Appellate Courts

The Washington Post published some great articles on the politics of the appellate courts.
Worth reading all three:
1) The impact President Bush has had.
2) A look at the current state of the courts.
2) The impact President Obama will likely have.

Some pieces of relevance

Relating to discussions on the media, George Will comments on the Fairness Doctrine. I think it's worth noting that he nowhere points out which liberals are leading the charge for a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. Complaints of reactionary liberalism, without naming the reactionary liberals, wreaks of reactionary conservativism. Still, his points are sound.

Also from George Will is a column on the New New Deal that may come from Obama, with important points on FDR's New Deal. Will notes that the New Deal itself may not have worked the magic many claim it did. Millions were, however, employed and many areas of the country benefited from government led initiatives.

Lochner v. New York

Lochner v. New York: Economic Regulation on Trial by Paul Kens

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I haven't actually compiled a list of all the nonfiction books under 300 pages that I have read, but I do not doubt that Kens's "Lochner v. New York: Economic Regulation on Trial" was by far the greatest short nonfiction book I have ever read. In fewer than 200 pages Kens discusses New York machine politics, the Supreme Court, the court appeals process, the important political, legal, and economic personalities of the Industrial Revolution, judicial and legal theories, the Fourteenth Amendment, the due process clause, economic regulation in American history, and the specifics of the case at hand with a level of detail necessary to do justice to each topic in a lucid manner. I'm not a lawyer or legal scholar, so I'm not savvy enough to comment on the accuracy of Kens's book, but I think he does a fantastic job. The Industrial Revolution and the many good and bad effects of that powerful force can never be overstated, and the Lochner case, so it seems, brought many of the powerful arguments revolving around the Industrial Revolution to a pinpoint. Thankfully, over a century after that decision was announced to the nation (and not with much excitement at the time), we have Kens to thank for understanding it all. The only complaint I have with this book is the lack of citations. There should be in-text parenthetical sourcing or footnotes. Kens notes that in an earlier, and I'm guessing more scholarly, treatment he has all the citations necessary, but that's still not acceptable for this version. Thankfully there is a fairly thorough bibliographic essay at the end.


View all my reviews.

Can't we all just get along?

Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do by Andrew Gelman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gelman, et. al., offer the political science version of pop-social science, in the Gladwell-Freakonomics vein. They do a fine job, though not quite reaching the captivating levels of Gladwell, etc.

Since the 2000 election and the near dead even split in the electorate, the "red-blue" divide has captivated politicos. The blue states voted for Gore and Kerry, and the red states put George W. Bush in the White House. What has amazed a few people is the fact that the poor states are the red states, which seemed to fly in the face of the storyline that the poor normally vote Democratic. Why do red-poor states - those states that actually take more money from the federal government than their inhabitants pay towards the federal government - vote Republican? Some, like Thomas Frank in "What's the Matter with Kansas?," suggested that poor folks were suckered into voting Republican because Party leaders hyped social issues (abortion, gay marriage) to get the poor on board, all the while ensuring tax cuts were passed for the benefit of the wealthy. It is intriguing to note that after the better part of 30 years of time in the White House, Republicans really haven't done a great job of passing conservative social legislation, but have done a fine job with tax cuts that have largely benefited the wealthy (the wealthy do, of course, pay most of the taxes). Well, Gelman and the rest rebut Frank by pointing out that the poor do indeed - in all states - vote more for the Democratic Party than do the wealthy. Again, that is the case even in red states. Granted, there is probably a higher proportion of poor folks in red states voting Republican than they do in blue states, but even in red states the poor are more likely to vote Democratic. It's the WEALTHY who are causing the red-blue divide. That is, the wealthy are more likely to defect from their financial interests, and they do so, obviously, in the blue states. Furthermore, it is the wealthy who are arguing over social policy, and the poor are sticking to their economic interests. Most importantly for the Democratic Party, Gelman and friends point out that, contrary to the arguments of the left, Democrats would not improve electoral outcomes by becoming more liberal. Doing so will only cause more moderates to leave the Democratic Party. Still, as any Democrat has should have learned, the winning strategy is not always the chosen strategy.

Regardless, "Red State, Blue State..." is an easy to read book with plenty of citations for any reader who wants to dig deeper into the theory, methodology, and articles of serious public opinion and voting behavior scholarship.

My biggest complaints about the book aren't too big. First, the early chapters were particularly choppy and almost read as cut-and-paste efforts. Thankfully the nuggets were interesting, but the overall themes were elusive. Second, for a short book, the price is a bit steep. Don't get me wrong: I love an easy to read short book, but don't charge me a big book price for it. Otherwise, a fine job on an important issue, which may be a little less relevant now with President-elect Obama's impressive 2008 victory. A few missteps by him, however, and we're right back to the 49-49 split with the increased likelihood of red state led Republican victories.


View all my reviews.

College football and politics

Great article from the WSJ about the power of football in the South.

To be Frank

Barney Frank is, according to this New Republic article, one of the smartest guys in government. And he is also unique in another way: as a politician, he doesn't seem to like people. I suppose if he's doing what you like, that's ok, but if he's opposed to you, that must be annoying as heck.

Gentle Ben

Interesting article in the New Yorker about Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. Even the best and the brightest have trouble figuring out what to do about our financial crisis.

Hugo ego

Hugo Chavez is having a tough go of it. NYTimes.

What did the 2008 election mean?

Who knows? A bunch of pollsters and academics think Obama may have started - or been a part of - a major realignment. Some say it was a "throw the bums out" election. See here.

Health care

Interesting article on some changes in how many important players look at the health care situation in America.

Nation-building

The US DOES do nation building! Interesting article on the new and improved approach to Iraq. Brief too!

Cute

Speaker Pelosi

Speaker Pelosi is probably the most under-appreciated political talent in national government. That doesn't mean you have to agree with her. Politico has more.

The Ultimate Campaign Coverage

Election 2008 is now behind us. The best coverage of the presidential election comes from Newsweek. Their reporters follow the candidates and promise not to report anything until the race is over. Well worth reading the short book-length story of the 2008 presidential election. Check it out here.

Helpful map

The Choice

Great documentary on Senators McCain and Obama. As fair as anything out there about two remarkable men. Watch the whole two hour documentary online for free!

Great list of articles on both candidates.

VOTE.

Peer pressure (and used to be beer pressure)

Fascinating article:

In the 1880s, Green said, turnout used to touch 80 percent. By the 1920s, it was down to 40 percent. The reason, he said, was a number of well-meaning electoral reforms.

Elections in the mid-19th century were festive affairs, and people gathered to carouse, jostle one another and vote. They sometimes cast their ballots on a stage to cheers and jeers. Voting, even their choice of candidates, used to be extremely public.

A series of progressive reforms in the late 19th century turned voting into a private affair. Campaign operatives were kept clear of polling stations. People got to vote in secret, and few knew whether their neighbors voted.

Turnout plummeted.

