McCain, R-Ariz., handily defeated Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., 68 percent to 23 percent in a voluntary survey of 4,293 active-duty, National Guard and reserve subscribers and former subscribers to Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times.
Look for Obama to pull an Al Gore, and try to have the courts discount all the military votes.
ABC News’ Teddy Davis, Rigel Anderson, and Arnab Datta Report: Speaking to Fox News on Friday, Sarah Palin indicated for the first time that she does not consider Barack Obama qualified to be commander in chief and sharply criticized him for saying last year that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are “just air raiding villages and killing civilians.”
Calling Obama “reckless,” Palin said that where she comes from Obama’s remarks “disqualify someone from consideration for the next commander-in-chief.”
“Some of his comments that he’s made about the war, that I think, in my world disqualify someone from consideration for the next commander-in-chief,” said Palin. “Some of the comments he’s made about Afghanistan, what we are doing there, ‘just air raiding villages and killing civilians.’ That’s reckless.”
According to a Senate staffer working for Sen. Joseph Biden, Biden himself got involved in the shaping of the statement. “The whole reason he’s on the ticket is the foreign policy insight,” explained the staffer.
How’s that “foreign policy insight” workin’ for ya?
John McCain this morning in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
“No American living then should ever forget the heroism that occurred in the skies above this field on September 11, 2001. It is believed that the terrorists on United Flight 93 may have intended to crash the airplane into the United States Capitol. Hundreds if not thousands of people would have been at work in that building when that fateful moment occurred, and been destroyed along with a beautiful symbol of our freedom. They and, very possibly I, owe our lives to the passengers who summoned the courage and love necessary to deny our depraved and hateful enemies their terrible triumph.
“I have witnessed great courage and sacrifice for America’s sake, but none greater than the sacrifice of those good people who grasped the gravity of the moment, understood the threat, and decided to fight back at the cost of their lives.
“I spoke at the memorial service for one of them, Mark Bingham. I acknowledged that few of us could say we loved our country as well as he and all the heroes of September 11 had. The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honor in the effort.
“In the Gospel of John it is written, ‘Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ Such was their love; a love so sublime that only God’s love surpasses it. I am in awe of it as much as I am in debt to it. May God bless their souls.”
McCain and Obama are appearing together at Ground Zero later today. Governor Palin will speak at a 9/11 memorial service in Alaska.
It’s 2004 all over again. The election is the whiny children vs. the adults. Last night’s speeches made that clear. But more than 2004, this election is about the weak candidate vs. the strong candidates. If you didn’t see Palin last night, you don’t know what strong is.
But I’m getting ahead of myself — and because this is long, the rest is below the fold.
Nobody’s talking about it because, well, Palin was so phenomenal she made you forget anyone else had been on the stage, but Rudy was really good. Not necessarily better than Fred good, but he worked the crowd and had them out of the seats cheering over and over again. He really was good, and I don’t want to gloss over him, even though Palin, Palin, Palin, my God, what a woman! What a speaker! I’ve been pulling for Palin for a couple of months now, and she knocked me out of my seat.
Watching the tumultuous, ecstatic reaction in the hall, I was reminded of the famous words of the Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbour: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
Sarah Palin walked out onto that stage under more scrutiny, with less preparation, and with more at stake, than any candidate in living memory. You’d never know it.
Chris Wallace (on TV) said, “A star is born.”
You want strong woman? You got it. She makes Hillary look like a weak-kneed whiny little Barbie doll. And she showed that she can not only stand up to the slime and the mud, but that she’s stronger than all of the monkey-cage shit slingers. On gaypatriot, cme says:
She just took all the enemies that have been railing against her the last few days, swept them up into a pile, and crushed them under her boot. It was a thing of beauty.
And more than a few women were crying — as they were cheering.
But Rudy first. His slam dunks.
One hundred and thirty times he couldn’t decide whether to vote “yes” or “no.” It was too tough. He voted “present.” I didn’t know about this vote “present” when I was mayor of New York City. Sarah Palin didn’t have this vote “present” when she was mayor or governor. You don’t get “present.” It doesn’t work in an executive job. For President of the United States, it’s not good enough to be present. You have to make a decision.
and
If I were Joe Biden, I’d
get that VP thing in writing.
and
So he changed his position again. And he put out a statement exactly like the statement of John McCain’s three days earlier. I have some advice for Senator Obama. Next time, call John McCain.
