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Archive Edition for   Tuesday, July 6, 2004Go to Current Page
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Quoted in this edition:

Ace of Spades HQ
  Ace
AintNoBadDude
  Brian Linse
Althouse
  Ann Althouse
American Digest
  Vanderleun
Amygdala
  Gary Farber
www.AndrewSullivan.com
  Andrew Sullivan
Associated Press
  Martin Crutsinger
  Tarek El-Tablawy
  Ron Fournier
  Anthony Mitchell
  Liz Sidoti
  Nadia Abou El-Magd
  Lynn Elber
Asymmetrical Information
  Jane Galt
BBC
  Dr David Whitehouse
THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH
  Gregory Djerejian
Betsy's Page
  Betsy Newmark
BLACKFIVE
  Blackfive
Bo Cowgill.com
  Bo Cowgill
Boston Globe
  Martin Crutsinger
  Glen Johnson
Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal
  DeLong
Bush-Cheney 2004 News Room
Captain's Quarters
  Captain Ed
Catallarchy.net
  Jonathan Wilde
Chicago Sun Times
  Roger Ebert
Chrenkoff
  Arthur Chrenkoff
Citizen Smash
  Smash
CJR Campaign Desk Home
  Thomas Lang
  Brian Montopoli
  Susan Q. Stranahan
The Claremont Institute
  Ken Masugi
Clayton Cramer's BLOG
  Clayton Cramer
CNN
Cold Fury
  Mike Hendrix
The Corner
  KJL
  Jonah Goldberg
  Ramesh Ponnuru
cut on the bias
  Susanna Cornett
Daily Kos
  Kos
  Trapper John
  DemFromCT
Daimnation!
  Damian Penny
Dan Gillmor's eJournal
  Dan Gillmor
danieldrezner.com
  Daniel Drezner
Dean's World
  Dean Esmay
Discourse.net
  Michael Froomkin
EdDriscoll.com
  Edward Driscoll
Electablog
  David Allan Pell
Eschaton
  Athenae
  Holden
Fafblog! the whole worlds only source for Fafblog.
  Fafnir
Financial Times
  Thomas Hazlett
Fox News
Gadflyer
  Ezra Klein
Gallup
  David W. Moore
Harry's Place
  Gene @HarrysPlace
The Hill
  Alexander Bolton
  Hans Nichols
Hit & Run
  Jeff A. Taylor
  Nick Gillespie
  Charles Paul Freund
HughHewitt.com
  Hugh Hewitt
Instapundit.com
  Glenn Reynolds
INTEL DUMP
  Phillip Carter
IRAQ NOW
  Jason Van Steenwyk
Israel news and commentary from IsraPundit
  Fred Lapides
JustOneMinute
  Tom Maguire
Kerry for President Press Room
Lean Left
  Tgirsch
  Kevin Raybould
The Left Coaster
  Steve Soto
Lexington Herald-Leader
The Liquid List
  Aaron @LiquidList
Little Green Footballs
  Charles Johnson
Los Angeles Times
  Mark Mazzetti
Mathew Gross
  Mathew Gross
matthew
  Matthew Yglesias
Michelle Malkin
  Michelle Malkin
The Moderate Voice
  Joe Gandelman
National Review
The New Republic
  Jonathan Cohn
New York Post
New York Times
  Adam Nagourney
  James Risen
  Paul Krugman
  Linda Greenhouse
No More Mister Nice Blog
  Steve M.
Obsidian Wings
  Moe Lane
  Edward _
  Von @ObsidianWings
Off the Kuff
  Charles Kuffner
Oh, That Liberal Media
  Patterico
Oliver Willis
  Oliver Willis
Outside the Beltway
  James Joyner
OxBlog
  Josh Chafetz
  Patrick Belton
  David Adesnik
pandagon.net
  Jesse Taylor
  Ezra Klein
Pejmanesque
  Pejman Yousefzadeh
The Poor Man
  The Poor Man
Power Line
  Hindrocket
  The Big Trunk
Priorities & Frivolities
  Robert Garcia Tagorda
ProfessorBainbridge.com
  Steve Bainbridge
protein wisdom
  Jeff Goldstein
QandO
  Dale Franks
  McQ
  Jon Henke
Rantingprofs
  Cori Dauber
Reuters
  David Morgan
The Right Coast
  Mike Rappaport
  Gail Heriot
Rising Hegemon
  Attaturk
The Rittenhouse Review
  James Martin Capozzola
the road to surfdom
  Tim Dunlop
Roger Ailes
  Roger Ailes
Samizdata.net
  Robert Clayton Dean
Secular Blasphemy
  Jan Haugland
Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing
  Kevin Connors
Shot In The Dark
  Mitch Berg
Slate
  David Plotz
The Spoons Experience
  Christopher Kanis
t a c i t u s
  Bird Dog
  Tacitus
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
  Taegan Goddard
  President Bush
Talking Points Memo
  Josh Marshall
TalkLeft
  Jeralyn Merritt
TAPPED
  Matthew Yglesias
»«TBogg»«
  Tbogg
Telegraph
  Chris Hastings
This Is London
  Paul Waugh
Tim Blair
  Tim Blair
Time
Townhall.com
  Dennis Prager
Travelling Shoes
  H.D. Miller
US News
VodkaPundit
  Will Collier
The Volokh Conspiracy
  Jacob T. Levy
  Eugene Volokh
Wall Street Journal
  Alan Murray
Washington Monthly
  Charles Peters
The Washington Monthly
  Kevin Drum
Washington Post
  Brian Faler
  Helen Dewar
  Philip P. Pan
  Jonathan Finer
  Jackson Diehl
  Mike Allen
Washington Times
  Martin Walker
  Donald Lambro
Winds of Change.NET
  Andrew Olmsted



Onwards and Edwards
  By / TNR   —   Permalink 
Jonathan Cohn 12:30 p.m.
Jonathan Chait 11:30 a.m.
Franklin Foer 10:30 a.m.
Gregory Djerejian: For more on Edwards see TNR's lively discussion re: Kerry's pick. In particular, don't miss Jonathan Chait's take: "It's obvious he's not Kerry's idea of a great pick.
Josh Chafetz: TNR IS HOSTING A GREAT DISCUSSION about the Edwards Veep selection. Just start at the bottom and read your way up.
Matthew Yglesias: Like Jon Chait I was a bit surprised to hear John Kerry go off on a little ditty about how America spends too much on...
Robert Garcia Tagorda: For other comments, see the New Republic, Steven Taylor, Dan Drezner, James Joyner, Joe Gandelman, Hugh Hewitt, Jacob Levy, and Jesse Taylor.
Kevin Drum: THE VEEP SELECTION....Over at the New Republic they've got a bloglike roundtable going on about Kerry's choice of John Edwards for vice president.
Joe Gandelman: UPDATES: LOTS of info as you can guess: —The New Republic: Extensive discussion. —The Belgravia Dispatch:"This was, all told, probably Kerry's best pick.
Also: Andrew Sullivan, James Joyner, Glenn Reynolds, Pejman Yousefzadeh

