6/9: Friendly Fire

The Hotline's Blogometer takes the daily temperature of the blogosphere. For more information on the thinking behind this feature, go to the end of the story.

Some of the posts worth noting today involve some loyal partisans taking on the leaders of their own parties. Not necessarily shocking is the unease some lefty bloggers feel about DNC chair Howard Dean for his generalization of GOPers. That level of concern has now reached the point where some are already considering an exit strategy or wondering if Dean is intentionally trying to be forced out so he can run for the open Senate seat in VT. It should be noted that the longtime pro-Dean bloggers still support him and are even trying to use this opportunity to raise money.

A bit more surprising is Michelle Malkin's criticism for Pres. Bush. Some righty bloggers had already taken shots at the MSM for, in their view, misinterpreting Bush's comments about Gitmo during an interview with FNC's Cavuto. Malkin says the blame is squarely on the President's shoulder for any ambiguity.

Elsewhere, liberal bloggers are fired up by The Guardian's report on oil companies call the shots on environmental policy. Conservative bloggers are celebrating the confirmation of another Bush nominee. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has sparked a minor firestorm for implying that the "fraud" Iraq war rises to the level of a modern Holocaust. Several chime in on redevelopment plans in Lower Manhattan. And don't miss the latest blogger spotlight.

TRACKBACKS: Deaniacs

Where the blog swarm is headed, who's taking part, and what they're saying:

• Dean in general has both sides talking. Washington Post's, AP's and Boston Globe's reporting drives the story. Linking to at least one of the 3: Scared Monkeys, &c., Right Wing News, Pandagon, Gateway Pundit, Hugh Hewitt, Skippy the Hussein Kangaroo, Interesting Times, The Corner.
  
  

  >> Liberal "Atrios" at Eschaton: "[I]f you're a wee bit unhappy with the way the spoiled brat Dem insiders are behaving, go give Howard Dean a few bucks."
  

  >> Lefty "Billmon": "Is it time for the Dems to get something going in the bullpen? As much as I hate to say it, unless Dean can settle down and get off his gaffe-a-day treadmill, maybe it would be best if he hit the showers."



• The AP's report on the confirmation of Janice Rogers Brown to the DC Court of Appeals is linked, and most conservatives simply offer a "hooray for our side" remark. But a handful point out that the "compromise" isn't so bad, and the left continues to realize it may be. Linking: The Left Coaster, Outside The Beltway, Power Line, Southern Appeal, cut on the bias, The Decembrist, La Shawn Barber's Corner, The Volokh Conspiracy.
  

  >> Righty Scared Monkeys: "Now that she has been confirmed once by the Senate, it will be much easier if Judge Brown is nominated for the Supreme Court."
  

  >> The Sideshow: "Personally, I'm thinking the deal was, at best, a Trojan horse so that the GOP could get these unthinkable judges without having to really piss the public off by breaking Senate rules. The Democrats should probably have made them do it - it's not like there's really anything stopping them."



• Linking to The Guardian: Talking Points Memo, Arianna Huffington, NewsHog, Political AnimalThe Left Coaster, Chris C Mooney, Rep. Ed Markey, Skippy The Hussein Kangaroo.
  

  >> Lefty War and Piece sums it up for the swarm: "Another upsetting example -- with fingerprints on the documents -- of the Bush administration and comrade Dobriansky putting the interests of the American people beneath those of the energy industry to which they are so beholden."

DEAN: The Midnight Blue/Purple Divide

Lefty MyDD: "In less than 24 hours, the 'We've got Dean's back' DNC website received $660.16. Not bad, but we need to do more." A MyDD commenter calls Dems running from Dean "Fox Democrats."

Lefty Marc Cooper: "Dean's job and the Democrats' job, especially at a time when Bush's polls are heading into the potty, is to put forward a proactive alternative message that goes beyond Daily Kos and MoveOn readers being able to get their jollies. ... The mistake that Deaniacs make is to confuse an aggressive tone against the Republicans with an aggressive statement of what Democrats actually believe in. ... When he stepped into the 2004 presidential campaign he started saying the right thing at the right time and sounded to many like he was really something different. But more than out-of-the-box, Dean is looking more and more like he's just plain off-the-wall. Dean vowed to win back the red states for the Democrats. This is the way? In the end, I don't think it's going to matter very much. Dean will soon be gone."

