwaukee Journal Sentinel reported yesterday that Sowande Ajumoke Omokunde, also known as... |
Betsy Newmark: They've arrested a Democratic Congresswoman's son and a Democratic activist in the Milwaukee case of slashing the tires... |
Abortion Remark by G.O.P. Senator Puts Heat on Peers By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - Angry conservatives flooded Senate phone and fax lines on Friday demanding that Republicans prevent Senator Arlen Specter from presiding over the Judiciary Committee after he remarked that strongly anti-abortion judicial nominees might be rejected in the Senate. | |
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Susan Madrak: I know many of the PA Democrats who split their ticket to support him did so because they assumed he'd protect abortion rights in his new post as chair of the Judiciary Committee. Captain Ed: The uproar from the conservative base has threatened to derail Specter's ascension to the chair and has caused the GOP's... |
John J. Miller: YOUR PHONE CALLS — Today's New York Times: "Angry conservatives flooded Senate phone and fax lines on Friday demanding... |
Battle Near, Iraqi Sunnis Make Offer By / WaPo — Permalink BAGHDAD, Nov. 5 — As Marines step up preparations for military offensives on two major Iraqi cities, a number of Sunni Muslim leaders are forwarding a plan to establish the rule of law in those areas through peaceful means, with the promise of reducing the insurgency across a large swath of the country. | |
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Cori Dauber: MY, MY, MY, LOOK WHO'S SUDDENLY WILLING TO PLAY BALL — Whether it's the fact that the preparations for the Marine... Donald Sensing: As a result, their minds are mightily concentrated now: "BAGHDAD, Nov. 5 — As Marines step up preparations for... |
Andrew Sullivan: According to the Washington Post, "As Marines step up preparations for military offensives on two major Iraqi cities, a... |
Chile's Army Accepts Blame for Rights Abuses in the Pinochet Era By / NYT — Permalink RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 5 - After years of characterizing the human rights violations that occurred in Chile under the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet as "excesses" by individual officers rather than a deliberate government policy, the Chilean Army reversed... | |
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Tim Dunlop: Example — If the Chilean Army can do it, why not the American? |
Randy Paul: At Long Last — Justice rolls on: "After years of characterizing the human rights violations that occurred in Chile... |
All Sides Prepare for American Attack on Falluja NYT — Permalink NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 5 - American armored vehicles roared through the villages surrounding Falluja, the western town at the heart of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, on Friday as warplanes pounded rebel positions and ground forces ratcheted up their preparations for what appeared to be an imminent assault on the city. | |
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Richard TPD: I'll donate my M-16 to you and you can go in my place." It's worth a look on this, the eve of Vietnam II. Talking Dog: Having achieved their mission (the reelection of the Imperium), our military men and women now get their reward: the... |
DemFromCT: Iraq Open Thread (Meanwhile...) Fallujah. Insurgency. And don't miss this diary about a soldier's POV. |
The Gay Marriage Myth By / Slate — Permalink Did "moral values"—in particular, the anti-gay marriage measures on ballots in 11 states this week—drive President Bush's re-election? That's the early conventional wisdom as Democrats begin soul-searching and finger-pointing. | |
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Yuval Rubinstein: Next, Paul Freedman argued that terrorism was the deciding factor, not values. Jan Haugland: It's the security, stupid — Paul Freedman argues convincingly, to me anyway, that it was not opposition to gay marriage... Talking Dog: Making a statement that we want to discriminate against gays— that matters (though the veep points out that... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ANOTHER UPDATE: Still more from Paul Freedman: [quote] Did "moral values"—in particular, the anti-gay marriage measures on...[end quote] Susan Madrak: Because if you look at the election numbers, the values thing really wasn't the clincher for Bush; it was the old "can't change leaders in the middle of a war" thing. Harley: One Christian Voice — Only one, but Michael Kinsley was smart, devilishly smart I'd say, to allow it to be heard on the LA Times op-ed page. |
