Nixon Journal’s Chiefs Splitting Their Vote

October 30, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Election 2008, Nixon Center, The National Interest | 1 Comment 

Endorsement news from “The National Interest,” The Nixon Center’s foreign policy journal:

With just a few days before the presidential election, the publishers of The National Interest stand divided on who is the best choice for America. One of us, Robert Ellsworth, has already voted for Senator Barack Obama. Another, Dimitri Simes, will vote for Senator John McCain. But each of us has serious concerns about both candidates.

Before describing our reservations, however, let us state the obvious: the choice is between two truly remarkable men—one, the first African American nominated by a major party, has captivated not only Democrats but the nation with his charisma, eloquence and personification of change; the other, a genuine American hero, is a man of courage, independence and demonstrated ability to transcend party lines. The nation can be proud to have leaders of such caliber on the ballot.

Separatists For Palin

October 30, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Episcopal Church, Republican Party | Leave a Comment 

Links between schismatic Episcopalians and Gov. Palin, namely two of her boosters, Fred Barnes and Mark Gerson.

Sometimes You Get The Roadrunner…

October 30, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Election 2008, Republican Party | Leave a Comment 

It’s not necessarily fatal that Sen. McCain is struggling in his home state of Arizona. Other things might be fatal, but not this.

JNE Maxes Out To BO

October 30, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Democratic Party, Election 2008, Nixon family | Leave a Comment 

M. J. Rosenberg:

I love “Open Secrets” where you can discover if you have any friends who are secret Republicans. (I don’t).

I was looking up one guy I know in the “E’s” and discovered that Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of Richard Nixon and grand-daughter-in-law of Dwight David Eisenhower has maxed out to Barack Obama. Cool.

I guess that isn’t that surprising. President Eisenhower was the guy who warned us against the “military industrial complex” that John McCain has spent a lifetime serving. And Richard Nixon, for all his faults, pretty much invented detente and changed the world by opening relations with China. Julie’s mother, Pat Nixon, was pro-choice and pro-ERA.

Bottom line, Julie Nixon Eisenhower is one of those old-fashioned pre-Lee Atwater/Karl Rove Republicans. It makes sense that she’s out there for Barack. If there are enough like her, we may even carry some states that we don’t expect to carry.

Barack Obama Was Born On Jupiter

October 30, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Election 2008, Hackosphere, News media, Republican Party | 1 Comment 

More bluster from Andrew Sullivan as he continues to seek expiation for republishing lies about Gov. Palin and her minor daughter Bristol on his Atlantic Monthly Group-owned web site before he checked the facts.

As Sullivan perpetuates the fiction that Trig Palin was not born to Todd and Sarah, here’s what his argument is like.

I (actually, no way; “I” as someone with influence comparable to the globally-read Sullivan) republish a story from a fringe web site saying that Sen. Obama was born on Jupiter. His campaign says it’s ridiculous and unworthy of further comment. Virtually every journalist in the country agrees and moves on. But I demand access to the Obama family’s travel records and receipts. Only when they’re released, I insist, can we definitively put to bed the idea that Obama was born on Jupiter.

All I’m doing is asking questions. Isn’t that my job? If I repeat this often enough, the absence of the records, and not my republishing a bizarre lie, becomes the issue.

I also cobble together a complicated narrative (written with the teeth-clenched prose of Kennedy assassination conspiracy hounds) raising other questions about what the Obama family may have been up to around the time I had alleged they were hiding out on Jupiter awaiting the babe’s birth. I hope that other journalists will join me demanding records. If I’m lucky, an anchorperson may actually ask Obama for them on camera.

As for me, I remain completely focused on my own ethics problem. By now I’ve figured out that Obama was born on the planet earth, but I’m out on a limb on the Jupiter story because, try as I did (I even took a two-day break from work), I just couldn’t let go once I’d run it.

If Obama’s travel records are ever released for any reason, I’ll announce that my actions were justified, since Obama has finally provided the definitive documentation I’ve been asking for. I’ll happily proclaim the subject closed.

It won’t work. Sullivan will always be the Atlantic Monthly journalist who helped mainline the most effective libel of the 2008 campaign. There will never be an excuse for what he did.

