From today’s New York Times:
“In the first comprehensive account of the day’s events, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said that security guards for Blackwater fired on Iraqis in their cars in midday traffic. The document concludes that the dozens of foreign security companies here should be replaced by Iraqi companies, and that a law that has given the companies immunity for years be scrapped.”
It remains to be seen whether the Iraqi government really has any power to ban Blackwater USA and other private contractors. But it’s unlikely. Meanwhile, American officials are conducting their own investigation.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Sen. Joe Biden asked a good question at Thursday’s AARP presidential forum in Iowa: “What’s changed to make you think Hillary is going to be able to put together the 15 percent of Republicans” who will be needed to enact any overhaul of the health care system? Voters, particularly in primaries, often don’t consider the practical reality that Republicans or Democrats, by themselves, usually don’t have enough votes to get legislation approved. That’s especially true in the Senate, which can require 60 votes to cut off debate. So whether the issue is universal health care or Iraq, a president needs to be able to attract bipartisan support.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
President Bush criticized Democratic lawmakers Thursday for not sufficiently denouncing the “General Betray Us” advertisement. “That leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org — are more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military,” Bush said.
But Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post noted that Bush has admitted using the general to get out a message. So Froomkin proposed these two follow-up questions for Bush: “If you make a general your political standard-bearer, don’t your political enemies get to take aim? And is it possible Democrats were reserving their outrage for issues other than a political ad?”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
After its strange and short-lived booking of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce has settling on former White House press secretary Tony Snow to be the keynote speaker at its Dec. 4 annual meeting. Those hoping for more bipartisanship among the chamber’s guests will be disappointed. But Snow, a former Fox News anchor, is a skilled communicator who has excelled in his profession, including his year and a half speaking for the president. And it was hard to be unmoved by Snow’s White House departure last week to spend more time with his family and improve his income as he continues to fight cancer. His “cheerful, people-loving spirit,” as columnist Clarence Page put it, has won admirers on the left and right.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Democratic candidates have been trotting out their plans for tax relief and health care reform, but that doesn’t change the fact that Iraq will be the central issue of the 2008 election.
On that point, it’s interesting to note that the latest Gallup poll has Sen. John McCain edging back up in popularity to third place among Republican voters, only 4 points behind Fred Thompson and 10 points ahead of Mitt Romney.
McCain, with his rock-solid support for the surge, probably remains the candidate who can most credibly sell the party’s position on Iraq — stay the course.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
