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Then yesterday, the Security Council unanimously approves a resolution endorsing the new government, after negotiating in some mushy, worthless language.

But since the resolution does not give the Iraq government a veto over US military actions within its borders (and Iraq's leaders are still handpicked), the US still has effective control.

(For those who would argue that the choice of Ghazi al-Yawer for president was proof the US doesn't have control, this AP account shows how uncontrollable he's being:

…al-Yawer, meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Colin Powell, brushed off any suggestion that there might be disagreement between U.S. and Iraqi commanders.

"We are working together," al-Yawer told reporters. "These people are in our country to help us.")

Furthermore, the main Security Council members that led to the unanimous vote -- France, Germany and Russia -- still say they won't contribute troops.

And without more international contributions, winning this resolution is a pretty empty victory for Bush.

Though Bush doesn't seem to be crying about it. He seems to have got what we wanted:

More UN cover (making it a little harder for Kerry to charge him with unilateralism), without giving up any real control.

But if the UN provides Bush with some domestic political cover, Bush certainly does not do the same for the UN in the rest of the world.

And if Iraq continues to be a mess by 2005 (as the current policy makes likely), the UN may then be seen as part of the problem.

Which would feed Bin Laden's arguments.

That could make Iraq awfully difficult for a President Kerry to fix.

Instead of being able to simply turn things over to an international institution with credibility, Kerry will have to find a way to restore badly damaged American credibility.

And fast.

One can only hope that the mere changing of the guard will do wonders.

June 8, 2004 PERMALINK
The Elephant and the Squirrel
(posted June 8 12 AM ET)
(minor edit June 8 3:30 PM ET)

Perhaps when watching TV on Sunday, you saw clips of Bush being interviewed by Tom Brokaw, delivering his speech commemorating the D-Day anniversary, or giving his statement on Reagan's passing.

And perhaps it occurred to you that Bush's tentative and/or defensive appearances didn't look all that good when juxtaposed with all the clips of an assured, quick-witted Reagan.

After all the times when the media raved about Dubya's plain-spoken style when he actually sounded idiotic, you could be excused for thinking the punditocracy would never make such a comparison, especially at such a sensitive time.

But some of them did.

The NY Times reported:

Some Republicans said the images of a forceful Mr. Reagan giving dramatic speeches on television provided a less-than-welcome contrast with Mr. Bush's own appearances these days, and that it was not in Mr. Bush's interest to encourage such comparisons.

That concern was illustrated on Sunday, one Republican said, by televised images of Mr. Reagan's riveting speech in Normandy commemorating D-Day in 1984, followed by Mr. Bush's address at a similar ceremony on Sunday.

"Reagan showed what high stature that a president can have — and my fear is that Bush will look diminished by comparison," said one Republican sympathetic to Mr. Bush, who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing the president.

Another NYT piece, assessing the TV coverage, said:

…Mr. Bush had to endure the contrast in presidential styles.

As much as the president casts himself as Mr. Reagan's political heir, the coverage yesterday underlined Mr. Reagan's inimitable charm and telegenic poise, his ease and comfort in front of the camera.

The flood of reminiscences underlined how formidable Mr. Reagan's communication skills really were. Commentators over and over recalled Mr. Reagan's "way with words."

He also had a way with television that no successor, not even Mr. Bush, has been able to imitate.

The SF Chronicle quoted former Mayor Willie Brown:

…Brown said Bush runs the risk of appearing diminished by comparison.

"He will do his best to try and associate himself with Reagan -- but it won't fly," the Democrat said. "It would be as if you're comparing a squirrel to an elephant."

That quote got picked up by the insider online columns First Read at msnbc.com and White House Briefing at washingtonpost.com.

White House Briefing also added its two cents:

…it's not entirely clear if Bush will emerge from a solid week of tributes and reminiscences resplendent as a self-styled heir to the Reagan legacy, or if he will suffer in comparison from a stature gap…

These attitudes may not be dominating the Reagan coverage, which is much more about Reagan than about 2004.

But they are clearly part of the Establishment chatter. The chatterers are not reflexively using the occasion to insist that Dubya is unbeatable.

That's what happens when your approval is in the mid-40s. You simply don't get the same deference.

Of course, if Bush gives a great eulogy on Friday, pundits could well resume doling out the 2003-style effusive praise.

(And it's likely Bush gives a great eulogy. Enough of this lowering expectations. Like a classic slacker, Bush has been able to pull off a big speech when it counted.)

But even if such a thing gives Bush a temporary boost, all the things that have dragged him into the 40s will still be there once the week's mourning is done.

QUICK HIT

Why Bush Needs A Lawyer

Alternet posts former Nixon counsel John Dean's assessment of the Plame investigation, "Why Bush Needs a Lawyer." A taste:

…it seems the investigators are seeking to connect up with, and then speak with, persons who have links to and from the leaked information - and those persons, it seems, probably include the President…

…Undoubtedly, those from the White House have been asked if they spoke with the president about the leak. It appears that one or more of them may indeed have done so.

