In the ArenaUncategorized
I think David Brooks is very astute in his column today, which lurks behind the Times firewall, about Hillary Clinton’s honorable evolution on the war. I don’t think she has anything to apologize for–but I disagree with Brooks: sooner or later, she’s going to have to admit that her vote to authorize the war was, historically, the wrong …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and no friend of the mullahs, has this to say about the foolishness of going to war with Iran.
In the ArenaUncategorized
1. Mood: Non-combative, conciliatory. Refused to indulge in the McCain-Lieberman tactic of saying the “Democrat party”–he’s still calling it that, by the way–is undermining the troops. Called the Democrats “patriotic” several times.
2. Iraq–nothing new here.
3. Iran–significant retreat from intel briefing: he doesn’t know whether …
In the ArenaUncategorized
This piece, by Lawrence Kaplan, is the smartest thing I’ve read in a while about what’s actually happening on the ground in Iraq. It has the virtue of first-hand reporting from al-Anbar Province and some very good analysis about why the Baghdad “surge” is probably doomed. I differ from Kaplan on one point, however: he’d maintain our …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Congressman Patrick Murphy’s statement about the war today, via atrios. (I can’t figure out how to edit out the plea for campaign contributions–we can’t do that around here–or the rest of the posting, but Murphy’s eloquence is worth my internet incompetence.)
One microscopic quibble: I don’t entirely agree with Murphy. I’m for …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Ok. i don’t care that U.S. intelligence officers didn’t want to reveal their identities when discussing the Iranian munitions that have been used against our troops. I also believe that the munitions are Iranian, that various Iranians are trying to make life harder for us in Iraq and I know that Iranian leaders ever since Cyrus have …
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Ames, Iowa–Barack Obama turned a little spikey this morning in his first official press conference of the campaign. It started innocently enough–several questions about Iraq: How important was it that he was against the war from the start? Answer: “I think it demonstrates that even at that time it was possible to make judgments that …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Cedar Rapids–I only have a few minutes to post here, but Obama has just completed his first real campaign event, a town meeting in a high school gymnasium. Large audience, natch…But really striking for these reasons:
–very low key and serious. No hokey intro music. No stump speech. Just Q & A. “The country’s in a serious, sober mood …
In the ArenaUncategorized
In the ArenaUncategorized
The Obama websiteis streaming live TV of the Senator’s announcement…I’m about to leave this clean, well-heated press filing center to brave arctic cold and watch the speech that I’ve just read: very inspiring, as expected, not many details, as expected…I”ll have more to say about Obama’s first day of campaigning later today, after he …
In the ArenaUncategorized
As a newcomer to this blogging business, I’ve been interested in the Edwards dust-up. As readers know, I’ve been critical of the tone of the left-wing blogosphere in the past. But I think that Yglesias raises an important point here and anyone reading the comments section of any Swampland post knows that troglyditic right-wing …
In the ArenaUncategorized
for your service to our country. Moms also serve. This, from a reader:
You can count me with the Hagel, Reed, Murtha and Webb crowd. I put a kid on a bus for basic in 86 and been watching ever since while much went unnoticed. Every uniform I see is my skin. And I’m totally tired of the ‘TROOPS’ as a political football from the WH to
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In which the columnist offers an opinion on the latest posturings of Senators Lieberman and McCain.
