Obama launches presidential bid

We failed to mention Obama's presidential bid earlier today because, well, it wasn't really news. We all knew it was coming. Though it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to give you all a chance to discuss it.

We've always liked Obama here at AMERICAblog. (Sure, he bought blogads on other blogs and not ours, but we're not bitter.) Well, at least I do (and I don't think Joe has any great issues with him). I'm from Illinois, and I like Obama, at least from what I've seen. He speaks well, seems down-to-earth, earnest, sincere. All good things. And, what do you know, he has a brain, which would be a nice thing to have in the Oval Office.

Can Obama win the presidency? Sure, some day. Will he win this time? I'm not sure, but it's obviously far too early to tell - hell, I never thought Kerry had a chance in hell of becoming the Democratic candidate, and well... Though I wonder if the electorate might find Obama too green to win this time. After 8 years of Bush, the voters could very likely desire brains and experience. Then again, whether he wins or not, a presidential run is still a good chance for Obama to get his name out there - and he certainly is doing that - and set himself up as a prime talking head and a possible run in the future. No one says you have to win the first time.

One bit of advice for the Obama crowd. Teach your boss to use the word "I." Obama was on CNN last week, talking about Bush's Iraq escalation plan, and he kept talking about (and I paraphrase) how "our office was considering that" or how "my staff is looking at that" or how "we are certainly thinking about that." It's no your office, it's not your staff, and it's not we. It's you. It's I. Obama is far too new at this to be adopting Senator-speak so quickly. He has a fresh face and a fresh voice. And some adviser(s) are already ruining the guy's speech (and worse yet, thought?) patterns.

Obama is a masterful speaker, and seems to have a brain to match. Hopefully, whoever he's getting his advice from, won't turn Obama into the same overly-cautious we-man that we've seen far too many times before. Read More......

Afghanistan mission running short of people and equipment

Too bad Bush is using everything for Iraq instead of the real war on terror.

Eikenberry said the 33,000-strong ISAF was 10 percent short of the troops promised by NATO. A US military official said it was also short of aviation support, logistics and intelligence elements.

US military officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity provided a more detailed picture of the security situation that shows an even greater spike in Taliban violence over the past year.

The number of direct fire attacks soared from 1,558 in 2005 to 4,542 in 2006; improvised explosive device attacks were up from 783 to 1,677 in the same period; and the number of suicide attacks rose from 27 in 2005 to 139 in 2006.

Officials said cross-border attacks climbed nearly fourfold in southeastern Khost and Paktika provinces in the 60 days after a Pakistani accord with tribal leaders in North Waziristan in September.

The officials said some border incidents had been in full view of Pakistani military posts on the border who did nothing to engage the insurgents or stop them moving into Afghanistan.

Read More......

Open thread

We had one of the most stunning sunsets, ever, tonight in DC.

Read More......

Uh oh, they found weapons of mass destruction in Syria

Get ready to invade. Read More......

American Airlines loses "terrorist" lawsuit

Flying while looking like a foreigner.

A federal jury has ordered American Airlines to pay $400,000 to a computer consultant who was pulled from a flight at Logan International Airport because of security concerns, then denied reboarding even after he had been cleared by State Police.

"I felt like I was being treated like a terrorist and there was no way I could prove I didn't do anything or say anything at all," said John Cerqueira , 39, who grew up in Fall River and now lives in Miami. "I'm grateful to the jury for sending the message to American Airlines that just the use of the word security isn't an excuse for unlawful behavior."

Cerqueira, who was born in Portugal and is a US citizen, was returning to Florida after spending Christmas with his family when he boarded a non stop flight to Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 28, 2003. But before takeoff, Cerqueira said, the flight crew called police because of concerns about two Middle Eastern passengers who were seated beside him .

Cerqueira said he didn't know the men, who were Israelis, but believes he was taken into custody with the men because he looked like them.

All because he had the look...of two Israelis. Read More......

White House Correspondents Association wants Bush-friendlier dinner this year

Yes, God forbid we lived in a country where the media sometimes gave our politicians a hard time. While we're fighting for habeas corpus these guys are worried about losing photo opps and getting just the right comedian for dinner.

More from E&P;. Best quote of the article, concerning who they should have at this year's dinner after having Stephen Colbert last year:

"You want someone who appeals to the Bob Novaks and the bloggers of the world."

I hear Mary Carey is free. Read More......

Arab media and perceptions

The myth that there's a moderate, centrist, and pro-West majority in Iraq just waiting to be tapped into continues to sputter on, encouraged by media that gets quotes from the most westernized and west-friendly sources and politicians, as well as, of course, mendacious claims by the reality-averse community. In reality, Iraqi opinion of the U.S. is overwhelmingly negative, and this is reflected in the kind of stories that saturate Arab press but rarely appear in the U.S.

The following is a sample of news stories translated from the original Arabic. All but the first are from Azzaman, which is run by Saad Bazzaz, a former media chief in Iraq who fell out with Saddam (and defected) in 1992, so it's not a comprehensive sample, but the topics are, I think, representative.

