Senator Hillary Clinton discusses the situation in Iraq.
** CONGRESS CONDEMNS MOVEON.ORG. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned MoveOn.org’s scathing New York Times newspaper ad attacking General David Petraeus today. Only 79 Democrats voted no. Half the House Democrats from California voted yes.
This was an add-on move to a defense appropriations bill made by Southern California Republican Jerry Lewis. Who is embroiled in a corruption scandal. But MoveOn provided the opening for him to change the subject.
Petraeus is a fine officer, but he’s a political officer, and hardly above criticism. As NWN has pointed out, he has a history of making false claims about how well things are going in Iraq. But yaposphere invective is not the way to prosecute an argument against a four-star general, not in big-time politics. The public is tired of that stuff. But the Republicans have pushed this disingenuous strategy of theirs about as far as they can. They have their own irritating yaposphere ethos. And Petraeus is part of the Bush team, making him part of the political process.
** GARAMENDI ENDORSES WATER CONVEYANCE IN THE SACRAMENTO RIVER DELTA. In his address today to the Capitol press corps, Lieutenant Govenor John Garamendi made a couple of things. He fully intends to run for governor of California in 2010. And he supports a Peripheral Canal or some other means of conveying water through the Delta where the Sacramento River meets San Francisco Bay, both to maintain a needed flow of water and protect the riverine territory from the rising tides of the future wrought by climate change.
I’m traveling today and have just emerged from a few hours of tech upgrade hell, so this report is skeletal. For now.
** THE TERMINATOR RETURNS … SORT OF. There’s another burst of talk around a renewal of the Terminator movie franchise. Supposedly the fourth film in the series — which will not, obviously, star Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger — is going into pre-production next month. For release in 2009. This comes after a flurry of stories, just denied, that Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener and The Mummy, the Oscar wasn’t for the second title) was vying for a role in the film.
The rights were purchased by new producers from the battling old producers. But there was a hang-up, in that in the years-ago break-up of the late, lamented Orion Pictures, certain future rights seemed to belong to it. And then to the studio which bought the remains of the company. But this is supposedly worked out now. We’ll see. There’ve been tales that Terminator 4 was about to go into production on and off for the past two years. And in Hollywood, pre-production, the state the project is supposed to enter next month, is a term that can mean a number of things. (My favorite term is “flashing green light,” but that’s another story.)
Meanwhile, the Terminator project that is a shining green light is the TV series on Fox, which I’ve reported on before. Entitled The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it also does not star Arnold Schwarzenegger. It does star Lena Headey, who played the very formidable Queen of Sparta in this spring’s action movie smash 300, as Sarah Connor, the intrepid mother of the human revolution against the machines of the future. That starts showing weekly on Fox in January.
** TOP CALIFORNIAN OUT OF GIULIANI CAMPAIGN. Rudy Giuliani’s national finance director, brought onboard with no little fanfare several months ago, is out of the campaign. Ann Dunsmore is well-known for having been former California Governor Pete Wilson’s chief fundraiser. But, despite Giuliani having the best haul of the Republican candidates in the second quarter of the year, Dunsmore is out just before the third quarter ends.
There’s a lot of turbulence in presidential politics, as you may have noticed. This is why the Clintons reportedly used hardball tactics to kill a story in GQ about campaign infighting.
The timing of this move is ironic, not to mention problematic, in that Dunsmore’s old boss, Governor Wilson, is set to endorse Giuliani tomorrow. This guarantees that it will be a topic of the press conference with the two men at the Miramar in Santa Monica.
** ANOTHER NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATE TONIGHT. At 6 PM tonight, on MSNBC, the Democrats have their latest presidential debate, again from New Hampshire.
But keep your salt shaker handy, because the sample is only 300 voters. And 55% of them say they haven’t made a final choice on their candidate.
Meanwhile, the spinning is spun up again on presidential fundraising in the third quarter, coming to a close in less than a week. The numbers have dropped off for the leading campaigns, since many contributors are tapped out for the primaries. I’d guess Obama continues his edge over Clinton — who, after all, is having to return nearly a million dollars raised for her by disgraced financier Norman Hsu — but probably not by as large a margin as before. But I hear reports, or, I should say, “reports,” every which way.
