Author: jp

As the field of 2004 Democratic Presidential hopefuls continues to combatively whittle itself down to a final result of what will probably be one forlorn, battered candidate, the contenders kept at it in last night’s debate, paying particular attention to their dogged pursuit of General Wesley Clark, the supposed pseudo-frontrunner.
Clark’s rivals were primed to attack the man who jumped to a lead in some national polls within days of his entry into the race last month. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Sens. John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and John Edwards took turns criticizing Clark, attacking him as a late convert to the party who can’t make up his mind on the war.
“Wes Clark, welcome to the Democratic presidential campaign,” Lieberman said sarcastically.
Next time, Wes, we suggest you shoot back with some rejoinder akin to, “Well, Joe, I’m still waiting to welcome you to the Democratic party, myself.”
Zing! Time to pile up on the “centrist” Dems!

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has filed another excellent dispatch from the Bush frontlines, documenting the president’s two speeches to businessmen and military reservists in New Hampshire today.
The subject matter (“Bush Says Iraq Is ‘Better Than You Probably Think'”) is fairly amusing in and of itself, using the classic Bush methodology of lowering his audience’s expectations (anyone remember that tactic as used in the October 2000 Presidential debates?). But the real kicker is the unfortunate double entendre spoken by our commander-in-chief this afternoon (paying special attention to the word in bold type):
President Bush told Americans today that the situation in Iraq is “a lot better than you probably think,” as he sought to rally the flagging support for the U.S. occupation.
In twin speeches here in New Hampshire, the president kicked off an effort to revive determination to remain in Iraq, saying “Americans are not the running kind.”
Now, is that “running” as in “to run away from something,” or “running” as in “running or governing a nation which we conquered”?

American soldiers continue to die of violent causes in Iraq, as do Iraqi citizens and other foreign aid workers. Oh, and something about there being massive power outages and unemployment or whatnot?
Bear this in mind when you consider that news earlier this week of another three American soldiers’ deaths in Iraq ran on page A18 of the New York Times, and was more or less tangentially mentioned in another longer article about U.N. relations.
How we pine for the good old days of the early summer, when news of American deaths peppered the early morning papers’ front pages each and every day! Now all we get to hear about and discuss with our co-workers and family members is “$87 billion this, CIA leak that.”

…Just some advice we thought it prudent to share with Republicans who steadfastly hate the “limousine liberal” crowd. Seriously, Governor Arnold can readily attest to the inefficacy of that (and so can Gay Davis! Har-har, you loveable residents of San Diego!)
After the GOP-led redistricting plan passed in Texas (the battle over which featured all those intra-state flight accusations and hotel hideouts over the past few months), Governor Rick Perry’s flack Gene Acuna snidely tried to dismiss the outspoken behavior of Alec Baldwin:
“Mr. Baldwin’s political views against President Bush and Republicans in general are well known and documented. I have no doubt that Texans will give the comments made by the star of ‘Beetlejuice’ all of the attention they are due.”
Come on. At least “Beetlejuice” was an OK film, directed by Tim Burton in his prime, no less. Go after “Mercury Rising” next time, and you’ll have us all on board.

Big dilemma here, for those attuned to the details of election red tape (you know, x number of voters needed to get a measure on the ballot, y number of dollars to lobby for its passage). We’re assuming the New York Times, when it prepared this handy chart about the 2003 California recall “election”, used official data from the state’s registrar or other relevant election official.
So, then…pay close attention to the detail we’ve provided of the accompanying graphic which appeared on the Times’ website this morning: Are we really to believe that Peter Camejo, the Green Party‘s candidate for governor in both this and the last statewide election, is a Financial Investment Advisor? That is so fucked up.

1. Rice to Lead Effort To Speed Iraqi Aid
“President Bush announced yesterday that the White House will take a stronger role in overseeing the struggling effort to rebuild Iraq through a new group intended to speed the flow of money and staff to Baghdad and streamline decision-making in Washington…
The new group, to be led by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and drawn from more than a half-dozen Cabinet agencies, is intended to remove a bottleneck in decision-making by identifying and resolving problems faced by the U.S.-led occupation. Responsibility for running postwar Iraq will remain with the Defense Department, and civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer will retain considerable autonomy.”
That’s like having the fox guard the henhouse!
2. Sharon Threatens to Hit Israel’s Enemies Anywhere
“President Bush insisted on Monday that Israel should not feel constrained in defending itself but said he told Sharon: ‘It’s very important that any action Israel take(s) should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.'”
Do as I say, and not as I do!
3. Consumer borrowing surged in August
“The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumers increased their borrowing by a seasonally adjusted $8.2 billion, or at a brisk annual rate of 5.2 percent from July to August. That pushed up total consumer debt to $1.96 trillion.”
That’s biting off more than you can chew!

So, Senator Bob Graham (D- Fla.) has withdrawn from the race for the 2004 Democratic Presidential Nomination. Hopefully, this will enable him to start working on shoring up some support for a shot at the V.P. position, allowing the Dems to maintain some degree of limited relevance in the New South (I mean, seriously, Sen. John Edwards is so gone and Gen. Wesley Clark is a “barely-there” Arkansan, which sounds suspiciously like some sort of designer undergarment).
One of the sadder elements of this withdrawal, however, is not the loss of a veteran politician with relevant international experience, but the manner in which the withdrawal occurred, as per the Miami Herald:
In an anticlimactic finale, the 66-year-old Graham made his announcement during an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, keeping much of his own senior staff in the dark about his fate until the end of a 52-minute segment on the show examining the future of Las Vegas duo Siegfried & Roy.

It’s all going according to our master plan, sirs!
Stage 2 (or is this Stage 3? We’ve lost count) of the Bush Administration’s expiration-date-devoid War on Terror™ is now officially underway. Thanks, Israel! You’re doing those of us at Boeing and Lockheed-Martin proud!
This, by the way, per half-assed Democratic presidential candidate General Wesley Clark’s recently revealed knowledge of the current administration’s master plans:
“As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan.” Clark adds, “I left the Pentagon that afternoon deeply concerned.”
Sigh. It’s time to start boning up on the Lebanon Factsheet. TIP: next time, boys, please alphabetize your plan-of-attack list.