leo's blog

For slow learners or readers who scan:

"...were not substantiated by the intelligence."

"...were contradicted by available intelligence information."

"...did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products."

"...did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.

"...was not substantiated by available intelligence information."

"The Intelligence Community did not confirm..."

You've got to be a citizen to vote in this country but interest in the success of Barack Obama goes beyond our own citizens; it goes beyond our own borders and extends to all people of good will throughout the world.

What 8 years of Republican Ascendancy have made us forget is that the vast majority of people on this planet mean us well and want us to succeed. They admire what we've accomplished and are willing even to accept our leadership provided we remember to lead by example.

Scott McClellan has been in the news of late. His comments have set off a round of criticism concerning how the Media handled the build-up to the war in Iraq. Basically the verdict is that they were spineless in their coverage and pretty much did nothing but deliver stenography for the Bush Administration (see Glenn).

I find Scott Simon, host of NPR's Weekend Saturday, something of a wet noodle.

This week Gebe Martinez from Politico.com had to set him straight when he served up the standard MSM myth about McCain's stand on Immigration:

The reason you have to go and whack a person whenever they say "Liberal Elitist" is because it's a contradiction in terms. You might as well say "Christian Atheist" or "Teetotaling Alcoholic".

The fact is, there's nothing much that a liberal stands for that makes him or her an elitist. Liberalism is all about guaranteeing the benefits of our society to each and every member in a way that emphasizes fairness and equality. To your average liberal, extremes of wealth and power are not natural phenomena but a sign of system failure.

Good news out of Springfield on ending "pay-to-play". Jeff Schoenberg says it best:

"Our task will not be done with this, but we have moved a major boulder off the road..."

Reaction in the Media to John McCain's relationship with Reverend Hagee has been almost diffident -- especially when you compare it to the grief Obama got for Jeremiah Wright. Nothing new here.

Now finally McCain has had to "reject" Hagee, but he only does so by setting up an almost farcical distinction between his pastor and Obama's pastor:

He's nonpartisan. He's honest. What's not to like?

Chuck Hagel is quickly becoming Barack Obama's answer to Joe Lieberman.

The rapid response by Obama to Bush's statement in the Israeli Knesset and to McCain's follow-ups is reassuring.

No doubt soon the MSM will criticize this back-and-forth as nothing but "name-calling". They'll comment regretfully on how this only serves to lower the tone of the campaign.

The race for the democratic nominee -- in other words, our candidate -- is over.

That's Thought No. 1. Thought No. 2 is so obvious it's almost embarrassing to have to say outloud: Hillary is not the enemy. In fact, she's one of us, she's one of the people who are going to help us take back this country.

For some of the more high-strung bloggers on our side, it's time they took this to heart. It's time to reach out and unite ourselves. It's every hand on deck.