The Appeasement Paradox
Matthew Yglesias
May 23, 2008 | web only
Conservatives say reasoning with foreign dictators is pointless because it grants bad actors legitimacy. In doing so, they fail to understand the usefulness of diplomacy and the limits of American power.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

Vincent Bugliosi, Vanguard Press

Rights and Liberties: Why do so many in the liberal media simply move on to another topic after stating that Bush took the nation to war based on a lie?


What Game Is Hillary Playing?

Guy T. Saperstein, AlterNet

Election 2008: Nothing reveals the Clintons' lack of principle so clearly as their assertion that Dem Party rules should be abandoned.

ICE Detainees Lack Medical Care

by Cara, Feministe - 4:20 PM

Clarifying Obama's Position on Net Neutrality

by Matt Stoller, Open Left - 3:05 PM

There Is No Such Thing As Clean Coal

by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! - 12:00 PM

Sistani Switching Sides in Iraq?

by Spencer Ackerman, Attackerman - 9:59 AM

McCain's Medical Records Document Dump

by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report - 8:27 AM

Pentagon: Federal Spending Rules Ignored in Iraq

by Jill Hussein C., Brilliant at Breakfast - 7:01 AM

Clinton's Argument for Staying in Race Takes a Disturbing Turn
Video: What does RFK's assassination have to do with it? More »

McCain's Vet Hypocrisy Rages On
Video: Watch McCain's vain attempt to defend skipping yesterday's GI Bill vote. More »

McCain's Puts His Temper on Full Display with Anti-Obama Rant

Digby, Hullabaloo

PEEK: The Republican reveals his inner hot head with an audacious shot across the bow to Obama.

Negotiate with 'Terrorists and Radicals': Ivan Eland

Bush and McCain's Iran Insanity: Charley Reese

An Act of War: Gordon Prather

The Democratic-Peace Fraud: James Bovard

Wall Street, Banks, and Foreign Policy: Rothbard

Why I Continue to Run - Sen. Hillary Clinton, New York Daily News
Hillary Hoping for a Miracle - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
Obama Looks To Bill To Heal Hil - Sarah Baxter, Sunday Times
McCain Looking for Mr. Right - Jeremy Lott, The Guardian
Hillary Is Her Own Worst Enemy - Michael Goodwin, New York Daily News
Obama Needs to Reach Out to Rural Voters - Harold Ford Jr., Newsweek
Michelle Obama Is Fair Game - Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe
Obama, Clinton and the Endgame - Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune
Put Dem Congress on the Spot - Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard
The Age Factor in 2008 - Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer
Some Bad Ideas for the Candidates - Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
The Snare of Privilege in Politics - Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times
Rice and the Jettisoning of the Bush Doctrine - S. Hayes, Weekly Standard
Does US Still Believe in Democratization? - James Traub, NY Times Mag
The Decline of Terrorist Attacks - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek
Iran Paid Insurgents to Kill UK Troops - S. Rayment, Sunday Telegraph
The Last Doughboy - George Will, Washington Post
RCP Blog: Montana Poll: McCain Leads Obama by 8, Clinton By 11

Editorials
Ethanol Backlash Picks Up Steam - Wall Street Journal
Airline Economics Hits Perfect Storm - San Francisco Chronicle
The Hype Against Hillary - New York Daily News
Thompson's Insincere Sermon - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Political News & Analysis
GOP Worries About Disarray in McCain Camp - New York Times
Clinton Seeks Popular Vote Win - Washington Post
Crist, Florida Key to McCain - Miami Herald
Obama Criticizes McCain on Veterans' Benefits - Associated Press

Transcripts & Speeches


Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas - Barack Obama
McCain's Health Statement from the Mayo Clinic - McCain Campaign
Shields & Brooks Discuss News from the Trail - The NewsHour
Roundtable on Clinton's RFK Comment - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Mitt Romney on "Political Capital w/Al Hunt" - Political Capital w/Al Hunt

Best of the Blogs
McCain's 'Straight Talk' About Medical History - Pam's House Blend
Why Not McCain/New Conservative '08? - Race 4 2008
Hillary Clinton and the Non-Apology - Ann Althouse
The Question Clinton Couldn't Answer - Booman Tribune
Peter King for Veep? - The Corner