What this suggests is that, besides civic pride and political conviction, a central reason people vote is that democratic participation is an intensely social act. Politics, candidates and campaigns offer us zones of connection with other citizens -- even our political opponents. It gives millions of people common topics of conversation.

Voting used to be that way, too. We certainly don't want to go back to the time when casting ballots involved fistfights and booze, but the Michigan experiment suggests one way we can revive some of the social aspects of voting.
Your vote may count for very little in the outcome of an election, but it may count for a lot in the eyes of your friends and neighbors.

See the Washington Post article in full.

Eight days and counting down

I personally believe this election will be far closer than any poll is indicating. However, out of a number of possible scenarios, I recognize that the likelihood of McCain winning by a blowout is highly unlikely. Still, if it's close, it's either man's election.

That said, there are a number of interesting articles out there about the state of the race and some larger issues.
1) George W. Bush's campaign folks, namely Karl Rove, thought that they were going to create a new Republican majority in America. That hasn't worked out. If the GOP wins the presidential election, it will be DESPITE President Bush. Also, the GOP is quite likely to lose many seats in Congress. John Harwood of the NYTimes has more.
2) The issue of race is obviously a factor in this election. What kind of factor? Who really knows until election day? Pennsylvania will serve as a large experiment, and here's an article on that state from the NYTimes.
3) All of the focus has, obviously, been on the presidential contest. However, no less important are the MANY races taking place at the state level, for state government. Most states are holding their legislative elections, and those outcomes will have an important determination on how all legislative districts are redrawn across the country. The GOP's chances look better in this important area. See here.
4) Recent polling from the Commonwealth of Virginia makes the state look good for Obama. Both Obama and Palin have visited my town of Leesburg within the past week. This is an important state, which is odd for presidential elections.
5) In most battleground states, Obama has the upper hand. But it is CLOSE in many of those states, according to Zogby.

Polling - is it really scientific?

10/28/2008: NYTimes on fivethiryeight.com, among others. See HERE.

Poll watching is ADDICTIVE: See WSJ HERE.

Reasons to doubt ANY poll: see this interesting WSJ article.

A spate of widely publicized newspaper and network polls over the past week have shown Barack Obama opening a big lead over John McCain. But other surveys tell a somewhat different story, suggesting the presidential race is still close, and the Republican has even gained ground in recent days.

The reason for the divergence: Pollsters are facing new challenges this year, trying to gauge whether the electorate is changing, and how much.

Triangle

Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fine book. If you find any of the following topics interesting, then this book is for you: American political history; New York City politics; New York state politics; the rise of Al Smith; the rise of FDR; the creation of the modern Democratic Party; the rise of bigger government; social movements; immigrant politics; and suffrage for women. One need not be happy with all of those topics, but the Triangle fire in NYC in 1911 was an important event in the changing relationship between the government (at all levels) and the people. A tale of a tragic event that was well told too.


View all my reviews.

Polling

An interesting - and long - article on polling.

Another good op-ed about polling. We can trust polls - with QUALIFICATIONS! And we should definitely not focus too much on immediate exit polls. Just watch for the ultimate poll: the election returns! Michael Barone in the WSJ.

McCain

McCain is no fan of the New York Times, but the Times Magazine has a thick story on the Senator. Haven't read it yet, but it should be interesting. The article is written by Robert Draper, who wrote a surprisingly balanced book on President George W. Bush, Dead Certain.

Here's last Sunday's NYTimes Magazine's article on Obama. Fascinating.

Editorials

Two interesting editorials out in two prominent papers.

The Wall Street Journal offers a cautionary editorial on what will happen if Dems win the White House and build on their lead in Congress.

The Washington Post endorses Barack Obama for president.

Need a break from a nasty campaign?

Watch the below videos:

Obama 1:


Obama 2:


McCain 1:


McCain 2:

Interesting article on Northern Virginia Congressman, Tom Davis

A must read about Rep. Davis's frustrations as a Congressman and Republican. From NYTimes Magazine.

NOVA Students Debate!

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DEBATE 2008

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

BISDORF PHASE III AUDITORIUM

ROTUNDA

Tuesday, October 7, 12:30-2:00 P.M.



Moderator: Dr. Jim McClellan, Dean, H & SS

Event sponsor: Campus Diversity Committee

Special Consultant: Dr. Jack Lechelt, Pol. Sci. Dept.



We invite the entire campus community to attend this event.

Hope to see you there!

Interesting articles

I haven't read all of these yet, but they appear to be interesting.

- On McCain's chief strategist, Steve Schmidt. From the LA Times.

- George Packer article on Obama's efforts in Ohio. From the New Yorker.

- Article on Ariana Huffington. From the New Yorker.

- Article on John McCain's career as a Navy pilot. From the LA Times.

Great political website!

A student point this gem of a website out to me. I don't understand all of the graphs and do-dads, but impressive. Hopefully it is still around after the election.
FiveThirtyEight.com.

Early Voting: Catch the WAVE!

Voters across the nation are ALREADY casting their ballots for the next president.
Check out this article from the Washington Post.
What can local residents do? (That is, those living in VA, MD, or DC.)
The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia require an excuse for absentee voting, which can be done by mail or in person at local election boards or designated centers.

Virginia requires voters to specify one of 16 reasons they need an absentee ballot. They can vote absentee without an excuse, however, if they request a ballot containing only the presidential and vice presidential candidates.
http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms
Here is the actual absentee voter application: http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Absentee_Documents/VA_Absentee_ballot_application.pdf

District of Columbia.
http://www.dcboee.org

Maryland voters in November will decide whether to amend the state constitution to allow no-excuse absentee voting and early voting beginning in 2010.
www.elections.state.md.us

Moderates vs. Partisans

The Washington Post's column, Department of Human Behavior, is often an interesting mix of academic research with journalistic readability. This week's column looks at how moderates and partisans see the 2008 election.

With America divided right down the middle for the third presidential election in a row, most people would not be surprised to hear that Democratic and Republican partisans perceive a widening gap between their presidential choices. In 2004, for example, die-hards in both parties felt that the choice between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry was much sharper on a host of issues than in any presidential contest going back to 1984.

But when political scientist Marc J. Hetherington quizzed moderates, he found to his surprise that he got the opposite answer. Compared with party loyalists, moderates saw far less difference between the candidates. If anything, moderates in 2004 saw the Republican and Democratic nominees as being more alike than in any election since 1988.

Obama's work in rural Virginia

Can Obama win rural Virginia voters? See this article from Peter Boyer of the New Yorker.

Virginia

Interesting polling data on Virginia and the presidential election from the WaPo. Spoiler alert: it's close!

Online documentary on Vietnam War

McCain, Obama, and Terrorism

Two interesting pieces by Jeffrey Goldberg:
1) Op-ed in the NYTimes about terrorism and the two American presidential candidates' strategies.
2) Article about John McCain and his foreign policy for The Atlantic.

Odierno: the new guy in charge in Iraq

Great introductory piece on Ray Odierno, the new general in charge of MNF-I (Multinational Forces - Iraq). By Colin Kahl.