** WILSON FOR GIULIANI. Former Governor Pete Wilson, who served as U.S. senator from California before that and as mayor of San Diego before that, will endorse Rudy Giuliani for president tomorrow at the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica.
Wilson, a moderately conservative Republican, is the only Republican other than Arnold Schwarzenegger — for whom he served as a campaign co-chair during the 2003 recall election — to win one of the top statewide races in California for many years. Wilson is now in the merchant banking business and the public affairs consulting field, and serves on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the Defense Policy Board. He’s the only Republican to defeat Jerry Brown or Dianne Feinstein.
** GARAMENDI TO ADDRESS CAPITOL PRESS CORPS. Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, a Democratic gubernatorial hopeful for 2010, addresses the Capitol press corps today at the monthly luncheon of the Sacramento Press Club. Garamendi is a former two-term California insurance commissioner, deputy secretary of the interior in the Clinton Administration, and a former state Senate majority leader who has run a couple of times for governor, losing Democratic primaries to Kathleen Brown and Tom Bradley.
** SCHWARZENEGGER LIVE WEBCAST THIS MORNING ON CORRECTIONS. This morning in Stockton, at 10 AM, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill by state Senator Mike Machado which creates the first secure community re-entry facility in California for prison inmates. It converts the slated Northern California Women’s Facility, a medium security prison, for the purpose. The event will be webcast live.
** AL QAEDA’S AMERICAN PRISONERS STILL NOT LOCATED. American troops are now in the midst of a 133rd day of searching for the remaining two US soldiers captured by Al Qaeda in an ambush south of Baghdad. They have had no luck so far. A video put out by Al Qaeda forces in Iraq claims that all three men were executed after being captured. But, with the exception of the Californian found floating in the Euphrates River, that claim can’t be confirmed. The US high command in Baghdad has revealed that ID cards for the other two American prisoners were found in an Al Qaeda safehouse on June 9th.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Most crude oil prices are in the $79 to $81 per barrel range, with prices continuing to decline somewhat on word of unexpectedly high US inventories. How inventories of this utterly central commodity can be unexpectedly high is a good question.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
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| Comments (105) |
I call “not it”.
Oh, and I’m keeping my dogs out of Tommy Boy’s yard…
Ask her. I have enough trouble keeping track of myself.
>carole w :
Is Barbara going to critique the Columbia speech from yesterday? I would like to hear her opinion.
Sep 26, 2007 03:30 PM
Ask her. I have enough trouble keeping track of myself.
>carole w :
Is Barbara going to critique the Columbia speech from yesterday? I would like to hear her opinion.
Sep 26, 2007 03:30 PM
That’s cold. So to speak.
>Tommy Boy :
Anti-freeze
Sep 26, 2007 05:09 PM
He’s not running the campaign in California.
>carole w :
I am one of those voters that feels the Phil- Hillary connection is NOT warranted. I hope someone from the Clinton campaign comes forward with an explanation??
Sep 26, 2007 03:53 PM
Very nice!
>Juan Cortina :
T4! Starring Rob Schneider and Billy Zabka! And, Presenting Fergie! Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar!
Sep 26, 2007 03:35 PM
”CONGRESS CONDEMNS MOVEON.ORG”
I would urge NWN readers of all political stripes to start writing your congressional representatives with a list of political ads you find offensive. I’m sure the list will grow as election season goes on.
The Petraeus ad was dumb, but it’s nothing compared to what will be running in a few short months. “If you condemned the Petraeus ad, you have to condemn this” will be a common refrain of the election season.
Even if you want to restrict this debate to attack ads aimed at non-elected public officials, it’s still dumb – AG’s, Surgeon Generals and Secretary’s of State have been and will continue to be the targets of such advertising. Going down this road is a no-win.
