National Security as Cause of Demos’ Losses in November

Andrew Busch argues persuasively that the key issue for the Demos poor showing in November was national security. He analyzes Daschle’s outrage at Bush’s suggestion that Democrats cared less about national security than about special interests. Busch thinks that Daschle admitted that and, even though not widely reported in the press, the American people caught it and voted accordingly.

Smallpox in Iraq?

Here is the ABC News report that the CIA is investigating an allegation that a Russian scientist transferred a particularly lethal strain of smallpox to the government of Iraq in 1990. Short, worth a read.

Bush in Louisiana

Dubya made his last bid to whack the Demos Tuesday by going to Louisiana to campaign for Susan Terrell. Nothing in the press reports (here’s the AP and USA Today versions) indicate anything other than what I have been aserting: Things are tough for Mary Landrieu. She is running scared and trying to attach herself to Bush as much as possible. This, of course, is ticking off a lot of Democrats who are claiming that she is not giving the liberals enough reasons to vote for her. But, of course, Landrieu knows better; her only chance at victory is to seem as moderate (read, Republican) as possible. This is not a sign of a great candidate, or of a party that proudly stands for something. The few nationally known Democrats who are helping her (Donna Brazile, for example) are kept hidden from the public eye. Except for Senator Breaux; if he weren’t helping her, she’s lose by another ten percent. Note this comment by Douglas Brinkley:

"If there’s such a thing as a Republican revolution now, the defeat of Mary Landrieu would be a good sign of it, it would be a real sign that everything is going wrong for the Democratic Party."

Also, check out this article from Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call. The first line of the article reflects the whole: "Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) has a problem." What that means for Rothenberg is that she must run the exact opposite of the campaign she ran in November; she must now get the Demo base to come out and vote for her, whereas in November she had to appeal to the swing voters. She failed to do that in November (only getting 46%) and I believe she will fail to get her base out on Saturday.

Iran’s Reformation?

Thomas Friedman of the New York Times reflects on the meaning of what’s going on today in Iran today, "a drive for an Islamic reformation combined with a spontaneous student-led democracy movement." He focuses on the thought of Hashem Aghajari, the college professor condemned to death. Aghajari’s speech may be found on the MEMRI site here.

German Military Cutback

This is an interesting article from Aerospace Daily on how the Germans are thinking of cutting back on defense spending by nearly 6 billion dollars by 2006. Whatever happened to NATO, rapid deployment force, etc.? They hardly spend anything on defense as it is. Do they think this will help their sagging economy? The reds are no longer running part of the country, but the greens are now running all of it.

Another Democratic Contender?

Rod Blagojevich, the newly elected Democratic Governor of Illinois, is talking about running for president, if not in 2004, then in 2008. Is this another sign of the trouble that this party finds itself in? It seems to me the guy could have waited until a day or two after he takes office to talk about his ambitions.

Thome as Traitor

If Churchill can praise Rommel in the middle of the war, I can praise Jim Thome. A good man, if not a good citizen, with the greatest swing in baseball. I love to watch him play. I am sorry he has gone to the other side. Yet, you cannot help but notice that he wants to be with a certain kind of players, players that are tough, players that are like him. What probably sealed the deal is that David Bell signed on. Thome said this about Bell: "He’s a tough player. He makes no excuses. The bottom line is those are the kind of guys you want to go to war with." War, he says, baseball is war. It is impossible not to love a guy like this, even if his allergies kick in occasionally.

Greatest Living American

This Washington Times news story is on the Esquire magazine survey that chose Reagan as the greatest living American (followed by Carter, Powell, "my dada," and Clinton). Clinton also headed the list of "the most loathesome living American." About 55% knew that Paul Wolfowitz is deputy secretary of Defense, yet 6% thought that he was the "starting left fielder for the Colorado Rockies."

Huge Tax Hike in N.Y.

Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a property tax increase of 18.5%, the largest increase ever. And there is more to come next year. I don’t claim to understanding these things, but is this the best way to deal with an economy that’s playing with recession? First the cigarette taxes, and now this. Not good.

Clinton Offers Advice

Bill Clinton spoke to the Democratic Leadership Council on Tuesday. Although I haven’t yet seen the full speech, here is an AP report on it. Among other things, it is reported that he advises the Democratic Party to present a new unified message with national security and a revived economy as national priorities. Clinton said that it was the party’s lack of clarity on these issues that led to the November losses. He is reported to have said: "When people feel uncertain, they’d rather have somebody that’s strong and wrong than somebody who’s weak and right." He also said this: "We don’t have to be more liberal, but we do have to be more relevant in a positive way."

