The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Sully: Israelis ‘Got Their US Media Mouthpieces’ to Criticize Obama’s Speech

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | 15 Comments

“So it’s pretty obvious that it was the Israelis who immediately got their US media mouthpieces to spin the speech as some sort of attack.”
— Andrew Sullivan, May 20

Doug Ross called attention to this rather disturbing accusation: U.S. criticism of President Obama’s speech was not really of domestic origin, Sully says, but rather was the result of Israeli manipulation.

Sullivan makes specific mention of Matt Drudge, Fox News and Mitt Romney. Which of these, or which others, does he outright accuse of being “mouthpieces” issuing “spin” at the behest of Israelis?

My own response to the speech was to aggregate the reactions of others, and I noted that Max Boot of Commentary, Ed Morrissey of Hot Air and John Tabin of The American Spectator all initially saw Obama’s speech as very Bush-like. William Jacobson was immediately critical, as was Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, but there seemed to be a delay before John Podhoretz and Omri Ceren came out with negative reactions.

It may be fair to suppose that some of Obama’s critics took their cue from Israeli sources: “Let’s see what Bibi says” is a reasonable stance for those who profess friendship for Israel. But that is a very different thing than Andrew Sullivan’s depiction of Israeli puppeteers secretly pulling the strings of their American media marionettes.

You can’t just casually drop that kind of accusation into a post and then walk away as if you hadn’t said it.

UPDATE: Jeff Dunetz sees widespread use of the “Jewish media manipulation” meme on the Left.

UPDATE II: Linked by Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom — thanks!

UPDATE III: Linked by Moe Lane, although I’m pretty certain it’s spelled “Joooozz!”

Category: Andrew Sullivan, Doug Ross, Israel

Prosser Wins in Wisconsin

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | 1 Comment

Remember when Democrats and unions claimed that Scott Walker’s agenda was electoral doom for the GOP? Not so much:

A grueling statewide recount concluded Friday that Justice David Prosser defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg to win another 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a race driven by the debate over Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to curb the union rights of the state’s public employees.
The recount that began on April 27 ended Friday afternoon after Waukesha County officials finished tallying their last remaining precincts. Unofficial results showed Justice Prosser had 752,697 votes — 7,006 more than Ms. Kloppenburg’s 745,691.
State election officials plan to meet on Monday to verify the results.

Via UnicornMajik on Twitter.

Category: Election, Unions, Wisconsin

Obama’s Smear Machine

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | 42 Comments

I take Chris Christie at his word when he says he isn’t running for president in 2012. Neverthless, Team Obama is ready:

Despite New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s repeated pronouncements that he will not seek the GOP presidential nomination, Obama operatives are compiling a dossier of what they call “opposition research” — material that could be used to damage Christie if he changes his mind, The Post has learned.
The Obama campaign is trying to keep its efforts from public view, concerned they would only elevate Christie’s already impressive standing within the Republican Party, sources said. . . .
The operatives have chosen not to dispatch their own people to New Jersey, but instead are talking to people there and in New York who know Christie from his time in the governor’s office, as a gubernatorial candidate and as US attorney.

On the one hand, this looks like mind-games: Democrats are trying to mess with Republicans’ heads, to promote the notion that Team Obama is unbeatable even by the GOP elite’s “dream candidate.” On the other hand, the fear of a ferocious Chicago-style attack is very real, as the New York Times obliquely notes in its story on Mitch Daniels’ decision:

Saying that his family did not want to go through a campaign, Mr. Daniels became the third high-profile Republican in eight days to choose not to compete for the chance to challenge Mr. Obama. . . .
But after weeks of deliberating in public and making clear that his wife and four daughters had deep reservations — caused in part by the knowledge that they would be exposed to intensive scrutiny over a period in the 1990s when Mr. Daniels and his wife, Cheri, divorced and then remarried — he said he was unsuccessful in swaying his family.

The question: By whom would the Daniels family “be exposed to intensive scrutiny” over their previous marital woes? By Team Obama, or by the New York Times?

Or do I repeat myself?

The major media ignored John Edwards’ adultery in 2008, and insisted that Obama’s relationships with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers were irrelevant “distractions.” Yet they stand ready and willing to provide stenography for Team Obama’s opposition-research effort in the 2012 campaign.

