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Nation's Direction Prompts Voters' Concern, Poll Finds (NYT) Permalink George Bush and John Kerry enter the general election at a time of growing concern among Americans that the nation is veering in the wrong direction, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows. Mr. Bush faces unrest over his management of the economy, while the public has... | |
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Hugh Hewitt: (See the New York Times/CBS poll from this morning: Bush leads Kerry by 8 points in a three way race, with Bush at 46, Kerry 38, and Nader at 7... Steve Bainbridge: The Buried Lead The most recent NYT poll has Bush 3 points ahead of Kerry in a head to head matchup and an eye-popping 8 points ahead in a three... Zachary Roth: He asks why Adam Nagourney and Janet Elder lead off their report on the results of a new NYT/CBS poll with the news that voters believe "the... |
Mickey Kaus: Nagourney buries the lede again: Isn't the news in the latest CBS/New York Times poll that it shows Bush inching ahead—that the current... Deacon: Howard Kerry — The latest New York Times/CBS News poll suggests that John Kerry's honeymoon with the voters may well be over. President Bush... Howard Kurtz: A New York Times poll has some bad news for both candidates: "Mr. Bush faces unrest over his management of the economy, while the public has... |
| Also: Tom Maguire, Taegan Goddard, Jesse Taylor, Adam White, Mathew Gross | |
Australia Says It Stands by the U.S. ( / AP) Permalink Australia's foreign minister promised Tuesday that the government would not back away from its close alliance with the United States despite the terrorist bombing attacks on Spain, another member of the U.S.-led occupation force in Iraq. | |
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Bo Cowgill: AUSTRAILIA STANDS STRONG: Good news. C. D. Harris: [quote]The Aussies, too: "Foreign Minister Alexander Downer urged Spain's new prime minister not to pull its 1,300 troops from Iraq, as he has...[end quote] |
Steven Den Beste: The most important nations are the UK, Poland, and Australia, and so far they all seem to be remaining strong. But it's a hell of a note when you... Charles Johnson: Australia Stands Up — Australia Says It Stands by the US. Good on ya, mates. You make us proud. "SYDNEY, Australia - Australia's foreign... |
GLOBE REPORTER CLAIMS TAPE RECORDED KERRY 'MORE' LEADERS NOT 'FOREIGN' LEADERS; TRANSCRIPTION 'SCREW-UP' (Drudge Report) Permalink A BOSTON GLOBE reporter at the center of a growing controversy over comments made by John Kerry last week in Florida now claims he "screwed-up" — and John Kerry never bragged how "foreign leaders" privately backed his presidential bid! | |
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Steve Bainbridge: A Suspect Retraction According to Drudge, Boston Globe reporter Patrick Healy, whose story started the whole Kerry and "foreign leaders" meme, is... Tom Maguire: He doesn't have "foreign" friends, he has "more" friends, according to Patrick Healey of the Boston Globe; the WaPo brushes this aside (see... Edward Driscoll: This recent "admission" by Boston Globe reporter Patrick Healy that he flubbed a key quote by John Kerry—despite the fact that Kerry has... |
Tom Tomorrow: So, as Ali G would say, big ups to Boston Globe reporter Patrick Healy for doing the right thing and setting the record straight. Howard Kurtz: Drudge has gotten hold of an e-mail that casts doubt on the whole flap: "A BOSTON GLOBE reporter at the center of a growing controversy over... Glenn Reynolds: I DON'T BELIEVE THIS BACKTRACK by Boston Globe reporter Patrick Healy on the Kerry "Foreign Leaders" story: "Listening to the audio recorder now,... |
| Also: David Bernstein, Ezra Klein, Oliver Willis, Adam White, Tim Blair, Jonah Goldberg, Hesiod, Bo Cowgill, Kos | |
THE FRENCH WAR FOR OIL ( / New York Post) Permalink MANY Americans are convinced even today that the war in Iraq was all about oil. And they're right - but oil was the key for French President Jacques Chirac, not for the United States. | |
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Cori Dauber: Via Instapundit, a piece in the New York Post (as they would say, owned by the parent company of Fox News) on the oil contracts hanging in the... Stephen Green: No War, For Oil — Kenneth R. Timmerman, in today's New York Post: "in documents I obtained during an investigation of the French relationship to... Bird Dog: UPDATE: More French altruism from Kenneth Timmerman: "Many Americans are convinced even today that the war in Iraq was all about oil. And... |
Glenn Reynolds: ANTI-WAR FOR OIL: Kenneth Timmerman reports: "MANY Americans are convinced even today that the war in Iraq was all about oil. And they're right... Betsy Newmark: Kenneth Timmerman has uncovered more information on how France was making money off of Saddam Hussein. "MANY Americans are convinced even today... The Big Trunk: Kenneth Timmerman adds a relevant note on French anti-American machinations in the New York Post column "The French war for oil." Timmerman has... |
Osama bin Laden: missed opportunities ( / MSNBC) Permalink As the 9/11 commission investigates what Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush might have done to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, one piece of evidence the commission will examine is a videotape secretly recorded by a CIA plane high above Afghanistan. The... | |
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Atrios: The reason was that tonight Lisa Myers essentially took the same information and spinned it into a "IT WAS ALL CLINTON'S FAULT" story. Myers is... Cori Dauber: In other words, the Clinton administration had real time imagery on OBL's whereabout's and did nothing about it. This must have hit a nerve,... |
Betsy Newmark: Lisa Myers has an intriguting story about how the US had a sight on Osama Bin Laden from a Predator but, because the CLinton administration had... |
Iranians celebrate fire festival (Reuters) Permalink TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) — Iranians danced in the street, threw firecrackers and jumped over bonfires Tuesday night as authorities openly tolerated an ancient fire festival for the first time in 25 years. | |
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Emperor Darth Misha I: Uprisings? Bloody beatings of civilians by the theocratic regime so beloved by CNN? Not bloody likely. "TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) — Iranians danced... KJL: CNN & IRAN — Well, CNN's reporters won't get kicked out of Tehran. (Hopefully, someday when the Iranians are liberated, we'll have an Eason... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: ANY EXCUSE TO PARTY — A very happy Chaharshanbeh Suri to all. And may its celebration be the harbinger of complete political and social freedoms... |
To Die in Madrid ( / Slate) Permalink I can remember when I was a bit of an ETA fan myself. It was in 1973*, when a group of Basque militants assassinated Adm. Carrero Blanco. The admiral was a stone-faced secret police chief, personally groomed to be the successor to the decrepit Francisco Franco. His car blew... | |
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Cori Dauber: WHAT DO TERRORISTS WANT? Ask the brilliant Christopher Hitchens. Because you can go on about the theory of appeasement all day long, or you can... Stephen Green: That's Christopher Hitchens in Slate. The whole thing is today's Required Reading. |
Hugh Hewitt: It's crazy, I know. But so crazy it. Just. Might. Work. (No. It's never worked before, but this could be the year.) Hitchens at his best. (Hat... James Joyner: Christopher Hitchens notes the “nutty logic” exhibited by Spain’s Left: "Many Spaniards were among those killed recently in... |
Al Qaeda's Wish List ( / NYT) Permalink I am trying not to think harshly of the Spanish. They have suffered a grievous blow, and it was crazy to go ahead with an election a mere three days after the Madrid massacre. Nonetheless, here is what seems to have happened: | |