Poor Sarah. They just won’t stop cheering so she can start speaking — and nobody is sitting down. Zell Miller really got the crowd worked up in 2004, but this is way beyond enthusiasm. They’re completely in love with her. And as the camera panned past Levi Johnston, Bristol’s fiance, I saw he had tears in his eyes.
Speaking of love, the camera loves her. She’s a strikingly beautiful woman. She’s poised, she’s strong, and she’s confident. She’s comfortable in her own skin, and spoke fluidly. Brit Hume just said she’s obviously no amateur. Flawless diction. (Aside: She has a nephew in the service? I didn’t know that.)
This woman is no ordinary speaker. She’s a powerhouse. And I don’t mean just the text. I mean she’s a magnetic presence. You can’t take your eyes off her. She’s a public speaker, and she’s going to mutilate Biden in any debate. You can take that to the bank.
The whole thing was spectacular — better than I thought she’d be — even the AP admitted it.
How was even the leftist AP left fumbling for talking points?
The media of course gets its talking points from the DNC. They get half of their stores from the DNC, and all of their analysis.
The media trusts the DNC. They like the DNC. The DNC are nice people who do all of their actual work for them, leaving them free to to snort coke and pursue their hobbies of functional alcoholism and sleeping with each other’s spouses; why shouldn’t they like the DNC?
So the DNC and the Obama camp told the media that Palin was stupid and a bumpkin and all of that and the media got ready to write the stories, and analyze the speech, as they had been previously instructed by the DNC and David Axelrod.
And then the speech happened.
And the media was baffled, befuddled, and bewildered — the DNC and David Axelrod had given them the wrong script entirely! Even they could see that somehow their helpful friends in the DNC had badly erred.
But they had nothing to say, because the DNC and David Axelrod hadn’t prepared them for “Plan B” (as the snide/sarcastic line is now being called).
So the media just sat there in stupefied silence wondering what it was they were supposed to say. And not having been well prepared, they could only manage to do the easiest thing possible, which is to say the purely obvious.
And the obvious, as it turns out, was that it was a hell of a speech, and that she hit a grand slam, and certainly seemed ready for high national office, at least, that is, by the criteria established by David Axelrod and the DNC (to wit, that one is ready for high office if one can deliver a hell of a speech).
So why did David Axelrod and the DNC let down their nice friends in the media and leave them with nothing to say?
They just didn’t see it coming, either.
And lost for a reaction because they didn’t see it coming, they’re reduced to idiocy and panic (well, more than usual, that is). The media talking heads and Obama are apparently shocked! that somebody wrote her speech. Ace helps them out here.
Someone wrote Obambi’s speech, too, Hoss.
They were frightened before. After last night, they should be terrified. Many are.
[The] useless drearily liberal Timothy Noah whines, possibly correctly, that the media’s nasty full frontal attack on Palin has set her up to knock it out of the park.
I hope she hits the circuit and speaks and speaks and speaks, because every time she does, she’s going to pull votes.
Here were a few highlights.
Stick the knife in and twist it, Sarah!
A writer observed: “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity.” I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people.
They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America … who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.
They love their country, in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.
I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better.
When I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.
And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.
I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.
We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.
Serious red meat — or maybe I should say moose stew:
And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.
And foreign policy as energy independence was really good.
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher.
When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies … or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia … or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries … we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we’ve got lots of both.
Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems - as if we all didn’t know that already.
But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more new-clear plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.
We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.
And then she went in for the kill.
I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent.
Maybe you have, too.
We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.
And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed … when the roar of the crowd fades away … when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger … take more of your money … give you more orders from Washington … and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy … our opponent is against producing it.
Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit.
Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay … he wants to meet them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights? Government is too big … he wants to grow it.
Congress spends too much … he promises more.
Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.
That’s enough. Transcript is here, but you really need to see and hear this woman speak. She’s phenomenal.
So ladies and gentlemen, I present the powerhouse, Sarah Palin.
“What this brings is a spirit of reform and change that is vital now in our nation’s capital. Eighty four percent of the American people think the country’s on the wrong track. In our Party, we have corruption. We have former members of Congress residing in federal prison, so it’s not surprising to me that we’ve seen an incredible invigoration around our Party and around the nation, not just Republicans, but Democrats. By the way, in the last day and a half or whatever it’s been, we have raised $4 million on the Internet. I wish I had taken her a month ago.”
