It Looks Like This (sorry, no ice cream) 

Little Russ

Big Russ must be rolling over in his grave at how craptacular his son Timmy has turned out to be. Though John Edwards and Dick Cheney appeared together on Meet the Press in 2001, Russert in his post debate comments last night, apparently didn't feel it newsworthy to point out that the VP had LIED when he claimed the first time he met Edwards was when they walked out on the stage together Tuesday night.

It is because of such obvious failures to simply do their job that so many of the major media figures aren't respected.

Draft Bill Voted Down

The House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly (402-2) voted down HR 163, which would have required two years of universal national service of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 26. This is an important start, but I once again urge you to contact your Representative in the House and ask him or her to vote for HR 4746, the Selective Service Registration Termination Act. Let's end Selective Service Registration and tear out the apparatus that could enable this or a future administration to restore a draft.

Bad News From Baghdad

From Andrew Sullivan comes a letter from Iraq describing the deteriorating situation in Baghdad, inside the green zone. After a bomb explosion at a green zone cafe, Americans living or working in the international zone are advised by the US embassy to:

* Limit non-essential movement within the International Zone, especially at night.
* Travel in groups of two or more.
* Carry several means of communication.
* Avoid the Green Zone Caf?, the Chinese Restaurants, the Lone Star restaurant and Vendor Alley.
* Conduct physical fitness training within a compound perimeter.
* Notify office personnel or friends of your travel plans in the International Zone.
**** Conduct a thorough search of your vehicle prior to entering it.

Biased Facts

My goodness. In just the front section of today's paper I see that Iraq lacked the means to develop weapons of mass destruction, that Paul Bremer claims he was denied sufficient resources to do his job in Iraq, that the CIA can still find no link between Iraq and al-Qaeda, that Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi is decidedly less optimistic than he claimed to be when appearing with President Bush last week, and that Vice President Cheney's pants were on fire during last night's debate.

It seems to be one of those days when, to quote The Daily Show, the facts are biased against President Bush.

Not Quite What We'd Hoped For

One of the pillars of Bush's justification for the war in Iraq has been that the road to peace in Israel runs through Baghdad (or something like that). An Iraq friendly to Israeli interests, so the thinking goes, makes a safer Israel. Problem is, it doesn't seem to be panning out quite that way. In this AP story, a former leader in the Iraqi National Congress has been indicted in an Iraqi court for visiting the "enemy state" of Israel.

Doesn't sound as if the new Iraqi government is much more Israel-friendly than the old one.

What if Al Qaeda Attacks Before the Election?

The conventional wisdom among the chattering classes has been that if the US suffers another attack on our soil between now and the election it would benefit George Bush. This is based, I think, on the belief that under those circumstances the American people will rally around their leader, feckless as he may be. I admit that this has been my fear up until now.

Now, though, I'm not so sure. John Kerry last Thursday and John Edwards last night both repeatedly hit upon the fact that Osama bin Laden is free today because the Bush administration turned its focus away to Iraq when it should have remained concentrated on capturing or killing bin Laden. Now, if Al Qaeda strikes again on our soil before the election, it will be clear to voters that he was free to do so because of the failure of the Bush administration to put an appropriate amount of emphasis on neutralizing him. It's not about, as the Bush people would like you to believe, who bin Laden would rather have win the election. It's about who has botched the job of making America safer.

Cheney Lies (yawn)

How can you tell when Dick Cheney is lying? His lips move (though just barely).

Just one of many lies Cheney told last night was that the first time he ever met John Edwards was when they walked out on the stage last night.

This seems to indicate that the Vice-President's is not quite on a first-name basis with the truth.

Another Republican Crosses Over

To the steady stream of Republicans endorsing Kerry (Pete McCloskey, John Eisenhower, Lincoln Chafee), add the name of Marshall Wittman. Who is he, you ask (that's what I asked)? In his words, he's "an independent McCainiac who hopes to revive the Bull Moose tradition of Theodore Roosevelt." Follow the link to read more of his words. (via Kevin Drum)

Veep Debate Preparation

Visit World O' Crap for a handy comparison between Cheney and Edwards.

Deep Analysis at The New Republic

When I saw the movie Shattered Glass , I was struck by how young the staff of The New Republic was, but even more so by how young-acting they were, at least as they were portrayed in the film. It reminded me of behavior I hadn't seen in a workplace since I worked at a department store while in college, with other people of similar age. This wasn't a department store, though. It was The New Republic, the "in-flight magazine of Air Force One." These were the people who were helping shape our nation's political discourse?

It's just a movie, though, I told myself. Surely this was amplified for dramatic effect. And besides, after all the magazine has gone through, surely even if that's they way it was then it must have changed, matured, by now.

I'm not so sure. As Bob Somerby points out today, the level of political analysis employed by TNR staffers is still stuck at the high school level.