Obama is fired up and ready to go back to Iraq:
WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday that he authorized "targeted airstrikes" if needed to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq, as well as airdrops of food and water to religious minorities in Iraq who are under siege from Islamic militants and trapped on a mountaintop.
"Today, America is coming to help," Obama said.
The president's announcement Thursday amounts to a significant escalation of involvement in the growing Iraqi crisis, but Obama attempted to assure the American public that it would not lead to U.S. involvement in a ground war there.
The reassurance about no ground troops is hardly necessary - we all understand Obama is not committed to success here.
Peter Baker of the Times unleashed his inner auteur; it's "news analysis", not straight reporting, so let the prose flow:
WASHINGTON — In sending warplanes back into the skies over Iraq, President Obama on Thursday night found himself exactly where he did not want to be. Hoping to end the war in Iraq, Mr. Obama became the fourth president in a row to order military action in that graveyard of American ambition.
The mandate he gave to the armed forces was more limited than that of his predecessors, focused mainly on dropping food and water. But he also authorized targeted airstrikes “if necessary” against Islamic radicals advancing on the Kurdish capital of Erbil and others threatening to wipe out thousands of non-Muslims stranded on a remote mountaintop.
As he explained himself to a national television audience, Mr. Obama made a point of reassuring a war-weary public that the president who pulled American forces out of Iraq at the end of 2011 had no intention of fighting another full-scale war there. Yet his presence in the State Dining Room testified to the bleak reality that the tide of events in that ancient land have defied his predictions and aspirations before.
We see this "war-weary public" meme everywhere. But are we weary of war, or weary of endless, inconclusive struggles fought with no plan for victory? I opposed Obama's Hokey-Pokey surge in Afghanistan (You put the troops in, you take the troops out...) because Obama clearly had no conviction or commitment and becasue our hazy objectives were probably not attainable. I would oppose an effort by Obama to put troops back in Iraq for similar reasons. But under new leadership (not Hillary!) maybe a renewed US-led push in Iraq could make sense. Leaving ISIS to fester seems like an insane alternative.
WRONG ALL SUMMER: This is interesting if unsurprising, from Mr. Baker:
Mr. Obama has spent months resisting just that. Even after the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, seized Falluja and other territory in the western part of the country at the beginning of the year and marched through Mosul and toward Baghdad by summer, the president expressed no enthusiasm for American military action.
In June, he sent in 300 special forces troops not to fight but to assess the situation, an assessment that has yet to be completed, and he increased surveillance passes over Iraq. But Mr. Obama rebuffed calls, including those from within his administration, to quickly send in air power to hit ISIS forces.
Aides said his hand was not forced until ISIS won a series of swift and stunning victories last weekend and Wednesday night against the Kurds in the north, who have been a loyal and reliable American ally, especially compared to the Baghdad government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. ISIS threats to wipe out Yazidis and other religious minorities trapped on Mount Sinjar, they said, added to the urgency.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or would have been.
So pulling all the troops out prematurely leads to genocide? The deuce you say.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 08, 2014 at 08:31 AM
Tom: you and I will both be long dead before the crazies over there ever agree to live together without trying to blow each other up and/or chop off their heads. There's just too much bad history and too much fanaticism to think that there's ever a chance of attaining Bush's idealistic vision of people living together, holding hands, singing songs and sharing a Coke.
The best we can hope for (and this was true before Bush invaded) is to stick American lives into the mix which gives the crazies a target they all dislike more than they dislike the other. The 'peace' or 'victory' our troops win isn't a real victory, it's merely somewhat of a pause in the fighting. Flooding the streets with NYC cops doesn't make the Mafia families love one another, it just forces them to wait things out for a while, and the same holds true here.
Given this reality, how many American lives is worth it to buy a temporary lull in the fighting?
