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Dick Cheney had some Russert thoughts.
Peter Wehner “unpacks” a recent Joe Klein piece on Iraq. It’s long (2,100 words), but a perfect metaphor for the problems W faced trying to steer a consistent course while facing unrelenting criticism from Dems and the media.
On his June 11 Swampland blog, Joe Klein once again comments on Iraq. On the effects of the so-called surge, Klein admits to progress. In his words:
the military situation in Iraq has improved so much that normally sober and pessimistic military and intelligence sorts are simply stunned.
… the successful operations in Basra, Sadr City and Mosul have had a completely unexpected effect on the stature of the formerly hapless Nouri Al-Maliki: At a recent cabinet meeting after the Sadr City operation, the entire room stood when Maliki entered, a sign of newfound respect for a leader who was regarded as little more than a place-holder only months ago. [italics in original]
… the tide of good news is unmistakable.
Klein offers several caveats in his posting, and they are good ones. But elsewhere he veers badly off track and gets sloppy in the process. And because his views so often reflect conventional, if flawed, wisdom at the time, they are worth examining with some care. …
Jennifer Rubin follows with a report of a O’Hanlon and Pollack Brookings briefing on Iraq.
Senior Brookings Fellows Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack gave a report Friday and entertained questions at a Brookings briefing on Iraq. It was the single most illuminating presentation I have witnessed on the status of Iraq and the potential way forward. Neither man can be accused of shilling for either the administration or John McCain for numerous reasons: both have been strong critics of the war and O’Hanlon opposed the war at the onset and still believes on balance it has not made us safer. I understand from Brookings that the entire transcript will be posted, but I offer some highlights below.
O’Hanlon explained that the last three months has been the “spring of the blossoming of Iraqi security forces” and Iraq is on an “impressive trajectory” although we have not yet “reached a stable end point.” He stressed that the 80% reduction in civilian violence was much better than he thought possible. He went through a detailed review of Basra, conceding that Maliki’s actions took the Americans by surprise and that in the first week things went poorly. However, by the second week two brigades were deployed from Al Anbar ( a testimony to massive improvements in Iraq security force logistics) and the mission was successful, allowing the Iraqi army and national police force to now control the streets of Basra. …
Gerard Baker of the London Times says Europe will miss W.
If there is one small, niggling, horribly ungrateful-sounding complaint about traveling on Air Force One, it is the complete lack of decent swag to carry home.
From the moment that I had received word that we were to interview President Bush on the big blue plane this week, my family made it clear that I was to return home laden with Air Force One keepsakes. The last time that I interviewed George W. Bush, in the Oval Office, he reached into a drawer filled with presidential-seal- embossed gewgaws and presented them as offerings for my five daughters.
So I figured that Air Force One would be no different. Even if there were no proffered take-homes, there would surely be some surreptitious carry-offs. Stories abound of first-time travelers on the presidential aircraft kitted out in extra large pairs of boots so that they could waddle off with every bit of plane that wasn’t nailed to the floor or the walls.
But I have to report that my house will never become a shrine of presidential hot towels, cutlery with the Great Seal of the United States engraved on it or specially embossed disposable lavatory seats.
In fact, by the time that my colleague, Tom Baldwin, and I were into our final descent and a presidential-themed dinner of country-fried chicken and Texas toast (a bit like French toast, only bigger, brasher and with a dash of petroleum in it), all we had to show for the eight-hour ride were a few paper napkins, with a picture of a rather nondescript aircraft on them, the sort that I’m sure you can buy from those vendors who set up stall outside the White House. You would think that someone with a sense of humour would at least have had a batch made that said: “My Dad Flew On Air Force One And All I Got Was This Lousy Napkin.” …
Rich Lowry says if McCain wasn’t such a green-eyed jerk he could tag the Dems with $4.00 gas.
The price of everything, not just driving, is going up in the era of $130-a-barrel oil, but our presidential candidates have a hopelessly thumbless grasp of pocketbook politics.
Their mutual slogan could be “Let them eat abstractions.” Barack Obama famously couldn’t connect with working-class voters in the primaries, offering them an airy diet of hope and change. John McCain rose on his personal honor, which is why on energy he’s fumbling away the GOP’s best domestic political opening in years.