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Jeff Jarvis: A nation of Neville Chamberlains : David Brooks tiptoes up to the line — "I am trying not to think harshly of the Spanish" — but then he speaks... Tom Tomorrow: For what it's worth, I got an email from a Spanish reader this morning, giving his take on the situation, and it doesn't make the Spanish people... Cori Dauber: AMERICANS ARE FROM MARS — In yet another outstanding piece, David Brooks ponders the long term fall out of the Spanish election. There will be... |
Mike Rappaport: Rational Free Riding by the Spanish — In his column criticizing the Spanish, David Brooks writes: If a terrorist group attacked the U.S. three... Nathan Hallford: Brooks On Terrorism: In today's New York Times, David Brooks pens an excellent piece on the recent attack in Spain. He writes: "We can be pretty... Robert Garcia Tagorda: I doubt, however, that the Socialist victory amounts to appeasement per se, because there are too many complicated variables at hand. So, in many... |
| Also: Ezra Klein | |
Kerry Sticks to Claim of World Support ( / AP) Permalink WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is not backing down from his claim that some foreign leaders privately support him against President Bush , dismissing suggestions by the White House that he is lying if he is not willing to identify the leaders. | |
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Greyhawk: Speaking of which, you recently claimed that "foreign leaders" want you to be the next president. Actually, a careful reading of your claim shows... John Ellis: It's Twue, It's Twue — Those foreign leaders really do like me better. So says Senator John Kerry. As oddball stories go, this one does ring... |
KJL: MORE RE FOREIGN LEADERS — This would be funny if he were not running for president: Kerry continues to stand by the statement that, according to... Taegan Goddard: The AP notes Kerry "is not backing down" either. Said Kerry: "It's no secret that some countries are deeply divided about our foreign policy. We... |
Bush's partial history (Spokane Spokesman-Review) Permalink Military rules used in 1974 to ground two Washington Air National Guard airmen with access to nuclear weapons also applied to a Texas Air National Guard unit where Lt. George W. Bush was a fighter pilot. | |
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Brad Delong: "The Spokesman-Review.com - Bush's partial history: ...Human reliability regulations were used to screen military personnel for their mental,... David Neiwert: Bush's partial history: Stringent military screening program may explain gaps on president's record What Morlin and Steele appear to have... |
Dan Gillmor: Bush and the National Guard: More Questions — Spokane Spokesman-Review: Bush's partial history. Military rules used in 1974 to ground two... Kevin Drum: A lot of people have emailed me a link to this story in the Spokane Spokesman-Review about George Bush's National Buard record. It describes... |
Survey finds hope in occupied Iraq ( / BBC) Permalink An opinion poll carried out in Iraq will make good reading for US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: "THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS" That appears to be a good way to describe the mood in Iraq, almost one year after the war began: "About 6,000... Glenn Reynolds: HERE'S AN INTERESTING ABC POLL OF IRAQIS: "A year after the bombs began to fall, Iraqis express ambivalence about the U.S.-led invasion of their... Damian Penny: Update: the BBC has more details of the poll. Notably, only 20% of Iraqis want their country to become an Islamic state. The surest way to make... |
Allah: Blame Bush! So much for "el desastre". Meanwhile, Tony Blair interrupts appeasement boy's calling him a "liar" to tell him now might be a good... Tim Blair: Only one year after liberation, things are looking up: "An opinion poll suggests most Iraqis feel their lives have improved since the war in... Patrick Belton: ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE: A poll commissioned by BBC and carried out by Oxford Research International (full disclosure: we didn't... |
| Also: Jeff Jarvis | |
A Tribute to Rachel Corrie ( / Opinion Journal) Permalink (Editor's note: On March 16, 2003, 23-year-old Rachel Corrie died in a bulldozer accident in the Gaza town of Rafah.) | |
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Adam White: While too many "human rights activists" rush to honor her name, it's nice to see that at least one writer has captured her for what she really... Charles Johnson: UPDATE: OK, there is one Corrie tribute worth linking to: Thanks for showing us what "peace" really means. "Today is the first anniversary of... |
Edward Driscoll: SHE BULLDOZED HER WAY INTO OUR HEARTS, one year ago today: Rachel Currie, that is. Charles Johnson writes: "This means that practically every... |
Honduras says it will follow Spain's lead, withdraw troops from Iraq in June; El Salvador to stay put ( / San Francisco Chronicle) Permalink Honduras plans to follow Spain's lead and withdraw 370 troops from a Spanish-led humanitarian and peacekeeping brigade in June, Defense Secretary Federico Breve said Tuesday. | |
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Dan Darling: Honduras plans to follow suit, along with possibly El Salvador depending on the results of their own upcoming elections. Now statistically this... |
Kos: Honduras announced abruptly it will withdraw its troops, and Nicaragua has decided not to replace a contingent it just rotated out. Only El... |
A Leaner, Meaner Jihad ( / NYT) Permalink The coordinated train bombings in Madrid have altered Europe's political structure, shaken global financial markets and unsettled the American-led coalition in Iraq. Although we still do not know for sure who committed the atrocity, the only groups to have claimed... | |
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Dan Darling: Bjorn Stark and the New York Times have more of the same, but in light of this document, its size, and the detailed analysis of the Spanish... |
Daniel Drezner: Meanwhile, Scott Atran picks up on the evolution of the relationship between Al Qaeda and local terrorist groups in the other op-ed. The... |
Weak on Terror ( / NYT) Permalink "My most immediate priority," Spain's new leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, declared yesterday, "will be to fight terrorism." But he and the voters who gave his party a stunning upset victory last Sunday don't believe the war in Iraq is part of that... | |
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Tom Maguire: Weak On Facts — Paul Krugman recycles some old material, so I will too: ...Polls suggest that a reputation for being tough on terror is just... Matt Yglesias: UPDATE: Krugman seems to be thinking along the same lines (big memo went out to the whole vlwc, you see) but he's just not shrill enough about... Oliver Willis: Weak on Terror After 9/11, terrorism could no longer be ignored, and the military conducted a successful campaign against Al Qaeda's Taliban... |
Jeanne D'Arc: Paul Krugman brings it all home. Brad Delong: [quote] Op-Ed Columnist: Weak on Terror: By PAUL KRUGMAN | Published: March 16, 2004 | "My most immediate priority," Spain's new leader, José Luis...[end quote] Mathew Gross: The Washington Post delves further into the results of the Spanish elections. Krugman follows the blogosphere. Kerry follows the script. And in... |
Europe Faces a New Era ( / WaPo) Permalink For Europe, March 11 equals September 11. The mass terror attacks in Madrid last week, say European online commentators, mark the beginning of a new era in which Europe will have to learn to defend itself from al Qaeda-style terror operations. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: JEFFERSON MORLEY SURVEYS THE EUROPEAN PRESS for the Washington Post and discovers that some realism is beginning to appear: [quote] "Only a dreamer...[end quote] |
Donald Sensing: The WaPo's Jefferson Morley surveys the content of European papers' editorials now that the immediate shock of the Madrid attacks is being... |
