An Anatomy of Flip-Flopping
Paul Shlichta
With accusations of flip-flopping coming from all sides this summer, we should make sure that we are using the word correctly. More

Obama, Party Loyalty, and His Own Best Interest
Rick Richman
There has been a lot of commentary already on the forum at Saddleback Church, but one Obama answer bears some further fact-checking. More

Sec. Rice Brokers Another Disaster
Joel J. Sprayregen
Condoleezza Rice -- supposedly an expert on Russia -- rushed to Tbilisi last week, persuading reluctant Georgian President Saakahsvili to sign a cease-fire containing enough loopholes for a Russian tank battalion to drive through. More

Obama desperation starting to show
August 18, 2008
Barack Obama seems to think he can recover some of the ground he lost at the Saddleback Forum by seizing on John McCain's joking reference to $5 million a year as rich. More

Patriotism Not Passé for This Celeb
August 18, 2008
These days, it seems that celebrities of all stripes - singers, actors, and so on - have bought into the idea that being proud to be an American is less than hip. More

Obama-Ayers records blocked at U of I Chicago
August 18, 2008
This is getting curiouser and curiouser... More

McCain campaign protests NBC coverage
August 18, 2008
One might ask what took them so long More

The Oil and gas bubble
August 18, 2008
Jack Risko of Dinocrat.com charts oil and gas prices, showing a pattern that looks very much like a speculative bubble. More

Ukraine Acts
August 18, 2008
Last week, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko issued new restrictions on Russia's use of the Sevastopol port facilities, Now, following the Russian threat to Poland, it is going even further. More

China 'Taking care" of 300 bibles brought in by missionaries
August 18, 2008
Some Wyoming based Christian missionaries got a taste of China's idea of freedom of religion at airport customs More

The Democrats' priorities in a dangerous world
August 18, 2008
Former Sen. Tom Daschle appeared on ABC's This Week and revealed the Democrats' mindset on Russia. More

Prince Charles asked to prove his fear-mongering claims
August 18, 2008
The heir to the British throne claims that genetically modified crops are a disaster. Now a cabinet minister has asked him in effect to put up or shut up. More

Stories of Russian Atrocities in Georgia Mount: Where's the US Media?
August 18, 2008
Giving credit where credit is due, the European wire services AFP and Reuters as well as the BBC, Times of London, and even the Guardian have been giving extraordinarily good coverage on the entire Russian-Georgia conflict. More

More bad news for newspapers
August 18, 2008
Readers are deserting print editions, and internet readership is not going to make up for the loss, reports the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. More

A Book Written to Defeat Obama
Soaring to the top of the New York Times bestseller list is a new book by right-wing author Jerome Corsi, whose stated goal is to deny Barack Obama the presidency, reports Beverly Bandler. August 19, 2008

McCain's 'Cone of Silence' Caper
John McCain bested Barack Obama in back-to-back responses to the same questions. But Americans were misled when told McCain had been in a "cone of silence," shielded from the questions. August 18, 2008

Jabbing the Russian Bear
A U.S. missile deal with Poland is a retaliatory jab at Russia over its fight with Georgia. Watch TheRealNews.com's video. August 18, 2008

The Russian Bear Growls Back
Russia is reacting angrily to a U.S. plan to put a missile defense project inside Poland. Watch TheRealNews.com's video. August 18, 2008

AMES HOWARD KUNSTLER
Russia's Return Bites the Neocons' Grand Energy Scheme alternet.org — You have to ask what were they smoking over at the Pentagon and the CIA when they thought they could control Russia's close neighbor.

MICHAEL MOYNIHAN
Russia and the Limits of Oil Wealth gristmill.grist.org — The reappearance of a belligerent Russia on the world stage, buoyed by high oil prices and newfound wealth, would appear to signal a new era in global politics. However, as glamorous as unbounded oil wealth inevitably seems, it equally comes at a tremendous cost, which in a modern economy, can entirely cancel out its benefits.

JAMES K. GALBRAITH
How to Burn the Speculators motherjones.com — Why is the price of oil so high? Because the Bush administration did to the commodities market what it did to housing.

TOM ENGELHARDT
Six Questions about the Anthrax Case tomdispatch.com — It was a dream of a story. And the mainstream media ran with it, knowledgeably, authoritatively, as if they had never let it go. Now, as the coverage fades and the story once again threatens to head for obscurity, a few questions come to mind.