For a politician whose forte has never been domestic policy, McCain has a peculiar taste for complex, verging on unworkable, regulatory schemes — from campaign-finance reform, to comprehensive immigration reform, to a cap-and-trade system limiting carbon emissions.
The attraction for McCain of these plans isn’t their intricacies, but their symbolism. Campaign-finance reform demonstrated his incorruptibility; comprehensive immigration reform his belief in an America open to all comers; cap-and-trade his commitment to fight global warming. …
Gregg Easterbrook revisits his theme of, “If life is so good, why do we feel so bad?” Hint; the media have a role here.
The Democratic National Committee recently ran an ad blasting John McCain for saying the country is “better off” than in 2000. Yet, arguably, except as regards the Iraq war, Mr. McCain’s statement is true. In turn, Mr. McCain is blasting Barack Obama for suggesting that international tensions are not as bad as they’ve been made to seem. Yet, arguably, Mr. Obama is right.
Democratic attacks on Mr. McCain and Republican attacks on Mr. Obama both seek to punish impermissibly positive thoughts. At a time when there exists a sense of crisis over the economy, fuel prices and many other issues, this reinforces the odd, two realities of life in the United States today: The way we are, and the way we think we are. The way we are could use some work, but overall, is pretty good. The way we think we are is terrible, horrible, awful. Possibly worse.
The case that things are basically pretty good? Unemployment is 5.5%, low by historical standards; income is rising slightly ahead of inflation; housing prices are down, but the typical house is still worth a third more than in 2000; 94% of Americans do not have threatened mortgages, and of those who do, most will keep their homes.
Inflation was up in 2007, but this stands out because the 16 previous years were close to inflation-free; living standards are the highest they have ever been, including living standards for the middle class and for the poor.
All forms of pollution other than greenhouse gases are in decline; cancer, heart disease and stroke incidence are declining; crime is in a long-term cycle of significant decline; education levels are at all-time highs. …
Cafe Hayek with good follow-on to Easterbrook.
Michael Barone defends lobbyists.
Barack Obama has long said that his campaign will not accept contributions from lobbyists, and now that he is the presumptive nominee, the Democratic National Committee won’t accept them, either. John McCain says that his campaign won’t employ lobbyists, and volunteers are now queried about possible lobbying activity in the past. It’s only a matter of time until someone calls for a law requiring every lobbyist to paint a big, red “L” on his forehead.
Behind this stigmatization of lobbyists is the notion that the failure to produce legislation in the public interest stems from the existence of lobbyists. Which is obviously nonsense. We couldn’t abolish lobbying without repealing the First Amendment, which gives all of us, even those who are paid to do it, the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” And the government could not sensibly do business without lobbyists. …
John Fund notes the amazing list of folks getting VIP treatment from Countrywide Financial.
… Both Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget committee, also got special below-market mortgages from Countrywide Financial, all arranged by Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. Other recipients of a “Friends of Angelo” program that waived points, lender fees and company borrowing rules were former Bush HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, and former Clinton cabinet officers Donna Shalala and Richard Holbrooke. …
In honor of Father’s Day, we include Kathryn Lopez’s interview of Kathleen Parker, author of the newly published Save the Males: Why Men Matter. Why Women Should Care.
It’s Father’s Day this weekend, in a land where men are underappreciated, disrespected, and under attack. Kathleen Parker is here to save them, with her cultural wakeup call, Save the Males: Why Men Matter. Why Women Should Care. She recently took questions on her new book from NRO editor Kathryn Jean Lopez.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: Well count me among those who think men matter. Why do they need saving though? Don’t they usually do the rescue missions?
Kathleen Parker: Men are, indeed, excellent rescuers. We like that about men. In fact, Western men rescued women once upon a time from their status as pack mules. As my friend Matt Labash might say, I like to call that Western Civilization. Men also created the big-idea documents that ultimately resulted in women’s suffrage and equality under the law. Women have demonstrated their gratitude by reaching the summit and basically pulling the ladder up behind them. “See ya, guys. You’re on your own now. Oh, and we’re taking the kids.” …