Sullivan’s fixation on Sarah and Bristol may have distorted his journalistic barometer in other ways as well. He once would’ve given all four major ticket candidates roughly equal skeptical attention, no matter what his preferences. Now, amid his innumerable Palin posts, his cavalcade of alleged lies designed in part to distract attention from his complicity in the biggest lie of the campaign, he’s run virtually nothing about Sen. Biden’s role in the brewing credit card meltdown. They call him the senator from Mastercard because of his umbilical ties to the consumer credit giants. If the VP matters this year, it’s not because of Palin’s gifts or failings. It’s because the Presidential candidate promising to clean things up may be moving into the White House with Pig Pen.

The Tribune Co.’s Myth of Confidentiality

October 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Election 2008, News media | Leave a Comment 

A LGF reader received this email from a Tribune Company spokesman on their refusal to release the Obama-Khalidi tape:

Mr. Smith,

I’m sorry you feel this way. I understand this may be frustrating to you.

Allow me to explain further. Protecting confidential sources and standing by agreements made in order to get information is a cornerstone of good fundamental journalism, and a free press. If we break an agreement with a source, we risk other sources not coming forward with information vital to the public. In this case, the tape was written about extensively and only came to light because the LA Times made a promise not to publish it or reveal its source. That promise means not publishing the tape even to a high level conservative, however trustworthy that person may be.

Despite the public pressure, it is important that the LA Times honor its agreement.

Thanks,

Gary Weitman

As John Taylor noted, I think we’re all curious. Now that The Times drew the proverbial line in the sand, where were the marks of ethical journalism when their sister paper, The Chicago Tribune, sued for the confidential child custody records of Senate candidate Jack Ryan when he ran against Sen. Obama in 2004? A fumed Jack Ryan explained when personal revelations that doomed his candidacy ultimately became public:

The media has gotten out of control. The fact that The Chicago Tribune sues for access to sealed custody documents and then takes unto itself the right to public details of a custody dispute — over the objections of two parents who agree that the re-airing of their arguments will hurt their ability to co-parent their child and hurt their child — is truly outrageous.

Understandable, however juicy the story might have been, The Tribune Company and other media companies have a duty to honor the progressive and time tested right to personal privacy. After all, will people even talk to the press knowing full well of its imminent invasion? Maybe they will think twice before giving “information vital to the public;” just ask Joe the Plumber.

“It’s Morning, Noon And Night In America”

October 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Election 2008 | Leave a Comment 

What an odd time to air an infomercial. Which is why Mark Steyn thinks that the Obama Show was generic, prolonged, and boring, and why he like many other Americans watched the Phillies win the World Series and Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.

Annapolis in Haze

October 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Military | Leave a Comment 

US Naval Academy, October 29, 2008

A Patriotic Mission

Opportunity for New Media or New Government?

October 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under News media | Leave a Comment 

As newspapers, cable, and network news are downsizing their coverage of international issues, Michael Yon is being supported by Pajamas Media to report from the War Zone in Afghanistan. Yon call this a moment of opportunity for the new media to take the lead:

The New York Times employs courageous and outstanding reporters who are providing excellent coverage from Afghanistan — and I hope that isn’t curtailed. There are stories that the Times, with its editors, researchers, and backup staff, can report and publicize in a way that alternative sources simply cannot match. Nevertheless, one consequence of this media downturn is that yet more market share will be left on the table for alternative media outlets. To be able to take advantage of this opportunity, alternative journalists have to meet the financial challenge and figure out how to provide news about critical events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and whatever comes next that people won’t get elsewhere.

This translates into a moment of opportunity for alternative sources — but only if it turns out that readers value alternative sources and are willing to keep them afloat during these stormy times. Pajamas Media is an example of an alternative source that is making an impact. PJM reaches millions of people and they sent a video camera to me in Afghanistan. Please stand by for videos of our folks and Afghans telling you directly what they think. Perhaps PJM will host us live from Afghanistan from time to time, and then you can ask soldiers and Afghans what they think and get a live, completely unedited answer.

But before the legendary news giants take that hard fall, can they get their own corporate bail-out by an activist administration? Ostensibly, would a fairness doctrine include a subsidy for left-wing news? After all, as Sen. Obama stumps, those out-dated free market principles haven’t really worked out as of late.