US Can't Pass English 101
Christopher Chantrill
Why is it that after a century and a half of "free" public education so many students present themselves at college unable to write a coherent sentence? More

The Heroes That Dwelt Among Us
Lance Fairchok
This Memorial Day our nation has been at war for over five years against a brutal and intractable enemy. More

The Crime of Being White
Selwyn Duke
Have you ever heard of caucaphobia, the irrational fear of white people? I suppose not. More

Anatomy of a Gaffe
May 25, 2008
The New York Times politics blog The Caucus has a great post tracing the history of Hillary Clinton's "assassination" gaffe and folding it into a narrative that shows Hillary's campaign on the ropes More

The press, Obama, and Wright
May 24, 2008
This election season would not be the first time that the media which shares the leftist views of a candidate has airbrushed his image and missed his considerable deficits. More

Obama: Not as smart as he thinks he is
May 24, 2008
"Is Mr. Obama suffering from early onset Alzheimer's? Or is he just not as smart as he imagines himself to be?" More

Hillary 'Pride of the Yankees'
May 24, 2008
Perhaps the junior senator from New York can learn something from the history of the Yankees when it comes to late finishes. More

Parroting empty slogans
May 24, 2008
Somehow this seems supremely symbolic to me: More

Clinton's 'Assassination' Remark Will Bury her Campaign
May 24, 2008
Hillary Clinton using the "A" word in any context whatsoever relating to Obama has most observers in agreement that any chance she would have had with Superdelegates vanished the second the words came out of her mouth. More

More Ready, Willing for a Black President - Ellis Cose, Newsweek
Iraq's Changed, Why Can't the Dems? - Michael Continetti, Weekly Standard
America's New Political Segregation - Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times
Obama Understood the Networks - Roger Cohen, New York Times
So Much for a New Kind of US Politics - Clive Crook, Financial Times
Caesaropapism Rampant - George Will, Newsweek
Clinton's Memory Lapse on 2000 - Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker
Mixed Signals from Obama on Latin America - Tom Hayden, The Nation
A Vice-President For Abortion - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Obama's Patriot Campaign - E. J. Dionne, Washington Post
Gay Marriage Will Be an Issue This Fall - Jeffrey Bell, Weekly Standard
Purple Hearts for PTSD? - Thomas Lipscomb, RealClearPolitics
Can Science and God Ever Get Along? - Tim Hames, Times of London
Seeking an Apology for Bataan - Mindy Kotler, New York Times
Apocalyptic Mindsets on Climate Change - Robert Skidelsky, Daily Star
The Assault at Rapido River, Italy - 1944 - Arnold Garcia, Philly Inquirer
Remembering Accomplishments, Sacrifices - William Kristol, NY Times

Editorials
New Generation Earns Greatness - Boston Herald
With Uneven Sacrifice, Much to Ponder - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bush Wrong on GI Bill - New York Times
While Zimbabwe Burns - Boston Globe

Political News & Analysis
A Glimpse of Weekend At McCain's - New York Times
McAuliffe: Fight Could Go Through Summer - Bloomberg
Carter: Clinton Should Bow Out in June - Associated Press
Clinton Could Face Uneasy Return to Senate - New York Times

Transcripts & Speeches


Talks with Terry McAuliffe; Reps. Van Hollen & Cole - Fox News Sunday
Sens. Durbin & Graham on "Face the Nation" (PDF) - Face the Nation
Analyst Roundtable on "Meet the Press" - Meet the Press
Interview with Reps. Drier & Harman - Late Edition
Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas - Barack Obama

Best of the Blogs
McCain and the Meaning of Memorial Day - Pajamas Media
Obama's GE Margin of Error: Nonexistent - TalkLeft
The Obama Coalition: A Review and Outlook - Protein Wisdom
The Future Lies Ahead - James Fallows
Bill Goes Off Again - Andrew Sullivan

Still too soon to count Hillary out
May 25, 2008
Hillary has made a gaffe. But those who think she'll quit do not have long memories. More

Colombia's FARC Leader Dead
May 25, 2008
Fausta Wertz has the story via the BBC of the death of Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, military leader of the Colombian Communist rebel group FARC: More

Wilentz Skewers the Obamaites Disdain of Working Class Voters
May 25, 2008
Historian and author Sean Wilientz has written a piece at Huffington Post that is a must read whether you are a Democrat or Republican. More