KERRY PICKS GEPHARDT
  New York Post   —   Permalink 
John Kerry has chosen Rep. Richard Gephardt, the veteran congressman from Missouri, to be his running mate, The Post has learned.
Gephardt, 63, a 28-year veteran of the House of Representatives, could be named by the presumptive Democratic nominee as the party's vice-presidential candidate as soon as today.
Gary Farber: From here, many of the following links surely do make amusing reading: "KERRY PICKS GEPHARDT New York Post — Posted 11 hours ago —
Jon Henke: They will make a formidable campaign team. UPDATE: So, the New York Post, huh? Snort. Either a reporter or a source....somebody's going to be burned.
James Joyner: NY Post: Kerry Picks Gephardt — NY Post "Exclusive" — KERRY PICKS GEPHARDT [snipped quote] I heard that the Post had an...
Jan Haugland: Kerry picks... oops... Edwards it was — The New York Post had an exclusive "Kerry picks Gephardt" article here, but I was not fast enough to catch it before it was yanked.
The Big Trunk: This morning the New York Post reports that John Kerry has selected Richard Gephardt: "Kerry picks Gephardt."
Ezra Klein: Update: CNN just said it's Edwards. If so, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Update 2: Hah, that'll show the Post.
Also: Taegan Goddard, Captain Ed, Will Collier, Betsy Newmark, KJL, Michelle Malkin, Tim Blair, So was I, Edward Driscoll, Tacitus

Kerry Picks Edwards to Be Running Mate
  AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - John Kerry selected former rival John Edwards to be his running mate, picking the smooth-talking Southern populist over more seasoned politicians in hopes of injecting vigor and small-town appeal to the Democratic presidential ticket, The Associated Press learned Tuesday.
Thomas Lang: Sure enough, Fournier's less-than-flattering introduction this morning was replaced with the kinder, gentler "smooth-talking Southern populist" narrative.
McQ: Thoughts on the Edwards pick — First thought? Smart move. Edwards brings youth and vigor to a rather mundane and stodgy campaign.
Athenae: Preznit & Vice Preznit — AP says it's Edwards. Hmm. I wonder if he likes turkee.
Charles Johnson: Men of the People — Trial lawyer John Edwards will be John F. Kerry's running mate, producing what must be the wealthiest presidential ticket in history.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: I thought that he would be the Vice Presidential pick, and he ends up being passed over for John Edwards.
Steve M.: AP says it's Edwards. New York Times and Washington Post and CNN and NPR confirm. Good news.
Also: Captain Ed, Nick Gillespie, Yuval Rubinstein, Will Collier, Michelle Malkin, Robert Garcia Tagorda

Iranian Intel Officers Captured in Iraq
  Fox News   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — American and Iraqi joint patrols, along with U.S. Special Operations (search) teams, captured two men with explosives in Baghdad on Monday who identified themselves as Iranian (search) intelligence officers, FOX News has confirmed.
Dean Esmay: Iranians Caught In Iraq — Fox News is reporting that Iranian terrorists have been captured in Iraq.
Hindrocket: Stay Tuned — This could be a major story: Iranian Intelligence Officers Captured in Iraq: "American and Iraqi joint...
Glenn Reynolds: THIS IS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT: [snipped quote] Iran caught in an act of war against Iraq? Hmm. What could that lead to?
Dale Franks: And, in the on deck circle... The senior member of the Axis of Evil, Iran, has apparently been up to no good.
Andrew Sullivan: IT ALL COMES BACK TO IRAN: The news of Iranian officers caught with explosives in Baghdad is also an important turning point.
Captain Ed: Iranian Intelligence Officers Captured In Iraq — In a development certain to embarrass the Iranian government and...
Also: Hugh Hewitt

Sources: Kerry picks Edwards as running mate
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — After months of speculation and a highly secretive selection process, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, has chosen his colleague Sen. John Edwards as his running mate for the 2004 presidential election, sources close to the campaign say.
Jan Haugland: Understandably, as John Kerry really picked John Edwards. My first thought is that this should be a very good choice.
Vanderleun: I must confess that when the underwhelming news of Kerry selecting Edwards filled me with inertia this morning, my...
Jacob T. Levy: VP: Not Gephardt.
Steve Bainbridge: John Edwards — With Kerry picking John Edwards for Veep, I thought I might flag a few of my old posts on Edwards for...
Jeralyn Merritt: Kerry Picks Edwards: Open Thread — It's official. John Kerry has chosen John Edwards as his running mate. We're ecstatic.
Gene @HarrysPlace: It's Edwards — John Kerry has chosen John Edwards as his vice presidential running mate. A good choice, I think.
Also: Charles Kuffner, Steve M., Brian Linse, James Joyner, Taegan Goddard

Business Elite Vows To Take On Kerry If He Taps Edwards
  By / WSJ   —   Permalink 
Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has made a public vow: If John Edwards is chosen as John Kerry's running mate, the chamber will abandon its traditional stance of neutrality in the presidential race and work feverishly to defeat the Democratic ticket.
Steve Bainbridge: Picking John Edwards as running mate will put the kibosh on any successful outreach to business, as the WSJ article Joyner cites explains:Mr. Edwards is a trial lawyer.
Captain Ed: Business To Battle Kerry-Edwards Ticket — Even before John Kerry announced John Edwards as his running mate for this...
Kos: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already promised to lead the fight against the Democratic ticket, laughingly claiming it will drop its "traditional neutrality".
Edward Driscoll: INTERESTING ANGLE: James Taranto writes: [snipped quote] Taranto's got lots of other Edwards and Kerry links, incidentally.
James Joyner: UPDATE: WSJ — Business Elite Vows To Take On Kerry If He Taps Edwards "Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: A FIFTH UPDATE: Of course you realize this means war: "Tom Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has made a...
Also: Jeff Jarvis, Daniel Drezner

