"I am astonished. But am I surprised, no," – Senator John McCain upon hearing of the CIA’s decision to destroy tapes of the torture of two terror suspects.
The Art Of The Toilet
The rather fetching craft of one Tuesday Cohen.
A Real Sportsman
“Goodbye To All That”
A reader writes:
Your article on Barack Obama helped crystallized so much of my current thoughts (and fears) around this election. I live in an exceedingly liberal place (Seattle) where stark bumper stickers with the message "01/20/09" are common. The message implies, Just Hang On. But what are we hanging on for?
A Hillary Clinton presidency would certainly moderate the policy platform in Washington. But as you point out, it would wildly inflame the so-called "Culture Wars". And then there is the horrible thought … what could be worse than another four years of George Bush? It might very well be Rudy Giuliani. And, how do we get religious conservatives to vote for a Giuliani? Run him against Hillary.
Like most people, my concerns about Barack Obama stemmed primarily from his relatively junior standing as a national political leader. After reading your article and looking at the logic and timing of his candidacy, I’m more than swayed. I now have a new bumper sticker. Obama ’08.
What’s Wrong With The Clinton Campaign
An Iowa past state Democratic party chair writes:
National reporters have been calling and the most common question is ‘What is wrong with the Clinton campaign?’ I have offered an explanation that I believe is still valid. It is very hard for the Senator to connect to ordinary Iowans. This in part because of understandable security concerns but also because of the type of presentation she has chosen. To get Iowans to work for you they have to feel that their support is essential. You cannot do that at a rally of 5,000 of their closest friends.
However, I am starting to believe there may be a deeper and more underlying cause.
It is not the so-called Clinton fatigue, for the non-supporters a reluctance to embark on eight more years of a Clinton Presidency was there from the start.
But in one clear phrase please tell me this: why should we caucus for her?
For example, one word describes Obama’s effort: Change. For Edwards, it is economic justice and for Dodd, restoring the rule of law. For Biden, foreign policy experience in an increasingly dangerous world. I can’t give you a one word or simple explanation as to what a Clinton Presidency would mean. The reason we find this New Yorker moving from issue to issue is that she has yet to define it herself. We know she wants to be President, but we don’t know why.
Correction of The Day
"An article in Business Day on Friday about favorite gadgets of executives referred incorrectly to the video game Gran Turismo 5. It has not yet been released, and thus is not a best-selling game. The article also referred imprecisely to the game Halo 3. It is the first game in the Halo series designed for the Xbox 360; the earlier games, though playable on the Xbox 360, were designed for the original Xbox. The chip in the Xbox 360 also was misidentified. It has a Xenon chip, not a Cell processor. And the article also misstated the price of the Sony PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 starts at $399, not $299," – New York Times, December 4, 2007. Three cheers for the MSM. Hat tip: CJR.
Burma’s Crackdown
Far worse than we originally thought, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
Banana Republic Update
Hot Air does something really quite spectacular, even by far-right blog standards – they’re blaming John McCain for the CIA’s destruction of evidence of war-crimes. They don’t seem want to understand that torture has always been illegal in the US, and that waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions and hypothermia have always been understood as methods of torture. This war hasn’t been "politicized" by McCain’s attempts to stamp out torture. It has been betrayed by an indecent president, vice-president and then-defense secretary. Joe Gandelman sees shades of Watergate. John Cole is speechless in the face of "what my country has turned into." Larry Johnson predicts:
Jose Rodriguez will not be the only one walking the public plank on this issue. Other intelligence officers likely to be asked tough questions include Cofer Black (now a senior official with Blackwater) and Ambassador Henry "Hank" Crumpton, who was Cofer’s deputy and subsequently served as the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism at State Department. George Tenet and John McLaughlin will also have some ‘splaining to do.
So will the president.
The View From Your Window
Lawrence, Kansas, 12 pm.
Hitch On Mitt
A particularly polished paragraph:
According to the admittedly very contradictory scriptures of the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth warned his disciples and followers that they should expect to be ridiculed and mocked for their faith. After all, how likely was it that God had decided to reveal himself to only a few illiterate peasants in a barbarous backwater? Those who elected to believe this stuff were quite rightly told to expect a hard time, and the expression "fool for God" or "fool for Christ" has been with us ever since. That concept has some dignity and nobility. Entirely lacking in dignity or nobility (or average integrity) is the well-heeled son of a gold-plated church who wants to assume the pained look of martyrdom only when he is asked if he actually believes what he says. A long time ago, Romney took the decision to be a fool for Joseph Smith, a convicted fraud and serial practitioner of statutory rape who at times made war on the United States and whose cult has been made to amend itself several times in order to be considered American at all. We do not require pious lectures on the American founding from such a man, and we are still waiting for some straight answers from him.
Even when one disagrees with Hitch, I find it all but impossible not to enjoy reading him.
