December 12, 2005

12/12: Bob & Viv

In today's edition: Viveca Novak spills the beans; on the verge of parliamentary elections, Iraq is truly a Rohrschach test; are the Sunni insurgents about to turn on Zarqawi?; should Pres. Bush thank the Dems for his slight rebound in the polls?; the left-blogosphere keeps the heat on SCOTUS nominee Samuel Alito, and the OH Legis. as well; a death penalty case that brings the left and right together; are conservative blogs really "more effective"?; plus, the unlikeliest paired obituaries you'll ever see.

PLAMEGATE: Do Plameologists Believe In The Multiverse?

Time's V. Novak describes how she accidentally informed atty Robert Luskin that his client, Karl Rove, might have been a source on Valerie Plame's identity for her Time colleague, Matt Cooper. She notes that Luskin "is unhappy that I decided to write about our conversation," but so too is she unhappy that Luskin disclosed their conversation to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Time notes that Novak is now on leave, "by mutual agreement."

Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher doesn't see how this could be helpful for Rove, and doesn't quite get how Novak missed an earlier Luskin meeting over an a.m./p.m. mixup: "However Fitz has learned about the March conversation, it clearly didn't come from Vivak -- who can't search her Covey planner for anything that occurs before 8 am. Are people in DC just naturally document challenged?" Running through multiple scenarios, she concludes, "my money is on Fitz not buying" the idea that Rove only remembered his Cooper conversation thanks to Novak, "at least on this first pass, and I look for more grand jury activity in the weeks to come. Fitz wouldn't have brought them back for just a social visit." First Draft's Holden has another problem with it.

Liberal Needlenose thinks Luskin has "torched Novak's career" with Time by revealing to Fitzgerald their conversations, and photoshops an amusing Windows XP error window satirizing the situation. Daily Kos diarist Pontificator writes, "it certainly doesn't reflect too well on her. In fact, it is somewhat painful to read, as Ms. Novak recounts the many irresponsible things she did in this matter that she wishes she hadn't done."

Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum recalls an 11/28 report by sometimes unreliable Raw Story, which had Fitzgerald re-interviewing ex-Rove asst. Susan Ralston about testimony "that Rove instructed her not to log a phone call" he had with Time's Matt Cooper in 7/03. Writes Drum: "I don't know if Raw Story has this right, but if they do then Patrick Fitzgerald probably isn't very impressed by Luskin's intensive search."

Righty Tom Maguire allows it to stand as an "alternative theory," and asks an MSM question: "[A]re Mr. Woodward and Ms. Novak the only two reporters in Washington who don't talk to their editors about every little (and not so little) thing? Or is keeping the boss in the dark a much more common journalistic practice than the hand-wringing about Woodward might have suggested?" Jeralyn Merritt thinks it might fly: "If Karl Rove doesn't get indicted for perjury, it will be because of Viveca Novak." Novak friend David Corn writes that Novak should have told her editors sooner, and offers a mixed assessment of Luskin's side: "It's not a great defense. ... But perhaps this is the best defense Luskin can concoct. (It might be true.)"

Vanity Fair's James Wolcott: "I don't want to hear another "name" journalist defend a colleague based upon friendship. I'm sick of journalists vouching for each other's sterling character and unimpeachable integrity based upon social contacts and shared histories. ... Besides, all anyone has to do is pay minor attention to the bilious career of Robert Novak, and that'll tell you all you need to know about the quality of character assessment in the Beltway press corps."

Conservative Macsmind rolls eyes at the Novak piece and links back to a recent post describing a very different alternative interpretation of the entire Niger uranium scandal.

WMD INTEL: From The Left Bank

Los Angeles Times reports, "More than a year before" Bush's Iraq-selling SOTU with the 16 words about African uranium, "the French spy service began repeatedly warning the CIA in secret communications that there was no evidence to support the allegation." Laura Rozen accepts it: "And the French were in a position to know, controlling Niger's uranium mines." So too Hullabaloo: "In case anyone still wonder why the cheese eating surrender monkeys and the ungrateful bastards we liberated from Hitler didn't join in our war party, here's the reason." The Astute Blogger points out that the piece has Bush both using the forged docs to back up his WMD assertions, and also mentions that Bush cited a British report predating the Italian-sourced forgeries.

IRAQ: The Cusp Of Victory Or The Edge Of Defeat?