CHRISTOPHER MORAFF
Feeding the Beast inthesetimes.com — Beyond adopting autocratic positions on foreign policy and taking broad liberties to subvert the Bill of Rights, Bush has waged a quieter — and perhaps more damaging — war at home against the very agencies under his charge.

MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD
Hustling the Bureaucracy to Advance Right Wing Agenda progressive.org — Bush is pulling all the bureaucratic levers in the Executive Branch to advance his right wing agenda. Unable to accomplish his goals legislatively, Bush is trying to get them done by fiat.

KYLE DE BEAUSSET
What Have We Become? news.newamericamedia.org — On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, while Bush was preparing to express his "deep concerns" over China's human rights record, Chinese immigrant Hiu Lui Ng was dying in the custody of our great nation's own U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. For months, 33-year-old Mr. Ng had complained of excruciating back pain. Officials accused him of faking it.

BILL SCHER
The Missed "Clinton Moment" and "Deval Moment" Robert Borosage has asked us to explore "How Do We Seize The Obama Moment?" and substantively advance a bold progressive agenda, after laying out an "inside-outside" activist strategy. Why must we answer that question now? Because we've seen what happens when we don't.

The Narrative Versus the News: Justin Raimondo

Bush Will Pardon AIPAC for Espionage: Grant Smith

Big Three Block Iran Attack: William O. Beeman

Bush Covered for Musharraf: Gareth Porter

The Most Dangerous Man in America by Werther

The Real China Threat - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Putin is Teaching the West a Lesson - Ralph Peters, New York Post
What Did We Expect from Russia? - Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The Risk of McCain's Zingers - David Ignatius, Washington Post
What Else is Above Obama's 'Pay Grade'? - Michael Graham, Boston Herald
McCain & Clinton: Two Against The One - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
Back-to-Back Conventions: A Great Unknown - Dick Morris, The Hill
Obama's 2003 Stand on Abortion Draws Criticism - Larry Rother, NYT
Obama's Rhetoric vs. Record: The Mask Slips - Peter Wehner, Commentary
Is McCain Another George W. Bush? - Jack Cafferty, CNN
Obama Played by Chicago Rules - David Freddoso, Wall Street Journal
The Money Race Is Closer Than You Think - Andrew Romano, Newsweek
The Idiocy of Energy Independence - John Stossel, RealClearPolitics
The Invisible Hand Slaps Bush Economy - Jonathan Chait, New Republic
Do Corporations Really Pay No Taxes? - Steven Malanga, RealClearMarkets
Helping Boys Without Hurting Girls - Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune
Canada's 'Human Rights' Revolution - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen
RCP Blog: Reuters/Zogby: Mac +5 | The Chicago Way - Part II | AM Rpt
Politics Nation: Strategy Memo: Rumor & Innuendo

Democratic Platform's Hidden Soros Slush Fund
Malkin: The Democratic Party platform is like a bag of pork rinds. You never know what high-fat liberal government morsel you're gonna get. More

Republicans Have Handed Democrats a Winning Election Issue

By David Morris, AlterNet

Environment: But so far, Democrats have been refusing to accept the gift.

The Right's Five Hilariously Boneheaded Anti-Obama Smears

Brad Reed, AlterNet

From birth certificates to Bernie Mac, a look at the goofiest attacks against the presumptive Democratic nominee.


Three Aging White Men to Moderate Presidential Debate

Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group

Reproductive Justice and Gender: So much for change. Only one female correspondent has moderated a presidential forum since the commission began running debates in 1988.


The Misshapen Mind: How the Brain's Haphazard Evolution Left Us with Self-Destructive Instincts

Sasha Abramsky, The American Prospect

Health and Wellness: Evolution didn't quite hit perfection when it comes to human thought processes.

The Battered American Consumer: Even the Upper-Middle Class Is Feeling Economic Pain

Kathleen Connell, Christian Science Monitor

Consumer spending is starting to play a lesser role in our economy, as households -- even wealthy ones -- downsize their lifestyles.

Andrew Bacevich: Hard Truths About America Gone Astray
Video: From Bill Moyers Journal. More »

Obama vs. the Fiscal Fear Mongers
Robert Kuttner
August 19, 2008
The story of how the right convinced some centrist liberals to endorse the idea of an "entitlements crisis" shows how difficult -- and necessary -- it will be for the next president to resist conventional wisdom.

Adapted from Kuttner's new book, Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.

The group blog of The American Prospect
If we would only let him, John McCain would save us.[/color]
Posted at 9:56 a.m.



A respectable liberal blog
Is HHS redefining abortion?
Posted at 9:58 a.m.