Economic shockers

This is stunning:

Invoking extraordinary powers granted after the 1929 stock market crash, the government seized control of the insurance giant American International Group to preserve a crucial bulwark of the global financial system.

The move to lend the Wall Street giant up to $85 billion in exchange for nearly 80 percent of its stock effectively nationalizes one of the central institutions in the crisis that has swept through markets this month.

From the WaPo.

McCain and Obama health plans compared

From the WSJ:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health-care plan would make only a small dent in the ranks of the uninsured, at best covering about five million more people, two new reports conclude.
Democratic nominee Barack Obama would cover more people -- eventually adding about 34 million, according to one of those reports, by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
Barack Obama
Sen. Obama's plan would be costly, the center concluded: $1.6 trillion over 10 years. Sen. McCain's would cost nearly as much: $1.3 trillion over the same span.

Deja Vu all over again

It's beginning to look a lot like... 2000 and 2004. From the WaPo:

When the general election began a few months ago, Barack Obama's advisers talked optimistically about dramatically redrawing the electoral map. Their optimism remains, but as the campaign heads into its final 50 days, strategists for both parties say the election is likely to be decided on mostly familiar ground.

As in the past two campaigns, four big states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Florida -- are expected to dominate the attention of the candidates. Democrats won the first two in both 2000 and 2004; Republicans won the other two both times.

Additionally, there will be battles in a group of smaller states now seen by the campaigns as most vulnerable to shifting sides. Five states that went for President Bush in 2004 are now high on the list of potential Obama states: Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Virginia. Two states that went for Sen. John F. Kerry are top targets of McCain's campaign: Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

Must-read article HERE.

The Cheney Vice Presidency

The Washington Post has provided a fascinating inside look at how Dick Cheney operates in the White House. Last year the authors of the series on Cheney, titled "Angler," won Pulitzer Prizes. Now one of those authors wrote a bigger book on Cheney and his work in the White House. The Washington Post ran two excerpts from that book, and it is absolutely compelling reading.
Here's the WaPo site for the entire series, which links to all six articles.
Sunday's article (09-14-08).
Monday's article (09-15).

Here's a link to purchasing the book, Angler.

The portrait of Cheney that the WaPo offers is not exactly favorable to the Veep.

Here's a book offering a much more sympathetic biography of Cheney, by Weekly Standard contributor Stephen Hayes.

Here's a much more negative look at the Bush/Cheney White House by another Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.

Some troubles, and maybe solutions, overseas

Bolivia: Increasing violence in northern Bolivia.

Zimbabwe: An agreement of sorts?

Venezuela: That is one expensive suitcase!

Barack Bush, or George W. Obama?

From the WaPo:

Barack Obama contends that a John McCain presidency would amount to little more than President Bush's third term. But as it turns out, an Obama presidency might look a bit like Bush's second.

On a range of major foreign policy issues over the past year, Bush has pursued strategies and actions very much along the lines of what Sen. Obama has advocated during his presidential race, according to the Illinois Democrat's campaign and many diplomatic and security experts.

The administration has pushed ahead with high-level diplomatic negotiations with Iran and North Korea, agreed to a "time horizon" for a reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq and announced plans last week to shift troops and other resources from Iraq to Afghanistan. U.S. officials also confirmed last week that Bush has formally authorized cross-border raids into Pakistan without that government's approval -- an idea that Obama first endorsed, and was heavily criticized for, last year.

SNL, Sarah, and Hillary

A tidbit on Amy Poehler.

Three political fiction books that appear to be worth reading

I read Advise and Consent, but the other two also look interesting.
Read this from NPR.

Barracuda Fishing (articles on Gov. Palin)

Here are some recent articles on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, R (and nominee for VP).
Article links will be continually added to this list, and the newest links will appear at the bottom.

- WSJ has a great article on the complexity of her record. Conservative views, but more moderate governing style.

- Thorough piece on Palin from Time.

- Thorough piece on Palin from Newsweek.

- Thorough piece on Palin and her family life from the Washington Post.

- Slate has a fantastic quick-read fact sheet about the many rumors that have been unleashed about Palin. Some true, some not. The fact sheet has links to many of the most useful articles.

- Time magazine ran a useful piece on Palin's time as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Where's Wasilla? Map HERE. Population facts on Wasilla from the Census Bureau.

- Interesting article from NYTimes on Palin's time as governor.

- Washington Post on the complicated reform performance of Palin on health care.

- More from the WaPo.

- Washington Times (AP).

- McClatchy has a number of articles on a variety of the Palin matters floating through the media-political world:
- Banning of books as mayor?
- Earmarks.
- Leadership of Alaska National Guard.

- Air National Guard article from the LA Times.

- Palin v. McCain on sex-ed.

- As mayor, Paylin may not have handled one issue particularly well. WSJ Here.

- 09/10/08: Interesting op-ed on Palin: Far more politically savvy than most people originally recognized. UK's Telegraph.

- 09/13/08: Long article from the New Yorker.

- 09/13/08: On hiring friends for state positions. NYTimes.

- 09/13/08: In losing race for Lt.Gov., something to learn about Palin. From Politico.

- 09/14/08: Palin as mayor of Wasilla. From the WaPo.

Iraq

Great op-ed by John Nagl, a COIN expert and Iraq veteran. Things are looking up in Iraq.

Vice presidents and heads of state

The WSJ has an interesting piece on vice presidents and their meetings with foreign heads of states. Sadly for Palin, the last VP who had not met with foreign heads of states was Spiro Agnew.

No age limits

An 80 year old man who lives alone in the Boston area is fighting the good non-violent fight. See the WSJ.

Hugo

Tensions rise between the US and Venezuela. See the WSJ.

Political movies for the fall

First, for conservatives, there is "An American Carol." Mockery of Michael Moore looks like it will be funny.
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3308060697/
Movie info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190617/

Second, for liberals, there is "W." Mockery of President George W. Bush also looks like it might be funny.
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi81592601/
Movie info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175491/

Third, and probably most seriously, is "Frost/Nixon," (directed by Ron Howard) which was about Nixon's famous post-presidency interview with David Frost, and what went into making that interview possible. (Probably hard work and money.)
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2519466009/
Movie info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/

Well worth checking out.

Reese at 18 months

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Dexter Filkins from the NYTimes Mag has a must read, and long, article: HERE.

Excellent article from the WaPo on dealing with the complexities of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and military forays into Pak to try to catch Bin Laden.

From the Atlantic: HERE.

From Robert Kaplan at the Atlantic: HERE.

Kim Jong Very Ill

From McClatchy:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il failed to appear Tuesday at a military parade marking the nuclear-armed communist state's 60th anniversary, and a U.S. intelligence official said Kim appeared to be seriously ill and might have had a stroke.

You sank my electronic battleship!

The US military is always thinking! LA Times on a cyber offense:

Igniting a provocative new debate, senior military officials are pushing the Pentagon to go on the offensive in cyberspace by developing the ability to attack other nations' computer systems, rather than concentrating on defending America's electronic security.