A Reuters reports, Saddam loyalists who "violently opposed January elections have made an about-face ... urging fellow Sunni Arabs to vote and warning al Qaeda militants not to attack" and are "even prepared to protect voting stations from" from Zarqawi's Qaedists. Conservative bloggers typically loathe Reuters (which soon after 9/11 ceased use of the word "terrorist"), but here Reuters has up a positive report, one not mentioned by major U.S. papers. Dean's World lists a couple other positive developments in the Muslim world, including: "In Indonesia, volunteers at the country's largest Muslim organization are pledging to guard Christian churches on Christmas in order to prevent attacks." Wizbang's Jay Tea makes note of similar developments. Blackfive's Uncle Jimbo allows himself to get a little teary-eyed: "I shudder at the possibilities, and can't imagine actually discussing the blooming of democracy, and not just in Iraq. The whole balance of power in the Middle East, and also between the US and the rest of the world changes completely if Iraq flourishes. Let freedom reign."

There's also the claim of one Sunni insurgent from the Reuters report: "Zarqawi is an American, Israeli and Iranian agent who is trying to keep our country unstable so that the Sunnis will keep facing occupation." Poliblog: "How paranoid and out of touch with reality do you have to be to conjure that concept?"

Meanwhile, Daily Kos' Armando updates the list of horribles in Iraq, citing and quoting NYT and WaPo stories under the headers: "Torture in Iraq Prisons"; "Election irregularities"; "Violence"; and the assessment: "Leaving soon? Not likely." Anti-war liberal Chris Bertram of Crooked Timber takes issue with interpretation of an Iraqi poll by pro-war liberal Norm Geras. Dem from CT, at The Next Hurrah: "Americans are a pragmatic group and the voters have rejected both the rationale and the trust behind the rationale for being there. The only question on the table is how to extricate ourselves and do the least harm. There are no good solutions, only least worst ones."

The Political Teen quotes, and hosts video, of CNN's Hess telling CNN's Kurtz that while the U.S. media is "quite vigilant about U.S. propaganda, they are "less so about insurgent propaganda." Say Anything compares it to Newsweek's retracted Koran abuse story (see previous coverage).

Since last week, Citizen Smash of The Indepundit has been encouraging readers to "lobby Congress in support of our ongoing mission in Iraq." In most related posts, he issues "orders" for what readers and fellow bloggers should do.

BUSH: A Herd, Not A Pack?

Newsweek's 12/19 cover paints Bush inside a soap bubble for a cover story designating Bush "the most isolated president in modern history." UCLA law prof Stephen Bainbridge quotes a paper of his own, which argues, "groupthink is an adaptive response to the stresses generated by challenges to group solidarity. To avoid those stresses, groups may strive for unanimity even at the expense of quality decision making." He adds, this "may also explain the pattern of cronyism -- appointing people who won't rock the boat." He concludes: "Bush likes to think of himself as a CEO President. Good CEOs are self-aware and self-critical. A good CEO faced with the pervasive groupthink that seems to plague this Administration would clean house and then set up new decision-making processes to prevent a recurrence."

Blogging from the road in Tel Aviv, Steve Clemons praises Pentagon detainee treatment adviser Matthew Waxman. He also asks ex-FLOTUS Barbara Bush -- who reportedly is gunning for the likes of VP Cheney and Rove -- to also take out admin. officials David Addington, Stephen Cambone, and William Haynes, whom Clemons holds largely responsible for the "nefarious practices."

DEMOCRATS: The Rescuers

Ex-GOPer/DLCer Marshall Wittmann has some harsh words for Dem leaders: "There is only one force that can save the Republican Party and it is called the Democratic Party. The truth of that axiom has been reinforced over the past three weeks. When the President was plummeting in the polls, the Democratic cavalry came riding to the rescue. Rather than calling for a success strategy in Iraq, the donkey opted for pessimism and defeatism. The Democrats overreached and now the President is rebounding." More: "Here's another insight for Reid, Pelosi and Dean -- you are the minority party. You control nothing in this town. And it is unlikely that you ever will or should control anything as long as you apply a litmus test on prominent elected officials. Get used to the smaller offices with the poor view." He concludes: "So, listen up Democrats, you do not enjoy the luxury of contracting your ranks. If you want to expand the party, a purge is not what the doctor ordered." Centrist AmbivaBlog summarizes, Dems "decided antiwar was the way to go. Back to the '60s! YYEEEAAAAHHHH!!! So Bush is rebounding in the polls. Nice work, assholes." In a front-paged diary at MyDD, Alice Marshall asks, not necessarily related to the above post: "What evidence is there that Marshall Wittman is a Democrat? ... If someone is a Democrat, there should be evidence to support that fact. Voting history, political donations, fundraising, volunteering, are all ways to indicate party loyalty. I am unaware the Wittman does any of these things."