Kerry Taps Edwards for Running Mate
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
Sen. John F. Kerry has selected Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina as his vice presidential running mate, a Democratic source said early today.
Kerry informed Edwards of the decision in brief telephone call this morning and will make the public announcement at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh later this morning.
Smash: Kerry Picks Edwards — A SAFE CHOICE — Edwards won't help Kerry much — but he won't hurt him, either.
Aaron @LiquidList: Politics: Kerry-Edwards — Kerry has chosen John Edwards, his chief primary rival and rock start-status Senator from North Carolina, as his vice-presidential running mate.
Brian Linse: New York Times WaPo UPDATE: For those not on the Kerry mailing list, here is the e-mail that arrived at 8:39am Eastern: [snipped quote] Just heard the annoucement on NPR.
James Martin Capozzola: Sen. John F. Kerry has selected his running mate: Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as his running mate. But you knew that already.
Von @ObsidianWings: Get Smart. Kerry picked Edwards as his running mate. Quite* smart, I think.
James Joyner: WaPo - Kerry Taps Edwards for Running Mate "Edwards, 51, a wealthy former trial lawyer and first-term senator, was the...
Also: Daniel Drezner

Kerry Embraces Former Rival, Citing 'Courage and Conviction'
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 6 — Senator John Kerry today chose Senator John Edwards to be his running-mate, turning to the North Carolina Democrat whose strong campaign skills and engaging personality made him the top choice of many Democratic leaders, Mr. Kerry's aides said this morning.
Thomas Lang: Sen. John Edwards' victory in the veepstakes came at an inopportune moment in the news cycle and most outlets, aside...
Dan Gillmor: Kerry's Pick — John Kerry's naming of John Edwards as his preferred running mate makes sense. It's the safe choice.
Matthew Yglesias: I think John Kerry made the right choice, both politically and substantively, by picking John Edwards to be his Vice...
David Allan Pell: It's the Optimism, Stupid — In Pittsburgh (home to neither man) and without a certain someone by his side, John Kerry announced that John Edwards would be his running mate.
Jeff Goldstein: Purported also-rans for the Democratic Vice-Presidential nomination, 2004* Gorgonzola cheese Jaguar XK8 convertible...
James Joyner: NYT — Kerry Embraces Former Rival, Citing 'Courage and Conviction' [RSS] [quote] "I have chosen a man who understands and defends the values of America," Mr. Kerry said.[end quote]

Formal Announcement Is Scheduled for This Morning
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
Senator John Kerry today chose Senator John Edwards to be his running-mate, turning to the North Carolina Democrat whose strong campaign skills and engaging personality made him the top choice of many Democratic leaders, Mr. Kerry's aides said this morning.
Susanna Cornett: Kerry picks Edwards — From, well, all kinds of places this morning (but specifically this article): "Senator John...
Trapper John: Kerry-Edwards '04 — John Kerry's mama didn't raise no fool — he picked the people's choice. Kerry-Edwards '04. Discuss.
Jon Henke: Edwards — It's Kerry/Edwards '04.
Taegan Goddard: It's Edwards — Sen. John Kerry has chosen Sen. John Edwards as his running mate for the 2004 election, CNN reports.

Bush Loses Support Among Hispanics
  By / Gallup   —   Permalink 
2. If Massachusetts Senator John Kerry were the Democratic Party's candidate and George W. Bush were the Republican Party's candidate, who would you be more likely to vote for — [ROTATED: John Kerry, the Democrat (or) George W. Bush, the Republican]?
2A.
Ace: Gallup Buries Lede: Bush's Job Approval at 53% Which is a number you can easily win with.
Taegan Goddard: Bush Losing Hispanic Vote — A new Gallup poll has finds a "major racial/ethnic divide" among American voters.
Oliver Willis: Bush + Hispanics = No Love — Bush Loses Support Among Hispanics In the past year, Bush's job approval rating among...
Hugh Hewitt: According to Gallup, President Bush's approval rating has rebounded to 53% —up there with Clinton's, Reagan's, and...

Cheney Had No New Data on Saddam, Al Qaeda-Panel
  By / Reuters   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Sept. 11 commission, which reported no evidence of collaborative links between Iraq and al Qaeda, said on Tuesday that Vice President Dick Cheney had no more information than commission investigators to support his later assertions to the contrary.
Mathew Gross: 7) The 9/11 Commission calls Dick Cheney a liar.
Attaturk: From Reuters: [snipped quote] Dick Cheney is a lyin' SOB (sorry again Nick) but he fits in well with the Bush Administration at large.
Oliver Willis: Cheney Had No New Data on Saddam, Al Qaeda-Panel The Sept. 11 commission, which reported no collaborative links between...
The Poor Man: Surprise, Surprise "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Sept. 11 commission, which reported no collaborative links between Iraq...

Parties to Allow Bloggers to Cover Conventions for First Time
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
More than 15,000 people will converge on Boston later this month to cover the Democratic National Convention — including, for the first time, bloggers.
The Democratic Party plans to give media credentials to a select group of bloggers who want to cover...
Matthew Yglesias: Convention Blogging — A mighty silly article in the Washington Post breathlessly reports that so-called "bloggers" will...
Captain Ed: WaPo: We Still Don't Understand Blogs — The Washington Post reports today on the official inclusion of bloggers at the...
Michelle Malkin: Blogs are "under no obligation to be either fair or accurate" sneers reporter Brian Faler in today's Washington Post.
Jesse Taylor: The Washington Post runs a story today about bloggers at the Democratic Convention (I'm going, by hook or by crook!) .
Jon Henke: Quick Hits — A few assorted thoughts... *** In a Washington Post story... "Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, a Berkeley,...
Tacitus: Convention blogging — WaPo catches on that bloggers will be allowed at the party conventions this summer.
Also: Patrick Belton

Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Zarqawi
  AP   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search) if he did not immediately leave the country, accusing him of murdering innocent Iraqis and defiling the Muslim religion.
Jane Galt: Hey, maybe that spontaneous order stuff works after all: "A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill...
Glenn Reynolds: THE BITER, BIT: "BAGHDAD, Iraq — A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu...
James Joyner: Hat tip: Memeorandum UPDATE: Fox News has a version of the AP report with the headline Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Zarqawi and the relevant material at the top of the story.
Charles Paul Freund: Iraq's "Salvation Movement" — Al-Arabiya is reportedly running a video from an Iraqi group that is threatening to kill...

Economy set for best growth in 20 years
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON —The economy appears headed for a banner year despite a springtime spike in energy prices and a recent increase in interest rates.
In fact, many analysts are forecasting that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will grow by 4.6 percent or better this year, the fastest in two decades.
Captain Ed: Economy Poised To Be Best In 20 Years: AP — In a major boost to George Bush's re-election bid, the AP's Martin...
Edward Driscoll: MORNING IN AMERICA UPDATE: The economy is set for its best growth in 20 years, according to (believe it or not) AP.
Jonah Goldberg: KRUGMAN VERSUS THE AP — Krugman says worst economy ever. The Associated Press says pretty much the opposite.