| Also: Ken Layne, Digby, Kevin Drum, Ogged @Unfogged, Eugene Volokh, Matthew Yglesias | |
Christian Conservatives Must Not Compromise By / LAT — Permalink Voters reject liberalism, an evil ideology. Christians, in politics as in evangelism, are not against people or the world. But we are against false ideas that hold good people captive. On Tuesday, this nation rejected liberalism, primarily because liberalism has been taken captive by the left. | |
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Jim Henley: This led them to make all sorts of sympathetic Confederacy chic noises, to refer to God a lot, to sign on fruitbat... Jesse Taylor: Man-On-God Love — Frank Pastore pens what I hope is the first of many, many editorials in a major newspaper today. Mathew Gross: The Voice of the Opposition — This has been posted elsewhere in the blogosphere, but if you've been wondering about the... |
Laura Rozen: I'm extremely disturbed by the note of eerie triumphalism coming from the Christian right in response to Bush's reelection. Randy Paul: For those of you self-proclaimed "liberal hawks" who supported President Bush although you don't agree with his views on... Lambert @Corrente: Are they, um, sacrosanct? And then there's this guy. John Pastore Pastrami: [snipped quote] Thanks, LA Times. More like this. |
| Also: Oliver Willis, Avedon Carol, Ed Cone, Digby, Richard TPD, Kevin Drum, Kevin Roderick, Matt Welch | |
Trench Warfare Newsweek — Permalink 'The Interregnum': After the primaries, Kerry was cranky and his campaign began to drift. The Bush war room wanted to 'define' him, and knew how to get under his skin Nov. 15 issue - John Kerry was really ill. In November he had picked up a cold, the ubiquitous campaign grippe, and by February he had walking pneumonia. | |
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Jan Haugland: "I can't believe I'm losing to this idiot" — The Newsweek post-election coverage continues, now with an inside look at... Sir George: The Rats Start Telling Their Shipwreck Stories — Newsweek is running the inside story on the Kerry campaign, and it's not pretty. Ed Driscoll: Even after he lost, Evan Thomas's Newsweek refers to the man with the Magic Hat as "Lincolnesque". |
Paul Jaminet: JOYFUL, JOYFUL: Trench Warfare (Newsweek, 11/15/2004) [snipped quote] A man who can't manage breakfast, his hair, and his... Charles Johnson: After reading it, I'm more happy and relieved than ever that this whining, imperious boor didn't make it to the Oval Office: Trench Warfare. KJL: THIS MAN COULD HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES — From Newsweek: "The morning after the Feb. 3 primaries,... |
Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes AP — Permalink COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said. Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: So, that chart, along with suspicious numbers here and there, have my attention, but I'm not ready to pound on the furniture like in 2000. Jeralyn Merritt: Ohio Acknowledges Errors in Vote Tally For Bush — Too little, too late? But how often might this have happened? James Joyner: Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes — Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Ohio Votes (AP) [snipped quote] Embarrasing, if inevitable. |
Joe Gandelman: There are and have been stories about some weird things in certain places...but we haven't seen the overall story emerge yet. Chris Gruber: Major Miscount? Yahoo drops this one on us: [snipped quote] So, did Bush win? Did he win legitimately? Ezra Klein: Nevertheless, this doesn't inspire confidence. |
| Also: Mathew Gross | |
Americans Flock to Canada's Immigration Web Site Reuters — Permalink OTTAWA (Reuters) - The number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site has shot up six-fold as Americans flirt with the idea of abandoning their homeland after President Bush's election win this week. | |
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Joe Gandelman: Some notable articles and posts to read as you head into the weekend: LOSING A SENSE OF PERSECTIVE: Some people are... Richard TPD: Escape while you can — That seems to be the mentality among many Americans as they consider migrating to Canada. Joel Foreman: A lot of people want to leave the good ol' USA because GWB will be in charge for four more years, and I guess they can't... |
Baldilocks: Without him, it seems that his party has forgotten how to win but not how to grumble or to flee in the wake of not getting its way. Clayton Cramer: Promises, Promises — Apparently there has been a big increase in Americans visiting the Canadian government's... Taegan Goddard: Update: Reuters says "the number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site has shot up six-fold as... |
