tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84993762023-06-10T04:19:55.668-04:00Jim Van Nostrandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12244561350886559296noreply@blogger.comBlogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1100547351007560202004-11-15T13:33:00.000-05:002004-11-16T17:24:51.116-05:00

This Joel Pett cartoon captures my view of the election. I've read so many analyses of what went wrong -- or what didn't go right enough -- that I'm overwhelmed and still perplexed. One question: Why are upper middle class Democrats who vote against their own financial self interest for programs to aid the poor and middle class called "elites"? Why are Hollywood liberals blamed for the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1100296232952980052004-11-12T16:27:00.000-05:002004-11-12T16:50:32.953-05:00

Now that the election is behind us, and we've all had a chance to catch our breath, a few parting thoughts: 1. The election was about the war on terror, economic issues and trust in George Bush from more than half the voters. Columnist Charles Krauthammer pretty much demolishes the idea that the results turned on moral values. Many on the left, of course, are going around today complaining that

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099436682857720802004-11-02T17:51:00.000-05:002004-11-02T18:12:12.650-05:00

Instead of me going over again John Kerry's qualifications -- or the reasons to remove George W. Bush -- I want to let the hundreds of people who stood in line to vote this morning make my argument. As I've written before, the amount of energy and commitment being expended by ordinary citizens reflects what's at stake in this election. John Kerry and the Democrats have run a campaign that

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099427503212768882004-11-02T15:19:00.000-05:002004-11-02T16:02:31.296-05:00

Before my closing argument, just a couple of points, since Carol rebutted my rebuttal as well as my original post. 1. During Kerry's time on the Gridley, it was posted "off the coasts of" the Phillippines and New Zealand as well as Vietnam. To call that "Vietnam service" is a stretch, but never mind. Believe it or not, there is also a USS Gridley page on the Web, with its own John Kerry page.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099423267956589202004-11-02T14:16:00.000-05:002004-11-02T14:21:07.956-05:00

War on Terrorists. Notice the difference in terms. As the 9/11 Commission pointed out, we’re not at war against terror. Terror is a TACTIC. Our enemies are the people who have attacked us and want to attack us again. Yet, instead of actually finding and crushing those people, we changed focus to Saddam Hussein who, while vile, was being contained. We’ve done Osama bin Laden’s recruitment for

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099402615471835702004-11-02T08:33:00.000-05:002004-11-02T08:36:55.473-05:00

War on terror: I said Kerry was the candidate for those who wish we hadn’t gone to war in Iraq and who don’t see the war on terror as something more than simply getting Osama bin Laden. I see I was correct. I hear nothing as an alternative to George Bush’s approach, just criticism that he is “diluting our power” in such a way that it’s harder to implement homeland security. In the first place,

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099371300950841432004-11-01T23:47:00.000-05:002004-11-01T23:55:00.950-05:00

The nation’s on the wrong track, and the fool who is driving refuses to ask directions, let alone turn around. It’s time to take away his keys. I knew the George W. Bush persona that campaigned in 2000 as a “compassionate conservative” was a fake. But I allowed myself to believe that -- after being chosen in 2000, not by the people, but by the U.S. Supreme Court with the opposite of a mandate -

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099346834134012142004-11-01T16:59:00.000-05:002004-11-01T17:07:14.133-05:00

(Note: Carol and I have decided to wind up with a mini debate. We will each post the case for our candidate. Then we’ll each post a rebuttal and a closing argument. This is my case for Bush) Two moments from this campaign stand out with stunning clarity – the first words out of the mouths of George Bush and John Kerry at their respective conventions. Bush: “I’m George Bush, and I’m proud to

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099343049433080352004-11-01T15:56:00.000-05:002004-11-01T16:12:53.460-05:00

Chief Justice William Rehnquist missed today’s session of the U.S. Supreme Court. News reports that he is receiving chemotherapy has experts speculating that he has a rare, more serious form of thyroid cancer. Both liberals and conservatives like to point out that it's been 10 years since a new justice – Stephen Breyer -- was named to the court, the longest interval since James Monroe was

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099337723671432762004-11-01T14:31:00.000-05:002004-11-01T14:35:23.670-05:00

Doctors in Paris say Yasser Arafat’s condition has stabilized, but his collapse last week reminds us that he is mortal and will be gone some day. If that day should be soon, there will be chaos among the Palestinians. And it's clear that the United States is way out of position to take advantage of new leadership among the Palestinians to help negotiate a peace. Few would argue that Arafat

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099332815786383732004-11-01T13:36:00.000-05:002004-11-01T14:14:22.883-05:00

There's no question there will be a record turnout tomorrow, just a question of how much of a record. I believe there is no downside to that, and not only because these new voters tend to support John Kerry. Elections are not only about the moment, but also about the next election(s). Candidates know who voted last time, and in what numbers, and they are certain to pay more attention to the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099326237674005842004-11-01T11:10:00.000-05:002004-11-01T11:23:57.673-05:00

The reaction to Osama's October surprise has been as divided as the presidential election in general. The taped message will obviously help Bush because it reminds Americans that terrorism is a real threat that Kerry just doesn't know how to fight. The message will obviously help Kerry because if reminds Americans that Bush took his eye off the ball by going to Iraq instead of finishing of OBL.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099328923799091762004-11-01T00:10:00.000-05:002004-11-01T12:08:43.800-05:00

