June 13, 2007

6/13: Distinctions Without Differences

Ending US involvement in the war in Iraq is the number one issue for the netroots. It's not unanimous, but the super majority opinion among them is that the US must get out entirely, more along the lines of Bill Richardson's promises. Despite this, the "big three" have largely gotten a pass on the issue despite the fact that none of them have joined Richardson in his pledge. That may be changing.

Matthew Yglesias is picking up on reports Hillary Clinton admits to seeing significant amounts of troops in Iraq throughout her presidency and calls out Barack Obama and John Edwards for not "exactly come out swinging against Clinton on Iraq in a forward looking sense." Also applying pressure, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) is rolling back some of his words from earlier this year that praised Obama for being strong on Iraq. A reading of his current statements clearly implies he sees no difference between Obama and Clinton on the war. If Obama ever does want to energize the netroots to his cause, a clear embrace of a Richardson-type promise to bring everyone home ought to do the trick.

DEM FIELD: It's Iraq, Stupid

Daily Kos' MissLaura flags a key question from CNN's post NH debate poll. When asked to volunteer "which one issue is most important to your vote" 57% of Dem respondents identified Iraq. ML comments: "Say what you will about the New Hampshire primary, it's good to know that for 2008, the presidential candidates will face early voting from a public they cannot pretend wants them to be equivocal on Iraq."

CLINTON: Well At Least She's right On Domestic Issues

In the most biting criticism of Hillary Clinton we've seen, The Huffington Post's Russell Shaw responds to Washington Postpolling showing HRC leading Barack Obama by a 2 to 1 margin among women:

She is on the correct side of many domestic issues. ... My problem with Sen. Clinton is more related to her personal behavior. ... Hillary knew about Bill's serial infidelities all along. Although she expressed some profound discomfort over them, she elected to stay in the marriage. ... Why did she stay in that serially adulterated marriage? One overarching reason? Power. ... How these women could bond with someone who stayed with someone who repeatedly humiliated her female honor is beyond me. What these "needs" women voters should realize is that Hillary never felt any pain tha[t] you did when you divorced your husband and are now laboring to support your children alone. ... Do you really want a President of the United States who is less honorable than you?

In more policy focussed critiques of HRC, Matthew Yglesias reacts to Ted Koppel's NPRcommentary in which Koppel observed: " I ran into an old source the other day who held a senior position at the Pentagon until his retirement. He occasionally briefs Senator Clinton on the situation in the Gulf. She told him that if she were elected president and then re-elected four years later she would still expect U.S. troops to be in Iraq at the end of her second term." Yglesias responds:

I find that the tendency when I talk to people leaning in a Clintonish direction is that they express confidence, as Clinton herself does in the debates, that all of the Democrats will, if elected, move rapidly to end the war. If anything, I think the stronger argument for Clinton is the reverse -- that while she seems disinclined to really end the war, it's not clear that her main rivals are inclined to do so either. Neither Edwards nor Obama has, after all, exactly come out swinging against Clinton on Iraq in a forward looking sense. There have been some indications that Clinton's envisioned "residual" force would be bigger than what other candidates have in mind, but her main rivals haven't argued this explicitly.

DODD: Baby Steps

Chris Dodd official blogger Matt Browner-Hamlin promotes Dodd's two new ads "Amazing Grace" and "Split" at Bleeding Heartland. Bleeding Heartland's Des Moines Dem comments: "They are basically biographical pieces. I especially liked the second one. I was not aware of Dodd's role in passing the Family and Medical Leave act. Although that act doesn't go far enough for many families, it was still an enormous step forward, and I know tons of young parents who appreciate it."

EDWARDS: Just Edwards Being Edwards

John Edwards campaign damage control on David 'Mudcat' Sanders anti-blogger tantrum has not mollified netroots concerns over Sanders or the Edwards campaign. In defense of Sanders, Edwards aide Joe Trippi blogged at MyDD: "Mudcat is...well he's Mudcat. I am not sure if he considers me one of the "Harvards" or not. But I consider him one of the best rural strategists in our party -- we can probably learn a lot from each other's strengths and weaknesses." TPM Cafe's Greg Sargent quotes Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz in a similar vein: "That?'s just Mudcat being Mudcat. He speaks for himself."