C.I.A. Held Back Iraqi Arms Data, U.S. Officials Say
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 5 — The Central Intelligence Agency was told by relatives of Iraqi scientists before the war that Baghdad's programs to develop unconventional weapons had been abandoned, but the C.I.A. failed to give that information to President Bush, even...
Matthew Yglesias: James Risen reports that the poor dears in the White House didn't hype the Iraq WMD intelligence at all.
Bird Dog: A Failure to Communicate — From the New York Times: [snipped quote] It makes me wonder what other relevant information...
Michael Froomkin: Intelligence: the Raw and the Cooked — It makes a great headline, C.I.A. Held Back Iraqi Arms Data, U.S. Officials Say,...
Tim Dunlop: It's the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report, and it is given a bit of a preview in the paper today.
Josh Marshall: This is the ironic and tragic tale told by James Risen in Tuesday's New York Times.
Steve M.: PLACATING DR. EVIL — The Central Intelligence Agency was told by relatives of Iraqi scientists before the war that...
Also: David Adesnik, Roger Ailes

Bush-Cheney '04 Launches New Television Ad Featuring John McCain
  Bush-Cheney 2004 News Room   —   Permalink 
ARLINGTON, VA— Today, Bush-Cheney '04 announced the release of the campaign's newest television advertisement which features John Kerry's first choice for a vice presidential running mate, United States Senator John McCain.
Charles Kuffner: Here are a couple of images for you: via Brian Linse via Jack O'Toole I see that the Bush-Cheney team have their McCain ad up.
Jesse Taylor: Here it is, in all its incompetent glory. It's supposed to be a dig at Kerry's failure to get McCain on the ticket...but all it does is show McCain endorsing Bush.
Taegan Goddard: Bush Campaign Says McCain Was First Choice — With the Bush-Cheney campaign arguing in a new ad that Sen. John McCain...

C.I.A. Held Back Iraqi Arms Data, Officials Say
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 5 — The Central Intelligence Agency was told by relatives of Iraqi scientists before the war that Baghdad's programs to develop unconventional weapons had been abandoned, but the C.I.A. failed to give that information to President Bush, even...
Tgirsch: According to a report in today's New York Times, the CIA had credible intelligence that Baghdad had abandoned its WMD...
Clayton Cramer: The New York Times says the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is blaming the CIA for the Iraqi WMD intelligence...
DeLong: Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps?

Instant Analysis: Kerry-Edwards Ticket
  WaPo   —   Permalink 
Sen. John F. Kerry has selected Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina as his vice presidential running mate.
Washington Post Associate Editor Robert G. Kaiser discussed Sen. Edwards, what Kerry's choice means for the campaign and the 2004 election.
Patterico: A Little Insight into the Mind of a Washington Post Editor — Armed Liberal passes along this transcript of an online...
Daniel Drezner: LAST UPDATE: Robert G. Kaiser led an interesting online disacussion on washingtonpost.com on the Edwards pick that's worth checking out.

The Making Of John Kerry
  Time   —   Permalink 
If you were looking to capture the essence of John Kerry's relationship with his father, it's hard to beat the story of how he learned to sail. Forget about going out on the waters off Cape Cod and having fun and bonding.
Brian Montopoli: Well, maybe not all guys: Time's long and mind-numbingly boring portrait of John Kerry in his youth paints him as a...
Hugh Hewitt: From the Time Magazine piece profiling Kerry's childhood: "One day in 1959, Danny Barbiero, a student at the exclusive...

Bye-Bye, Bush Boom
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
When does optimism — the Bush campaign's favorite word these days — become an inability to face facts? On Friday, President Bush insisted that a seriously disappointing jobs report, which fell far short of the pre-announcement hype, was good news: "We're witnessing steady growth, steady growth.
Hindrocket: Just the Facts, Ma'am — May 1995 job growth, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: -9,000 June 2004 job...
Holden: Have You Seen My Bush Boom? Neither has Krugman.

Will It Be a Match Made in a Political Foxhole? A Cradle Robbing? A Twin?
  NYT   —   Permalink 
In John Kerry's eyes, Richard A. Gephardt is a peer in Congress, a trustworthy ideological compatriot, a foxhole buddy from their primary battle against Howard Dean. Mr. Kerry lights up when he sees Mr. Gephardt and would gladly have supported him for president had he been knocked from the race himself.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Consider all of the news reports discussing the strong amount of personal chemistry between Kerry and Gephardt.
James Joyner: NYT (July 2) - Will It Be a Match Made in a Political Foxhole? A Cradle Robbing? A Twin?

GODZILLA / *1/2 (Not rated)
  By / Chicago Sun Times   —   Permalink 
Regaled for 50 years by the stupendous idiocy of the American version of "Godzilla," audiences can now see the original Japanese version, which is equally idiotic, but, properly decoded, was the "Fahrenheit 9/11" of its time.
Edward Driscoll: PARSE THIS OUT: Roger Ebert calls Godzilla "The Fahrenheit 9/11 of its time". No, really! The original Godzilla with Raymond Burr!
Jeff A. Taylor: "The Fahrenheit 9/11 of its time" — Which re-released and restored classic could Roger Ebert possibly be talking about?

Sunspots reaching 1,000-year high
  By / BBC   —   Permalink 
A new analysis shows that the Sun is more active now than it has been at anytime in the previous 1,000 years.
Scientists based at the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich used ice cores from Greenland to construct a picture of our star's activity in the past.
Susanna Cornett: A flareup of warmth — Sunspots have been spiking up more in past 60 years than at any time in the previous 1,150 years,...
Robert Clayton Dean: Laugh or cry — I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the Beeb's latest gaseous emanation regarding global warming.

Another 9/11?
  NRO   —   Permalink 
The awful response that we dare not speak about.
Almost daily we are assured that another attack on the homeland, commensurate with 9/11, is inevitable. What a scary mood of fatalism we are in! Where will it happen? The Olympics? The party conventions this summer?
James Joyner: Victor Davis Hanson "While we speculate idly about the nature of the attack to come, and the inability of our...
Mike Hendrix: A wisdom born of fear — VDH makes another of his inevitably excellent points: [snipped quote] Culpability and guilt over...
Charles Johnson: Another 9/11? An excellent new Victor Davis Hanson piece on what our response must be if there is another 9/11.

Ill-Serving Those Who Serve
  NYT   —   Permalink 
The Pentagon's decision to press 5,600 honorably discharged soldiers back into service, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the latest example of President Bush's refusal to face the true costs of pre-emptive war.
McQ: Why the continued prevarication? Surely the NY Times can't be this studiously ignorant can they?
Blackfive: Below the emphasis is mine: Ill-Serving Those Who Serve Published: July 6, 2004 The Pentagon's decision to press 5,600...
Cori Dauber: The New York Times claims that it will now issue corrections if it makes factual mistakes in its editorials. We'll see.

