May 8, 2008 5:29

Generals for Sale, Slightly Used

The Pentagon has released all of the documents that it turned over to the NYT for their story on the retired military officers that play both sides of the analyst/contractor fence. TPM has some excerpts, including audio of, well, a pep rally:

It was an emergency meeting called because earlier in the month, several retired generals had hit the airwaves demanding that Rumsfeld resign. 17 analysts attended the briefing, which featured Rumsfeld and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace. It was a remarkable display of servility, with one analyst at one point proclaiming that Rumsfeld need to get out there on the "offense," because "we'd love to be following our leader, as indeed you are. You are the leader. You are our guy." ...

Another analyst chimed in to the effect that, though PsyOps or "brainwashing" are dirty words, it was necessary to get out there on offense. "You know what they call PsyOps today, they call those public relations firms," another said approvingly. Finally, Rumsfeld had to throw up his hands: "You people should be taking notes. I'm taking all the notes!" It sure was an eager group.

The whole stash is here. Just flipping through the PDFs of (the Pentagon's) talking points is a sobering journey back in time -- to see the same exact arguments that are being made today.

Uh-huh.

May 8, 2008 5:04

Re: Is Jon Stewart a Journalist?

Is Saturday Night Live a news show?

SNL Politics launched this week, an archive of all of your favorite broad topical sketch comedy scenes! It's still a little underdeveloped (the actual "archives" don't seem to work), but as the only network show that tried to correct for overly fond coverage of Obama, their sweet-tart take will be a welcome addition to what's around the dial. And the web.

If you're really jonesing for some Pohler/Fey, however, head over to Hulu.com, where you can watch shows from NBC (SNL, The Office, 30 Rock), Sci-Fi (Battlestar Galactica and Classic BSG!), and Fox (Simpsons, Bones) for free. I mean, I'm sure there's a "soul" provision in the DRM, but I sold that long ago...

And speaking of classic:

May 8, 2008 4:04

Is Jon Stewart a Journalist?

No, you say? Then why, in a survey last year, was he ranked one of the most admired journalists in America? (I know, I know -- many of you think "admired journalist" is a contradiction in terms). A lot of Americans get their news, or a portion of it, from Stewart and Colbert (and Leno, Letterman and O'Brien). But how does The Daily Show rate as a news program? The excellent folks at the Project for Excellence in Journalism examined just that question in a study released today. Check it out.

May 8, 2008 11:47

Hillary Clinton's Five Big Mistakes

are the subject of my story in the new issue of dead-tree TIME. For a campaign that seemed to have everything going for it, some very basic tactical misjudgments proved to be devastating.

May 8, 2008 11:19

Bomb Iran?

David Ignatius has an interesting column today, raising the possibility of war with Iran. In the past, Ignatius has shared my skepticism about the possibility that the Administration would jump this shark--the military is very much opposed to it--but what happens if Bush launches a targeted air and special ops strike on the Qods Force/Hezballah training camps in Iran? What if this happens during the fall campaign? I've been busy with the presidential race and haven't kept up with my military, intelligence and regional sources these past few months. But it's time to revisit this issue now. Stay tuned.

May 8, 2008 10:57

EW on W (Oliver Stone Takes Bush to the Movies)

Corporate cousin Entertainment Weekly (EW to the hip) has a great read about the making of Oliver Stone's sure-to-be-controversial movie on the sitting President of the United States. Josh Brolin plays Dubya, Elizabeth Banks is Laura. The movie is slated to premier late this year, while Bush is still in office. Here's the cover:

This is where your caption should go. / AND CREDIT

In case you're wondering about Stone's take on Bush (or didn't read about the leaked screenplay draft), this gives you an idea:

The movie has become a lightning rod before Stone has shot a single frame. If that bootlegged script is any indication, the film will feature such flag-waving moments as the Commander-in-Chief nearly choking to death on a pretzel while watching football on TV and a flashback of him singing the ''Whiffenpoof'' song as a frat pledge at Yale, not to mention scenes in which he refers to his advisers by dorky nicknames — ''Guru'' for Condoleezza Rice, ''Turdblossom'' for Karl Rove, ''Balloon Foot'' for Colin Powell — while discussing plans for the invasion of Iraq with the coolness of a late-night poker game.

May 8, 2008 10:32

Latest Column

on the May 6 primaries and the sins of your humble servants in the media.

May 8, 2008 9:48

Underplayed Story of the Day: Food Fight

George Bush implied over the weekend that one reason for the global food crisis is Indians are eating too much. The comment didn't get much attention in this country, but apparently it has in India. Buried way back on A18 of the Washington Post is this small story:

Overnight, Indians reacted with outrage at what they saw as a suggestion that they were to blame for inflation. Politicians lashed out at Bush. Newspapers excoriated him.

"India is not a net food importer. It is a food exporter. The assumption that prices are increasing because of a changed India is completely erroneous," said Manish Tewari, a spokesman for the ruling Congress party.

Defense Minister A.K. Antony called Bush's remark a "cruel joke," while an opposition member called the president the world's new "bread inspector."

The White House tried to make things right, with spokesman Scott Stanzel insisting that Bush meant it as a "good thing" that developing countries have better standards of living. But apparently India is not buying it. The story adds:

A cartoon in the Times of India on Tuesday showed a couple of overweight American tourists looking at emaciated Indian men rummaging for leftover food in a trash heap. "No wonder we're having food shortages back home in the States -- these guys in India have started eating way too much," they say.

The Washpost story does not mention one possible implication of the comment: It may be another setback for the Bush Administration's effort to complete a US-India civil nuclear cooperation deal. The Bush Administration promised the deal would open a new era of cooperation between the countries, and were counting on it as a major foreign policy accomplishment. But it has been stalled by resistance from Indian leftist parties, who have India's traditional wariness of alignment with the United States. This is not likely to help things.