The racism cry never stops
May 25, 2008
Willie Randolph is the manager who guided a baseball team, just last fall, that had the greatest collapse in the history of the sport. More

Anatomy of a Gaffe
May 25, 2008
The New York Times politics blog The Caucus has a great post tracing the history of Hillary Clinton's "assassination" gaffe and folding it into a narrative that shows Hillary's campaign on the ropes More

The press, Obama, and Wright
May 24, 2008
This election season would not be the first time that the media which shares the leftist views of a candidate has airbrushed his image and missed his considerable deficits. More

Obama: Not as smart as he thinks he is
May 24, 2008
"Is Mr. Obama suffering from early onset Alzheimer's? Or is he just not as smart as he imagines himself to be?" More

Obama's latest stunning gaffes
May 25, 2008
How are we supposed to take this man seriously for the position of commander in chief? Little Green Footballs snags Obama in a stunning error More

The lessons of Colombia
May 25, 2008
Why is it so hard for Americans to learn about the successes of our war on terror? More

Lebanon Finally Elects Suleiman President
May 25, 2008
After six months without a president, Lebanon's Parliament finally elected Army Chief Michel Suleiman as a successor to Emile Lahoud: More

"They Used Pat for Public Consumption, Just Like Jessica Lynch": An Interview with Mary Tillman

Emily Wilson, AlterNet

War on Iraq: The official cover-up of football star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman's death by "friendly fire" has led his family on a four-year mission for justice.

The New Inquisition
David Brog
The recent controversy over Pastor John Hagee is about much more than one man and his "crazy" (John McCain's word) comments. More

How does Obama love Israel?
Vel Nirtist
Senator Obama recently expressed his deep love of, and "unshakeable commitment to" Israel. I believe him, but I am still worried. What exactly does he mean by love? More

Subway Bans Homeschooled Kids from Essay Contest
Ned Barnett
Subway -- the multi-national fast-food sub-shop giant -- has shot themselves in the foot. Again. More

Obama Words That Matter
May 27, 2008
Barack Obama's core campaign document is not just electioneering eyewash. It's conveys his intended presidential agenda. More

Buyer's remorse
May 26, 2008
Paul Lukasiak has made a compelling case that the more Democratic voters learn about Obama and the more likely it is that he will be the nominee, the less they are for him and the more they indicate a preference for Hillary. More

Jimmy Carter wants trade relations with Iran
May 26, 2008
The former president is in a hole and can't stop digging More

James Carroll:
Guantanamo’s Day In Court


Bill Quigley:
War Immemorial Day – No Peace for Militarized U.S.


Emanuel Margolis:
Hushing Up Crisis Of Suicide, Mental Scars


Binalakshmi Nepram Mentschel:
Paying Homage to Women’s Roles in Peace and Disarmament


Chris Hedges:
Vermont Leads the Way for Progressives


David Sirota:
Why Democrats Won’t Stop the War


Russell Mokhiber:
Bugliosi Wants Bush Charged with Murder

Bill Quigley
War Immemorial Day

Col. Dan Smith
Retreating from Hell: a Different Memorial Day

Cindy Sheehan
Why Memorial Day is a Double-Whammy for Me

Marjorie Cohn
Hillary's Assassination Politics: Her Last Shot?

Fred Gardner
Does the VA Care?

Republicans Are in Denial - Senator Tom Coburn, Wall Street Journal
What McCain Should Say to Dems - Froma Harrop, Providence Journal
A Review of Obama's Voting Coalition - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
The Running Mate Choice - David Brooks, New York Times
The Clintons and the Kennedys - Walter Shapiro, Salon
How Bush Sold the War - Douglas Feith, Wall Street Journal
Al Qaeda: The Rebellion Within - Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker
Are We Safer? - John Hinderaker, Power Line
The Insane Cuba Embargo - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Obama Obfuscates on Chavez & FARC - Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Obama Looks Westward for Electoral Votes - Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico
An Energy Solution: Go Nuclear - Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun-Times
Investors, Don't Bet on the President - Daniel Gross, Newsweek
The Return of History & the End of Dreams - Heather Wilhelm, RCP
Man on the Move - Ralph Peters, New York Post
MSNBC's Pro-Obama Bias Bad for Dems - Isaac Chotiner, The New Republic
Mascot Politics - Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics

Editorials
Mars, Air, Fire and Water - The Economist
Climate Reality Bites - Wall Street Journal
Hope for Homeowners - Newsday
Congress Can Help Ease Food Prices - Dallas Morning News

Political News & Analysis
Duel About Iraq Moves to New Mexico - New York Times
Interview: McCain Says Obama Should Visit Iraq - Associated Press
No Clear Map for Clinton's Future - Washington Post
Iraq War Vets Run for Congress - USA Today

Best of the Blogs
Beyond Bush - The Next Right
Adventures in Lannyland - FiveThirtyEight
Electability Arguments and Stupidity - Oliver Willis
The Young Gaffer Sees Dead People - Hot Air
Obama: Best Machine Politician of Our Time? - Roger Simon

E.J. DIONNE
Progressive Patriotism truthdig.com — The new progressive patriotism bears some resemblance to the old progressive patriotism of Theodore Roosevelt. Anyone who enters into a serious discussion of patriotism is required to offer more than bromides about love of flag and of country. Patriotism has to involve definitions, commitments and actions. GREG MITCHELL

At Memorial Day: Another Iraq Vet, With PTSD, Suicide huffingtonpost.com — On Memorial Day weekend, yet another American family is mourning the death of son who survived the war in Iraq — only to fall victim at home from post traumatic stress disorder. APRIL SOMDAHL

Mourning My Brother and an Unjust War huffingtonpost.com — Our troops have been pushed to their limit. There are thousands of Americans like me who are living in agony over the suicide of a loved one. For me, it was my brother that broke my heart, for others it was a son that was lost. Still others, a daughter, a husband, a daddy, a mommy… lost to the senseless occupation in Iraq. Our troops are suffering. Their families are grieving. Their friends are feeling helpless. MICHAEL KWIATKOWSKI

I'm Sorry. ourfuture.org — Here's something you'll never hear from any pundit, news reporter, or politician this Memorial Day: an apology. To all the soldiers who have been maimed and killed in the wars of the Bush-Cheney regime: I'm sorry.

The Campaign for Puerto Rico - Michael Grunwald, Time
The Running Mate Choice - David Brooks, New York Times
When McCain Hit Bottom He Was at His Best - Jacob Weisberg, Slate
Can Obama Revive the Dead Horse of Socialism? - Kyle-Anne Shiver, NRO
McCain: Fetishizing the Uniform - Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer
Pork Thrives in Democrats' Spending Scam - Kevin Hassett, Bloomberg
Getting Big Oil to Feel Our Pain - Derrick Jackson, Boston Globe
An Energy Solution: Go Nuclear - Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun-Times

The Problem With Talking to Iran - Amir Taheri, Wall Street Journal
Why Govt Should Mandate $4 a Gallon Gas - Thomas Friedman, NY Times
The Moral Challenge of Globalization - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Hillary Agonistes: Don't Count Every Vote? - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Neither Democracy Nor Feminism - Harold Meyerson, Washington Post
Let the Race Play Out - Ed Koch, RealClearPolitics
Hillary Undone By Dems' Quirky Primary Rules - Byron York, USA Today
A Review of Obama's Voting Coalition, Part II - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
Breathless Speculation Marks Veepstakes - Jonathan Martin, The Politico
Fiorina Buttresses McCain on Economy - Indira Lakshmanan, Bloomberg
What Jim Webb is Worth To Obama - Steve Kornacki, New York Observer
Blue Dogs on Pelosi's Leash - Robert Novak, Human Events
Too Few Politicians Speak Honestly About Trade - Philip Levy, American
Windfall-Profit Nonsense - John Stossel, RealClearPolitics
Report: Climate Changes Harming U.S. - Juliet Eilprin, Washington Post
Blue Planet in Green Shackles - Vaclav Klaus, National Press Club
Income Inequality in the NFL & U.S. - Steven Malanga, RealClearMarkets
Gallup Tracking: McCain 46, Obama 45 | Clinton 48, McCain 44
RCP Blog: Morning Report / Politics Nation: Strategy Memo