Under the most sweeping proposals, military experts would acquire the know-how to commandeer the unmanned aerial drones of adversaries, disable enemy warplanes in mid-flight and cut off electricity at precise moments to strategic locations, such as military installations, while sparing humanitarian facilities, such as hospitals.

Pak man

Pakistan elects a new president. Blurb from WaPo: Pakistan's lawmakers on Saturday elected Asif Ali Zardari, widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, to take over the country's presidency amid political and economic turmoil and fears of a strengthening Taliban insurgency.

Dexter Filkins writes extensively about the Taliban in Pakistan. See the NYTimes Magazine.

The lines are drawn, or redrawn

Great article on the strategies of both the McCain and Obama campaigns to win the states each needs to wrap of the November 4 election.
From the NYTimes.

Just a clip:

Fresh from the Republican convention, Senator John McCain’s campaign sees evidence that his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate is energizing conservatives in the battleground of Ohio while improving its chances in Pennsylvania and several Western states that Senator Barack Obama has been counting on.

Mr. Obama’s campaign intends to focus heavily on the economy, especially in light of the mounting job losses, and to keep up the effort to tie the McCain-Palin ticket to the policies of President Bush. It is banking on holding all the states Senator John Kerry won in 2004 and picking up the additional electoral votes it needs by flipping some combination of Ohio, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa and Virginia into the Democratic column.

With just over eight weeks left until Election Day, the two sides are settling into an unusually broad set of state-by-state face-offs, with an increased focus on turning out supporters and tough decisions looming about where to invest time and money for new advertisements.

Become a better writer

Here's a great article about one of the greatest books for anyone who wants to write (or is at least required to, like college students). See Yardley's gem of an article on the Elements of Style, but Strunk and White.

Here's the actual book at Amazon.

What if McCain DOES win?

If McCain wins the presidency, and he is confronted with stronger Democratic control of Congress, there are a few issues he can still push through Congress if he is savvy. Read the WSJ here.

Go Blue - or Red?!?

Important article on a potentially important state battle in the 2008 presidential election.
WSJ here.

Party on?

Great article from the Wall Street Journal about the decline of political parties and rise of close elections.

Recent Iraq articles

Must reads:
- Steve Coll of the New Yorker offers one of the best new articles about Petraeus and the surge. Top notch. HERE.
- Michael Gordon of the New York Times on Administration and military debates on instituting the Surge: HERE.
- Michael Gordon on the successes in Iraq in controlling the fighting between Sunnis and Shias, and the ongoing difficulties of dealing with the Shia community.
- Stephen Biddle, Michael E. O'Hanlon, and Kenneth M. Pollack of Foreign Affairs offer a thorough analysis on the current state of Iraq and how much progress has occurred there. Worthy of note that all three lean (perhaps slightly) to the left. HERE.

We CAN talk about Choke

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dude is nuts! Completely original. Writing and story are a bit choppy, but by design. I'm going to read more of Chuck's stuff.


View all my reviews.

Marx book

Marx: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Singer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cute little gem. Easy enough. A bit boring, but maybe that's Marx's fault and not Singer's. The last chapter is the best: a great overview of what Marx got right and what he got wrong.


View all my reviews.

Foreign Affairs articles

Two new articles from Foreign Affairs, a non-partisan journal for academics and practitioners in the world of international relations.

On Iraq: Biddle, O'Hanlon, and Pollack. I'm not sure about Biddle, but the latter two are left of center. All three know their military issues well. Bottom line: it's too soon to get out of Iraq. The US is just seeing progress there, and must stay until a stronger stability is secured.

Secretary of the Treasury Paulson on engaging China. Haven't read this one yet.

Southern Politics

Haven't read this yet myself, but could be an interesting article on the politics of the South. From the WSJ.

Great article on Afghanistan. Lots of work to do there.

It just doesn't matter

Interesting take from the Washington Times. Bottom line? There are a whole host of issues on which Senators McCain and Obama agree:

On some policy issues, the presidential election just won't matter - both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are prepared to overturn President Bush's policy and expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, one of a series of contentious issues pushed out of the presidential debate because those at the top of the tickets agree.

Afghanistan

Great stuff out there about Afghanistan.

First, SmallWarsJournal.com has a nice synopsis on General Barry McCaffrey's after action report. Great American soldiers, lots of hard work to do, and the US needs a LOT more help from allies.

Second, the Wall Street Journal has a great piece on the increasing use of suicide bombers there and how those bombers come to take on the task. Fascinating. (NOVA students can access the article for free through the library - go to Factiva).

Political fiction

Executive Privilege: A Novel by Phillip Margolin

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not the worst thing ever, but no great shakes. Rather simple with an ending that I saw coming from not too many pages into it. I say that not as props for my own detective skills - I usually can't see a Three's Company ending coming five minutes after the three of them are laughing on the couch about the missed communications situation they just solved. It was still fun enough to keep me reading. What more can a dude ask for in fiction book?


View all my reviews.

China's recent business moves

Great article from the NYTimes on China's efforts to bring in more hi-tech business.

War

War in European History by Michael Howard

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was perfectly phenomenal. In 144 pages, Howard packed in so much, without making it appear over-packed. 1,000 years of warfare, with all the attendant strategies, tactics, and developments, are presented in a readable and thorough fashion, without coming across as simplistic or factoid laden. Howard finished the book in 2001 (I’m thinking in the pre-9/11 2001) and in the last page he nailed some of the major issues the world would be dealing with in the early stages of the 21st century. First, he properly casts doubt on the Revolution in Military Affairs approach (doubt, mind you, and not a complete discard); second, he recognizes the likely rise of terrorism; and third, he points out that troops will be taking on far more than conventional battle missions, which will come to include peacekeeping, counterinsurgency warfare, and a host of other previously difficult to imagine military missions.


View all my reviews.

Talks failed, interesting guy

Article on India's lead negotiator/wrench-thrower at WTO talks. Free-market guy. Interesting.

Iraq

July 2008 was our best month yet in Iraq, with all due sadness to the losses suffered. See the Washington Post for an article and helpful chart.

Great article by Karen DeYoung on the surprising closeness of the two campaigns on the Iraq issue.

Henry Kissinger grows old and never goes away. Here are his thoughts on Iraq.

John McCain's mind

Interesting article on John McCain in the Washington Post.

Interesting article on McCain and his campaign's decision to bring up the race issue, which they point as having been really brought up by the Obama campaign. Tough and touchy issue.

Virginia Governor Kaine

There's a whole lot of talk that Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia is on a VERY short list of names to be Sen. Obama's running mate. UVA political scientist of oft-seen talking head Larry Sabato has a great analysis of Kaine's pluses and minuses.

Uganda

Powerful stories abound about the civil war that has taken place in Uganda, and the use of child soldiers in the fight.

Documentary that has really raised awareness: Invisible Children. Official movie site.

The Washington Post has a two-day article series on the aftermath of the war and the return of former soldiers to their old lives. Great videos and website tag-along.

