1 Boring Old Man

Gunsmoke: Why is the Bush administration silent on the new Pentagon report?
by William Kristol

… So, this week’s fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war will bring us countless news stories reexamining the case for war, with the White House essentially pleading nolo contendere. Even though there is abundant evidence that Iraq was a serious state sponsor of terrorism–and would almost certainly have become a greater one if Saddam had been left in power–most Americans will assume there was no real Saddam-terror connection. After all, they haven’t heard the Bush administration say otherwise.

The president has a responsibility to help the American people understand the nature of the threat we faced in 2003 and the threats we face today–how terror groups work, the extent of state sponsorship, and how that sponsorship transcends Sunni-Shia or secular-jihadist differences.

It’s not too late. Bush can still override his cautious aides and tell the American people the whole truth about the situation we faced in 2003 and would face today if Saddam were still in power. This is more than a matter of political advantage. It is a requirement of war leadership…

The Wrong Reverend
"If you want to understand where Barack gets his feeling and rhetoric from, just look at Jeremiah Wright."
by Joseph Loconte

… Barack Obama has nourished–and been nourished by – a 20-year relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama calls Wright his spiritual "mentor" and the man whose "social gospel" drew him into the black church. He is the minister who married Obama, baptized his daughters, and prays with and counsels him at key moments of his political life. Obama absorbed hours of tapes of Wright’s sermons while a law student at Harvard. When he settled in Chicago, he joined Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ, where he has been an active, tithing member for over 17 years.

What do we know–and what does Obama know – about Rev. Wright? We know from his sermons that he blames the events of 9/ll on the United States: "America’s chickens are coming home to roost," he said the Sunday after the attacks, when human remains were still being uncovered in lower Manhattan. He believes the AIDS virus is the malicious design of a white supremacist government. He gave an achievement award to the anti-Semitic demagogue Louis Farrakhan. We know, too, that he invokes the Bible to justify his crackpot conspiracy theories. "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America,’" Wright intoned. "No, no, no. God damn America, that’s in the Bible, for killing innocent people."

The Obama campaign spent most of last week disavowing these remarks, while simultaneously rationalizing his long friendship with Wright and membership in his church. This is a hopeless strategy – and it raises massive questions about Obama’s judgment, character, and the meaning of his "social justice" agenda…

My point, however, is coordination. Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, the Weekly Standard, Fox News [blaring in the waiting room I just left] all singing in four part harmony, with solos by Bush and Cheney cheerleading  the War. Throw in a couple of court cases – home schooling, gun control laws. It’s orchestrated at a pretty high level. Reminds me of those monotonous sports figures being interviewed in ESPN: "execution, coordination, focus, teamwork."