Dean Baker's economic commentary
[color="#800000"]Fannie and income inequality

The odd choices in Barack Obama's career
J.R. Dunn
Barack Obama has a history of making career choices that are impossible to either understand or explain. More

Why Obama's Red Mentor is News
James Lewis
Barack Obama is still an enigma because a lot of his life has been carefully hidden. More

Forty Years after the Death of a Party
Bruce Walker
Forty years ago, in the third week of August 1968, something horrible happened to the American Left and to its host, the Democratic Party. More

The LA Times makes excuses for Obama's poll decline
August 20, 2008
The Los Angeles Times is playing defense for Obama, explaining away his sharp decline in their own poll by blaming McCain's "attacks." More

Obama's missing spontaneity
August 20, 2008
One thing made clear by the Saddleback broadcast was Barack Obama's utter lack of spontaneity. More

Do We Really Want to Get Too Involved in Georgia?
August 20, 2008
When my 7-year-old son heard on the radio about a Russian invasion and bombing of Georgia, he was very concerned -- until I assured him that his grandparents in Atlanta were just fine. More

Obama's name displaces a real president's
August 19, 2008
The first Barack Obama presidential suite opens before he is even nominated. More

Obama campaign to hand out 'street money'
August 19, 2008
The a new kind of politician is playing one of the oldest games in politics: handing out street money. Catherine Lucey of the Philadelphia Daily News reports: According to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the local Democratic Party chairman, Sen. Barack... More

Iraq to send $ to Putin's Russia
August 19, 2008
Stunning news that seems to be reported in the Russian media but not our own. More

Phelps, Gold, and Taxes
August 19, 2008
Michael Phelps is coming home from Beijing a rich man. He will be paying a lot of taxes, but Barack Obama thinks they are not enough. More

Shiite Hezb'allah and Sunni Salafis sign accord
August 19, 2008
Gee...Could all those "experts" be wrong? More

Obama making his Saddleback performance even worse
August 19, 2008
The once Messianic Obama is now having a hard time not stumbling over his own rapidly falling halo. More

MICHAEL WINSHIP
The Limits of American Power consortiumnews.com — The fighting between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia is an unnerving reminder of "with how little wisdom the world is governed," and of how quickly the balance of global power can be tilted from unexpected directions with barely a warning.

CHRIS FARRELL
Health Care: The Real Fiscal Nightmare businessweek.com — While policy wonks slug it out over McCain and Obama's tax plans, a far bigger problem looms: rampaging medical costs.

DAVID ROBERTS
Rubinomics at the National Clean Energy Summit gristmill.grist.org — During his keynote address, Robert Rubin lamented climate change. During the Q & A he had to answer for Citibank's contribution to it.

JON RYNN
Globalization Death Watch gristmill.grist.org — If we have any hope of transforming our economy from one that is dependent on greenhouse gas-spewing fossil fuels, industrial agriculture, and inefficient transportation systems, then we will have to embark on a gargantuan program in order to construct all of the green energy infrastructure that we can. To do that we have to be wealthy. But at the rate we're going, we won't be, and poor nations can't import lots of good stuff from abroad.

KERRY TRUEMAN
The Dead Zone Diet openleft.com — Enjoy your dithering over dining choices while you can, folks, because the day is coming when you may not have the luxury of choosing the lobster over the London broil. For those with a more populist palate, I've got some bad news, too; a future with no more fried clam strips or canned tuna, for you.

NICHOLAS VON HOFFMAN
The 2008 Student Loan Blues thenation.com — When students get loans this year, they will pay more for them. In at least some cases students are looking at rates of 23 percent. With those numbers a young person might be better off borrowing from the mafia.

STEPHEN CROCKETT
Being Stupid, Sounding Strong consortiumnews.com — When you start "being stupid" in your public rhetoric by "talking tough" before thinking through the situation, you almost always fail to achieve your foreign policy goals.

PAUL WALDMAN
It's Not About the Medals prospect.org — The Olympics remind us of the real reason why all of us should be proud of our country — diversity.

AMY TRAUB
A Worried Middle Class Supports Progressive Policy OurFuture.org — Americans are worried about the present and pessimistic about the future, a new poll by the Drum Major Institute finds. But we are not nearly so divided on issues of public policy as the typical media reports of a country divided by red and blue might lead us to believe. In fact, there's broad bipartisan support for a range of progressive policies.