Featured Articles — October 30, 2008

October 30, 2008 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Featured Articles | Leave a Comment 

Interesting Takes from Home and Abroad:

Don’t Let the Polls Affect Your Vote By Karl Rove
They were wrong in 2000 and 2004.

Even in the rural heartland, Obama has sparked an explosive conversation By Timothy Garton Ash
In this weathervane state they love God and guns. But they also see the long shadows of slavery and discrimination.

Careless with the Constitution By George Will
From the invasion of Iraq to the selection of Sarah Palin, carelessness has characterized recent episodes of faux conservatism. Tuesday’s probable repudiation of the Republican Party will punish characteristics displayed in the campaign’s closing days.

Why Democrats Will Target the Investor Class in 2009 By James Pethoukis
There are at least two pretty effective ways to turn someone into a Republican: (1) get them married with kids and (2) get them to invest in the stock market. So, if I were a highly paid Democratic political strategist, I would make sure to spend a few minutes every day thinking of ways to get Americans out of the stock market—the faster, the better.

America Compared to What? By Victor Davis Hanson
After the September financial meltdown, many abroad, and some at home, immediately — and with undisguised glee — blamed America’s problems on cowboy excess and forecast the end of American global influence.

The Audacity of Humility By Katherine Ernst
Does Barack Obama have any? Does it matter?

How They Would Lead By David Von Drehle
They only look as if they inhabit our galaxy. In truth, the men who would be President have been running for months in a parallel universe, a place where a Chief Executive changes laws by waving a hand and reorders society at the stroke of a pen. “When I am President,” the candidates declare — and off they go into dreamspeak, describing tax codes down to the last decimal point and sketching health-care reforms far beyond the power of any single person to enact. In their imaginary, reassuring cosmos, America is always a mere 10 years — and one new President — away from energy independence. And the ills of the federal budget can be cured simply by having an eagle-eyed leader go through it line by line. Then one of them wins the election.

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

October 29, 2008 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under American Politics, Election 2008, U.S. History | 2 Comments 

In this week’s “Wonder Land” Daniel Henninger sees next Tuesday’s outcome in little less than apocalyptic terms:

I don’t agree with the argument that an Obama-Pelosi-Reid government is a one-off, that good old nonideological American pragmatism will temper their ambitions. Not true. With this election, the U.S. is at a philosophical tipping point.

The goal of Sen. Obama and the modern, “progressive” Democratic Party is to move the U.S. in the direction of Western Europe, the so-called German model and its “social market economy.” Under this notion, business is highly regulated, as it would be in the next Congress under Democratic House committee chairmen Markey, Frank and Waxman. Business is allowed to create “wealth” so long as its utility is not primarily to create new jobs or economic growth but to support a deep welfare system.

An Obama presidency would lead America towards a European “social market economy.” (Oct. 30)

The political planets are aligned to make this achievable. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, prominent Democrats, European leaders in France and Germany and more U.S. newspaper articles than one can count have said that the crisis proves the need to permanently tame the American “free-market” model. P.O.W. Alan Greenspan is broadcasting confessions. The question is: Are the American people of a mind to throw in the towel on the system that got them here?

We Totally Agree!

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Election 2008, Nixon Administration, Watergate | Leave a Comment 

So eager is John B. Judis for one-party rule that he bemoans the near-impeachment of President Nixon:

Now let’s look at the more disastrous moments in the history of American administrations–where charges of impeachment were brought, and recriminations paralyzed the government. That would have to include the administrations of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton–all instances of divided government.

“If The President Does It, That Means It’s Legal”

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under History, Presidents | Leave a Comment 

Andrew P. Napolitano on Presidents’ extra-Constitutional instincts.

Howard’s Ends — And Means

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Democratic Party, Election 2008, News media | Leave a Comment 

Howard Fineman of “Newsweek” advises Sen. Obama’s supporters not to say what they believe but what undecided voters want to hear:

Here’s my advice to Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters: Stop predicting that the Democrats will sweep into the White House and Congress come January with a mandate to expand Big Government.

That prospect, coupled with some of your candidate’s own tax and health-care plans, could scare swing voters you need next Tuesday.

