Day: April 12, 2004

Glenn to know what the Democrat’s plan is for Iraq, as opposed to their simple sniping from the sidelines.
Why, it’s right here, of course!
That’s the page on John Kerry’s web site that you get when you click on “Iraq Plan for Peace” on his home page. And it outlines “precisely” what Kerry believes we should do, as outlined in two speeches at the Brookings Institution (oooooh!) and the Council on Foreign Relations (aaaaah!).
I’ll save you the trouble of reading them (although read them you should). Kerry’s plan for saving Iraq is to get the U.N. to pass a resolution, of course! And place the entire operation “under a UN umbrella”.
Hey, makes sense to me. Should solve all of our problems, since after all, we know that the enemies we are fighting in Iraq have great respect for the United Nations.
In semi-seriousness: no, really, you should go read Kerry’s site and see what he has to say on Iraq. Which is to say, he has nothing to say, beyond “internationalize it”. If this is the best the Democrats can offer, I will take a highly flawed Bush policy over their complete absence of policy any day…

I haven’t heard anybody else do it yet, so I’ll call “bullshit” on Kerry’s new ” index“.
Why? Well, first, because the description of the formula used is utterly incomprehsible, and he doesn’t provide any data to actually review to check his work. (Don’t give me hard numbers and a spreadsheet, ’cause I’ll kick your ass).
And second: why, praytell, not use the “misery index” that has been in use as a standard measure of such things for years? Because I’m sure it would show exactly the same negative trend for Republican administrations as Kerry’s newfangled one. Or, maybe not.
PS – Yes, I realize that me not hearing anyone else call Kerry on this is more a function of me not looking hard than of any particular lack of people doing so. Get over it.

Has anybody ever asked why the two presidential candidates’ sites are .coms, as opposed to .orgs?
Recognizing that politicians tend to make a buck at their trade, aren’t they supposed to at least pretend that they are not in it for profit? The .com kinda gives the game away, no?
PS – In related news, the Official Bush-Cheney ’04 Blog is dull as dirt.

Observing the 9/11 hearings, I’m struck by exactly how awful it is to have the process of election taking place at the same time as the process of governance . I understand the Democrats need and desire to prove to the electorate that they represent a superior choice to govern the country; this is all fine and good. But it is hard to watch the pile-on regarding the Bush administration’s failures prior to 9/11 and in Iraq without cringing at the focus on assigning blame, rather than on helping to find constructive solutions to better defend our country. Sometimes, it seems that the effect — and perhaps the actual goal — of partisan sniping is not simply to ensure that the other guy doesn’t get re-elected, but rather, to ensure that he is incapable of getting anything done during his remaining time in office.
This is of course the same complaint the Democrats made during the Lewinsky scandal, and the point was equally valid then.
I don’t have a solution to this problem, other than half-heartedly urging everyone to “play nice”. It seems a natural byproduct of a two-party system with free elections and an open press.
But damn, some days I think that our system of governance, and more to the point, elections, is roughly equivalent to stuffing two NASCAR drivers in the front seat of a speeding stock car and telling them to arm wrestle to see who gets to drive the next lap…