Wealth

Interesting article from the WSJ:

In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data.
Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years. The group's share of the tax burden has risen, though not as quickly as its share of income.

Obama stuff

When you see Bob "The Prince of Darkness" Novak driving down the streets of DC in his drop-top black Corvette, get the hell out of the way! But when you see his column in the paper, read it! This column is particularly interesting: for all of Obama's overseas hype and his strong campaign abilities, he really isn't blowing McCain away. And that may be all McCain needs to back into the White House.
From the Washington Post.

Interesting article on Obama's efforts to increase the black vote. I applaud the effort, but I hope he doesn't spend too many valuable resources trying to win southern states. He should definitely shoot for Virginia, but going after the Deep South may be a pipe dream. Best to leave the long term efforts, me thinks, to Dean and the 50 state strategy.

WP blog entry: 30% increase of black vote NOT enough for Obama to win the South.

Daydream Believers

Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power by Fred Kaplan

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Daydream Believers, by Kaplan, was a FANTASTIC book. Interesting, well written, and important, Kaplan offers much more than the title led me to believe. Of course, it is another book on the mistakes of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy, particularly regarding Iraq, but the book is grander than that. The best parts: 1) fascinating overview of about a half century of US military strategy (this is what makes the book so strong); 2) necessary look at the totality of the Bush foreign policy, rather than just a focus on Iraq; 3) interesting look at America’s efforts to build a missile defense system; 4) the mistakes of the Democratic Party in failing to offer a realistic alternative to the current Administration’s foreign policy; 5) and a fine statement on the need for a foreign policy that properly balances realism/national interests, with the legitimate pursuit of high minded goals for the world.
If I have to find a bad part, I guess some of the information contained here is a bit redundant after all that has been said by those critiquing the Bush mistakes, particularly on Iraq. But those mistakes need repeating. Not that the repetition will prevent their repeat: we already had Vietnam. Still, it doesn’t hurt to tread over the topic.



View all my reviews.

Three good news sources regarding Iraq

From the US Defense Department:

An Iraqi organization tasked with consolidating and coordinating that country’s counterterrorism effort is now capable of conducting unilateral missions, a U.S. military official said yesterday.

“[The Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force’s] primary mission is to synchronize and focus all elements of Iraqi national power to defeat terrorism here in Iraq,” U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, director of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team, told online journalist and bloggers.

The Iraqi unit was formed in 2003 and has since been trained by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Trombitas said.

While U.S. forces still train with the specialized Iraqi force and conduct missions with the Iraqis, they’re now capable of running their own missions with limited U.S. help, he said.

“They’re comfortable, at this point in time, doing unilateral operations, even without some of our enablers,” Trombitas explained. “I think that they’re well on the road to conducting the majority of their operations.”

From the New York Times:

An American agency monitoring reconstruction in Iraq said Friday that oil exports through Iraq’s northern pipeline rose more than tenfold over the past year, citing a sharp drop in attacks on the pipeline and new infrastructure built to protect it.

The agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, said in a report for release on Saturday that there had been no insurgent attacks on the pipeline, which exports crude oil from northern Iraq to Turkey, since the American infrastructure project began last July.

As a result, crude oil exports from Iraq’s north rose from an average of 1 million barrels a month to more than 13 million, the report said. Nearly all of the Iraqi government’s revenue comes from oil exports, so the increased flow has direct implications for people here. The increased exports were worth $8 billion, the report said.

To protect the pipeline, berms, fences and guardhouses were built, and American soldiers patrol its 60-mile length. Iraqi guards monitor its perimeter; Iraq’s government has promised to commit almost 800 Iraqi soldiers to take over for the American patrols.

Ginger M. Cruz, the deputy inspector general, said the overall decline in violence in Iraq had helped account for the $34 million project’s success. The rise in oil exports marked a sharp turnaround from earlier years, when Sunni Arab insurgents staged relentless attacks on the pipeline, often stopping the flow of oil.

The supply of crude oil has been flowing to the key northern Baiji refinery, which has helped increase the production of electricity, the report said.

One final positive piece of news from AP:

The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost. Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the U.S. now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace — a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago.

Despite the occasional bursts of violence, Iraq has reached the point where the insurgents, who once controlled whole cities, no longer have the clout to threaten the viability of the central government.

That does not mean the war has ended or that U.S. troops have no role in Iraq. It means the combat phase finally is ending, years past the time when President Bush optimistically declared it had. The new phase focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy.

Scattered battles go on, especially against al-Qaida holdouts north of Baghdad. But organized resistance, with the steady drumbeat of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and ambushes that once rocked the capital daily, has all but ceased.

This amounts to more than a lull in the violence. It reflects a fundamental shift in the outlook for the Sunni minority, which held power under Saddam Hussein. They launched the insurgency five years ago. They now are either sidelined or have switched sides to cooperate with the Americans in return for money and political support.

American Revolution

The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 by Robert Middlekauff

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thorough. Fine one-book overview of theories and events of the American Revolution. There are much better books that focus on specific events and theories, but this covers most of the basics well. It's supposedly a re-release of an older book, but there isn't too much new scholarship included in it. Perhaps a shame as there have been some great books published over the past 10+ years on the Revolution.


View all my reviews.

Charles in Charge

Great comment by Charles Blow with the NYTimes:

Can you hear that? I can. It’s the sound of political action committees and party extremists sharpening their wedge issues and setting the timers on their bombshells. The fall’s battle is looming. It’s going to get ugly.

Once again they’ll cast the opposition as binary caricatures to rally their bases, swing the independents and capture the defectors.

The left will be reduced to fist-bumping blacks and intellectual elites with gun aversions and gay agendas. An amoral, tail-tucking lot that coddles criminals, raises taxes and has gone Chicken Little over global warming.

The right will be lambasted as ultra-conservative cretins who want to conflate the Constitution and the Bible, are pro-life before birth and pro-death after trial and blindly follow war-hungry fear-mongers who obsess over “terrorists” like a Tootsie Roll commercial.

And, never the twain shall meet. Left or right? That narrow view is just wrong. Americans are much more complex. Sadly, battle cries drown out nuance in campaigns.

So, in these relative calm days of summer, with Barack Obama on his way back from a rock-star tour of the other side of the pond and John McCain shadowboxing the media stateside, let’s pause and recognize that Americans overwhelmingly agree on many of the big issues and are changing their minds on others. It’s just that those shifting views, when taken as a whole, don’t neatly line up with either party’s platform.

Here are a few examples, according to Gallup polls taken over the last eight years:

• Six in 10 Americans believe that conservation should be emphasized to solve the energy problem, 7 in 10 favor the death penalty for murder and don’t want to ban the sale of handguns, and 8 in 10 believe in God but also believe that abortion should be legal, at least under certain circumstances.

• Nearly half now believe that we are unlikely to win the war in Iraq and that the war has made us less safe from terrorism.

• An increasing number of people believe that religion as a whole is losing its influence on American life and an increasing number want it to have less influence.

