Bill is still hedging his bets; he's drinking the negative Kool-Aid and buying into the idea that McCain is the underdog in a race that may be more objectively neck-and-neck between McCain and Obama.

Yet he hasn't let the negativity in the air ruin his perspective completely.

And I agree with most of his policy prescriptions: attack, Senator McCain. Get on the air. Both you and the Good Governor need to be on the Sunday talk shows this coming weekend. Buy some airtime on Thursday night if the campaign can possibly scrape up the money, so as to respond to whatever Obama's going to try to do with his his own half hour of change, hope and pulling magical things out of top hats.

And cut out the infighting in the campaign, or at least keep it behind closed doors.

I do not, however, agree with Kristol's feeling that all the negative ads about Obama should be pulled. If the very libertarian, very unscary Goldwater could be defeated by one negative ad that distorted his positions, I see no reason to go wobbly at this point with respect to either Obama's disastrous economic proposals, nor his "cut and run" attitude regarding Iraq.

At this point, the surge has been so successful that some feel that we cannot lose in Iraq, and that is possible, though I feel one can usually find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Afghanistan, however, still has to be secured, and it will be a tougher nut to crack than Iraq was—particularly with the degree of international involvement, which keeps us handcuffed in a number of ways.

Between Afghanistan, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and the delicate matter of renegotiating our relationship with some of our "friends" (the Saudis, the Pakistanis, and possibly the Chinese) we must be careful: we can't afford a newbie at the helm—much less a "partition Iraq"/"Obama will be tested"/"look at my I.Q." kook like Joe Biden.

As far as the economy is concerned, I realize that there are nuances involved. Barack Obama may no longer be a socialist at all. It's possible that he is simply an aggressive welfare capitalist, at the far left side of the continuum. And even in my libertarian circles a lot of people (if they are pressed hard enough) will admit to the feeling that there should be some sort of safety net for the unemployed, provided it is temporary, rather than a "lifestyle."

But the economy is at a point such that the best thing we could do for it now is get some jobs created, and that will not happen without small and medium-sized businesses getting some tax breaks and seeing a bit of lessening in the restrictions they face.

We are also at a point wherein every dime we can spare from defense should go to tax breaks for energy companies, so that they can "greedily" figure out how to address our energy issues without subsidizing our enemies. Which means, in the short term, more drilling in fecund areas like the Gulf and the Southern California coast (done, of course, in an environmentally responsible way), and—medium-term—R&D on all the other alternatives—especially those that are low in carbon emissions, and especially those that are renewable. In the long term, we're going to be relying more on biofuels and electricity (which, of course, can come from a number of sources). But we're still figuring out how to bring those costs down.

The worst thing we could do now is pull money out of the research that is shaping our future, as we move away from fossil fuels.

And that is what Barack Obama wants to do. There is no way to sugar-coat that.

This election is critical—militarily, economically, and environmentally. And as much as I respect Obama's brainpower and idealism, that is not enough. McCain has to win this one, or we will quite likely go into a full-on recession, and we might well be attacked again; we may not even see the support for Israel that we've been able to provide in the past, and whatever else Israel is, it is a toehold for democracy in the Middle East—one of very few examples (ironically enough) of multi-ethnic representative democracy.

Vote.

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Center-right bloggers on McCain, Palin, the mainstream media, and the election.

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Her role is primarily legislative, according to Glenn, who disapproves of the Gore/Cheney model of heavy Veep involvement in the executive branch.

My one concern there would be that the Veep must be kept "up to speed" on critical matters that she would have to deal with, were the President himself to die or become incapacitated. And any areas that represents knowledge gaps (such as foreign policy for Palin, keeping his mouth shut for Biden) would be areas they should want to work on actively, as opposed to the old canard that the Veep's job is "to sit around and wait for the President to die."

Ideally, the Veep would be kept busy: monitoring some of the President's policy meetings, receiving a number of the same briefings—keeping up-to-speed, should her services be needed in the top office—but, yes: presiding over the Senate, as the Constitution demands.

Here's the long version of Reynolds' article.

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"Did the God of Socialism fail, or not?"

That is what this election is about.

Did the vampire of redistribution that had me enthralled during my college years ever lose its appeal?

Because it still wants blood, even now.

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Via Morrissey, who points out that it isn't so much a question of "the last eight years" as it has been the last year. Though the groundwork for that has been laid previously.