Soon we will be stopping congressional debates on policy issues so that Legislative Branch can take advisory votes on who should be voted off the island. I guess that’s what passes for statesmanship in the 21st Century.
If I were in Congress — and we may all thank our personal deities that I am not — I would say that I find the ad offensive in its tone and the resolution silly in its content.
Nevertheless, this should be a wake-up call to the netroots.
The nutroots have to stop acting like punks and thugs.
… Of course, none of those people are members of the military.
You are missing the fact that the military still has a unique place of honor in American life that those other folks — who are politicians and bureaucrats — do not.
This is a consistent theme of NWN, incidentally. Which is persistently missed by liberals.
>Even if you want to restrict this debate to attack ads aimed at non-elected public officials, it’s still dumb – AG’s, Surgeon Generals and Secretary’s of State have been and will continue to be the targets of such advertising. Going down this road is a no-win.
The Dem Debate is on MSNBC. The candidates are coming out strong on the Iraq question. Hillary is the strongest in stature. Edwards is making some honest points regarding leaving soldiers in country to guard the embassy and provide humanitarian support. Biden is looking very strong due to actually creating his plan for restructuring Iraq.
The Dem Debate is on MSNBC. The candidates are coming out strong on the Iraq question. Hillary is the strongest in stature. Edwards is making some honest points regarding leaving soldiers in country to guard the embassy and provide humanitarian support. Biden is looking very strong due to actually creating his plan for restructuring Iraq.
Iran is the next topic, this is a critical subject. Are we going to act on Iran’s nuclear threat? It seems no one will give a clear answer.
I stand corrected on the above statement. Richardson just stated he would take appropriate action against a Iranian nuclear threat? Richardson actually answered a question directly…bravo
“… Of course, none of those people are members of the military.
You are missing the fact that the military still has a unique place of honor in American life that those other folks — who are politicians and bureaucrats — do not.
This is a consistent theme of NWN, incidentally. Which is persistently missed by liberals.”
As an aside, I doubt that anyone could complain that I’ve displayed anything but respect for the military on this website. I know it wasn’t your intent.
But, as you stated, Petraeus is a political officer in addition to his military duties. It is in the respect, he is open to criticism. Just as would a lawyer or doctor serving at the pleasure of the President in a cabinet position.
I have no doubt that if a Democratic President gets elected (pause for prayer), that his/her appointees will be targeted with attack ads over issues like, oh I don’t know, condoms in schools.
I have no love for MoveOn, but issuing official rebukes by congress of political attack ads (no mater the source of the target) is akin to negotiating with terrorists or showing the stadium streaker on national television. Far from curbing such behavior, it encourages it. Just wait for groups much farther a field than MoveOn now goaded into producing more offensive ads to draw congress’ ire.
I can think of several ads that are MUCH more offensive to a wider audience than this ad. Since we are speaking of Pete Wilson here, I would nominate “They Keep Coming” into that hall of shame. Can we introduce legislation for that?
But I think most congress members have sufficient soap boxes to voice their indignation without resorting to VOTING ON A MEASURE.
And now, I’m driving my Earth Killing SUV to the airport.
As our MIA Barbara would say, toodles.
Ah, the global warmer.
The purpose of NWN is political analysis. But the chance of my voting for that resolution is between nil and none.
The only reason I might not vote no is because groups like MoveOn need to learn that this is not the way to go. But the preposterousness of someone like Jerry Lewis carrying the measure might well be persusasive.
The uniform has to be respected. I would treat Gen. Petraeus with a punctilious sense of personal courtesy. Nonetheless, it would not be a pleasant experience.
Which is not to say that in the end, he may well be viewed as somewhat successful. If other things are done.
Incidentally, I was no fan of the “They Keep Coming” TV ad, which I told its creator in person.
However, “they,” unlike Gen. Petraeus, were breaking the law. And that ad was utterly effective in turning the tide and re-electing Pete Wilson. It was anything but wildly offensive to most voters.