• While more bemoan the worsening state of moral values in the country, we are increasingly shifting our opinion on what is morally acceptable. Now most believe that getting divorced, engaging in premarital sex and having babies outside of marriage are morally acceptable. Nearly half also say that gay relationships are morally acceptable.

Remember this when the attack ads start up and the divisive rhetoric starts to bore into our brains. Remember that campaigns are not just about the people on the placards but about parties and power, and that the wizards behind the curtains specialize in amplifying differences that stoke our fears. Remember, and resist.

Smoking rates continue to decline

From Gallup: The percentage of U.S. adults saying they smoked cigarettes in the past week, now 21%, is similar to what Gallup found in 2007. However, it represents a decline from earlier this decade, when between 22% and 28% said they smoked, and is among the lowest figures Gallup has recorded in more than six decades of polling on tobacco use in America.

The American Voter Revisited

One of the true classics of political science, the American Voter, has gotten a face-lift. One of the authors, William Jacoby, was a professor of mine back in the day. From the Washington Post:

So a bunch of academics decides to revisit one of the defining books of modern American politics, a 1960 tome on the electorate. They spend years comparing interviews with voting-age Americans from 2000 and 2004 to what Americans said during elections in the 1950s. The academics' question: How much has the American voter changed over the past 50 years?

Their conclusion -- that the voter is pretty much the same dismally ill-informed creature he was back then -- continues a decades-long debate about whether Americans are as clueless as they sound.

Reader, before you send that outraged e-mail, consider that you may be an exception. You, of course, are endlessly fascinated by the debate over domestic wiretapping, but it's possible your neighbors think FISA is a hybrid vehicle. In fact, it's quite possible your neighbors are Republicans only because that's what their parents were, and ditto for the Democrats across the street. They couldn't even mumble a passable definition of "liberal" or "conservative."

"You could get depressed," says the University of Iowa's Michael Lewis-Beck, one of the political scientists who wrote "The American Voter Revisited," released last month and inspired by 1960's "The American Voter."

The OTHER War

Regarding Afghanistan, from the CS Monitor:

The success of the surge of American troops in Iraq is putting pressure anew on the Pentagon to build a surge plan to counter a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. But experts warn that it will take more than just additional troops to turn things around there.

US military officials are scrambling to devise a plan to send as many as three brigades to Afghanistan by next year, with Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying last week that he would send more forces "sooner rather than later." Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain have in the past week voiced support for an Afghanistan surge, with Senator Obama, who just visited the country, calling the requirements there "precarious and urgent."

But a surge for Afghanistan, analysts say, must also recognize that the insurgency there – as well as the NATO command structure – is not like that in Iraq. And without a new strategy, the deployment of more forces won't mean much, they say.

"Afghanistan is not Iraq, and you cannot just template Iraq's solutions onto Afghanistan's problems," says Fred Kagan, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, who played a direct role in shaping President Bush's surge strategy for Iraq in late 2006. The surge for Afghanistan, like the one implemented for Iraq last year, must not only mean more forces but also a proper counterinsurgency strategy that defeats the insurgency by isolating insurgents from the population, Mr. Kagan says.

The NATO-led mission in Afghanistan had in many ways failed to recognize that the violence amounted to an insurgency, and it has struggled to get its arms around the fight. Now, recognition is increasing that the violence must be countered with a proper counterinsurgency strategy, but there are no simple solutions. Mounting such a strategy will be challenging in Afghanistan, where the NATO-led mission has a labyrinthine command structure made up of 40 countries with divergent political and military views. In Iraq, one top American commander essentially calls the shots.

Novak

If Obama wanted any sign that he did great on his trip to the Middle East, he need look no further than Robert Novak:

The Afghanistan-Iraq segment of Sen. Barack Obama's foreign trip was an unqualified success. He committed no blunder as Republicans had hoped he would, and had the good luck to play into the Iraqi government's negotiations for a U.S. treaty—making it seem as though the Iraqis endorsed his withdrawal plans. The visit increased Republican defeatism and Democratic triumphalism.

Kaplan on Obama and McCain on Iraq

Great critique of both Obama and McCain and their speeches on Iraq and Afghanistan.
From Slate.

Obama

I read the New Yorker article. It is interesting (and long). The focus is on Obama's Chicago days, which is an important time for him - and America. The changing dynamics of campaigning in inner-cities is worth reading about (pinstripe patronage).

The New Yorker cover is crazy funny, in a "let's make a joke out of something that everyone who doesn't read the New Yorker (99.998% of America) will not realize is a joke" kind of way. And, really, those are the best kinds of jokes, right? RIGHT?!?

Another interesting article comes from Newsweek, and it's about Obama's religious views. Spoiler alert: he's not a radical Muslim!

Mandela

Fantastic article about an extraordinary man.
Nelson Mandela turns 90.
READ IT!

Rush

Americans find themselves in three groups regarding Rush Limbaugh.
1) Love him.
2) Hate him.
3) Find him irrelevant to their day to day existences. (The largest group by far.)
However, for those in the first and second groups, here's an interesting and lengthy article on El Rushbo from the NYTimes Magazine.
And here's an interesting response on the problems of access.

How Turks view the US

Having spent two wonderful weeks in the beautiful Republic of Turkey, I sure hope these numbers improve in time.
From Gallup:

Motives behind the attack on the U.S. consulate Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, are still unknown, but the terrorist act, allegedly carried out by several Turkish nationals, emphasizes the negative image U.S. leadership has in Turkey and elsewhere around the globe.
Turks' low approval rating of U.S. leadership provides evidence of the strain the Iraq war and U.S. reluctance to assist Turkey's fight against Kurdish rebels have placed on relations between the two longtime allies. Further reflecting the situation at the time of the survey, majorities of Turks also say they dislike President Bush and perceive the United States as hostile to their country.

Nixon

Richard M. Nixon: The American Presidents Series: The 37th President, 1969-1974 by Elizabeth Drew

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great, short book on Tricky Dick. He was a nut. A brilliant nut. But a nut nonetheless.


View all my reviews.

Health care plans of the two presidential candidates

McClatchy News has a helpful article comparing McCain's and Obama's health care plans.

The Kaiser Family Foundation compares the two plans side to side.

Afghanistan

This is a MUST READ on the War in Afghanistan. Not often do you hear people say, "the US military needs to do for Afghanistan what it has done in Iraq," but in this case, with recent and important successes in certain areas of Iraq, the statement is spot on. Rather than just clearing and leaving, the US needs to HOLD and BUILD. There are at least two problems: 1) the length of time it will take; and 2) the US has to leave SOMEday. What then?

Chavez

Great article on Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez. NYTimes.

The bottom

Interesting site on 10 worst presidents: US News & World Report.

FDR

The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great introduction to FDR's efforts at responding to the Great Depression upon his entrance into the presidency. Sometimes a bit too much psychoanalyzing, but there should be no doubt that FDR was the great president of the 20th century, not necessarily for finding a domestic economic cure for the Great Depression, but for helping millions of suffering people and giving them hope. His leadership of WWII would take care of the rest, but that's for another book. Great description of FDR's pre-presidential career and his political talents, and Alter gives appropriate credit to Louis Howe for much of FDR's success.


