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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Obama's Aide ProblemOnce again, a problem for the Obama campaign is blamed on a bad job by an underling: ABC News' Teddy Davis and Alexa Ainsworth Report: With the Supreme Court poised to rule on Washington, D.C.'s, gun ban, the Obama campaign is disavowing what it calls an "inartful" statement to the Chicago Tribune last year in which an unnamed aide characterized Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as believing that the DC ban was constitutional.
"That statement was obviously an inartful attempt to explain the Senator's consistent position," Obama spokesman Bill Burton tells ABC News. Yep, because we know that Obama's the artful dodger.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
What Can You Eat That's Blue?From the Democrats' planned festival in Denver: But Matt Burns, a spokesman for the Republican convention, looks on with undisguised glee at some of the Democrats' efforts -- such as the "lean 'n' green" catering guidelines.
Among them: No fried food. And, on the theory that nutritious food is more vibrant, each meal should include "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white." (Garnishes don't count.) At least 70% of ingredients should be organic or grown locally, to minimize emissions from fuel burned during transportation. "One would think," says Mr. Burns, "that the Democrats in Denver have bigger fish to bake -- they have ruled out frying already -- than mandating color-coordinated pretzel platters." Is there anything other than blueberries and jello?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
McCain's Core EdgeRichard Cohen hits the ball on the screws with this one: But here is the difference between McCain and Obama -- and Obama had better pay attention. McCain is a known commodity. It's not just that he's been around a long time and staked out positions antithetical to those of his Republican base. It's also -- and more important -- that we know his bottom line. As his North Vietnamese captors found out, there is only so far he will go, and then his pride or his sense of honor takes over. This -- not just his candor and nonstop verbosity on the Straight Talk Express -- is what commends him to so many journalists.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Joe Klein's InsanityCheck out this supposed McCain wish list for Veep: 1. Tom Ridge 2. Jeb Bush 3. Mel Martinez I doubt very much that Jeb Bush is on anybody's list. Martinez can't run, having been born in Cuba. And Klein concludes with this laugher: Update: As several commenters point out, this list is defective. Gotta figure that Zell Lieberman is at the tippy-top of McCain's wish list. All this talk of selecting a VP from the other party is nonsense, whether it's Lieberman for McCain or Hagel for Obama. It would be a huge mistake for either candidate to reach across the aisle. First, it sets up a situation where there is no heir apparent for the next go-round. Suppose McCain is elected with Lieberman as his VP. If McCain decides to step down in 2012 or is term-limited out in 2016, who's the Republican frontrunner? Nobody, because Lieberman is very unlikely to inherit his boss' mantle. This is exactly the situation that applied this time around, with Cheney unable to run because of his health problems.
World To End Tomorrow; Lesbians Suffer DisproportionatelyJeez, does this story fit the New York Times' bias perfectly? The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group.
While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women. Of course the Times doesn't think very hard about this. If a disproportionate number of women are getting discharged under "Dont Ask, Don't Tell" it must be (by definition) because a disproportionate number of them are telling. And indeed this amounts to a "get out of the service free" card as you'll note here: Over all, the number of gay men and lesbians discharged from the military in 2007 rose to 627 from 612 a year before, according to Pentagon statistics. Those figures represent a drop of about 50 percent from a peak in 2001, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So if you joined the Army because of the benefits and the training, and you discover a war is about to come, you simply "tell" and you get out of fighting. It's Corporal Klinger's dream come true. Labels: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
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