Time to Save an Alliance ( / WaPo) Permalink The terrorist attack in Madrid and its seismic impact on the Spanish elections this past week have brought the United States and Europe to the edge of the abyss. There's no denying that al Qaeda has struck a strategic and not merely a tactical blow. To murder and terrorize... | |
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Kevin Raybould: Neo-Con Panic — Man, everyone needs to calm down "The terrorist attack in Madrid and its seismic impact on the Spanish elections this past week... James Joyner: Time to Save an Alliance — That’s the title of the latest column by Robert Kagan. "The terrorist attack in Madrid and its seismic impact... Robert Garcia Tagorda: POSTSCRIPT: See also Robert Kagan's column on the transatlantic alliance. |
Gregory Djerejian: Meanwhile, over in, er, the real world, Robert Kagan gets it about right (though is a tad hyperbolic): "The terrorist attack in Madrid and its... Cori Dauber: Emphasizing their disagreements with us there, or distancing themselves from us there, will in the end provide no protection. It would be an... |
Rational Security ( / American Prospect) Permalink Eager as ever to Leave No Corpse Unexploited, the right has wasted little time in promoting the idea that last week's horrifying terrorist attacks in Madrid are a vindication of the Bush administration's policies. On March 12, Andrew Sullivan declared his hope that, if... | |
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Mark Kleiman: George W. Bush as a failed war President — If John Kerry wants to win this election — and there's some evidence that he really, really does —... Atrios: Miserable Failure — Big Media Matt in TAP Online: For all the big talk, then, 9-11 appears to have changed nothing for the Bush administration. |
Matt Yglesias: Rational Security — New article from me on TAP Online (one will be up every Tuesday morning until the end of time...) about Spain, the war on... |
O'Reilly, O'Franken, oh no! ( / Christian Science Monitor) Permalink WASHINGTON - Tired from a long, hard winter? Looking for a sunny getaway that won't break the family budget? Camp X-ray at Guantánamo Bay in tropical Cuba has fun for everyone. | |
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Cori Dauber: Update: No sooner do I post this than I find this via Buzz Machine. Of course, conflating the Opinion Journalism segments on Fox (O'Reilly for... |
Jeff Jarvis: Wake up and smell the spin : A member of the team that wrote the much-linked study on the shrinking news biz (see below), Dante Chinni, writes a... |
A Year After Iraq War (Pew Research Center) Permalink A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war's conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical.... | |
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Angry Bear: The Latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey — The survey was conducted in February, so some of the number may already be dated as a result of the... |
Allah: Jordan, a.k.a. the modern Arab state, continues to be a big supporter of blowing up Jews and U.S. soldiers and of punching women in the face... |
The Maiden Name Debate ( / Slate) Permalink It was an interesting moment in the history of nomenclature when Hillary's "Rodham" slipped into the position of a middle name after her husband lost his bid for re-election as governor in 1980. In the decades that followed, political wives have been pressured to tack their... | |
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Amanda Butler: Names — Rehasing the old concerns, Katie Roiphe's The Maiden Name Debate in Slate suggests a modern alternative open to married women: legally... |
Matt Yglesias: The Personal Is Political — Feminist contrarian Kaitie Roiphe sort of hems and haws about the whole maiden name thing, concluding, at the end,... |
The Spanish Response (WaPo) Permalink SPANISH VOTERS no doubt wished to rebuke the ruling Popular Party for its wrong-footed reaction to last week's terrorist bombing in Madrid, and its support for the United States in Iraq. Fair enough — but it's hard not to be concerned about how the message was likely... | |
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Betsy Newmark: The Washington Post understands what the results of the Spanish election and Zapatero's post-election rhetoric mean for the war on terrorism. KJL: POST ON SPAIN — The Washington Post, at least this morning, gets it. See their "Spanish Response" editorial here. |
Nathan Hallford: The Washington Post condemns the actions of Spain, and writes that actions such as this will leave no choice, but unilateralism, for the U.S. Cori Dauber: This is what it looks like to call someone an appeaser. Jim Hoagland worries that in the wake of it, we have to worry that it is our national... |
US plays down clash with Iran troops ( / Financial Times) Permalink The US army sought yesterday to play down a clash between its troops and Iranian border guards who exchanged fire in north-eastern Iraq on Sunday night. | |
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Macallan: There is a lot of chatter about goings on in Iran and Syria. See Iran links at Obsidian Wings as well as this via NRO corner. NRO also links to... |
KJL: IRAN SIDEBAR — We clashed with Iranian border troops Sunday. |
3/16 Archived Show: (Rush Limbaugh) Permalink RUSH: The Democrats have been telling us for months that Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terrorism. The war in Iraq has nothing to do with it. The Democrats say that Bush lost his focus, should have stayed in Afghanistan. Kerry's got all these world leaders, they're... | |
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Edward Driscoll: By now, you may very well have read or heard the browbeating that Kerry gave a potential voter in a townhall meeting in Bethlehem, PA on Sunday:... |
KJL: (Rush Limbaugh called the incident a "Dean-like meltdown"; the excerpt below comes from Rush.) "KERRY: No, wait, wait, wait, wait you asked me if... |
France Gets Islamist Threat with Chechen Link (Reuters News Service) Permalink PARIS (Reuters) - France has received threats of a possible attack against French interests from an Islamist group apparently named after a Chechen guerrilla killed in a Moscow hostage-taking in 2002, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: The post was written in response to this story, which indicates that France has received terrorist threats from fundamentalist Muslim... |
Steven Den Beste: No European nation has gone further in trying to suck up to the Islamists than France, but it has now received a threat: "France's firm stand... |
Spain: More al Qaeda links found (CNN) Permalink MADRID, Spain (CNN) — One of the five men arrested in connection with the deadly Madrid train bombings has links to the plotters of an al Qaeda-linked bombing in Casablanca last year, CNN has learned. | |
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Tacitus: If this message is authentic, the answers are yes, yes and yes. Via Sullivan. Betsy Newmark: CNN has found evidence that it was indeed Al Qaeda's intention to detach Spain from the coalition in Iraq and drive the Popular Party from power. Allah: Sometimes Allah thinks it's just too damn easy. Via Ace of Spades HQ: "CNN ... has obtained a document posted on an Internet message board... |
Gregory Djerejian: After all, al-Qaeda just pulled off something of their own version of a regime change in Spain. Is that a "great victory" for those combatting... Andrew Sullivan: AL QAEDA'S GAME PLAN: And here's a chilling piece of evidence of how pre-meditated this entire atrocity was. Back in December, the plans were in... |
Greenspan Shifts View on Deficits ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 15 — Consumer debt is hitting record levels. The federal budget deficit is yawning ever larger. The trade gap? Don't even ask. | |
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Steven Taylor: Interesting/A semi-Treatise on Mortgages — Greenspan Shifts View on Deficits "Consumer debt is hitting record levels. The federal budget... Brad Delong: "Greenspan Shifts View on Deficits: Mr. Greenspan's last big idea came 10 years ago, when he correctly perceived that American productivity was... |