Tilting At Windmills
  By / Washington Monthly   —   Permalink 
Appearing on Tim Russert's "Meet the Press" some months ago, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) did not display a command of the information a president should know. Was this just a bad day for the senator? We hope so, but a story recently told to me by a reliable source is less than reassuring.
Glenn Reynolds: UPDATE: This Washington Monthly item on Edwards not knowing who Yitzhak Rabin was will probably get considerable circulation among the punditry.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: UPDATE: This is nothing short of embarrassing: [quote] Appearing on Tim Russert's "Meet the Press" some months ago, Sen. John...[end quote]

Economy Set for Best Growth in 20 Years
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy appears headed for a banner year despite a springtime spike in energy prices and a recent increase in interest rates.
In fact, many analysts are forecasting that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will grow by 4.6 percent or better this year, the fastest in two decades.
Pejman Yousefzadeh: MORE IMPORTANT THAN JOHN EDWARDS — Since issues matter more to voters than who occupies the Number 2 pick on a...
Ace: tuk *tuk *tuk *tuk *tuk *tuk *tuk *tuk: WASHINGTON - The economy appears headed for a banner year despite a springtime...

Video Shows Foreign Fighters in Major Iraq Attacks
  Reuters   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Foreign Muslim militants from across the Arab world have appeared in a chilling video tape which claimed they carried out some of the bloodiest bombings in Iraq since the war ended.
H.D. Miller: Fact-Checking Reuters — Gotta love Reuters.
Fred Lapides: Video Shows Foreign Fighters in Major Iraq Attacks this article is from Reuters/MyWay "Foreign Muslim militants from...

Cussing's no stranger to the Bush White House
  US News   —   Permalink 
Vice President Dick Cheney doesn't own the market on swearwords like the F-bomb he dropped on Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy. Turns out President Bush has quite the mouth, following in a rich tradition of cussing presidents.
Brian Montopoli: President Bush, in fact, employs the word in a startling variety of grammatical forms: "He uses the 'F' word as an...
President Bush: Quote of the Day — "You said it, so don't back away from it."

Kerry-Hutz 2004
  NRO   —   Permalink 
Will Kerry's pitch sell?
So it's going to be Kerry & Edwards: the turn-your-head-and-coif express.
Already, the partisans on either side are declaring that the Edwards pick is either a cynical sop to political expediency or an inspired choice for a new America.
Edward Driscoll: JONAH GOLDBERG ON "KERRY-HUTZ 2004": "It's going to be Kerry & Edwards: the turn-your-head-and-coif express". Heh.
Will Collier: "—Lionel Hutz" UPDATE: Hey, Goldberg! You owe me a buck for this!

Senate Republicans Seek to Limit Class-Action Suits
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
Senate Republicans will target huge legal fees in class-action lawsuits this week as they try to salvage at least one key element of their "tort reform" agenda to revamp the nation's civil litigation system.
Captain Ed: Addendum: For an example of the kind of effort that will disappear under a Kerry-Edwards administration, the Washington...
Susan Q. Stranahan: As Helen Dewar wrote in today's Washington Post: "In a confrontation of powerful political interests, the battle pits...

Cliffhanger vote today on Holmes
  By / The Hill   —   Permalink 
Nearly a year after conservative critics accused Senate Democrats of anti-Catholic bias because of their opposition to federal circuit-court nominee William Pryor, many are leveling the same charge against a handful of Senate Republicans because of their suspected opposition to J. Leon Holmes, a district court nominee.
Holden: From The Hill: "Nearly a year after conservative critics accused Senate Democrats of anti-Catholic bias because of...
Steve M.: "It would be a great act of injustice if the religious bigotry leveled against Mr. Holmes should keep him from...

Kerry Aides Make Plans for No. 2, Whoever It Is
  NYT   —   Permalink 
PITTSBURGH, July 5 - John Kerry's advisers said Monday that he was planning to announce his running mate on Tuesday morning and that he was orchestrating an elaborate rollout of the Democratic ticket first on the Internet, then at a rally here and finally in a...
Betsy Newmark: Is this the type of decisiveness that you want in a president?
Steve Soto: Now we find out from tomorrow's New York Times that in fact Edwards did attend the Albright meeting with Kerry last Thursday night.
DemFromCT: But it's today, as per the NY Times, and likely within the next 90 minutes: [snipped quote] Not like us.
Ken Masugi: According to the NY Times: "Aides confirmed that the running mate's political director would be Linda L. Moore, who was...

Blinded by the Light
  Time   —   Permalink 
Sitting in the movie theater watching Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 amid an audience utterly riveted by a movie speaking to its deepest emotions, I kept getting a sense of déjàvu. Where had I felt such crowd dynamics before? And then I remembered.
Andrew Sullivan: I also have a new piece in Time on the parallels between Mel Gibson and Michael Moore (but it's subscriber only).
KJL: Another article in Time attempts to draw out the comparison—the author isn't named (might be a web error?), but the URL...

Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Al-Zarqawi
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi if he did not immediately leave the country, accusing him of murdering innocent Iraqis and defiling the Muslim religion.
Charles Johnson: Terrorist vs. Terrorist — It's Wild West 2004 in Iraq, as masked men threaten other masked men: Iraqi Group Threatens to Kill Al-Zarqawi.
Edward _: "A group of armed, masked Iraqi men threatened Tuesday to kill Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi if he did not...

Michael Moore and the problem of American (and Jewish) self-hatred
  By / Townhall.com   —   Permalink 
Did you ever notice that there are no Germans going around the world saying, or making movies about, how awful Germany is or has been? Given that Germany unleashed two world wars and invented industrialized genocide, why has there been no German Michael Moore?
Betsy Newmark: Dennis Prager tries to explain why Americans and Israelis are often seen as self-hating and other cultures lack such groups.
Tbogg: Illiterati — Dennis Prager doesn't get out much: Did you ever notice that there are no Germans going around the world...
Edward Driscoll: GOOD POINT: Dennis Prager looks at Michael Moore and the problem of American self-hatred: [snipped quote] Needless to say, RTWT.

Pentagon Gets Flak for Failure Against Rebels
  By / LAT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON — Almost a year after acknowledging they were facing a well-armed guerrilla war in Iraq, the Pentagon and commanders in the Middle East are being criticized by some top Bush administration officials, military officers and defense experts who accuse the military of failing to develop a coherent, winning strategy against the insurgency.
James Joyner: U.S. Response To Insurgency Called A Failure — LA Times - U.S. Response To Insurgency Called A Failure "Almost a year...
Kevin Drum: COUNTERINSURGENCY...The LA Times reports that the Pentagon is under mounting criticism for its inability to counter the...
Phillip Carter: Today's Los Angeles Times and Washington Post each have articles on this subject, and the effect of the Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom wars on the American military.

