Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Two Thousand Dead, But At Least The Buildings Look Nice
Remember Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran who ran for Congress in an Ohio district that had historically gone for the Repugs by 40-point margins, and ended up losing 52-48? He's decided to run for the Senate next year, against incumbent Repug Mike DeWine.
Hackett: "There are two options: Increase troop strength or train the Iraqi military with a match of one American soldier for every Iraqi soldier. That's not going to happen. Everybody knows that, so if we're not going to train the Iraqi military, let's quit spending our money and spending our lives.
"Here's the problem: We've been there two-plus years and there's nothing objective this country can point at and say, 'This is what we've improved since we've been over there.' The infrastructure is worse -- the electrical grid, the water grid, the sewage grid, the road system. All that infrastructure is worse today than when we got there two-plus years ago."
Interviewer: "The Bush administration says there's progress."
Hackett: "Bullshit. I've been there. There's no success unless you call painting schools success. We've painted a lot of schools." I can scarcely describe my glee when I read that succinct "bullshit"--the kind of thing DLC Democrats wouldn't say if they were covered in it.
Hackett will have to get through a primary against Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown, who dithered about getting into the race, decided not to run, and then changed his mind about the same time Hackett got in. But no worries--if Hackett loses the primary, the Democrats ought to run him for president in 2008.
Merry Fitzmas: It just keeps getting worse for He Who Shall Not Be Named. Even if today isn't the day the Fitz hits the fan, news that it may have been Dick Cheney himself who outed Valerie Plame to his staff is like getting a present early. But the threat of indictments hasn't paralyzed the White House. Administration officials found time this week to demand that The Onion stop using the presidential seal in parodies. Dave Pell at Davenetics gets Quote of the Day: "That is the modern-day equivalent of trying to heckle Don Rickles."
Remember Paul Hackett, the Iraq war veteran who ran for Congress in an Ohio district that had historically gone for the Repugs by 40-point margins, and ended up losing 52-48? He's decided to run for the Senate next year, against incumbent Repug Mike DeWine.
Salon interviewer: "When you ran for Congress, you favored better training for Iraqi forces. Now you're saying we should get out?"
Hackett: "There are two options: Increase troop strength or train the Iraqi military with a match of one American soldier for every Iraqi soldier. That's not going to happen. Everybody knows that, so if we're not going to train the Iraqi military, let's quit spending our money and spending our lives.
"Here's the problem: We've been there two-plus years and there's nothing objective this country can point at and say, 'This is what we've improved since we've been over there.' The infrastructure is worse -- the electrical grid, the water grid, the sewage grid, the road system. All that infrastructure is worse today than when we got there two-plus years ago."
Interviewer: "The Bush administration says there's progress."
Hackett: "Bullshit. I've been there. There's no success unless you call painting schools success. We've painted a lot of schools." I can scarcely describe my glee when I read that succinct "bullshit"--the kind of thing DLC Democrats wouldn't say if they were covered in it.
Hackett will have to get through a primary against Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown, who dithered about getting into the race, decided not to run, and then changed his mind about the same time Hackett got in. But no worries--if Hackett loses the primary, the Democrats ought to run him for president in 2008.
Merry Fitzmas: It just keeps getting worse for He Who Shall Not Be Named. Even if today isn't the day the Fitz hits the fan, news that it may have been Dick Cheney himself who outed Valerie Plame to his staff is like getting a present early. But the threat of indictments hasn't paralyzed the White House. Administration officials found time this week to demand that The Onion stop using the presidential seal in parodies. Dave Pell at Davenetics gets Quote of the Day: "That is the modern-day equivalent of trying to heckle Don Rickles."