ROBERT SCHEER
McCain's Warped Worldview truthdig.com — The world according to John McCain is one in which America is triumphant at home and abroad thanks to the Bush legacy, rolling to victory internationally and mastering its domestic economic problems. If daily news would seem to deny such a rosy scenario, then that only shows skeptics lack the courage that sustained McCain as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

AMY GOODMAN AND ANDREW BACEVICH
On the End of American Exceptionalism democracynow.org — The concept of a providential mission, a responsibility to the world, has translated into a sense of empowerment or prerogative to determine the way the world is supposed to work, what it's supposed to look like, and also, over the last twenty years or so, an increasing willingness to use military force to cause the world to look the way we want it to look. That expression of American exceptionalism is not only utterly false, but is greatly at odds with our own interests as a country.

REP. ELLEN TAUSCHER
Defending Against the Real Threats huffingtonpost.com — Republicans in Congress, led by their presidential candidate John McCain, are attempting to show the world that they are capable of reacting swiftly to Russian saber-rattling. Unfortunately, they are once again doing so in a manner that reflects their complete misunderstanding of the threats the United States and our allies face.

MAX BLUMENTAL
Jerome Corsi's Long Strange Trip thenation.com — Corsi's success represents the apotheosis of a long, strange trip from the furthest shores of the right into the national spotlight.

KATHLEEN CONNELL
The Battered American Consumer csmonitor.com — Consumer spending is starting to play a lesser role in our economy, as households — even wealthy ones — downsize their lifestyles.

DEBORAH JAMES
Are We Nearing the End of the Corporate Globalization Era? alternet.org — The failure to expand the WTO shows that the ideology of "free trade" has lost its luster.

KAI WRIGHT
Fight AIDS at Home, Too progressive.org — This August will be remembered as a defining moment in America's history with AIDS — a time when we simultaneously realized our potential to impact the global epidemic and learned of our dramatic failure to control it at home.

MAGGIE MAHAR
Medical Tourism: The Big Picture healthbeatblog.org — In the end, medical tourism might reduce our national health care bill by 1 percent to 2 percent — not enough to solve our problem

Why T. Boone Pickens' 'Clean Energy' Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme

By Scott Thill, AlterNet

Environment: The controversial oil magnate has made headlines for a supposed conversion to cleaner energy, but there's ample reason to be suspicious.

I Spent Years as a POW with John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button

Phillip Butler, Military.com

Election 2008: A fellow Vietnam POW of McCain's warns of the candidate's "quick and explosive temper" and suggests McCain is exaggerating his imprisonment.


Is It Racist to Say Obama's Untested?

Patricia J. Williams, The Nation

Election 2008: Critiques of Barack Obama's suitability for the office of the presidency have been bookended by astonishingly contradictory stereotypes.


A Working Guide to That 'Other' Convention in Denver

Don Hazen, AlterNet

Election 2008: Progressive stars, celebs, activists and media are pushing the envelope for political relevance during the Democratic convention.

Big-Picture Power
Mark Schmitt
August 21, 2008
For a long time, progressives were very uncomfortable with power. To the extent that they had a theory of power, it was limited to the idea that when there was a public decision to be made -- an election, a ballot initiative, a piece of legislation -- someone should mobilize to affect the decision.

That's changing.

Barack Obama waves to the crowd in Lynchburg, Va., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The group blog of The American Prospect
Out of touch, out of mind[/color]
Posted at 9:49 a.m.



A respectable liberal blog
The aesthetics of withdrawal
Posted at 10:20 a.m.


Dean Baker's economic commentary
[color="#800000"]The good nanny Fed
Posted at 5:27 a.m.

The Meltdown Lowdown
Dean Baker
August 21, 2008 | web only
This week in economic news: Newsflash! Giving tax breaks to the rich doesn't create jobs, it looks like recession time, and more tales of dumb executives

The Generation Trap
Ann Friedman
August 20, 2008


Today's social-justice activists start with very different conditions than those that existed in the 1960s. The task for young activists now is to convince our peers that there's still a long road ahead, whereas in previous generations activists were convincing one another to start walking.