Hesiod: SITUATIONAL ECONOMICS: It comes as no surprise to me that Alan Greenspan is jettisoning years of HIS OWN views, and the research of economists to... |
Kerry 'endorsements' under fire (Washington Times) Permalink The Bush administration yesterday challenged Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to prove he didn't lie about the foreign leaders he says support his campaign, but the Massachusetts senator said he still won't name them. | |
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Howard Kurtz: After months of listening to Kerry deride Bush's credibility, the Bush team is turning the tables, reports the Washington Times: "The Bush... |
Hindrocket: Yesterday, top Republican spokesmen like Scott McClellan, Vice-President Cheney and campaign spokesman Terry Holt all jumped on the bandwagon,... |
Taiwan Protests Against China-France Joint Naval Exercise ( / Epoch Times) Permalink TAIPEI - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) lodged a strong protest to France and mainland China Tuesday for their ongoing large-scale joint naval exercise that coincides with Taiwan's presidential race. | |
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Bo Cowgill: SPEAKING OF INFULENCING ELECTIONS: The French and Chinese are holding joint naval excersizes in the Taiwan Straights between now and March 20,... |
Tom Maguire: UPDATE: Diplomatic protest from Taiwan. |
The Spanish dishonoured their dead ( / Telegraph) Permalink "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse." So said Osama bin Laden in his final video appearance two-and-a-half years ago. But even the late Osama might have been surprised to see the Spanish people, invited to choose... | |
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Steven Den Beste: ..." Update: Mark Steyn: [quote] "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, naturally they will like the strong horse." So said Osama bin Laden...[end quote] The Big Trunk: Mark Steyn takes a winding path to his conclusion in "The Spanish dishonored their dead," but none of the columns better articulates the relevant... Chris Bertram: I’d be upset if such pundits told me that voting other than they way they recommended amounted to dishonouring the dead . And if a Spanish... |
James Joyner: Mark Steyn goes even further, charging that “the Spanish dishonoured their dead.” "At the end of last week, American friends kept... Rod Dreher: STEYN SULKS — The Spanish election results have put Mark Steyn in a bad mood re: the appeasement-minded Continent: The other day, the editor of... Michael DeBow: "But they'll blow it up anyway." He's got another column today, lamenting the Spanish election results. |
| Also: Tim Blair, Betsy Newmark | |
Deficit Study Disputes Role of Economy ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 15 — When President Bush and his advisers talk about the widening federal budget deficit, they usually place part of the blame on economic shocks ranging from the recession of 2001 to the terrorist attacks that year. | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Speaking of "he said, she said" coverage of empirical questions, Edmund Andrews's article for The New York Times on a new CBO report showing that... Tom Maguire: NY Times latest poll - Nader, nation on wrong track. More from the Times - it's not the recession, stupid! (Uhh, not that anyone is stupid. It's... |
Noam Scheiber: But, according to today's New York Times, the White House is having none of it: "But J. T. Young, a spokesman for the White House budget office,... |
Change in Spain (NYT) Permalink The terrorist bombings in Madrid last week were undoubtedly the main factor in Sunday's upset of the incumbent Popular Party, which supported the American invasion and occupation of Iraq. The victorious Socialists, like most Spaniards, did not. If Al Qaeda organized the... | |
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Fred Lapides: "When the Basque separatists attack Spanish civilians they are called terrorists by thethe New York Times, but when they kill Israelis, the groups..." Cori Dauber: The vote itself is all that matters. It isn't that al Queda won, it's that Bush lost. The terrorist bombings in Madrid last week were undoubtedly... |
Nathan Hallford: "Mr. Aznar has good historical company." The New York Times argues that the outcome, of the elections, was not a win for the terrorists. |
A Better Life ( / ABCNEWS) Permalink March 15— A year after the bombs began to fall, Iraqis express ambivalence about the U.S.-led invasion of their country, but not about its effect: Most say their lives are going well and have improved since before the war, and expectations for the future are very high. | |
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Jim Henley: So this link is pretty much a sticky-note. My immediate impression is that the reporting on the poll is pretty darn good, in contrast to a lot of... Robert Garcia Tagorda: Good News — and Better News — from Iraq — The latest poll, conducted by Oxford Research International and sponsored by various media outfits,... Cori Dauber: ABC News makes available a poll of the Iraqi population and, if the quick responses they teased with at the end of the show tonight are an... |
Hesiod: POLL BEARING: Everyone should check out ABC News' major new scientific poll of Iraqi public opinion. Some highlights: 1. "The poll finds that 78... Josh Marshall: The results of a very interesting poll (co-sponsored by ABC, the German broadcasting network ARD, the BBC and Japan's NHK) are available at the... |
Madrid Bombs Shook Voters ( / WaPo) Permalink MADRID, March 15 — The hand-lettered sign at the sidewalk memorial for the 200 victims of last week's deadly train bombings starkly summed up a sentiment of many who came to pay respects Monday afternoon. It read: "They Died to Support Bush." | |
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Stephen Green: One Spanish voter complained that, when expressing sympathy for last week's attack in Madrid, President Bush "was cold and aloof," and that "he... Robert Garcia Tagorda: It may have resulted from "public anger over the government's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq," as some political analysts told the... |
Cori Dauber: INDETERMINATE — If you take this Washington Post article at face value you end up pounding your head against the wall. President Bush's... |
White House Spars With Kerry Over Foreign Support ( / WaPo) Permalink Administration officials yesterday sharply challenged the credibility of Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) for suggesting that there are foreign leaders who are pulling for him to defeat President Bush in November as Kerry attacked the president for failing to wage war on terrorism... | |
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Matthew Yglesias: Since the Manchurian candidate line of attacks doesn't seem to have worked, the Bush campaign has now decided that John Kerry was lying when he... |
Betsy Newmark: Here is the full quote and see if you think Kerry is talking about "foreign" or some other leaders. "The controversial remarks were made at a... |
The Double Life of the Media Celeb (DEBKAfile) Permalink He became accustomed to rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty, presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs and generals. World media leaders, newspaper editors, television directors and news syndicates sought him out. His professional views were valued highly enough for... | |
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Roger L. Simon: Attention Lovers of Spy Stories (Who Me?) Reading DEBKAfile is rather like taking drugs—you know it's not good for you, but you can't stay away. |
Tim Blair: "AUSTRALIAN REPORTER" ACCUSED OF ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING Israelly Cool is hot on the trail of a mystery celebrity spy with an Aussie link,... |
Partisan Debate Only Escalates as Kerry Quotation Is Corrected ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 15 — The White House stepped up its attack on Monday over Senator John Kerry's recent claim to have international support for his presidential campaign, as Mr. Kerry deployed high-profile Democrats to defend him. | |
