The Bush 9-11 Non-Scandal

The first thing that needs to be said about the "what did he know and when did he know it" (as some posturing Democrats have said) issue is that it is not a scandal, and not even a news story. The media started it and then backed away from it the next day. What is an issue is the analytical and coordination failure of the intelligence agencies and the FBI. On this see the fine articles by David Tucker. Also look at the one by William Kristol and Robert Kagan wherein they call for a blue-ribbon commission. George Will supports such a commission and suggests some members. Also read Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's interview with Rush Limbaugh. He says that this is much to do about nothing. I like his use of the word (non-word?) "granularity."

War and Money

This is a good piece by Mark Helprin disagreeing with Mac Owens on how much money it will take to defend our interests, and on what it should be spent on. (To get both sides, follow the links within the Helprin article). These are two good guys having a reasonable disagreement and I don't know who to side with, but, if there is the slightest doubt, I don't see anything wrong with having about 40 aircraft carriers!

Politics

Jay Nordlinger has the best piece on the Carter trip to Cuba. Carter has become a very confused ex-president, and a very left-wing ex-president. He just doesn't understand the difference between a regime of freedom and a regime of tyranny. Just keep in mind that it took the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 to reveal (to Carter) the true nature of that regime. I think he has always been confused.

It turns out that the battle to replace Strom Thurmond as U.S. Senator from South Carolina is not much of one. Stuart Rothenberg maintains that the Democrat Alex Sanders (running against GOP Rep. Lindsey Graham) will get somewhere between 43 and 46% of the vote. I am betting that he will get below 41%.

This is a fine piece by Mark Steyn on the real difference between how the Europeans understand democracy and how we in the U.S. understand it. This really speaks to the issue of self-government as practiced on the lowest (therefore most important) level. The "spirit of liberty" is worked out and perpetuated on the first rung of the ladder. This is what the EU bureaucrats don't understand.