One progressive surveys the morning after:
It’s as if the biopsy results just came back and you don’t have cancer after all. You’re not giddy, exactly, but you can finally take a deep breath and maybe let some of the tension drain out of your shoulders. The future remains uncertain but you can begin to imagine it as something other than relentlessly bleak.
Cheery bunch, aren’t we?
David Sirota explains why Lamont lost, and why some of the popular narratives of this loss should not be trusted.
The not utterly reliable Times of London says there is a secret plan to end the war — by leaving Iraq before 2008.
American and Iraqi officials have set a date for giving Iraqs forces responsibility for security across the country.
Under a plan to be presented to the UN Security Council next month, the Iraqi Government would assume authority from coalition troops by the end of next year.
Only hours after Donald Rumsfeld was replaced as US Defence Secretary, American, British and Iraqi officials spoke openly about accelerating the handover process.
If, as increasingly seems to be the case, our troops are not actually doing any good and are being pounded for it, then ignominious retreat is the right thing to do. And I’d just as soon it be done sooner rather than later. On the other hand, I accept that having wrongly invaded and created a mess brings with it some moral duty to try to sort it out if there seems a way that can be achieved. At present, however, I don’t know anyone who knows how to do that.
On the radio yesterday, someone said that a majority of the American people no longer support the Iraq war. However, a majority also don’t support pulling out. That will change as casualties mount. I hope, without much hope, that the reason for staying another 12 months or more, is something more substantive than saving face, or the PR war, but is tied to achievable objectives on the ground.
There were a lot of celebratory articles today about how the voting machines worked OK on Tuesday. (E.g. AP’s Voting System Worked, With Some Hiccups.)
Not so fast. Looks like another Florida voting machine meltdown. Yes, all the elements are there. Enough missing votes to determine the outcome of a Congressional election. Florida election officials in a state of denial. Next up, the lawsuit(s).
(See also Flablog for the cynical summary.)
Allen concedes. Does this mean we move from political Hell to political Purgatory?
And, yes, my predictions that (a) Allen would litigate and (b) the national party would encourage it both appear to be wrong. The report is that the national guys decided the case was unwinnable and didn’t want two months of bad press. (But maybe my read of Allen wasn’t all that far off?)
The action now moves to how many judges and how much evil legislation this administration can try to rush through the lame duck Senate. First up — the warrantless wiretapping bill?
Here’s a cool(ing) idea from Nick Szabo.
Jotwell Blenderlaw