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Taegan Goddard: The Boston Globe issued a correction today. Nonetheless, the New York Times says the correction didn't put out the partisan firestorm. "The White... Betsy Newmark: The pool reporter who transcribed the quote by Kerry about leaders who tell him in private that they want him to defeat Bush now says that he... |
Matthew Yglesias: UPDATE: The New York Times reports that the Kerry statement in question was something of a misquotation anyway: "Patrick Healy, the Boston... |
China, France Hold Naval Drill Before Taiwan Vote ( / Reuters) Permalink BEIJING (Reuters) - China and France will hold rare joint naval exercises off the mainland's eastern coast on Tuesday, just four days before Beijing's rival, Taiwan, holds presidential elections. | |
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Tom Smith: Is trying to intimidate the Free Chinese anything other than a cynical power play by the French? Or maybe the Chinese are in the market for some... Bird Dog: France Joins China To Threaten Taiwan — From Reuters: "China and France will hold rare joint naval exercises off the mainland's eastern coast on... Glenn Reynolds: FRANCE IS JOINING WITH CHINA in an effort to intimidate Taiwan: "China and France will hold rare joint naval exercises off the mainland's... |
Steve Bainbridge: It'll promote democracy and self-determination. (Update: Glenn Reynolds has more coverage. See also the Reuters story here.) John Derbyshire: Guess who is eagerly helping them? |
Kerry Pressed on Foreign Leader Claims ( / AP) Permalink WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential contender John Kerry sought to focus on pocketbook issues in key battleground states, but found himself pressed to back up his claim that his campaign has the backing of foreign leaders. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: After all, as Reynolds details, Kerry's own subsequent statements only make sense is he was talking about foreign leaders. Betsy Newmark: He has refused to deny that he said it and said that he has heard from more leaders this week but he can't reveal their names. Here is what he... |
Tom Maguire: And why did he say this when pressed: "I'm not going to betray a private conversation with anybody," he said Sunday. "I have heard from people,... Glenn Reynolds: But if that's true, how do you explain this Kerry statement: "Kerry declined to name any leaders who have voiced support for his candidacy, but... |
Moral Nihilism ( / TNR) Permalink The hideous massacre in Madrid last week led to many responses, one of which was the Spanish electorate's decision to throw out its center-right government in favor of a solidly socialist administration bent on removing Spanish troops from Iraq. Here is the response of one... | |
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Glenn Reynolds: MORAL NIHILISM: Andrew Sullivan is Fisking a Guardian editorial on the Spanish elections, and observes: "In Europe, there are no bad guys, even... |
Andrew Sullivan: FISKING THE GUARDIAN: Their craven response to the Madrid massacre deserved a riposte. So I fisked 'em. |
Civilian was helping Iraqis become journalists (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Permalink BAGHDAD, Iraq - In an audio postcard that Robert Zangas made for readers of the Post-Dispatch two weeks ago, he said that, other than his family, what he missed most while serving in Iraq was the opportunity to go where he wanted when he wanted. | |
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Jim Henley: In Memoriam - Bob Zangas is dead. He was a civilian volunteer with the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority, murdered by rogue Iraqi policemen... |
Jeff Jarvis: He was killed while on a road with a fellow CPA employee and interpreter. Robert Zangas was also a blogger. Here is the last post of a generous,... |
Spanish leader accuses Bush and Blair (Guardian) Permalink Spain's new prime minister, the Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, yesterday followed his dramatic election triumph with a pledge to bring troops home from Iraq and accusations that Tony Blair and George Bush lied about the war. | |
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Roger L. Simon: Doofus Alert! According to The Guardian Spain's newly-minted Prime Minister Zapatero has wasted no time in making his presence felt. He's already... |
Charles Johnson: Spanish Statecraft — The piece of communist rubbish who is now Spain's prime minister has called George W. Bush and Tony Blair "liars." [quote] "Mr...[end quote] |
MIKE AND PALS 'FIRE' AWAY TO END FREE PASS FOR SCHOOLKIDS (New York Post) Permalink The new school board passed a controversial ban on "social promotions" last night - after Mayor Bloomberg and an ally fired three turncoat panel members who were about to vote against it. | |
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KJL: GOLD STAR FOR MIKE BLOOMBERG — I know this is an anti-Bloomberg Corner, but he deserves kudos for his social-promotion ban for third graders. |
Betsy Newmark: Bloomberg dismissed members of the board who were going to vote against a rule ending social promotion so that he could replace them with members... |
Poll: Bush Moves Ahead Of Kerry (CBS News) Permalink Majorities of voters describe both Bush and Kerry as strong leaders, and both are seen as having a vision for the country. | |
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John Cole: BTW- according to this latest poll, your word isn't worth very much: "Says What He Believes: Bush Yes-----------51% No------------45% Don't... Taegan Goddard: John Kerry "by three points among voters, while two weeks ago Kerry was up by one," according to a new New York Times/CBS News poll. It's 46% for... |
Mickey Kaus: CBS chose a different headline for its report on the exact same poll. What was it? "Poll: Bush Moves Ahead of Kerry." Prosecution rests! ... Josh Marshall: A new CBS/NYT poll. This one with Bush over Kerry 46% to 43%. Other recent soundings include a American Research Group poll (March 9-11) of... |
Arab Fighters Say Iraqis Sold Them Out to U.S. ( / Reuters) Permalink BERQAYEL, Lebanon (Reuters) - Ahmed Abdel Razzaq went to Iraq to fight the Americans and die a martyr. He ended up in a U.S. prison camp after the Iraqis he went to defend captured and sold him for $100. | |
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Bill Hobbs: Do we keep the coach who is playing offense in the War on Terror, taking the battle to where the enemy lives and breeds, smashing their... Emperor Darth Misha I: We could use some mirth after this weekend's events, and our new Imperial Spy, LC Brit_Student is kind enough to provide us with just that by... |
Tim Blair: FOR SALE: ONE RAZZAQ — Iraq-bound jihadologists didn't get the welcome they were expecting: "Ahmed Abdel Razzaq went to Iraq to fight the... |
Kerry Setting Out to Make a Good Second Impression ( / NYT) Permalink When President Bush went on television last week with advertisements attacking Senator John Kerry, Mr. Kerry's campaign took precisely 12 hours to fire back with an expensive multistate ad barrage that accused Mr. Bush of "misleading America." | |
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Mickey Kaus: ... Spinning the Cocoon: Doesn't the NYT's David Halbfinger know any Republican political strategists? Or even any Democratic strategists willing... |
Betsy Newmark: Then he has this to say about another story in the NY TImes about how tough the Kerry campaign is. Yeah, it their own estimation. . "Spinning the... |
Daniel Okrent (NYT) Permalink Daniel Okrent, the public editor for The New York Times, gets a lot of e-mail. He and his assistant, Arthur Bovino, read all of it. Sometimes readers bring up an issue that deserves to be addressed in public but isn't appropriate for, or won't fit into, his biweekly column... | |