- A report that Moqtada al-Sadr himself received the noose that hung Saddam (and a Kuwaiti businessman's attempts to buy it. Gosh, hard to imagine that Sunnis thought the hanging process represented a direct provocation.

- Iraq's unemployment at 50%. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mohamed Radhi said the high jobless rate was devastating to a country torn by sectarian strife and violence.

- Iraqi official claims U.S. lying about reconstruction projects. Americans "prevent the implementation of strategic projects that are of benefit to the provincial population at large," the official said. Obviously he hasn't been watching enough Fox News.

- The headline: Children die, miscarriages increase as U.S. troops lay siege to city. The money quote of the article: The town's nearly 50,000 inhabitants are now without running water and food supplies are running dangerously low. But the occupiers seem to be determined to proceed with their mass punishment and are turning away aid convoys.

- Editorial: U.S. concept of victory in Iraq is laughable. The word ‘victory’ is so frequently used in the U.S. political rhetoric that it has almost lost its meanings. For example, U.S. officials call the opening of a hair dressing saloon led by a Muslim woman in Afghanistan a victory even if they are certain that the hapless woman will eventually lose her life as a result. And the talk of victory over 'terrorists' in Iraq has been these officials’ mantra since the fall of the former regime. But they hide the fact that the country was free of all forms of their so-called terror.

Needless to say, the point is not that I agree with everything in the Iraqi press -- I certainly don't -- but this is decently representative of thoughts and feelings in Iraq. And our president is miffed that Iraqis aren't grateful.

I continue to believe that only people who have zero perspective on what life is like without having everything completely provided for would think that "freedom" -- and apparently total anarchy and lawlessness counts -- is everyone's priority above all else. Read More......

Watch this!

I LOVE these guys. You may recall that we've posted a lot of their videos. Well, here's another. It's a message to Democrats. Fabulous.



This is the same crowd that brought us some wonderful memories including:

- Rush Limbaugh is a big fat drug addict.
- Red and Blue, a love story. It's a music video entirely using a video game as the characters - they wrote their own music and everything, check this one out if you haven't, it's amazing.
- ABC/Disney present "The Path to the San Francisco Earthquake." Read More......

Bush to Dems: Fix my fiscal disaster

The Washington Post reports that George Bush intends to place the responsibility for the federal budget problems on the Democrats. He's made the mess, but needs someone else to clean it up. Bush is also going to lie and pretend that he wants fiscal restraint:

When he takes the House rostrum next week for the State of the Union address, President Bush will list among his goals a balanced federal budget, a shift for a president who has presided over record deficits while aggressively cutting taxes.

Politically, analysts say, the president is calling the bluff of Democrats, who won control of Congress in part by accusing Bush of reckless fiscal policies. While Bush now shares the Democrats' goal to erase the deficit by 2012, the politically perilous work of making that happen -- cutting spending or raising taxes -- falls to the Democratic-run Congress.

"The Democrats have assailed deficits under President Bush. The White House is telling Democrats to walk the walk," said Brian M. Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Budget experts and economists from across the political spectrum, including some who worked in the Bush White House, say that Bush is unlikely to offer real concessions toward a balanced budget in the plan he delivers to Congress next month.

Of course Bush won't offer concessions. He just wants to cut taxes while we're at war -- a previously unheard of concept.

Many Republicans, like George Bush, just don't understand how budgets work. He never had to. He was a trust fund kid. There was always more money available. Bush never understood that when he used credit cards, the bill had actually to be paid. Bush has maxed out America's credit cards by running up massive deficits every year and adding to our massive debt. Now, the debt has to be paid. Just like they did in the 90s, the Democrats will cut the credit cards and start paying down the debt. Democrats understand how budgets work in real families that's why they are better at managing the country's budget.

Of course, Bush wants to make this in to a political game. He is determined to destroy this country in every way he can. Read More......

Bush caught lying about Iraq, again

And this time the media is calling on it. Per McClatchy:

President Bush and his aides, explaining their reasons for sending more American troops to Iraq, are offering an incomplete, oversimplified and possibly untrue version of events there that raises new questions about the accuracy of the administration's statements about Iraq.

And for anyone thinking that Bush simply mis-spoke:

Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley used the same version of events in an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

It's a coordinated strategy, like everything they do, to lie. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Condi's on her diplomatic mission -- securing peace in the Mideast. Uh-huh. Meanwhile, as Chris notes below, the Bush team's efforts in Iraq resulted in almost 35,000 dead Iraqis last year.

It's remarkable how badly the Bush administration has destroyed the credibility and reputation of the U.S. around the world. Truly remarkable how weak they've made us look. Didn't really take them that long.

So, any non-Golden Globes related news? (Full disclosure: I did see "Dreamgirls" yesterday - Jennifer Hudson was amazing. Really amazing.) Read More......

35,000 Iraqi civilians killed last year

Add to that an additional 37,000 wounded. Read More......

Castro reportedly in grave condition

Another place for Bush to invade. And don't think the neo-cons haven't suggested it. Read More......