Reactions to the reactions include:

• MyDD's Matt Stoller: "And as for Joe Trippi and the Edwards campaign saying 'Oh Mudcat's Mudcat', what is he, seven years old? That's ridiculous. This is an adult man, not a child. And this is a Presidential contest, not a playpen."
• TAPPED's Garance Franke-Ruta: "People who are working for presidential candidates -- and this goes for all of them, and not just John Edwards -- are ill-served by engaging in anything but the most innocuous personal blogging efforts. They're likely to get their candidate in trouble if they speak freely but in a way that's off-message for the campaign."
• Jane Hamsher at firedoglake: "Mudcat's half-hearted apology for telling liberal bloggers to "go to hell" did not appear quite so deeply held as his interest in perpetuating the kind of class warfare that has been a hallmark of Republican talking points for decades, one that Edwards himself has suffered from mightily. ... Saying that "Mudcat will be Mudcat" is not enough. I invite Senator Edwards to appear on a Blue America session with Howie Klein to distance himself from Saunders' comments and give his liberal supporters the reassurance they deserve that these attitudes will not be reflected in his Presidential campaign as it goes forward."

OBAMA: Losing Russ?

Responding to a Daily Kos diary highlighting Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-WI) endorsement of Barack Obama as "being clearly stronger [on Iraq]" than Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, Feingold press sec. Zach Lowe comments "people should know that this interview was done in mid-March and the highlighted quotation reflected Senator Feingold's views at the time."

MyDD's Matt Stoller then followed up with Feingold and got a statement from Trevor Miller including:

The debate in the Senate over the misguided mission in Iraq has shifted significantly in the last couple of months. ... All four current Democratic Senators seeking the presidential nomination in 2008 voted in favor of a timeline to end the war, three of the four candidates voted against the supplemental appropriations bill, and all four also voted in favor of the Feingold-Reid bill. Taking the tough votes on this issue - rather than just taking potshots from the outside - should be praised as important steps in helping to end this war."

Stoller comments: "This would seem to be a smack at Edwards. I don't like the clubbiness of the Senate, even when it comes from Feingold, though this is a clarification of his earlier comments."

OBAMA II: We Wish We Were Taller Too

Some at MyDD are pushing back against criticism of Barack Obama's support for coal liquification by citing Team Obama assurances that "Obama will not support the development of any coal-to-liquid fuels unless they emit at least 20% less life-cycle carbon than conventional fuels."

Few are buying the distinction. Alex Urevickresponds : "Can he make me 10 feet taller too? Though I am very, very glad that Obama is changing his tune, this is laughable. ... In the most optimistic and theoretical situations, CTL would produce the same amount of carbon as regular fuel. ... I'm glad Obama has come around to the fact that you cannot be pro-pollution and a Democratic darling, but the fact that he had to be pushed to do the right thing on such an immensely important issue says a lot about his lack of leadership."

John Edwards supporter Vox Populiadds : "I really don't think he's clarifying his position. He sponsored the bill in January. This is now June. Even if he's been saying he supports it but doesn't for several weeks, it's still in his bill--subsidies to the coal companies in Illinois. If he's shifting his position I applaud him, but he should probably withdraw his name from the Coal-to-liquid bill first."

OBAMA III: Let The Conversation Begin

The Brody File has positive things to say about Barack Obama's religous out reach efforts: "Obama's religious outreach team has received e-mails from pro-life groups that express concern about Obama's pro-choice position. They've also received correspondence from moderate Catholics concerned about this, too. ... Obama's campaign responds by saying that a conversation does indeed need to start on how to reduce the number of abortions. ... In my dealings with the Obama campaign, I believe they are truly sincere in furthering the discussion, having a dialogue when it comes to the role of faith in politics and abortion."

RICHARDSON: Beyond Iraq

CaliticsLucas O'Connor likes the fact that Bill Richardson took mass transit while in Los Angeles, CA, but he likes Richardson's eagerness to put Iraq behind us even more: "He's free to talk about things like light rail because for him, Iraq is no longer an issue. Bill Richardson unequivocally wants all troops out of Iraq now. He thinks that congress should de-authorize the war, and if he were to become president, all American personnel would leave Iraq. That's it, next question. Say what you will about the rest of his platform and framing (I have), but by dispatching with Iraq and leaving no doubt about his plan and commitment to ending the war, Richardson is free to talk about everything else. You know...the stuff that actually makes up a presidency."

