Kicking it McCain Style

Via my coworker Taylor, via Daily Kos.

Bush Flip-Flops on Timetables

It's official. Condoleezza Rice has negotiated a draft agreement towards a timetable for withdrawl of US forces from Iraq. The draft calls for the removal of combat forces from cities by the end of June 2009, with all combat forces out by December 2011. Unfortunately, this agreement does leave a little room for so-called "residual" forces. Nevertheless, this is very encouraging news, as it will be good to have the majority of our troops home where they belong. This is, of course, a huge flip-flop for Bush. The administration has long made it clear that they view timetables for withdrawl as tantamount to surrender. Considering McCain thinks we need to stay in Iraq anywhere between 100 and 10,000 years I can only guess that he must've spontaneously combusted when he heard of this news.

It should be noted that the Bush administration has made a wise move here, so I will give credit where credit is due. However, it should be clear that this is a draft agreement so nothing is set in stone. In other words, in the unfortunate event of a McCain victory in November, he could throw this agreement out the window. Moreover, the Times article makes clear that the Americans and Iraqis have somewhat different interpretations of this agreement. In the end though, this is good news and it hopefully means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the troops over in Iraq.

This ADORABLE photo was used courtesy of Flickr user soldiersmediacenter April 23, 2007

Game On

Via Ezra Klein.

Why Republican Attacks Work

Michael Tomasky, the editor of Guardian America and former editor of the American Prospect, has a great post up on his new blog that explains why Republican attacks are so much more devastating than Democratic ones. The long and short of it is that Republicans attack character, while Democrats attack policy. The American people, are of course much more in tune with character issues than they are knowledgeable of policy. This is something the Democratic Party really needs to correct, and Tomasky has a few ideas on where to start.

The Shifting Evangelicals

E.J. Dionne has a great column in todays Post. Much has been made amongst the talking heads over the appearance of John McCain and Barack Obamma at Rick Warren's, the author of The Purpose Driven Life and an up-and-coming leader in the evangelical movement, forum last weekend. The main narrative that has been constructed by the MSM is that John McCain knocked it out of the park. This is, of course, about as surprising as 90 degree weather in August. However, Dionne strikes a number of chords that bring into focus the gravity of Obama's appearance at this forum. It demonstrates that Obama is comfortable talking about his faith, and he feels that he can use his faith to reach out to voters that normally wouldn't be inclined to vote for him. While I must admit, I was watching the Olympics and English Premier League football (Go Liverpool!) during the forum, many of the clips I saw of Obama were of him giving thoughtful answers and receiving polite applause in response. Moreover, Warren seemed to genuinely be interested in what Obama had to say; and while he didn't always agree with the Senator, he seemed to appreciate Obama's answers and he conveyed a great deal of respect for him.

McCain of course received a rousing reception (holy alliteration!), because let's be honest, most of these people are going to vote for him anyway, and he has all the right answers to the pressing social issues. However much Warren agreed with McCain's shoot-from-the-hip talking point responses, he seemed to be much more intriguied and impressed by Barack Obama. In that sense, I think you have to chalk this off as a victory for Obama. He had the guts and wherewithall to speak eloquently and thoughtfully in front of a potentailly very hostile audience, and he managed to at least gain the respect of Rick Warren and his parishoners.

It should also be noted, as alluded to by Dionne in his column, that Rick Warren seems like an inherently reasonable dude. While I find a number of his religous beliefs abhorrent, he seems to have a genuine respect for different opinions, and he's clearly an extremely intelligent individual (holy assonance!) Warren will actually invest himself in civilized discussions over issues, and conduct himself in respectable manner that serves to elevate the tone of political discourse. Barack Obama was more than happy to play along, John McCain wasn't, because frankly, he's not nearly smart enough to do so. The other note of praise I have for Warren, which Dionne again is wise to point out, is that he has brought a renewed focus on issues of poverty, hunger, and climate change that have been noticeably absent from the culture war platform of the evangelical movement for some time. I think Rick Warren would be a much better moderator of presidential debates than any of the dunces the MSM will throw at us!

Show Me the Money!

Via the Huffington Post, I found this nice little dity about Michael Phelps. It turns out that some business gurus think that Phelps could cash in on up to $40 million dollars in endorsement deals! That's $5 million per gold medal! Now, I'm not bringing this up to in any way impunge the character of Micheal Phelps. Phelps is without a doubt the most gifted athlete in Olympic history and he seems like an all around good guy. He endeared himself to me in 2004 when he gave up his spot in the medley relay so Ian Crocker, one of his biggest rivals, could have a chance at gold. That was a selfless move of pure class, and he deserves to be commended often for it. Moreover, Phelps' success will turn a lot of young people on to the great sport of swimming. It's just disappointing that Phelps' performance in Beijing will likely result in the rampant commecialization of a sport that has remained fairly pure throughout the years. However, this commercialization is indicative of the system, and Phelps should not be blamed for bringing it about.

Photo used courtesy of Flickr user nataliehehring.com August 12, 2008

Josh Marshall and Matt Yglesias: Making Sense

Over at Taling Points Memo (here) and Think Progress (here) Josh Marshall and Matt Yglesias are talking a lot of sense on Russia. John McCain wants the US to fast track Georgia into full membership with NATO. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with how NATO works, members of NATO are to view an attack on any member state to be an attack on their own country. Essentially, John McCain wants to go to war with Russia. Now, Yglesias is correct to point out that Russia is certainly not what it used to be. However, any idoit knows that a NATO strike on Russia (basically the US, Britain, and France attacking Russian forces in Georgia) would likely bring about World War III. Unfortunately, St. McCain doesn't think WWIII would be a bad thing. As I've stated before, John McCain believes that war is an honorable enterprise. War, in the eyes of John McCain, is an end in itself. A massive war with Russia would mean more Americans serving in the military (which John McCain sees as the highest possible calling) and fighting for meaningless Georgian villages all in the name of honor. McCain talks about honor like he's some kind of Klingon or Jedi Knight. Certainly, being honorable is noble endeavor. However, there are many ways for one to achieve honor without killing Russians. You could become a fire fighter. You could teach inner city kids how to read. You could joing the Peace Corps.

Anyways, I'm digressing. Many of the same voices that shouted us into Iraq are now attempting to shout us into war with Russia. This is, of course, pure lunacy. However, the American MSM views those that advocate war as the only "serious" foreign policy and national security experts. Consequently, rational voices are either drowned out or ignored completely.

In the meantime, people are dying. Georgia has continously shelled South Ossetia killing thousands of innocent Russian separtists, and Russia has bombed a number of Georgian cities, likely killing large numbers of Georgian civilians. McCain should be advocating diplomacy in order to bring this conflict to a swift but peaceful resolution. Instead, St. McCain, the maverick, is advocating MORE war. Your all smart people, think about that for a few minutes.

NOTE: Matt Yglesias has moved from the Atlantic over to Think Progress. Here's the link to his insightful blog.