Click here for the whole piece.

June 7, 2004 PERMALINK
The Sunday Talkshow Breakdown
A weekly feature of LiberalOasis
(posted June 7 12 AM ET)

The various retrospectives and remembrances of Ronald Reagan on the Sunday shows were much of what you'd expect.

Fond memories of his humor and optimism, GOP embellishing of his record and place in history, just enough Iran-Contra for the media to avoid being accused of whitewashing.

But there were a few unexpected, notable moments.

1. McCain's subtle dig at Bush

On NBC's Meet The Press, Tim Russert showed a clip of Tom Brokaw's interview of Bush.

In it, Bush responded to the charge that Europeans dislike him by noting that "they felt the same way" about Reagan.

Russert then asked Sen. John McCain if that was right.

(Beltway wingers must be livid that NBC and ABC booked McCain to praise and define Reagan's legacy)

And McCain appeared to go out of his way to criticize Bush (though not by name), and unfavorably compare him to Reagan, on excessive partisanship:

RUSSERT: Is that a valid argument, that the attitudes in Europe towards Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush are similar?

McCAIN: Well, it's hard for me to judge at the moment...

...I do think that Ronald Reagan had a kindness and a gentleness about him that not only worked in Europe, but here in the Congress, which brings up an important point.

Ronald Reagan did some very controversial things. The partisanship that existed in the 1980s was as strong…

…But after 6:00, he and [House Speaker] Tip O'Neill would get together and tell stories and enjoy each other's company.

And that was true in other parts of Capitol Hill.

Now, we have such bitter partisanship and such personalization of politics that I know Ronald Reagan is very disappointed, very disappointed that--look, it's fine to fight all day long, but we don't have to dislike each other personally.

Nor do we have to attack each other, nor do we have to polarize the nation.

I think if there is a legacy of Ronald Reagan, let's stop this and let's start working together for the good of the country.

That's what's missing from the Ronald Reagan era, in my view.

2. Passive Aggressive Powell

Might this observation by Secretary of State Colin Powell, on CNN's Late Edition, been a passive-aggressive shot at his boss and his Middle East "democracy" strategy?

[Reagan] always believed that the Soviet people deserved a better system than the system they had.

And he was going to make it happen. Not by war, but by peace, by showing the power of democracy.

3. Reagan can even make apartheid funny!

On Fox News Sunday, Reagan's Chief of Staff Jim Baker shared an anecdote that inadvertently reminded us of Reagan's attitude about apartheid in South Africa:

The only time that I know that Ronald Reagan had a veto overridden by the Congress was on South Africa policy, where we were pursuing a policy of "constructive engagement".

The Congress put sanctions on. The president vetoed them. Congress overrode him.

We went in about two weeks later and said:

"Mr. President, you really need to start seeing some of the more moderate black leaders of South Africa, so we can take South African policy back from the Congress."

He said, "OK, well, who you got in mind?" He wasn't particularly happy.

We said, Bishop [Desmond] Tutu. So he said, all right, reluctantly.

We brought Bishop Tutu in…The press comes in, asks the president a question.

He said, "I'm not going to answer questions. This is a photo opportunity."

They turned to Bishop Tutu, who thoroughly trashed the president and his policy right there in his presence.

Well, the next day, the first event, the press come charging in, and they're saying, "Mr. President, Mr. President, what about your meeting with Bishop Tutu?"

They smelled blood in the water…

…And the president's sitting there like this. He looks down at his hands. And he says, "Tutu? So-so."

By the way, over at MTP, Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan said, "The entire political meaning of Ronald Reagan's political career was…'Let freedom reign.'"

4. No New Taxes…Today

Baker's wasn't the only supposedly funny anecdote that also shed more light than intended on Reagan's policies.

On ABC's This Week, former deputy press secretary Larry Speakes pulled back a little too much curtain on Reagan's tax policy, and adherence to the truth in general:

SPEAKES: Somebody raised the question once, about, did you ever see Ronald Reagan get mad?…

…There was a press conference, and he said "No new taxes". This was in '82.

And so the next morning I knew I was going to catch it in the briefing room.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Because he was about to raise taxes --

SPEAKES: That's right. They were going to be raised. And we knew it.

So we went in to the office. Jim Baker was there, [Counselor to the President] Ed Meese and I.

Jim Baker went at the President and President said, "No new taxes." And I looked at Ed and he said…"No new taxes."

And so everybody looked at me.

And I had a sheet that had kind of a weasel word thing to talk about it, and I handed him that sheet…

…he looked it for a half a second, and he grabbed his pen in front of the desk, and pulled it up like that [jerks hand up to chest] and the base of the pen flew over that way [motions away from himself].

