The Dish

The fruits of German appeasement of Iran’s mullahs.

THE DIRT FACTOR: Here’s an email that makes sense to me:

I once considered the possibility that I may one day want to run for some office. I don’t know if I would be elected, but I dreamed of playing some role in redefining conservatism for my generation (I am a libertarian-leaning conservative working on my Ph.D.) As a rare ‘independent-thinker’ in academia, I really entertained the idea that politics, some day, may be a good place for me. However, I am the first to admit that I have not led a perfect life. After seeing the disgustingness of this campaign -on both sides, though I must admit I find the venom from the radical left viler – I have resigned myself to realize the sins of my college-days will haunt me forever if I wanted to enter public life in any capacity.
I mean, does Bush’s youth and mediocre service 30+ years ago diminish his capacity to lead a nation today? Are we defined for life by who we are at age 22? Especially, as in Bush’s case, you admit you regret who you were then and have reformed. These are questions we as a nation need to grapple with and I fear, with the growth of the 527s, the answer will be that politics is only going to get dirtier and dirtier.

More to the point: even if you volunteer for military service, you will still get even your medals denigrated later in life. As I’ve said before: there is no zone of privacy left in public life; everything you have ever done in private or public will one day be exposed. The best recourse for sane people is to stay out of politics, never seek elected office, and at least live life as it should be lived: fearlessly.

The Bush-wing of the blogosphere keeps asking questions, which is a good thing. But it seems to me the money graf in the latest AP report is the following:

CBS stood by its reporting. “As a standard practice at CBS, each of the documents broadcast on “60 Minutes” was thoroughly investigated by independent experts and we are convinced of their authenticity,” CBS News said in a statement.
The White House distributed the four memos from 1972 and 1973 after obtaining them from CBS News. The White House did not question their accuracy.

But we’ll see, won’t we?

In my TNR piece, I tried to recall a record poster to illustrate Dick Cheney’s assertion that if we don’t all vote for him we’ll be incinerated. The original inspiration is, of course, this National Lampoon cover. Enjoy.

… Or the little dog dies. My take on Cheney’s opinion that I’ll be dead if Kerry becomes president is now up at The New Republic Online.

To clarify something. When I said that the Killian memos were “devastating” to Bush, I should have been clearer. I didn’t mean devastating to his re-election prospects. They’re a blip on the radar screen of the campaign. Just devastating to the idea that he never got special treatment because of his privileged background during the Vietnam war. Of course he did. And a lot of other people did too. Bush still did a hefty stint of service – certainly heftier than, say, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney or John Ashcroft. And now the forgery theory seems to be gaining momentum, thanks to Drudge. I have no expertise in these matters, as I’ve already said. But if they are forgeries and the forgers are in any way connected to the Kerry campaign, then they really could be devastating to Kerry’s campaign. But I don’t know. My gut tells me they’re probably genuine; and if they were forgeries, I don’t see why the White House would also send them out. But we’ll see, won’t we?

The White House copies of the Killian memos turn out to be copies of CBS’s.

The Bush administration continues its policy of inaction.

It’s now official.

If the docs are forgeries, why would the White House have released two identical copies that it had in its possession after the CBS broadcast? Did the White House forge them as well? One more obvious question: how is it that this White House keeps “finding” new documents it previously claimed were lost? Did Hillary somehow get hired?

EMAIL OF THE DAY: “When the instapundits began the comparison of the military situation in Iraq to Vietnam about a year ago, it was clear the comparison was ridiculous. As a reluctant supporter of the need to topple the Bathists in 2003, I agreed the use of that analogy was baseless and political. But can someone, anyone, please tell me how that analogy has not come to pass in the last six months? A high school history student could point out the awful comparisons of the current state of affairs with those of the war in Southeast Asia:

– The insurgency now has very broad popular support and is growing.

– Weapons and fighters are flowing into the country from Iran and Syria.

– US forces are conducting “search and destroy” missions and airstrikes whose effectiveness evaporates the minute the smoke clears.

– The interim government is seen as an illegitimate US puppet, and the “Iraqification” of the country’s security situation has been wrought with desertion and failure.

– And above all you have the administration here at home in ghastly denial, saying all is well and that the turning point is “just around the corner” (a variation of “light at the end of the tunnel” phrase from 35 years ago).

I am on the brink of despair at what the situation has gradually become, both for the Iraqi people, for US moral and military credibility in the broader struggle, and for the historically urgent need to bring some form of hope to the vipers nest of the Arab Middle East.” More feedback on the Letters Page.

Well, here’s a strong reason not to take the Killian memos seriously. The pro-Bush blogosphere is claiming that they are obvious forgeries. I’m no expert in these matters and cannot tell if this analysis is sound. But we sure should find out, shouldn’t we? Powerline has the most comprehensive treatment. The blogs prove one thing, though. If these documents are legit, they are devastating to Bush.