…
“She’s got the right judgment. She doesn’t think, like Senator Obama does, that Iran is a minor irritant. She knows that the surge worked and succeeded and she supported that. Senator Obama still, still to this day, refuses to acknowledge that the surge has succeeded. She’s been commander-in-chief of the Alaska Guard that has served back and back. In fact, as you know, she’s got a son who’s getting ready to go. But she’s had the judgment on these issues that Senator Obama, he’s had all the wrong judgments. Governor Palin understands these issues, and she understands the challenges that we face, so she’s had 12 years of elected office experience, including travelling to Kuwait, including being involved in these issues, and look, I’m so proud that she has displayed the kind of judgment and she has the experience and judgment as an executive. She’s run a huge economy up there in the state of Alaska. Twenty percent of our energy comes from the state of Alaska, and energy is obviously one of the key issues for our nation’s security.”
…
“But the point is, she’s been to Kuwait. She’s been over there. She’s been with her troops. The National Guard that she commands, who have been over there and had the experience, I’m proud of her knowledge of these challenges and issues. And of course as governor, she has had enormous responsibilities, none of which Senator Obama had. When she was in government, he was a community organizer. When she was taking tough positions against her own party, Senator Obama was voting present 130 times in the state legislature. On every tough issue, whatever it was, she was taking them on. That’s the kind of judgment that I’m confident that we need in Washington.”
At 7:00 a.m. yesterday morning, the Fire Family Transport Foundation launched from Floyd Bennett Field on Long Island to escort a cross of steel from the destroyed World Trade Center to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company. The foundation provides medical transport to firefighters, family members, and wounded warriors.
NEW YORK - The roar of 1,000 motorcycles accompanied a steel beam from the World Trade Center yesterday as it traveled to Pennsylvania, where it will be part of a memorial in the town where an airliner crashed during the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hundreds of current and retired FDNY firefighters left Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field at about 7 a.m. to escort the girder on the 311-mile ride to Shanksville, Pa., where Flight 93 crashed.
They rolled down I-287 through New Jersey and I-78 in Pennsylvania; at every overpass, folks came out to greet them and show our true colors.
At the Tuesday-morning meeting with committee staffers, Biden launches into a stream-of-consciousness monologue about what his committee should be doing, before he finally admits the obvious: “I’m groping here.” Then he hits on an idea: America needs to show the Arab world that we’re not bent on its destruction. “Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran,” Biden declares. He surveys the table with raised eyebrows, a How do ya like that? look on his face.
The staffers sit in silence. Finally somebody ventures a response: “I think they’d send it back.” Then another aide speaks up delicately: “The thing I would worry about is that it would almost look like a publicity stunt.” Still another reminds Biden that an Iranian delegation is in Moscow that very day to discuss a $300 million arms deal with Vladimir Putin that the United States has strongly condemned. But Joe Biden is barely listening anymore. He’s already moved on to something else.
Giving “foreign policy experience” to the Obama ticket!
The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program _ a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium _ reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” _ the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment _ was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.
No WMDs? No nuclear program? No yellowcake? Really?
As you get away for a long Independence Day weekend this evening, you might want to give a little thought to an event taking place in Baghdad tomorrow. Eleven hundred Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines–the equivalent of two entire battalions–are celebrating the 4th of July by re-enlisting in the midst of what many call an “unpopular†war.
It is thought to be the largest mass reenlistment ceremony in the history of the United States military, and is twice the size of last year’s event where 588 military members reenlisted. The ceremony will be held in the Al Faw Palace which once belonged to Saddam Hussein. During a practice beneath a 40-foot high American flag today, nearly the entire marble floor of the immense rotunda of the palace was covered in a sea of camouflage uniforms representing all branches of service. Even the rehearsal was an awe-inspiring site.
On the field before the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball plans to assemble the largest gathering of Hall of Fame players in baseball history. And as fans salute their heroes, the former players will join the crowd in saluting the American flag — one that is roughly 75 feet by 150 feet, as long as a 15-story building is tall, spread horizontally over the Yankee Stadium turf.
That is a relatively small flag by big-event standards in American sports these days. But it will signal the latest can’t-miss blend of sports and patriotism, a combination increasingly presenting itself through gigantic American flags, unfurled by dozens or hundreds of people in an attempt to elicit a sense of awe and nationalism in the surrounding crowd.