GIULIANI: The Ten ... Oy ... Twelve Commitments

Rudy Giuliani's recently released "Twelve Commitments to the American People" drew plenty of positive attention from conservatives including:

• Townhall's Patrick Ruffini: "The critics will blast this for lacking in specifics. But I find this pretty refreshing for being clear and succinct. This is something that can fit on a palm-card, something your backers can easily refer back to when answering the question, 'What does he believe?'"
• The Corner's Byron York: "And Immigration is Number Two"
• AmSpec Blog's Philip Klein: "Interesting, I thought, that ending illegal immigration comes right below staying on offense against terrorism. Clearly, Giuliani believes he's been gaining traction from his criticisms of the Senate bill. This makes sense to me."
• Robert Bluey: "A good list (especially No. 2 [on immigration]) and a great way for conservatives to hold him accountable.
• RCP Blog's Blake Dvorak: "Fairly solid conservative agenda, until around #8 and #9. There's going to be a few folks wondering if Rudy should have put the "constructionist judge" issue above "adoptions," which is essentially his pro-choice views without the word "abortion."
• Power Line's John Hinderaker: "It's a sort of Contract With America, at the executive rather than legislative level. ... I'll tell you what I think: there is a whole lot there for conservatives, and many other Americans, to like."
• Outside the Beltway's James Joyner did not like the list and negatively responded to each one including this on securing the border: "No, you won't. And, frankly, I wouldn't want to give you (or anyone else) enough power to 'identify every non-citizen in our nation.' There are over 300 million people living here, stretched across a continental landmass. How on earth would you do that?"

GIULIANI II: Pitch Perfect

Giuliani also appeared on Hugh Hewitt's radio show and explained his opposition to the Senate immigration bill:

I would have voted against it just on the grounds that we're better off the way we are now than the change that we're going to make, and we're not in good shape right now. ... I believe, and that was my second commitment, that you can end illegal immigration without anymore legislation. You have the authorization to build a big part of the fence. You can supplement that with a technological fence that would spot people and alert the Border Patrol to people coming over the border. You could use a border stat program like my compstat program to reduce crime, to strategically place the Border Patrol like we used to do with the police. ...

And if we could show the American people that we could stop it at the border, then the rest of this stuff that's being debated, I think you could come to a more reasonable accommodation about it. But right now, people look at the things that Ted Kennedy wants to do, and people who are compromising with him, and they say my goodness, I mean, ... if we don't get control over our borders, this 12 million's going to become 20 million.

MCCAIN: Oh My Darling, Oh My Darling, MSM

Townhall's Matt Lewis writes the media's "new narrative" on McCain is that his campaign is falling apart, hence the Washington Post's story on John Dowd's switch from McCain to Fred Thompson. But Lewis points out Dowd raised less than $7K for McCain, "but you can't let that fact get in the way of a good story." Lewis warns; "My point is that -- as John McCain has learned -- if you live by the media narrative, you die by the media narrative..."

Patrick Ruffini responds via Townhall that he sees where McCain "is a tad undervalued on the Intrade." But unlike John Kerry in '04, Mccain "doesn't just have the unstable Howard Dean to climb over and instead must defeat "skilled politicians" like Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Against one of them, "you might give McCain better than even money." Nut against all of them, "McCain would have to hit the jackpot."

Dean BarnettTownhall responds to Ruffini and Lewis that the media still loves McCain, as proven by how the MSM "couldn't stop gushing over how brilliantly John McCain performed" at the last debate. "For what it's worth, I was with the CNN posse; I thought McCain did well" and "I see no evidence that the media has misplaced its fondness for its favorite maverick." Barnett argues McCain's immigration stance "is a real killer" as all the other WH '08 GOP candidates "detest" Mccain's immigration bill in what is sure to be "a fundamental problem" for his campaign.

Lewis then takes on Barnett's point on McCain's immigration position, agreeing that "it's a real killer" for the Senator. "In fairness, the other frontrunners are -- or have recently been -- for Amnesty," leaving no real contrast on the issue. "But perception is reality, and the fact is, the bill is called, "McCain-Kennedy."

The Shot notes ex-McCain Aiken Co Chair David Nix "has been making some news" for leaving McCain's campaign because of immigration, but he argues "the media should really lay off this David Nix story" because "They are blowing it WAY out of proportion." Nix isn't McCain's manager or adviser, he's a county activist. "Do we believe the McCain campaign is falling apart? Yes, we do...But should David Nix be touted as some grand example around the country? Absolutely not."

