Friday, October 24, 2008

24 Oct 2008 03:35 pm

Face Of The Day

One-year-old Mason Hook is held by his mother Suzie Fetterman after being presented with the American flag during a burial service for his father, Spc. Michael Hook, at Arlington National Cemetery October 24, 2008 in Arlington, Virginia. The group burial was held for 14 U.S. soldiers who died Aug. 22 in Multaka, Iraq, from injuries sustained when their helicopter crashed. Soldiers killed in the crash were Specialist Rickey L. Bell, Corporal Jeremy P. Bouffard, Corporal Phillip J. Brodnick, Captain Derek A. Dobogai, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Paul J. Flynn, Corporal Joshua S. Harmon, Specialist Michael A. Hook, Corporal Nathan A. Hubbard, Sergeant Garrett I. McLead, Staff Sergeant Jason L. Paton, Corporal Jessy G. Pollard, Specialist Tyler R. Seideman, Sergeant Matthew L. Tallman, and Captain Corry P. Tyler, United States Army. By Win McNamee/Getty.

24 Oct 2008 03:15 pm

Dissent Of The Day

A reader writes:

When you compare Jorg Haider to figures like Larry Craig, Ted Haggard etc. you overlook one important aspect: While Haider was a populist who relentlessly polemicised against almost every minority, he never, ever appealed to homophobia. That he was gay or at least bisexual was an open secret among Austrian journalists, but since he was not a bigod in that respect, his sexual orientation was regarded as a private matter - rightly in my book.

For me, Haider was a vile figure (although calling him a neo-fascist is a bit of a stretch), but this aspect of his life was beyond reproach. That he stayed (at least for the public at large) in the closet is regrettable, but in the end not my (or anybody's) business.

24 Oct 2008 02:49 pm

Sarah Palin's Bush-Level Cronyism

Palin takes care of her peeps:

* More than 100 appointments to state posts - nearly 1 in 4 - went to campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications.

* Palin filled 16 state offices with appointees from families that donated $2,000 to $5,600 and were among her top political patrons.

* Several of Palin's leading campaign donors received state-subsidized industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures of questionable public value.

You want another Michael Brown? Vote McCain-Palin. (Hat tip: Matt)

24 Oct 2008 02:32 pm

Sleepy Gays?

A reader writes:

I'm a straight man but I've done more campaigning with my straight friends than I have with my gay friends on this issue. Even around my office in San Francisco, the most vocal and active supporters of NO on 8 are straight. Several of our gay co-workers seem resigned to defeat, and that includes a gay co-worker who just got married to her girlfriend. It's pretty troubling, honestly.

On the other hand:

Continue reading "Sleepy Gays?" »

24 Oct 2008 02:26 pm

Palin-Bachmann 2012!

Yes, Commentary goes there. May the last thinking conservative turn the lights off?

24 Oct 2008 02:11 pm

Tearing The LDS Church Apart

The unprecedented decision by the Mormon leadership to enter politics in California and fuse themselves with the Christianist coalition is splitting the LDS church apart, according to the Salt Lake Tribune:

"The internal cost will consist of ruptured relationships between and among LDS members of opposing positions, sometimes by friends of long standing and equally strong records of church activity," [LDS sociologist and Proposition 8 supporter Armand] Mauss said. "In some cases, it will result in disaffection and disaffiliation from the church because of the ways in which their dissent has been handled by local leaders."

Robert Rees, a former LDS bishop in California, says he has not witnessed this much divisiveness in the church over a political issue in the last 50 years.

One woman is reduced to tears:

Continue reading "Tearing The LDS Church Apart" »

24 Oct 2008 01:47 pm

Joe The Mugger Update Update

A hoax. She confesses, according to the cops. One should recall Fox news executive vice-president John Moody's statement:

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

All those who reported or linked to this without some skepticism were race-baiting. But Michelle Malkin deserves kudos for calling this. One more thing about John Moody's remarkable blog posting.

Continue reading "Joe The Mugger Update Update" »

24 Oct 2008 01:35 pm

Obamacon Watch

The trickle becomes a flood. Cass Sunstein reports:

Charles Fried, a professor at Harvard Law School, has long been one of the most important conservative thinkers in the United States. Under President Reagan, he served, with great distinction, as Solicitor General of the United States. Since then, he has been prominently associated with several Republican leaders and candidates, most recently John McCain, for whom he expressed his enthusiastic support in January.

This week, Fried announced that he has voted for Obama-Biden by absentee ballot.

Continue reading "Obamacon Watch" »

24 Oct 2008 01:34 pm

Obama's Ad Buy

Obama gets ad space on the side of McCain's bus.

