I agree with Barack Obama’s rejection of public financing in his presidential race because he is right that the ecosystem of campaign finance remains warped and that one side running tied by the rules of public finance and the other side essentially not would produce a disputed, potentially unfair outcome.
Yesterday, former Defense Department Under Secretary Douglas Feith failed to show up at a Congressional hearing investigating abusive interrogation techniques used on combat detainees because he did not want to appear along side former State Department Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson.
Pew Global Attitudes Video File can be watched here. I’m stuck in San Francisco Airport after my United Airlines flight was canceled and many of us cattle were roughed up and redirected to other possible flights home.
Osama bin Laden is not the most dangerous man in the world. And while George Bush and Vice President Cheney have been reckless and imperiled America’s position in the world, they too don’t rank all that high. But A.Q. Khan does.
Tim Russert died today from a heart attack. He has been a giant in political news — and he resisted for the most part much of the corruption of journalist celebratization, though clearly he knew he was a celebrity. I’m very sad about this news.
One of the things I really, really liked when I met Howard Dean in January 2003 at an event that I helped organize between the New America Foundation and the Atlantic Monthly on the subject of the “Real State of the Union” was how ferocious and tenacious I saw he could be.
Tonight, I’m going to a big bash celebrating the UN Foundation’s 10th Anniversary at the brand spanking new Newseum. Ted Turner chairs, Tim Wirth and Kathy Calvin run it, and John Bolton complains. (sort of like that old adage: Washington reigned, Hamilton ruled, and Jefferson complained. . .) Tonight, they will be honoring Kofi Annan….
(photo credit: Prince of Petworth) In the last few hours, I have received three emails from friends telling me my house was featured as “house of the day” on a local blog with which I don’t think I have any connection.
My colleague Patrick Doherty just posted this fascinating review of the major Center for a New American Security Conference titled “Pivot Point: New Directions for American Security.
Yesterday, I met with some Americans who have just returned from traveling to Syria, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and Libya. They met a number of high ranking state officials in these governments but also met with representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah.
