Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Good News for Cheney and Hillary on Iran




Here's some good news for Dick Cheney. Pollster John Zogby reports:

A majority of likely voters--52%--would support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and 53% believe it is likely that the U.S. will be involved in a military strike against Iran before the next presidential election, a new Zogby America telephone poll shows....

Democrats (63%) are most likely to believe a U.S. military strike against Iran could take place in the relatively near future, but independents (51%) and Republicans (44%) are less likely to agree. Republicans, however, are much more likely to be supportive of a strike (71%), than Democrats (41%) or independents (44%). Younger likely voters are more likely than those who are older to say a strike is likely to happen before the election and women (58%) are more likely than men (48%) to say the same--but there is little difference in support for a U.S. strike against Iran among these groups.


It's interesting that more Dems than Republicans suspect George W. Bush and Cheney are about to bomb Iran. Obviously, they're thinking wag-the-dog.



My hunch is that Cheney and the Cheney-bots in the administration want to take care of Iran--so to speak--before January 20, 2009. And I doubt that polling means much to the veep and his henchmen and henchwomen. Cheney probably cares little about public opinion and likely believes he will be judged favorably by historians down the road. (Otherwise, how can he get up in the mornings?) But if Bush et. al. are contemplating a strike against Iran, polls such as these certainly don't make the decision any tougher.

There was also good news in the poll for Hillary Clinton:

When asked which presidential candidate would be best equipped to deal with Iran--regardless of whether or not they expected the U.S. to attack Iran --21% would most like to see New York U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton leading the country, while 15% would prefer former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and 14% would want Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain in charge. Another 10% said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama would be best equipped to deal with Iran, while Republican Fred Thompson (5%), Democrat John Edwards (4%) and Republican Mitt Romney (3%) were less likely to be viewed as the best leaders to help the U.S. deal with Iran....

Clinton leads strongly among Democrats on the issue, with 35% saying she is best equipped to deal with Iran, while 17% would prefer Obama and 7% view John Edwards as the best choice. Giuliani is the top choice of Republicans (28%), followed by McCain (21%) and Fred Thompson (9%). One in five independents chose Clinton (21%) over McCain (16%) and Giuliani (11%).


Clinton better able to handle Iran than Giuliani? Now, that's reassuring for the Clinton campaign and discouraging for the Obama campaign. If this poll is a reliable indicator, it seems that Clinton is projecting strength as a candidate. That's indeed what the first serious female presidential candidate must do. Judging from this poll, much of the public might be happy to see Cheney (and Bush) hit Iran--and then want to see Clinton come in to clean up the mess. Talk about a new take on the cliche that the Republicans are the Daddy Party and the Democrats are the Mommy Party.

HEAD'S UP. If all goes as planned, this blog tomorrow will become part of the new-and-improved CQ.com site. Watch this space for details.

Posted by David Corn at October 30, 2007 10:13 AM

29 comments:

capt said...

"this blog tomorrow will become part of the new-and-improved CQ.com site."

I sure hope that means the comments section will be working.

Hajji said...

hmmm....

How cool THAT would be!?

-T

O'Reilly said...

I'll see you guys there tomorrow.

It looks like Corn may get the www.DAVIDCORN.com URL redirected to and rolled into CQ.com

BUT BUT BUT CQ is Congressional Quarterly not Mother Jones. Did I not get that memo?

Happy is a douchbag.

Hajji said...

Uhm...isn't CQ.com a PAY site?

capt said...

Yes, CQ - and - no not all of CQ is paysite(d).

I know nothing more than what has already been posted.

I will repost the press releases when I can (shortly).


capt

capt said...