Obama's Lost Annenberg Years Coming to Light
Thomas Lifson
The cloak of media invisibility is slowly beginning to lift from Barack Obama's most important administrative leadership experience: helming an expensive educational reform effort in Chicago that failed. More

Tales From The 57 States: John Wins in Shaman Rick's House
Lee Cary
It came to pass in the eighth year of the third millennium that a long race decided who became Leader of the Realm of the Fifty-seven States. A position many called The Potus. More

Another Cohort of Kids Failed by Government Schools
Christopher Chantrill
Public schooling in too much of America has run down to mediocrity and worse. It's almost inevitable, and worse in some places than others. More

Obama campaign made another big mistake
August 21, 2008
The Obama campaign team had a week or two to get some traction with a VP pick before their convention, but for some reason they held off. More

Big Surprise: Late night comedians lay off Obama
August 21, 2008
Therer's nothing funny about blatant media bias. More

Polls, Polls, and more Polls - All say McCain gaining
August 21, 2008
You can tell how panicky some Democrats are getting because a few pundits are now openly calling for Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate. More

US-Iraq in Draft Accord on Withdrawal Timetable
August 21, 2008
The United States and Iraq have agreed on a draft timetable to withdraw troops first from cities and towns by next summer and then from the country as a whole by 2011: More

Rank hypocrisy from George Soros
August 21, 2008
Liberal financier and backer of far left groups like Moveon.org George Soros has been caught in one of those "Do as I say not as I do" moments. More

Obama to Immigrant South Asians in San Francisco: "I'm a homeboy"
August 21, 2008
For those of us who continue to be suspicious of what Barack Obama is not telling us about himself, those suspicions were heightened Sunday. More

Obama to Immigrant South Asians in San Francisco: "I'm a homeboy"
August 21, 2008
For those of us who continue to be suspicious of what Barack Obama is not telling us about himself, those suspicions were heightened Sunday. More

More on the Annenberg Challenge
August 21, 2008
The Chicago Annenberg Challenge, Barack Obama's only claim to administrative leaders ship (as covered today by Thomas Lifson), was evaluated by the esteemed Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and independent expert outside body. More

Obama juices the streets
August 21, 2008
It's called "street money" and it is a practice that most big city Democratic machines use to scare up votes on election day. More

Through Russian Eyes
August 21, 2008
What's considered a "disproportionate use of force?" Apparently, the Russian government thinks it knows More

Confessed Al-Qaeda terrorist registered to vote in Ohio
August 21, 2008
And he may get to vote -- legally. Unbvelievable! More

Obama's Swift Boat?
August 21, 2008
Jill Stanek could very well be Obama's Swift Boat Veteran. Her recounting of how Obama coldly disregarded her heartfelt testimony regarding the issue of these induced labor abortions and the horrifying consequences is chilling and available on YouTube. More

Bush Still in Like Flynn
Musharraf Out Like Nixon

It was as if Musharraf looked out the window and said, "It's a beautiful day. I think I'll resign and go fishing." Thus, the lead in Tuesday's editorial in the New York Times, once known as the newspaper of record: "In the end, President Pervez Musharraf went, if not quietly, with remarkably little strife."

Certain words seem to be automatically deleted from the computers of those writing for the Times. Atop the forbidden wordlist sits "impeachment." And other FCM—the Washington Post, for example—generally follow that lead, still.

Very few newspapers carried the Associated Press item that put the real story up front; i.e., that Musharraf resigned "just days ahead of almost certain impeachment." In other words, he pulled a Nixon.

How short our memories! Three articles of impeachment were approved by the House Judiciary Committee on July 27, 1974; Nixon resigned less than two weeks later. But what were those charges, and how do they relate to George W. Bush today? Among the charges were these:

-- Without lawful cause or excuse [Richard M. Nixon] "failed to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized subpoenas by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House…and willfully disobeyed such subpoenas…thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested in the Constitution in the House of Representatives."

-- "Endeavouring to cause prospective defendants…to expect favoured treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony."

-- "Endeavouring to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency."

The New John Conyers

Fortunately, John Conyers, who now chairs the House Judiciary Committee, was among those approving those three articles of impeachment. Unfortunately, he seems to have long- as well as short-term memory loss.

On subpoenas, he has let the Bush administration diddle him and the committee.

What about favored treatment and consideration in return for silence or false testimony? What did Conyers do when President George W. Bush commuted Libby's sentence, in a transparent, but successful, attempt to prevent Libby from squealing on his bosses?

Conyers moved manfully to do what he always does: he expressed "frustration," wrote a letter to the president, held a hearing, and then—nothing. This, despite special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's parting admonition, "There is a cloud over the vice president…And that cloud remains because the defendant [Libby] obstructed justice."

Misuse of the CIA

What about this serious charge? Here too Conyers' behavior has been nothing short of bizarre, even though he has been repeatedly briefed on how the Bush administration played games with intelligence to "justify" an unnecessary war.