Conservative Balloon Juice: "Half the Republican leadership is under investigation, the President is down in the polls and fighting an unpopular war, people think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and the Democrats best response is to help Bush. The crooked party vs. the stupid party. Take your pick."

THE ALITO NOMINATION: Does Frist Now Wish The Dems Would Filibuster?

Matt Stoller: "I wonder how Alito feels about this. Does he believe in threatening Senators for votes? How about Bush? Or any Republican Senator? Do Republicans believe that threatening to accuse Democratic Senators of ethics problems is a legitimate political subject when trying to pick the next Justice of the Supreme Court?" Dadahead: "It's becoming more and more clear that Alito, who looked like a reasonably smart pick at the time, is actually an enormously flawed nominee. Even conservatives have to admit as much, if they're being honest."

Washington Post reports that Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist is warning Dems not to stall a vote on Alito and reiterating his willingess to use the "nuclear option" if the Dems filibuster. NRO's Bench Memos notes it approvingly, but without commentary. AMERICAblog and Bark Bark Woof Woof both would like to know why once-and-still WH counsel Harriet Miers didn't get the same consideration.

LANDSCAPE: Mmmmm ... Hunger Strike

Brad Blog calls attention to OH divinity student Jonathan Meier, who is protesting OH's impending HB3 with a "his prayer vigil and hunger strike at the Ohio Statehouse despite heavy snow and brutally cold winter temperatures." Sec/State candidate Jennifer Brunner (D) is sponsoring a petition to oppose it. According to the lefty Free Press, HB3 "opens voter registration activists to partisan prosecution, exempts electronic voting machines from public scrutiny, quintuples the cost of citizen-requested statewide recounts and makes it illegal to challenge" any fed'l election. Brad Spangler: "I was one of the libertarians who, early on, asked" '04 nominee Michael Badnarik to challenge the OH vote "over widespread post-election reports of voting irregularities and/or outright election fraud. Apparently, someone didn't like that very much. You see, Ohio is now about to outlaw election challenges in US presidential races. How convenient." The story also got attention in the diaries of Daily Kos. Buckeye Politics' Tim Russo: "I was a Kerry challenger last year, I spent a lot of time studying just how hard the GOP tried to game the voting process, and could not believe that the election observer techniques I used to train on in post Soviet republics would suddenly be urgently required in my own home state."

MIDTERMS '06: A Better Lottery Than Shirley Jackson's

Beltway Blogroll reports, in his capacity as honorary chair of the Progressive Patriots Fund, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) has run blogads inviting the "netroots" to "pick their favorite from among 11 candidates. The candidate who gets the most votes will receive a $5,000 donation from the fund." Among the eligible candidates are Nick Lampson (D-TX), who is challenging ex-House Maj. Leader/Rep. Tom DeLay, and FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley (D-MN). On a bit more of a WH'08 note, Feingold is also taking up the "Table for One" guest-blogging slot at TPM Cafe this week.

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Girls! Girls! Girls!

MSNBC has Blogads up promoting a forthcoming report on the porn industry; the rotating ads include neon-outlined nude female silhouettes. Liberal Bitch Ph.D explains the presence of the ads to her readers, and notes that while she doesn't oppose porn per se, she is "opposed to the idea that advertisements of hetero porn, especially when the text reads 'hey ladies, it's not just for men any more' necessarily has to depict a naked *woman* -- since, of course, 'woman' = 'sex.' So, if any of you are ticked off by the thing, my apologies." The ad is running across a wide range of blogs, left and right. We haven't seen any further controversy about it yet. If it does, it could resemble something like the Daily Kos "pie fight" controversy from early this summer (see 6/10 and 6/14 Blogometers).

New York Post editorialized 12/10 about Dean's can't-win comments from last week, "Dean's meaning seemed plain enough: Hang in there, terrorists! Time's on your side -- the Democrats are seeing to that." The final section accuses Dean of "sedition." Brendan Nyhan takes exception: "This is not idle rhetoric -- it is quite literally an accusation that Dean has committed treason against the United States."

