It's on - watch it HERE or on C-SPAN3. The debate is moderated by the Des Moines Register’s editor, Carolyn Washburn, and sponsored by the DMR and Iowa Public Television. PREVIEW The Fix: Debate Preview CNN Political Ticker LIVE-BLOGGING Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters at Heading Right Michelle Malkin AMERICAblog NY Times - 'The Caucus' It was kind of a … [Read more...] about Today’s Democratic Debate
Hillary Clinton: Armed & Dangerous
The Hillary Clinton campaign's attempt to make Barack Obama’s self-admitted high school drug use an issue is a defining moment. Joe did a terrific round-up here earlier today, but the issue is worth revisiting because of what it tells us about the woman for whom the nomination has been hers to lose: That is the reality that Mrs. Clinton not only has the steely resolve to be … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton: Armed & Dangerous
Family Gathering for ’08
The Presidential candidates are beginning to look like relatives who came for the holidays and stayed too long. At first it was just going to be the kids--Hillary, Barack, Rudy with his newest wife, and John, if he wasn't on one of his trips to Iraq. But then all kinds of kin you invite but don't expect to come started showing up. Nephew Mitt drove up with a dog on the … [Read more...] about Family Gathering for ’08
Center of Attention
Assorted writers who attempt to strike a balanced note on current affairs or improve our ability to find our own sense of balance by exposing us to new information and different points-of-view -------------------------- Jim Manzi revisits his argument against a carbon tax. [H/t Andrew Sullivan.] Rick Moran tackles an enduring question: Does hate speech induce hateful … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
So That’s Why Clinton Seems Like The “Heir Apparent”…
Folks, it was part of her strategy. Seriously. And that has a lot of people wondering if her lead campaign strategist, Mark Penn, should be put out to pasture. From Newsday: "There are two people who have come up with this strategy -- one Hillary Clinton and one Mark Penn," said a top Clinton ally, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Mark wanted to run her, … [Read more...] about So That’s Why Clinton Seems Like The “Heir Apparent”…
One Good Thing
For the second installment in this occasional series (do two installments a series make?) ... we draw your attention to Steve Benen, who gives props to John McCain for the latter's comment about global warming during yesterday's (by all reports, exremely boring) GOP debate: John McCain actually had a really good answer about climate change: “Suppose that climate change is … [Read more...] about One Good Thing
Iowa Debate Means Iowa Race Remains Free-For-All
Debates ideally help move voters to make up their minds but the verdict on the Iowa GOP debate is: the race there remains a free-for-all with Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee continuing to come "out of nowhere" -- and seemingly having The Big Mo. Centrist columnist Walter Shapiro, writing in Salon notes: Little more than three weeks before the caucuses even a … [Read more...] about Iowa Debate Means Iowa Race Remains Free-For-All
S-CHIP Goes Down the Tubes Again
For the second time, President Bush has vetoed a major expansion of the S-CHIP children's health insurance program despite Democratic efforts to rewrite the bill to meet his objections. The new bill had firmer caps on income eligibility and banned children of illegal immigrants from qualifying. In vetoing the bill, Bush said that "our nation's goal should be to move … [Read more...] about S-CHIP Goes Down the Tubes Again
The Troubled CIA: Can It Get Smart?
It's time to take a deep breath and a step back and ask what the heck is going on with the Central Intelligence Agency. This is prompted by the CIA scandal of the moment – the destruction of terrorist interrogation tapes that the spy agency had been explicitly told to hang on to. That, of course, is an outgrowth of the larger issue of the Bush administration's embrace of … [Read more...] about The Troubled CIA: Can It Get Smart?
Clinton New Hampshire Campaign Bigwig Raises Obama Drug Issue
In a tactic similar to the widely-condemned political technique called "push-polling," a top Hillary Clinton campaign official in New Hampshire pointedly raised Clinton political foe Senator Barack Obama's own admission of drug use in a way that was sure to get the issue out there to voters and the press. But will it backfire? This latest attempt to drive up Obama's … [Read more...] about Clinton New Hampshire Campaign Bigwig Raises Obama Drug Issue
Torture Tapes
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch … [Read more...] about Torture Tapes
The Eagle and The Dragon
All of Watching America's foreign news content about the United States is taken from mainstream publications in the country of origin. Nevertheless, it is sometimes hard to know the extent to which a particular story characterizes a prevailing current in the country of publication. One way to overcome this, at least in part, is to cull a range of stories at a time from a … [Read more...] about The Eagle and The Dragon
Turnaround in Iraq: Bush Deserves ‘Praise’
Now that things are going better there, doesn't President Bush deserve more credit for sticking to his guns and resisting calls to withdraw from Iraq? According to this op-ed article from Brazil's leading business daily, Diario Economico, 'the commitment and persistence of the Bush Administration should be highlighted and praised. The North American President resisted pressure … [Read more...] about Turnaround in Iraq: Bush Deserves ‘Praise’
Freedom Showers
Cross-posted to The Debate Link Stephen Suh at the new Cogitamus Blog asks for defenders of torture policy to tell us why we were wrong back in the 1940s when we stood strong against torture. We prosecuted Japanese military officers after WWII for waterboarding our guys. Even the Mississippi Supreme Court, at the height of Jim Crow, declared it beyond the pale. Why were they … [Read more...] about Freedom Showers
American Report a ‘Turning Point in the War on Terror’
Rather than an attempt by U.S. intelligence to undermine President Bush's plans to attack Iran, could it be that the NIE released last week, which said that Iran has mothballed its nuclear weapons program, be part of the President's policy to assist Iranian moderates? According to this article by French historian Alexandre Adler, this report hints at a new U.S. strategy that … [Read more...] about American Report a ‘Turning Point in the War on Terror’
Walter Adler: Assaulted for Being a “Dirty Jew” …and The Traveler from Samara Still Lives
(photos on next page) There was a fight on the Q train. The last car was filled with people rolling toward Brooklyn. A young man, accompanied by his girlfriend, had just been wished Merry Christmas by another group on the train. The young man happily answered back with, "Happy Chanukah." That's when all hell broke loose. One of a group of other young people on … [Read more...] about Walter Adler: Assaulted for Being a “Dirty Jew” …and The Traveler from Samara Still Lives
Ike Turner (1931-2007)
More here. … [Read more...] about Ike Turner (1931-2007)
Attackers Shouted “This is a Christian Country”
...before the ten of them started beating up a group of Jews on the Q train in New York City. … [Read more...] about Attackers Shouted “This is a Christian Country”
Today’s Republican Debate on Iowa Public Television
The debate was moderated by the Des Moines Register’s editor, Carolyn Washburn, and sponsored by the DMR and Iowa Public Television. PBS: Watch video of this afternoon's Republican presidential debate, starting at 8 pm ET. Full Debate Transcript I found some live-blogging out there: AMERICAblog Libby Spencer / The Newshoggers: Michelle Malkin Marc Ambinder at … [Read more...] about Today’s Republican Debate on Iowa Public Television
I Don’t Get It
Does anyone know why Mike Pence (R-IN) of all people voted "present" on Steve King's (R-IA) resolution promoting the importance of Christianity? Pence is as hard-core a conservative as you'll fine -- and no enemy of the Christian wing of the party. What's up? … [Read more...] about I Don’t Get It