One of the biggest political dramas in this mega-dramatic political year is about to reach its conclusion in Florida where the question becomes: will former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani prove to be a master strategist or key player in one of the biggest political miscalculations in recent history? Actor Fred Thompson dropped out of the Republican 2008 Presidential nomination … [Read more...] about Giuliani Sagging In Florida Primary Polls: The Beginning Of The End?
Could Kennedy Get Away with This in 2008?
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was scheduled to deliver one more speech during his tour of Texas. It was to have been given after he rode in the motorcade in which he ultimately died, felled by Lee Harvey Oswald's bullets. In the speech, Kennedy was going to speak of the life and death struggle between the United States and the free world, on the one hand, … [Read more...] about Could Kennedy Get Away with This in 2008?
U.S. Recession Will be Long and Hard
... So says Germany's respected Die Zeit publication, in a particularly tight and empirically-based piece. How do they know? Historical precedent: Two scientists investigated 18 financial and banking crises in developed countries. They found that a crisis caused an average drop in the per-capita economic growth of two per cent. A country recovers only after about two … [Read more...] about U.S. Recession Will be Long and Hard
NATO, Romania and Mushroom Clouds to Come …
Just under the radar screen of most of the American media, comments and threats from the Russians have set our East European allies on edge. In this somewhat alarming op-ed from Romania's Ziarul newspaper, the author frets, "The Russian Defense Minister said that to 'defend the sovereignty of Russia and its allies,' the Russian state could use nuclear weapons against NATO … [Read more...] about NATO, Romania and Mushroom Clouds to Come …
“Bill Clinton Has A Dream”
....during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech: PS: In fairness to Mr. Clinton, it must be totally exhausting to campaign and then when you're forced to sit and listen...your body finally kicks in. But it is perilous letting it happen in front of cameras.. … [Read more...] about “Bill Clinton Has A Dream”
IE6 issue fixed
Those using IE6 will now see the site the way it is supposed to be. Not with a left sidebar pushed all the way down to the bottom of the blog. We have a couple more "backend" changes to do. After that, things will be more stable hopefully (got to add that since these are machines after all). Thanks for your continued patience. … [Read more...] about IE6 issue fixed
Fred Thompson: The Failure..and Triumph of Packaging
An irony of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson’s now-defunct bid for the Republican presidential nomination is that it fell victim to packaging, both that practiced by rival campaigns and that not practiced by his own campaign. The phlegmatic Thompson was, prior to his entry into the Republican field late last year, cast by some Republicans as Ronald Reagan redux, a man … [Read more...] about Fred Thompson: The Failure..and Triumph of Packaging
Fred Thompson Turns Back: Candidates Going Forward Have Fire in the Belly
There are some things that lucre cannot buy. Fire in the Belly: You can't have it because you want it. You can't have it because it seems like a good idea. You can't have it because people think you’re swell. You can't have it because you are talented, have good ideas, are well-positioned. You can’t build it by caucus-winning, water it with money, nor cut-and-paste it from one … [Read more...] about Fred Thompson Turns Back: Candidates Going Forward Have Fire in the Belly
Krugman v. Everybody, Take 2
Up front, let me be brutally clear: For reasons that have much more to do with my gut than with my brain, I think both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were reasonably good Presidents. Were either of them perfect? Hell no. Were they the best Presidents since the founding of the country? Absolutely not. But they each turned in respectable performances, and -- on an … [Read more...] about Krugman v. Everybody, Take 2
Senior Military Strategists Warn NATO: Pre-emptive Nuclear Strike Must Remain an Option
My childhood was haunted by the monster known to South Carolinians in that time and place as "the atom bum." I lay awake nights worrying about a nuclear strike the same way children of earlier generations worried about the monsters under their beds or the crazy son the mean old man up the road reputedly kept locked up in the attic. It was my Boo Radley, but one … [Read more...] about Senior Military Strategists Warn NATO: Pre-emptive Nuclear Strike Must Remain an Option