>I have no love for MoveOn, but issuing official rebukes by congress of political attack ads (no mater the source of the target) is akin to negotiating with terrorists or showing the stadium streaker on national television. Far from curbing such behavior, it encourages it. Just wait for groups much farther a field than MoveOn now goaded into producing more offensive ads to draw congress’ ire.
I can think of several ads that are MUCH more offensive to a wider audience than this ad. Since we are speaking of Pete Wilson here, I would nominate “They Keep Coming” into that hall of shame. Can we introduce legislation for that?
But I think most congress members have sufficient soap boxes to voice their indignation without resorting to VOTING ON A MEASURE.
You are absolutely right.
>Brasky :
“… Of course, none of those people are members of the military.
You are missing the fact that the military still has a unique place of honor in American life that those other folks — who are politicians and bureaucrats — do not.
This is a consistent theme of NWN, incidentally. Which is persistently missed by liberals.”
As an aside, I doubt that anyone could complain that I’ve displayed anything but respect for the military on this website. I know it wasn’t your intent.
But, as you stated, Petraeus is a political officer in addition to his military duties. It is in the respect, he is open to criticism. Just as would a lawyer or doctor serving at the pleasure of the President in a cabinet position.
It’s a complex area. Did you see my report on Gen. Wes Clark’s responses to my questions on Iran?
>carole w :
Iran is the next topic, this is a critical subject. Are we going to act on Iran’s nuclear threat? It seems no one will give a clear answer.
Sep 26, 2007 06:26 PM
It’s a complex area. Did you see my report on Gen. Wes Clark’s responses to my questions on Iran?
>carole w :
Iran is the next topic, this is a critical subject. Are we going to act on Iran’s nuclear threat? It seems no one will give a clear answer.
Sep 26, 2007 06:26 PM
Ahhhh…..yes sir
Re: Debate
This is a very quiet night for Obama.
Edwards won that debate. Obama sounded sick.
Clinton does not do it for me and tonight it was clear why…Edwards did great…as we get close to CA primary whoever has higher poll numbers: Edwards or Obama …I am voting for..
P.S.four waters: briefly, agreed with Edwards take on Iran tonight…
people who minitor these things say that Prez A raised his profile in Arab world by taking on the very unpopular US …in general, he is not important, he has no real power in Iran, and will not be the next President.. Bush Admin made him important
>Bush Admin made him important
Just as Congressional Reeps and Wussy Dems ae making MoveOn important.
If Democrats want to win, they should curb the dog.
The Firefighters make an appearance in the new TV ad peddling slot machines. You’ve got to love that thinking. Allow tribes to expand gambling… for the teachers and firemen.
Ahmadinejad’s performance in the US was very bizarre and false. Much of the coverage of him in the ME was simply wrong.
I think he plays a complex role in Iranian politics. If he’s such a nothing, they wouldn’t let him run around like this.
>P.S.four waters: briefly, agreed with Edwards take on Iran tonight…
people who minitor these things say that Prez A raised his profile in Arab world by taking on the very unpopular US …in general, he is not important, he has no real power in Iran, and will not be the next President.. Bush Admin made him important
Sep 26, 2007 09:16 PM
Ahmadinejad’s performance in the US was very bizarre and false. Much of the coverage of him in the ME was simply wrong.
I think he plays a complex role in Iranian politics. If he’s such a nothing, they wouldn’t let him run around like this.
>P.S.four waters: briefly, agreed with Edwards take on Iran tonight…
people who minitor these things say that Prez A raised his profile in Arab world by taking on the very unpopular US …in general, he is not important, he has no real power in Iran, and will not be the next President.. Bush Admin made him important
Sep 26, 2007 09:16 PM
MoveOn was important before this. They’ve been riding for a fall for a long time.
>Wilbur :
>Bush Admin made him important
Just as Congressional Reeps and Wussy Dems ae making MoveOn important.
Sep 26, 2007 10:17 PM
Agreed.
>Capitol Boy :
Edwards won that debate. Obama sounded sick.