The Mahablog: "Here's an outrageous idea--why don't the Dems actually get together and agree on a plan of attack, and who's going to say what, and then back each other up instead of picking each other off? Maybe if Dean goes overboard, it's because he's carrying the burden of attack by himself."

National Review's K.J. Lopez: "And this is how Howard Dean is helpful to Democrats -- folks like [Sen.] Barack Obama can position themselves as the sane wing of the party."

BUSH: "W. Stands For Waffle"

Righty Michelle Malkin, on Bush's FNC interview: "Some Bush supporters will blame the liberal media for misinterpreting his ambiguous remarks. Puh-lease. There is only one person to blame for serving up this messy waffle. If W. doesn't want to create the perception of capitulating to the Gitmo mau-mau-ers, Islamists, and Jimmy Carter juggernaut, there's an easy way to do it. Mr. President: The next time you are asked whether Gitmo should be shut down because Jimmy Carter is whining, just say--and this is short enough to write on your palm if you need a reminder--'No.'"

JUDGES: Worth A Second Look?

Righty Pejman Yousefzadeh: "Does the fact that Democrats now seem to be bemoaning The Deal necessarily make The Deal a good one? No. ... But before it blows up, we will have seen between five to seven jurists confirmed by the Senate. And if the 'extraordinary circumstances' clause is being (rightfully) defined narrowly in the press, it may be far easier to defeat future filibusters than it was prior to The Deal." More: "This is not to say that ... we should suddenly become sanguine and cheerful about the prospect of Bill Frist as Majority Leader. ... But it just might be that both he and Senate Republicans in general are in a stronger position regarding the issue of judicial filibusters than many initially believed."

RANGEL: Strong Words

Rangel, in an interview with Steve Malzberg, on Iraq: "This is just as bad as six million Jews being killed. The whole world knew it and they were quiet about it, because it wasn't their ox that was being gored." Asked to clarify his comparison: "I am saying that people's silence when they know terrible things are happening is the same thing as the Holocaust, where everyone would have me believe that no one knew those Jews were killed over there."

Conservative Lori Byrd at PoliPundit: "I am not shocked by the Holocaust comparison one bit. After all, Hitler was responsible for the Holocaust and Democrats have been comparing Bush to Hitler for years now. They just haven't been quite this specific before this."

BLOGGERS VS. THE MSM: Ace, Get Your Gun

Ace of Spaces HQ cites a report that violent crime is down since the assault weapons ban expired: "I talk a lot about media bias here. Too much, some people say. And sometimes I think it's too much too. But the institution charged with reporting important information to us -- information useful for making political decisions -- simply refuses to relay facts like these to us."

Seeing the media bias turn the other way, Oliver Willis notes Bush's falling poll numbers on Iraq and asks [entirely in bold face in original post]: "When will the media stop being so deferential to this man and his acolytes and start aggressively questioning why the hell he's taking our nation in a direction we don't want to go?"

CJR Daily enjoys CNN's 1-hour feed of CNN international. Even a promo ad during the feed "contained more hard news than the five minutes of 'CNN Live Today' that followed."

IN THE STATES: Swamped

Jeff Jarvis notes that the NJ GOV race will be millionaire versus millionaire. When you also have a "rich guy mayor" (we assume he's referring to NYC's Bloomberg), Jarvis concludes: "The system is leading us to a point where the rich guys spending their own bucks will be taking over every office they can afford. There's something so... so... colonial English about that. Finance reform is not the answer, clearly; it is taking power away from the people and giving it to the powerful. We need to fix that (again) and at least shorten the length of campaigns so there's less time to spend all that wealth."

Alexander McClure's "inside scoop" on NJ GOV: "Even those Republicans who did not support or were lukewarm about ['02 SEN nominee] Doug Forrester's candidacy for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination in New Jersey seem bullish about the businessman's ability to pull an upset in the fall."

Swing State Project seems to like NE.

