Perhaps I’m missing something, but how does anybody think future US governments, not to mention future Iraqi governments, are going to be bound by some slapped-together deal President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki put together that hasn’t even been passed by our Congress or their parliament? The administration is treating it as a big priority because it will supposedly ensure a longterm (i.e., permanent) US presence in Iraq. And war critics are taking it seriously for the same reason. But it’s entirely unclear to me why anyone thinks a President Obama couldn’t say ‘Forget it. Bad idea.’ on day one.
When last we checked in with Joe Lieberman, an Obama aide was telling Newsweek that the talking to Obama gave Lieberman on the senate floor last week was about Lieberman’s “personal attacks and his half-hearted denials of the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim.” But now Joe’s crew is pushing back, telling National Review Online that Newsweek didn’t ask for a response from Lieberman and that the characterization is “entirely false and fabricated,” in the words of Lieberman spokesman Marshall Wittman.
An anonymous Lieberman aide ups the ante with Mark Halperin of The Page, telling him: “If the Obama campaign thinks they are going to intimidate Joe Lieberman with these sleazy tactics then they are sorely mistaken.”
Now, it’s not clear to me what they’re calling ‘sleazy tactics’ — the initial talking-to or the allegedly false characterization of the conversation. I should also be clear, along the lines of disclosure, that while I’ve only met Lieberman maybe once or twice, I consider two of his top people, Dan Gerstein and Marshall Wittman friends, though I haven’t talked to either of them about this in many months or in Marshall’s case years.
What does seem clear to me is that Lieberman’s days in the Democratic caucus, or more specifically, his days with a committee chairmanship courtesy of the Democratic caucus are numbered in months.
My assumption is that after the November election, regardless of the outcome of the presidential campaign, Joe will be stripped of his chairmanship. (This seems even more certain to me if Obama wins the general, but I suspect it will happen regardless.) Whether he’ll actually be expelled from the caucus I don’t know and probably doesn’t really matter. Once he’s stripped of the benefits he gains from it, presumably he’ll leave himself and become an actual non-caucusing independent or, more likely, start caucusing with the Republicans.
What that tells me is that Lieberman has no incentive not to make the maximum amount of trouble over the next five months both for his senate colleagues and for Sen. Obama.
Privatizing security and other military functions proved so profitable that Blackwater is trying to do the same thing for espionage.
Putting Jim Webb on the ticket with Obama makes a lot of sense on paper. He complements Obama’s weak points very well. Just speaking for myself, I’ve always thought it was an obvious choice. And there’s little question that he’s interested in the job. But there’s a strong contrary chorus of people — at least some of whom know him well and like him — who think it’s a terrible idea because Webb is just characterologically not a team player and because he has in the past expressed various views that many Democrats will find anathema, even if he’s since recanted many of them.
Tim Noah makes that case in Slate.
Greg Anrig takes apart a Time critique of Obama’s economic plan.
Normally I don’t care much about cable chat show ratings, but for this one I’ll bite.
From a press release just out from NBC …
MSNBC NOTCHES DEMO WIN OVER FNC IN PRIMETIME
“Countdown” Out-Rates the “Factor” for First Time Ever
NEW YORK – June 10, 2008 – MSNBC continued its ratings surge last week, with viewers flocking out of the “No Spin Zone” and to “The Place for Politics.” For the first time ever, MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” was the #1 show at 8 p.m., out-drawing Fox News’s “O’Reilly Factor” head-to-head among Adults 25-54. This is the first time since June 2001 that MSNBC has out-rated “The O’Reilly Factor” at 8 p.m.
Excluding Tuesday’s primary coverage, “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” averaged 477,000 A25-54 vs. 472,000 for the “Factor.”
Fox News’ E.D. Hill offers up feeble apology for “terrorist fist jab” swipe at Obama …
Late Update: Ouch. Turns out E.D.’s show is being cancelled. Maybe because she wasn’t pushing the terrorist card hard enough?
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) has signed on to articles of impeachment against President Bush that Dennis Kucinich introduced yesterday.