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Kevin Drum: Yesterday the Times withdrew its objection and sent Cox the following email: "Thank you for responding to our complaint. By adding the bold-faced... Glenn Reynolds: THE NATIONAL DEBATE has won its battle with The New York Times. The announcement appears on Public Editor Daniel Okrent's page; I don't know if... |
Bill Hobbs: Blogosphere 1, NYT 0 — The New York Times has dropped its ridiculous claim that this parody, posted first at The National Debate and then... |
White House to Kerry: Names names (CNN) Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — White House press secretary Scott McClellan challenged Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Monday to identify world leaders the senator has said were rooting for him in November. | |
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Jonah Goldberg: "MORE" VERSUS "FOREIGN" CONT'D CNN.com changes it to "more" without even explaining why. However, I think this isn't that big a story. It seems... |
Jesse Taylor: Kerry's Goring Begins — The current psuedo-story about whether or not Kerry can name the leaders who want him in power instead of Bush is the... |
Iraq war opponents march to White House (CNN) Permalink WASHINGTON (CNN) — More than 60 people gathered Monday in Washington for a march to the White House, calling for an end to U.S. military action in Iraq. | |
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Glenn Reynolds: "MORE THAN SIXTY PEOPLE" protested the war, and to CNN that's news. (It's currently at the top of their main page.) I wonder how many people... Roger L. Simon: CNN fiddles while Iran burns! While CNN (via Instapundit) continues its coverage of 60, count 'em 60, peace demonstrators at the White House,... |
Tim Blair: MASSES RISE AGAINST BUSH — "Iraq war opponents march to White House," reports CNN: "More than 60 people gathered Monday in Washington for a... Edward Driscoll: IS CNN HALF-FULL OR HALF-EMPTY? For CNN, what does 60 people protesting the Iraq war mean? Big news. How do they title an article that reports... |
Spanish PM-elect vows to pull troops out of Iraq, lashes Bush (AFP) Permalink Spain's prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, vowed to withdraw troops from Iraq and criticised US President George W. Bush after Spanish voters ousted the government that dragged their country into the controversial war. | |
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Macallan: European Commission chief Romano Prodi states, "It is clear that using force is not the answer to resolving the conflict with terrorists," Prodi... Hindrocket: Here is what the Spanish Prime Minister-elect had to say in virtually his first public utterance following the election: "You can't bomb a people... John Ellis: Postscript: The new Spanish Prime Minister's remarks are, if anything, more depressing than the ballot results. (Link via Drudge) |
Donald Sensing: Update: Andrew Sullivan has added more bad news from Europe: "Romano Prodi, the chief of the European Commission, puts it as bluntly as anyone:... Andrew Sullivan: THE E.U. VOWS SURRENDER: Romano Prodi, the chief of the European Commission, puts it as bluntly as anyone: "It is clear that using force is not... |
Saddam's Useful Idiots ( / Opinion Journal) Permalink A year ago John Kerry described the nations that would liberate Iraq as a "coalition of the bribed, the coerced, the bought and the extorted." It turns out that may be a better description of his own antiwar camp. From Jacques Chirac's and Vladimir Putin's political cronies... | |
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Charles Johnson: Saddam's Useful Idiots — Robert L. Pollock asks if any Iraqi money filtered back to American war critics: Saddam's Useful Idiots. "A year ago... Cori Dauber: MORE ON SADDAM'S OIL MONEY — Did some of it end up in the US? (By the way, I should mention that while I am no Scott Ritter fan, this question... |
Edward Driscoll: In The Journal today, Robert L. Pollock looks at "Saddam's Useful Idiots", and asks, "Did any Iraqi money filter back to American war critics?"... Betsy Newmark: Robert Pollock looks at some of Saddam's "Useful Idiots." [quote] A year ago John Kerry described the nations that would liberate Iraq as a "coalition...[end quote] |
Spain's Troops Heading Out of Iraq Under Zapatero ( / Reuters) Permalink MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's incoming leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero indicated Monday he would pull his troops out of the "disastrous" occupation of Iraq in a major swing from his predecessor's pro-American foreign policy. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Indeed, Spain has announced that it will pull troops out of Iraq—thus beginning its new policy of appeasement. Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan makes... |
Jesse Taylor: Exodus II: El Exodo — Spain's new government is set to withdraw troops from Iraq. There's going to be the usual bared fangs from the pro-war... |
Spain's PM-elect pledges withdrawal from Iraq, slams Bush (AFP) Permalink MADRID (AFP) - In a clear break with politics of the government his party defeated, Spain's leader-in-waiting, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, vowed to withdraw troops from Iraq and criticised US President George W. Bush for last year's Iraq campaign. | |
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Pejman Yousefzadeh: Prodi also said that force could not defeat terrorism, leaving the world breathless in anticipation over the EU's forthcoming Hallmark Card... |
David Bernstein: Disturbing Quote from European Commission Chief: From AFP: "The head of the EU executive arm, European Commission chief Romano Prodi, agreed, in... |
Spain's New Prime Minister: 'I Want Kerry to Win' (NewsMax.com) Permalink Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, who won an upset election victory over Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Sunday on a platform of withdrawing Spain's troops from Iraq, has endorsed Sen. John Kerry in the upcoming presidential election. | |
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Allah: ZAPATERO ON GAY MARRIAGE: "WHAT SODOMY HATH JOINED, LET NO MAN PUT ASUNDER" SPAIN RAISES CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO ITS OWN SELF-DEFENSE LE... |
Charles Johnson: Zapatero: "I Want Kerry to Win" — Well, now we know one of the foreign leaders who's on the side of John Effin' Kerry: newly elected Spanish... |
Kerry Criticizes Bush Record on Terrorism ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 15 — Senator John F. Kerry attacked President Bush on national security issues today, asserting that Mr. Bush has played politics with the battle against terrorism and that the bombings in Spain show how ineffective his policies have been. | |
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Oliver Willis: Whether its cozying up to Saudi terror sponsors, using the threat of terrorism to falsify justification for war, or treating the DHS as yet... |
Hindrocket: Kerry Blames Madrid Bombings on Bush — You think I'm kidding? Check it out. Kerry says Bush has been soft on terror, and the Spanish attacks... |
New Spanish Prime Minister Pledges to Withdraw Troops (AP) Permalink MADRID, Spain (AP) — The leader of Spain's victorious Socialists said Monday he will withdraw his nation's support for the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, restating a campaign promise a day after his party won elections overshadowed by terrorist bombings. | |
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Michael Totten: Yes, It Was Appeasement — It looks like terrorism works, at least in Spain. "MADRID, Spain (AP) — The leader of Spain's victorious Socialists... |
Matthew Yglesias: I'm not exactly shedding tears for Jose Maria Aznar's People's Party, but it's very hard to see how it could be anything other than a bad thing... |
P2P In the Legal Crosshairs ( / Wired) Permalink Is California's attorney general preparing a legislative assault on peer-to-peer file sharing? | |