Bush strategist: Expect Kerry bounce
  Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Washington, DC, Jul. 5 (UPI) — The Bush campaign's chief strategist warned supporters to expect the Democrats to get a bounce in the polls as the post-primary season winds down.
Charles Kuffner: We'll see if this gives Kerry a 15 point lead or not - I sure as heck hope to see some separation in the polls now, though 15 points seems a little much to me.
Kos: The Bush campaign is lowering expectations, saying they expect a 15-point Kerry boost.
Taegan Goddard: Meanwhile, the UPI notes President Bush campaign's chief strategist "warned supporters to expect the Democrats to get a bounce in the polls as the post-primary season winds down."

Kerry-Edwards Meeting Fuels VP Mate Talk
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Edwards interrupted his Walt Disney World vacation last week to meet with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry , adding a new level of intrigue to the vice presidential search.
Daniel Drezner: Combining this AP report with ABC's The Note, I'd have to give the inside edge to Edwards, but really, who the hell knows?
Steve Soto: Then today, word got out that Kerry asked Edwards to interrupt a Disney World family vacation to fly to Washington and meet him last Thursday.

Group to Send Peacekeepers to Sudan Area
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The African Union on Monday said it would send several hundred peacekeepers to the Darfur region of western Sudan, where thousands have been killed and more than a million black Africans have fled attacks by Arab militiamen.
Gail Heriot: The Associated Press (hat tip Little Green Footballs) reports: "'The time has come to end this charade.
Charles Johnson: UN to Africa: Default on Your Debts — At a conference on hunger, one of Kofi Annan's top economic advisors explicitly...

Kerry Said to Announce VP Mate on Tuesday
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Edwards interrupted his Walt Disney World vacation last week to meet with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry , adding a new level of intrigue to the vice presidential search, which Democrats expect to end Tuesday.
Roger Ailes: Veep-A-Palooza — Senator Kerry's going to name his anti-Dick tomorrow, or so it's said: [snipped quote] Post your guesses, rumors and hopes in Comments.
Steve M.: AP declares, with some hesitation, that Kerry might be about to declare John Edwards his running mate.

Insurgency many miles from Iraq
  By / The Hill   —   Permalink 
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro — Five years into an indefinite mandate, the United Nations' occupation of Kosovo — backed by the boots of NATO peacekeepers — is rapidly losing support among both Kosovar Albanians and ethnic Serbs.
Mike Hendrix: Maybe we can use Kosovo, Darfur, or any of a host of other UN "achievements" as a template.
James Joyner: Insurgency in Kosovo — The Hill — Insurgency many miles from Iraq [snipped quote] So, the peacekeeping is going badly...

Draft Ehrenreich!
  Slate   —   Permalink 
If no one else has said this, let Chatterbox be the first. On the strength of two columns thus far on the New York Times op-ed page—to read them, click here and here—Barbara Ehrenreich has established herself as the Times's best columnist.
Roger Ailes: I'm a man ahead of my time. Or at least six days ahead of Tim Noah. Which is pretty slim braggin' rights.
Jacob T. Levy: Quote of the day: From Timothy Noah, arguing that Barbara Ehrenreich should be kept on as a permanent NYT op-ed columnist.
Ramesh Ponnuru: I AGREE WITH TIM NOAH that Barbara Ehrenreich is a much better columnist than Maureen Dowd or Bob Herbert.
Ezra Klein: Draft Ehrenreich! Finally, a movement I can get behind.

Google's message for regulators
  By / Financial Times   —   Permalink 
Being a subscriber to Yahoo Mail, I am accustomed to receiving friendly messages. One such snappy communiqué was delivered to my inbox on June 10: "You are near your quota, as you are currently using 99.1MB of your 100.0MB storage quota.
James Joyner: G-Mail's Message for Regulators — Financial Times — Google's message for regulators [snipped quote] But what about the little guy?
Bo Cowgill: In today's Financial Times, Thomas Hazlett shows why that would be a bad idea: Just look at how much competition has done to the search and email space.

Life begins at conception, Kerry says
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Amid a three-day bus tour in which he highlighted his values and cast himself as an acceptable alternative for conservative voters, John F. Kerry was quoted yesterday as saying he believes life begins at conception, but continues to favor abortion rights.
Jeralyn Merritt: Left Coaster reports: "And both ABC News and the Boston Globe reported today that Kerry had a meeting last Thursday...
Steve M.: Via The Boston Globe, I see that The Note at ABC News has a VP pick for Kerry: The ABC News online political newsletter...
Steve Soto: And both ABC News and the Boston Globe reported today that Kerry had a meeting last Thursday night at Madeline Albright's Washington home and his favored choice was in attendance.
Glenn Reynolds: STILL MORE: In the abortion story, Soxblog notes that Kerry gets four strikes. "Four strikes? Four strikes?

Tennessee
  By / Slate   —   Permalink 
"There are three things I know about John Kerry," says Randal Vinson. "First, that he speaks three or four languages, and one of them is French. Second, that he's married to an ex-senator's wife who's worth a billion dollars. And third, he is supposedly a Vietnam vet."
Kevin Raybould: A Weird Swing State Article — This article on Tennessee is a bit odd. The writer's thesis is that Kerry cannot win TN, but that Bush can lose it.
James Joyner: Swing States: Tennessee — David Plotz offers the following question about a crucial swing state: "Tennessee: Kerry can't win it.
Betsy Newmark: David Plotz has been traveling around Tennessee. It doesn't sound like he found much Kerry support there.

Kerry Dodges Questions on Running Mate
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry carefully dodged questions about his search for a running mate, even as he campaigned with one potential vice presidential candidate, Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Fafnir: Well there are tons a rumors flyin an it seems like John Kerry's gonna announce his Vice President pick tomorrow. Wow!
Moe Lane: I don't know what rumors Tac's hearing, but right now the Kerry campaign is keeping mum about the Veep pick.
Steve Soto: Iowa governor Tom Vilsack got the in-person treatment from Kerry yesterday, fueling speculation that the choice was him.

Front-page news, back-page coverage
  Lexington Herald-Leader   —   Permalink 
CLARIFICATION: It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission.
John Carroll, the editor of the Los Angeles Times, who edited this newspaper from 1979 to 1991, recently proposed a correction like the one above during a speech on journalism ethics.
Nick Gillespie: Journalistic Sin of Omission Corrected — The Lexington Herald-Leader has published one of the more fascinating corrections in newspaper history: [snipped quote] Whole story here.
Athenae: Department of Corrections — Lexington Herald-Leader, July 4, 2004: It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement.

