UP-FRONT BUSH 43 NUGGET!!
The Deafness Before the Storm (Kurt Eichenwald) from the New York Times
"While those documents are still not public, I have read excerpts from many of them, along with other recently declassified records, and come to an inescapable conclusion: the administration’s reaction to what Mr. Bush was told in the weeks before that infamous briefing reflected significantly more negligence than has been disclosed. In other words, the Aug. 6 document, for all of the controversy it provoked, is not nearly as shocking as the briefs that came before it."
Neocon defenders of Bush's foreign policy record now have even more to answer for in the lead-up to 9/11. Are they still going to blame Clinton?
UP-FRONT PRESIDENT OBAMA NUGGET!!
Barack Obama to Michael Lewis on a Presidential Loss of Freedom: “You Don’t Get Used to It—At Least, I Don’t” (Mike Lewis) from Vanity Fair
This extended excerpt gives you a sense of the long read that is in the current newsstand edition.
" “Nothing comes to my desk that is perfectly solvable,” Obama tells Lewis. “Otherwise, someone else would have solved it. So you wind up dealing with probabilities. Any given decision you make you’ll wind up with a 30 to 40 percent chance that it isn’t going to work. You have to own that and feel comfortable with the way you made the decision. You can’t be paralyzed by the fact that it might not work out.” "
Communist Leader’s Absence Sets Off Rumor Mills in China from the New York Times
"The strange disappearance from public view of China’s presumptive new leader is turning a year that was supposed to showcase the Communist Party’s stability into something of an annus horribilis. Over the past week, the new leader, Xi Jinping, has missed at least three scheduled meetings with foreign dignitaries, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last Wednesday and the prime minister of Denmark on Monday. So far officials have declined to provide an explanation for his
absences."
So much for the "smooth" succession.
Lessons of 9/11: A Response to Evil (Joe Klein) from the Time Magazine
"Looking back now, the waste of the past decade seems momentous. The miscalculations of the Bush Administration seem stupendous... The war between the militant fantasist Cheney and the largely accurate intelligence gatherers at CIA became a defining chapter of the first Bush term. The wards of military hospitals across the country are filled today with Cheney's and Rumsfeld's handiwork. And now, these same militant nationalists and Israel-obsessed neoconservatives are pushing us toward a war with Iran."
After Sept. 11 and Two Wars, No Way for GOP to Defend Tax Cuts (Matt Miller) from the Washington Post
"Among the many ways the United States went berserk after the September 11 attacks, the least remarked upon, but most morally revealing, is what happened to Republican thinking about taxes during wartime. Since that awful morning eleven years ago, the United States has been continually at war. But never before in our history has a political party made it a national priority to cut taxes for wealthy Americans at a time of war. "
Southern Whites Troubled by Romney's Wealth, Religion from Reuters
"Sheryl Harris, a voluble 52-year-old with a Virginia drawl, voted twice for George W. Bush. Raised Baptist, she is convinced -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- that President Barack Obama, a practicing Christian, is Muslim. So in this year's presidential election, will she support Mitt Romney? Not a chance. ... She'll vote for Obama, she said: "At least he wasn't brought up filthy rich.""
Nine Deep(ish) Thoughts on the New Washington Post-ABC News Poll (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"... beneath that headline there are all sort of fascinating — and occasionally contradictory — data points in the poll that are worth further examination."
Mitt Romney’s Uphill Challenge (Michael Gerson) from the Washington Post
"He will need to shake and shift public attitudes. And it is not easy to be aggressive during a debate without appearing overbearing or desperate. This analysis requires an admission. Obama’s political strategy has generally worked."
What Will Happen When Romney Gets Desperate (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Obama’s lead is growing, and Romney can’t seem to catch a break. If the trend continues, get ready for things to turn very ugly very fast."
Obama is Right Where He Wants to Be (Steve Benen) from MSNBC
"Mark Halperin, who's generally a fairly reliable barometer of what the inside-the-beltway establishment is thinking, said this morning that Romney "faces the immediate threat of both quiet and loud we-told-you-so's from Republicans who last year had the very worries they fear are being manifested now. Romney is an awkward, unlikable candidate.... Until Romney breaks this cycle, he is in danger of living out the Haley Barbour dictum: in politics, bad gets worse.""
Romney Adrift (Charlie Cook) from the National Journal
"The economy’s a mess, but thanks to a hapless campaign, the GOP nominee is behind with time running out. ... It is becoming clear that if President Obama is reelected, it will be despite the economy and because of his campaign; if Mitt Romney wins, it will be because of the economy and despite his campaign."
The Republicans’ You-Know-Who (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Republican leaders had all kinds of things to talk about in their first day back on Capitol Hill from their month-long recess. They spoke about jobs and the economy, about military spending and automatic budget cuts, about the national debt and the need for energy legislation."
The Kerry-ization of Mitt Romney (Allen & Vandehei) from Politico
"Mitt Romney is getting the full John Kerry treatment on national security — and some top Republicans are alarmed by what they see as his ham-handed response to it."
Mitt Romney Muddles His Message on Health Care (Howard Kurtz) from the Daily Beast
"Why would Romney embrace part of the president’s health-care reform, only to have his campaign walk it back hours later? Howard Kurtz on the candidate’s big-time television fumble."
How Mitt Romney Is Losing The Debate Expectations Game (Zeke Miller) from BuzzFeed
He's practicing hard, his aides say! Obama's camp pretends to panic."
Laura Ingraham To GOP: 'If You Can't Beat Obama With This Record, Then Shut Down The Party' (AUDIO) from the Huffington Post
"Speaking to the GOP, Ingraham said, "If you can't beat Barack Obama with this record, then shut down the party. Shut it down. Start new, with new people.""
Why a New Obama Term Might Be Better Than You Think (Joshua Green) from Businessweek
"... there’s ample reason to expect things will get better. As the economist Herbert Stein once said, in a phrase that applies as readily to politics as to economics, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”"
JOURNALISM HISTORY NUGGET!!
Behind ‘The Good Girls Revolt’: The Newsweek Lawsuit That Paved the Way for Women Writers (Bennett and Ellison) from the Daily Beast
"In Newsweek of the Mad Men era, women were little more than secretaries before they sued. Lynn Povich talks about her new book, “The Good Girls Revolt,” about the case with Jesse Ellison and Jessica Bennett—who revisited the story in 2010."
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