Posted by: Steve | August 08, 2014 at 08:48 AM
Pulling the troops out, letting the Mullahs boss the Shia coalition govenment who stick it to the Sunni, Scare the crap out of the House of Saud who see the Shia Crescent expand south and west to Baghdad and Damascus and Beirut, so they pay to arm ISIS. The blood floods so hard and fast, even the desert can't soak it all up. This is the way of Obama.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 08:49 AM
the practical reality, is that the Sunni tribesman are the short to mindterm enemy,
from the Euphrates river beginning in Syria,
crossing through Deir ur Zour, and running
SouthWest into the Nejd, where the Ikwan tribes of Arabia, lie
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 09:00 AM
And a Caliphate run by the madest Jihadis of all between the Levant and Mesopotania helps Americans how? Please
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 09:02 AM
Has Nancy said 'We have to airstrike it to find out what's in it'?
Posted by: Beasts of England | August 08, 2014 at 09:08 AM
so they are getting around to this now;
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2014/08/us_adds_nusrah_islamic_state_f.php
who are we targeting, just rank and file ISIL
fighters, there's no sense of seriousness here,
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 09:24 AM
It's not the wars we're sick of as much as it is the
piecespeaces.The public is tired of losing wars that never end based on strategies with no hope of success.
If we delineated a clear strategy that defines for everyone to see that "here are the things we won't tolerate and we'll decide where we won't tolerate them" and then went about smashing to perdition anyone who performed any of those things and then left them to clean up the mess they caused themselves we would soon find, again, that having enemies who are scared to death of you makes for a much simpler more peaceful world.
When you slaughter your enemies like the death angel and lay waste their lands and armies for certain proscribed acts with no concern for subsequently building a nation out of a tangle of mangled tribes you soon find there are fewer proscribed acts to stomp out. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper in lives and treasure.
And those proscribed acts can include the kind of barbarity we're witnessing right now.
If ISIS knew it would be pulverized and obliterated beyond recognition and, more importantly, its aims never reached because it chooses to massacre allies of ours like religious minorities and invading Kurdistan it would most likely be doing neither.
It knows it will either get away with what it's doing with only minimal damage or at worst will have to wait out and win a prolonged proxy war that we never really care too much who wins and so they don't fear us or the consequences of their actions.
'Rubble makes no trouble' is inaccurate. Rubble makes plenty of trouble; it just makes it for someone other than the guy who made the rubble in the first place, which is the best one can hope for in a world full of evil.
Posted by: Ignatz | August 08, 2014 at 09:25 AM
What this world really needs right now...An Obama Major Speech on Why The
TerroristsMilitants Have Disappointed Me Greatly and Are Irresponsibly on the Wrong Side of History and If Only They Will Unclench Their Fists We Will Offer Them an Open Hand . . . delivered in Erbil.And if that doesn't work, a #hashtag
Posted by: Jeff Dobbs | August 08, 2014 at 09:39 AM
Testing.
Posted by: Miss Marple | August 08, 2014 at 09:39 AM
Aha! I couldn't figure out why I couldln't post, and then realized that when I deleted my cookies my name and email weren't on the posting screen, so nothing would post.
I am sort of slow in my thinking early in the morning. Ha!
I am going back to work at the food pantry today, so will check in to see what new disasters have befallen the republic when I return.
Posted by: Miss Marple | August 08, 2014 at 09:41 AM
What are the odds that a caliphate would arise under an American president whose middle name is Hussein and a CIA Director who probably converted to Islam?
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 09:51 AM
Last night Danube pondered Obama's use of "targeted" with reference to air strikes.
I think it stems from two things.
From his uber-liberal side he believes that guns kill people more so than people kill people, so he is promising that extra care will be used with these dangerous toys.
Second, from his jihadist-Muslim side, he thinks the best and the brightest Muslims, who have contributed so much to technology, wouldn't just randomly send missiles across the country side. This justifies his notion that munitions have a mind of their own.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 09:56 AM
MM-this is for you. http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118910907.html
The former mayor of Indianapolis has written a book called The Responsive City on the use of all that delicious governmental data to plan and take care of the needs of the disadvantaged especially. That of course is why cities exist.
The fact that NYC and the Windy City are also featured. No wonder Open Data was bo's first act in office-the day of his initial inauguration. We have to begin to wonder too if people exist to finance and give a reason for the existence of a broad public sector in this vision of the future.
Posted by: rse | August 08, 2014 at 10:02 AM
If John Jay were the odds maker he would say pretty likely.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 10:03 AM
Ext, that wouldn't happen unless you also had an Iranian mole acting as puppeteer of that president. Then you have a hat trick.