24 Oct 2008 01:31 pm

Joe The Mugger Update

We have a looming polygraph test and the following new detail:

She told police the assailant sat on her chest and pinned her hands down with his knees. So much for all those thinking the attacker was upside-down with her head between his knees.

Malkin may be crazy but she isn't stupid. One question I have: why "B"? I don't mean the wrong way round, I mean the letter itself. The Obama campaign is all about the "O" not the "B". Or is "B" supposed to mean "Black" as well as "Barack?" The ATM camera has not shown her, according to the cops. Drudge has also added one minor question mark to the story.

24 Oct 2008 01:28 pm

Reality Check

Georgia, where a new poll shows a toss-up:

24 Oct 2008 01:20 pm

The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XX: The Clothes Still On The Airplane

In case you missed the latest, it's here. A reader notes:

If a substantial number of the garments purchased for her at Saks and Neiman-Marcus have gone unworn and are still sitting in boxes on an airplane, why not return them for full value?  The one thing you do get in exchange for the extraordinary markups imposed by those retailers is a virtually no-questions-asked return policy.  If the clothes are in good condition either because Sarah never tried them on or because she tried them on briefly but did not then wear them, the RNC can get a nice chunk of change as a refund.

Somehow, I think the evidence that many of the clothes have stayed on the airplane will be as forthcoming as those medical records.

24 Oct 2008 01:06 pm

Taking Back The Campaign Nominee

Pure genius:

24 Oct 2008 12:50 pm

Covering Themselves In Glory

Jon Swift takes a brilliant and very detailed look at the performance of the Republican blogosphere in this election. Since I don't read all the true kooks out there, I was unaware of most of it. But you won't forget it. Here's the must-read post. It all leads up to this:

For weeks Ace of Spades has been working on a super-secret story about Obama, which "called Obama a straight-up liar on his supposed 'flimsy' relationship with The Terrorist William Ayers" and finally connected all the dots, linking Obama and Bill Ayers, Acorn, Tony Reszko, Charles Manson, the Chicago mob, the Illuminati, Freemasons, the Trilateral Commission, Jewish bankers, Nazis living in South America, Fidel Castro, the KGB, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Bigfoot, Area 51, the Harlem Globetrotters, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Bermuda Triangle, Mrs. Calabash and Mr. Gorsky.

No Trig?

24 Oct 2008 12:45 pm

That Lipstick On The Pitbull?

Turns out you need a real professional to put it on right. Well: they move around a lot.

24 Oct 2008 12:43 pm

"Embarrassing And Outrageous"

I've never come across an editor actually calling a piece she has published "embarrassing and outrageous". But that's what Kathryn-Jean Lopez just called a column by Kathleen Parker. And Lopez engages in the ultimate blog-snub: she won't even link to a piece on her own site! The Corner doesn't just ostracize those outside their orbit (they have had a policy of not linking to this blog for quite a while), they are now ostracizing writers in their own pages!

Kathleen, of course, makes the point that is now undeniable. Of course, McCain partly picked Palin because of her looks. And, of course, a large part of Palin's appeal to white older Republican men is sex. I mean, K-Lo's own site has published virtual orgasms from male writers about Palin. Rich Lowry's "little starbursts"? "Coldest State. Hottest Candidate" posters? Charles Murray's declaration of falling in love at first sight?

There have been plenty of embarrassing and outrageous things published in National Review about Sarah Palin. But Kathleen Parker's column isn't one of them.

24 Oct 2008 12:31 pm

Anti-Americans Get A Vote

A new poll shows Rep. Michelle Bachmann's seat may be in danger. Can't they parachute Ann Coulter in?

24 Oct 2008 12:14 pm

Obamacon Watch

The great libertarian former governor of Massachusetts:

William Weld said he's never endorsed a Democrat for president before, but in the last six weeks or so, it became "close to a no-brainer." Obama has a history of bringing Democrats, Republicans and independents together and is the best choice at a time when America's standing in the world is at a low point, he said.

"It's not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that's a product of his equally deep intelligence," he said in a phone interview.

24 Oct 2008 12:12 pm

McCain = Gore?

The new spin. Not so much.

24 Oct 2008 12:11 pm

Where The Race Stands

Mark Blumenthal studies yesterday's polling:

Today's results may represent a momentary high water mark, given some of the surprisingly positive results for Obama released yesterday, but it's worth taking note of Obama's current dominance on the electoral map. Our strong Obama classification (typically involving leads of eight points or more) now accounts for 268 electoral votes, just two short of the 270 needed to win. We show another four states, representing 38 more electoral votes, in lean the lean Obama column, for a total of 306. And Obama has a nominal lead in five of the remaining seven states classified as "toss-ups."