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Julian Sanchez: Wired News reports that the letter's MS Word metadata identifies the drafter or editor of the letter as a VP with the Motion Picture Association... Dan Gillmor: Copyright Cartel Leads California Attorney General by Nose — Xeni Jardin got her hands on (Wired News) a draft letter California's state... |
Glenn Reynolds: CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL LOCKYER: Ventriloquist dummy for the MPAA? Sure looks that way: [quote] "We do not wish to make any comment at this...[end quote] |
W.House Calls on Kerry to Reveal Names of Leaders (Reuters) Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday called on Democrat John Kerry to name the foreign leaders who he says want him to defeat President Bush in the November election. | |
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Tom Maguire: UPDATE: Monday, and the torture continues: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday called on Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) to... Charles Johnson: White House to Kerry: Put Up or Shut Up — The White House is holding John Effin' Kerry's feet to the fire, over his fatuous statement that... |
Betsy Newmark: The White House is getting into the mix demanding that Kerry release the names of foreign leaders who have told him that they are rooting for his... |
Bush Speaks to Newly Elected Spanish Leader (Reuters) Permalink WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush congratulated Spain's newly elected Socialist prime minister on Monday and the White House said the two pledged to work together on fighting terrorism. | |
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Allah: UPDATE: "Hello? Oh, hello! Yes, thank you very much. Hope you lose in November!" UPDATE: Newsmax has all the glorious details. Allahu Akbar. |
Smash: In the wake of Thursday's Madrid Massacre, Spanish voters elected Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Socialist, to replace outgoing Prime Minister... |
New PM promises realignment in Europe (Guardian) Permalink When he ordered the crowd of flag-waving supporters at his headquarters to stop their celebrations and stand silent for a minute's homage to Madrid's dead and injured last night José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was starting what he pledged would be a new style of... | |
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Tim Blair: Insofar as Spain remains a target of Islamicist hatred, the election of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero doesn't change much (except to... |
Allah: Allah hears that the new Spanish prime minister has promised to maintain "cordial" relations with the U.S. Good luck, buddy: "Where the past... |
Raising the Volume (Time) Permalink President Bush was feeling back in the game as Air Force One headed to Cleveland last week. Just that morning, aides had put the final polish on a new speech, in which Bush would make his first full run at what his team calls the economic-isolationist policies of John Kerry.... | |
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Tom Tomorrow: Serious about terrorism — Pandagon makes a good catch, noting a buried paragraph in a Time article: "Administration sources tell TIME that... Oliver Willis: So why is President Bush using them to act as a backdrop for his campaign? Administration sources tell TIME that employees at the Department of... Kevin Raybould: Bush Using Homeland Security For Campaign Prop — Pandagon points out that Homeland security resources are being diverted, if only in a small... |
Mathew Gross: And in the Bush campaign, many are blaming the initial stumblings of the reelection effort on the absence of Karen Hughes: "Many Bush allies are... Thomas Lang: Fact Check — Search Engineers This week's Newsweek and Time both unveiled users' guides to the 2004 Presidential contest. To highlight the theme... Ezra Klein: From the Rooftops, Please — This Time article is, far and away, the best piece I've read on the dynamics of the election. I'll highlight a few... |
| Also: Kos, Hesiod, Taegan Goddard, Howard Kurtz | |
Save Marriage? It's Too Late. ( / Opinion Journal) Permalink Opponents of legalized same-sex marriage say they're trying to protect a beleaguered institution, but they're a little late. The walls of traditional marriage were breached 40 years ago; what we are witnessing now is the storming of the last bastion. | |
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Joe Katzman: Donald Sensing, writing in the Wall Street Journal: [quote] "Sex, childbearing and marriage now have no necessary connection to one another, because...[end quote] Rod Dreher: GETTING A CLUE — Writing in today's Opinion Journal, a conservative Methodist pastor makes a solid, if depressing, argument that the attempts to... Andrew Sullivan: THE HONEST TRUTH: Here's Donald Sensing's digression into the bleeding obvious in the Wall Street Journal today. It's the same point I was making... |
Donald Sensing: Thanks to all who emailed this week — I have received an enormous amount of email in response to my op-ed on the Wall Street Journal's... Jesse Taylor: Popping Out Babies In The Heezy, Fo'sheezi — Donald Sensing writes an article about how the birth control pill and cohabitation have led to... Amanda Butler: Benefit of Clergy — In WSJ's Opinion Journal, Rev. Donald Sensing provides a Posnerian account of why marriage evolved and sighs that gay... |
| Also: Michael DeBow, James Joyner, Bill Hobbs, Glenn Reynolds | |
Kerry Remark on Foreign Leaders Faulted ( / NYT) Permalink BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 14 — A Republican business owner here in this November battleground state and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had the same questions Sunday for Senator John Kerry: Which foreign leaders told you they support your campaign, and when did you meet with... | |
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Josh Marshall: "Name a specific issue," said Powell, "where it looks like I have been marginalized." Sorta sad, isn't it? Eugene Volokh: The New York Times story on the event, however, does not mention this, though it certainly covers the question: "A Republican business owner... Howard Kurtz: Secretaries of state usually remain above the campaign fray, but Powell has started jabbing Kerry: "A Republican business owner here in this... |
Pejman Yousefzadeh: I just want to add commentary on the following excerpt from this story: "A Republican business owner here in this November battleground state... Tom Maguire: ERAM Vexes Kerry On His Foreign Endorsements — The Evil Republican Attack Machine recruited a Pennsylvania businessman and the Secretary of... Taegan Goddard: The New York Times runs an interesting piece on how the question followed Kerry all weekend. Instead of answering directly, Kerry and his aides... |
| Also: Betsy Newmark | |
U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 14 — Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their... | |
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Nick Confessore: They are! What bothers me far more is the fact that some local news stations would be unethical, cheap, or biased enough to actually broadcast... Susan Q. Stranahan And Zachary Roth: Unbeknownst to viewers, however, writes Robert Pear in today's New York Times, the "news" was in fact a free videotape produced and directed by... Jesse Taylor: Unfortunately, Bush seems to have hired Lee Atwater's decomposing, poorly preserved brain as a campaign manager, judging by his ads. Federal... |
Zachary Roth: It now appears that the original report on Kerry's comments misquoted him. Kos reproduces the mea culpa email from the reporter who made the... Dan Gillmor: Bush Administration Invents Journalists to Tout Programs — NY Times: U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny. Federal investigators are... Tom Tomorrow: But even I was surprised to learn that news stations are running VNR's produced by the Bush administration: "Federal investigators are... |
Candidates Narrow Focus to 18 States (WaPo) Permalink Four years ago, the loss of one more state of any size would have cost Bush the election. That is no longer the case because of reapportionment after the 2000 Census. If Bush were to win all the states he won and Kerry won all of Gore's states, the electoral count would be... | |