Sep 26, 2007 08:09 PM
“I think he plays a complex role in Iranian politics. If he’s such a nothing, they wouldn’t let him run around like this”
Of course he does, he is very useful to them…they love him in S America in many Arab countries and in parts of Asia…but as I said he has no real power in Iran …he is not that important …Bollinger intro and his “delivery” gave the ME press ammunition…
That seems quite perverse, wouldn’t you say?
>…Bollinger intro and his “delivery” gave the ME press ammunition…
I still don’t get why the Dems didn’t push harder for the alternate resolution, condemning both the MoveOn ad, and all other ads attacking the patriotism of people who served our country (Cleland, Kerry, etc).
Re: Garamendi — I really like the guy. But I think it’ll be unfortunate if we have to have a primary between him, and Westly, and maybe even other good candidates. A spirited primary can “toughen up” the ultimate winner. But it can also waste a lot of money and piss off the voters… And I didn’t like the way the LtGov primary went last time, with nasty infighting between two candidates I both liked (Garamendi and Speier).
Brasky — yes, I believe I was the first person to explain what PJM was doing to break long links, and suggest TinyURL as a remedy.
I’m with Brasky on the MoveOn ad. I think it was dumb, and offensive (though it did get the news to talk about whether Petraeus was telling the truth), but it was nowhere near as offensive as the Swift Boat or Cleland/Osama ads. The Senate should’ve passed the alternate resolution condemning ALL ads of this type. The fact that GOP members voted against that resolution, to keep their version on the table, says very bad things about their ability to ever work across the aisle. I’m hoping that if we cut them down to 41 Senators or so, they may start to see the virtues of bipartisanship.
Re: Iran, and the Lieberman-Kyl amendment that in its initial draft appeared to put a Congressional stamp of approval on sending US troops across the Iraq/Iran border, it’s worth noting that the offending portion fo the amendment was stricken by Lieberman before the vote approving it. I think that was a pretty good outcome.
Re: debate, I haven’t seen any of it, but wow, the consensus in favor of Edwards is impressive. He scored a lot of good quotes for press releases and his website…
The alternate resolution was too weak and unfocused to deal with the problem.
perverse…don’t know …dumb yes …I was vieing it with a Palestinian journalist…we both just looked at each other in disbelief as Bollinger went on, and on…West meets East and blows it again! in academia no less which is inexcuable…in regard, to ME press of course they mis- reported etc…e.g.,they left out the entire exchange on homosexuals…but the ME press which is highly censored often does that …with the exception of Al Jazeera which has it turns out is doing a great job of reporting …their reporting and video on Burma monk protest is one of the best coverage of this event.
perverse…don’t know …dumb yes …I was vieing it with a Palestinian journalist…we both just looked at each other in disbelief as Bollinger went on, and on…West meets East and blows it again! in academia no less which is inexcuable…in regard, to ME press of course they mis- reported etc…e.g.,they left out the entire exchange on homosexuals…but the ME press which is highly censored often does that …with the exception of Al Jazeera which has it turns out is doing a great job of reporting …their reporting and video on Burma monk protest is one of the best coverage of this event.
Actually, you’ve quite misunderstood me.
Don’t have any idea what you are talking about…
you said “Ahmadinejad’s performance in the US was very bizarre and false. Much of the coverage of him in the ME was simply wrong.
I think he plays a complex role in Iranian politics. If he’s such a nothing, they wouldn’t let him run around like this.”
I said: not unusual ME Press has its own spin…yes of course it is complicated, he is very useful but he is not calling the shots in Iran..i.e., he has no real power
You said:(On Bollinger) “That seems quite perverse, wouldn’t you say?”
I said: perverse? not sure .. for sure DUMB…
so what were you saying that I did not get?
Let’s discuss on the current thread. No one else is paying much attention back here.
Bollinger was right. Also, Ahmadinejad is no chump.
well Bollinger was right in what he said contentwise.. correct…but what he said was inappropriate for the role he put himself and the university in ONCE HE ISSUED AN INVITATION…
and CORRECT Prez A is no chump…Have a good Day …Toodles
Well, you’re the president of a revered American university. You’ve invited a really out there speaker who says the Holocaust never happened, America will die, etc., etc.