Why They Won By / NYT — Permalink The first thing Democrats must try to grasp as they cast their eyes over the smoking ruins of the election is the continuing power of the culture wars. Thirty-six years ago, President Richard Nixon championed a noble "silent majority" while his vice president, Spiro Agnew, accused liberals of twisting the news. | |
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Yuval Rubinstein: First, Tom Frank wrote an op-ed arguing that the Democrats' failure to offer "genuine economic populism" let the GOP push this wedge issue. Matthew Yglesias: I've got some serious disagreements with Thomas Frank's take on this whole phenomenon, but he's very right to argue in... Steve Lovelady: We'll concentrate on the Times to give you a taste of what you're likely to see more of in days to come: Frank... |
Joe Gandelman: Thomas Frank says Democrats have to look at the impact of culture wars and less at triangulation, accomodation, etc. Awinters @Centerfield: Thomas Frank of the NY Times tells us why Why The Republicans Won. Andrei Cherny, also of the NY Times tells us why The Democrats Lost. Laura Rozen: What's the Matter With Kansas? author Thomas Franks writing in the NY Times on the continuing power of the culture wars:... |
| Also: Orrin Judd | |
The Perfect Job for Bill LAT — Permalink Wanted: new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Must be a big thinker—and inspiring. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe did a lot of things for his party. He raised tons of money — there was an unprecedented $70 million nestled in party coffers for the election. | |
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Medium Lobster: Some suggest it would be better to reach for a bold new tomorrow in Bill Clinton, who would bring to the party all the fresh new ideas of 1992 all over again. Oliver Willis: The LAT thinks so. Von @ObsidianWings: This, it seems to me, would go a long way to admittin' the mistake and startin' the correctin' process. He's the guy who gets it. |
Joe Gandelman: THE L.A. TIMES SUGGESTS A NEW DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN: An editorial in the L.A. Times (obnoxious registration required)... Steve Soto: As Josh Marshall argues, what the White House has done is turned our government into a parliamentary state, where the... Josh Marshall: Bill Clinton as — Chairman of the DNC? So says this LA Times editorial. To me it sounds like a great idea. |
| Also: Taegan Goddard, Paul Glastris | |
U.N.'s Annan Seeks to Prevent an Assault on Fallouja By / LAT — Permalink UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned leaders of the United States, Britain and Iraq that another full-scale assault on the rebel-held city of Fallouja would further alienate Iraqis and disrupt elections planned for January. | |
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Joe Gandelman: You've Got To Be Kidding Department — Let me rub my eyes again and see if I read this right: the UN Secretary General... Cori Dauber: YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP — Even when all press accounts agree that, first, the civilians have basically gotten... James Joyner: And then there's this little nuisance: U.N.'s Annan Seeks To Prevent An Assault On Fallouja (LAT) "U.N... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE FIRING OF KOFI ANNAN — Bird Dog claims it is necessary. I disagree, but only because Annan is not charged with safeguarding American national security. Bird Dog: Annan to Iraq Coalition: Let the Insurgents and Terrorists in Fallujah Win — Somebody needs to sack Kofi Annan. Rich Lowry: ANNAN V. ALLAWI — The UN chief is apparently in favor of maintaining Fallujah as a terrorist stronghold: "UNITED... |
Why We Lost By / NYT — Permalink On Wednesday morning, Democrats across the country awoke to a situation they have not experienced since before the New Deal: We are now, without a doubt, America's minority party. We do not have the presidency. We are outnumbered in the Senate, the House, governorships and legislatures. | |
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McQ: However, reading through Andrei Cherny's thoughtful NYT piece, it appears he's figured it out. Gary Farber: Cherney has an OpEd piece today. "Any time Democrats spend in the coming weeks discussing the merits of our past... Steve Lovelady: He writes: [snipped quote] Cherny writes, "The over-arching problem Democrats have today is the lack of a clear sense of what the party stands for. |