Posted by: Old Lurker | August 08, 2014 at 10:04 AM
Hagel helps with the crafting of the odds:
http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2013/01/secretary-of-defense-nominee-chuck.html?m=1
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 10:08 AM
IDIOT JOHN KERRY TELLS STARVING AFRICANS NOT TO FARM ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwE2hYkziLs
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 10:18 AM
Forgot about her.
Btw, that came from VictoriaJackson.com. Remember her?
http://victoriajackson.com/10438/obamas-senior-advisor-muslim
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Chris Stirewalt on Fox points out that Obama is the fourth consecutive President to order air strikes on Iraq.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 10:23 AM
well he doesn't really care, about this, fundamentally transforming 'is his thing'
ISIS seems to be undercutting OPEC, unlike
the way the BEND is doing in Nigeria,
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Well last night in the White House, the trapped weasel sung--sort of. Who knows which way he'll wiggle next.
Posted by: Comanche Voter | August 08, 2014 at 10:26 AM
I have Geraghty's "Morning Jolt" open in another tab and for the 3rd or 4th time I did a double take by misreading the tab caption as "We're Dropping Acid".
(What it really says: "We're Dropping Aid...")
I may never close that ;)
Posted by: AliceH | August 08, 2014 at 10:26 AM
an update;
http://minx.cc:1080/?post=351043
darnok, when the walls fell,
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 10:32 AM
This is right up Janet's alley: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-08-06/a-streetcar-named-progress
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 10:33 AM
Narciso,
What is BEND?
Posted by: Rick B | August 08, 2014 at 10:35 AM
The Iranian Ferret's threats? I think they were aimed primarily at the Dem Clintonistas, Tea Party second.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 10:35 AM
I agree, NK. Although if she was that miffed at the Clintonistas, imagine what she thinks about the rest of us.
Posted by: Beasts of England | August 08, 2014 at 10:49 AM
"imagine what she thinks about the rest of us."
DEATH TO AMERICA!! that.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 10:50 AM
(long OT)
Thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts. They worked. After I had a nuclear stress test on Saturday, it was determined that the tachycardia attacks likely came from impeded blood flow from the left side of my heart. So, rather than an ablation, on Tuesday the very skillful interventional cardiologist who opened my totally occluded right CA in January 2013 opened an almost totally occlude left anterior descending CA (aka the "widow maker").
The procedure has been a great success restoring heart function as far as I can tell. I made 1 lap around the hall Thursday, 4 yesterday and 4 so far this morning with greater strength each time. My main problem is that I was able to walk too fast, and my leg strength flagged somewhat. I slowed done a bit with good result.
Now, I am on controlled, supervised diuresis to assure the die used in the procedure caused no significant kidney damage, and that will be a slow process to do it right. If all continues to go well, I will be discharged tomorrow or Sunday, likely the latter.
In the course of the blood work, it was discovered I have serious hypothyroidism which is easily treated, and should greatly improve my activity level.
Posted by: Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet | August 08, 2014 at 11:01 AM
Hey hey hey.. good new JimR. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 11:02 AM
Thanks for the update Jim and continued prayers.
Posted by: Jeff Dobbs | August 08, 2014 at 11:04 AM
I am glad to hear your progress, Jim!
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 11:08 AM
Great news, Jim. Please keep us updated.
Posted by: Rick B | August 08, 2014 at 11:09 AM
Nigerian river pirates, attack oil platforms along the delta
http://therightscoop.com/bill-whittle-the-murderer-in-the-kremlin/
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Thanks for the update, Jim!
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Great news, Jim,
Farguhar was a little better than David 'Abbott' Kirkpatrick, but still woefully inadequate at the Moscow desk
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 11:14 AM
From Chitown lurking types, a takedown of income inequality arguments. Thorough smackdown of economic modelers, no extra charge.
Posted by: henry | August 08, 2014 at 11:17 AM
http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/obama-turned-53-or-did-he/
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Cheers, Jim Rhoads - great news!
Posted by: Beasts of England | August 08, 2014 at 11:22 AM
this may slow down his golf game;
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/08/08/top-advisors-predict-a-long-very-long-campaign/
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Yay Jim! Just remembering all that medical jargon would have done me in! Are you home?
