Your generous
donations help keep
this site running.
Visa/MC/PayPal accepted.
This letter was written by Norm Kent, who sits on the Board of Directors of NORML.
Media coverage of the letter has been sparse, to date. There have been a few stories in the local Minnesota press, and one on AirAmerica Minnesota's website, but I feel this needs wider attention.
My personal opinion is that (1) Bush isn't going to fire Gonzales, because he's terrified of trying to get a replacement through the Senate confirmation process, and therefore he's happy to have a broken and ineffectual Justice Department for the remainder of his term; and (2) I don't think he's going to pardon Libby. I think a respite or even a commutation might indeed be in the cards, but not an actual pardon. As I've stated before, I do think it's going to be an agonizing political calculation for the White House, though. I could be wrong, especially about that second one, but that's the way I see it.
Meet The Press' Tim Russert appeared on Conan O'Brien's show a few days ago, and mentioned that he had been at Woodstock. Tim Russert? At Woodstock? There's a mind-numbing thought. He said he made some money selling Stegmeyer beer for 80 cents a six-pack, so I guess he was there to exercise free market capitalism. Or something.
An Announcement
But I didn't just write today's column to feed my ego in one way, I also have an announcement to make: I'm starting my own blog at ChrisWeigant.com. [I know, I know, it's hard to spell -- sorry about that.]
Now, this doesn't mean I still won't be posting here every Wednesday. I treasure the opportunity to reach the Huffington Post audience every week and will continue to do so as long as they'll have me.
That's it? Kids love Scooter, so don't send him to jail? My kids will miss him at the White House events they attend? My little girls just cannot or will not understand that the "facts" were crimes committed by "Mr. Scooter?"
Livingston wasn't the only target. On the cover of the Flynt Report, it promised to "unmask the hypocrites" Livingston, Henry Hyde, and Bob Barr. It also promised (and delivered!) "fresh dirt on:" Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Mary Bono, Jeb Bush, Charles Canady, and Tim Hutchinson.
This would, ironically enough, mean that the states at the back of the line suddenly become the crucial battleground states for the nomination. The only place left to get that "momentum" would be in the states which voted in the middle or at the end of the schedule. But even that's not assured. And if no candidate is the clear nominee by convention time, then we would have a real convention for a change. All the delegates' votes in the first round would go for the candidates they are pledged to vote for, but then in subsequent rounds of voting, we would have absolute pandemonium.
Now, let me be clear here -- I'm not making rash predictions that this is the way it'll turn out. Not yet, at least.
But wouldn't it be more fun to watch than four days of endless and meaningless speechifying?
Best Democratic entry:
9. DENNIS KUCINICH
Pro: Solid anti-war stance; adorable; strong to the finich.
Con: Election laws limit magical pixies to only one term in office.
Best Republican entry:
8. NEWT GINGRICH
Pro: Well known.
Con: See above.
I wrote an article predicting how the Iraq war would be ended by Democrats in Congress back in January which prognosticated that it wouldn't be until this fall that Republicans would start supporting Democratic efforts to end the war.
David Broder, of the Washington Post, has finally come around to my way of thinking. Since he's seen as being a kind of "dean of the chattering classes" I must admit I feel a bit vindicated.
The third option is not a palatable one, because the news media will attempt to portray it as "the Democrats blinked" (the news media's not very good with nuance and grey areas). But it is really the only politically viable strategy at this point. President Bush is, sadly, going to get his escalation.
On the positive side, you have already forced all of Washington into a consensus on a very important point, without even having to vote on it: September is the deadline for the "surge." Democrats, Republicans, and the news media are all in agreement on this one crucial milestone: if there is no marked progress as a result of the surge by September, the troops are going to start coming home.