Joe Gandelman: WHY THE DEMOCRATS LOST: Andrei Cherny writes that the Democrats lost because the party doesn't have a crystal clear... Awinters @Centerfield: Andrei Cherny, also of the NY Times tells us why The Democrats Lost. |
Glitch gave Bush extra votes in Ohio AP — Permalink COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said. Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. | |
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Oldman @BOPNews: Speaks for itself, CNN reports that: [snipped quote] More below. Steve Soto: Computer "Glitch" In Ohio Gives Bush Nearly 4000 Votes Too Many - In Only ONE Precinct — Watch for more of these... |
Thomas Leavitt: 3,893 bogus electronic votes for Bush in Ohio... and counting. [A real confidence builder, eh? Tom @Corrente: Looks like the story that the election was clean is starting to unravel already. CNN: [snipped quote] Interesting. |
Liberal Bloggers Say Election is 'More Depressing' Than 9/11 By / CNSNews — Permalink (CNSNews.com) - Bloggers on the liberal Democratic Underground website have overwhelmingly labeled Nov. 3, 2004, the day after Election Day, "more depressing" than Sept. 11, 2001 in a poll of online members. | |
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Captain Ed: An Unfair Comparison — A report on CNS News seems to be getting a lot of attention this morning, which states that... Betsy Newmark: If you had any doubt that we inhabit a different reality than some of the liberals, catch a load of what some are saying at the Democratic Underground. |
Mrs Greyhawk: Huh? [snipped quote] More depressing than 9/11/01, is that these people forgot 9/11/01 |
Bush's Iowa Win Highlights Dems' Trouble By / AP — Permalink DES MOINES, Iowa - President Bush added another stroke of Republican red to the electoral map by winning Iowa on Friday, underscoring the GOP's gains as well as the political problems that loom for Democrats in a shifting Midwest. | |
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H.D. Miller: Iowa — I don't think it's a coincidence that Iowa voted for the George Bush a mere two months after I moved into the state. Orrin Judd: IT'S RED: Bush's Victory in Iowa Highlights Trouble That Looms for Democrats in Shifting Midwest (AP, Nov 5, 2004) "Iowa had voted Democratic since 1984. |
Betsy Newmark: So Iowa goes for Bush. I bet a lot of Democrats are saying, "Thanks a bunch, Iowa. |
How Bush Did It Newsweek — Permalink Nov. 15 issue - In the winter of 2003-04, Jenna Bush, one of president Bush's 22-year-old twin daughters, dreamed that her father lost the election. Jenna had never before shown any interest in politics or much desire to get involved in her father's campaigns. | |
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Jim Lindgren: I have been reading the very long online Newsweek story about the election, which is apparently the heart of their special election issue. Gary Farber: Read The Rest Scale: 1 out of 5 for Cherny; Newsweek's novel on the election starts here; Teddy White, it ain't. Taegan Goddard: How Bush Did It — A team of Newsweek reporters unveil "the untold fears, secret battles and private emotions behind a historic election." |
Patterico: It turns out that the Newsweek people were given inside access to the Kerry campaign in return for a promise not to... Orrin Judd: THE LAST BATTLE OF THE '60s: How Bush Did It: A team of NEWSWEEK reporters unveils the untold fears, secret battles and... |
Guardian Angels NRO — Permalink Once again, our enemies save America. I have believed all along that this election was enormously important, perhaps as important as in 1980, when I thought that a Carter reelection might well tip the world balance of power against us. | |
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Tim Blair: JUST CALL ME SID — NRO's Michael Ledeen salutes America's Guardian angels: [snipped quote] Speaking of proper credit ... (Via reader Greg MacDonald) |
Charles Johnson: Michael Ledeen thanks the Guardian for helping elect George W. Bush to a second term: Guardian Angels. |
. . . He Didn't Get By / WaPo — Permalink Don't mourn. Organize. Okay, we can mourn a little first. The punch in the stomach that really got blue Americans singing the blues was George W. Bush's popular vote lead of more than 3.5 million. | |
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Vox Day: So close, and yet so far — EJ Dionne of the Washington Post almost gets it: [snipped quote] The reason that the... Vanderleun: Political Corrections — "All the Dogs of Europe Bark" E. J. Dionne at the Washington Post is beginning to emit foam with . Tim Dunlop: Wag the god 2 — The point I'm making in the post below—that we can't allow the myth to develop that the so-called... |