Posted by: Jane on Ipad | August 08, 2014 at 11:34 AM
OK, we can breath now. Congrats, Jim.
Posted by: Old Lurker | August 08, 2014 at 11:37 AM
TK.........
Posted by: Old Lurker | August 08, 2014 at 11:37 AM
Glad to hear that you're on the mend, Jim. Stop by here when you need to take a rest from your exercising (although I realize following Obama's half measures in the face of the Islamic State establishing itself as a sovereign body politic may not be the best recuperative strategy).
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 08, 2014 at 11:41 AM
Good grief. As lame and as hesitant as the conduct of the Iraq war was, it was a win. The President, elected on a platform of hopelessness, needed a loss. The only way we could lose was by withdrawing . . . and so we withdrew. Kind of inspirational, in a back asswards sort of way.
I'm convinced our best path going forward is to announce an immediate alliance with ISIS. Their die-hards would choke in despair . . .
Posted by: Cecil Turner (on mini pad) | August 08, 2014 at 11:42 AM
CecilT-- I agree with your first graph. My sarcasm detector doesn't function, so I don't get your second graph :)
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 11:46 AM
Who's to say we haven't as was done with the
February 17th Brigade, how did that work out again,
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/08/08/top-advisors-predict-a-long-very-long-campaign/
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 11:48 AM
the press decided they needed another Vietnam, and they got their McGovern it would be so.
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 11:54 AM
Maybe we should do "targeted air strikes" on all the oil fields. Take away their purpose.
It worked against The Humongous.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 11:54 AM
Hooray Jim.
Assuming you are still in hospital let me recommend the Mediterranean restaurant across the street to your family. Mom had a hip replacement there last year so I was there quite a bit over several days.
Posted by: rse | August 08, 2014 at 11:59 AM
2010:
Obama Declares an End to Combat Mission in Iraq
Mission Accomplished.
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:00 PM
In 2010, Biden Predicted Iraq Would Be "One Of The Great Achievements Of This Administration"
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:07 PM
2007:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19862711/ns/politics-decision_08/t/obama-dont-stay-iraq-over-genocide/#.U-T2L_ldVc9
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:12 PM
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:13 PM
It's extraordinary how totally wrong Obummer is about everything. He's the living embodiment of the Costanza Rule. Slo Jo? how moronic can someone be without being institutionalized?
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 12:18 PM
My sarcasm detector doesn't function, so I don't get your second graph :)
The truly sad thing is, I'm not sure it's a joke.
I just watched John Kerry try to cheerlead for a "wakeup call" on how bad ISIS is. Obviously he thought somebody should do something about it . . . he just wasn't sure who.
As for the airstrike(s), the current description is that (one) section of Hornets dropped bombs on (one) mobile artillery piece. Hopefully we'll do more, but so far it's hard to see how the material support outweighs the propaganda down side.
And in the running for shortest operational life span of a pentagon statement is Pentagon: Iraq bombing reports 'completely false'. The strategic cluelessness and confusion is palpable.
So, if your choice is "US as ally" vs "US as enemy" . . . which way do you go?
Posted by: Cecil Turner (on mini pad) | August 08, 2014 at 12:20 PM
BTW-- are the FA-18s carrier based?
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 12:22 PM
NK: according to reports they were, and it's hard to see where else they'd be based, so I'd rate that as very probable. There also must be some airborne tankers in the area, but those weren't in any reports I saw.
Posted by: Cecil Turner (on mini pad) | August 08, 2014 at 12:31 PM
Jim,
Great news.
Posted by: MarkO | August 08, 2014 at 12:36 PM
I'm glad you're mobile and on the mend, Jim.
You must be one tough son of a gun.
Posted by: Ignatz | August 08, 2014 at 12:40 PM
CT,
Is it a iPad Mini? How do you like it?
Got to be the G.H.W. Bush (CVW-8) since it was in UAE August 2nd.
Posted by: Jack is Back (From Bridgehampton via the Road from Hell) | August 08, 2014 at 12:40 PM
BTW-- are the FA-18s carrier based?
Launched off the George Bush.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Great news, Jim.
That one took my brother's life at the ripe old age of 42.
