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Liveblogging the Ken Mehlman Conference Call — I've been invited to participate in a conference call with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman and bloggers re the Harriet Miers nomination. I'll be live blogging as we go along. I'm not a stenographer, so this will be paraphrases, but I'll do my best.
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Blogger Conference Call, Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman — I had the good fortune today to participate in a conference call with the great Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman, regarding the Harriet Miers nomination. Here are some quick highlights, and I'll conclude with some final thoughts.

A Boondoggle — "If we accept that these women backed out, we must conclude that they were not up to it, they were not qualified, or the Republicans gave them no confidence of standing behind them. " — A Boondoggle — By: Erick · Section: SCOTUS — I listened in on the RNC conference call with bloggers.

Philosophy And Character — I sat in on a blogger conference call …
Discussion:
The American Thinker

What Extremists Are Saying — We note seven critical themes from the Zawahiri-Zarqawi letter. The first four confirm al-Qaida's long-term strategy and core beliefs; the latter three reflect new information about how senior al-Qaida leader Zawahiri views developments in Iraq - and elsewhere - turning against them.

Gore: I Don't Plan to Run for President — STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday he had no intention of ever running for president again, but he said the United States would be "a different country" if he had won the 2000 election, launching into a scathing attack of the Bush administration.
Discussion:
Power Line, BIG DOG's WEBLOG, Say Anything, Povertybarn, Conservative Outpost, Pirate's Cove, Daly Thoughts, A Lady's Ruminations, Basie! and Jo's Cafe

Bush: Miers' Religion Key Part of Her Life — President Bush said Wednesday his advisers were telling conservatives about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' religious beliefs because they are interested in her background and "part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."
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Bush approval dips below 40 percent — NBC-WSJ poll shows only 28 percent believe U.S. headed in right direction — WASHINGTON - It has been weeks since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast; since gas prices began spiking to record highs; and since Cindy Sheehan …

Memories strong five years after Cole blast — Al-Qaida attack killed 17 sailors, sparked better deterrence in Navy — ARLINGTON, Va. — Command Master Chief James Parlier was forced to decide to let a sailor die. — It was Oct. 12, 2000, he said, aboard the USS Cole.
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Miller testified again before grand jury — New York Times reporter disclosed conversation with second source — WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Times reporter Judith Miller on Wednesday gave prosecutors details of a previously undisclosed conversation she had with Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff …
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Report: Libby withheld key info from investigators. — "In two appearances before the federal grand jury investigating the leak of a covert CIA operative's name, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, did not disclose a crucial conversation that he had with New …

Schroeder quits government, blasts U.S., Britain — BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has led Germany since 1998, said for the first time on Wednesday he would not play a role in the next government, in an emotional farewell including broadsides at the United States and Britain.
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Landmark deal reached on Iraqi constitution — Parliament gains Sunni support days before referendum — An Iraqi man reads a newspaper carrying pro-constitution advertisements in Baghdad on Wednesday. In a special session, Iraq's parliament won Sunni support on the draft constitution.
Discussion:
Light Seeking Light
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The conservative crack up — The neocons develop an exit strategy — a political one — WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush may have no military exit strategy for Iraq, but the "neocons" who convinced him to go to war there have developed one of their own — a political one: Blame the Administration.

Syrian Minister 'Commits Suicide', Foul Play Suspected — Syria's Interior Minister has reportedly 'committed suicide', Syrian state controlled media reports today. The story is fishy enough that many mainstream news outlets are making sure to put quotes around "committed suicide".
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Mark Levin: Where do I have to go to find her judicial philosophy? To a Chinese restaurant and crack open a fortune cookie? Where am I going to find her judicial philosophy? — As promised, here is the legal theater that was the Mark Levin interview earlier this evening on the Hugh Hewitt Show:
Discussion:
The Claremont Institute
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OPEN POST — No picture, just a few words. — The purpose of the Open Post is (hopefully) obvious. Those with something to say can link their blogs here and those readers who are interested can follow those links to the source. This whole inter-linking thing is what the blogosphere is all about.

CIA review faults prewar plans — WASHINGTON — A newly released report published by the CIA rebukes the Bush administration for not paying enough attention to prewar intelligence that predicted the factional rivalries now threatening to split Iraq. — Policymakers worried more about making …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report

Good News From Iraq, See Page A13 — The Director of National Intelligence released what he said was a letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi. Like most news organizations, the Washington Post glossed over it and relegated it to Page A-13 but it is encouraging because it shows the U.S …
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Tale of Two Nominees — The survey, which went into the field three days after Bush named Miers on Oct. 3, shows a narrow majority of conservative Republicans (54%), and fewer than half of GOP moderates and liberals (43%), believe Miers should be confirmed.