Once the gaudy lure of attention-seeking car dealerships or other roadside attractions, big flags have found a comfortable home inside the ballparks, arenas and raceways of American sporting events.
“It is an American phenomenon, no doubt about it,†said Frank Supovitz, the N.F.L.’s senior vice president for events, who oversees such spectacles as the Super Bowl and has helped stage events around the world.
A small industry has formed to supply the flags, usually at a cost of a few thousand dollars an appearance. Some colleges and bowl games, tired of renting them frequently, have bought their own field-sized flags.
“People are getting more on the bandwagon,†said Doug Green, who has long rented giant flags to teams and leagues, and recently supplied one for the Indianapolis 500. “Nascar’s doing it more and more, the N.F.L. is doing it more and more .
“For big, spectacular events, big just happens because it paints a more vibrant picture,†said Tim Brosnan, the executive vice president for business at Major League Baseball. “I don’t think bigger is necessarily better, but it is a celebration.â€
[ . . . ]
“People go ape when they see it,†said Jim Alexander, a retired Coast Guard commander who runs Superflag, the company that basically invented the industry and once held the world record for the largest flag, which temporarily hung on the Hoover Dam. It was 255 by 505 feet and has been surpassed by a flag in Israel that measures 2,165 by 330 feet. “It’s a feeling. It’s a feeling that takes over a whole stadium. If anyone in the stands opened their mouth and objected, there would be hell to pay.â€
BAGHDAD, June 27 (UPI) — Iraq plans to file suit in a U.S. court against the United Nations for alleged corruption in the oil-for-food program, Iraqi legal sources said Friday.
The United Nations established the program in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell oil to global markets in exchange for food and humanitarian supplies without generating revenue to rebuild the Iraqi military in the wake of the Persian Gulf War.
The program ended shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the Coalition Provisional Authority assumed responsibility for humanitarian functions. An investigation by the congressional investigative body the Government Accountability Office found loopholes in the program that allowed Saddam Hussein to receive various sources of revenue through the deal.
A source in the Iraqi Justice Ministry, speaking to Voices of Iraq on condition of anonymity, said a legal firm in the U.S. state of Texas would file the suit in New York state court.
(HARRISBURG) - The State House today unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Jake Corman (R-Benner Twp.) designating a portion of State Route 26 in Centre County as the Marine Sergeant David “DJ” Emery Highway.
Senator Jake Corman introduced Senate Bill 999 as a fitting tribute to a true American hero who was wounded February 7, 2007 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“We have the honor of naming a state highway after Marine Sergeant David “DJ” Emery, who served our Commonwealth, the United States of America and the United States Marine Corps with honor so that men, women and children abroad can live in a free society and enjoy the liberties of a democracy, free of tyranny and oppression,” Corman said.
David “DJ” Emery, Jr., was born August 23, 1985. He graduated from Bellefonte Area High School in 2003 and studied masonry at the Centre County Vocational-Technical School. He was always an active outdoorsman and has a love of motorcycles.
Emery enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in June 2003 and, following completion of basic training was deployed to Iraq in 2004 and then again in 2006.
Private First Class Emery served with distinction in the 4th Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2/4 Gulf Company until February 7, 2007, when he was seriously wounded in an attack by a suicide bomber. Emery was promoted to Sergeant on May 9, 2007.
Corman garnered the support of Spring and Marion Township officials, along with PennDOT officials, before introducing Senate Bill 999.
Corman’s Senate Bill 999 originally passed in the Senate on October 1, 2007. Because SB 999 was amended in the House, it must return to the Senate for the concurrence vote.
I have been saying for years what Georgfelis said but with different words. I have called it “hypothetical heroism”. Namely, the passionate willingness of so many to fight the good fight for democracy…. whereEVER the battle is NOT. Because, you see, in that fierce battle of NOTthere-zia, there is no collateral damage, no children or puppies are harmed, nothing bad takes place (only “good” war-fighting… stuff), no mistakes are made, and thus nothing that requires heavy-lifting, even if it is just the lifting of explaining to others why bad things are sometimes necessary…. none of that. Just a ferocious fight for justice that is in fact a fantasy.
