Bush on Nation Building

In a sidebar on the Iraq War casualty predictions post, regular commenter Odograph observes, "I think 'Bush was famously against nation-building' is a retroactive political claim." Not at all.  While it's hard to imagine in hindsight, Candidate Bush ran against nation building and promised a "more humble foreign policy." Remember, Realist Condi Rice was his chief foreign policy advisor during the campaign ...

Abolish the Vice Presidency?

Bruce Ackerman thinks the vice presidency is an anachronism from the political era of the Framers and ought be abolished. For two centuries, presidential nominees have used the office to balance the ticket by naming a running mate from a different region, or one who speaks with a different ideological accent to a specific constituency. This means that a president's death ...

Newspaper Style Guides

Clark Hoyt, the NYT public editor, has an interesting column explaining the paper's inconsistent use of courtesy titles, middle names, and the like.   He insists, with strong credibility, that there is no political malice in referring to Sarah Palin as "Ms. Palin" vice "Mrs. Palin" or Condi Rice as "Ms. Rice" vice "Dr. Rice."  Similarly, there's no hidden subtext in ...

North Korea Nukes Breakthrough: A Roadmap for Iran?

The news over the past 48 hours or so about movement in solving the nuclear arms standoff with North Korean has been stunning. Not only is President Bush taking the DPRK off the "state sponsors of terrorism" list but the Kim government has taken major steps to dismantle their program and provide with stringent verification regimes. The administration fully ...

Sam Nunn Joins Veepstakes

In the long months between now and the conventions, one recurring theme we'll see in the press and the punditocracy is speculation of who Barack Obama and John McCain will chose as running mates. None of us have any idea, of course, other than that Dick Cheney is not on anybody's list. But it's still fun to speculate. For ...

Condi Rice Enlists

"Condi Rice enlists in Kiss Army" is a leading candidate for Headline of the Day honors. The ensuing story, about a chance meeting in a Stockholm hotel between the Secretary of State and the geezerly rock band, is less interesting.

Condi Rice School of International Studies?

I've just gotten this PR announcement from Denver University, with which I'm not affiliated: DU's Graduate School of International Studies will be renamed tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28. Renaming the school will honor one of the most notable and successful individuals in DU history, as well as mark an exciting time for the school. Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine ...

McCain’s Vice Presidential Candidates

John McCain is vetting potential vice presidential candidates over the holiday weekend, Adam Nagourney reports for the NYT. Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a one-time rival for the Republican nomination, have all accepted invitations to visit with Mr. McCain at his ranch in Sedona, these Republicans said. This ...

U.S. Kills Jihadists with Stroke of Pen, Creating Violent Extremists as Byproduct

The war against Jihadists and Islamo-Fascists has been won; each and every last one of these vermin has been eradicated courtesy of the United States Government. Unfortunately, the victory is quite literally in name only. The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language. Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department ...

Rice Rules Out VP Run

Condi Rice will not be John McCain's running mate. Condoleezza Rice's name on the Republican ticket is a dream to some, but not a reality she can see happening. The secretary of State told reporters Friday she will not be a vice presidential candidate in the upcoming election. "I have always said that the one thing that I have not ...

American Hubris in the Middle East

I was listening to a discussion on the Diane Rehm Show this morning on the Annapolis Mideast Peace Conference this morning, featuring Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief for Al-Arabiya TV, Glenn Kessler, diplomatic correspondent for the Washington Post, and Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and director of the Saban Center. It was, as would be ...

Hillary Clinton’s Neckline

Robin Givhan is at it again. She has a story on C1 of today's WaPo about Hillary Clinton's cleavage. There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton. She was talking on the Senate floor about the burdensome cost of higher education. She was wearing a rose-colored blazer over a black top. The neckline sat ...

Iranian Minister Leaves Condi Dinner, Citing Sexy Violinist

Iran's foreign minister abruptly left a dinner with Condi Rice because he was afraid of a violinist's cleavage. Iran's foreign minister walked out of a dinner of diplomats where he was seated directly across from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on the pretext that the female violinist entertaining the gathering was dressed too revealingly. "I don't know which woman he ...

Iran Joining Regional Talks

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced that Iranian representatives will take part in a regional conference to discuss Iraqi security issues at Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Condi Rice would not rule out talking to the Iranians on yesterday's This Week and said that, if she talked to her counterpart, she would ask him to "stop the flow of arms ...

Nancy Pelosi’s Syria Head Scarf Controversy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria has sparked controversy, not just because it is in defiance of White House foreign policy but because of her decision to wear a head scarf and abaya while visiting a mosque. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mingled with Syrians in a market and made the sign of the cross at a Christian tomb Tuesday during ...