MISCELLANY: Lest We Forget

Jeff Jarvis: "The great tragedy of 9/11 is almost three years gone and still the hole stares at us because we are too political and incompetent to fill it and, worse, we are allowing the innocents and heroes of that day to be used to fulfill political agenda." He discusses reports that the International Freedom Center being planned for the site "is practically being turned into what Bill Maher has wanted: a Why They Hate Us Pavillion. ... On my grave, please do not build a memorial to the mistakes of my neighbors and ancestors. Don't stand on the grass above me and flagellate. Just let me lie there in peace, please." Also discussing the subject: Wizbang, Michelle Malkin

Charles Bird writes gives a detailed look of Amnesty International at RedState, then asks: "Should conservatives beat 'em by joining 'em? To me, the answer is yes, and that's why I joined Amnesty International today. That's right. I am now a member in good standing. The executive director of Amnesty International USA, William Schulz, sent me a nice and friendly e-mail thanking me for joining his group and for providing financial support."

Secular Blasphemy introduces us to a "peace goat."

BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: The Power Line And The Glory

Today the blogometer talks to righty Scott "Big Trunk" Johnson, one of three contributors to Power Line.

What is your full name?

Scott Wynn Johnson

What is your age?

54

Where did you grow up?

St. Paul, MN

Where do you live now?

St. Paul, MN

What is your occupation? Have you ever worked on a political campaign or for the mainstream media?

I have been a full-time practicing attorney for 26 years.

When did you start blogging and why?

Three years ago over the Memorial Day weekend. I started blogging on the invitation of my long time writing partner, law partner and friend John Hinderaker when he first set up Power Line on Blogger.

What has been your favorite post, or favorite story to write about, in that time?

Writing about the 60 Minutes II story on President Bush's Air National Guard service on the morning of September 9 changed my life, but my favorite posts have been devoted to exploring American popular music. One of my favorites is about the song "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" because it combined my interests in music and literature in what I hope was an entertaining way.

Describe your typical blogging schedule. And what is your average output?

I try to read and write from 5:00 to 7:00 am every day and to post two or three items that have something of interest for readers who check us each day.

Who is your favorite political blogger? Favorite non-political blogger?

Favorite political blogger: Excluding my colleagues John Hinderaker and Paul Mirengoff, I think I would have to say Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs and Jay Nordlinger via his online Impromptus column at National Review Online. Favorite non-political blogger: Roger Kimball of Armavirumque.

Who is your favorite mainstream media columnist?

Michael Barone and Charles Krauthammer.

What is your favorite television news program, either network or cable?

"Special Report with Brit Hume" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

What MSM-produced websites (i.e. newspapers, magazines) do you visit on a daily basis?

Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Weekly Standard, National Review.

What non-MSM websites (i.e. blogs) do you visit on a daily basis?

Hugh Hewitt, Little Green Footballs, Instapundit, Roger L. Simon, No Left Turns, Michelle Malkin, Lucianne, Drudge, Claremont Institute.

How often, or do you ever, read a newspaper in its dead-tree (i.e. print) form?

I read the Wall Street Journal in hard copy on weekdays and the New York Times on the weekends.

How do you see the new media and old media affecting and influencing each other in the next five years?

I would like to think that the new media will have a chastening, constructive and positive effect on the quality of the old media. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Inspired, lefty "Atrios" thinks he's figured out what conservatives remind him of: "[P]eople I've known who are in the breakup stages of an emotionally abusive relationship. In those final moments, post breakup, they convince themselves that this person ... who they've been fighting with for months or more is the most wonderful perfect human being on the planet and they feel the deepest and truest love for them that could ever be felt by anyone. In the middle of the trauma of a rough breakup it's easier to seize on that than the alternative (truth) - that you just wasted a few years with a truly awful awful person."

LEST WE FORGET: Things Could Be Worse

Eugene Volokh sees a quote from new French PM Dominque de Villepin that starts: "Let us stop drinking from the enchanted waters of Letheand ..." and is glad not to be French. "In fact, maybe that should be our reaction any time President Bush is mocked for misspeaking: 'Hey, at least it's not 'Let us stop drinking from the enchanted waters of Lethe ...''"