Avedon Carol: What are the factors that might cause it to change?" And here is E.J. Dionne: [snipped quote] You know something? Pejman Yousefzadeh: Meanwhile, E.J. Dionne writes the coulda shoulda woulda column of the week. McQ: The Left: Mandate? What mandate? EJ Dionne refects, what I fear, is how much of the left is going to view this election. |
| Also: KJL, Betsy Newmark | |
G.I.'s Itch to Prove Their Mettle in Falluja By / NYT — Permalink NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 5 - The marines crept forward, glancing warily at each other as they approached a bomb-scarred building covered with Arabic lettering. Suddenly, one of them shouted "Sniper!" and another dropped to the ground as if wounded. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: NEWS FROM FALLUJAH: The Green Side is a blog worth reading. It looks like things are about to happen there. Matthew Yglesias: The operative question, instead, is whether having destroyed Falluja in order to save it and watched the January vote... |
Ann Althouse: Will MSM give us more positive-sounding reports from Iraq now that there's no longer an incentive to affect the election with Iraq-is-a-mess slanting? |
We progressives are horrified, as well we should be By / Houston Chronicle — Permalink Don't mourn. Organize. OK, we can mourn a little first. The punch in the stomach for blue Americans singing the blues was George W. Bush's popular vote lead of more than 3.5 million. | |
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Deacon: E.J. Dionne rallies the troops — Many thanks to Rocket Man for taking over the E.J. Dionne beat today. |
Hindrocket: Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne is usually Deacon's personal whipping boy, but today I'll take a turn. |
Clinton tells Democrats to work on image By / AP — Permalink NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Clinton has a message for Democrats inconsolable after President Bush's re-election: Buck up. It's not that bad. You need to improve your image. | |
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McQ: Check this out: "In his speech Friday to the Urban Land Institute, [Bill] Clinton attributed Kerry's loss to the... |
Orrin Judd: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWERLESS:: Clinton Tells Democrats to Work on Image (SAM DOLNICK, 11/05/04, Associated Press) [snipped quote] How long until the Left starts attacking him? |
Students Won't Leave Until GOP Answers AP — Permalink BOULDER, Colo. — About 85 students remained holed up inside the library at Boulder High School (search) early Friday, saying they're concerned about the direction the country is headed and refusing to leave until they've met with leaders from the Republican Party. | |
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Steve Gilliard: Young Americans — Our heroes This will make you feel good. PoliPundit: More Schadenfreude — More despairing, hysterical liberals. |
Ed Driscoll: Of course, that hasn't stopped about 85 students at Boulder High School in Colorado from holing up in the school library today. |
President Bush wins Iowa, finishes with 286 electoral votes to Kerry's 252 By / AP — Permalink DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) President Bush won Iowa on Friday, finishing the 2004 campaign with wins in all three of the states that were still up in the air on election night. The last result came in the state that started the election year with its party caucuses back in January. | |
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James Joyner: It's Official: Bush Wins Iowa, 286 Electoral Votes — President Bush wins Iowa, finishes with 286 electoral votes to... Glenn Reynolds: IT'S NOW 286-252, as Bush has won Iowa. Perspective, from the Boston Globe: "The Democrats' defeat in Iowa reflects a... |
Taegan Goddard: Bush Wins Iowa — [snipped quote] the AP reports. With Iowa decided, Bush finished with 286 electoral votes and Kerry 252. |
Christians See Court Appointments as Top Bush Aim By / Reuters — Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Christian conservative leaders say their top priority in President Bush's second term is the appointment of conservative judges to the Supreme Court and throughout the judicial system. "We have high hopes of changing the judiciary. | |
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Stuart Buck: There's no doubt that McConnell would enjoy the support of evangelicals — as he did during his 10th Circuit confirmation and when being considered for Solicitor General. |