Is your audience a Palestinian journo who has various Islamo sympathies?
Or .. you know, the question answers itself
… The additional element is that America simply can’t kow-tow to the perceived sympathies of the somewhat mythical Arab street.
If the Arab street was what it was supposed to be, Osama would already have established a massive caliphate.
Mr. Bradley:Well, you’re the president of a revered American university. You’ve invited a really out there speaker who says the Holocaust never happened, America will die, etc., etc.
Is your audience a Palestinian journo who has various Islamo sympathies?
Or .. you know, the question answers itself”
Nonesense…this was a mistake…he caved to the pressure that Columbia came under …it is reasonable to ask if Pres A should have been issued an invitation at all? However, once he did he should have received a proper intro..you could say everything that he is without making it a direct insult and allowing you to become good propaganda…as for your Palestinian journalist remark …he btw lives in Paris, and he knows better than anyone here or you or certainly this PJ Media what Pres A really is…he has lived with “Pres A” types all his life…
This is not about the Arab Street which is as diverse like any “street” this is about growing anti- Americanism…which needs to be taken seriously …perceived smugness, bully etc…which is not just in the Middle east but in Great Britain and Europe…
You’re getting caught up in a sort of political correctness, Barbara, which is not correct.
… Just to be clear, how do you feel Bollinger should have handled Ahmadinejad’s multiple outrageous distortions of and insults to reality?
You say Ahmadinejad is a man of no importance. Yet the other Iranian leadership clearly allows him to run around saying the most preposterous things.
I’m afraid that Iranian politics is more opague and multi-layered.
Again, as I said above, you are correct they are opaque and multilayered ..the President in Iran is very much a figurehead….but he is useful …his anti American bravado stance is loved in many places..his anti Israel hard-line is also loved in many places…It was Bolliger’s job to introduce him, and let the q and A do the trick . let Prez A show who he is …that actually happened once during the homosexual session…look we would not even know his name if he had not denied the holocaust and then in the next breath discussed the destruction of Israel (there are 2 translations out there of the latter, one less threatening, ie. vanishing not due to attack but because of its evilness) he knew he was being provocative and that he would become a household word, and popular in many parts of the world…Nasser did something similar…I am unclear why the University invited him after hearing Bollinger’s intro, I dont have a problem with the invitation myself, and I assume Bollinger caved into the many critics, Jews, Veterans and many average Americans who only hear constantly that Iran wants to nuke us and therefore, he felt a need to deliver the intro he did, The Q and A proceeded to show Prez A who he was however, in regard to what he said about Israel …that the Palestinians are paying a high price for WWII atrocities inflicted on them…this is an old and often heard argument. I don’t buy it but , in general, this argument hits a nerve with many Arabs and non Arabs also… I heard Queen Noor speak recently , she used it and writes the same thing in her memoir…all Arab and Palestinian sympathizers used it…he did too and very effectively…BTW the ZOA Zionist Organization Of America which is no small body, and concerned about pressure on Israel in this NOV powwow called by Bush …put out a press release yesterday that Abbas is a holacaust denier…yes he did say something like that some 15 -20 years ago or so…it is not so unusual in the Arab world who are very very very angry about 40 years of Israel occupation to resort to distortions at times and remember, the Holocaust is very real to us, films, people we know, our parents talking about WWII, we have a National Museum in DC dedicated to it…to the average Arab and Arab world who know so many atrocities of their own, the Holocaust is a very remote…why do you think there is the Shoa Foundation, the Museum of Tolerance…to make sure that future generations do not forget, because just like Prince Harry showed up dressed as a Nazi for a party, you need to constantly educate people on what happened, the Museum of Tolerance brings in school bus after school bus of minority children and even in high school this is often there first introduction to the horrors of the Holacaust …again in the Arab world the only thing they know for SURE about the Jews is that they stold their land and unlike other ocupiers the British, French ..they created a State…this is why he got publicity in the ME:.he attacked Israel at Columbia and UN and was treated “disrepectfully” AFTER he was INVITED to something…..