Monthly Archives: February 2008

February 20, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Bad News That I Missed

Or maybe it didn’t get much coverage. Robert Novak writes: House Republicans showed how much they really care about losing their fiscal responsibility brand when they rejected Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), the leading crusader against earmarks, for a vacancy on the House Appropriations Committee. They picked Rep. Jo Bonner (Ala.), a former House staffer and a consistent supporter of earmarks. Flake’s goose was cooked earlier when the House Republican Conference »
February 20, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Exile Group Says Iran Developing Warheads

An Iranian exile group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, claims that Iran is operating a nuclear-warhead-development facility at Khojir, a defense-ministry missile-research site. The group has turned over satellite images and other information supporting the claim to the the International Atomic Energy Agency. NCRI also says it has pinpointed a nearby “guest house” for North Korean specialists who are working on the warhead development program. There is no »
February 20, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

Conservatives to Rep. Shadegg, please stay

John Shadegg (R. Ariz), an outstanding conservative member of Congress, announced a week or two ago that he would not run for re-election. This prompted more than 140 of his Republican colleagues in the House to call upon Rep. Shadegg to reconsider. Now a group of non-officeholding conservatives has joined that call. I’m proud (on behalf ot Power Line) to be one of them. This is the letter we signed: »
February 20, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

Senator Obama clarifies his wife’s views, and his own

Over the weekend, Michelle Obama stated: “[F]or the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.” Yesterday, Barack Obama explained that his wife meant that “this is the first time that she’s been proud of the politics of America.” I accept that this probably is what Ms. Obama meant. She »
February 19, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

As Wisconsin goes. . .?

Barack Obama handily defeated Hillary Clinton today in the Wisconsin primary. The margin of victory appears to be almost 15 percentage points. Clinton was expected to lose in Wisconsin and can still get back in the game by winning Ohio and Texas. But, while I continue to believe that state characteristcis are more important than momentum, it’s not immediately apparent what differences between the charactistics of Wisconsin and, say, Ohio »
February 19, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Raul Unbound?

Some time in the early 1980s, a friend of mine went to Florida for spring training with the Minnesota Twins. She met an elderly couple, Cuban emigres, who told her that they had saved a bottle of champagne to be consumed when one of two things happened: the Twins won the World Series, or the Tyrant died. We felt sorry for them, as it seemed unlikely that they would live »
February 19, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Blowing His Cover

Ron Paul’s Presidential run made a surprising impact. He was a web favorite–a status that so far, by the way, has been the kiss of death–and raised the remarkable total of $20,000,000, mostly on-line. Millions of Republicans saw Paul for the first time; some considered him a principled idealist; others, like me, found him creepy. It seems that a fair number of Paul’s constituents have had their eyes opened as »
February 19, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

Soft Power, Part Three

No one has done a better job than Ed Lasky of exposing the extent to which some of Barack Obama’s foreign policy advisers are anti-Israel, not to mention dangerously misguided about the Middle East. Here, Lasky and Richard Baehr discuss various attempts to explain away aspects of this problem. Readers will agree, I think, that these efforts are exceedingly lame. One Obama adviser who’s especially difficult to explain away is »
February 19, 2008 — John Hinderaker

But It’s a Pattern!

In a conference call with reporters today, Clinton campaign officials said that Barack Obama exhibits a “pattern” of plagiarizing the words of other politicians, most notably Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. This strikes me as very lame, but also as emblematic of the hole the Clinton campaign finds itself in. Those who find Obama’s speeches inspiring will hardly be offended to learn that he is not the first to say things »
February 19, 2008 — Scott Johnson

How Communist states change their rulers

Fidel Castro has announced he will be resigning as Cuba’s Maximum Leader after a run of 49 years. Since he has been attempting to come back from cancer surgery, his dictatorial rule has been in the hands of his 76-year-old brother Raul, who will apparently fill continue to fill his shoes. Michelle Malkin has posted a useful round-up. »
February 19, 2008 — Scott Johnson

No boundaries, Saudi Arabian-style

The opening sentence in yesterday’s Guardian story succincly captures its heart: “Saudi Arabia’s rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.” The outlines of the story had been public before the release of the documents, but it’s certainly helpful to have details like these to fill out the story: Previously secret files »
February 19, 2008 — Scott Johnson

Smokey’s fire

The arrival of the singer/songwriter phenomenon in the 1960’s contributed to the death of Tin Pan Alley and the decline of popular songwriting as a profession. While some of the singer/songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon have consciously aspired to a place in the firmament of songwriters, the writerly workmanship even of the best singer/songwriters does not rise to the level set by the composers of the Great »
February 18, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Pakistan After Musharraf

It appears that President Musharraf’s Pakistan Muslim League-Q party is headed for a devastating loss in today’s parliamentary election. I don’t pretend to understand the intricacies of Pakistan’s electoral system, but the New York Times says the victorious opposition parties “may even try to remove [Musharraf].” I should think so! And, in any event, news reports suggest that Musharraf is ready to step down and perhaps leave the country. Pakistan’s »
February 18, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

Pride cometh after the rise

Michelle Obama said today that, as a result of her husband’s electoral success so far and the “hunger for change” it signals, “for the first time in my adult life I am really proud of my country.” The arrogance, ingratitude, and knee-jerk anti-Americanism of that remark are self-evident, but do read John Podhoretz’s explication. It’s comforting to know that America can vindicate itself in Ms. Obama’s eyes by electing Barack »
February 18, 2008 — John Hinderaker

Can Hillary Still Win?

Hillary Clinton, in the conventional wisdom, has gone from inevitable nominee to toast in a short time. The delegate count, however, is virtually even between Hillary and Barack Obama. So, does she still have a chance? Michael Barone surveys the remaining primaries and caucuses, does the math, and concludes that she still has a chance: My bottom line take: The turf looks fairly favorable to Clinton, provided she wins Ohio »
February 18, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

“Just words,” and borrowed ones at that

The Clinton campaign has accused Barack Obama of plagiarism in connection with a speech he gave which borrowed generously from one given by Deval Patrick when he ran for governor of Massachusetts. Specifically, Obama tracked Patrick’s words when he said: »
February 18, 2008 — Paul Mirengoff

A Declaration Against Genocide and a test for campus organizations

The David Horowitz Freedom Center has announced that it will distribute a Declaration Against Genocide and ask individuals and groups, particularly those on American college campuses, to sign it. The Declaration calls on campus groups to affirm »