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 12:44 PM
CVN-78 it is. Back to the future. 24 years and 4 POTUSs dropping ordinance on Iraqi sovereign territory. I am sure NancyP will jump up and blame Obummer for 'encouraging' ISIS as she did with GHWB's 1990 Ambassador to Sadaam.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 12:45 PM
". . . which way do you go?"
Simple. You refer to the Obama Administration Strategic Ten Year Ad Hoc Plan and then use a Magic 8 Ball backed by a Quija Board for confirmation of your decision. Over time your results will fall in line with the success rate of climate or economic models.
Posted by: Rick B | August 08, 2014 at 12:45 PM
If only we had a military base in the area.
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:46 PM
Glad to see your good news, JimR.
Posted by: Pagar | August 08, 2014 at 12:47 PM
Whatever happened to overwhelming force?
Posted by: MarkO | August 08, 2014 at 12:48 PM
Great news, Jim !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TM -We see this "war-weary public" meme everywhere. But are we weary of war, or weary of endless, inconclusive struggles fought with no plan for victory?
Exactly.
Posted by: Sandy--Engorged Capital~Fallow Districts--Daze | August 08, 2014 at 12:52 PM
Jim R,
That is great news. Keep up the PT.
Posted by: Jack is Back (From Bridgehampton via the Road from Hell) | August 08, 2014 at 12:53 PM
US warns Russia that any intervention in Ukraine would be viewed as 'an invasion of Ukraine'
Whoa. They must be sweating now.
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Iraq is over as a nation. As established post Ottoman rule (whether the British era, the Kingdom or Sadamn's Republic established in 58), it is dead.
Not coming back.
Stick a fork in it, that potato is baked.
The only questions remaining are
1) the Kurdistan carve-out--hopefully the Barzans are engaged with PM Netanyahu to develop a security relationship, fat chance that the feckless in WDC will help.
2) the southern oil fields--how long can they be operating and, on a side note, if we are concerned about "conflict diamonds" what will the international community (HAH HAH what a laugh) will think about "conflict oil."
3) Will we--or anyone for that matter--be concerned when the Islamic State army rolls to Kuwait's border, smashes it, and then marches to Medina and Mecca.
No entity in the world--save the United States of America--is capable of stopping the Islamic State army.
There will be a bloodbath in Baghdad and environs which will make what we have seen so far, and just recently, the Yazidi matter, be a pin prick in comparison
Go to Live Leak (eg: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7fd_1406604477) if you want to see the documentation.
If you thought the last thirteen years were something, just await the sequel over the next six.
Hey, you "Consequence management experts" -- time to start earning your Wheaties...
Posted by: Sandy--Engorged Capital~Fallow Districts--Daze | August 08, 2014 at 12:54 PM
Is it a iPad Mini? How do you like it?
A Nexus-7 and I like it fairly well. Very good for reading (and adequate for scrolling through JOM). It's great for travel. I miss the functionality of a laptop a bit, but love the space/weight savings.
Posted by: Cecil Turner (on mini pad) | August 08, 2014 at 12:55 PM
"No entity in the world--save the United States of America--is capable of stopping the Islamic State army."
1. What is the combat ability of the Saudi armed forces?
2. can the Mullahs deploy combat forces to Basra? to Baghdad?
3. Would the Mullahs drop the Shia Bomb on ISIS?
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 12:58 PM
For the lawyers...
Monkeys take 'selfies,' sparking copyright dispute
Posted by: Extraneus | August 08, 2014 at 12:59 PM
The best and the brightest:
This is a NYT excerpt.
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 01:03 PM
those Harvard types are really sharp, of course wouldn't the Donbas repo team, have been kind of an intervention, I'm just saying,
Hornets, what Intruders weren't available, you have to go aways back to the Abbasid caliphate,
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 01:04 PM
--Iraq is over as a nation.--
I agree and am willing to admit SloJoe may actually have said something not idiotic years ago when he suggested Iraq as three states would be a better solution that trying to keep three incompatible groups in one room.
Would it have prevented or blunted ISIS? Who knows? But it would likely have meant a more stable area to begin with.