Category: Election 2012

Herman Cain Issues Clarification

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | 30 Comments

Walking back his widely-criticized remarks on Fox News Sunday about the Palestinian “right of return”:

I have long been a vocal and unwavering supporter of our friend and ally, Israel.
All Israeli governments have rejected the “right” of large numbers of Arabs or Palestinians to return to what is now the state of Israel. Such an en masse return would unbalance Israel’s demographic makeup as the world’s sole Jewish state.
In this light, should the “right of return” “be negotiated,” as I said, “if that is a decision that Israel wants to make”? Certainly, and to reiterate, it’s Israel’s call. Israel has a long record of being more gracious to its enemies than its enemies are to it, and this would be yet another example of that. But is the “right of return” a moral imperative? Is it something Israel must grant? Is it something the United States ought to encourage?
The answer is no on every count.
Our policy on Palestinian affairs must be wholly a function of our policy on Israeli affairs. Israel is a friend. Israel is an ally. Israel shares common values with us. Israel shares common interests with us, especially in the eradication of terrorism and the need for bringing peace to the region. As President, I will never lose sight of these basic facts. Any aspirant to the Presidency must have the unshakable US-Israeli alliance at the core of his or her strategic vision in the Middle East.
As your President, I would.

Cain was asked a question he was not prepared to answer, and it looked bad. As a result, pundits who didn’t much care for Cain’s candidacy — including Jonah Goldberg and Michael Barone — are in told-you-so mode.

These things happen. Herman Cain is not a foreign-policy wonk and stumbled over a phrase with which he was unfamilar. The pundits were shocked, but I’m not sure how many grassroots GOP voters in Iowa reacted with the same horror.

Jimmie Bise Jr. at Sundries Shack has some valuable thoughts.

UPDATE: “Will Cain get the Palin treatment? You betcha!” Josh Painter says, adding: “The Hermanator desperately needs a Peter Schweizer.”

Actually, I’m sure Cain has foreign-policy advisers, but apparently the candidate had not studied the Palestinian issue in such depth as to recognize instantly the phrase “right of return” as something that friends of Israel are obligated to oppose. We can expect that (a) Cain will undergo intensive preparation to prevent such stumbles in the future, and (b) the video clip of his Fox News Sunday appearance will be replayed endlessly by his enemies. This is how the game is played.

Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain, Israel, Jihad Watch

LIVE AT FIVE – 05.23.11

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | Comments Off on LIVE AT FIVE – 05.23.11

TOP NEWS
At Least 24 Killed As Tornado Shreds Joplin

Joplin devastated as storms wrack the Midwest

Kathy Dennis of the American Red Cross: “I would say 75 percent of the town is virtually gone.”

Militants Storm Naval Base In Karachi
Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility



Daniels Out, Pawlenty In
Indiana governor cites family concerns in decision not to run for President



POLITICS
Pawlenty Announces Candidacy In Web Video

Governor Pawlenty throws his hat in the ring

Former two-term Minnesota governor makes it official

Race Gets Tighter In NY-26

Cain Train Officially Rolls Out


Dems Try To Capitalize On Slow-Starting GOP Campaign

Man Held In Times Square Car Bomb Attempt Deported To Pakistan

Gates Warns Against Sharp Cuts To Military



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
US Crude Falls Below $100 On Stronger Dollar, Eurodebt Concerns
Debt Worries Hit Asian Stocks
Europe Shares To Open Lower On Euro Crisis Fears
Is LinkedIn The New Netscape Or The New Google?
Greek PM Rules Out Any Debt Restructuring
Honda Workers Taking 14 Days Off This Summer Due To Parts Shortages
Death Toll Rises At Foxconn Factory After Explosion; IPad Supply May Be Affected
Apple Claims An App Store Is Not A Store For Apps
Also, black is white, up is down, war is peace, slavery is freedom, etc.



SPORTS
Bulls On The Brink

I'm tired of posting hoops pictures, so here's Marisa Miller to remind you it's Women Riders Month.