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Zachary Roth: Meanwhile, Noam Scheiber, on his New Republic blog, looks at Dan Balz and Jim Vandehei's useful rundown in yesterday's Washington Post on the... Noam Scheiber: This paragraph from Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei's front-pager in today's Washington Post made me shudder ever so slightly: "The jobs issue also... Taegan Goddard: John Kerry "already have conceded a majority" of the red and blue states "to one another, with the election likely to turn on battles in fewer... |
Tom Maguire: In Other News... From the WaPo: If you are not in one of these eighteen states, you will have to watch the candidate's attack ads over the... Matt Yglesias: At the end of a little political analysis from the Post we read: "Four years ago, Gore's advisers knew they were in trouble in West Virginia in... |
On Phony Toughness ( / NYT) Permalink Presumably unaware of the presence of a live microphone, Senator John Kerry, campaigning last week in Chicago, let loose with his opinion of Republicans opposing him as "the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen." | |
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Ezra Klein: Luckily, inept doesn't begin to describe how he's doing it: Presumably unaware of the presence of a live microphone,Senator John Kerry,... Steven Taylor: Kerry's Phony Toughness — William Safire's column today gets to the heart of part of my criticism of Kerry's campaign strategy to date (e.g.,... Betsy Newmark: William Safire criticizes Kerry's "phony toughness." for his open mic insult of Republicans. I will, however, give Kerry the benefit of the doubt... |
Tom Tomorrow: Your basic reading comprehension skills, at minimum, rival that of the average third grader—which is apparently more than can be said for... James Joyner: Phony Toughness — William Safire thinks John Kerry is making a bad choice: "If his blunderbuss slander of Republicans as “the most... |
Is The Blogosphere Half-Empty, or Half-Full? ( / TCS) Permalink If you've read Weblogs for any length of you time, you probably already know that the "Blogosphere" is divided into two halves. There are those Weblogs that link to, and very often editorialize about, the news of the day; and then there are the more intimate — and therefore... | |
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Betsy Newmark: Ed Driscoll notes that there are more bloggers than CNN viewers. Of course, most of those bloggers are not writing about news. Most are writing... Edward Driscoll: Thank you, thank you, thank you, CNN: you just made the point of my Tech Central Station article in a nutshell. Glenn Reynolds: IS THE BLOGOSPHERE HALF-EMPTY, OR HALF-FULL? Ed Driscoll looks at the numbers. |
James Joyner: "Thank you, thank you, thank you, CNN: you just made the point of my Tech Central Station article in a nutshell. [links omitted]" The article is... Bill Hobbs: WHY Big Media Disses Blogs — Ed Driscoll examines whether the blogosphere is a glass half empty, or half full in a must-read article today at... |
Campaigns Playing Fast and Loose With Facts and Numbers (LAT) Permalink It was amateur hour all around when President Bush's reelection campaign released an ad last week accusing John F. Kerry of planning to raise taxes by $900 billion if he won the White House. The Bush campaign's justification for the charge was specious. The Kerry campaign's... | |
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Howard Kurtz: Ron Brownstein is never more brilliant than when he agrees with me, so after days of fuming that the press doesn't give the content (as opposed... Jesse Taylor: So far, Bush has managed to offend the majority of Americans through his use of September 11th, piss off firefighters for hiring fake ones in his... |
Zachary Roth: Tip of the Hat — Taxing Our Patience Kudos to Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times for highlighting a major slip-up by the press corps last... Angry Bear: Today, Ron Brownstein makes the same point in the LA Times: "Whoever wins in November may well find their expectations of higher revenues... |
Al Qaeda Implicated In Madrid Bombings ( / WaPo) Permalink MADRID, March 14 — Investigators believe the train bombings that killed 200 people here last week were the work of a multinational cell of al Qaeda loyalists, some of whom entered Spain specifically to carry out the attacks and who are now the target of an international... | |
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Cori Dauber: SPAIN: MORE ON AL QUEDA'S ROLE — Intelligence agencies begin to settle on al Queda as the perpetrators, and certainly this technique of their... The Big Trunk: The investigation so far — The Washington Post has the best story this morning on the progress of the investigation by Spanish authorities of... |
John Ellis: The Spaniards just handed Al Qaeda a huge political victory two days after Al Qaeda attacked their country and killed nearly 200 Spanish... Steven Taylor: Al Qaeda: Prime Suspect — Reports WaPo: Al Qaeda Implicated In Madrid Bombings "Investigators believe the train bombings that killed 200 people... |
The Professor's Paroxysm ( / NRO) Permalink Legal philosopher Brian Leiter of the University of Texas is a self-proclaimed disciple of Nietzsche who fiercely champions a Darwinian materialist vision of the world from his weblog, The Leiter Reports. Having a blog on which to hold forth about the rights and wrongs of... | |
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Tom Smith: Survival of the fittest in the blogosphere — Brian Leiter has got them fuming at the National Review online. UPDATE: Here's Brian's response. Adam White: Leiter v. Lawrence: Following yesterday's post, National Review Online has publishied a defense of Lawrence's Law Review Note, by Hunter Baker... |
Steve Bainbridge: I say only that it keeps me out of a certain amount of trouble that other bloggers may be more willing (or even eager) to invite. (Note: A reply... |
Blow to Bush: An Ally in Spain Is Rejected by Antiwar Voters ( / NYT) Permalink WASHINGTON, March 14 — The ouster of the center-right party in Spain, only days after a terrorist bombing that may be linked to Al Qaeda, is the first electoral rebuke of one of President Bush's most steadfast allies in the Iraq war. | |
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Steve Bainbridge: It changed the complexion of the Spanish election, bringing into office a party far less likely to support the US. Al Qaeda's involvement in the... Kevin Raybould: Bushies Hoped Spanish Attack Would Help Them — I want to to highlight something in this article. Apparently, the Bushies are completely... |
Josh Marshall: The latest example comes from an article today Advertisement in The New York Times, which quotes the Vice President, at a recent political event,... |
Following Attacks, Spain's Governing Party Is Beaten ( / NYT) Permalink MADRID, March 14 — Spain's opposition Socialists swept to an upset victory in general elections on Sunday, ousting the center-right party of Prime Minister José María Aznar in a groundswell of voter anger and grief over his handling of terrorist bombings in... | |
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Daniel Drezner: In the aftermath of the Socialist Party's victory in Spain's national elections — after trailing in most polls to the People's party before last... Cori Dauber: Instead that seems to be reflected in the statement made by one voter to the Times: "Maybe the Socialists will get our troops out of Iraq, and Al... Tacitus: It also has the (rather more questionable) virtue of contributing to the electoral smashing of Aznar's party. Kos says that "Spain's rulling... |
Greyhawk: In Spain's recent elections "The turnout was higher than expected. More than 77 percent of the country's 35 million eligible voters cast ballots,... Kevin Drum: The third possibility is that the electorate was upset with Aznar because they thought he was playing politics with the bombings by insisting ETA... |