24 Oct 2008 11:48 am

Quote For The Day

"I do not want to live forever. Not in this place, not in this life, which is only a preparation for the life to come. Over a lifetime of autumns embraced and understood, we soften, we ripen, we mature, we are made ready for the harvest — and invited by wisdom to delight in the fullness of nature — and, if we have lived wisely and loved well, in the fullness of our own natures. Rilke's prayer in "Autumn Day":

Some people find autumn doleful, because the numinous awareness it brings of the truth of the human condition — of our longing for the eternal within the limits of the temporal — makes them sad. But then again, some people can't tolerate stories without a happy ending. For those who find comfort in wisdom and rest in finitude, autumn is the most philosophically consoling time of the year," - Rod Dreher.

James Wood treats the same subject in another brilliant little review here.

(Photo: Peter McDiarmid/Getty.)

24 Oct 2008 11:34 am

The Kaus Four-Year Election Double-Back Flip

A classic:

To be sure: I don't think the Ayers and ACORN attacks should be especially effective. I doubt they are especially effective. But poll numbers like this don't tell us one way or another. They're manufactured news designed to give the impression that lines of attack the MSM doesn't want to work aren't in fact working.

Just endorse someone, Mickey, and get it over with. Or not endorse, then half-endorse, or decide what others might think you would endorse and then half-bluff their bluff only to decide that you're for Obama if the Dems look like they might get more than 60 and then pull back if on Monday that may not look likely or decide later that the anti-anti-cool thing is to semi-half-retroactively endorse the half of the Dems you liked yesterday but can't bring yourself to support tomorrow. And hang in.

24 Oct 2008 11:15 am

Now, Threats To Businesses

Classy people in the new religious popular front:

"Make a donation of a like amount to ProtectMarriage.com which will help us correct this error," reads the letter. "Were you to elect not to donate comparably, it would be a clear indication that you are in opposition to traditional marriage. ... The names of any companies and organizations that choose not to donate in like manner to ProtectMarriage.com but have given to Equality California will be published."

24 Oct 2008 11:04 am

So You Think You Can Be Vice-President?

The Palin story has now nuked the shark:

Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?

Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staff member. It was Amy Strozzi, who was identified by the Washington Post this week as Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records.

Okay: $11,400 a week to do her make-up? And they were complaining about the Newsweek cover? This is no hockey mom. She's America's Next Top Super Model!

24 Oct 2008 10:50 am

The View From Your Window

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 3.43 pm.

24 Oct 2008 10:41 am

"Fair And Balanced"

How does the media cover a race that is in fact one-sided? Do we strive to be even-handed even when we know one side is worse and losing? Or do we just call it as we see it? Marc Ambinder is a reporter and an extremely fair one, in my judgment. I'm a biased opinion blogger, but try to air points that disagree with me when I need to. So we come from different places and the pressure on Ambers to be balanced it greater than on me. Anyway, the debate over journalism in the era of hyper-partisanship and the web is red-hot right now. So the two of us talked it over. Bonus: I say what I really feel about McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as a potential president. Heh:

24 Oct 2008 10:36 am

A Proud Virginian

A reader writes:

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and went to a private school there.  My family has lived in the area for hundreds of years, dating back to the Revolutionary War. I'm white, and the only black people I saw growing up were maids, and the cafeteria workers at school, and a handful of black girls on scholarship from Harlem.  My mother had a black male friend, and it seemed like a family scandal.

The Country Club of Virginia, a few blocks away, would not allow black members, and did not allow Arthur Ashe to play tennis there.  A black artist spoke at one of our school assemblies, and a student later got up in blackface and mocked him.  When I lived there until 1988, Richmond was a weird segregated, place.  White people simply did not go to black neighborhoods - ever. 

Now I live in Washington Heights (Inwood) so I'm used to being in the minority - but even if I went down to the neighborhood around the Richmond Coliseum today, I'd feel out of place. I'm not 90 years old - I'm 37. I can't tell you how it makes me feel to see that rally with the Richmond Coliseum in the background.  It isn't just happy, or relieved, or excited, it's overwhelmed.  It makes me feel faint with joy.  I thought the day would never come.

It's here.

24 Oct 2008 10:25 am

Real Conservatives Admit Their Mistakes

“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms. I have found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I have been very distressed by that fact,” - Alan Greenspan, testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

24 Oct 2008 10:18 am

The Comments Issue

There are a lot of new Dish readers right now and I am getting more and more emails like this one:

Why is there not a comments option on your entries? Wait, scratch that, I have seen comments sections before and know how they can get. But maybe some policing or something? Dammit man, your readers are intelligent and deserve to talk with each other!