ROMNEY: That's Me In The Spotlight, Confusing My Religion

CBN'sDavid Brody blogs some Mormons are "scratching their heads" because of a recent Romney comment. ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Romney: "In your faith, if I understand it correctly, it teaches that Jesus will return probably to the United States and reign on earth for 1,000 years..." Romney responded: "[T]hat doesn't happen to be a doctrine of my church. Our belief is just as it says in the Bible, that the messiah will come to Jerusalem, stand on the Mount of Olives and that the Mount of Olives will be the place for the great gathering and so forth. It's the same as the other Christian tradition." Though Christians and Mormons agree their faiths teach differently about this, "it's pretty well document that Mormons believe that Jesus is coming back to Jerusalem AND Missouri." So why did Romney leave MO out of it? "Some Mormons are dumbfounded too" and "in this case, it looks like he's backing away from Church doctrine."

John Hood writes at National Review that the Boston Globe's story on the conservative civil libertarian group American Freedom Agenda calls Mitt Romney "unfit to serve as president" for not signing their wiretap pledge. "Actually, it isn't just Romney they criticize," but he "does appear to be their first big target."

The Corner's John Podhoretz blogs Romney's $4M spent on TV ads since Feb. is "smart politics on Romney's part, but it is worth noting that what he's doing here, essentially, is paying to raise his poll numbers." While "buying" IA support "is a time-honored tradition," Romney "appears" to be "buying the Ames straw poll." It's "smart," but stories like the that one "are going to help his rivals by giving everybody the sense that he's simply spending his way into good numbers."

F. THOMPSON: You Can Call Me, Al

Latest Politics' Ryan Sager blogs that ex-Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) just endorsed Fred Thompson. But it's definitely not a surprise, given that D'Amato and Giuliani "have had a longtime feud going on."

Meanwhile, The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru dug up "a bit of a record" on Fred Thompson when it comes to cloning and stem-cell issues. He voted with pro-lifers on a bill to ban cloning in '98, though actually "a procedural motion about the bill, but it looks like the vote divided based on the perceived merits of the bill."

Erick Erickson at Red State blogs the Huffington Post says Thompson is a lobbyist, and as George Will writes, a lazy lobbyist -- or The Nation "would have us believe," a "foreign agent lazy lobbyist." Erickson reminds us that Thompson has been a practicing lawyer for 27 years and has only had 6 lobbying clients, a couple of which "were nothing more than a phone call or two on behalf of friends of his." This is another "example of both why Fred Thompson is running and why he is running such an innovative campaign," though the "beltway crowd" loves to "pigeonhole anyone and everyone."

IRAQ: A Disaster Sine '92

MyDD's Jonathan Singer sat in a Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) conference call detailing Dem plans to force as many votes as possible on Iraq this summer. Singer comments: "When Reid talked about the need to get 60 votes, I asked him ... wouldn't it be more effective to not only force Senate Republicans to vote no on cloture votes but to actually sustain a filibuster, physically talking the bill to death? ... Reid seemed to answer in the affirmative that Democrats should put the pressure on Republicans but at the same time seemed to stop short of endorsing a move to keep the Republicans talking indefinitely, blocking funds from going to American troops in Iraq. ... That's why I'd like to see Senate Democrats force Senate Republicans to actually filibuster over Iraq. Put the onus entirely on them."

Watching the Daily Show Atrios quotes Bob Shrum: "The blogosphere was a lot more right about Iraq than all the experts in the Democratic party." Atrios comments: "Bob Shrum Kisses Up To His New Masters."

Still on Iraq, Atrios also links to Matthew Yglesias complaints about Madeline Albright invoking the name of Harry Truman with out discussing policy specifics and comments: "Ultimately this will continue until our elites are willing to confront Iraq and their own culpability, from Gulf War I through the sanctions period to the present. While there's a tendency to see Gulf War I as a "good war," presumably because it wasn't a clusterf**k for the US, there seems to be little willingness to examine that war as part of a continuous chain of events which led, ultimately, to where we are now."

Speaking of Gulf War I and the elites who supported, Power Line's John Hinderaker summarizes the contents of a You Tube widely posted by conservative bloggers: "This video of Al Gore excoriating the first President Bush in 1992 is pretty entertaining. His theme: the Reagan and Bush administrations failed to appreciate the monstrosity of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Iraq has carried out terrorist acts and supported terrorists, has active WMD programs and is in hot pursuit of nuclear weapons. And it's ridiculous to think that sanctions could work against Saddam."