If further proof of the misuse of intelligence were needed, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller provided it in early June, when he released the findings of his committee's exhaustive investigation of administration misrepresentations of pre-Iraq-war intelligence. Rockefeller summed it up succinctly:

"In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed."

Despite all this, Conyers has not ventured beyond flaccid rhetoric. White House minions no doubt poke fun at the talking-shirt-cum-fancy-tie to which Conyers has reduced himself. He has given them—and the rest of us—little reason to take him, or his committee, seriously.

But now…now with the wide attention drawn by the serious revelations in Ron Suskind's latest book regarding White House misuse of the CIA, John Conyers wants us to believe he is really serious this time. I'm sorry, but this conjures up the familiar image of Lucy setting up the football for another attempted kick by Charlie Brown.

On Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" on Aug. 14, Conyers said he was "the third day into the most critical investigation of the entire Bush administration." And in order to demonstrate his seriousness of purpose Conyers said, "We're starting our work, and then we're doing it in a period where Congress is in recess. I'm calling everybody back."

Many of those listening to Conyers assumed he meant Committee members. Not so. Others thought he must have meant key staff. Not so, either. There must be something in the water here in Washington that prevents people—even formerly honest people—from distinguishing between exaggeration and a lie.

As if to prepare us beforehand for still more timidity and ineptitude, Conyers rang changes on an all too familiar theme. He complained that he is "maybe the most frustrated person attempting to exercise the oversight responsibilities that I have on Judiciary"—a clear reference to how he has let himself be diddled by the White House…and an equally clear sign that he is likely to remain diddle-able.

If the Constitution Is Good Enough For Pakistan…

Tell us, John: if Pakistan can move forward to impeach a sitting president and force his resignation, why can't you? You must recall voting for those three articles of impeachment on that momentous day, July 27, 1974, and how on August 9 Nixon waved good-bye from his helicopter to the few remaining friends lined up on the White House lawn. You were proud to be part of the triumph of our Constitution in 1974. Is being chairman of Judiciary simply too demanding at your age—many years beyond what lawyers used to call the age of "statutory senility."

Without any apparent tongue in cheek, Tuesday's New York Times editorial pointed a sanctimonious finger at Musharraf's abuse of power, noting that "the presidency must also be stripped of the special dictatorial powers that Mr. Musharraf seized for himself, including the power to suspend civil liberties." The Times noted, "President Bush underwrote Mr. Musharraf's dictatorship, but it said nothing of the example Bush himself has set in such matters—including rigging elections, as Musharraf did.

It seems the height of irony that the relatively young and fragile democracy of Pakistan has been able to successfully exercise the power of impeachment inherited from the framers of the U.S. Constitution, while the constipated Conyers-captained congressional committee cannot.

Under Pakistan's constitution, the country has a bicameral legislature with 100 senators and over 300 representatives in the National Assembly. The president is head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. Sound familiar?

The difference is that, even though impeachment of a Pakistani president requires a two-thirds majority in the legislature, Pakistani lawmakers summoned the courage to check Musharraf's unconstitutional accretion of power by using their constitutional power to impeach. And, facing almost certain impeachment, Musharraf resigned.

In sorry contrast to your Pakistani counterparts, John, you have chickened out. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington, DC. He is on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He is a contributor to Imperial Crusades: Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair (Verso). He can be reached at: rrmcgovern@aol.com

The original version of this article appeared on Consortiumnews.com.

Nothing Worse Than Appearing Out of Touch - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post1

Obama's Lost Annenberg Years Coming to Light - Tom Lifson, Am. Thinkerhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/153418.html

Nothing is Decided in August - Amy Walter, National Journalhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/153299.html

Can Obama Be a Working-Class Hero? - Mike Murphy, Timehttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/153300.html

McCain Gets Hit Hard on Houses Gaffe - Jake Tapper, ABC News1

Did Obama Lie About Born Alive Bill? - Joel Mowbray, Washington Times116

McCain's Warped Worldview - Robert Scheer, San Francisco Chronicle85

The World Reacts to Russia - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics19

Russia, Georgia & The Death of 1989 - Paul Berman, The New Republichttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/153302.html

Which Candidate Would Be a Better Leader? - Andy Zelleke, RCP107

Stephanie Tubbs Jones: A Strong Woman - Howard Wolfson, Gotham Acme

Obama: In Need of a Game Changer - David Gergen, CNN2

It's Up to Obama to Erase the Doubt - Joan Vennochi, Boston Globehttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/152797.html

Conventions Need a Believable Script - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal1

Where's Obama's Passion? - Joe Klein, Timehttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/152819.html

