| November 2, 2006 |
| Because Of Iraq... | ||
| Go Beyond The Headlines | ||
| Coffee and Donuts Not Included | ||
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When Americans go to the polls on November 7, they will not be voting because Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) botched a joke about President Bush on Monday, notwithstanding the national media's 48-hour fixation on Kerry's remarks. Nor will they be voting because President Bush, also on Monday, claimed that if critics of his Iraq policy are victorious, "the terrorists win and America loses." (That comment was mostly ignored.) According to the final pre-election New York Times/CBS poll, Americans will be voting because they desperately want a new direction in Iraq. The Times reports, "Americans cited Iraq as the most important issue affecting their vote, and majorities of Republicans and Democrats said they wanted a change in the government’s approach to the war." Just 29 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is managing Iraq strategy, "matching the lowest mark of his presidency," and nearly 70 percent "said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war." (Veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org has released a powerful ad underscoring this point, titled "Because of Iraq..." Watch it.)
IRAQI LEADER, PRESSED BY AL-SADR MILITIA, ORDERS U.S. MILITARY TO DRAW DOWN: Last week, U.S. forces imposed military blockades and checkpoints throughout Sadr City, primarily to assist in the search for an American soldier who was kidnapped on Oct. 23 by the militia led by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. (Another goal of the checkpoints, military officials say, was to help capture Abu Deraa, "a man considered one of the most notorious death squad leaders.") Early Tuesday, al-Sadr called for a general strike and civil disobedience until the checkpoints were removed, and "by lunchtime" Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had agreed and ordered U.S. troops to pull back. The move was Maliki's "boldest gambit in an increasingly tense struggle for more independence from his American protectors," and further evidence that Maliki, whose government relies on political support from al-Sadr, is increasingly resisting cracking down on sectarian militias responsible for much of the violence in Iraq. Last week, Maliki blasted a U.S.-led raid of an al-Sadr militia stronghold and vowed it “will not be repeated.” Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president of Iraq, Tariq al-Hashimi, warned "the easing of a security crackdown...may be emboldening members of Shiite death squads." Just as important, it is the latest sign the Bush administration is failing to put Iraq's leaders on notice, opting instead for an open-ended commitment in Iraq that has fostered a culture of dependency among Iraq's leaders.
CIRCLING THE WAGONS AROUND RUMSFELD: President Bush yesterday extended a "job guarantee to two of the most-criticized members of his team," telling reporters he wants Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney "to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency." Also yesterday, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) again vigorously defended Rumsfeld's conduct of the war in Iraq. "[L]et's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld," he told CNN, echoing his sentiments earlier this week when he claimed that Rumsfeld is the “best thing that’s happened to the Pentagon in 25 years” and is doing a "marvelous job." Facing vocal bipartisan criticism, Rumsfeld recently launched a media "war room," allegedly to improve U.S. efforts in the global "war of ideas" with Islamic extremists. But thus far, the war room's output has had a decidedly domestic target audience; its latest offering, titled "Five Myths About the War on Terror," debunked the myth that the Pentagon "has pursued a 'stay the course' strategy" in Iraq. "It is not a matter of improving communication, it is a matter of the reality of the war," Harvard University's Marvin Kalb said of the efforts. "The effective response has to be in the policy you pursue, not in the way the policy is covered."