And he wrote on it, "No new taxes". And he said, "and I mean it."…

…Then he stood there for a minute, and gave us a big smile and said, "telegram follows later."

QUICK HITS

Speaking of Freedom…

Last night, Dateline NBC aired an exclusive interview Tom Brokaw had with Dubya, who made this telling remark:

Winning the war on terror requires more than just doing in Al Qaeda…it also means installing governments that don't necessarily look like America…

[Emphasis added]

Kerry on C-Span

John Kerry did a half-hour interview with C-Span yesterday, and it's pretty damn good. Check it out at c-span.org.

The Sandbox
Humor Column by Mark Spittle

Things To Do With Chalabi Now That The Pentagon Is Done With Him

Many Americans awoke a few days ago with the heartbreaking news that Iraqi exile and Iraqi National Congress founder Ahmed Chalabi is a “con man.”

Those of us who read the occasional dissident press of the Europeans knew --- as far back as pre 9/11 days --- that Chalabi had been convicted of bank fraud in Jordan and sentenced in absentia for 22 years, and that his word was less than trustworthy.

Now, thanks to our state-run me… erm, I mean “aggressive free press,” all Americans have finally been told about Chalabi’s dark past.

That the release of this news to the American press coincides with the White House’s reversal of position on Chalabi is, I suppose, just a really, really weird coincidence.

But pity poor Chalabi! Here was an Iraqi leader who had been supported by the Pentagon for decades and thought he was going to take the place of the last Iraqi leader who was supported by the Pentagon… but, alas, the twists of Fate are meandering, thorny brambles.

I did some poking around, though, and found a lot of people still have a warm place in their hearts for our little bean-headed buddy from Baghdad.

Assuming Chalabi escapes without a chemical glow stick inconveniencing his posture in any way, let’s look at some future career possibilities for Iraq’s prodigal son.

1) TELEVISION

CBS executives have already been trying to get communications over to Chalabi’s office, asking him to host their new reality television series, “I’m A Former Dictator, Get Me Out of Here!”

The premise of the show is that various nefarious international leaders (Hussein, Pinochet, Kissinger) are abandoned on a desert island until only one remains. The winner will get to rule Burkina Faso.

CBS feels Chalabi “has the right stuff” for hosting the show, seeing as how he “has unprecedented experience in handling rulers of various nations across the world.”

It’s also thought that Chalabi may “add some excitement” to the program by enticing the dictators to do various ratings-enhancing stunts, like resorting to cannibalism or (worse yet!) denouncing conservatism in exchange for chocolate.

2) POLITICS

There may yet be a role for Ahmed Chalabi in the Bush administration!

Sure, his international street cred may be in tatters, but that takes nothing away from his ability to sway policy makers with only the most scant bits of evidence and huge gobs of deception.

Such traits would do him well on the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign team, where the American people will occasionally need to be convinced that destroying Iraq, alienating the UN, polluting the US Constitution with discriminatory amendments, ignoring the Geneva Convention and ruining the US economy are actually “compassionate” deeds, making the nation better than it was under that evil sicko Clinton.

If anyone can spin Bush’s record to the general public, it’s the guy who convinced Colin Powell that an abandoned Iraqi trailer park was an active nuclear weapons facility.

3) FINANCE

With his Bush family connections, Ahmed can probably turn his Jordanian conviction to his advantage.

After all, Dubya had problems with Harken, Arbusto and the Texas Rangers. Jeb caused the Florida S & L collapse. Neil had the Silverado Savings & Loan debacle. And Poppy Bush topped them all with the BCCI scandal.

If anything, Chalabi’s work is downright quaint compared to his patrons.

Given that, perhaps Chalabi could put his white collar criminal past to good use and gain a position of power like the Bushes… perhaps replacing Dick Grasso at the NYSE?

4) CARTOONS

Ahmed Chalabi left Iraq at age 12, studied at Chicago University and MIT --- but he still has that funky, broken-English accent!

How’s that, you ask? Unbeknownst to many, Chalabi is a skilled voice actor.

In fact, a Freedom of Information Act request discovered that Chalabi’s vocal talents have been heard on The Simpsons (he’s Dr. Nick), Batman (he’s Alfred the butler) and Kim Possible (he’s Kim.)

He’s even overdubbed quite a few Asian films, including a new release of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (he was the ugly ronin) and Godzilla vs. Megaguiras (he was the old scientist.)

With this impressive resume already on his record, is there any question that he won’t take advantage of what he once called “an amusing hobby” and turn it into a lucrative career?

The producers of Toy Story 3 are already sending offers, I’m told.

Mark Spittle is one half of the political satire duo Spittle & Ink. He is a former Washington lobbyist and congressional assistant.

**************

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