CQ and DC



CQ (a.k.a. Congressional Quarterly) put out the below press release yesterday:

Veteran Political Editor and Author to Contribute Regular Blog to CQ's New Web Site

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressional Quarterly Inc., the nation's premier provider of news, analysis and information on Congress, politics and public policy, today announced it has signed a deal with veteran political editor and writer David Corn to contribute a regular blog to CQ's expanded free-content Web site, which will launch this fall. Corn's blog will be one of several that express a variety of viewpoints and will play an integral role in CQ's broader effort to reach beyond the Beltway.

David Corn is the Washington editor of The Nation, the oldest political weekly in America, a Fox News Channel contributor and a best-selling author. He writes on a host of subjects, including politics, the White House, Congress, and the national security establishment. He has broken stories on George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Newt Gingrich, Colin Powell, Rush Limbaugh, Enron, the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA leak case, the Pentagon, and other Washington players and institutions. He currently
writes a Web column for The Nation called "Capital Games;" has a blog at http://www.davidcorn.com, which is part of the Pajamas Media network; and also has blogged for HuffingtonPost.com and the "Comment Is Free" site of The Guardian.

David Corn brings to American political discourse a liberal sensibility marked by fresh insight and powerful argumentation," said Robert W. Merry, CQ's president and editor-in-chief. "His outlook will be mixed on our site with other bloggers representing other political perspectives, but nobody projects David's particular point of view more brilliantly than he does himself. His talents will strengthen our expanded free-content site, and I couldn't be more pleased to have him on the CQ
team."

Corn joins Bruce Drake and Peggy Girshman, NPR veterans who will lead the development of CQ's free-content site....

"I am honored to become part of CQ, a Washington journalism tradition long known for excellence, as it expands its Internet presence," said Corn. "I hope my blog--with its reporting and commentary--will help the new site as it heads toward becoming one of the top sites for political news and analysis. These are exciting and turbulent days for the media, with old and new media looking to harness changes in our information culture. I look forward to moving ahead with CQ and its expanded public Web site."


Longtime readers will recall that when this blog became affiliated with PajamasMedia.com, some commentators--most notably James Wolcott of Vanity Fair--blasted me for daring to associate with an endeavor founded by mostly right-of-center bloggers. (Wolcott even compared PJMers to Dr. Josef Mengele.) Well, it turned out that the PajamasMedia.com site--which features several liberals--has done little to harm the civilized world. And I say farewell to Pajamas--as an affiliated blogger--with nothing but best wishes for the PJMers. (I'm still doing a webcast for the site with conservative writer Richard Miniter.) Moreover, I am pleased that CQ wanted this blog to be part of its soon-to-expand site, which will offer plenty of up-to-minute and substantial coverage of politics and policy.

This site will probably soon go through a redesign as part of this CQ affiliation. Perhaps the comments section will be revived. (In the meantime, send comments to cornblog@hotmail.com.) But the blog's essence will remain the same: postings on the war, the presidential race, the assorted White House follies, the misdeeds (and occasional accomplishments) of Washington, and whatever strikes my fancy. I thank all my readers for their past support and hope they and others will join CQand me as we proceed.

Posted by David Corn at August 8, 2007 12:05 PM


More HERE

capt said...

News About...Me


Here's a press release put out this morning....

Mother Jones Hires David Corn as D.C. Bureau Chief

Appointment completes a major expansion for San Francisco-based news organization

Mother Jones has hired veteran D.C. journalist David Corn to head its recently expanded Washington bureau, which will now have a staff of seven reporters and editors. The longtime Washington editor of The Nation, Corn has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Harper's, The New Republic, Slate, Salon, and many other publications.

"I welcome the chance to work with a team of reporters whose mission is to investigate Washington," says Corn. "And the timing couldn't be better. Conventional media outfits are cutting back, opinion frequently drowns out reporting, and the blogosphere is too often loaded with rants. There's a real appetite for the kind of facts-based journalism Mother Jones is known for. This squad of D.C.-based reporters will turbocharge the magazine's investigative capabilities and help MotherJones.com become even more of a daily go-to source for vital news and analysis."