These may be serious comments, I’ll have to look at them in context.

Stephanopoulos & West Wing Sinking

Boy George still isn’t doing well in the ratings. In fact, he is third (behind CBS and NBC). And The West Wing isn’t doing much better, it is also sinking. It is possible that they are both declining for the same reason: Too earnest, too sober (how is Aaron Sorkin doing?), too preachy, too liberal? They are both entirely predictable, I only see bits of them now, by accident. These declining ratings are a good sign that our fellow citizens are able to make sound judgments.

Kerry’s Warmth Problem

John Kerry spoke in Cleveland Tuesday. I was busy and couldn’t hear the talk, but there are reports on what he was going to say. And this from Howard Kurtz talking about Kerry’s unimpressive performance with Tim Russert on Sunday. Kurtz says: "To put it mildly, Kerry has a warmth problem." Maybe this guy will be the perfect running mate for Al Gore, he may make Gore look exciting, or at least normal.

Bad Girls Want Good Contracts

This is out of San Francisco, surprise. Workers at the nation’s only unionized peep show are not satisfied with the management’s contract offer. They chanted, "Two, four six, eight, pay me more to gyrate." Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Buckley on Gore’s Whine

Bill Buckley divulges how the whole GOP conspiracy operates, how the zeitgeist really works. Pretty good.

West on Jaffa & Mansfield

This is a long article by Thomas G. West, originally published in Perspectives in Political Science, that considers the question: "Does America Have a Constitutional or a Declaration of Independence Soul?" A dozen coffee or three Knob Creek whisky article; but worth it.

Britain Releases Dossier on Iraq

Britain just relased a dossier on human rights abuses in Iraq, according to The London Times. The full dossier can be found here (PDF file).

Stability and Instability in the Middle East

This lengthy piece by Max Boot from The Weekly Standard answers many questions I've had about the potential a war in Iraq has for de-stabilizing the Middle East. In part the article is a response to the letter that Bishop Wilton D. Gregory sent to President Bush on September 13. I hasten to add that I am in agreement with it. I think it’s persuasive.

Hanson on the Duke of Wellington

Victor Davis Hanson reviews two books about the Duke of Wellington in the current issue of The New Criterion. A good read in itself, yet made better because Hanson connects Wellington and his purposes to the contemporary world.

Portable Missiles and Airliners

David Tucker has a clear piece on what the press is missing about the possibility of an airliner being brought down by a portable missile, the kind used in the failed attempt in Kenya. The first thing to note is that this isn’t new; an airliner was shot down (in Africa) in the 1970’s using such a weapon. He also says this, and explains:

"Considering why more portable missile attacks have not occurred helps us understand how terrorists think about their business and provides some perspective on the recent attack. It reminds us that what terrorists attack is not decided just by our vulnerabilities. It is decided also by the cost to the terrorists of exploiting those vulnerabilities."

Demo Party in Trouble

There were two interesting articles in The Los Angeles Times (registration required) recently reflecting on the state of the Democratic Party. The one by Kevin Phillips is—characteristically—odd, yet worth reading. He thinks it's a very bad sign that blacks, Latinos, and poorer whites did not vote in the numbers the Demos have come to rely on. The other is by Jack Pitney at Claremont and his point is even simpler: The Democrats can only win the White House with a candidate from the South, i.e., Gore or Edwards; the last non-Southern Demo to become president was JFK. And, it should be noted that John Kerry of Massachusetts has taken the first steps toward announcing his candidacy.

Wrist Watch as Two-Way Radio

This is pretty cool. A two-way radio (works for about a mile and a half) and a watch. About a hundred bucks a pair.

Brits Thought about Nuclear Threat against Nazis

This is a short Reuters report explaining that the files of Guy Liddell, head of MI5’s counter-espionage branch, have been opened by the Public Records Office and he is recorded as having suggested to Stewart Menzies in August of 1944, head of MI6, that they should threaten Hitler with the use of nuclear weapons in case Hitler used V-2.

Mark Steyn On Line

Apparently Mark Steyn has his own site. It would seem to be easier to find his hard-hitting articles this way.

The Luxembourg Language

This is interesting in a kind archaeological way. According to an article in the Washington Post there is a children’s book writer in Luxembourg who has started writing in Letzebuergesch (or, Luxembourgish). This country of a half a million apparently needs a patriotic shot in the arm (more than a third of it’s residents are foreign born) so some are now writing for the first time in this off-shoot of German. Up until now this obscure language has only been used for oral communication. It had been assumed that the language is not sophisticated enough for the subtleties necessary in written expressions. Some claim otherwise. Here is short intro to the language , if you have nothing better to do.

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