In the ArenaUncategorized
I’d missed this. Bill Kristol is obviously peeved that I used the word “trashed” to describe the piece run by the Weekly Standard and written by Vets For Freedom, a conservative pro-Iraq group. Too bad. This article was run as a response to the seven enlisted men who courageously took on the official line about the dependability of the …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Ryan Crocker was pressed by Senator Carl Levin in the Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday as to whether he had ever said to me, “The fall of the Maliki government, when it happens, might not be a bad thing” for Iraq. After twice evading the question, Crocker said that “he did not recall” making that statement.
I recall. It’s in …
In the ArenaUncategorized
According to Daily Kos, two of the seven soldiers who wrote the courageous New York Times op-ed–mostly ignored in the ghastly Petraeus-Crocker hearings–that questioned the reliability of the Iraqi Army have been killed in action.
Their unit, the 82nd Airborne, was within weeks of heading home. Their testimony will be their legacy, an …
+ Will Cindy Adams be the Judy Miller of the DC Madam case? If so, does that make David Vitter Scooter Libby? [Radar]
+ Craig’s defense: “Sen. Craig is not a lawyer and, like any other non-lawyer, should not be expected to understand the intricacies of constitutional law.” I, for one, believe him. Just look at his voting record. [Star …
And so, on page A3 of the Washington Post, appears my favorite political story of the day — about the link between South Carolina’s feared and (in some quarters) revered GOP hitman, J. Warren Tompkins, and the creation of an anti-Fred Thompson website called PhoneyFred.org. Tompkins is serving as Mitt Romney’s top South Carolina adviser …
This just in from Time.com editor Josh Tyrangiel:
Dear Swampland readers and commenters,
We hear you.
For 9 months we’ve let Swampland’s comments sections unspool with the libertarian fervor of a John Stuart Mill dream-sequence. But after noticing that in recent weeks our most loyal readers have grown frustrated with troll
…
I never saw any political operative happier than the time I was out having a drink with a staffer from a “rival campaign” and, when the bartender collected our tips, he thanked us and spontaneously made a joke about how “a few more like this, and I’ll be able to afford a John Edwards hair cut.”
“That’s what I call penetration,” the …
John McCain is a clever guy, more capable of wordplay than your average politician. But lately he’s been bedeviled by double meanings that aren’t necessarily his intention. Exhibit one: his latest book, “Hard Call,” whose title has been invoked as a (sarcastic) comment on his Iraq position as much as a statement about the decisions …
Confusion reigns in the dead-tree forest.
New York Times lead headline this morning (Washington Final Edition):
PETRAEUS BACKS INITIAL PULLOUT
Washington Post lead headline this morning (District and Maryland Home Edition):
PETRAEUS WARNS AGAINST QUICK PULLBACK IN IRAQ
UPDATE:
Best print headline is the one some enterprising …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Just back from today’s hearings and just about Every Last Republican mentioned the idiotic MoveOn ad…also caught the beginning of Fox News, where–surprise, surprise–it played big. Couple of points:
1. This is a distraction from the main event. Usually the Republicans are the ones who’ve tried to change topics at a crucial Iraq …
And I loved this part of the WP story about the Draper book:
Clarke purportedly told Bolten she would rather commit suicide.
Missed this in my earlier wrap-up. According to the Draper book, Torie Clarke turned down the McClellan job, so Josh Bolten offered it to Tony Snow, despite how he “mangled several run-throughs — failing to recite the White House talking points on Iraq.” You’d think that might improve them; I would say that reciting WH talking points on …
Two thoughts on Gen. Petraeus’ opening remarks. First, his statement that the number of “security incidents” has declined in “8 out of the last 12 weeks” sounds very much like a statistic carefully constructed to gild a lilly lily. Second, MoveOn’s ad in the New York Times today makes some strong and fair points. But labeling Petraeus …