OBITS: Pryor-ities And Gene-ialities

Ex-Sen./'68 Dem WH candidate Eugene McCarthy died over the weekend, and eulogies are coming in from both ends of the spectrum. Of course, the other major passing of the weekend was comedian Richard Pryor, and was certainly the more commented-upon of the 2 (compare this search against this one). Among the political blogs, some combine obits into both posts, including lefty Marc Cooper and righty Jeff Goldstein. Liberal Street Fighter links to probably the best photo, and Roger L. Simon has personal memories to share, having written a film for him.

CA-based Joe Scott: "His death is a deja vu moment for a sputtering Democratic Party. A shameful number of Senate Democrats voted for the Iraq war, including many potential 2008 candidates -- with the notable exception of the McCarthyesque anti-war Russ Feingold. Perhaps some solons may now find the courage to unequivocally speak out." At Skeptic's Eye and in a cross-post to RedState, conservative Allison Hayward reminds readers that while an antiwar icon, he "was also one of the litigants in Buckley v. Valeo, and stauchly critical of campaign finance reform."

Power Line's Paul Mirengoff offers a eulogy from the right: "McCarthy's most ardent supporters were college students. Most of my anti-war friends preferred him to Kennedy, as I did (and still do). First, McCarthy had shown more guts than Kennedy by challenging Johnson before it was clear how weak the president's position was. Second, McCarthy came across as cool; Kennedy as anything but. ... In many respects, some of them superficial, Robert Kennedy's position in 1967 can be compared to Hillary Clinton's position today. It's more difficult to identify the new Gene McCarthy (it's certainly not Howard Dean). He was one of a kind." == Left-leaning Glenn Greenwald disagrees: "[W]hatever else one thinks of Dean, it is impossible to praise McCarthy's candidacy without praising Dean's candidacy as well. The factors cited by Paul for admiring McCarthy -- the adoption of his anti-war stance before it was safe and popular, the way in which he galvanized young voters, the obvious authenticity of his beliefs, even his "cool" image -- are all entirely applicable to Howard Dean."

THE MARCH OF BLOGS: Coming Soon ... The Wikified Legal Brief?

>> In the 12/11 New York Times Magazine, TNR's Crowley argued, as the title explains: "Conservative Blogs are More Effective." Because the piece was not posted to the web until late 12/10, many worked off the E&P account published mid-12/9. Crowley and the NYT probably knew it would kick up a minor storm, and indeed it has. No one quite believes it, but the left is happy if the MSM believes it, while the right aims to blow apart Crowley's assertions.

Markos Moulitsas: "Good. Let people think that. People have always been naysayers. Instead of getting riled up about, we'll keep doing what we're doing. And at the end of 2006 we'll be able to take stock of the situation and declare, definitively, that the conservative blogosphere is merely a redundant extension of their noise machine." Duncan Black writes, "the liberal blogosphere is a much greater value added for our side because we have such a shitty media infrastructure. If all the wingnut blogs disappeared tomorrow it really wouldn't have any impact on the national discourse." Matt Stoller, who is quoted in Crowley's piece, weighs in at MyDD. Header at Sadly, No!: "Y'Know What the Left Blogosphere Needs? More Mindless Hacks."

Captain's Quarters points to a new ABC News poll as evidence that "the Iraqi polling numbers tossed around by Democrats for the past month in defense of their cut-and-run 'strategy' were bald-faced lies." As ABC News writes, "Despite the daily violence there, most living conditions are rated positively, seven in 10 Iraqis say their own lives are going well, and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve in the year ahead." More CQ: "I predict that Murtha will continue to spout the obviously bad survey numbers as he clings to the remnants of his national relevance, and that the Democrats try to bury these new numbers as soon as possible." Democracy Arsenal's Suzanne Nossel lists a a number of things to watch for after Iraq's Thursday vote. On a final note, she adds: "The spin should tell us a lot about whether the Administration is going to claim 'decent interval' and start moving out or whether, as the President claimed but a week ago, the plan is to see this through until Iraq's security forces are truly capable of taking over."

