When you read something like this from Conor Clarke (h/t Andrew Sullivan) — it’s tough not to be just a little cynical about the so-called “arguments” from the so-called “conservative” camp. Of course, the so-called “liberal” camp also distorts reality. Case in point, Rachel Maddow’s report last night re: the alleged criminal past of Dr. Tiller’s suspected killer, Scott Roeder. Confession: I like Maddow and generally find her reports...

I am but shouldn’t be surprised by the swift, largely unified right-wing reaction (a sampling) to President Obama’s remark during an interview with a French television station: “And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world,” Mr. Obama said. “And so there’s got to be a better dialogue and a better understanding between the two peoples.” Sure, the president might...

… you know the rest.

On Sunday, May 24, Gen. David Petraeus said, in an interview on Radio Free Europe (RFE), that he backed the “responsible” closing of Gitmo and the end of torture during interrogations. Less than a week later — on May 29, this past Friday — the General repeated those points on FOX News, going a step further to say, “When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions, we rightly have been criticized … ” Other than Petraeus’ back and forth...

Though we try to avoid them, errors are part of the reality of volunteer/citizen media like TMV and other blogs. Even at traditional, commercial media, mistakes happen because … well, you know, “to err is human.” That said, it’s reasonable to hope that mistakes are less common among the professional class than the volunteer class — and that “doh!” moments are virtually non-existent in the former. Or maybe not. Consider this report filed this morning at...

The Senator from Texas counters the primary tempests of the seething stew. This is perhaps not a surprising reaction, given the sizable Hispanic population in Cornyn’s home state. But it’s also not the first “big tent” move the Senator has made.

“People without emotions cannot make sensible decisions because they don’t know how much anything is worth. People without social emotions like empathy are not objective decision-makers. They are sociopaths who sometimes end up on death row.” — David Brooks

Rob Wasinger, a former chief-of-staff to Sen. Sam Brownback, is now a candidate for Congress in Kansas’ first congressional district. He’s a relatively new dog who has already learned — or at least enabled — one of the oldest tricks in the political playbook, namely: Parrot national party talking points, no matter how out of context and misleading they might be. In an email from Wasinger’s campaign I received today, soliciting a contribution, the candidate (his consultants)...

Thus Kevin Drum [h/t Andrew Sullivan] describes the contrast between Barack “Super Calm” Obama and his detractors: [Obama] gets to be the calm at the center of the storm, providing his usual striking contrast to the seething stew of preachers, radio screamers, and Gingrich acolytes who will be making themselves ever more tiresome to Mr. and Mrs. Heartland with their ranting jeremiads. I don’t blame conservatives for opposing Sotomayor even though they know that she’d only...

I confess: Over the last 24 hours, I did not understand the rationale behind the GOP’s decision to toss its spin machine into high gear vs. Sotomayor. If confirmed, she would not replace a contemporary-conservative favorite like Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, or Alito. She wouldn’t even replace swing-voting Kennedy. She’d replace Souter. Days ago, leaders of the modern conservative movement would have equated Souter with Ginsburg and Breyer. So why the fuss? Chris Cillizza offers...

McClatchy reviews the accuracy of Cheney’s remarks yesterday. The third paragraph of this report from the FT points to conflicting opinions (re: Gitmo) within Obama’s administration.

That would be Nancy “Ball” Pelosi and Harry “Chain” Reid. After Pelosi’s stammering press conference about what she knew (or not) and when re: waterboarding … we get this from Reid. REID: I’m saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear. QUESTION: No one’s talking about releasing them. We’re talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States. REID: Can’t...

From today’s NYT: [New York's] Roman Catholic bishops have been somewhat distracted, too, having focused their lobbying energies this session on defeating a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse to bring civil claims, and have appeared unprepared for the battle over marriage. H/t Patrick Appel.

“Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite.” — John Kenneth Galbraith

TMV’s Kathy Kattenburg chimed in earlier on the recently released CAP study re: just how progressive the Millennial Generation seems to be. Sitting in for Andrew Sullivan, Patrick Appel added to the reax with the headline, “We are All Socialists Now,” then pointed to Derek Thompson’s take that “Millennials are stoked about the goals of liberal government … but pretty ambivalent about the means.” My dueling thoughts on the subject were ably articulated by...

As regular readers know, I’m among the Republican defectors recently highlighted by Gallup. But while there’s no love lost between the Grand Old Party and me, Speaker Pelosi entirely deserves this one, courtesy of the House Republican Conference. Granted, House Republicans didn’t have to work very hard. Pelosi handed the noose to them and then jumped up on the hangman’s platform. Given which, it may be time for the Democrats backing her to rethink their support.

…. whether you’re Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. or Michael Martin in the U.K. H/t Ben Smith.

Justin Gardner posted this segment from The View yesterday, apologizing that he couldn’t remove the unnecessary name calling in the video’s title. Ditto. However, like Justin, I also think the clip itself is worth sharing. Though I agree with Ventura, I’ll give Hasselbeck this much: She’s braver in confronting the former wrestler/governor than I would be.

The second part of my essay on Lincoln and the contemporary Republican Party was published yesterday at Kiko’s House. Last week, after the first part was published, a TMV commenter wrote that “Historical figures can only be judged by the standards of their times … so the whole argument is moot.” Perhaps. But that doesn’t stop Republicans and Democrats from fighting over Lincoln. Hence, as long as any party attempts to argue that a historical figure is more reflective...

Jazz Shaw bids Nancy Pelosi goodbye and (if I read between the lines correctly) good riddance. Dan Balz loosely suggests Madame Speaker’s contorted outbursts might finally give us a truth commission, as Andrew Sullivan and others have recommended. Of course, Cheney’s refusal to go quietly into the night has played a role, too — as Marc Ambinder notes in his list of “Ten Reasons Why A Torture Probe Is More Likely,” which Joe Gandelman linked to earlier today. I’m...

My conservative tripwires and my ability to find common cause with George Will nothwithstanding, I think there’s also much to consider — and agree with — in this column.

In the last two-plus years, I’ve veered hard to the left — or at least what’s defined as “left” in contemporary political jargon. Among other things: I’m an avid supporter of embryonic stem-cell research and a middle-of-the-roader on abortion: Full rights to the mother in the first trimester; primary rights to the baby in the second and third trimesters, with the notable exception of threats to the mother’s health and life from carrying the baby to term....

Yes, the shamed former Governor of Illinois is still rippling the political fabric, including in his state’s neighbor to the West: Missouri. … a bill sponsored by [Missouri State] Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Salem, would require special elections to fill mid-term openings in statewide offices, including U.S. Senator. The bill was approved earlier by the House, and now waits for Senate passage. As you might imagine, with a Democrat in the Governor’s office, high-profile...

Andrew Sullivan has been relentless today on Obama’s decision to “oppose the release of several dozen photos depicting abuse of detainees held in U.S. military custody abroad.” He’s not the only one (h/t RCP’s “Best of the Blogs”) — but Sullivan is one of the few such critics who (consistent with his past practice on other issues) is willing to grant prime real estate to constructive counterpoint. Incidentally, I happen to agree with that particular...

At a time when health care in these United States is once again the subject of heated debate, we thought it might be a good time to pause for a moment and consider some of those who are making a positive difference in the health of millions of Americans; specifically, in this case, the individuals and companies listed below the fold, who will be honored by the National Organization for Rare Disorders in a ceremony tomorrow in D.C.