This story is worth watching

Bin Laden almost caught?

And according to this source, it's only a matter of the US pulling the trigger to capture him. Although this story cites dubious sources, I'm reminded of the "Bush waits until October to capture Bin Laden" conspiracy theory...

Good one...

"It looks like the Bush administration will be handing over power to the Iraqis by June 30th...and, then they'll be handing over power to the Democrats on Nov 2nd."

-Letterman

One more thing...

Casualties have been decreasing in Iraq during the last month. Now about 1 soldier dies per day, instead of about 2.

If that a good sign? Well, for families of American soldiers - yes.

But has the violence decreased? No way. In fact, it's increased quite a bit. The insurgents have just chosen to attack soft targets with Iraq (like police stations) instead of US soldiers. The death tolls are not decreasing. The situation is not improving.

McCain-Feingold

Before I head to bed tonight, I need to comment on this law: It's a joke. It's a horrible law. I'll write a long post tomorrow about it's negative effects...

He sums it up...

Read this Josh Marshall post to get an idea of how I (and most Democrats) feel about gay marriage. We're uncomfortably against it...with the hope that tolerance will increase in the future...

White House appoints cave man to Federal bench

It's true. Read this article. Maybe Bush does believe in inclusiveness. He appointed a Cro-Magnon man to the federal bench. Never before has a cave dweller been appointed to such a high office.

Bush: Worst President since Hoover?

The only question is: Is Bush WORSE than Hoover?

The economic problems that Bush is passing on to our country might just rival the Great Depression. Clearly Hoover wasn't responsible for the Great Depression, although he did nothing about it. With Bush, you have a combination of hands off "leadership" and adhoc planning that's led to a spending free for all where everyone gets their share, except for the poor and the middle class. Take another look at these CATO numbers if you haven't already.

Often Bush's defenders claim that his deficit isn't so bad when you look at it as a percentage of GDP. But without the Social Security surplus added in (what's called a "Unified Budget"), Bush's budget is a disaster. That money will dry up in the next 10 years and that's assuming a rosy economic future and plentiful growth. What will we do then? Drastic tax increases/budget cuts?

Worst President ever...

Tim Russert's expert opinion

(as cited in Kaus)

"Look for John Edwards to focus on Ohio, Georgia and upstate New York. He cannot win enough delegates to become the nominee but he can become a strong second, is his hope, which will position himself perhaps for vice president or to run for the nomination in a future cycle."

Does anyone with half a brain still think Edwards (1) wants to be VP or (2) would be a good VP candidate?

What does he bring to the ticket??? Any state?? NO....

Clearly this thing is going to be won in the Southwest and the the Midwest. Not North Carolina.

Furthermore, no one who is running for President and dedicating a year of their life to that cause is positioning them self for a future run... That's ludicrous.

Gay marriage in SF

I ignored this story for a while because I didn't see the relevance. But here it is:

Many conservatives have argued that their hatred of gay marriages stems from their distaste for activist judges. But in San Fran, a Democratically elected city council made gay marriage legal, not a judge. So ha.

2.6 million jobs

The President promised 2.6 million jobs this year. Now he's backing away from that promise.

Somehow this is Clinton's fault...

Bush's hilarious campaign strategy

Blame it on Clinton!!!

This makes me want to puke...

How many years down the road will blaming Clinton not be a viable option for Republicans? They blamed 9-11 on him. They blamed the corporate scandals on him. They even mention his name in an effort to diffuse Bush's blame for hyping WMD...

In year 2090, when a Martians land on Earth and take over the US, will that be Clinton's fault?

In the year 2401, when a virus spread over the earth and kills off all of the cows, will the Republican Party blame Clinton??

When will it end???

Dean people giving to Edwards?
I just received an email from the Edwards campaign. Apparently he's received "over $312,000" since the polls closed in Wisconsin. That's pretty amazing...

A spike in contributions was expected, but this far exceeds what I would have hoped. I think many of Dean's supporters have jumped on the bandwagon. Welcome aboard!

Why Howard Dean?

I've been struggling with the motivations of supporting Howard Dean for a while, but I never thought to examine my own.

I supported him pretty strongly last winter, spring and throughout the summer, despite the fact that I tepidly supported the war in Iraq at the time (support that I now regret). The reasons? Here are the main ones:

1. His criticism of the President when all other Democrats refused

2. His blunt answers to questions

3. His moderate record

I knew that for Democrats to start winning elections again, they MUST differentiate themselves from the President, and Dean's blunt personality might woo the media like McCain had in 2000. This would make up for Dean's weaknesses (Vermont, civil unions, anti-war).

As soon as the rest of the Democrats began to criticize the President, #1 lost its importance.

As for #2 and #3 - Dean threw his bluntness out the window and began espousing far-left issue positions by attacking all that Clinton and the New Democrats stood for. He suddenly became anti-NAFTA. He withdrew his criticism of the current Medicare system and gun control. He started straddling issues. I expect politicians to do flip flop a bit, but Howard Dean's appeal was his propensity to stick to his guns and give the honest answer. Once he stopped being honest and started calculating, I lost interest in him. In February of 2003, at the DNC Winter Session, I saw the coming of another McCain.

Why did Dean move so far to the left (in his rhetoric)? Because it helped him raise money. Every time he railed against the DLC or the Democratic establishment, money poured in. Every time they attacked him, money poured in. Dean knew who his supporters mostly were: liberals. And the relationship between Dean and his supporters was very close. They loved him, and he loved them. And so he pandered to them while alienating the rest of us who might agree with his positions, but want to beat Bush.

The truth is, Dean could have moved far to the right and stayed there without losing his core support. They loved his style and his attacks on Bush, not his policies.

Electability bubble part 3

For John Kerry's "bubble of electability" to burst, two things must happen:

1. His general election weaknesses must be exposed and widely reported. What are they?
a. Northeastern elitist (personality issues)
b. Liberal voting record (he voted Defense of Marriage Act, and against the first gulf war
c. His tendency to try to have it both ways on issues

2. Democrats must believe that John Edwards has the best chance of beating Bush.

I'm not going to pretend to understand how Democrats formulate "electability". They seem to throw logic and rational thought out the window. First, they decided that Howard Dean was the most electable because he would fire up the base (never mind the fact that he would scare off swing voters). Next, they decided that John Kerry's Vietnam resume would be enough to propel him past Bush...

So I suppose it won't take much to convince voters that John Edwards is electable. In the words of Jordan Berman, "They'll vote for whoever the media tells them to vote for." And the media loves Edwards.

Exit polls

With all of this focus on the exit polls today, we forget something: The exit polls were wrong! They predicted a large Kerry win! Therefore, the trends that they present are highly dubious...

Rumors about Governor Perry

Since I spread fake rumors about John Kerry last week, I suppose it's time to give the GOP their due.

This one sounds more believable than the Kerry story, however...

Dean drops out

Will his support flow to Edwards? An endorsement would help...

Meanwhile, the Kerry Electability Bubble watch continues over at TNR.

Electability bubble about to burst?

Will Saletan's on the case...

Just in case you're wondering...

There's a bit of wind left in my anti-John Kerry lungs...

...expect a some new posts coming soon.

Primary schedule

For those of you wondering, here's a copy of the primary schedule.

Two interesting viewpoints
From DailyKos

John Edwards has two weeks to prove he can get at least three wins on March 2.
I suspect he'll carry Georgia with ease because Kerry will smartly concede that state in order to concentrate his resources and efforts making sure Edwards wins nowhere else. Edwards next best bet is probably Ohio, where the blue-collar job loss will affirm Edwards' message. For the sake of argument, let's assume he nails down Ohio, too. Those two wins are not enough. He'll still need a third, significant win...

...which just might be New York -- at first blush, a strange place for a Southern millworker's son to win. But anyone familiar with the post-industrial situation along the Upstate I-90 corridor between Albany to Buffalo -- including parts of the North Country region above, and the Southern Tier below -- knows that Edwards' message will resonate well Upstate. His big-wins-in-small-jurisdictions approach has worked well, as Iowa proved and, I suspect, the final Wisconsin results will confirm. Remember: NY's junior senator was not supposed to run well Upstate, but she beat Rick Lazio precisely because she did.

If Edwards can win GA, OH and squeak out any kind of win in NY, he stays alive for another week. And that would really shake things up because the four states and 460 delegates chosen on March 9 all come from Edwards-favorable states: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas

It's strange to think that my home state of New York (Albany) could be the tipping point. But if Edwards can make it there, he could make it anywhere.
From "The Scrumm"

NOW IT'S PERSONAL
On election night, no matter how bitter the campaign, a rule of etiquette is usually respected that candidates wait their turn to speak on television — and most importantly, they don't step on each other's precious broadcast time. Think John Kerry is scared by John Edwards' showing in Wisconsin? He just walked onto stage about one minute after Edwards, forcing all the cable nets that were covering the speeches live to switch over to him. Edwards, who had barely started his Tower Automotive riff, must be steaming. Interns are nothing. To insiders, this is ugly politics indeed.

Kerry edges Edwards

We might just have a race - but it'll take more than this close finish to propel Edwards ahead of Kerry. It'll take some help from Howard Dean...

From the Washington Post:
Washington Post:
The former Vermont governor sought out rival John Edwards for a private meeting in Milwaukee Sunday night. After what Democratic sources described as a friendly but inconclusive conversation, Dean said the two men should talk again Wednesday. The implication was that there could be ways for Dean to help a candidate he has said he prefers over Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.).

More evidence that the Kerry story is bunk
From Campaign Journal:

HE DID SPELL JOHN KERRY CORRECTLY: Just in case anybody was still wondering whether anything in the original Drudge item about John Kerry was accurate, I can confirm that Wesley Clark did not say what Drudge says he said at that off-the-record conversation with reporters in Nashville one week ago.

I was there when Clark spoke, and just to make sure I didn't miss anything, I've also checked with other reporters who were there. Since it was off the record (sort of), I can't get into what Clark actually said (let's just say it was not his finest moment on the campaign trail), but I can report that the quote Drudge attributes to him--"Kerry will implode over an intern issue"--is not accurate. He never said that.

Meanwhile, in the real world

I'm so caught up in my academic world here at UVA that sometimes I forget what the rest of the world is like:

I'm going to ask about a few stories in the Bible. [See below.] Do you think that's literally true, meaning it happened that way word-for-word; or do you think it's meant as a lesson, but not to be taken literally?"

"The story of Noah and the ark in which it rained for 40 days and nights, the entire world was flooded, and only Noah, his family and the animals on their ark survived."

Literally True 60%
Not Literally True 33%
No Opinion 7%

"The creation story in which the world was created in six days."

Literally True 61%
Not Literally True 30%
No Opinion 8%

"The story about Moses parting the Red Sea so the Jews could escape from Egypt."

Literally True 64%
Not Literally True 28%
No Opinion 8%

Source: ABC News

Yikes...

Edwards last night

Here's a great Edwards statement last night:

One thing, though, I want us to be very careful about, you know, I listen to candidates talk about health care. They say, "Oh, we're going to cover 97 percent. Everybody is going to be covered. All the kids are going to be covered. We're going to give you all these tax cuts for the middle class, and oh, by the way, we're also going to balance the budget in the next four years."

It's just not the truth. People need to know the truth about what we can afford and what we can't afford. They have been listening to this talk over and over and over for years. It's part of the reason they are so cynical about politics.

Anti-Bush rally

Some political news from Charlottesville to report:

The College Republicans held a rally for Bush today on the steps of the UVA rotunda. We held an anti-Bush rally nearby. We not only outnumbered them, but we our chanting drowned out all of their speakers.

Interesting exchange

Josh Marshall has this up on his site:

Q: Did the President ever have to take time off from Guard duty to do community service?
Scott McClellan: To do community service? I haven't looked into everything he did 30 years ago, Helen. Obviously, there is different community service he has performed in the past, including going back to that time period --

Q: Can you find out if he actually had --

Scott McClellan: Helen, I don't think we remember every single activity he was involved in 30 years ago.

Q: No, this isn't an activity. Was he forced to do community service at any time while he was on --

Scott McClellan: What's your interest in that question? I'm sorry, I just --

Q: Lots of rumors. I'm just trying to clear up something.

Scott McClellan: Rumors about what?

Q: Pardon?

Scott McClellan: Rumors about what?

Q: About the President having to do community service while he was in the National Guard, take time out for that.

Scott McClellan: I'm not aware of those rumors. But if you want to --

Q: Could you look it up? Would you mind asking him?

Scott McClellan: That's why I'm asking what's your interest in that? I just don't understand your interest in that.

Q: It's what everybody is interested in, whether we're getting the true story on his Guard duty.

Scott McClellan: Well, you have the documents that show the facts.

Q: I'm asking you to try to find out from the President of the United States.

Scott McClellan: Like I said, it's well known the different jobs he had and what he was doing previously, that we know. That goes back to --

Q: I didn't say "previously." I said, while he was on Guard duty.

Scott McClellan: But you're asking me about 30 years ago. I don't think there's a recollection of everything he was doing 30 years ago.

Q: Well, he would know if he had to take time out.

Scott McClellan: Again, I mean, the issue that was raised was whether or not the President was serving while he was in Alabama. Documents reflect that he
was --

Q: Well, this is another issue.

Scott McClellan: -- hold on -- that he was serving in Alabama. That was the issue that was raised. We went through, four years ago, other issues related to this.

Q: So you won't answer the question or you won't try to find out?

Scott McClellan: Well, I'm asking you, what's your interest in that question? I'm just curious, because rumors --

Q: Did he have to do any community service while he was in the National Guard?

Scott McClellan: Look, Helen, I think the issue here was whether or not the President served in Alabama. Records have documented --

Q: I'm asking you a different question. That's permissible.

Scott McClellan: Can I answer your question? Sure it is. Can I ask you why you're asking it? I'm just -- out of curiosity myself, is that permissible?

Q: Well, I'm interested, of course, in what everybody is interested in. And we have a very --

Scott McClellan: Let me just point out that we've released all the information we have related to this issue, the issue of whether or not he served while in Alabama. Records have documented as false the outrageous --

Q: I asked you whether he had to do any community service while he was in the National Guard.

Scott McClellan: Can I walk through this?

Q: It's a very legitimate question.

Scott McClellan: And I want to back up and walk through this a little bit. Let's talk about the issue that came up, because this issue came up four years ago, it came up four years before that -- or two years before that, it came up four years before that --

Q: Did my question come up four years ago, and was it handled?

Scott McClellan: Helen, if you'll let me finish, I want to back up and talk about this --

Q: Don't dance around, just give us --

Q: It's a straightforward question.

Q: Let's not put too fine a point on it. If I'm not mistaken, you're implying that he had to do community service for criminal action, as a punishment for some crime?

Q: There are rumors around, and I didn't put it in that way. I just --

Q: Could you take that question? I guess apparently that's the question, that he had to take time out to perform community service --

Scott McClellan: That's why I wanted to get to this because --

Q: -- as a sentence for a crime.

Scott McClellan: No, that's why I wanted to get to this because I want to step back for a second. I want to go back through a few things. Look, the -- I think we've really exhausted the issue that came up. The issue that came up was related to whether or not he had served while he was in Alabama. Records have documented as false the outrageous, baseless accusation that he did not serve while in Alabama. The conspiracy theory of one individual, that the National Guard cleansed documents, has been discredited.

Q: How so?

Scott McClellan: Read The Boston Globe today.

Q: Well, we want answers from you, not --

Scott McClellan: Read the Boston Globe. No, the answers are from the people that would have knowledge of that. But read --

Q: Why do you think this person made those allegations?

Scott McClellan: Hang on, hang on.

Q: What? Just read The Boston Globe --

Scott McClellan: Just read The Boston Globe. Read The Boston Globe. I would draw your attention to that. What I think we're seeing now is just politics. And we're not going to engage in it, because there are great challenges facing our nation, and there should be an honest discussion of the actions the President is taking to make our world safer and better and make America more prosperous and secure.

You want me to go --

Q: -- the personal record of a President is --

Scott McClellan: No, hang on, Helen, hang on. I've said from this podium, if we have new information that comes to our attention that relates to this issue, we have made it clear we will share that information. You're asking me to go and chase rumors. There was a conspiracy theory --

Q: I think --

Scott McClellan: Hold on, hold on, Helen. There was a conspiracy theory made by one individual, when everybody he accused of being involved in that said, it's ridiculous, didn't happen.

Q: This is not based on a conspiracy theory.

Scott McClellan: And there was a lot of attention given to this individual, and he's been discredited. There's a Boston Globe article on it this morning. And there are some --

Q: That says what? Your point --

Scott McClellan: You can go read it. I mean, we've got other things to move on to. I mean, you can go read it. But there are some, unfortunately, who simply are not interested in the facts. Again, the documents -- the records document that he did serve while in Alabama. And now there are people that are bringing up issues that were addressed four years ago.

Q: But you still haven't answered Helen's question. She asked you a simple question.

Scott McClellan: There are people that want to replay the 2000 campaign all over again, Bill, and --

Q: You still haven't answered her question about community service.

Scott McClellan: -- there are too many important -- there are too many important policies and decisions that are being made that we need to discuss.

Q: Why does a "yes" or "no" elude you on this?

Scott McClellan: I didn't say that. I said that these were all issues addressed four years ago. If there's additional information --

Q: This issue quite obviously wasn't addressed four years ago.

Scott McClellan: Oh, issues -- these issues were addressed four years ago.

Q: This issue was? The community service issue was addressed four years ago?

Scott McClellan: The issues -- the issues that we're going to here --

Q: I don't recall --

Scott McClellan: This is called chasing a rumor. And I'm not going to engage in this kind of politics, Bill.

Q: -- finding out whether a rumor is true or false.

Scott McClellan: No, this issue, absolutely --

Q: Why can't you say whether or not he performed community service?

Scott McClellan: Absolutely, this issue came up four years ago. And if you all want to play politics, then go call the RNC, call the campaign.

Q: The best defense is offense. We know that. Just, all you've got to say is you don't know.

Scott McClellan: Helen, it was -- this issue was addressed four years ago. I think people that were involved in the campaign will know --

Q: -- if they know --

Scott McClellan: -- that the issue that you're trying to bring up was addressed four years ago. It's about chasing rumors.

Q: It isn't a question of four years ago. The issue has come up now, very large.

Scott McClellan: I'm not going to get into chasing rumors.

Q: Headlines.

Scott McClellan: I'm not going to get into chasing rumors.

Q: So you refuse to answer the question?

Scott McClellan: You're saying that people said he was forced to do something, and you're asking me to chase a rumor.

Q: Everything is politics today, of course.

Q: She asked you a "yes" or "no" question.

Scott McClellan: Look, if you all want to -- this is just politics. That's what this is. And if there's any more information I have to share with you all, I will always -- I will do that.

Q: Scott, I have a question of this individual, and I confess, I haven't read the Boston article. But who -- what do you believe was this person's motivation, that if they have been discredited, for making these allegations?

Scott McClellan: Just -- I would read The Boston Globe. Everybody that he accused of being involved in this has said it was totally ridiculous. And there are others that --

Q: So are you saying -- was it politically motivated?

Scott McClellan: There are others that are quoted in The Boston Globe today, that you might want to see what they said.

Q: Speaking of politics, has the President authorized his campaign --

Scott McClellan: And we've got to --

Q: -- to release a video attacking Senator Kerry?

Scott McClellan: You need to talk -- you need to talk to the campaign. But let me go to the week ahead because we've used up more than 15 minutes.

Q: So the President did authorize --

Q: Scott, I've got --

Scott McClellan: I'm going to go to the week ahead.

End of intern story

From the AP:

A woman who has been the subject of rumors linking her to Sen. John
Kerry denied Monday that she ever had an affair with the Democratic
presidential candidate.
Breaking her silence four days after the allegations surfaced on the
Internet, Alexandra Polier issued a statement to The Associated Press,
saying, "I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors
in the press are completely false."
Kerry already has denied reports that he had an extramarital affair. On
Monday, his campaign said he would have no further comment.
Polier's statement was released to the AP in Nairobi, where the
27-year-old freelance journalist is visiting the parents of her fiance,
Yaron Schwartzman, an Israeli who was raised in Kenya. She previously worked
as an editorial assistant for the AP in New York.
"Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me,"
Polier said, appealing to the media to respect her privacy and the privacy
of her fiance and his family.
Polier also took issue with reports that referred to her as a former
Kerry intern.
"I never interned or worked for John Kerry," she told AP over the
phone.
In a separate statement, Polier's parents, Terry and Donna Polier of
Malvern, Pa., dismissed the "completely false and unsubstantiated"
allegations about their daughter.
"We love and support her 100 percent and these unfounded rumors are
hurtful to our entire family," the statement said. "We appreciate the way
Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for
president of the United States."
The statement did not address purported quotes by Polier's parents in
the British tabloid The Sun that were harshly critical of Kerry.
Kerry has won 14 of 16 Democratic primaries and caucuses, and is
expected to be the Democratic challenger to President Bush in November.
Rumors of a relationship between Kerry and Polier first appeared
Thursday on the Internet and were picked up by newspapers in several
countries outside the United States. Few U.S. publications printed her name,
however.
Asked Friday about the reports, Kerry told reporters: "I just deny it
categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue. And that's the last time I intend"
to respond to questions about it.
Regarding her silence until now, Polier said, "Because these stories
were false, I assumed the media would ignore them. It seems that efforts to
peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them."
By Monday, reporters and photographers were camped outside the
Schwartzmans' Nairobi home, and at one point pursued the car of Yaron's
mother, Hannah Schwartzman, as she left the walled compound.
Polier and Yaron Schwartzman met at Clark University, in Worcester,
Mass. Polier graduated from Clark in 1999. She received her master's in
journalism from Columbia in 2002. They arrived in Kenya last October

Larry David (my hero) on Vietnam reserve duty

From the New York Times:

My War
By LARRY DAVID

Published: February 15, 2004

LOS ANGELES

I couldn't be happier that President Bush has stood up for having served in the National Guard, because I can finally put an end to all those who questioned my motives for enlisting in the Army Reserve at the height of the Vietnam War. I can't tell you how many people thought I had signed up just to avoid going to Vietnam. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, I was itching to go over there. I was just out of college and, let's face it, you can't buy that kind of adventure. More important, I wanted to do my part in saving that tiny country from the scourge of Communism. We had to draw the line somewhere, and if not me, then who?

But I also knew that our country was being torn asunder by opposition to the war. Who would be here to defend the homeland against civil unrest? Or what if some national emergency should arise? We needed well-trained men on the ready to deal with any situation. It began to dawn on me that perhaps my country needed me more at home than overseas. Sure, being a reservist wasn't as glamorous, but I was the one who had to look at myself in the mirror.

Even though the National Guard and Army Reserve see combat today, it rankles me that people assume it was some kind of waltz in the park back then. If only. Once a month, for an entire weekend — I'm talking eight hours Saturday and Sunday — we would meet in a dank, cold airplane hangar. The temperature in that hangar would sometimes get down to 40 degrees, and very often I had to put on long underwear, which was so restrictive I suffered from an acute vascular disorder for days afterward. Our captain was a strict disciplinarian who wouldn't think twice about not letting us wear sneakers or breaking up a poker game if he was in ill humor. Once, they took us into the woods and dropped us off with nothing but compasses and our wits. One wrong move and I could've wound up on Queens Boulevard. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to find my way out of there and back to the hangar. Some of my buddies did not fare as well and had to call their parents to come and get them.

Then in the summer we would go away to camp for two weeks. It felt more like three. I wondered if I'd ever see my parakeet again. We slept on cots and ate in the International House of Pancakes. I learned the first night that IHOP's not the place to order fish. When the two weeks were up, I came home a changed man. I would often burst into tears for no apparent reason and suffered recurring nightmares about drowning in blueberry syrup. If I hadn't been so strapped for cash, I would've sought the aid of a psychiatrist.

In those days, reserve duty lasted for six years, which, I might add, was three times as long as service in the regular army, although to be perfectly honest, I was unable to fulfill my entire obligation because I was taking acting classes and they said I could skip my last year. I'll always be eternally grateful to the Pentagon for allowing me to pursue my dreams.

Still, after all this time, whenever I've mentioned my service in the Reserve during Vietnam, it's been met with sneers and derision. But now, thanks to President Bush, I can stand up proudly alongside him and all the other guys who guarded the home front. Finally, we no longer have to be embarrassed about our contribution during those very trying years.


Larry David, who served in the Army Reserve in the 1970's, appears in the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Colin Powell on the Vietnam era Guard:

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country."

Excerpt from a Salon interview

Tell me about the incident that occurred in the spring of 1997.

Retired officer, Bill Burkett: Here is basically what happened within the second floor of the Texas Air National Guard headquarters at Camp Mabry [in Austin]. It's a long building, north to south in structure. Because I was appointed State Plans Officer, I had access to General James. And at times I would drop by the general's office and would be ushered in or out by the receptionist/secretary. Just outside of his office she had a very small space of roughly 8-by-10 feet just outside of his immediate door. On occasions she was not there and the door was closed, I went on and went somewhere else assuming he was either not there or in sensitive discussion. If the door was open I had been told that if it didn't seem all that important of a discussion that I'd just tap on the door or stick my head in to see if it was anything sensitive.

On this occasion his secretary was not at her desk and the door was cracked approximately 8 to 10 inches. And I stuck my head through the door. And this is the one point where there may be some doubt; I'm not sure General James actually acknowledged me. The rest of it I am sure of. I was under the assumption that he had people in his office because I could hear voices. When I stuck my head through the door slightly I could not see anyone sitting in the wing-backed chairs or the couch that sat in front of his desk where you always sat if you went into the general's office for a conversation. Immediately I recognized he was on a telephone call and I was extremely embarrassed. I felt uncomfortable about that. And I stood there [in the receptionist's area] for a moment. The basic part of what I heard, and the words I'll give you are a paraphrase, they are not direct quotes, the words basically were, "Karen Hughes and Dan Bartlett were going to come out to the [Texas National] Guard and they wanted General James to make sure the [Bush] records were assembled and basically, not in some crisis statement or anything, but to make sure there wasn't anything there that would embarrass the governor."

Burkett then went to to describe how some 40 pages were removed from the record and thrown away. Bartlett, Hughes, and James deny his claims.

More poor reporting

The conventional wisdom amongst the reporters is that John Kerry is highly electable, and voters who recognize that are "voting with their heads, not their hearts". They don't even get it yet...

How long until the CW on John Kerry shifts from "electable" to "Massachusetts liberal".