IMMIGRATION: When Al Frankenstein Monsters Attack

The Corner's Kate O'Beirne reports on Pres. Bush's 6/12 meeting with GOP Senators and worries that suggestions of an "emergency-supplemental bill to fund enforcement measures" that would "move on a parallel track with their grand compromise as a testament to their good intentions on enforcement promises" could "grease the skids for the grand compromise." The Corner's Andy McCarthy isn't buying: "Only people steeped in Washington and permanent government culture could possibly think throw-money-at-it proposals light anyone's fire in the real world. ... There's one great way to demonstrate the government's commitment to enforce the immigration laws: ENFORCE THE IMMIGRATION LAWS. After they've done that for a while - and can actually persuade people that they will continue to do so no matter who is in the White House - then people might be willing to listen."

Niether is Rob Bluey: "Bush's argument that the status quo won't work is an embarrassing admission of his administration's failure to enforce existing laws. Today during a visit to Capitol Hill, Bush told reporters, "We've got to convince the American people that this bill is the best way to enforce our border." Convince us? Why doesn't the administration use the laws already on the books to clean up the border?"

Also at The Corner, Jonah Goldberg posts a readers response to a recent GOP fundraising call: "NO! Not one thin dime to any Republican organization as long as the President continues to support this idiotic amnesty plan, refuses to fire Gonzalez and keeps kissing Teddy Kennedy's butt." The correspondent adds: "Last week, before the amnesty bill was beaten back, I got a call from Norm Coleman's campaign. I sent him a check the last time he ran, but laughed out loud when they called to ask for my support this time. 'He'll get my support when I get his - in the form of a vote against this Al Frankenstein Monster of a illegal immigrant amnesty bill.' Guess I owe Norm a check now."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: First Things First

Responding to Ezra Klein questions on why Dems "want to shoehorn energy policy issues into discussion of national security," Matthew Yglesias blogs:

The correct answer is that it's serving as a substitute for an issue Democrats are still uncomfortable talking about. Global warming is an extremely important issue for the country. It's potentially a favorable issue for the Democratic Party. But when people say they want to hear from Democrats about foreign policy, they're saying they want to hear a message about war and peace. The trouble is that you can't articulate a clear theory about war and peace that doesn't provide a clear conclusion about Iraq. And reaching a clear conclusion about Iraq would involve confronting the large number of Democratic elites who backed the war.
People on both sides of that divide, however, have been very interested in sort of covering up the breach and having everyone play together nicely. And party unity is a good thing. But you're never going to have a clear, forceful message on the core foreign policy issues unless you're willing to take a stand on preventive war, on democratization by invasion, etc.

LEST WE FORGET: Kate Winslet Is Practically Perfect

In response to Maxim's Hot 100 list, After Ellen posts their 'Hot List' for lesbians. After Ellen describes their list:

"Hot" for lesbians and bisexual women comes in all ages, sizes, colors and styles, as the diversity of women on our list demonstrates - from Tina Fey (No. 7) and Helen Mirren (No. 31), to Ellen DeGeneres (No. 50), America Ferrera (No. 30) and Queen Latifah (No. 55). There's even a conservative Republican in the mix (Angie Harmon, No. 82), proving we can still find a women sexy even if we don't agree with her alternative lifestyle choice.

The top three are:

• Leisha Hailey: As Alice on The L Word, Leisha gets more beautiful every season, and her acting skills have flourished too. Nobody has better comic timing, but she can also make us cry. And before she became our Sunday-night crush, she Murmur-ed in our ears as a pink-haired rocker who dated k.d. lang. Leisha makes it official: You're even hotter when you're out.


• Angelina Jolie: Ever since she caught our eye as the tattoo-bearing tomboy in Foxfire (1996), Angelina has been an undeniable lesbian favorite. It doesn't hurt that she played gay in Gia and publicly admits to her attraction to women. So what if she's shacked up with Brad Pitt? She's still the hottest bisexual actress - and mom - around.


• Kate Winslet: "Kate Winslet is practically perfect. A brilliant actress who picks great roles. A beautiful woman who believes you should never skip dessert. A class act who still fancies a dirty joke. Funny. Smart. English. Just go ahead and swoon now and get it over with already.

Posted by Conn Carroll at June 13, 2007 12:38 PM