Hypothetical heroism. The very moment the battle in that very place becomes real… forget it. They’ll turn on a dime on the basis of “moral high ground”.
A lefty foil of mine once said he would have justified attacking North Korea in the aftermath of 9/11, since they HAD wmd, and obviously Iraq did not, lies lies lies, yadda yadda. This from the “no link, no link, no link between Al Qeada and Iraq”, etc crowd. Yeppers, sure. I’ll buy that.
Wherever the battle against injustice and tyranny is not, they are gung-ho-yeah. Where it is, forget it.
In addition, of course, to the big Boalsburg festival. See here (you’ll have to copy and paste links, some of which wrap to the next line).
Julian is a small burg (pop. 152) over on the other side of Skytop in Bald Eagle Valley. There’s a small cemetery on the side of a hill there, until recently, largely forgotten. Wayne Richards has changed that.
If you want to win in November, you need to produce a lot more of these “he’s too old” ads. It’s a great idea; keep them coming.
But this is your key to victory. Seriously. You really need to beat us over the head with this meme:
Jim Geraghty has this right, although he left one out: once may have been an anomaly, twice a mistake, three times suspicious, and four times is a strategy. A Democratic candidate running against Jack Kingston in Georgia who supports Barack Obama ridiculed John McCain’s military service in a campaign appearance yesterday. Bill Gillespie called McCain a “self-promoter†who came from “Navy royalty†who didn’t earn his way through his military career
This is a great idea. Make sure you play this one to death in Ohio and Pennsylvania. While you’re at it, since Kerry’s not doing anything other than windsurfing with his beret on, why don’t you have him coordinate with some of his fake veteran pals and Code Pink and put on some kind of Winter Soldier repeat, this time focusing on McCain. And get Kerry to put on his uniform and make a few ads ridiculing McCain’s service. Oh. And make sure you recycle lots of these. Lots.
Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail.
In our democracy, we would never punish a person for owning a Koran. We would never issue a death sentence to someone for converting to Islam. Democracy does not threaten Islam or any religion. Democracy is the only system of government that guarantees their protection.
No doubt that’s culturally insensitive, or some such amoral nonsense.
Before I begin my prepared remarks, I want to respond briefly to a comment Senator Obama made yesterday about the threat posed to the United States by the Government of Iran. Senator Obama claimed that the threat Iran poses to our security is “tiny†compared to the threat once posed by the former Soviet Union. Obviously, Iran isn’t a superpower and doesn’t possess the military power the Soviet Union had. But that does not mean that the threat posed by Iran is insignificant. On the contrary, right now Iran provides some of the deadliest explosive devices used in Iraq to kill our soldiers. They are the chief sponsor of Shia extremists in Iraq, and terrorist organizations in the Middle East. And their President, who has called Israel a “stinking corpse,†has repeatedly made clear his government’s commitment to Israel’s destruction. Most worrying, Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. The biggest national security challenge the United States currently faces is keeping nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. Should Iran acquire nuclear weapons, that danger would become very dire, indeed. They might not be a superpower, but the threat the Government of Iran poses is anything but ‘tinyâ€.
Senator Obama has declared, and repeatedly reaffirmed his intention to meet the President of Iran without any preconditions, likening it to meetings between former American Presidents and the leaders of the Soviet Union. Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama’s inexperience and reckless judgment. Those are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess. An ill conceived meeting between the President of the United States and the President of Iran, and the massive world media coverage it would attract, would increase the prestige of an implacable foe of the United States, and reinforce his confidence that Iran’s dedication to acquiring nuclear weapons, supporting terrorists and destroying the State of Israel had succeeded in winning concessions from the most powerful nation on earth. And he is unlikely to abandon the dangerous ambitions that will have given him a prominent role on the world stage.
This is not to suggest that the United States should not communicate with Iran our concerns about their behavior. Those communications have already occurred at an appropriate level, which the Iranians recently suspended. But a summit meeting with the President of the United States, which is what Senator Obama proposes, is the most prestigious card we have to play in international diplomacy. It is not a card to be played lightly. Summit meetings must be much more than personal get-acquainted sessions. They must be designed to advance American interests. An unconditional summit meeting with the next American president would confer both international legitimacy on the Iranian president and could strengthen him domestically when he is unpopular among the Iranian people. It is likely such a meeting would not only fail to persuade him to abandon Iran’s nuclear ambitions; its support of terrorists and commitment to Israel’s extinction, it could very well convince him that those policies are succeeding in strengthening his hold on power, and embolden him to continue his very dangerous behavior. The next President ought to understand such basic realities of international relations.