Obama's Not Over the Hill(ary) Yet - Margery Eagan, Boston Heraldhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/152812.html

Voters Want Reassurance from Obama - David Broder, Washington Post24

Hillary's Hellions - Kirsten Powers, New York Posthttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/152799.html

Daley Says Shhh, Library Quiet on Obama - John Kass, Chicago Tribunehttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/152854.html

Obama Needs a Narrative - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix

The Race Turns Ugly. Expect It to Stay That Way - John Dickerson, Slate
'Yes We Can' Turns to 'Oops, We May Not' - Gerard Baker, Times of London
For Dems, the Worst of a Rough August is Over - E. J. Dionne, Indy Star
Are We at War, Senator Obama? - Jonathan Rauch, National Journal
Why McCain is Rising - Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
Why Obama Has to Get Mad to Win - James Carville, CNN
Swing State Review: Virginia - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
The Hill-Bill Show - John Heilemann, New York Magazine
Obama's Abortion Problem - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics
What Obama Can Learn From Gov. Bill Ritter - Ryan Lizza, New Yorker
Democrats Aim for a 60-Vote Senate - Kimberley Strassel, Wall St. Journal
The Shockingly Liberal Legacy of George W. Bush - Luiza Savage, Maclean's
The Bear Growls, NATO Meows - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
Oligarchs Could Be Russia's Best Bet - Chrystia Freeland, Financial Times
The End of The Fairy Tale - Ralph Peters, RealClearPolitics
Left Has Yet to Grasp the Eclipse of Socialism - Martin Kettle, Guardian
Petraeus Leaves Iraq, Not Letting Guard Down - Rod Nordland, Newsweek
RCP Blog: MI Poll: Obama +7 | AM Rpt / VP Watch: Waiting on Obama

Editorials
A Close Race Heading Into the Democratic Convention - The Economist
Exit Petraeus, Without Fanfare - Wall Street Journal
Sarkozy's Resolve Sets an Example - Globe and Mail
Mr. Ibrahim & the Bush Administration's Silence - Washington Post

Political News & Analysis
Obama Says He Has Chosen His No. 2 - Washington Post
Candidates' Attacks Hit Close to Homes - The Politico
Americans Less Gloomy on the Economy - Bloomberg
Text Hoaxes Plague Obama VP Plan - The Politico

Transcripts & Speeches


Roundtable on the Candidates & Abortion - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Mike Huckabee on "Hannity & Colmes" - Hannity & Colmes
Experts Discuss Poland Missile Deal - The NewsHour
President Bush Addresses VFW Convention - George W. Bush
Obama's Speech to the VFW Convention - Barack Obama

Best of the Blogs
Why the Home Debate Matters - Chris Cillizza, The Fix
Obama's Economics - Kevin Drum, Political Animal
The DNC's Anti-Semitism - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Why Maddow Matters - Ann Friedman, Tapped
McCain and Obama: A Tale of Two Platforms - Dan McLaughlin, RedState

The Last Republican

J. Gresham Machen on Imperialism, Militarism, and Conscription

Dark Side Details a War on American Ideals

In the Shadows of the War on Terror

The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

How Foreign Policy Affects Gas Prices: Ron Paul

US-Russian Relations in Downward Spiral: Eland

Another Famous Victory for Condi: Gordon Prather

Understanding Missile Defense Issues: Randal Mark

Georgia and the Push for Cold War: David Bromwich

Rockbama Plays Denver by Michelle Oddis Convention 2008: Democrats "Have a Dream" -- and maybe a smoke -- in Denver.

Obama Chooses Biden as Running Mate - Nagourney & Zeleny, NY Times
Biden's Experience is His Biggest Asset - Massimo Calabresi, Time
Blowhard Could Be Just What Obama Needs - Charles Hurt, New York Post
Experience Trumps Change for Obama - Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics
Clinton Backers Point to Obama 'Ego' - G. Thrush & A. Parnes, The Politico
Will Media Question the Obama Narrative? - Michael Barone, US News
Racism is the Only Reason McCain Might Win - Jacob Weisberg, Slate
The Overthinking Obama - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics
Less Poetry, More Clarity on the Issues - Edward Luce, Financial Times
The Art of Republican War - Michael Kinsley, Washington Post
The William Ayers Connection - Thomas Lifson, American Thinker
What Are Obama's Priorities? - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
Success in Iraq Confounds the Dems - Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard
Will Russia Force Rebirth of Realism? - Gregory Scoblete, RealClearWorld
History Is Still Ending - Francis Fukuyama, Washington Post
What to Do About Pakistan - Robert Tracinski, The Intellectual Activist
Confidence and Freedom - Senator Joseph Biden, The Atlantic (Sept. 2007)
RCP Blog: Hillary Responds / '08 Videos McCain Ad Uses Biden's Words

