In a surprise to no one, any domestic political party the US tries to help in the Middle East loses in democratic elections. Thus, the US is bringing democracy to a region that is systematically voting against us. Gee, wonder why they don't like us? (Yes, I know that armand has already noted this, but it's worth noting again.)
Rudy Giuiliani should not be President under any circumstances. Full stop. No caveats. (Yes, I know it is the Village Voice, but they are based in NYC and know something about the city and the man.)
Cheney wants to bomb Iran (actually, that's not news; what is news is that he advocated specific targets and said we should bomb them today). I'm sure that will help calm the situation in Iraq and Iran.
Oh, and the financial markets seem to be flirting with actual ugliness (right now, having lost 1/14th of their value - the Dow has crashed from 14k to just over 13k - most people are calling it a "correction"), and anyone thinking about buying a house probably won't get a loan (lack of credit), and if they do, will pay a high rate (compared to the last few years, which granted were a period of unusually low rates).
On a related note, what the hell happened to the GOP? Just a few years ago, they seemed like a credible party. Now, I wouldn't vote for any of the group who want to be Prez. I might make Ron Paul the VP, just for the entertainment value (or maybe stick him in OMB, or Treasury), but the rest couldn't collectively tie their shoes. I'm very afraid: the grown-ups are getting along in age (Bush I, Baker, Scowcroft) and unlikely to be able to come back to power, the present generation have proven themselves utterly incompetent, and the next generation (today's "Young Republicans") have all sorts of problems (Liberty University and Regent Law School are not substitutes for actual education). The past six years have demonstrated that one-party rule is a bad thing; I have no desire to turn the US Government over to the Democrats alone.
Posted by baltar at August 10, 2007 12:19 PM | TrackBack | Posted to International Affairs | PoliticsDid you ever read Sam Harris's book (The End of Faith)? It's a polemic, but it offers useful big-pic context. I just finally read it; it's worthwhile.
Posted by: jacflash at August 10, 2007 01:56 PM | PERMALINKI've heard of it, but not read it.
In what context is it useful?
Posted by: baltar at August 10, 2007 02:19 PM | PERMALINKI do think it's an interesting question - If Romney-Thompson goes down in flames next autumn, just what will happen to the Republicans after that? Where will the party go, who will carry the torch?
The sane, decision-making scholar in me thinks they'll opt for a non-DC face who can point to real reforms and policy successes, and who has no ties to the current crew of the Titanic (errr, White House). The name that jumps to my mind there being Gov. Crist of Florida.
But I suppose they could very well simply put a fresher face on the old ideas (as to who, who knows - John Thune?).
It'll be interesting to watch what happens. In the meantime I'm hoping to see big Tancredo numbers at the Ames gathering this weekend (just for the entertainment/trainwreck value of it).
Posted by: Armand at August 10, 2007 02:34 PM | PERMALINKWell, it's early to be thinking (and hypothesizing) about a post-Dem landslide strategy for the GOP. I keep thinking back to 2004, when Kerry got flattened by this trainwreck of an admim (and all on PR; the Bush fuck-ups were fairly well known at the time, and people still voted for him); Dean has done a pretty good job of organizing the party (and the party did a good job of not eating itself up in inter-party warfare). The GOP could do something similar.
That being said, the pothole in the road is the social-conservative wing of the GOP: as a group, they aren't very amenable to compromise, and aren't likely to want to look to short term losses to minimize long term losses. I dunno.
Whoever wins in 2008 is going to have a really, really big mess to clean up.
Posted by: baltar at August 10, 2007 02:43 PM | PERMALINKWhich is why I'm thinking a fresh face from outside DC, free of Bush connections is most likely - or at least likely to get a long and hard look. Iraq alone could take up much of President Clinton's first term (if we are running with the hypothesis she'll win), throw in budget problems, a push to solve certain economic/social problems with an all-Democratic government in DC (which'll likely get terrible coverage from the permanent press corps) ... and I think someone coming up with a solid record of state-level competence and no times to the Bushes or Clintons will be looked on favorably.
But yeah, it'll probably need to be someone that doesn't make the Christianists to stay home too.
Posted by: Armand at August 10, 2007 03:33 PM | PERMALINK