Decision ‘08 » 2006

Archive for December, 2006

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

A Merry Christmas For Hillary and Obama…

…as their poll surge/media blitz continues to pay dividends. Dan Balz writes in the Washington Post:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), trading on star power, the capacity to raise tens of millions of dollars with relative ease and an ability to dominate media attention, are rewriting the script of the 2008 […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Evan Bayh, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

It’s Not Christmas…

…without the annual video from First Dog Barney. This year’s model can be found here…

No Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

Monica Lewinsky, Scholar(!!??!!)…

Well, I’ll be a…:
There are moments that make you question your fundamental assumptions about the world. One of them took place a few days ago, when news emerged that Monica Lewinsky had just graduated from the London School of Economics.
She did not!!
Lewinsky, 33, is known more for her audacious coquetry than for her intellectual heft, […]

No Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006

The New Socialists

Any doubt about the inherent hostility towards capitalism among ‘progressives’ should be dissolving rapidly among even the most blinkered partisans. Witness the following op-ed in the WaPo from Sherrod Brown and Byron Dorgan:
Fewer and fewer Americans support our government’s trade policy. They see a shrinking middle class, lost jobs and exploding trade deficits.
Yet supporters of […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Donkeys, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006

Well, It’s Something, Anyway

I’ve become so accustomed to the UN doing nothing that anything at all feels like a victory:
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to restrict Iran’s trade in sensitive nuclear materials and to slap an asset freeze on 22 Iranian officials and institutions linked to Iran’s most controversial nuclear programs.
The council’s action marked the […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006

The Surge Is Coming

The smart money is on a sizeable increase in troops to begin 2007:
Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a “surge” of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for a troop increase, a defense official familiar with the plan said […]

4 Comments » - Posted in POTUS, Iraq by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

I Got Nothing…

…a big, fat nothing. I’m starting to feel like Atrios here, I’ve got such a case of blogger’s block.
So, if there’s anyone around who isn’t traveling or busy with family, two questions:
What was the biggest story of 2006?
Who’s your nominee for Yearly Jackass?
Enquiring minds want to know…

9 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing, Weekly Jackasses by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

Like Client, Like Attorney

The vainglorious narcissist Joseph Wilson has certainly found a suitable attorney:
A federal judge strongly admonished an attorney for former ambassador Joseph Wilson for her appearance yesterday on MSNBC’s program “Hardball” where she predicted a jury can find I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby guilty of making false statements.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton writes in an opinion today, […]

No Comments » - Posted in PlameGate by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

New Iowa Poll…

…with lots of interesting results you can see here.
The short version: Obama surging, Hillary in trouble, Rudy G. and McCain in a dead heat. Remember, this is not a national poll, so it doesn’t necessarily contradict the two recent polls that showed a Hillary surge…

3 Comments » - Posted in Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

Barone On The Republican Frontrunner(s)

Has Rudy really been this underestimated?
Pollster.com has an interesting summary of the poll standings for the Republican nomination in 2008. It makes the point, largely overlooked by political writers of all stripes, that Rudy Giuliani has been leading John McCain in the large majority of polls, albeit usually by narrow margins. Political writers seem to […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, 2008 Polls, Republican Candidates by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

UK Terror Threat Exaggerated?

I certainly hope so. Yesterday, I linked to an alarming report from ABC News that put the odds of a holiday terror threat in England at a near certainty. Today’s statement sounds much more, well, routine:
Britain’s top policeman warned on Friday that the country faced the risk of an attack by Islamist militants over Christmas.
Ian Blair, […]

No Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

An Embarrassment Of Riches…

…,with the accent on embarrassment, as Times Watch looks back on the year that was in New York Times‘ quotes. My favorite of the batch? Pinch Sulzberger’s cringe-inducing, unfunny, arrogant commencement address:

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t supposed to be graduating into an America fighting a misbegotten war in a foreign land. […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

Yet More News On The Moderate Coalition In Iraq

Remember, ‘moderate’ is a relative term here, but still:
Delegates representing Shiite groups forming the largest bloc in Iraq’s parliament gathered Thursday at the home of the country’s top Shiite cleric to seek his blessing for a new coalition that would promote national reconciliation. Many of the delegates traveled late Wednesday to the holy city of […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

A Grim Assessment, Indeed

Well, this is certain to put a damper on your holiday cheer:
British intelligence and law enforcement officials have passed on a grim assessment to their U.S. counterparts, “It will be a miracle if there isn’t a terror attack over the holidays in London,” a senior American law enforcement official tells ABCNews.com.
British police have been quietly […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

Peace On Earth, Good Will To…? Ahh, Never Mind…

Donald Trump on Rosie O’Donnell:
Rosie is a failure. Ultimately she will be a loser — and you watch. Watch what happens to “The View.” I will bet the ratings very shortly will start going down. People can’t stand watching her. She’s both unattractive inside and out. She’s, you know, she’s got some big problems. …
Well, […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

Disgraceful

Most likely, you’ve seen this story by now, but I’ve been very busy of late and it’s been hard to find time to update and link everything I want to.
Disgraceful is truly the word, though, for the behavior of Sandy Berger, who will wear the shame of this for the rest of his life, I would […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Donkeys by Mark

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

More Good News From Iraq: Sistani Throws His Lot In With The Moderates

Or so it appears:
In the three and a half years since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has been the spiritual custodian of Shiite political dominance here, corralling Iraq’s fractious Shiite political parties into a single alliance to rule the country after centuries of oppression.
But the ayatollah has grown increasingly distressed as […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Confirmation For The Hillary Surge

I joined D’08 reader Patrick in skepticism over the Newsweek poll that showed Hillary over both McCain and Rudy and trouncing Romney - but the result has been confirmed by a second poll by CNN:
47 percent of the 1,019 people surveyed said they would vote for Clinton, D-New York, — and also for McCain, R-Arizona. […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Mitt Romney, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

The Problem With Monolithic Thinking

Rich Lowry suffers from the flip side of the delusion of Joseph Rago:
First Lady Laura Bush spoke for many conservatives when she excoriated the media’s coverage of Iraq the other day. She complained that “the drumbeat in the country from the media … is discouraging,” and said “there are a lot of good things happening […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Navel-Gazing, Iraq, NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Rudy’s Record

For those hardcore Rudy supporters, and also for those who doubt his ability to win over conservatives, here’s a peak at the talking points from his record Rudy G. will stress in his almost-certain-now presidential campaign, care of his new website:
* Fighting Crime

* Cutting Taxes

* Fiscal Responsibility

* Welfare Reform
* Improving Education

* Quality of Life

* Protecting Children
Sounds pretty […]