Clinton & the 'Told You So' Calculation - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Why I'm the Strongest Nominee for Democrats - Sen. Hillary Clinton
The GOP Veep List: Pros and Cons - Michael Medved, Townhall
Inside Obama's Mountain-States Strategy - Thomas Schaller, Newsweek
Hillary Clinton's Swing-State Advantage - Lydia Saad, Gallup
A Preview of What's to Come If Dems Win - Al Knight, Denver Post
Book Says GOP Widens Income Gap - Dan Balz, Washington Post
Coal-Cap Disaster - Larry Kudlow, RealClearPolitics
McCain is Even More of a Neocon Than Bush - Fred Kaplan, Slate
Kennedy-Khrushchev for Dummies - Scott Johnson, Weekly Standard
RCP Blog: McCain Whacks Obama on Iraq | Obama Eyes MI, FL Deal

True liberals must be appeasers
James Lewis
The big debate now is whether Obama would be a foreign policy appeaser. It's the wrong question. All modern liberals must be appeasers More

Cycle of Abuse: The FLDS Raid
Eileen McDevitt and Larrey Anderson
The raid on the West Texas compound of the renegade Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) had a precursor More

Obama, Black Liberation Theology, and Karl Marx
Kyle-Anne Shiver
Barack Obama proclaims his Christianity, but what kind of Christianity is it? Words matter, but they can mean different things to different people. More

Obama Rejects McCain's Joint Iraq Trip Suggestion
May 28, 2008
Is it that he doesn't want to know what's really going on? Or does Barack Obama feel no good purpose could be served by a joint visit to Iraq with John McCain? More

Czech President offers to debate Gore on global warming
May 28, 2008
Czech President Vaclav Klaus has offered to debate Gore on global warming. More

6 in 10 Democrats Confident of Victory in November
May 28, 2008
A large part of the battle in any political contest is getting your supporters to the polls in order to vote for you. More

Punditry and the reality of environmentalism
May 28, 2008
Two pundits on one of D.C.'s most enlightened programs, the All Star Panel on Fox's "Special Report," may have learned something yesterday. More

DNC Lawyers Say no full representation by FL and MI at Convention
May 28, 2008
In what is sure to be a huge disappointment to the Clinton campaign, DNC lawyers are saying there is no way that the Rules and Bylaws Committee can restore full delegate representation to Florida and Michigan before the convention. More

The liberal vortex (updated)
May 28, 2008
The liberal recipe of higher taxes and more government as a cure for economic distress sparks a vicious cycle of diminished employment, higher demand for services, lower tax revenues and consequent deficits. Michigan provides the latest example. More

Let Obama's weaseling begin -- the media will cover him
May 28, 2008
Barack Obama seems to have realized that he dug himself a hole when he promised meetings with no preconditions with Ahmedinejad and other tyrants. The media will provide plenty of cover for him. More

Barak Calls on Olmert to Resign
May 28, 2008
The powerful Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement calling on Prime Minister Olmert to step aside: More

Scott McClellan's payback
May 28, 2008
Scott McClellan's tell-all book is making big waves. The backstory is not. More

A Democratic year?
May 28, 2008
I have been following politics for a while. Since 1952. I have never seen the conventional wisdom about an election more baseless. More

Comment on the comments feature
May 28, 2008
It is an absolute joy and a real kick to read the passionate, heart-warming, punchy reader responses to your AT articles and blogs. More

Durable Goods Orders Rise - Unexpectedly
May 28, 2008
Analysts are claiming that foreign companies are buying more American factory goods and cushioning the blow for many. More

Op-Ed Columnist
Can He Take a Frisk?
By MAUREEN DOWDBarack Obama knows that he is left with one final roll of the dice. So, he sets up a secret meeting with Bill Clinton.

May 28, 2008
Stark Contrasts Between McCain and Obama in Judicial Wars
By NEIL A. LEWISThe 2008 election will offer voters a choice between two sharply different visions for the ideological shape of the federal courts.

May 28, 2008
In Rare Move, 3 Candidates Join in Pledge on Darfur
By HELENE COOPERThe three presidential candidates warned the Sudanese government not to try to run out the clock on the Bush administration.

May 28, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
Truth or Consequences
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMANWhat would a mythical, truth-telling presidential candidate say about the best energy policy for America?

May 28, 2008 Editorial
The Frenzy for Campaign Money
All three candidates are promising to rein in the role of money in politics by updating the Watergate public subsidies right after this campaign is over.

May 27, 2008
Obama’s Likes and Dislikes: Hold the Mayo
As Senator Barack Obama’s body man, Reggie Love makes sure the candidate has plenty of the things he likes and makes note of those things he would rather avoid. Here is a partial list, provided by Mr. Love.