Instapundit writes, "the bit about Drudge being quick to pass on the latest tidbit from the blogosphere is also dubious. Drudge is, in fact, pretty aloof where the blogosphere is concerned. In fact, the whole "superior message discipline" theory seems doubtful to me. The Democrats' real problems come from their positions, and their candidates, not from Republicans' media operation." Via Ace of Spades HQ, Strange Women Lying in Ponds differs: "The reason why conservative bloggers are more effective is that we don't have the MSM to count on to toe the party line. Having the MSM as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party allows the left-wing bloggers more freedom to play to the bleacher seats." Michelle Malkin contests the notion that the right-blogosphere is an efficient conductor of the GOP's message, citing Harriet Myers, Terri Schiavo, immigration and Porkbusters. She writes, at 283 words, it "has to be one of most insipid, shallow, and uninformed wastes of space to grace the NY Times' pages." Ed Morrissey concurs: "He should sue E&P for lifting his entire 283-word article for their 360-word description of it."

>> Los Angeles Times Magazine interviewed Crooks & Liars' John Amato, asking: "If Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich types make it to the White House and Congress, will you keep a lookout for liberal crooks and liars?" Amato: "I've thought about this often, and I would say yes. Power has to be questioned."

>> New York Times reports, Internet privacy activist Daniel Brandt narrowed in on the culprit who put false information on the page of ex-Tenessean editor John Seigenthaler, prompting that person to out himself. He is Nashville-based delivery company manager Brian Chase, who, "in trying to shock a colleague with a joke, he put false information" on Seigenthaler's page. Chase has since resigned his position with the company. Brandt is behind the website Wikipedia Watch, as well as similar watchdog sites targeting Google and Yahoo. Naturally, there is also a page at Wikipedia titled "John Seigenthaler Sr. Wikipedia biography controversy." A commenter at Bopnews: "It is probably 99% accurate and the steps that they would need to take to become 100% accurate would kill it. No one should ever trust one source for something important." Betsy Newmark: "Just wait until someone less tolerant than Siegenthaler decides to take Wikipedia to court." In fact, Google Blogoscoped's Philipp Lenssen points out there is now a class action suit against Wikipedia in the works.

MISCELLANY: The Next Crusade?

• While the Stanley "Tookie" Williams death penalty case plays out in CA, liberal and conservative blogs are coming together to support MS death row inmate Cory Maye, who appears to be the victim of overbearing police tactics and a racist jury. Leading the charge has been libetarian Radley Balko at The Agitator; essentially the entire last week of blogging has been devoted to Maye. Battlepanda jokes that rather than cooperate, they should compete -- and proceeds to list which side's blogs have linked to the story more. So far the right has a slight edge. Silent Running wrote a letter to MS Gov. Haley Barbour (R) about it.
• The Moderate Voice's Joe Gandelman considers an Arab News column which argues bin Laden is less likely in Waziristan than the "urban jungle" of Karachi, adding: "Al-Jazeera has broken any number of stories. Why doesn't it break the biggest story of all: Where is Bin Laden?" Gandelman offers a list of possible current situations for bin Laden, settling upon: "Modern technology may do wonders but it is still possible to elude the searchers, even with all kinds of electronic and satillite surveillance. For instance, he could be holed up in an inaccessible area of Pakistan, somewhere in the mountains, and only use couriers to get his messages and orders out."
• Daily Kos' Hunter interviewed ex-CBS prod. Mary Mapes. Published 12/11, it runs over 5K words. In the preface, he recommends her book strongly: "Some parts of the book are blistering, especially when recounting internal politics at CBS -- so don't expect to see her on the Viacom-owned 'Daily Show' anytime soon. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a sometimes-frustrating, sometimes-hilarious, and often thought provoking read."
• Meanwhile, time is coming soon for Daily Kos founder Moulitsas to reveal next year's slate of co-bloggers; in a 12/9 post he announces his decision has been made. Frequent Kos critic Dean Barnett points out that Kos' criteria is apparently unburdened by considerations about diversity, as Markos himself explains in the above-linked post.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Evolution Of Elitism

Mickey Kaus compares the "elite condescension" toward anti-Communists in the 50's, welfare reformers in the face of the "Nixon-Moynihan" consensus, and immigration hawks (specifically the Minutemen) as late. He writes: "In the 70s, then-governor Reagan labelled Nixon's sophisticated guaranteed income plan a "megadole." The rest is history! We're still waiting for the politician to credibly take on the equivalent Bush-McCain-liberal pro-amnesty consensus -- and its disdain for those rustic, unsophisticated voters who actually want resident illegals to return to their home countries and get in line before they're legalized."

LEST WE FORGET: High Art

How could you not want to click on something called Mike Ditka & The Grabowskis?

Posted by at December 12, 2005 12:48 PM