Corn's hiring comes at a time of rapid expansion by Mother Jones, the San Francisco-based nonprofit news organization. While many other media companies have recently cut Washington staff and closed bureaus, Mother Jones has bucked that trend as part of a transition from a magazine-centered enterprise to a multi-platform news organization.

"We have long admired David's political insights, his reporting skills, his quick wit, and writerly flair," said Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery, coeditors of Mother Jones.. "Again and again, David has been ahead of the pack on the big stories, and as both a well-connected reporter and an early adapter to new media, he has the perfect combination of experience and talents to lead our D.C. bureau."

"The appointment of David Corn rounds out a fundamental shift in how Mother Jones operates," said president and publisher Jay Harris. "With a resourceful group of staff reporters in Washington and San Francisco, we intend for Mother Jones' brand of independent reporting to break important stories both online and in print. The news world today is 24/7, and so are we."

A Fox News Channel contributor, Corn was a regular panelist on the weekly television show Eye on Washington and has appeared on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos. PBS's Newshour, The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, Crossfire, The Capital Gang, Fox News Sunday, Washington Week in Review, The McLaughlin Group, Hardball, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and many other shows. In the radio world, he is a regular on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show and To the Point and has contributed commentary to NPR, BBC Radio, and CBC Radio.

Corn is the coauthor, with Michael Isikoff, of Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (Crown, 2006), and author of The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception (Crown 2003), both New York Times best-sellers.

Corn will head a staff of Washington reporters that also includes James Ridgeway, Laura Rozen, Dan Schulman, Stephanie Mencimer, Bruce Falconer, and Jonathan Stein.

Last month, as another part of its reorganization, Mother Jones announced the appointment of Nick Aster, the cofounder of Treehugger.com who also built many of the Gawker sites, as media architect and general manager of motherjones.com.

Mother Jones also recently signed up Debra Dickerson, author of The End of Blackness and An American Story, as a blogger and online columnist.

Founded in 1976, Mother Jones magazine has a circulation of 230,000 and has won four National Magazine Awards, including a 2001 award for General Excellence. In 2007 the magazine was a National Magazine Award finalist for General Excellence and Interactive Feature and motherjones.com won two Webby awards for its political coverage.

******

I'll have more to say about all this soon. BTW, this blog will continue on, as part of the soon-to-be unveiled, new-and-improved CQ.com site. (See here for details on that.)

Posted by David Corn at October 1, 2007 10:36 AM


More HERE

capt said...

The bottom line as I see it is: (re: CQ and MoJo)


We are seeing some excellent changes. Change is a bitch but change is growth. DC's 20 years at The Nation was a full career and the record speaks for itself on the quality of the work.

It is going to take a little time but I predict the future will be even better in Cornville!

HA!

capt said...

Craig Crawford’s Trail Mix: Obama Gives Clinton the Heads-Up for Tonight’s Debate



PHILADELPHIA — What if a boxer spent the week before a big match telling the media exactly how and where he would land his punches against the opponent? For starters, that would make things much easier for his rival — and that is exactly the advantage that Barack Obama has handed to Hillary Rodham Clinton for tonight’s nationally televised Democratic presidential debate.

For some reason, the Obama camp spends a lot of time telegraphing what they are going to do. This has allowed the front-running Clinton’s team plenty of opportunities to prepare counter-offensives or schedule news-making announcements that eclipse Obama’s plans.

In the days leading up to tonight’s debate, Obama and his aides have repeatedly predicted that he will come out swinging, detailing the issues that he will raise against Clinton, ranging from her policy views on Iran and Social Security to doubts about her electability. Not surprisingly, Clinton’s public schedule was cleared yesterday so that she can prepare in detail for all the attacks that Obama has been kind enough to preview.

Perhaps the Illinois senator — and runner-up to his New York colleague in Democratic preference polls — has saved something for a surprise. But so far, he has not displayed much savvy for doing that.