May 27, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
The Running Mate Choice
By DAVID BROOKSA presidential candidate should be selecting a vice president on the basis of who can help him govern successfully and get him re-elected.

May 27, 2008 Op-Ed Columnist
Roads, High and Low
By BOB HERBERTHillary Clinton could learn something from Senator Joe Biden who exhibited decency and class on Friday morning.

The Florida-Michigan Farce - Joe Conason, New York Observer
Dems Are Taking a Huge Gamble on Obama - Richard Baehr, Am. Thinker
The McCain Blowout Fallacy - Bob Beckel, RealClearPolitics
Hillary's Persistence Irks Democrats - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
What Jimmy Carter Could Teach Obama - David Broder, Washington Post
Review of Obama's Voting Coalition, Part III - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
How McCain Can Win - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix
McCain, Bush Embrace in Secret - Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
Obama's Revisionist History - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
Hillary, Terrorism and the FALN - Ron Kolb, RealClearPolitics
McClellan Burns the Bush Administration? - John Dickerson, Slate
The Quit-Iraq Time-Travelers - Ralph Peters, New York Post
Al Qaeda: The Unraveling - Peter Bergen & Paul Cruickshank, New Republic
McCain's Question Time - George Will, Washington Post
Another Media 'Aha!' Moment - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
The Cattle-Prod Election - David Runciman, London Review of Books
All About Me - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics
RCP Blog: McClellan on "Today" / Politics Nation: Follow the Lawsuit

Editorials
McClellan: I Knew It All Along - New York Times
Blame? Clinton Should Look in the Mirror - San Diego Union-Tribune
McCain Calls Out Obama on Iraq - Investor's Business Daily
Supreme Court Stretches the Law - Washington Post

Political News & Analysis
McCain Challenges Obama on Iraq - Los Angeles Times
Clinton Argues She's Strongest - McClatchy
Two Senators Leave Group After Ads - New York Times
Democrats in Full Swing as Primaries Near End - USA Today

Transcripts & Speeches


Clinton's Letter to Superdelegates - Hillary Clinton
Govs. Rendell & Pawlenty on "Political Capital" - Bloomberg
Obama Lays Out His Housing Plan - Barack Obama
McCain's Remarks on Nuclear Security - John McCain
Karl Rove on Scott McClellan's New Book - Hannity & Colmes

Best of the Blogs
McCain's Only Chance to Avoid 1992 - Race 4 2008
Halliburton and Iran - Juan Cole
John McCain: The Gaffer - Firedoglake
Bill Clinton Demeans Caucuses - Donklephant
Obama Changes Course on Unilateral Meetings - Redstate

Obama's Woes: A Tale of Three States
Richard Baehr
If you want evidence that the Democrats are taking a huge gamble by nominating Barack Obama as their Presidential candidate, you need look no further than the current state of the race in three Southern/border states. More

Barack Obama in the Carpet Bazaar
Joel J. Sprayregen
For over five years, European powers have been negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program. The result is painfully clear: Iran is five years closer to possessing nuclear weapons. More

True Colors
Daniel Montrose
Having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan I think Obama's out of hand dismissal of McCain's proposal that he visit the two countries is patently and pathetically cowardly. More

Primary Season Becomes Open Season for Beating Up On Women
May 29, 2008
This primary season has me feeling increasingly uneasy. As a Democrat, I initially attributed this to the mounting dread at the prospect of my (not for much longer) party nominating a neophyte for President of the United States. More

McClellan Book Published by Soros Front Company
May 29, 2008
In one of the least surprising facts to come out of the publishing of Scott McClellan's hit job on President Bush is the knowledge that the book was edited and published by people with far left political leanings. More

MEDIA -- CNN'S YELLIN SAYS NETWORK EXECUTIVES PUSHED PRO-WAR STORIES: Last night, Jessica Yellin, a CNN journalist who covered the White House for ABC News in 2002 and 2003, said that during the lead-up to the Iraq war, "the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives" to present the war in a way "that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings." She said that "the higher the president's approval ratings, the more pressure I had from news executives." "They would turn down stories that were more critical and try to put on pieces that were more positive, yes," Yellin added. Last September, Katie Couric said she felt "corporate pressure" from NBC executives to "not rock the boat," particularly after a tough interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Former MSNBC pundit Phil Donahue, on last year's award-winning Bill Moyers documentary, said, "Our producers were instructed to have two conservatives for every liberal." Salon's Glenn Greenwald emphasizes that, though there was in fact a vigorous debate about the war in 2002 and 2003, journalists "ignored it and silenced it because their jobs didn't permit them to highlight those questions."

