John Heilemann set off a firestorm by claiming that Wright is releasing a book in October. Roland Martin says it isn’t so.
Month: August 2008
The “Mukasey Doctrine”
Scott Horton is disappointed at Mukasey’s expediency:
Mukasey insists that the process of partisan entrenchment has been checked following his arrival. A measure of skepticism on this point is warranted. In fact, the problem is far broader than the two probes undertaken by the Justice Department’s internal investigators. In a recent interview with a former first assistant U.S. attorney, I collected details of a widespread buy-out program used by the Gonzales and Ashcroft Justice Department to remove career professionals in several U.S. attorneys offices. In one case I have examined, this tool was used to replace career professionals with hacks who were obviously hired in violation of the civil service rules. But this matter has not yet even been probed.
My Big Fat Straight Wedding
As my one-year anniversary as a married man approaches, here’s a piece from the forthcoming Atlantic on the California marriage decision and my own experience.
Churchill-Envy
It’s possible to have differing views on how to handle Russia, although, depressingly, Obama seems to take the maximalist position of bringing Georgia into NATO. But what interests me about McCain’s position is not so much the content as the tone. Check out the video above. McCain clearly believes that a nasty spat in the Caucasus is somehow the defining struggle of the next generation. He speaks in ominous tones about Russia, a state he obviously regards as some dark menace on the verge of dominating the planet. He speaks of faraway countries about which we know nothing in the manner of some Wilderness Years Churchill worrying about Hitler.
All of this is quite potty. Russia is no longer the Soviet Union. You’d think conservatives would understand this distinction. There is a difference between totalitarian states seeking world expansion and authoritarian petro-states in demographic collapse bullying neighboring states because of perceived humiliations.
Look: every Republican wants to be Churchill. But this is not 1938. And Putin’s Russia is not Hitler’s Germany. You’ll have to find another fantasy on which to base a campaign.
Insulting
A reader writes:
I agree with Pete Wehner’s objection that any comparison between Russia’s invasion of Georgia and our invasion of Iraq is insulting. One involved a nation moving troops into an area where it had long-standing and recognized national interests in response to an attack on an ally. It involved limited civilian deaths and a cease fire was quickly signed and apparently honored. The other was an unprovoked attack for the purpose of regime change and muscle-flexing (of course, other, false reasons, were fed to the population) which resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and the long term occupation of a nation thousands of miles away.
Andrew, what were you thinking?
Weak Righteousness
Coates meditates on the "false nobility of victimhood."
Life On Mars
The photo above was taken by my better half from our deck on Monday. He woke early to a strange red light infusing our little bedroom. Stumbling to the window, this is what he saw. I know I’m a Cape Light bore, but one reason I come here and won’t leave is because I know of few other places that simply force you to face the full beauty of God’s creation the way this place does. Yes, many of you would see it simply as the universe in all its grandeur at 5 am. And I’m sure you would appreciate this as much as I do.
But for me the point is always, simply awe.
Obama Eats Popcorn
And the RNC salivates.
The Spokesdrone
Republicans For Obama
The rationale is my own:
Leach, Chafee, and Hauser cited the presidential hopeful’s approach to foreign policy and to the economy as reasons for supporting him over McCain, saying the Arizona senator would continue Bush Administration policies — from the war in Iraq to an unwillingness to engage enemies in direct diplomacy — that have hurt America’s standing in the world and its financial stability. Chafee said "we’ve seen our credibility shattered" over the last eight years. Added Leach: "The prospect that we’ll have more of the same — that is the source of angst of many Republicans around the country."
More debt, more war and more aggression. My worries too. Yes, I know Obama is no fiscal tightwad. But the CBO scores his proposals as less damaging to fiscal balance than McCain’s. And do we really want to the Cheney foreign policy shop staying in the driver’s seat?
The Dish 