Let's go back to the "Never Find Out" hit parade:

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HillBuzz wonders why all the early voting runs counter to the predictions of the "Eeyore" pollsters and the "Eeyore" pundits.

Well, let's see. "Two schools of thought, there"—

1) There's a lot of wishful thinking out there regarding the possibility of an Obama presidency, and that serves as a rationale for poll samples that predict historically unheard-of turnout among young Obama supporters in all, um, 57 states;

2) We're being deliberately lied to—led to believe that a race that will be very, very close is isn't any such thing, and Obama's got it more or less in the bag.

Probably an act of kindness on the part of the Obamabots; they're trying to buffer the shock for us, in case McCain doesn't win.

They are just trying to be nice. So when we win, we should try not to gloat.

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I don't believe we did that.

At least, not purpose. I think our guys just got lost. Not enough landmarks in the area, and they were tired. Maybe the GPS thingies on the choppers weren't working properly.

It's a shame, though:

"Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch and immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria," the government statement said.

Textbook chutzpah.

You know, I'd hate to see your friends in Lebanon get angry with you, Dudes. It would be a goddamned tragedy if weapons fell into their hands that would end up pointed in your direction. I'd feel awful about a thing like that.

On Thursday, U.S. Maj. Gen. John Kelly said Iraq's western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries but that Syria was a "different story."

"The Syrian side is, I guess, uncontrolled by their side," Kelly said. "We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement."

He added that the U.S. was helping construct a sand berm and ditches along the border. "There hasn't been much, in the way of a physical barrier, along that border for years," Kelly said.

The foreign fighters network sends militants from North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qaida and loyalists of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, the U.S. military official said.

. . . . . . . . .

The White House in August approved similar special forces raids from Afghanistan across the border of Pakistan to target al-Qaida and Taliban operatives. At least one has been carried out.

The flow of foreign fighters into Iraq has been cut to an estimated 20 a month, a senior U.S. military intelligence official told the Associated Press in July. That's a 50 percent decline from six months ago, and just a fifth of the estimated 100 foreign fighters who were infiltrating Iraq a year ago, according to the official.
Ninety percent of the foreign fighters enter through Syria, according to U.S. intelligence. Foreigners are some of the most deadly fighters in Iraq, trained in bomb-making and with small-arms expertise and more likely to be willing suicide bombers than Iraqis.

Foreign fighters toting cash have been al-Qaida in Iraq's chief source of income. They contributed more than 70 percent of operating budgets in one sector in Iraq, according to documents captured in September 2007 on the Syrian border. Most of the fighters were conveyed through professional smuggling networks, according to the report.

More:

The US has neither confirmed nor denied the operation took place. If the attack occurred, it would have been carried out by Task Force 88, the special operations hunt-killer teams assigned to target al Qaeda operatives as well as Shia terrorists in Iraq.

The US has shied away from conducting strikes inside Syria in the past. If confirmed this would be the first such strike inside Syria since the US invaded Iraq in March of 2003.

Syria has sheltered Iraqi insurgents and foreign al Qaeda fighters, and allowed the groups to run camps inside the country. Syria also facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into the country and across the border into Iraq.

If the raid occurred, the US military must have detected a senior member of al Qaeda in Iraq in the region. Abu Ayyub al Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, is reported to have left the country earlier this year after the terror group lost its sanctuaries in Diyala province.

The US military may be closing in on al QaedaÂ’s senior leadership. US forces killed Abu Qaswarah, al Qaeda in Iraq's second in command, during a raid in Mosul in northern Iraq on Oct. 15. The military has also killed and captured numerous al Qaeda leader and couriers over the past several weeks. The information obtained during these raids help to paint a picture of al QaedaÂ’s command structure inside of of Iraq as well as in neighboring countries.

And yet more:

Wanted insurgent leaders, such as Mishan al Jabouri, openly live in Syria. Jabouri, a former member of the Iraqi parliament, fled to Syria after being charged with corruption for embezzling government funds and for supporting al Qaeda. From Syria Jabouri ran Al Zawraa, a satellite television statement that aired al Qaeda and Islamic Army of Iraq propaganda videos showing attacks against US and Iraqi forces.

Al Qaeda established a network of operatives inside Syria to move foreign fighters, weapons, and cash to support its terror activities inside Iraq. An al Qaeda manual detailed ways to infiltrate Iraq via Syria. The manual, titled The New Road to Mesopotamia, was written by a jihadi named Al Muhajir Al Islami, and discovered in the summer of 2005.

