I admire the work done by the Center for American Progress. But I have to complain about their "Project Billboard" ads presenting a running tally of the dollar cost of the war in Iraq a la the National Debt Clock. I appreciate the idea behind Project Billboard. I'm not entirely sure, however, that once troops are committed the dollar cost ought to be a top concern. A far greater cost of this war is that of "coalition" casualties — and... Read more
I was pleasantly surprised by last night's debate and how substantive it turned out to be. (Here is the transcript.) Others have objected to this format, since it's not really a "debate" per se. That's true, but I don't really have a problem with that. I want to hear the candidates explain where they stand. This format allowed for that, with enough give-and-take to ensure that they each would have to defend their positions and would not be able to... Read more
Anti-gay crusaders broke into the wrong goddam rec room. Actor Michael Gross has a short op-ed piece making the rounds on the subject of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Gross takes issue with the argument that extending the marital franchise to same-sex couples would somehow erode the “institution of marriage.” The real threat to that institution, he suggests, seems to come from us heterosexuals. He has some fun pointing out that social conservatives often complain that “we’ve become... Read more
Here's Tyler Marshall, reporting in The Los Angeles Times with less than six weeks remaining before the Nov. 2 election: Independent specialists … worry that an election so flawed that its legitimacy becomes a major issue could set back, rather than promote, democracy in the region. The Bush administration has declined to say what the minimum acceptable conditions would be. "I don't think anybody's thinking in those terms right now," said a senior official who declined to be identified by... Read more
If you haven't yet read James Fallows' Atlantic Monthly article, "Bush's Lost Year," then by all means go read it now. (An online version for nonsubscribers was available here, but the link is not working at the time I'm posting this.) Fallows provides a dismaying summary of the cost and the opportunity costs of President Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq. Two reactions: 1. James Fallows would make a better president and a better commander in chief than George W.... Read more
That was scary. What remained of Hurricane Jeanne blew through Delaware on Tuesday, spawning at least one tornado that busted buildings, cars and planes from the New Castle area to Elsmere. Drenching rains added to the misery, causing widespread flooding, traffic jams and evacuations. The tornado wrecked five C-130 cargo planes at the New Castle County Airport, causing thousands of pounds of jet fuel to spill and damaging hangars. It tore through an industrial area along Del. 141, sending workers... Read more
Even if, like me, you haven’t yet read Thomas Frank’s book What’s the Matter With Kansas?, you’ve probably read enough about it to be familiar with his thesis. A few choice quotes — pulled from this review by Jason Epstein — summarize what I take to be his main point: People getting their fundamental interests wrong is what American political life is all about … When two female rock stars exchanged a lascivious kiss on national television. Kansas [went] haywire... Read more
Just got back from today's John Kerry rally in University City. Big crowd. Big excitement. Good time had by all. The crowd heard from, among others, Gov. Ed Rendell, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Rep. Joe Hoeffel, who is running for the Senate against Arlen "Ira Einhorn is not a flight risk" Specter. We also heard from the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, Bernard Hopkins — who gave Kerry a pair of boxing gloves. The rally had an... Read more
In an earlier post titled "Not the Same" I spent 11 paragraphs trying to say what Noam Scheiber says more clearly in one: Robin Wright's analysis of Kerry's Iraq plan in today's Washington Post has a weirdly disembodied feel to it. She writes as though Kerry and Bush were participating in an essay contest about the future of some hypothetical war zone called "Iraq," proclaiming Kerry's proposals marginally better but really no different than Bush's. (Kerry gets a B+, Bush... Read more
Dan Froomkin in The Washington Post's "White House Briefing" summarizes the disparate responses to President Bush's speech yesterday before the United Nations General Assembly: Was he strong, resolute, unyielding, unapologetic? Undeniably so. And in the view of his supporters, enough said. But viewed in the context of how things have worked out, particularly in Iraq, his critics — including many in the audience of world leaders yesterday — found him misguided, simplistic, imperious and trigger-happy. That's already better coverage than... Read more
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