Boozer rebounds from horrible Game 2, but it’s not enough to save the Bulls

Suspect In Beating Of Giants Fan Arrested

60 Minutes: Armstrong Encouraged Doping (Video)




Mental Meltdown Puts Sharks On The Brink

Red Sox Thaw Out Tim Wakefield For A Classic

Bautista Homers Twice As Blue Jays Beat Astros

Danica Wiggles Into Indy Field On Bump Day



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
PETA And Other Annoyances Have Beef With Selena Gomez – Oh, Wait…

Selena Gomez (What, you thought I was going to post Pink pix? Eeuuw. )

Animal rights Nazis, has-been popster nag Selena about painted horses in her video.

Brad Pitt’s Movie Wins Top Prize At Cannes

Oscar De La Hoya’s In Rehab

Britney Spears Plans Happy Homecoming For The Troops


“You Light Up My Life” Songwriter Found Dead In Apparent Suicide



FOREIGNERS
Yemen’s President Stalls On Ouster Deal
Obama Starts Tough European Trip With Stop In Ireland
UN Calls For Immediate Withdrawal Of Sudanese Troops From Abyei
Obama Seeks To Reassure Israel In AIPAC Speech
Baghdad Bombs Kill 20 Including Two American Soldiers
Egyptian Court Hands Down Death Sentence In Rebellion Killing Trial
Spain’s Ruling Socialist Party Suffers Huge Losses In Local, Regional Elections



BLOGS & STUFF
Gateway Pundit: Obama Booed At AIPAC (Video)
Left Coast Rebel: Netanyahu Right As Obama Throws Israel Under The Bus
C4P: Taking A Look At ABC’s Sloppy Coverage Of Governor Palin’s Interviews
The Sundries Shack: Mitch Daniels Declines, Smug “Centrist” Consultants With Dubious Records Hardest Hit
Weasel Zippers: Former Dem Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney Appears On Libyan State TV To Denounce America
Don Surber: Record Snow Threatens The West
Dean Esmay: The Rapture Aside, America’s Evangelicals Deserve Some Respect
Blackfive: War Powers Hypocrisy Plus Incompetence Equals…

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

Rule 5 Sunday: Shotgun Girl

Posted on | May 23, 2011 | 7 Comments

Whatever else happens as we wend our way through this vale of tears, beset on every side by the snares of the wicked and numerologically challenged false prophets who wouldn’t know the Kabbalah
from the Peoples’ Cube, we may rest assured of one thing: Soylent Green delivers the important news we need, especially when the news we need is Rule 5 news. A lesser blogger would have merely nodded and smiled at the trailer for John Carter of Mars while waiting for On Stranger Tides to start, but it was Soylent who brought us the Dejah Thoris/Lynn Collins hotness. A grateful nation adjusts its belts in your honor, sir!

Not resting on his, er, laurels, Soylent also brought us Humpday Caliente, Rule 5 news from the NHL playoffs, a “Hee Haw” reminiscence (sort of), Corset Friday, something about the end of the world, some piratical underboob action, and finally some poolside blondeness. Having personally inspected all of these links, I can assure you that they are, almost without exception, NSFW.

POH Diaries has some shots of Kate Upton in a bikini…lingerie…whatever. We link, you decide. Also, Bar Rafaeli! Speaking of bikinis, how about Elisabetta Canalis? The Rio Norte Line offers a fine selection of pix, some NSFW. Eye of Polyphemus settles on Minka Kelly this week, while A View From The Beach goes for the SF sweetness with Morena Baccarin. Randy’s Roundtable brings us Miss Missouri, Candice Crawford, and Kristin Cavallari. At WyBlog, Patricia Heaton may not be feeling the love from Hollyweird, but we definitely appreciate her!

Over at Maggie’s Notebook, there’s an extended look at former Obama supporter and current Mitt Romney fan Cindy Crawford. Reaganite Republican Resistance seems unclear on Rule 5, so I’m going to pimp his Michelle Bachman post instead as being more in the spirit of the thing.
Proof Positive’s Vintage Babe this week is Veronica Lake, with Lisa Edelstein and an extra helping of Ms. Edelstein with a side order of Sela Ward.

Three Beers Later verges on the creepy with not just one , but two Newt Gingrich Rule 5 posts, but redeems himself by noting the passing of Playboy cartoonist Erich Sokol, and bringing us a Denise Milani video.