View all my reviews.

Obama kicks off presidential general election campaign in Northern Virginia

Proving that Virginia is actually in play this year in the race to the White House, newly crowned Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama launched his campaign in Virginia. This should make things exciting for the state.
Washington Post coverage.

Iraq WMDs and al Qaeda connections

From the NYTimes:

A long-delayed Senate committee report endorsed by Democrats and some Republicans concluded that President Bush and his aides built the public case for war against Iraq by exaggerating available intelligence and by ignoring disagreements among spy agencies about Iraq’s weapons programs and Saddam Hussein’s links to Al Qaeda.

The Report: regarding public statements; and regarding intelligence activities.

Iraqi policing

Great article on attempts to establish a NATIONAL Iraqi police force, and why it is probably necessary. From Newsweek.

Droning on and on

Fascinating article from Newsweek about UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and their impact on war. Go here.

UPDATE: The NYTimes also has an interesting article on UAVs, with some discussion on the never ending competition among the different services over controlling them.

Massachusetts and health care

ne of the interesting concepts in America is its federal system. We don't always need to see how other countries do things in order to come up with ideas. Since the states in the US retain a lot of power and flexibility, they often provide useful data on different approaches to society's problems. Here's an example: Massachusetts is trying a different health care approach. Interesting early signs of successes and problems. See the NYTimes.

Iraq Stuff

May 2008 was a strong month for American efforts - and hopes - in Iraq.

Washington Post editorial (Iraqi Upturn), which raises some useful points about how Senator Obama will campaign on the issue of Iraq. Though he is for getting out of Iraq over a period of time, recent success should cause him to think some more on it. We shall see.

New York Times offers a fantastic overview on Iraq and the month of May.

Tons more reading suggestions from Small Wars Journal.

Super Id, Super Freak?

I haven't read this one yet, but Vanity Fair's Todd S. Purdum has what looks like an interesting article on former President Bill Clinton. The President has taken a lot of heat for things he has said on the campaign trail for his wife, but he is still the only twice elected Democratic president since FDR.

Al Qaeda and Jihad

Two incredibly long and interesting articles on al Qaeda and Jihad:
1) From the New Yorker, and written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright, is a fascinating account of the possible tearing apart of leading figures in al Qaeda. We probably cannot hold our collectives breaths hoping for some quick turn, but it's interesting to note that people in the Middle Eastern Muslim world are asking a LOT of questions - and fighting amongst themselves.
2) From the New York Review of Books, and author Ahmed Rashid, is an interesting review of a bunch of books about Jihad.

Some good news in Iraq

NYTimes about northern Iraq:

For the past several months, American and Iraqi forces have been slowly applying pressure on the city. The operation, named Lion’s Roar, began officially on May 10. In it, the Iraqis have relied on significant American military assistance, after similar and tentatively successful assaults in Basra and Sadr City.

American tanks have formed cordons while Iraqi soldiers have searched house to house. Forts built and operated by Americans in western Mosul also greatly helped to stem the car bombings that had plagued this city. The Iraqis, though, drew up the arrest lists and conducted the parleys. To soothe ethnic tensions, a Sunni Arab general oversaw the operation.

In all, 83 percent of the military action had a majority of Iraqi troops participating.

American military statistics show that significant acts of violence, including roadside bombings, sniper shootings, and mortar and rocket grenade attacks, fell from 195 in the week before the operation to 93 in the week after it, according to Lt. Col. Eric R. Price, the chief American adviser to General Hussein.

The WaPo on Basra in southern Iraq. More freedoms noticed there, but then there's this gem:

On this day, Zaki embraced the forbidden. He walked to an organ and played "Listen to Your Heart" by the 1980s Swedish pop band Roxette.

Not for nothin', but there's worse things in the world than living in a country that forbids the playing of Roxette songs.

The WaPo on Sadr City. Some real progress there - so far of course.

A little over two weeks ago, U.S. troops in Sadr City were on the front lines of fierce, unrelenting urban warfare. But virtually overnight, their main mission has become one of rebuilding portions of the vast, tattered Shiite district and building trust in neighborhoods where many residents despise Americans.

The Republican nomination for US Senate in Virginia

From the Washington Times:

A sharply split Virginia Republican Convention nominated former Gov. Jim Gilmore to run for the seat of retiring Republican Senator John Warner.

Mr. Gilmore won 50.3 percent of the delegate votes today over conservative Bob Marshall, the Virginia General Assembly's most ardent foe of abortion and gay marriage.

The slim margin - about 65 votes, less than a percentage point - leaves Mr. Gilmore to face popular, well-funded Democrat Mark Warner in the fall election in a state where the GOP lost the past two gubernatorial races and the 2006 Senate election.

Mr. Gilmore assailed Mr. Warner in his speech as a tax-prone "limousine liberal" who will say anything to get elected. He ignored Mr. Marshall in his remarks to the approximately 3,500 delegates.

"He will go to the Senate and vote with the liberal Democrats who are out of touch with the nation," Mr. Gilmore said. "Mark Warner doesn't care what you have to pay for a tank of gas."

Virginia's US Senate race

Some polling data on a "Warner v. Gilmore" race, courtesy of Political Wire:

A new Virginia Commonwealth University poll finds many more Virginians have a favorable view of former Gov. Mark Warner (D) than former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) as the two prepare to face off in a U.S. Senate race.

Warner's favorability is at 47%, while Gilmore's is only 23%.

Said pollster Cary Funk: "These results suggest that Jim Gilmore will need to re‐introduce himself to Virginia voters if he is the GOP candidate for the Senate. As the contest for the U.S. Senate seat begins in earnest, Mark Warner has a clear advantage in terms of name recognition. And, those with an opinion about Warner tend to think well of him by a margin of nearly 5 to 1. That compares with a positive to negative image of about 1.5 to 1 for Gilmore."

Senator McCain

Some interesting new articles about John McCain:
!) The NYTimes has an ongoing article series on the major candidates for president, called "The Long Run." The most recent article looks at McCain's work as Navy liaison to Congress, the senators who were influential to him and his decision to run for public office.
2) The New York Review of Books offers a negative critique of the Senator.
3) The AP has an article on McCain's father (a four star admiral).

Bush whacking

For presidential mouth piece Scott McClellan has a mouthful to say about his former boss. See Politico.

State Courts and Elections

Fascinating article about the election of state judges in America, as compared with France and other countries.
A blurb:

Last month, Wisconsin voters did something that is routine in the United States but virtually unknown in the rest of the world: They elected a judge.

The vote came after a bitter $5 million campaign in which a small-town trial judge with thin credentials ran a television advertisement falsely suggesting that the only black justice on the state Supreme Court had helped free a black rapist. The challenger unseated the justice with 51 percent of the vote, and will join the court in August.

The election was unusually hard-fought, with caustic advertisements on both sides, many from independent groups.