The Iraqi-Syrian border was broken down into four sectors: the Habur crossing near Zakhu in the north; the Tal Kujik and Sinjar border crossings west of Mosul; the Al Qaim entry point in western Anbar; and the southern crossing at Al Tanf west of Rutbah near the Jordanian border. Islami claimed the Al Tanf and Habur crossing points were too dangerous to use, and Al Qaim was the preferred route into Iraq.

The US military learned a great deal about al Qaeda's network inside Syria after a key operative was killed in September of 2007. US forces killed Muthanna, the regional commander of al Qaeda's network in the Sinjar region.

During the operation, US forces found numerous documents and electronic files that detailed "the larger al-Qaeda effort to organize, coordinate, and transport foreign terrorists into Iraq and other places," Major General Kevin Bergner, the former spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, said in October 2007.

Bergner said several of the documents found with Muthanna included a list of 500 al Qaeda fighters from "a range of foreign countries that included Libya, Morocco, Syria, Algeria, Oman, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom."

Other documents found in Muthanna's possession included a "pledge of a martyr," which is signed by foreign fighters inside Syria, and an expense report. The pledge said the suicide bomber must provide a photograph and surrender their passport. It also stated the recruit must enroll in a "security course" in Syria. The expense report was tallied in US dollars, Syrian lira, and Iraqi dinars, and included items such as clothing, food, fuel, mobile phone cards, weapons, salaries, "sheep purchased," furniture, spare parts for vehicles, and other items.

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point later conducted a detailed study of the "Sinjar Records," which was published in July 2008. The study showed that al Qaeda had an extensive network in Syria and the Syrian government has allowed their activities to continue.

"The Syrian government has willingly ignored, and possibly abetted, foreign fighters headed to Iraq," the study concluded. "Concerned about possible military action against the Syrian regime, it opted to support insurgents and terrorists wreaking havoc in Iraq."

Al Qaeda established multiple networks of "Syrian Coordinators" that "work primarily with fighters from specific countries, and likely with specific Coordinators in fightersÂ’ home countries," according to the study. The Syrian city of Dayr al Zawr serves as a vital logistical hub and a transit point for al Qaeda recruits and operatives heading to Iraq.

A vast majority of the fighters entering Iraq from Sinjar served as suicide bombers. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point estimated that 75 percent conducted suicide attacks inside Iraq

My emphases.

I just feel terrible about violating Syria's sovereignty. I'll be home alone in my room, crying all day, if you need me.

BTW, I'm stealing all this stuff from Vinnie's entry at Ace's site. I feel terrible about that, too.

I had a little sorrow,
Born of a little sin,
And found a room all dank with gloom
And shut myself within.

And, "little sorrow weep," said I,
And, "little soul, pray God to die.
And I upon the floor will lie
And think how bad I've been.

Alas for pious planning!
It mattered not a whit.
As far as gloom went in that room,
The lamp might have been lit.

So up I got in anger,
And took a book I had,
And put a ribbon on my hair
To please a passing lad.

And, "one thing there's no getting by,
I've been a wicked girl," said I.
"But if I can't be sorry, well . . .
I might as well be glad."

—Edna St. Vincent Millay

I may not be word-perfect on the Millay poem; that was from memory. No time to look it up.

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why not dust off our atomic weapons at the same time?

Via Kat-Mo at Ace's digs, who points out that if we'd just make a bit more war, we might be able to make love in peace.

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Got it from Ace.

Did I mention that he watches TV so I don't have to?

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A cop-killer/unrepentant terrorist with a red star on his shirt leaning on "property" rights and calling the police for protection from the media.

Loves it.

Via AlllahP at Hot Air.

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Think of how much more interesting life will be under Obama!

Darleen lives here, and sometimes hangs out here.

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. . . with some crafts & quips. She even cut one of her fans' hair, which scares me a little. (Of course, she used to cut her brother David's hair, and he turned out okay . . . mostly.)

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Day by Day is especially good today, but it's an extended Sunday edition; you'll want to go to Muir's site to see it in all its glory, or you'll drive yourself mad scrolling around in my sidebar. *

And, well—I see why Obama feeds the media Miracle-Gro. He kind of has to. But I can't help but think that good old Purina Reporter Chow would be more cost-effective. (Some bloggers, on the other hand, prefer Purina Puppy-Blender Chow, but that's probably a specialized taste.)