Mr. Hill at Dustbury wishes to inform you that Aisha Tyler can kick your ass at HALO, among her other virtues; Rene Russo, on the other hand, may not be so great at HALO, but makes a great fertility goddess. Postaldog goes the extra mile to collect a selection of Playboy pix that are actually SFW. (I’m actually old enough to remember when they all were, by today’s standards.) Troglopundit satisfies your Rule 5 and news summary requirements with this week’s automotivators. That Mr. G Guy goes vintage this week with some classic pinup art. Speaking of pinups who can sing, Fishersville Mike links the Jane Dear Girls. The site has the video for “Wildflower” up, but I think I like “Shotgun Girl” better; to each their own.

The Camp of the Saints starts the week’s Rule 5 festivities with Sunny Leone, continues with Rule 5 News (Rashida Jones leads off), Bea Flora, Vicki McCarty, and finally some highbrow culture all up in our Rule 5 (NTTAWWT): some opera babes and opera guys doing Wagner.

DaleyGator brings this week’s roundup to a close with Yuu Tejima, Mandy Moore, Aleida Nunez, Leighton Meester, a shoutout to the ultra-classy Angelina Jolie, Daniella Sarahyba, and last but not least, Asian Beauty Friday.

Thanks to all for their Rule 5 linkagery! To be included in the Memorial Day Weekend Rule 5 Roundup, send your links to Rule 5 Wombat by May 28. Thanks again, and have a great week!

Category: Rule 5

Ace of Spades Gets It

Posted on | May 22, 2011 | 21 Comments

“The New Aristocracy isn’t made by blood but by credentials,” Ace writes, commenting on a Mark Steyn column about the Strauss-Kahn sex scandal.

One of the most unfortunate consequences of the controversy that enveloped The Bell Curve is that, by affixing the “racism” label to Murray and Herrnstein’s book, liberals discouraged people from acquainting themselves with the very valuable points the book makes about the structure of the modern elite. (This constitutes Part I: “The Emergence of a Cognitive Elite”; Chapter 1, “Cognitive Class and Education, 1900-1990,” is especially relevant.) While everyone was slinging around accusations that Murray and Herrnstein were advocating Nazi eugenics, or at least “social Darwinism,” they overlooked the book’s important examination of how standardized testing and democratization of educational opportunity have re-shaped our society.

Most Americans over 50 were raised to think that, if levels of education were any indication of social class, they divided people into two rather large classes — college graduates and everybody else. If you got your bachelor’s degree, you were about as qualified for success as anyone else. Graduates of elite schools like Yale or Harvard might enjoy some advantage, and those who pursued post-graduate education were obviously qualified for specific prestige professions like law or medicine, but anyone who possessed a bachelor’s degree was in some sense “elite.” Or so Americans generally believed, 40 or 50 years ago. Read more

Category: Ace of Spades, Education

Beck and O’Reilly vs. Hannity?

Posted on | May 22, 2011 | 7 Comments

Among the many interesting tidbits in Gabriel Sherman’s gossipy 6,000-word article about Roger Ailes and Fox News:

Sean Hannity complained to [Fox News programming chief] Bill Shine about Beck. And it didn’t help matters that O’Reilly, who had become friends with Beck and can’t stand Hannity, scheduled Beck as a regular guest, a move that only annoyed Hannity further.

(Via Memeorandum.) That O’Reilly has always viewed Hannity as a rival is hardly a secret to people in the business.

As the network’s top primetime star, O’Reilly claims the right of first refusal on any big exclusive interviews: If you are a publicist who wants your client to appear on O’Reilly’s show, you’d better not schedule an interview with Hannity first, because that will be viewed as a betrayal of O’Reilly. And knowing themselves to have this power, O’Reilly’s producers do not hesitate to manipulate guests — hinting at the possibility of a “Factor” appearance, on a wait-and-see basis — to the frustration of these would-be guests and their P.R. people, who are left hanging on such hints.

However, to learn that O’Reilly was using Beck as a weapon to snub Hannity — and that Beck permitted himself to be used to those ends — adds something new to our understanding of the often-toxic behind-the-scenes rivalry among Fox’s primetime hosts.

BTW, I don’t doubt that people at Fox will dispute the accuracy of Sherman’s article, and they may dispute this particular item. However, the O’Reilly-Beck-Hannity angle matches what I already knew about the situation, so I’m willing to believe it is reasonably close to truth.

Category: Fox News, Glenn Beck
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