A REALISTIC, FORWARD-LOOKING IRAQ STRATEGY: Yesterday, the New York Times reported on a classified U.S. military briefing prepared two weeks ago that "portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos," with "urban areas experiencing ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaigns to consolidate control” and “violence at all-time high, spreading geographically.” The assessment stood in stark contrast to President Bush's rosy declaration last week that the U.S. is "absolutely" winning in Iraq. (Asked whether Bush had received the briefing before his comment, Press Secretary Tony Show said, "I don't think he was.") But the U.S. military's assessment tracks closely with American Progress' third quarterly "report card" this year on the administration's handling of Iraq, also released last week. That evaluation found Iraq "on the brink of collapse, with growing violence, increased sectarian tensions and divisions in the Iraqi national government, and few significant advances in Iraq’s economic reconstruction." Also yesterday, after repeatedly criticizing John Kerry over his botched joke, Show remarked on "how important it is to get people to focus on substantive issues." He then said "it's striking" that critics of the Iraq war "have decided they're not going to tell you what their plan is. It's the most important issue; why not tell you what the plan is?" Tony Snow is flat wrong. Progressives have a clear, detailed plan for Iraq and the broader struggle against global terrorist networks, anchored in a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq and a reconciliation conference to stop the civil war.
| ECONOMY -- BUSH PLANS POST-ELECTION PUSH ON FAILED SOCIAL SECURITY CAMPAIGN: Reuters has reported that President Bush "plans a renewed push to rein in the costs of entitlement programs after the elections." Specifically, Bush wants to overhaul Social Security by adding private accounts. But this effort is nothing more than a last-minute political gambit to motivate Bush's conservative base. Americans overwhelmingly rejected the administration's previous efforts to dismantle the program, and Bush has made no indication that he is willing to take a different approach this time. Under the plan Bush proposed in April 2005, benefits would be cut for everyone but "the bottom 30 percent of earners, or those who make less than about $20,000 currently." Bush tried to sell his plan to Americans by saying that the Social Security program is facing a "crisis." But according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Social Security will be able to pay all benefits through 2052. Even after this date, the CBO found, the program will be able to pay a higher benefit than that received by current retirees. Additionally, the first ten years of Bush's plan would cost approximately $2 trillion. According to an early October AP-Ipsos poll, Social Security ranked below the situation in Iraq, terrorism, the economy, and health care in voters' priorities. |
Only 29 percent of Americans approve of Bush’s handling of Iraq, “matching the lowest mark of his presidency.” “Nearly 70 percent said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.”
1,289: Number of Iraqi civilians who died last month in political violence. The number — nearly 42 people per day — was up 18 percent from the 1,089 such fatalities in September.
Inspectors general from NASA and the Commerce Department will investigate if Bush’s “political appointees have prevented climate researchers at from conveying their findings to the public.”
The Bush administration is delaying the release of an annual hunger report until after the elections. The Agriculture Department report, which has generally been released in October, has shown steady increases in the number of people struggling with hunger. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) said, “It seems like a pattern is emerging where the administration simply tries to bury bad information the closer they get to the election.”
“An internal State Department review has found that U.S. officials screened the public statements and writings of private citizens for criticism of the Bush administration before deciding whether to select them for foreign speaking projects.”
At least one advertiser on the Air America blacklist insists that it did not request that its commercials be blacked out on Air America Radio affiliates. The company, REI, released a statement saying that it had “not refused to advertise during Air America’s programming. In fact, REI has placed radio ads on stations carrying Air America programming.”
The Washington Post writes that, over the next two years, “we’re likely to get dizzy as more folks move through the revolving door from the [Bush administration] to the private sector.” Eric Burgeson, who was chief of staff to Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, recently left to head the energy practice at the conservative lobbying shop, Barbour, Griffith & Rogers. Here are more examples of the revolving door.
The USA Today supports California’s clean energy initiative. “[T]his Election Day, Californians can help put the USA on the path to a saner, cheaper, smarter, more secure energy future by voting ‘yes’ on Proposition 87.”
And finally: A Stephen Colbert portrait-within-a-portrait-within-a-portrait fetches $50,605 for charity, and that’s the Word. Sticky Fingers, a barbeque chain with restaurants throughout the South, won the online auction for the portrait on eBay. “We don’t know much about art, but figured any time you can get two portraits for the price of one, then it must be a great deal,” the chain’s owner said. “It’s like a buy-one-get-one-free on the American Dream.” The proceeds will go to the Connecticut-based charity Save the Children.
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