The Democratic presidential debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia airs tonight on MSNBC and Telemundo at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

Contributing Editor Craig Crawford is a news analyst for NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. He can be reached at ccrawford@cq.com.


More HERE

capt said...

Check this out:

http://www.pandora.com/

******

Everybody I know LOVES it.

Play around and create your own commercial free web-radio with just the right songs you like.

Way cool.

capt said...

"Corn will head a staff of Washington reporters that also includes James Ridgeway, Laura Rozen, Dan Schulman, Stephanie Mencimer, Bruce Falconer, and Jonathan Stein."

I have been reading some from the names on his staff and WOW!

I think it has the makings of a powerhouse.

A collection of excellent talent and writing skill. Each name above brings so much to the table I think DC will be challenged in all the right ways.

IMHO

Hajji said...

Capt,

The MIS nazis at work just cut off our ability to "live stream" anything on the computers.

Pandora had been a mainstay for over a year or so. The peons are up in arms at the loss of decent music to "whistle why we overwork"!

One MIS guy told me he'd find a way around it, but no news so far.

-T

capt said...

Obama and Edwards Oppose Mukasey; Where's Hillary Clinton?



For months, Barack Obama and John Edwards have been trying to find issues that separate them from Hillary Clinton. On the Iraq war, HRC's strategy has been to provide neither of her main challengers much maneuvering room. Like them, she wants out. There may be differences in rhetoric or positioning. Edwards calls for an immediate pullout of 40,000 or more troops; Obama has urged withdrawing one or two brigades a month; Clinton has not been so specific. But these distinctions have not yet allowed Obama or Edwards to turn the war into an issue of traction.

Now comes Michael Mukasey. This morning, both Edwards and Obama announced they oppose his nomination as attorney general. Mukasey was once a shoo-in for the job, (If you Google "shoo-in," the third item that appears is a New York Times story on Mukasey. Literally.) But the judge has run into problems by refusing to state whether he considers waterboarding torture. In doing so, he is joining the Bush administration's word game. George W. Bush declares he doesn't torture, but he and his crew refuse to define torture. Though much of the world considers waterboarding to be torture, the Bush aides won't state if it's included in their definition of torture. So it seems Bush might well be saying "we don't torture" while thinking "waterboarding ain't torture." Mukasey also got into trouble during his confirmation hearing for essentially endorsing the administration's view that Bush is above the law when Bush determines that the Constitution allows him to be above the law.

Regarding Mukasey, this morning, Obama said,

We don't need another attorney general who believes that the president enjoys an unwritten right to secretly ignore any law or abridge our constitutional freedoms simply by invoking national security. And we don't need another attorney general who looks the other way on issues as profound as torture.

Shortly after that, Edwards released a statement saying,

George Bush's political appointees at the Justice Department have twisted the law to justify waterboarding and other interrogation techniques that have long been considered torture. Now the man who is supposed to clean up the Justice Department--Judge Michael Mukasey--says he does not know whether waterboarding is torture or not. What more information does he need? Waterboarding was used in the Spanish inquisition and considered a war crime in World War II.

Mukasey has also said that the president doesn't necessarily have to abide by acts of Congress. We need an Attorney General who will put the rule of law above the administration's short-term political interests, and Mukasey has already shown that he's unwilling to do that.


The sentiment among Democratic senators about Mukasey is shifting. Enough to imperil his nomination? Maybe not yet. As for Clinton, a Clinton spokesperson said that she is "deeply troubled by Judge Mukasey's unwillingness to clearly state his views on torture and unchecked executive power" and that Clinton has not yet decided how she will vote on the Mukasey nomination. But with Obama and Edwards opposing Bush's pick, can she be far behind?

Leave a Comment »

Posted by David Corn on 10/30/07 at 9:52 AM


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Gotta LOVE it - DC is up and running at MoJo - seems a little something similar to the other thing over there.



capt

capt said...

