Decision ‘08

When There’s Spin In The Air…

…you can almost always count on Mickey Kaus to cut through the…poop. Here’s Kaus on the pro-Hillary spin coming out of the recent spat with Obama:

No Nagourney “I’ve Been Spun” piece would be complete without a quote from notorious Dem counterproductive overspinner Chris Lehane, whose tendentious 24-7 BS sniping as Al Gore’s 2000 press secretary helped elect Bush in the first place (and constitutes the very “game as it customarily is played” that Obama condemns). The Obama camp’s response “fundamentally undermined their long-term message,” Lehane concluded. To ward off charges of bias, Nagourney claims Lehane “has not endorsed a candidate,” but it’s inconceivable that Lehane is without an agenda or agendas here–at the very least, the agenda of sucking up to Nagourney by telling him what he wants to hear. Also, Lehane is almost always wrong. I remember, after the California recall debate, he declared that Schwarzenegger had lost ground because he was mean to Arianna Huffington, thereby offending women voters. In fact, Schwarzenegger’s put-downs almost certainly helped elect him. Lehane’s spin is most useful as a Lawrence O’Donnellish contrary indicator. Maybe he isn’t allied with a candidate because nobody wants him.

Along those lines, Mickey recently pointed out a very positive indicator for Scooter Libby: Lawrence O’Donnell says he’ll be convicted! Ice down the champagne…