The Death Of American Journalism

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Culture, Kindle, News media | 2 Comments 

Those not desiring an Obama Presidency are by and large not feeling nostalgic about the newspaper business this week. And yet this posting at a very cool website, Lifehacker.com, misses the point of the stunning announcement by one of the nation’s most important papers:

The Christian Science Monitor, a Pulitzer-winning daily newspaper, announced yesterday that it will stop printing daily editions and focus on its web site, as well as use the savings to keep foreign bureaus open. Media pundits have been claiming the End of Print for decades, but the CSM is the first large-scale news operation to really take the plunge. We’re obviously pretty keen on free digital information at Lifehacker, but also wondering if we, and maybe our readers, will some day miss the portability, the lack of battery power or Wi-Fi connections, and the general look and feel of print newspapers. Are you in the same boat, or do you think the writing is on the wall when it comes to news delivery? Would you settle for a half-way solution, like a Kindle-esque news reader or print-on-demand papers?

Keen on free digital information? Me, too! But the content at CSM, NYT, LAT, WP, and AP is the work of highly trained and motivated reporters and editors who devote months or years to becoming experts in what they cover. Many work in expensive-to-maintain bureaus in Washington, London, or Beijing, where really important things happen that are sometimes pretty complicated. Newspapers pay them what are called salaries from revenue generated from subscriptions and advertising. Even TV news professionals, skilled though they may be, depend on newspaper reporting.

As for the free digital information we all love so much, if it’s good, it’s usually being given away on traditional new organizations’ websites, which hope that you’ll look at advertising while visiting. Otherwise, the free information is either gathered from these sources and repackaged or pastiches of opinions, rumors, or lies produced by people sitting in their bedrooms or Starbucks. When the traditional news-gathering organizations atrophy, what will we have left? Right: The crap.

Lifehacker seems to think news is all about the medium instead of the content. Both the NYT, still the greatest newspaper in the world, and the LAT, which used to be great, are bleeding pages and personnel. What happens when they have to close their Beijing bureaus? Who’s going to tell us what’s going on in the next superpower — the Xinhua News Agency? The State Department? Wonkette?

The protection of freedom depends on well-informed populaces, which depend on professional journalism, which runs on money. That’s why the Kindle is such a miracle. It’s cool and green, and its users pay for content. Get one today and help news organizations save democracy by developing a new financial model. Because there’s no such thing as free digital journalism that’s worth a damn.

The Obamamercial

October 29, 2008 by Robert Nedelkoff | Filed Under American Politics, Democratic Party, Election 2008, Republican Party | Leave a Comment 

When I was young, in the days before federal campaign-financing laws, presidential candidates more often than not bought substantial chunks of national TV airtime just before Election Day.  Ronald Reagan made his first huge national impact politically when he delivered an address supporting Sen. Barry Goldwater in 1964.  In 1968, Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace, and Richard Nixon all purchased half-hour and hour chunks of airtime to promote their candidacies.   But after 1976, the ceiling on campaign fundraising prevented this kind of expenditure.  When H. Ross Perot, who was self-financing his run, purchased a segment of network time to display his charts in 1992, it was the first time in ages that any candidate had tried the approach, and until this year it was the last.

However, the organization of Sen. Barack Obama, having chosen to opt out of the usual system, has a lot to spend and mere days in which to spend it.  And tonight, at a cost estimated at from $3 million to $5 million, his campaign aired a 30-minute commercial in prime time on CBS, NBC, Fox, MSNBC, TVOne, BET, and Univision.

The commercial alternated footage of some “typical” folks – a football mom in North Kansas City (as opposed to Kansas City North), an aging African-American couple (with the husband playing some reasonably mean blues guitar) in Ohio, a teacher in New Mexico, and a worker at the Ford truck plant in Louisville – with shots of Obama in an office that looked intriguingly oval, reciting his program.  It finished with two minutes of the candidate, live, dazzling an arena in Florida.

The presentation was considerably more skillful than any of the films featured in the Democratic convention this year, and was very expertly calibrated to hit all the right emotional notes, right down to the candidate describing how he read every one of the Harry Potter books to his daughters.  (This may lose him the votes of some fundamentalists, but it probably will help him with a lot of grandparents in Florida.)  The interspersed comments from various Democratic governors and senators (with several of the swing states represented) also flowed in and out quite well.