To expand a little on something I mentioned earlier, the possible effect of the democratization of information on the commonweal after the election: Because of wall-to-wall election coverage for the last year in both the "old media" -- i.e., newspapers and TV -- and "new media" -- i.e., cable, talk radio and the blogosphere -- there has been unprecedent interest in this election, which could

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099078647395226332004-10-29T15:34:00.000-04:002004-10-29T15:39:45.126-04:00

If I want to bash Kerry, I really have to work at it. I don't have nearly the support staff that the bash-Bush crowd has. After this is all over, a lot of people in my profession have go some 'splainin' to do.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099078121276491502004-10-29T15:24:00.000-04:002004-10-29T15:28:41.276-04:00

Yes, there really are some thoughtful undecideds out there. One has just written about her thinking process and how she came to finally choose guess who. And here's an endorsement that will drive John Kerry right around the bend. Oh, my god! It's all over now. Even Dan Rather thinks Bush will win.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099076717763640862004-10-29T15:02:00.000-04:002004-10-29T15:05:17.763-04:00

Of course there's no chance at all that the Lancet report is another piece of partisan poison from the get-Bush hit squad. I'm surprised it wasn't reported on 60 Minutes.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099074750986733902004-10-29T14:26:00.000-04:002004-10-29T14:50:47.443-04:00

Leo, the missing munitions story -- now pretty much confirmed with an April, 2003 tape from an embedded ABC News affiliate -- is about more than explosives. It's about how the White House didn't plan for the post-invasion period, didn't send enough troops and how -- time after time after time -- it has fudged the facts and sought to escape responsibility. In fact, Bush & Co.'s multiple

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099075343066572192004-10-29T14:23:00.000-04:002004-10-29T14:49:43.980-04:00

Well, I guess it wouldn't be an election without the self-styled elite letting their moral preening and intellectual vanity bubble to the surface and harp on their favorite "Republicans are dunces" campfire song. Never mind that there might be something a little more subtle going on. Since liberals lead with the heart, and conservatives insist on thinking about things -- i.e., people move from

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099073222491216992004-10-29T13:50:00.000-04:002004-10-29T14:15:03.513-04:00

Read a report that some people are so caught up in the election that they're going to turn their kids into campaign billboards for Halloween, plaster them with Bush or Kerry buttons and stickers. I'm not sure this is a great idea. They'll probably run into a lot of mean old men like me. To a Kerry-supporter trick-or-treater: Hey, kid. Looks like you got a lot more candy than any of the other

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099071354982647222004-10-29T13:35:00.000-04:002004-10-29T13:41:08.260-04:00

Why in the world has the Kerry campaign settled on the "missing" explosives in Iraq as its last-minute-push issue? Tommy Franks is amazed, too. The United States has managed to destroy about 400,000 tons of explosives since it's been in Iraq, while it was deposing Saddam, rebuilding the infrastructure, keeping insurgents at bay. Now, 380 tons, one-tenth of one percent -- MAY be missing, in the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099073980668459372004-10-29T13:34:00.000-04:002004-10-29T14:24:10.810-04:00

The folks who continue to justify the Iraq war -- and the way the Bush administration has conducted it -- usually begin (and often end) with the fact that Saddam Hussein was a monster who had killed thousands of his own people -- and the Iraqis are better off with him out of power. Now comes a study by the British medical journal Lancet that may undercut even that argument. It concludes that

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1099066854226677672004-10-29T11:56:00.000-04:002004-10-29T12:46:22.993-04:00

I don't get all my news from "The Daily Show," but last night's appearance by pollster John Zogby (the only guy who got it right four years ago) had me making late night phone calls to friends. Jon Stewart asked Zogby who is going to win and he said, "Kerry," without equivocating. His reason? Bush is not polling high enough for an incumbent. In fact, as Zogby said, if the election were between

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1098988857998932442004-10-28T14:26:00.000-04:002004-10-28T19:24:43.630-04:00

This article from the American Prospect crystallized something important for me. I don't hate George W. Bush. Really. But I do hate what his success says about the United States of America. In an earlier post, I mentioned a study that suggests that a disturbing number of Bush supporters are unaware of basic facts about Iraq and the view of America in the world. In addition, an overwhelming

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1098984983614038792004-10-28T13:19:00.000-04:002004-10-28T19:29:15.750-04:00

Is there a cosmic message in this year's World Series? The Boston Red Sox destroyed the Curse of the Bambino by winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years. And they did it in the most historic way ever -- coming back from being down 3-0 to the despised New York Yankees and then going on to sweep the Series. That's eight wins in a row. It's often been true that an American League

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499376.post-1098981752377496932004-10-28T11:46:00.000-04:002004-10-28T19:30:06.426-04:00

Leo, the missing explosives bombshell has not fallen apart -- not by a long shot. In fact, the White House's shifting stories about when they knew about it and what might have happened to those munitions provide even stronger evidence that they're desperately-seeking excuses. (Talking Points Memo has several excellent posts looking at the various tall tales.) Wishing won't make it so. But

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0