Report: Group Says Marine in Safe Place
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi militant group said Monday it had not killed a U.S. Marine it was holding captive, Al-Jazeera television reported.
In a statement sent to Al-Jazeera, a group, calling itself "Islamic Response," said it was holding Cpl.
Charles Johnson: Wassef Ali Hassoun gets stranger, as the "Islamic Response" terror gang now claims they have spared his life—in...
Jeralyn Merritt: Islamic Group Reports Marine is Safe — Today's news on the Marine Hostage who reportedly was beheaded over the...

Europe's fading anti-Americans
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Paris, France, Jul. 5 (UPI) — Walker's World for July 5.
Whoever wins the American presidential election this November (and polls, economic prospects and the unknown dangers of terrorism and Iraq make it too close to even think of calling), will have to deal with the fact that there has already been a fundamental changing of the guard in Europe.
James Joyner: Europe's Fading Anti-Americans — UPI's editor-in-chief Martin Walker, with whom I've had the pleasure of dining and...
Glenn Reynolds: On the other hand, here's an account that anti-Americanism in Europe is "fading."
Kevin Connors: It's nice to see that the vile anti-Americanism in Europe is on the wane: In his first interviews since becoming the...

Militant group: U.S. Marine is safe
  CNN   —   Permalink 
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — An Iraqi Islamic military group said it has taken a kidnapped U.S. Marine to a safe place after he promised not to return to his military unit, according to a statement read Monday by the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera.
Christopher Kanis: THIS STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN — CNN.com: [snipped quote] I think this was a set-up from the start.
James Joyner: UPDATE: Report: Captured Marine in safe place [quote] An Iraqi Islamic militant group says it is holding a U.S. Marine in "a...[end quote]

Kerry mum on VP speculation
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Amid speculation about who he wants for a running mate, Sen. John Kerry is spending the day Monday on his wife's 90-acre farm in Pennsylvania.
The Kerry campaign said Monday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has not decided whom he will select.
Joe Gandelman: Kerry Reportedly Will Announce Veep Choice Tuesday Morning — John Kerry is reportedly set to announce his Vice Presidential choice first thing in the morning on Tuesday.
Steve Soto: Gephardt for his part said as late as today that he didn't "know anything" which is of course either a lie or it means...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: Rumors are that John Kerry has made his decision regarding his Vice Presidential choice—though his campaign denies that a choice has been made.
Vanderleun: CNN, ALONG WITH EVERY OTHER MEDIA OUTLET with nothing better to do, is busy telling us that: Speculation over Kerry VP...
Jeralyn Merritt: Kerry is still keeping mum....CNN reported he had made his choice, while the Kerry campaign says it's not cast in stone yet.
Tacitus: Race for mediocrity — The news has come throught the grapevine that the vice-presidential pick for John Kerry has been made.
Also: Taegan Goddard

Chinese Pressure Dissident Physician
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
BEIJING — Chinese military and security officials are forcing the elderly physician who exposed the government's coverup of the SARS epidemic to attend intense indoctrination classes and are interrogating him about a letter he wrote in February denouncing the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Glenn Reynolds: MORE NEWS FROM CHINA: [snipped quote] Someone certainly needs their thinking changed.
Jonathan Wilde: Jiang Yanyong, Political Prisoner — Philip Pan writes in today's Washington Post (free registration required) about...

The Year Rehnquist May Have Lost His Court
  By / NYT   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON, July 4 — Although it has been 10 years since its membership last changed, the Supreme Court that concluded its term last week was, surprisingly and in important ways, a new court.
Eugene Volokh: Still, I noticed this inaccuracy in her end-of-Term piece Saturday: [snipped quote] If that were really the question in...
Ken Masugi: Greenhouse Questions Rehnquist's Grip — NY Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse argues [snipped quote] The...
Mike Rappaport: Liberal Legal Bias, Pure and Simple — Ah, the Linda Greenhouse summary of the Supreme Court's term.
Ann Althouse: Linda Greenhouse contends that this is "the year Rehnquist may have lost his Court."

Enough With the Optimism
  By / Gadflyer   —   Permalink 
I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?
- George W. Bush, June 15, 2004
Ronald Reagan's death sent scores of pundits searching for the key message of the Gipper's life.
Ezra Klein: If that describes you, it's possible that your pupils missed my plug of my Gadflyer article on how overblown presidential optimism is.
Charles Kuffner: (Oh, and read Ezra's Gadflyer article. It's good, and I want people like him to get more non-blog exposure.)

July 4 gig in D.C. is special for Clay Aiken
  By / AP   —   Permalink 
LOS ANGELES — For Clay Aiken, performing at what he considers the nation's pre-eminent July Fourth bash, PBS' "A Capitol Fourth" in Washington, could have been moving enough.
But this particular holiday carries deeper significance.
Tbogg: Tampering with a perfectly good s**tty song... KJL: SIGH [KJL ] A very minor thing, but a trend: I heard a replay of...
KJL: SIGH — A very minor thing, but a trend: I heard a replay of Clay Aiken singing that Lee Greenwood song "God Bless the U.S.A." at the Mall last night.

Remarks of Senator John Kerry at NARAL Dinner
  Kerry for President Press Room   —   Permalink 
This is an extraordinary gathering at an extraordinary time. What is at stake is not just the right to choose. Never in my years in the Senate have the rights of women been at such risk - never have women been assaulted in their citizenship here at home or womanhood around the globe as they are by this administration.
Tom Maguire: Kerry's speech to NARAL in January 2003 does not exactly feature "safe, legal, and rare" either.
KJL: "WAR AGAINST WOMEN" — John Kerry—who supposedly believes life begins at conception—sure hit all the right NARAL notes...

BBC reports 'littered with errors'
  By / Telegraph   —   Permalink 
A significant number of BBC news reports are untrustworthy and littered with errors because the corporation's journalists fail to check their facts, according to e-mails sent by one of the BBC's most senior news managers.
Clayton Cramer: UPDATE: Oh yeah, and BBC apparently is so sloppy that internal memos are now talking about a loss of credibility: ...
Jason Van Steenwyk: Go figure! Which brings me to this from Daily Telegraph.
Jonah Goldberg: BBC REPORTS LITTERED WITH ERRORS — According to an internal memo the BBC runs dozens of deeply flawed and even libelous stories every day.
Tim Blair: Even those within the organisation condemn it: "A significant number of BBC news reports are untrustworthy and littered...
Pejman Yousefzadeh: THE POOR ALLOCATION OF BRITISH TAXPAYER MONEY — I would think that there is a fair amount of outrage regarding this...
Glenn Reynolds: SOME OF US ALREADY KNEW THIS, OF COURSE: [snipped quote] If only "sloppiness" were the biggest problem.