ADMINISTRATION -- TOP DHS OFFICIAL CRITICIZES ADMINISTRATION USE OF 'WAR ON TERROR': The Financial Times reports that Charles Allen, the senior intelligence official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said that the United States should stop using the term "war on terror." "[It] has nothing to do with political correctness," Allen said. "It is interpreted in the Muslim world as a war on Islam and we don't need this." Several administration officials have criticized the use of the phrase. In September, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, banned the phrase "Global War on Terror" from "any future correspondence." But in November, Bush attacked critics of the term "war on terror," saying that "people who deny we are at war are either being disingenuous or naive." DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff disagreed with Allen. "We are at war with terrorism, and its underlying ideology -- not Islam -- and we've gone out of our way to make that point," said his spokesperson, Russ Knocke. "In truth, war has been declared upon us." But DHS told employees last month "not to describe extremists as 'jihadists,'" stating that linking Islam to terrorism offends moderate Muslims and gives extremists "religious legitimacy." "While we want to be mindful to the way our messages are heard by Muslim audiences, we also think war on terror accurately describes the fight we are in," echoed National Security Council spokesperson Gordon Johndroe.

IRAQ -- FALLUJAH RESIDENTS SAY SOME MARINES ARE 'ACTING AS CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES': At an entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah earlier this week, "Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand." According to Anad, one side of the coin asked, "Where will you spend eternity?" while the other was imprinted with Gospel verse. The incident apparently was not isolated. McClatchy reports that "residents of the city are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are also acting as Christian missionaries," saying that "some Marines at the western entrance to their city have been passing out the coins for two days in what they call a 'humiliating' attempt to convert them to Christianity." Sheikh Mohammed Amin Abdel Hadi, leader of a Sunni endowment that oversees the city's religious establishments, said, "We say to the occupiers to stop this," adding that the American efforts to promote Christianity in Fallujah "can cause strife between the Iraqis and especially between Muslim and Christians." The U.S. military has said they are "investigating" the matter.

Bush's Former Mouthpiece Tells All
In his "scathing" new memoir, which will be released next week, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan accuses his former colleagues in the Bush administration of not being "open and forthright on Iraq," arguing that they engaged in a "political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people." President Bush "signed off on a strategy for selling the war that was less than candid and honest," writes McClellan, "not employing out-and-out deception but by shading the truth." McClellan, who is "the first longtime Bush aide to put such harsh criticism between hard covers," also claims in his book that former Bush adviser Karl Rove and former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney Scooter Libby "allowed" and even "encouraged" him to "repeat a lie" about their involvement in the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. In one shocking revelation, McClellan "suggests that Libby and Rove secretly colluded to get their stories straight at a time when federal investigators were hot on the Plame case." The White House reacted with indignation yesterday, calling McClellan "disgruntled about his experience at the White House." Though current White House Press Secretary Dana Perino initially said Bush was not likely to comment on the book, she later told CNN that Bush "didn't recognize the same Scott McClellan that he hired and worked with for so many years." On background, White House aides were even more blunt, telling MSNBC's Kevin Corke that McClellan is a "traitor."

LOYAL BUSHIES STRIKE BACK: Bush was only one voice in a "chorus" of current and former Bush administration officials pushing back against McClellan's explosive allegations, often in very personal terms. "This now strikes me as self-serving, disingenuous and unprofessional," former Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend said on CNN. Rove, whom McClellan describes in the book as willing "to push the envelope to the limit of what's permissible ethically or legally," responded on Fox News by calling McClellan "irresponsible," adding that he "sounds like a left-wing blogger." Former White House Counselor Dan Bartlett called allegations in the book "total crap," saying that in hearing McClellan's criticisms, "it's almost like we're witnessing an out-of-body experience." McClellan's predecessor, Ari Fleischer, told NPR that he was "heartbroken" by the harsh tone of the book. Interviewing Fleischer for the CBS Evening News last night, Katie Couric noted that the former Bush administration officials now criticizing McClellan all sound like they "are operating out of the same playbook" by claiming "this doesn't sound like the Scott McClellan they knew."