* Titanic trivia questions:
• Which of the four funnels on the Titanic was merely ornamental?
• Which of the Titanic officers, in addition to being a crewmember, was also a yachtsman—a sailor?
• What tipped the passengers off on the rescue ship that something was awry, and how did they get information that they were headed into colder waters?

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Video on the "wedding snub" here. Of course, there's never any way to win with weddings; someone's feelings always get hurt. But inviting Nimoy, but not Shatner? Mmm.

Shatner: "We don't either one of us have many years left on this earth."

None of us do; I'm so happy Takei got married, and I do think it would be nice if he and Shatner could mend bridges. Especially since I rather like them both, though I agree with Shatner that carrying that resentment around hasn't done Takei any good. Maybe, now that he's married, he can start to let it all go, for his own sake.

The stress of all those years in the closet . . . it must have been horrible, horrible. And it could twist a person's perceptions, particularly with a strong personality like Bill Shatner's.

And Shatner is a good man. He really is. He and the husband did a few "pitches" together (that is, they had a animated television show they shopped around a bit some time ago—Shatner's idea, fleshed out by the husband—and I like it, goddammit). No one bought the show, but the two of 'em had a lot of fun putting it together: I think Bill's sense of humor meshes well with Attila the Hub's.

So did Ben Stein's, for that matter, but that one never got off the ground, either. (Cue Charleton Heston, "Darn the luck!")

So many near misses. So many deals that just didn't quite happen. A the H keeps pitching, and I'll have to redouble my efforts as well to bring more dough into the house. There's a lot of brainpower around here that never quite sees the light of day, due to his back luck and my indolence.

Via American Digest.

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Apparently, their time frame didn't allow them to include the VW bug, which of course was the industry standard for a long time when it came to parsimonious fuel use.

Oddly, the list includes the original Honda Civic, but not those tiny little Honda Civic-precursers: CVCCs, I think they were called? My friends all either loved 'em or hated 'em.

"They are death traps!"

"Cute, though."

Via Insty, who—one way or another—is going to get me to subscribe to Popular Mechanics this coming year: they are just so good at comparing our future options when it comes to energy, and they tell us which organizations are doing it best—if you want to know who's going to win the "energy race," you need to be reading them.

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drops by Fox News to pwn Alan Colmes:

I'm still confused as to why people are confused about the VP having a role in the Senate: the VP has always been the head of the Senate, and some have handled that in an active way, whereas others have treated it as a "tie-breaker-only" position. But the VP of the U.S. absolutely "presides" over the U.S. Senate.

And this is not the only position in the U.S. government that straddles two branches: who is in line to be President of the U.S., if the POTIS and VP are both taken out? The Speaker of the House. (Now Pelosi may have taken this a bit far lately, in making the Speaker position into a mini-Presidency, but she is at this moment the third in the line of succession to be POTUS, and in that way has responsibilities—real and potential—to both branches.)

And, let's see: where is it that Supreme Court Justices come from?--Oh, yes. Appointed by the President, and approved by the legislature.

There is nothing wrong with Palin acting as a liaison between the White House and the Senate, and presiding herself, rather than delegating that duty. Who knows?—the two branches might start working together, instead of against each other. Anything's possible.

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There's a nice address here from FDT that spells up what the risks are, should Obama win the election—with a focus on the economy.

It's ten or fifteen minutes long; you might want to pour yourself another cup of coffee, or a fresh drink.

'S good stuff.

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So if the government takes our money and saves it for us, we'll be better off . . . right?

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This is from the same series of ads that is testing so well in terms of explaining issues to people in ways that they can understand, and respond to immediately. They need to be getting more play.

Let's take 'em viral!

Via Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, who says he hasn't seen these ads before, though I know it was Hot Air that turned me on to 'em (presumably, that was an AllahPundit post). They are often shown alongside the response numbers that they provoke in test groups, with the graph numbers superimposed by the people who work with communications expert Frank Luntz.

Naturally, I prefer 'em straight, without the graph lines. I trust Luntz that they are testing well.

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This will buy me a salad and/or a sandwich; when I'm on the road I try to have one actual meal each day. (The rest of the time it's protein bars and "Tiny Twist" pretzels. I won't eat the ones that are shaped like little sticks, because I am old-school: pretzels should be pretzel-shaped. Period.)

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