Editorials
Obama Picks Biden - The Economist
Countdown to Convention - Rocky Mountain News
Who Needs Russia? - Washington Post
Stevens Redefines Shameless - Boston Herald

Political News & Analysis
Candidates Aim Conventions at Key Voter Groups - Bloomberg
How Hawaii Shaped Obama - Washington Post
Billionaire Finances Ads Against Obama - New York Times
Dems Keep Up Pressure on McCain Housing Gaffe - The Hill

Transcripts & Speeches


Panel on McCain's "Houses" Comments - Special Report w/Brit Hume
Interview with Govs. Richardson & Jindal - Larry King Live
Jack Kemp & Geraldine Ferraro on VPs - Hannity & Colmes
Reporters on the Latest Campagin News - The NewsHour
Gov. Tim Kaine on "American Morning" - American Morning

Best of the Blogs
Inside the Democrat Convention Hall - Michelle Malkin
The "Misstatements" Of Cindy McCain - Alan Colmes, Liberaland
The Eye of the Storm? - Andrew Sullivan, Daily Dish
The Danger in Returning to September 10 - Andy McCarthy, The Corner
McCain's Properties - Ezra Klein, TAP

Obama Chooses Biden as Running Mate - Nagourney & Zeleny, NY Times1

Behind Obama's Bet on Biden - Massimo Calabresi, Timehttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155063.html

What Biden Brings to the Party - Howard Fineman, Newsweekhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155068.html

Blowhard Could Be Just What Obama Needs - Charles Hurt, New York Posthttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155074.html

Experience Trumps Change for Obama - Tom Bevan, RealClearPoliticshttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155092.html

Clinton Backers Point to Obama 'Ego' - G. Thrush & A. Parnes, The Politicohttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155081.html

Obama's Course Proving Hard To Map - Ron Brownstein, National Journalhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155064.html

The Chosen Obama Narrative - Michael Barone, US News & World Report24

Racism is the Only Reason McCain Might Win - Jacob Weisberg, Slate1

Tips for Obama: Less Poetry, More Clarity - Edward Luce, Financial Timeshttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155082.html

The Art of Republican War - Michael Kinsley, Washington Posthttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155076.html

The William Ayers Connection - Thomas Lifson, American Thinkerhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155083.html

What Rick Warren Really Thinks - Naomi Schaefer Riley, Wall St. Journalhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155077.html

What Are Obama's Priorities? - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call6

Success in Iraq Confounds the Democrats - Noemie Emery, Weekly Standardhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155100.html

Will Russia Force Rebirth of Realism? - Gregory Scoblete, RealClearWorldhttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155109.html

History Is Still Ending - Francis Fukuyama, Washington Posthttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/42323/155088.html

What to Do About Pakistan - Robert Tracinski, The Intellectual Activisthttp://comments.realclearpolitics.com/read/1/154242.html

Confidence and Freedom - Senator Joseph Biden, The Atlantic (Sept. 2007)

Who Lied About Iraq?
Randall Hoven
Do not believe that post-invasion intelligence invalidates our justification for using military force against Saddam's Iraq. The truth is the exact opposite. More

The Rainbow Candidate and the Plain Vanilla Veep
Bruce Walker
Has Bob Dole been secretly advising the Obama? More

Obama, Biden, Foreign Policy and the Catholic Vote
Kyle-Anne Shiver
Well, I must admit that over the course of the past 8 months, Barack Obama has given me quite a few What-in-the-world-is-he-thinking-? moments... More

The Chinese instrastructure Obama admires so much
August 24, 2008
Senator O recently told us how much he admired China's infrastructure -- based on those TV pics during the Olympics. More

3:00 AM Text Message: A slap at Hillary?
August 23, 2008
Did Obama twist the knife in Hillary's vitals just a bit with his early morning announcement? More

McCain veepstakes (updated)
August 23, 2008
Go here to see when Bobby Jindal is scheduled to speak at convention. Isn't that interesting? More

Obama-Biden: 'A bigger gamble for the Jewish Community' (updated)
August 23, 2008
As Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition explains, the addition of Joe Biden to the Democratic ticket should worry those who are concerned about American policy towards Iran: