Powell distancing himself from Bush?

Here's Powell's statement on MTP last Sunday:

"It turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong and in some cases, deliberately misleading.
And for that, I am disappointed and I regret it."

He was referring to the evidence that he presented to the UN.

Republican-Lite

I heard the term "Republican-Lite" today for the first time in a while in an email sent out by MoveOn.org. Here's the graf:

Don't be tempted to adopt the familiar -- and failed -- Republican-lite swing voter strategy. You can reach out to and inspire the fifty percent of eligible voters who have given up on voting. If you do, you will win not in a toss-up but a landslide.

The fifty percent of eligible voters who have "given up on voting"? Who are these people? They don't exist. Old people vote and the younger generations don't vote. They never did vote.

This year we have the most motivated and wrathful Democratic base in years. They don't need to be pumped up! They're already foaming at the mouth! Kerry needs to win over swing voters and not preach to the choir.

Meanwhile, Bush is having trouble with his base. The new Republican strategy is to fund massive "get out the vote" drives in "exurban" areas. These are newly populated suburbs just outside of large cities. They are primarily populated with Republicans. Right now many of these voters are disenchanted with the GOP. Bush needs to shore up his base. Kerry does not.

More on this tomorrow (I'm tired and can't finish this post)

The Gonzalez Memo

Newsweek recently uncovered a memo written by Alberto Gonzalez that essentially endorsed setting aside the Geneva Convention standards of prisoner treatment.

This memo should set the stage for the removal of Rumsfeld from office.

Here's the key graf:

The Bush administration created a bold legal framework to justify this system of interrogation, according to internal government memos obtained by NEWSWEEK. What started as a carefully thought-out, if aggressive, policy of interrogation in a covert war—designed mainly for use by a handful of CIA professionals—evolved into ever-more ungoverned tactics that ended up in the hands of untrained MPs in a big, hot war. Originally, Geneva Conventions protections were stripped only from Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. But later Rumsfeld himself, impressed by the success of techniques used against Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo Bay, seemingly set in motion a process that led to their use in Iraq, even though that war was supposed to have been governed by the Geneva Conventions. Ultimately, reservist MPs, like those at Abu Ghraib, were drawn into a system in which fear and humiliation were used to break prisoners' resistance to interrogation. [emphasis added]

The article also mentions the "ticking time bomb theory:

What Bush seemed to have in mind was applying his broad doctrine of pre-emption to interrogations: to get information that could help stop terrorist acts before they could be carried out. This was justified by what is known in counterterror circles as the "ticking time bomb" theory—the idea that when faced with an imminent threat by a terrorist, almost any method is justified, even torture.

I don't support the time bomb theory, although many Americans do. Nevertheless, I doubt any Americans support wholesale torture of regular Iraqi detainees...

Big news today

Another poll came out (Newsweek) that has Bush at 42%. These are solid trends now...

In other news, a Sarin agent was found in a crudely made bomb today. Bush will undoubtedly hail this as a triumph. "We've found the WMD!" he'll say.

Unfortunately, Sarin gas is highly ineffective as a chemical weapon. We have antidotes that can combat its effects quickly. One malfuntioning bomb filled with Sarin is not a reason to launch an invasion, and those to claim it is are fools.

I think attempts by the Bush administration to hail this as some sort of victory will be washed away by new coverage of the Abu Ghraib scandal.

I'm also wondering when the "Let's leave Zarqawi and his terrorist camps alone so as not to harm our case for war" scandal will break harder than it has. I'll think of a shorter name later...

Micheal Moore's new film

Maybe it's not a piece of trash after all...

Meet the Press

This is amusing...enjoy...

From the Drudge Report:

An aide to Sec. of State Colin Powell ordered a halt to a MEET THE PRESS interview and directed a camera to shoot a palm tree during provocative questioning by host Tim Russert!

Powell was being interviewed by satellite from Jordan.

State Department press aide Emily Miller fumed as Tim Russert went beyond the 10 minutes allotted for the NBC Sunday session.

MORE

13 minutes in to the interview, Miller attempted to pull the plug.

As Russert grilled Powell on his presentation at the UN of Iraq's alleged WMDs -- Miller moved the single remote camera off Powell.

"You're off," Miller announced.

"I am not off," Powell warned.

"No. They can't use it, they're editing it..." Miller said on an open microphone.

"Emily, get out of the way. Bring the camera back please," the secretary snapped.

MORE

Russert aired the exchange unedited.

Powell was 45 minutes late to the taping, a top source explained.

NBC's MEET THE PRESS joined in progress....

TIM RUSSERT: Finally, Mr. Secretary, in February of 2003, you placed your enormous personal credibility before the United Nations and laid out a case against Saddam Hussein, citing.

(Camera moved off of interview subject)

EMILY MILLER, STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS AIDE: You're off.

SECRETARY POWELL: I am not off.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: No. They can't use it, they're editing it.

SECRETARY POWELL: He's still asking the questions.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: He was not ...

SECRETARY POWELL: Tim, I am sorry I lost you.

MR. RUSSERT: I am right here Mr. Secretary. I would hope they would put you back on camera. I don't know who did that.

EMILY MILLER, PRESS AIDE: He was going to go for another five minutes.

SECRETARY POWELL: We've really scre...

MR. RUSSERT: I think that was one of your staff Mr. Secretary. I don't think that's appropriate.

SECRETARY POWELL: Emily, get out of the way. Bring the camera back please. (Camera returns to the interview subject) I think we're back on Tim, go ahead with your last question.

MR. RUSSERT: Thank you very much, sir.

In February of 2003, you put your enormous personal reputation on the line before the United Nations and said that you had solid sources for the case against Saddam Hussein. It now appears that an agent called "Curve Ball" had misled the CIA by suggesting that Saddam had trucks and trains that were delivering biological chemical weapons.

How concerned are you that some of the information you shared with the world is now inaccurate and discredited?

SECRETARY POWELL: I'm very concerned. When I made that presentation in February 2003, it was based on the best information that the Central Intelligence Agency made available to me. We studied it carefully. We looked at the sourcing and the case of the mobile trucks and trains. There was multiple sourcing for that. Unfortunately, that multiple sourcing over time has turned out to be not accurate, and so I'm deeply disappointed.

But I'm also comfortable that at the time that I made the presentation it reflected the collective judgment, the sound judgment, of the intelligence community, but it turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong and, in some cases, deliberately misleading. And for that I'm disappointed, and I regret it.

MR. RUSSERT: Mr. Secretary, we thank you very much for joining us again and sharing your views with us today. SECRETARY POWELL: Thanks, Tim.

(END OF PRE-TAPE INTERVIEW)

MR. RUSSERT: AND THAT WAS AN UNEDITED INTERVIEW WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TAPED EARLIER THIS MORNING FROM JORDAN.

WE APPRECIATE SECRETARY POWELL'S WILLINGNESS TO OVERRULE HIS PRESS AIDES' ATTEMPT TO ABRUPTLY CUT OFF OUR DISCUSSION AS I BEGAN TO ASK MY FINAL QUESTION.

Ouch...

Zogby has President Bush at 42% approval...

McCain on the ticket

Here's an email that Andrew Sullivan published on the subject:

"So Kerry could finish the job in Iraq better than Bush by giving the job to John McCain, assuming, of course, that he would relinquish his job as Commander-in-Chief. But what is there to insure that John McCain's counsel would be heeded even after their supposed victory? McCain is to Cheney as Kerry is to ... sorry, not Bush. It is more likely, I think, that the two would soon be at odds, which is not by definition a bad thing, but may not be what you had in mind. On the other hand, I can't imagine a better recipe than a Kerry-McCain ticket for increasing Ralph Nader's percentage."

DoD responds

From the Dod Website:

Statement from DoD Spokesperson Mr. Lawrence Di Rita
"Assertions apparently being made in the latest New Yorker article on Abu Ghraib and the abuse of Iraqi detainees are outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with error and anonymous conjecture.

"The abuse evidenced in the videos and photos, and any similar abuse that may come to light in any of the ongoing half dozen investigations into this matter, has no basis in any sanctioned program, training manual, instruction, or order in the Department of Defense.

"No responsible official of the Department of Defense approved any program that could conceivably have been intended to result in such abuses as witnessed in the recent photos and videos.

"To correct one of the many errors in fact, Undersecretary Cambone has no responsibility, nor has he had any responsibility in the past, for detainee or interrogation programs in Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere else in the world.

"This story seems to reflect the fevered insights of those with little, if any, connection to the activities in the Department of Defense."

McCain on the ticket

Lately I've been insisting to my political friends that McCain on the ticket would be a disaster...

Millions of liberals might vote for Nader. After all, McCain is a big conservative. He doesn't support the Living Wage (tm) or Fair Trade (tm). In fact, McCain isn't even a Socialist! The two parties are exactly the same! Hi, my name is Michael Moore and I think cornering Dick Clark in his minivan and accusing him of abusing an employee at a restaurant he owns in some other state is journalism!

(On second thought, maybe I'm more like Mickey Kaus than I'd like to admit...I do enjoy using exclamation points!!)

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe the Anybody But Bush movement is so strong that it would override John McCain on the ticket. Well...Kucinich did get 15% in a few states...maybe not...

Mickey Kaus is an idiot

As much as I enjoy the Kausfiles blog, I'm beginning to think that Mickey Kaus has no idea what he's talking about. I think he gets off on being a "moderate" even though his policy preferences are relatively liberal (I can relate, I occasionally fall into that trap). Last week he suggested that CBS shouldn't have shown Abu Ghraib pictures because they led to violence against our troops. And he continues to claim that the Democrats should dump Kerry. As much as I'd like to see that happen, who would they replace him with? John Edwards would be the only viable replacement candidate, and he planned on running a campaign that ignored national security and focused on trying to scare seniors into voting for him. Which...didn't work in 2002.

So, as much as I acknowledge Kerry's weaknesses, he's the best we've got. Mickey Kaus needs to chill out...

Zell Miller is an idiot, Part II

Yesterday Zell Miller called John Kerry an "out of touch liberal from Taxechusettes". But wait...wasn't Zell Miller governor of Georgia for a great many years? Read on:

From Atrios:

According to those lovable nuts over at the Tax Foundation, Taxeorgia's state and local tax burden ranks 18th in the nation, at precisely the national average of 10% of income.
While in small government loving Massachusetts, the state and local tax burden ranks 36th in the nation, at 9.6% of income [...]

And, hey, what do you know? It appears you welfare lovers in Taxeorgia are sucking at the federal government's teat! Taxeorgia gets more from the federal government than it sends in taxes! For every buck you freeloaders send to DC you get $1.01 back! What of Massachusetts? Well, suprise surprise! Massachusetts is supporting layabouts like Taxeorgia! A whopping $.25 of every dollar Massachusetts sends to the Feds is stolen from them and redistributed to states which can't manage to take care of themselves, like Taxeorgia.

Wow. It's totally surprising that backwards southern states like Georgia end up receiving tax subsidies from Massachusetts. I'm dumbfounded.

update: It just occurred to me...why doesn't the media pay attention to Zell Miller's constant criticism of his "fellow" democrats? Why do they fixate on Senator John Kerry instead? Could this be a double standard?

No. Actually, Zell Miller is a moron. End of story.

Woo hoo (part II)

Newsweek has Bush's approval rating at 42%.

In fact, when I take a look at current state polling, I find that if the election were held today Kerry would beat Bush 316-222.

"George W. Bush: Firm Leadership in Times of Government Sponsored Rape and Torture"