Speaking of, the answer to my question (the one I didn’t get to ask on the conference call). More rare red meat:
“There should be no confusion, John McCain has always believed that serious engagement would require mandatory conditions and Hamas must change itself fundamentally – renounce violence, abandon its goal of eradicating Israel and accept a two state solution. John McCain’s position is clear and has always been clear, the President of the United States should not unconditionally meet with leaders of Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah. Barack Obama has made his position equally clear, and has pledged to meet unconditionally with Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders of other rogue regimes, which shows incredibly dangerous and weak judgment.†—Tucker Bounds, spokesman John McCain 2008
And yet more:
After The Palestinian Election, John McCain Said In A Statement That “Hamas Is Not A Partner For Peace So Long As They Advocate The Overthrow Of Israel.” “In the wake of yesterday’s Palestinian elections, Hamas must change itself fundamentally - renounce violence, abandon its goal of eradicating Israel and accept the two-state solution. These elections are evidence that democracy is indeed spreading in the Middle East, but Hamas is not a partner for peace so long as they advocate the overthrow of Israel.” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “Sen. McCain Reacts To Palestinian Election,” Press Release, 1/26/06)
From Davos, John McCain Says Hamas Must Renounce Its Commitment To The Extinction Of The State Of Israel. CNN’S BETTY NGUYEN: ” All right, let’s shift over to the global front. The Bush administration is reviewing all aspects of U.S. aid to the Palestinians now that Hamas has won the elections. And I do have to quote you here. A State Department spokesman did say this: ‘To be very clear’ – and I’m quoting now – ‘we do not provide money to terrorist organizations.’ What does this do to the U.S. relationship with the Palestinians?” MCCAIN: “Well, hopefully, that Hamas now that they are going to govern, will be motivated to renounce this commitment to the extinction of the state of Israel. Then we can do business again, we can resume aid, we can resume the peace process.” (CNN’s “Saturday Morning News,” 1/28/06)
CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux: “Straight Talk For Hamas By U.S. Senator John McCain.” SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: “Hopefully that Hamas, now that they are going to govern, will be motivated to renounce this commitment to the extinction of the State of Israel. Then we can do business again.” CNN’S SUZANNE MALVEAUX: “Straight talk for Hamas by U.S. Senator John McCain.” (CNN’s “Live Saturday,” 1/28/06)
Somebody’s the alpha dog in this race, and it ain’t Obama.
More about it later — it’s Saturday, remember? Errands day. Scott’s roasted pork sandwiches day. Prince Caspian day. And I’m sorry to say, neighborhood yard sale day.
MORE REVISIONIST HISTORY from MoveOn.org. We are in favor of the war in Afghanistan. We have always been in favor of the war in Afghanistan! Pay no attention to that petition in the Google cache!
Comes from . . . wait, the source is the point, and I’m ahead of myself. Those idiot liberals running Philly thought it would be cute to pass gun control legislation that flagrantly violates the state constitution. There, that’s the background you need. Now here’s the quotation:
Because these laws appear to me, as an attorney looking at the laws of Pennsylvania, to be preemptive, they are, on their face, illegal acts
“They,” of course, being the gun control legislation. That’s a big duh. But here’s the kicker: Who said that?
Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said changes made under controversial gun legislation signed into law by Mayor Michael Nutter without the approval of the state will not be upheld.
That’s right. The Philadelphia DA. But Uncle states the obvious, although it apparently wasn’t obvious to the idiot reporter:
Well, arrest the perpetrators.
I figured Sebastian would be all over it, and he is — and explains why The Nutter Club can’t (yet) be arrested. Leave it to Sebastian to throw the bucket of cold water.
One of the series recording is John Adams on HBO. But the Military Channel is running an excellent series of documentaries called Revolutionary War, which I’m also recording. I just started it playing to clear off the hard drive.
You know, I often see people on the web complain that all of the war coverage is negative. If you’re one of these people, let me point you to the Military Channel. Yeah, a lot of the programming is stuff like Futureweapons, but there’s a lot of good programming. My War Diary, a series of videos filmed by troops, runs as the videos come in from Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s a lot of good programming there.
