Barring the Way

JL Wall (possible rap pseudonym alert!) flags this highly-entertaining New Yorker profile of Bob Barr. I can’t say I’ve followed Barr’s campaign with anything approaching real interest or enthusiasm, but I will say this: I’ve never understood the argument that his candidacy is the work of a cynical opportunist. Toiling away on the campaign trail [...]

Great News! Now let’s get the hell out of there . . .

I’m sure the McCain camp will interpret this as further vindication of their “occupation ’til Doomsday” strategy, but declining US casualties in Iraq is heartening news nonetheless.

Expertise

I share this author’s scorn for the Ken Adelmans of the world, but isn’t blaming the Iraq War on a few rogue intellectuals a bit much? I mean, the Republican base – the same people who supposedly embody all that is good and right about America – were pretty enthusiastic about invading Iraq in 2003. [...]

A Last Gasp for McCain

If anyone could convince me to pull the trigger for a Republican presidential candidate, it would have to be Reihan Salam. It’s odd, then, that his case for John McCain is one of the least persuasive things I’ve read in recent weeks. The substantive points he recites in favor of McCain are remarkably thin – [...]

On Kevin Smith Movies

I enjoyed Peter Suderman’s review of his latest Apatow-infused effort. But I can’t enjoy Kevin Smith. A friend’s comment ruined it for me a few years back: “When you’re listening to Kevin Smith’s dialog, think of a fat guy hunched over a keyboard, desperately trying to think of some clever bit of wordplay. He just [...]

Worst Cover Ever

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Guns ‘n’ Roses’ bloated rendition of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”:

Into the Wild

The track record of parties finding their ideological compass in the wilderness is undoubtedly mixed, but this argument is just stupid (emphasis mine):
It’s amazing that some smart conservatives still cling to the “winning-by-losing” strategy, refusing to surrender the lunatic idea that you can build a party’s strength by reducing its numbers. No movement in U.S. [...]

Ouch

Shawn Macomber:
Our man J.Peter Freire gives the Obama infomercial a well-deserved spanking over at Culture 11. Predictably, critics in the comments section call our Managing Editor an angry idiot while simultaneously lamenting the loss of thoughtful discourse–you know, the kind where you shellack the entire [...]

Well Said

I thought this was generous of Ed Whelan:
If Barack Obama is elected next Tuesday, his election will be seen as a striking symbol of yet further progress towards respecting the American ideal that “all Men are created equal.” Insofar as our fellow citizens who have endured, and continue to endure, discrimination and other indignities because [...]

Joe Biden is Adorable

I highly recommend this Politico profile. Joe Biden as president should strike fear into the hearts of all right-thinking men and women, but I can’t help liking the guy.

In which I attempt to analyze polling data

In comments, John Schwenkler argues that Republicans’ generic advantage on national security has declined significantly in recent years. I’d certainly like to believe him. It would be downright perverse for the party most responsible for Iraq to retain any credibility on issues relating to homeland defense or terrorism.
And yet McCain is still perceived as more [...]

Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty

Slate editor Jack Schafer endorses Bob Barr for president:
Which brings me back to Barr and the absentee ballot I cast for him this morning (Oct. 23). He gets my vote not because he’d be a good president. He wouldn’t. He gets my vote not because he has a chance of becoming a president. He doesn’t. [...]

Recklessly Invading Iraq Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

Having read John Schwenkler and Daniel Larison on how the Iraq War has undermined Republican advantages on national security, I confess I had some hope that conservatives would repudiate Iraq and embrace a more thoughtful approach to foreign policy. Then I clicked over to this McClatchy poll on the presidential race and found that McCain [...]

Aaron Sorkin’s Wet Dream

Seriously, compare and contrast:
A) Michael Douglas, “The American President”:

B) Barack Obama (via Edge of the American West – watch to the 1:30 mark):

That settles it

How could I not vote for Barack after watching an ad like this?

Unless, of course, McCain delivers Deadwood.

Backlash

Having already written the best “federalism good” impact turns known to man (if you’re a policy debater, throw your hands up!), Steven Calabresi now turns his attention to the coming Obama Administration apocalypse:
A whole generation of Americans has come of age since the nation experienced the bad judicial appointments and foolish economic and regulatory policy [...]

Catholics for Obama?

I liked William Gould’s thoughtful take on politics and Catholicism. He echoes a sentiment I’ve expressed on several different occasions – namely, that a holistic assessment of the candidates’ positions is the best way to vote for the sanctity of human life. Here’s Gould:
The second reason I find Kmiec’s position helpful is that, while clearly [...]

I want what they’re smoking

According to Professor Bainbridge, a majority of prominent conservative bloggers still think McCain will win the election:
1) Who do you think is going to win the election?
A) John McCain: 53% (39)
B) Barack Obama: 47% (34)

Ummm, guys?

India Bans Smoking

And according to this Washington Post writer, it’s elitist . . . because it doesn’t do enough to prevent tobacco use in poor, rural areas. Hilariously, not a single contributor to the Post’s roundtable discussion thinks to mention that policing people’s nasty habits is not an appropriate venue for government activism.
Neil Clark may be a [...]

Why Palin Matters

I can’t vouch for the science, but according to this article, McCain has a 22% chance of dying during his first term.