The Dish

Will Blair’s successor be as pro-American? The commentary so far has been somewhat asinine. Oliver Kamm writes:

"His adoration for Cape Cod, and its supposed Kennedyesque glamour, knows no bounds," complains the New Statesman. The comment editor of this newspaper conversely concludes with satisfaction that Mr Brown may prove more pro-American even than Tony Blair. How so? "He holidays in America."

The only reason to infer Mr Brown’s foreign policies from his holiday destination is lack of other evidence. Mr Brown is a co-architect of new Labour, but new Labour was never very interested in foreign policy. Its 1997 manifesto made no mention of the US at all…

my best guess is that consistency between Mr Blair and Mr Brown will be more rhetorical than heartfelt. The Chancellor will emphasise humanitarian intervention, but by soft power and through multilateral institutions. His model will be the diplomacy of Bretton Woods rather than President Truman’s protracted and electorally risky military commitments. This would not in my view be sensible, but the Middle East more than Massachusetts will determine Brownian policy.

I must say, though, that any man who appreciates the sublime beauty of Cape Cod is someone I’m not too worried about.

Here’s a fascinating video and transcript of my friend Bruce Bawer’s recent interview with Bill Moyers on Islamic fundamentalism and its threat to European liberty and tolerance. If you haven’t read the book, think of it as the civilized and humane and factually correct alternative to Mark Steyn.

A masked Pakistani radical Muslim student from Jamia Faridia a religious school holds a bamboo stick as he guards the road block by themselves leading to their madassa in Islamabad, 21 May 2007. Islamist students released three policemen whom they had held captive briefly Pakistani officials said, as a separate police hostage crisis stretched into its fourth night. By Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images.

A famous avian same-sex couple – together for six years in an English zoo – have now adopted an abandoned flamingo chick. They are engaging in what the Vatican calls an "intrinsic evil." How does the Vatican know caring for and rearing a chick that might otherwise perish is evil? Because natural law says so. Meanwhile, nature seems to be ignoring the voice of God, as interpreted by the Pope. Time to excommunicate Planet Earth? Your Holiness, standards are slipping.

It was Lem Billings, whos platonic relationship with president Kennedy was arguably the deepest and most meaningful relationship of JFK’s life. Certainly far deeper and richer than his marriage. And, yes, Billings was gay. There’s a new book on their friendship: Jack and Lem. Poignant quote from Billings:

"Jack made a big difference in my life. Because of him, I was never lonely. He may have been the reason I never got married. I mean, I could have had a wife and family, but what the hell – do you think I would have had a better life having been Jack Kennedy’s best friend, having been with him during so many moments of his presidency, having had my own room at the White House, having had the best friend anybody ever had – or having been married, and settled down and living somewhere?"

In those days, maybe that was the best many gay men could hope for. I’m grateful to live in a time when there are more options. But friendship between gay and straight men is still a great virtue; and friendship itself perhaps our least appreciated virtue of all.

Malkin and Fox News continues the Ron Paul disinformation and guilt by association tactic. In this earlier clip, I missed the fact that John Gibson actually said that Paul suggested in the debate that the United States "actually had a hand" in the 9/11 attacks. Gibson watched th debate so he knows this is a lie, and yet he broadcast it as truth. Why is he not fired? How different is his assertion of a lie in the face of direct evidence to the contrary any different than Dan Rather’s lies about George W. Bush’s National Guard service? Until recently, my view has been that the Democrats were foolish to boycott FNC. I think you should go on any media channel to make your case, as Hitch did recently to great effect. Now, I’m not so sure. When a news channel has sunk to these depths of deliberate disinformation, they are no longer a news channel.

It seems to me that there are a few lessons that most sane observers of the last few years – of whatever politics – can agree upon. It is not a good idea to have a president in wartime base his hiring and decision-making solely or primarily on the basis of personal loyalty. It is good to have staff who feel able to be candid about the facts and disagree openly with the boss to ensure the best advice available. It is good that even after a decision has been made, it can be re-assessed in the wake of new evidence, and policy adjusted accordingly. We need a strong war-leader but the strongest war-leaders are always flexible, eager to find out facts that are not necessarily congenial, but important for getting things right. Keep all that in mind and read this NYT story about the management style of Rudy Giuliani, in the words of a man who worked very, very closely with him grappling with emergency procedures. Two quotes stood out for me, the first by Fred Siegel, a very fair and deeply knowledgeable New York writer:

"The core of the [Giuliani] administration was that these guys would always pull together," said Mr. Siegel, who once served as speechwriter for Mr. Giuliani. "Once a decision was made, that was it. There wouldn’t be any second-guessing."

Sound familiar? Now remember the catastrophic years in Iraq from 2003 to 2006. Then there is the question of a president open to hearing reality, rather than the self-serving blather concocted by a cocoon of sycophants. In the words of a man in his inner circle:

Mr. Hauer took immediate exception to [Giuliani’s] account in interviews. "That’s Rudy’s own reality that he lives in," he said. "It is not, in fact, the truth."

If the Bush administration has left us with a case of serious heartburn, a Rudy administration would follow it up with an extremely hot, extra-cheese pizza with red peppers and anchovies. I think I’d prefer some Tums.

Now twice as popular as George W. Bush. A prison offense in Pakistan, the country now harboring al Qaeda’s base of operations. The latter story is a heart-breaking example of when the law tries to break the simple facts of human nature.

Then Iraqi "government" is already prepping for the inevitable, according to the Guardian. Some see an irony:

What the Bush administration refuses to let the Pentagon do, make contingency plans for withdrawal from Iraq, the Iraqi government has no problem with. They are already engaged in planning what they will do in the event of an end to the coalition presence.