Guess who I ran right into in the lobby of the St Martin’s Lane hotel last night?
DASCHLE’S BALLOON: Word travels fast. Last night, I was having dinner with two English journalist friends. Of course, the war came up. I hadn’t been following the wires all day so I was surprised to hear one of them ask me for an explanation of Senator Tom Daschle’s criticism of the “axis of evil” phrase in the State of the Union. If Americans are so united about the war, I was asked, why is the Senate majority leader taking on the president? I had three off-the-cuff explanations: a) just to get himself in the paper; b) a simple gaffe – it’s what he believes, but he knows it’s politically dumb to say it; c) he wants to get a premature end to the war so he can use domestic politics to tackle the president’s popularity. Of course, it could also be a combination of the three. And the ruse works better if you subsequently disown it. This was a trial balloon. And at small intervals in the future, the Democrats will do it again. After all, it’s their only hope. Meanwhile, the president should ignore the politics and get on with the deadly serious task of protecting the West from another September 11 – or worse.
The Dish 