So much for “clearing the field” in the Senate race in New York: “Rep. Charles Rangel defended colleague Carolyn Maloney’s right to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and lashed out anew at President Obama for butting into New York’s Democratic primary.”
From the “elections have consequences” file, John McCain on the 4th of July: “Today, we stand with the millions of Iranians who brave batons, imprisonment and gunfire to have their voices heard and their votes counted. They do not ask us to arm them or come to their assistance with anything other than public declarations of solidarity, and public denunciations of the tyrants who oppress them. We have a moral obligation to do so.” Nor does he buy the “we’ll just get blamed for meddling” excuse. “But the regime will make that claim no matter what we say or do. Do they really believe Iranians don’t know why they’re protesting and who is oppressing them? ” The rest — an unabashed tribute to the greatness and rightness of America and our international responsibilities — should be read in full.
Marc Ambinder has it all figured out, you see. Sarah Palin wants to be invited to Washington parties. I’m sure the Beagle Blogger is impressed with that sort of insight.
Now that Obama is in office, the Washington Post editors decry Congress for seeking to “tie the president’s hands” on Guantanamo. So now an all-powerful chief executive freed from any legislative meddling is a good thing?
Jamie Fly has some sober analysis on Russia-U.S. relations: “The Russians are savvy negotiators. The same cannot be said of Team Obama. President Obama has responded to Russian bluster about missile defense by announcing his intention to cut the missile defense budget by 15 percent in FY2010, slashing funding for construction of the European sites in Poland and the Czech Republic by 80 percent, and appointing a leading Congressional skeptic of the European sites, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who has accused her opponents of ‘running around with their hair on fire about a long range threat from Iran that does not exist,’ as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, the top State Department official tasked with advancing missile defense discussions with Russia and our European allies.These actions, combined with the administration’s seeming lack of interest in confronting Russia on human rights and other ‘uncomfortable’ topics do not leave the Obama administration with a good negotiating hand.”
Minority Leader John Boehner must be doing something right if the New York Times is complaining about his “bag of tricks.” That means he is using every rule available and some good old-fashioned theatrics to call attention to the worst aspects of the far-Left agenda that Obama and the House Democrats are pushing.
Who can blame the Iraqis who “bristled at the messenger” (i.e., VP Joe Biden): “Biden is well-known in Iraq for his earlier support of a plan to give three-way autonomy to each major ethnic group – Sunni Arab, Shiite Arab and Kurd – under a central government. . .Mohammed Kathem, 40, an administrator, said many of the protesters hit the streets after an imam encouraged them to do so at Friday prayers. ‘Biden’s visit sent the signal to us that Iraq will be divided,’ he said. ‘Biden’s background doesn’t allow him to play any role in reconciliation.'” Really, of all the people to send, doesn’t the choice of Biden show an appalling lack of sensitivity to our Iraqi friends?