Hajji,

Major and unending hat tips for the Pandora online radio.

Egggggggggcellent.

Sorry about the loss of same at work.

Grrrrrrrrr

capt said...

There's Hillary



As I noted minutes ago, this morning Barack Obama declared his opposition to Michael Mukasey's nomination to be attorney general. Then John Edwards quickly did the same. Though Clinton, through a spokesperson, had recently said she was troubled by Mukasey's statements on torture and executive power, she had stopped short of saying she would vote against him. The question I posed in the previous posting was this: could Hillary Clinton be far behind? The answer turns out to be, no. At mid-day, Clinton announced she will vote against George Bush's A.G. pick. It's another sign that Clinton will not give an inch—or an hour—to her opponents.


Leave a Comment »

Posted by David Corn on 10/30/07 at 10:25 AM


More HERE

Carey said...

Really, a comments section? Wish I had the time I used to have. How interesting.

Stupid, ignorant sheeple. There, I said it. All Jerry Springer fans. Zogby's always a good poll, dang it.

I'm watching the debate tonight. Fireworks are promised. Sure hope so.

capt said...

Seems like HRC is more like Bush day by day.

She can't bring her bad self to admit the vote she made to invade Iraq was a MISTAKE and she is Reich-in-line on war for Iran and torture and whatnot.

If she is the D candidate what exactly will be the difference between her and Bunnypants? National social issues does not a global difference make, eh?

capt said...

"a comments section?"

I am sure that will satisfy some that think AR456 is too negative.

HA!

capt said...

From MoJo community rules.

2. Do Not Abuse, Harass, or Defame

- No personal attacks. Insulting, attacking, or denigrating another community member are ad-hominem attacks, which weaken debate and are not allowed under any circumstances. We have zero tolerance for taking an argument about any topic to a personal level.

- No baiting or gloating. Repeated taunting, sexual come-ons, or competitive posts toward another user constitute harassment and will get you banned. The object is intelligent discourse, not scoring points.

- No defamatory speech. Denigration of or threats against any group of people due to their race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation will not be tolerated.

******

capt said...

The Truth About Deadly 'Superbugs'



NEW YORK – Armies of invisible creatures are spreading across the planet, infesting local communities and claiming the lives of innocent children in their wake. And the attackers are immune to some of the world's best weaponry.

It sounds more like a sci-fi movie plot than reality, but "superbugs"—deadly microbes that can resist drugs designed to wipe them out—are far from imaginary. Schoolchildren in several states recently have died from infections caused by MRSA bacteria, otherwise known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and medical recordkeeping shows such cases are increasing annually.

MSRA spreads via surface-to-surface contact, developing into a staph infection if conditions are right. The first symptoms can include pimple-like sores on the skin where the bacteria launch their attack, while rarer but more advanced infections can enter the bloodstream, attack organs and lead to death.


More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Surely we make many of our own problems. It is hard to see all things in the long run.


To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.
~ George Orwell (1903 - 1950)



capt

Anonymous said...

We shall see tonight Capt. What does Obama intend? Interrresting.

Here's something just out.

Kucinich questions Bush's mental health


PHILADELPHIA - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich questioned President Bush's mental health in light of comments he made about a nuclear Iran precipitating World War III.

"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board on Tuesday. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."

Kucinich, known for his liberal views, trails far behind the leading candidates in most Democratic polls. He was in Philadelphia for a debate at Drexel University.

Bush made the remarks at a news conference earlier this month.

He said: "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

Kucinich said he doesn't believe his comments about the president's mental health are irresponsible, according to a story posted on the newspaper's Web site.

"You cannot be a president of the United States who's wanton in his expression of violence," Kucinich said. "There's a lot of people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn't something wrong with him, then there's something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question."

In response, Republican National Committee spokesman Dan Ronayne said it was hard to take Kucinich seriously.

__________________

Kucinich has joined the fray calling for a doctor.

capt said...