Sen. John McCain, speaking on Larry King’s show tonight (in segments taped before the Obama program’s broadcast), again emphasized the points that have been working best for his campaign in recent weeks: Obama’s ultraliberal remarks during his days in the Illinois Senate; his inexperience and what that might mean in the foreign-policy field; and the possible effect of his tax policies on small businessmen seeking to improve their status.  At this point, given the Obama camp’s enormous financial advantage, it’s hard to say whether McCain can do anything more than get the message through at rallies and 30-second TV spots and hope that Youtube and volunteers can do the rest.  After McCain’s interview, King asked Dan Rather tonight whether the Obama campaign wasn’t risking overkill with this all-out press.  Rather compared the Democratic approach to Dean Smith’s traditional endgame as basketball coach at the University of North Carolina and concluded that it made the most sense for the campaign to use its best stuff at the end.

But, as Rather also observed, “It’s often said that overnight in politics is a long time and a week is forever.”  Things have continued to take unusual twists and turns.  Last month,  Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher a pretty anonymous fellow in suburban Toledo; last week he was talking of running for Congress in his northwestern Ohio district against Marcy Kaptur (who won re-election in 2006 with 75% of the vote); today he let it be known that he’s pursuing a country-music career, at least for the time being.  Who knows what tomorrow or the weekend will bring?

Sullivan And “Trig”

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under Hackosphere, News media, Republican Party | 4 Comments 

Over Labor Day weekend, Andrew Sullivan republished lies about Sarah Palin and her minor daughter without checking the facts. Now he uses quotation marks to associate himself and his Atlantic Monthly Group web site directly with the most effective libel of the 2008 campaign:

We have yet to see any medical records, let alone those documenting [Palin's] mysterious “pregnancy”…

Keeping Secrets At The LA Times

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Election 2008, Israel and Palestinians, News media | Leave a Comment 

Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are demanding that the LA Times release a videotape showing Sen. Obama at an event with Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian scholar. The paper had previously reported that Obama said nothing controversial. Still, it seems strange for it to be battling so hard to keep the tape secret. It reported this morning:

The Times has said that making the recording public would violate a promise to a confidential source.

So how about calling the source and saying pretty please? Now that it’s become an issue, and the paper’s remaining editorial personnel have drawn a line in the sand, I’m really curious. Aren’t you?

We Won’t Vote If You Guys Don’t!

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Culture, Election 2008 | Leave a Comment 

Cisneros: Fastest Political Rehabilitation In History

October 29, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under American Politics, Democratic Party, Economic issues, Election 2008, Presidents | Leave a Comment 

Less than two weeks ago, the New York Times reported that former Clinton housing secretary Henry Cisneros, who copped a plea to avoid prosecution on 19 felony counts in connection with a sex scandal, is probably more responsible than any other single human being for the global financial crisis. He helped put in place looser requirements for lower-income mortgage borrowers and then, as a housing developer, made millions off his own policies. As the Times reported,

Despite his qualms, he encouraged the unprepared to buy homes — part of a broad national trend with dire economic consequences…. “I’ve been waiting for someone to put all the blame at my doorstep,” he says lightly, but with a bit of worry, too.

But that was Oct. 18. This is Oct. 29, and the AP has just reported that Cisneros will help a think tank write the blueprint for an Obama Administration — and perhaps even return to power:

The Center for American Progress already has produced a 26-page document, widely distributed among Obama aides, describing what the last five presidents did on each day of his transition. And if Obama wins the presidency Tuesday, the group stands ready to fill top federal positions with some of its staffers, many of whom worked for Clinton.

The Center for American Progress, formed five years ago to counteract conservative think tanks, could become one of Washington’s most influential policy advocacy groups. And it could give Obama a valuable head start in staffing agencies and drafting priorities for his administration, a daunting task for any president-elect with 11 weeks between the election and inauguration….

The “Progressive Blueprint,” scheduled for release by Basic Books a few days after the election if Obama wins, will offer detailed proposals to the new administration on dozens of topics. Many of the writers were prominent in the Clinton administration, according to a summary provided to The Associated Press.

They include… former housing secretary Henry Cisneros…

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