Lambert @Corrente: There's the headline, then there's the body — Reuters: "Christians See Court Appointments as Top Bush Aim" Wow. |
Bush may tap Hispanic and black for key jobs IHT — Permalink WASHINGTON In the wake of President George W. Bush's re-election, the nation could soon have its first black attorney general and its first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, according to Republican insiders with ties to the Justice Department and the White House. | |
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Tom Maguire: The LA Times (and others) are buzzing about former Ashcroft number two Larry Thompson: [snipped quote] As to whether... |
Orrin Judd: NOT YOUR FATHER'S GOP: Bush may tap Hispanic and black for key jobs (Charlie Savage, November 6, 2004, Boston Globe) |
Bush Wins Iowa to Claim Last Three States By / AP — Permalink DES MOINES, Iowa - President Bush won Iowa on Friday, finishing the 2004 campaign with wins in all three of the states that were still up in the air on election night. The last result came in the state that started the election year with its party caucuses back in January. | |
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Ace: Bush Wins Iowa — As well as New Mexico. Sweet. I haven't forgotten about the election predictions. Orrin Judd: THE ELECTORAL MAP GROWS GRIMMER: Bush Wins Iowa to Claim Last Three States (MIKE GLOVER, 11/05/04, Associated Press)... |
Captain Ed: AP: Democrats Losing Ground In Middle America — The AP notes that the final tallies in Iowa and New Mexico show that... |
Bernie Goldberg: CNN's Judy Woodruff on 'Suicide Watch' NewsMax.com — Permalink Did you happen to see "The O'Reilly Factor" last night? It was even more enlightening and amusing than usual as FNC star Bill O'Reilly and CBS whistle-blower Bernard Goldberg exposed the more ludicrous antics of the pro-Democrat media establishment on election night. | |
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H.D. Miller: Judy, Judy, Judy — The Unibomber Tries to Deliver the Ohio Election Returns to Judy Woodruff Poor Judy Woodruff, she's still in shock. |
Ace: Update: I didn't see it, but this Newsmax article says CNN's Judy Woodruff was "almost in tears" late Tuesday night. |
Despite G.O.P. Gain, Fight Over Judges Remains By / NYT — Permalink WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 - When Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, faced the toughest primary race of his political career, President Bush went to his rescue, campaigning with Mr. Specter at every turn. | |
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SLZoll: Posted at 01:19 PM CHAIRMAN SPECTER: MAKING THE WINNERS THE LOSERS [KJL] Check this out from the New York Times today:... DemFromCT: We know better to depend on them (Arlen Spector is the perfect example, whether it be overtime pay or SCOTUS appointments). |
KJL: CHAIRMAN SPECTER: MAKING THE WINNERS THE LOSERS — Check this out from the New York Times today: Sheryl Gay Stolberg... Whiskey: These comments gave immediate cheer to the left, according to the New York Times: "Abortion rights advocates, feeling... |
Obituaries By / City Pages — Permalink Policy Review, October 5, 2018—George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, died today at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was 72. The cause of death was announced as heart failure. Mr. Bush's always controversial presidency left behind a changed nation and a changed world. | |
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Tim Blair: NOT COPING WELL — "Former President George W. Bush Dead at 72," exults Greil Marcus in a grotesque mock obituary:... |
The Elder: To prove how totally unhinged they're becoming, please see this gem in the City Pages. It's Bush's obituary. |
Brits' campaign backfires in Ohio By / USA Today — Permalink When the left-leaning British newspaper The Guardian launched a campaign last month to allow its readers to correspond with working-class swing voters in Ohio, it hoped to start a friendly dialogue between foreigners interested in the 2004 presidential campaign and U.S. voters who would decide its outcome. | |
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Jan Haugland: Letters to America helped Bush win Ohio — The Guardian's Operation Clark County, a campaign where Brits sent... |
Antoine Clarke: Enemy weeps, I rejoice — The liberal-leaning USA Today describes The Guardian today as a "left-leaning British... |
