July 20th, 2008
Jed Lewison predicts HERE that John McCain will name Mitt Romney as his vice presidential choice — perhaps as soon as Wednesday, in an effort to steal some public attention from Barack Obama’s trip abroad.
I seriously doubt it, both in terms of timing and in picking Romney. But I have no specific guesses myself on either score. I just think the Mittster has too much baggage and not enough gravitas.
July 20th, 2008
Jamison Foser POINTS OUT that the real political elitists are the prominent pundits based in Washington or New York.
July 20th, 2008
George W. Bush and his good buddy John McCain have said on several occasions that American troops should remain in Iraq only so long as they are welcome by that country’s democratically elected government.
Hewing to that promise, at least in outward appearances, hasn’t been easy of late. Any conspicuous signs from the Iraqis that they want the Americans out have had to be tamped down.
Take, for example, the little drama that played out yesterday:
The German magazine Der Spiegel published an interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in which he was said to have endorsed a proposal by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from his country within 16 months.
The magazine also quoted al-Maliki as saying that keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for any prolonged period, as McCain has suggested, “would cause problems.”
The prime minister added this: “So far the Americans have had trouble agreeing to a concrete timetable for withdrawal, because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat. But that isn’t the case at all. If we come to an agreement, it is not evidence of a defeat, but of a victory.”
All of this created quite a stir in American political circles. As soon as Reuters moved the story on its wire, the White House apparently went into panic mode and accidentally dispatched it to all the reporters on its distribution list.
And before long, al-Maliki seemed to have found a horse’s head in his bed, courtesy of the folks who want to keep American troops in his country as long they would like, no matter what he or the Iraqi people would prefer. The offer of these troops apparently is one that the prime minister, as Vito Corleone might say, can’t refuse.
Accordingly, a spokesman for al-Maliki wasted no time in telling the world that the prime minister somehow was misunderstood by the German magazine. His words somehow were mistranslated.
Yeah, sure they were.
A pretty good account of this episode can be found on THIS Fox News blog, of all places.
UPDATE: HERE’s another interesting take.
UPDATE II: And ANOTHER (this one disputes the claim that al-Maliki was misquoted).