I've debated this on and off for years, but gave the readers the choice earlier this year. They voted overwhelmingly to keep the Dish comment-free. Maybe I'll have another poll in a few months. My general views about blogging and reader interaction are in my new essay, "Why I Blog." I find reading your emails, and editing them and posting them is a more civilized way of airing debate.

24 Oct 2008 10:08 am

A Global Pivot?

Nicholas Kristof sees what I saw in Obama last fall:

We’re beginning to get a sense of how Barack Obama’s political success could change global perceptions of the United States, redefining the American “brand” to be less about Guantánamo and more about equality. This change in perceptions would help rebuild American political capital in the way that the Marshall Plan did in the 1950s or that John Kennedy’s presidency did in the early 1960s...A 22-nation survey by the BBC found that voters abroad preferred Mr. Obama to Mr. McCain in every single country — by four to one over all. Nearly half of those in the BBC poll said that the election of Mr. Obama, an African-American, would “fundamentally change” their perceptions of the United States. Europe is particularly intoxicated by the possibility of restoring amity with America in an Obama presidency. As The Economist put it: “Across the Continent, Bush hatred has been replaced by Obama-mania.”

24 Oct 2008 09:46 am

The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XX: The Clothes, The Clothes

It might appear to you and me as if the factual basis for the $150,000 luxury Neiman Marcus clothing budget is solid. But that would be missing Sarah Palin's ability to deny reality:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are."

"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are.

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," said Palin, saying the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. Still, she has been wearing pricey clothes at campaign events this fall. She said they will be given back, auctioned off or sent to charity. Most of them, she said, haven't even left the belly of her campaign plane.

What facts exactly have not been reported? Is she saying she has not worn the clothes?

Continue reading "The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XX: The Clothes, The Clothes" »

24 Oct 2008 09:16 am

Winning The American Center

Obama's strength is now clear: his temperament and the legacy of Bush has brought many small-c conservatives into his camp:

“I’ve always been a Republican, but I’ve switched in the last four years,” said Helen Taylor, 63, of Los Fresnos, Tex., in a follow-up interview. “I voted for Bush because I knew more about him than Kerry, and I stuck with the Republican stance on things at that time. But I became concerned about things Bush was doing, and now I’m more in line with the Democratic platform. I also like Barack Obama because he has intelligence and class and the ability to think on his feet.”

I've felt this way for almost two years. And what's left of the right has become so shrill, so theologically rigid, so culturally afraid that they have become a shell of what self-confident, future-oriented conservatives should be. The right will recover from Bush. But Rove has succeeded beyond measure in creating a durable majority: for the Democrats.

24 Oct 2008 08:45 am

Goldberg-Bait

The TSA is on the case. (And I mean Jeffrey, not Jonah.)

24 Oct 2008 08:40 am

The Fruits Of The New Socialism

George Will:

The almost erotic pleasure of spending money that others have earned and saved is one reason people put up with the tiresome aspects of political life. And now the government's response to the financial crisis, including the semi-nationalization of nine major banks, has blurred -- indeed, almost erased -- the distinction between public and private sectors.

Continue reading "The Fruits Of The New Socialism" »

24 Oct 2008 08:15 am

Black Turnout

Obama skeptic Glenn Loury is amazed.

24 Oct 2008 07:52 am

The Power Of Nellies

Via Dan Savage, a new study on the genetics of homosexuality:

In a paper to be published soon in Evolution and Human Behavior, they suggest the advantage accrues not to relatives of the opposite sex, but to those of the same one. They think that genes which cause men to be more feminine in appearance, outlook and behaviour and those that make women more masculine in those attributes, confer reproductive advantages as long as they do not push the individual possessing them all the way to homosexuality…

Continue reading "The Power Of Nellies" »

24 Oct 2008 07:38 am

The Starbursts Will Dim

Anonymous Liberal doesn't think Palin has a shot at '12:

I'm not at all convinced. While there's little doubt that Palin is very popular in certain GOP circles, her fan club is artificially inflated right now and her pool of conservative detractors is artificially small. There are a number of conservatives who are holding their tongues right now because they don't want to further damage John McCain's chances. If McCain loses, the GOP will quickly descend into recriminations mode. Many conservatives who have been holding back thus far will unload their frustrations about Palin.