THE USUAL AUTOMATIC SMEAR RESPONSE: McClellan is experiencing the same automatic smear response the White House deploys against former allies who dare to criticize the administration, including former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and former head of faith-based initiatives John DiIulio. In 2004, when Bush's first Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said publicly that "the Bush administration began planning to use U.S. troops to invade Iraq within days" after Bush took office, White House aides pushed back hard with personal attacks. One senior official told CNN that "we didn't listen to [O'Neill's] wacky ideas when he was in the White House, why should we start listening to him now." Last year, Bush's former chief campaign strategist Matthew Dowd publicly broke with the President by claiming that Bush had "become more, in my view, secluded and bubbled in." Bartlett dismissed Dowd's criticisms by saying Dowd had been "going through a lot of personal turmoil." Ironically, before he published his own criticisms, McClellan was often the one responding to critical books as the White House's top spokesperson. In 2004, when former counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke wrote a book charging that President Bush had "ignored terrorism for months" before 9/11, McClellan led the White House counter-charge, claiming that Clarke was a bitter ex-employee who "wanted to be the deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department."

MCCLELLAN'S CREDIBILITY CHALLENGE: As ABC News's Jake Tapper pointed out yesterday, "some of the same language now being used to trash McClellan he himself used to trash previous administration authors." For instance, when Clarke published his tell-all book, McClellan claimed he was doing it for money because "he has written a book and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book." But McClellan's credibility challenge goes beyond the fact that he once attacked people in his current position. McClellan charges the White House with not being "open and forthright on Iraq," which is a drastic shift from his past rhetoric regarding the war. As a White House spokesperson, McClellan repeatedly defended the conduct of the war, justified the case that was made to launch it, and defended Bush's handling of the war. "There were irresponsible and unfounded accusations being made against the administration, suggesting that we had manipulated or misused that intelligence. That was flat-out false," said McClellan in a 2006 press briefing. "We've been very straightforward about where we are, in terms of the theater in Iraq," he claimed in another. In 2004, he insisted, "This President is someone I think the American people recognize as a straight shooter."

William S. Lind
Inside the Washington Game

Robert Weissman
What to do About the Price of Oil

Dave Lindorff
Why Puerto Rico Won't Matter

David Macaray
A Union Fable

Chris Genovali
Fear and Loathing in the Northern Rockies

Laura Carlsen
Mexico's Battle Over Oil

Blame Bush for McClellan
C. Edmund Wright
Scott McClelland was the perfect Press Secretary for the presidential New Tone. Unsurprisingly, both failed. More

Are Conservatives Cutting off Their Noses to Spite Their Faces?
Bookworm
Perhaps because I'm a neocon, and not a dyed-in-the-wool, native-born conservative, I look at John McCain, with all his flaws, and still think that he's a pretty darn good candidate for our time. More

Reality Check on the Mullahs
Amil Imani
There is so much smoke around the Iranian Mullahs' bomb that it makes Tehran's smog feel like a fresh ocean breeze by comparison. Here is a partial list of misconceptions. More

Obama's Other Pastor Problem
May 30, 2008
Where does he get these "men of God?" More

Commerce Ups Estimate of GDP Growth in 1st Quarter
May 29, 2008
The American people by a 2-1 margin believe we're in recession. But the economy refuses to cooperate More

Lebanese democrats thumb their noses at Hezb'allah
May 29, 2008
The man Hezb'allah has called a "tool of America" and a "dictator" has been re-appointed Prime Minister by the majority March 14th party in Lebanon: More

Livni: Olmert Must Go
May 29, 2008
Things are starting to get a little dicey for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. More

Pelosi Vows Love Fest at Dem Convention
May 29, 2008
Making it clear that she will not allow any convention challenges by the Clinton campaign, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that the nomination race will be over before the middle of June: More

Obama's Ties To ACORN More Substantial than first believed
May 29, 2008
You've heard of Moveon.org and Code Pink - two radical leftist groups seeking to elect out and out socialists to public office and who are fierce opponents of the capitalist sysetm. More

McCain (Mis)Speaks: Cerf/Navasky/Engelhardt