Kerry Says He Believes Life Starts at Conception
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
DYERSVILLE, Iowa, July 4 — As Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) campaigned across Iowa on Sunday with Gov. Tom Vilsack, widely reported to be on Kerry's vice presidential short list, both men dodged repeated questions about whether their joint appearance might be a preview of the Democratic ticket.
Tom Maguire: Now, however, Kerry seems to have driven his Values Tour into a ditch with his assertion that he believes life begins at conception.
Captain Ed: Kerry tried to pander to Catholics and strict Christians but instead raised far more questions than he answered:...
Mitch Berg: Which leads to perhaps the flippiest of Kerry's flops; he supports abortion, but believes life begins at conception.
Betsy Newmark: He says life begins at conception but he doesn't believe that he should impose his religious beliefs on others so he's for abortion rights.

NATO's 'Myth' in Afghanistan
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
A couple of years ago, when the Bush administration's unilateralists were still riding high, a senior official at the Pentagon told me the mocking slogan for the transatlantic alliance then circulating around his building went as follows: "NATO — keep the myth alive!"
Glenn Reynolds: IS NATO A "FRAUDULENT COALITION?" [snipped quote] Ouch. More background here.
Patrick Belton: JACKSON DIEHL ON NATO: It's worth reading.
Gregory Djerejian: We can still succeed in promoting stability, democracy, protection of minority and women's rights, and peace in the...
Tom Maguire: The Punchline Is "NATO" — Now Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post says so; earlier it was the NY Times editors.
Jan Haugland: The myth of Nato — A disturbing article about NATO being essentially a myth outside Europe, not even able to put up any substantial forces even if the political will was present.
Cori Dauber: Now it's almost three years later, and our refusal to use what NATO didn't have is a convenient excuse for them to not offer what they don't want to pay to give.

Newspaper exposes Saddam trial judge
  By / This Is London   —   Permalink 
The judge in charge of Saddam Hussein's trial was in fear for his life today after his identity was revealed by a UK newspaper.
The Iraqi Special Tribunal had asked the media to protect his anonymity. But he was named by Robert Fisk, foreign correspondent of The Independent.
Andrew Sullivan: FISK COMES THROUGH: The Independent's Robert Fisk does his bit for the Baathists by disclosing the identity of the judge who is presiding over Saddam's trial.
Damian Penny: Update: British officials say the judge now fears for his life. Mission accomplished, Fiskie!
Arthur Chrenkoff: Simon Kelner, editor of the "Independent", had this to say: "This was not a British court, it was an Iraqi court.
James Joyner: Fisk Outs Saddam Judge — Evening Standard - Newspaper exposes Saddam trial judge [snipped quote] Amazing.
Cori Dauber: Update: (Via Memeorandum) Fisk's editor defends the decision. If you can call this a defense.

Kerry drops support for dairy compact
  By / Boston Globe   —   Permalink 
INDEPENDENCE, Wis. — Senator John F. Kerry took a step away from New England in his quest for the White House yesterday, as the politician known for his patrician roots highlighted his farming past and said he no longer supported a program that propped up prices for New England dairy farmers.
Betsy Newmark: Another Kerry flip-flop.
Glenn Reynolds: AL GORE REMINISCED ABOUT PULLING TOBACCO, and John Kerry has fond memories of his farmboy youth: "The presumptive...
Tim Blair: KERRY REMEMBERS — Midway through a press conference at a Wisconsin dairy farm, John Kerry suddenly remembers — hey, I used to live on a farm!

Party official: Kerry has chosen VP
  CNN   —   Permalink 
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John Kerry is spending the day Monday on his wife's 90-acre farm in Pennsylvania, but he has filled the vice-presidential slot on the Democratic national ticket, a party official told CNN.
Jesse Taylor: Kerry's Veep Chosen — We just don't, ah, know who yet. [snipped quote] Hot damn.
Charles Kuffner: When we know more, I'll say more. UPDATE: The die has (maybe) been cast, depending on whom you ask.
Oliver Willis: All Over But The Announcin' — Official: Kerry has chosen VP Sen. John Kerry is spending the day Monday on his wife's...

Kerry's veep variations
  By / Washington Times   —   Permalink 
Former trial lawyer John Edwards remains on John Kerry's vice presidential short list, but concerns increase in the Kerry campaign about the freshman senator's inexperience, especially on national security.
Joe Gandelman: The two biggest names floated are soon-to-be-former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and former Speaker of the House Dick Gephardt.
Betsy Newmark: Donald Lambro is not impressed with John Edwards' qualifications. He's great for campaigning, but only won one state.
The Big Trunk: In a gimlet-eyed look at Edwards, however, Donald Lambro observes: [snipped quote] What about Richard Gephardt?

Cheney May Be a Mixed Blessing for Bush Team
  By / WaPo   —   Permalink 
ALTOONA, Pa., July 4 — Rumbling across the Rust Belt in a red, white and blue luxury bus, Vice President Cheney began his remarks at a series of Fourth of July rallies with a recitation of President Bush's record, then turned to bashing Sen. John F. Kerry as a slippery liberal.
Gary Farber: The Vice-President: "A CBS News/New York Times poll last month put Cheney's favorable rating at 22 percent, compared with 39 percent for Bush.
Oliver Willis: Then again, whoever it is will be better than Cheney. A CBS News/New York Times poll last month put Cheney's favorable rating at 22 percent, compared with 39 percent for Bush.
Tom Maguire: The White House says we will find Dick Cheney on the ticket, but they said we would find WMDs in Iraq, too.
David Adesnik: QUICK, BEFORE IT'S TAKEN DOWN! Right now, the WaPo homepage is running a headline that says "Cheney Swings for Bush".

U.S. Troops Celebrate 4th of July in Iraq
  AP   —   Permalink 
U.S. Troops in Iraq Celebrate Fourth of July With Barbecue, Sports, Music and Fireworks
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq July 4, 2004 — Like many military operations in Iraq, July 4th celebrations began at dawn.
Tim Blair: Meanwhile, it was a multicultural Fourth of July fun-fest over at the old Hussein place: "In Saddam Hussein's former...
KJL: From an AP story: "[I]n Saddam Hussein's former stronghold of Tikrit, soldiers watched fireworks light the night sky as...
Betsy Newmark: American and Iraqi soldiers stationed in Tikrit watched fireworks together at one of Saddam's old palaces to celebrate our Independence Day.
Andrew Olmsted: The Army celebrated the Fourth of July in Iraq with fun runs, basketball tournaments, and continued combat operations,...