Contrast that distinctively American method of selecting judges with the path to the bench of Jean-Marc Baissus, a judge on the Tribunal de Grand Instance, a district court, in Toulouse, France. He still recalls the four-day written test he had to pass in 1984 to enter the 27-month training program at the École Nationale de la Magistrature, the elite academy in Bordeaux that trains judges in France.

“It gives you nightmares for years afterwards,” Judge Baissus said of the test, which is open to people who already have a law degree, and the oral examinations that followed it. In some years, as few as 5 percent of the applicants survive. “You come out of this completely shattered,” Judge Baissus said.

The question of how best to select judges has baffled lawyers and political scientists for centuries, but in the United States most states have made their choice in favor of popular election. The tradition goes back to Jacksonian populism, and supporters say it has the advantage of making judges accountable to the will of the people. A judge who makes a series of unpopular decisions can be challenged in an election and removed from the bench.

DNC

Maybe Obama is raking in the cash, but the Democratic National Committee is having problems. See the WaPo.

VA is in PLAY!

Game on! say the Washington Post.
It's ON in Virginia! Obama and McCain have both mentioned that their candidacies would change the electoral maps by putting different states in play. It's too soon to guess for sure who this change will benefit, but having VA in play is a definite benefit to Obama. Me thinks McCain will definitely benefit in other states, if not because of his own candidacy, then because people may not care for Obama. Time will tell.

President Jimmy Carter's go-to guy during his presidency was Hamilton Jordan, who just passed away. Jordan helped with elections and served as Carter's chief of staff, though they tried to avoid calling the job "chief of staff" during the Carter years (to appear different than the Haldeman/Haig bosses of the Nixon years). Anyway, Jordan wrote one of the most interesting and readable memoirs I have come across. Crisis: The Last Days of the Carter Presidency. More about Jordan from Politico.

The Virginia Trio

According to Politico, Virginia has three prominent Democrats who all get talked up as potential running mates for Sen. Obama. Governor Tim Kaine, US Senator Jim Webb, and former governor and US senate candidate Mark Warner.

About Kaine:

Kaine is thought to be the least likely of the three to end up as Obama’s running mate. He is not considered as able as Warner to deliver the state, and he doesn’t address Obama’s weaknesses on defense policy and national security. Another drawback is that Kaine’s departure would hand Republicans the governorship because Virginia’s lieutenant governor is a Republican, Bill Bolling.

About Warner:

Warner might be the best known of the trio after exploring his own presidential run this election cycle. Elected in 2001 with unusually high support for a Democrat in rural portions of the state, Warner left the governorship four years later with an 80 percent approval rating, making him one of the most popular governors in the commonwealth's history.

“If the goal is to carry Virginia, the best pick would be Mark Warner,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

Warner’s moderate approach and unique entrepreneurial background — he earned tens of millions in the telecommunications industry — would likely appeal to swing voters and business-minded independents who have leaned Republican. And his NASCAR politics and proven ability to win rural votes could help offset Obama’s weaknesses among rural and small-town voters.

About Webb:

Webb is a former Marine and Ronald Reagan’s secretary of the Navy, and his military experience would compensate — as much as a vice president can — for Obama’s national security inexperience. Webb, a decorated Vietnam War veteran like John McCain, would also offer Democrats a clear and unified contrast to McCain in the debate over the war in Iraq. Both Obama and Webb were against it from the outset.

“Webb really fills Obama’s need for someone who has been around Washington for a long time, is a war hero, clearly understands foreign affairs,” Sabato said. “But I don’t think Webb would turn Virginia.

“It’s a miracle that Webb won at all, and 90 percent was George Allen falling apart,” Sabato added. Allen never recovered from his "macaca" remark about a young opposition campaign volunteer; Webb defeated him by 7,000 votes.

Trouble for McCain?

From the NYTimes:

Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign is in a troubled stretch, hindered by resignations of staff members, a lagging effort to build a national campaign organization and questions over whether he has taken full advantage of Democratic turmoil to present a case for his candidacy, Republicans say.

He was written off as over last summer and he is now the GOP nominee. Me thinks he will be much better off in a few months.

The MOB is out to get Franken, and others

Interesting article on the impact of blogs on Minnesota politics. The Minnesota Organization of Bloggers (MOB) can make it difficult for any politician to loosen up.
Against Dems:

On a laptop at a kitchen table in this cheery Twin Cities suburb, headlines ripping into Al Franken, the satirist whose campaign for the United States Senate is seen as one of the most competitive in the nation, are written up day after day for Minnesota Democrats Exposed, a political blog created by a former Republican Party researcher.

Michael B. Brodkorb, the blog’s creator, has worked on the campaigns of some of this state’s top Republicans. Mr. Brodkorb’s critics say the Web site’s claims, screamed in red uppercase letters, are often breathless, far-fetched and painfully partisan.

But Minnesota Democrats Exposed has dealt several blows to Mr. Franken’s campaign lately: revelations that he owed $25,000 to the State of New York for failing to pay workers’ compensation insurance and that his corporation was in forfeiture in California.

And against incumbent GOP Senator Coleman:

Eric Pusey’s liberal-leaning mnblue, for instance, tracks Mr. Coleman’s moves on a “Weasel Meter.” Some blog live from the smallest of political meetings and the forgotten campaign stops. Enough of these writers have cropped up here now to make a Minnesota Organization of Bloggers, better known here as the Mob. “We’ve kind of got a center of gravity going on up here,” said Mitch Berg, one in a group that started a True North Web site in 2007.

Govs don't have it easy

Here's a few governors who don't have it to easy at home, particularly the Nevada gov mentioned in the last paragraph (from Stateline.org):

Colorado knows how to party… its first family, anyway. When August Ritter III, the eldest son of Gov. Bill Ritter (D), turned 22 in April, he had a few friends over to the mansion. They marked the occasion by sucking beer from a pony keg, waving a ceremonial Colorado flag in the historic chambers and photographing the whole affair for friends on Facebook, The Denver Post reports. There were some limits. All were legally old enough to drink alcohol, they weren’t allowed to drive drunk, and the Ritters laid down some rules, their son said in an email invitation: “1. No throwing up. 2. No sexy time.”

Ronald Reagan was the last California governor to live on taxpayers’ property, but that doesn’t mean the home of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is out of the public eye. The Sacramento Bee asked the celebrity governor why there were campaign signs supporting John McCain and Barack Obama, Republican and Democratic U.S. senators, respectively, for president. Schwarzenegger explained: “My wife (Maria Shriver) came out and endorsed Obama … and my daughter and her put the sign up in front of the gate. So I couldn’t have that sign alone, so I had to go and tell my guys, ‘Get me a McCain sign, we’ve got to put one right next to it.’ So we have both.”

In neighboring Nevada, Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) was forced out of the governor’s mansion by his wife, Dawn, while they go through a divorce. Now Dawn Gibbons is offering to let the governor come back, if she can stay in separate living quarters, writes the Reno Gazette Journal. Her attorney tried to alleviate concerns that the couple might be too close for comfort. “There’s staff and security that could referee any dispute,” he told the paper.