Obama underwhelms; Spiegel Online explains why
Do you think Barack Obama's treatment of Hillary Clinton is snarkier than it should be? Do you think he is as cold and calculating as any candidate can expect to be? Two Ohio blog friends of mine insist that if I'm underwhelmed by Obama, then I must not be paying attention. But not only is that an unfair characterization of my feelings, it's also untrue. And now, I've … [Read more...] about Obama underwhelms; Spiegel Online explains why
Jose Padilla: We Hardly Knew Ye
As legal affairs writer Dahlia Lithwick noted, Jose Padilla turned out turned out to just be the wrong Muslim at the wrong airport on the wrong day. That remains the inescapable conclusion after the hapless Padilla was sentenced to 17 years in prison today after having been found guilty of the small handful of remaining charges that the government had not been embarrassed … [Read more...] about Jose Padilla: We Hardly Knew Ye
An Open Letter to Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is thinking of running for president again. Here's an open letter from me to him, reflecting my own views, not TMV's. ***** Dear Ralph, Don't do it. Please. It's not that I don't respect and admire you -- and appreciate all you've done on behalf of consumers and against the plutocracy that runs the U.S., which is to say, for the people, and to raise … [Read more...] about An Open Letter to Ralph Nader
No Surprise: Fred’s Out
BREAKING NEWS: Fred Thompson has pulled out of the presidential race. Sample reactions from Andrew Sullivan, Michael vdG, and John Cole. There's not much to add here: High expectations. Unfulfilled. Yawn. … [Read more...] about No Surprise: Fred’s Out
Huckster with a Vengeance
Does Mike Huckabee have it in for Mitt Romney? Much food for thought: For people reading between the lines, Mike Huckabee’s concession speech here Saturday night dropped some enticing hints that his presidential campaign now has an agenda other than getting elected president. Huckabee’s new role: Mitt killer. The former Arkansas governor threw air kisses on primary … [Read more...] about Huckster with a Vengeance
Panic? Dow Drops Anyway As Fed Cuts Rate 0.75 Amid World Nervousness
Amid signs of an accelerating international stock sell off triggered by growing fears that U.S is either going into or already solidly in a recession, the Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate 0.75 but it seems to have done little good on Wall Street. The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks to … [Read more...] about Panic? Dow Drops Anyway As Fed Cuts Rate 0.75 Amid World Nervousness
Britain’s Gordon Brown: On ‘Life After Bush’…
I wonder how people can at this moment manage to visualize 'life after Bush', especially when the present US president has almost a year to go before he demits office. Well, The Independent reports that "Prime Minister Gordon Brown is preparing the world for 'life after Bush' by seeking an outline agreement this year on major reforms to international bodies and eventual moves … [Read more...] about Britain’s Gordon Brown: On ‘Life After Bush’…
Democrats’ Standup Demagoguery
They should have been sitting down for the first hour. The civility Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama showed in their Las Vegas round table last week and in the second hour of the Myrtle Beach debate tonight bracketed a standup slugfest that did neither of them credit. Particularly ugly was Clinton's attempt to tar Obama with Chicago slumlord Tony Rezko and particularly … [Read more...] about Democrats’ Standup Demagoguery
The U.S. Disses NATO Over Afghanistan: Bloody Outrageous Or Bloody Spot On?
When Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently accused NATO forces in Afghanistan of being lousy at counterinsurgency warfare, it at first seemed to be an egregious example of the pot calling the kettle black given that the U.S.'s record in fighting Iraqi insurgents was downright dismal until it hit on the Surge strategy on the fourth or fifth try over a four-year … [Read more...] about The U.S. Disses NATO Over Afghanistan: Bloody Outrageous Or Bloody Spot On?
Guest Poet: Uncle Sam’s Money Tree
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: The latest lemming run in Washington is a race to give out upwards of $145 billion to Americans in hopes of fending off a recession. It's a rather amazing idea when you think about it. Aside from such obvious drawbacks as swelling the deficit and adding to inflation and trashing the … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: Uncle Sam’s Money Tree