--Will we--or anyone for that matter--be concerned when the Islamic State army rolls to Kuwait's border, smashes it, and then marches to Medina and Mecca.--
The infidel in me regards that as one of the great opportunities of history to finally and forever destroy this insane cult of Islam by using such an event as an excuse to level to the ground and salting the earth of those two irreplaceable monuments to Allah's supposed power and sovereignty. As even moslems admit, no Mecca no Allah; no Allah, no Islam.
Posted by: Ignatz | August 08, 2014 at 01:05 PM
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/8/democrats-applaud-obamas-airstrikes-iraq/
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 08, 2014 at 01:09 PM
CNN poll.
"Forty-six percent of people believe the events leading up to the resignation of President Nixon were 'just politics,' according to a new poll that coincides with the 40th anniversary of his stepping down.
"The CNN poll found a narrow majority, 51 percent, believe the Watergate scandal was a serious matter, while slightly less describe it as the kind of thing in which both parties engage."
Posted by: Danube on iPad | August 08, 2014 at 01:09 PM
I consider Watergate a 'serious matter', and Nixon's resignation was necessary. 1974 wasn't a very good year for the USA, but as a constitutional Republic based on liberty... we were miles ahead better then.
Speaking of polls, 70 % see mass illegal immigration as a 'threat' to the USA. You don't say?
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:17 PM
Yeah Dot but that was a time when integrity in a president mattered. Not so much today.
Posted by: Jane | August 08, 2014 at 01:20 PM
@1:09-- NancyP's quote? There are no words anymore to describe that Botox addled old lizard.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:26 PM
Nixon obstructed justice for the purpose of winning an election.
Sound familiar?
Posted by: MarkO | August 08, 2014 at 01:28 PM
actually he won a landslide, without any knowledge of 3rd rate burglaries, but later he obstructed justice to prevent inconvenient facts from being revealed that would hurt him politically and aid his political enemies.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:30 PM
Definitely worth your time:
http://pjmedia.com/blog/to-be-liked-or-to-be-feared/2/
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 01:31 PM
Infuriating. Nobody circles the wagons like asshole Dems.
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 01:33 PM
Well the first Wahhabi state, did exactly that way, working it's way up south toward the two shrines, and north into Najaf and Karbala,
what exactly was Nixon's great offense, political surveillance, get me the smelling
salts, some penny ante dirty tricks, attempting to sic the IRS on his opponent, some undisclosed campaign contribution that funded the former exercises,
Posted by: narciso | August 08, 2014 at 01:34 PM
Wretchard:
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 01:36 PM
Well Nixon ordered subordinates to obstruct responses to lawful subpoenas, subpoenaed audio tapes lost info, and he flat out lied to the American people.. wait?!!!
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:37 PM
Watergate is something LBJ would get done before breakfast on a slow day. I was no fan of Nixon other than exposing that creep Alger Hiss, but the hypocrisy of the commiecrats set the bar at such a high level that it's never been surpassed.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 08, 2014 at 01:41 PM
Thanks for the Link Lyle. All very true.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:43 PM
Speaking of landslides, was there one near you, Mark?
Posted by: Jane | August 08, 2014 at 01:44 PM
"If John Jay were the odds maker he would say pretty likely."
Help us out: what did Mr. Jay have to say about Islam and people with the middle name "Hussein?"
Posted by: Danube on iPad | August 08, 2014 at 01:45 PM
I will say this about Nixon... the major difference between Nixon and JFK, and LBJ and FDR was the Media covering up for them and conducting a Jihad against Nixon. Nixon had the unfortunate timing of coming after LBJ and Vietnam, both of which the young turk media types (W & B) despised, so getting Nixon was like a two-fer for them.
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:46 PM
The liberals I know are desperately waiting for the talking points. So far all they've got is "It's Bush's fault". Might not work this time.
Posted by: Jane | August 08, 2014 at 01:46 PM
Good Morning. Is it "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" yet?
Posted by: daddy | August 08, 2014 at 01:46 PM
Daddy-- no chance of you being recalled to fly some S-3 Texaco missions is there? BTW, what does the Navy use for Texaco these days? http://www.history.navy.mil/planes/s3.htm
Posted by: NKinLimbo | August 08, 2014 at 01:49 PM
Marie Harf, best and brightest:
Posted by: lyle | August 08, 2014 at 01:49 PM