Privatized Accounts Moved to 'Fast Track' LAT — Permalink WASHINGTON — President Bush on Thursday set the stage for a monumental legislative battle by placing Social Security reform at the top of his second-term agenda, even though he acknowledged that no long-term fix would be pain-free. | |
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Kevin Drum: THE PRIVATIZATION SHELL GAME....It looks like Social Security privatization is now at the top of President Bush's agenda. Orrin Judd: SURROUNDING THE BASTILLE: Privatized Accounts Moved to 'Fast Track' (Warren Vieth and Janet Hook, November 5, 2004, LA... |
James Joyner: Privatized Accounts Moved to 'Fast Track' (LAT) "President Bush on Thursday set the stage for a monumental legislative... Stirling Newberry: Looting Social Security Centerpiece of New Term — "Private Accounts" made top of the agenda. |
American Exceptionalism NRO — Permalink The message of Tuesday's verdict. Tuesday's election was the greatest turnout in American political history, the first majority vote for a president-elect since 1988, and the largest number of ballots cast for a president in our history. | |
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Michael DeBow: Professor Hanson has now filed his report on Election '04: Yet another instance of American exceptionalism! Wind Rider: If its Friday, that means Hanson — Spot on, as usual - [snipped quote] I'm in complete agreement, with the exception of... |
Greg Ransom: VICTOR DAVIS HANSON WEIGHS IN. |
Don't Believe the Hype (2004 Remix) NRO — Permalink The "youth vote" fails to materialize — yet again. "This is the best election night in history," Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe declared at 8 P.M. on Tuesday. Rumors around Washington suggest that he changed his position shortly thereafter. | |
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Betsy Newmark: Jonah Goldberg is not impressed with the power of the youth vote. |
Ed Driscoll: Don't Believe the Hype (2004 Remix) Jonah Goldberg looks at the stunning success (cough, cough) that was the 2004 youth vote. |
Those Who Voted for Bush May Be In for a Big Surprise By / LAT — Permalink Dear rural/exurban Christian conservative voters: Congratulations on your election victory. By going to the polls in unprecedented numbers Tuesday, you overwhelmed an enormous Democratic turnout and returned President Bush to office, along with a number of very conservative senators. | |
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Jeanne D'Arc: Onward, Christianist soldiers — Jonathan Chait thinks the theocratic wing of the Republican party is in for a rude... |
Matthew Yglesias: Nevertheless, as Jon Chait points out, just days after the election Bush is already making it clear that his political... |
U.N. Envoy: Darfur Sliding Toward Anarchy By / AP — Permalink UNITED NATIONS - A U.N. draft resolution on Friday urged warring parties in southern Sudan and western Darfur to reach peace agreements while promising international support and possible debt forgiveness if they do. | |
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Charles Johnson: UN: The Concept of the Carrot — The United Nations is becoming extremely vexed about the situation in Sudan: U.N. Envoy: Darfur Sliding Toward Anarchy. |
Eugene Oregon: Daily Darfur — Jan Pronk says the situation is deteriorating and that "Darfur may easily enter a state of anarchy; a total collapse of law and order." |
Inner Circle Newsweek — Permalink The President: Bush's team was upbeat. But not everyone was sure about the race Nov. 15 issue - Karl Rove called the group "the Breakfast Club." They met at Rove's unadorned house in northwest Washington on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003, the day Saddam Hussein was captured in Iraq. | |
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Jan Haugland: The Inner Circle tells the story up to March this year, about the circle around "the architect" Karl Rove. Tim Blair: I've cherry-picked some of the goofier elements, but please read the whole thing: "Teresa/Dean Cage Match At one point... |
Orrin Judd: ROVE'S BRAIN: Inner Circle: The President: Bush's team was upbeat. |
I'm Loving It NRO — Permalink Krugman's post-election meltdown — and more! On Election Day, Paul Krugman was all choked up. Now, he's just choking. And I won't kid you — I'm loving it. Here's what America's most dangerous liberal pundit had to say in his New York Times column Tuesday morning, when he expected John Kerry to win the presidency: | |
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Orrin Judd: SOROS LOSERMAN: I'm Loving It: Krugman's post-election meltdown — and more! |
Deacon: Here's a gift from Paul Krugman, as reported by Donald Luskin at NRO. |