Breaking: Mukasey Refuses to Call Waterboarding Torture


As expected, Michael Mukasey did not change his position on the waterboarding question. From the

AP:

President Bush's nominee for attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he does not know whether waterboarding is illegal. He pledged to study the matter and to reverse any Justice Department finding that endorses a practice that violates the law or the Constitution.

"If, after such a review, I determine that any technique is unlawful, I will not hesitate to so advise the president and will rescind or correct any legal opinion of the Department of Justice that supports the use of the technique," Michael Mukasey wrote to the committee's 10 Democrats.


We'll have Mukasey's full answer, as well as the reaction from Democrats and Republicans who've said that they're vote on Mukasey depends on this answer, as they become available.

Update: Time had some background of the negotiations to produce this evidently unsatisfactory statement in a story today. You won't be shocked to learn that Dick Cheney played a typically inflexible role in the back and forth:

No one will have a fixed count of votes until Mukasey responds to Durbin, but if he refuses to declare waterboarding expressly illegal, he looks likely to be rejected by the Judiciary Committee. On the other hand, if he does declare it illegal, he may be rendering a legal judgment on everyone who authorized waterboarding or used it in interrogation. "They are putting him in an almost untenable position on this," says White House spokesman Tony Fratto. The White House expects Mukasey's response will be sent to the committee Tuesday or Wednesday, and Fratto says, "He'll respond in his usual manner, which is thoughtful and thorough, but there are certain things that he will not be able to comment on."

Some Democrats on the committee have tried to help Mukasey get out of the box he's in. Harold Kim, a former Specter staffer who works in the White House Counsel's office, has been negotiating with Judiciary Committee Democrats, trying to find language they can live with. But attempts to compromise with Congress have met resistance from Cheney's office, and when it comes to interrogation techniques, the Vice President and his chief of staff, David Addington, have notoriously pushed for presidential authority to go unchecked by the legislative branch.

capt said...

"Kucinich questions Bush's mental health"



GO Dennis!

He is my choice for the good of the party. He would make a great president and so he will never get the job.

UGH!

David B. Benson said...

Amy Goodman interviews Tim Flannery in Santa Fe:

The Earth's Prognosis

Gerald said...

There should be no doubt that Hitler Bush is demented, deranged, and a psycho-maniac. In common language Hitler Bush is crazy.


Fifty-Two Percent

Dear Posters:

In a recent Zogby International poll fifty-two percent of Nazi Americans favor the bombing of Iran. We fail to understand that Nazi America in not threatened by Iran. We will nuke Iran because Nazi America has violence in her history and Nazi Israel runs Nazi America’s foreign policies.

I am truly disheartened because Nazi Americans are too stupid and they will never learn. We hear that Nazi Americans are pro-life. We use words very loosely without any real thought to what their true meanings mean to our souls. Human life to Nazi Americans is meaningless.

We are a nation under the control of bloodthirsty morons. We have lunatics running our asylums. A perfect example of our murderous ways is that American mercenaries are given immunity in the killing of human beings in Iraq and probably in other countries, such as the United States of Evil.

Remember Nazi Americans, if you speak out against Hitler Bush and Hitler Cheney, American mercenaries can murder you and they will receive immunity. Yes, human life to Nazi Americans means nothing. Nazi America is not pro-life and pro-love. NAZI AMERICA IS PRO-DEATH AND PRO-HATRED.

Sincerely,
Gerald

O'Reilly said...

Congressional Quarterly Inc... announced it has signed a deal with veteran political editor and writer David Corn to contribute a regular blog to CQ's expanded free-content Web site, which will launch this fall.

capt said...

O'Reilly,

AND - there are comments open at MoJo. (check "There's Hillary" above)

Most excellent, eh?



capt

capt said...

Clear Channel Bans New Bruce?

This might get interesting.

capt said...

New Thread

Or go Directly to the first CQ post: HERE

(Looking good so far!)