Ross imagines that she could win the primary but not the White House. I think she's a Wonderbread loaf, now very well-toasted.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

23 Oct 2008 11:19 pm

The Nephew And The Sister

A momentary lapse into realness from Sarah Palin:

"Yeah, and personalizing this also, my sister, Heather and I have talked a lot about this. It kind of makes me cry thinking about it. When Karcher was first diagnosed, Heather knew that for Heather and Kurt, her son Karcher was going to be her life. She's kind of put her career aside - she still works full time - she's kind of put career aside so she can nurture and teach and help Karcher. But she has asked to, I remember she asked with tears in her eyes, she says, what happens when Kurt and I, though, are elderly, then what happens to Karcher?"

A fascinating and moving insight. The full and true story of Sarah Palin's family has yet to be told. Perhaps it never will.

23 Oct 2008 10:54 pm

Polls, Polls

If you read Drudge, you might believe that there's a one-point gap between Obama and McCain, and it's neck and neck in the final stretch. If you read 538, you find that McCain's chances of winning this election just shrank dramatically to 3.7 percent from 6.5 percent yesterday. The beauty of the web is that every take has a chance. And the beauty of democracy is that you get to have the final say.

23 Oct 2008 10:35 pm

Face Of The Day

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan listens to testimony during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill October 23, 2008 in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony on the roles and responsibilities of federal regulators in the current financial crisis. By Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

23 Oct 2008 08:39 pm

Spot Decisions

Obama talks to Joe Klein about Wright and the Philadelphia speech on race:

Obama: Well, during the course of this campaign probably our response to those Reverend Wright videos had to be a spot decision, because frankly it was unanticipated and I hadn’t seen those incendiary videos before. The decision to make it big as opposed to make it small.

Joe The Journalist: To make the [Philadelphia] speech.

Continue reading "Spot Decisions" »

23 Oct 2008 07:38 pm

Happy Halloween

By Sage Stossel.

23 Oct 2008 07:34 pm

Obamacon Watch

Now: Scott McClellan! Money quote:

"From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping."

They really shouldn't have made him lie for them.

23 Oct 2008 07:32 pm

Joe The Mugger?

Drudge is hyping this story to the rafters (he must have run out of outlier polls), but Malkin is skeptical. So is TSG. And TMZ. And Wonkette. I have no idea, and hope the woman gets some medical attention for her wounds. Occasional acts of violence with political ramifications will occur on both sides, I'm afraid. It seems to me that we should try and calm this stuff down a little in coverage, rather than ratchet it up. A reader adds:

If you were being mugged and attacked by a big old angry man, would you be still enough for him to neatly scratch a "B" into the center of your cheek? Also, the "B" is backwards. It would look correct in the mirror if you were to scratch it into your own face. This is a sad story.

I have no idea. But it's no less credible than Drudge's latest poll shock.

23 Oct 2008 07:21 pm

The Long Slide Of The Conservative Intelligentsia

National Review has become something of a joke; The Weekly Standard is edited by Bill Kristol, whose reputation as a thinker, as opposed to a shill and apparatchik, is now over; AEI hosts a war criminal; and Commentary, edited by JPod, is reduced to this. Thank God for Culture 11.

23 Oct 2008 07:13 pm

Taking Back The Campaign Nominee

From Russia - a song for Sarah. "I want to fly into your airspace!"

23 Oct 2008 07:03 pm

Richmond, Virginia

Those who cannot see what is now happening in this country will see it soon enough.

23 Oct 2008 06:59 pm

Circling The Drain

A reader writes:

Every day the Corner seems to grow more and more unhinged and disconnected from reality. Today the most important "stories" there are:  1)  whether Sen. Obama has sufficiently "proved" that he is a natural born citizen (apparently some flake somewhere has sued and claimed he's not, which is enough for those guys); 2)  the Drudge-driven alleged "mutilation" of a McCain supporter in Pittsburgh and 3) A proposed plan to falsely make contributions to Obama's campaign in the name of Ayers and Wright and then publicize it.   

Seriously!  Anyone who doubts the complete and total bankruptcy of the official conservative movement doesn't need to look any further than the Corner.

WFB, RIP. But these things have cycles. At least we may be near the bottom of this one.

23 Oct 2008 06:37 pm

The GOP Careens On

Not looking good:

One well-connected Republican operative told Politico that the list, if anything, understated the number of members needing a political lifeline. The operative also said the GOP is all but writing off the seats of Reps. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich.), Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Phil English (R-Pa.), and the open New Mexico House seat of retiring Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), who is running for the Senate.

23 Oct 2008 06:36 pm

Blackmail Letters

Sent to No on 8 contributors by the Yes On 8 Campaign. Classy.