Random Thoughts While Waiting for Dinnertime

It's been pretty cool watching Feingold and Murtha set the outer anchor, as we've discussed to death here, for progressives in the Iraq debate. Before them, Kerry version 2004 was the Dems' anchor. Now, however, they can actually propose their own reasonable resolutions inside the anchors Feingold and Murtha have set. If some other Dems would do the same on other issues, the Dems might get dragged into presenting a meaningful option to the Repubs in 2006.

Digby has a good post on Bush the Elder's pardoning of Caspar Weinberger in the Iran-Contra Scandal and the subsequent (non)response by Dems. It signals another point we've been beating here. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the Dems, even if they take a majority in one or both houses in 2008, wouldn't adopt the same "let's move on and not divide the country" option again, leaving the rachet unmoved for the next Bushnev Administration. And this "let's win first and then worry about all that" actually strengthens the point.

And, regarding the New Republic/Kos feud, no one has less regard for TNR than I do. But . . . I was very disturbed by the revelations about Jerome Armstrong's plea deal in the dot-com boosting of the 1990s, especially since Kos himself comes off way too many times as one of those guys pushing widows to just buy the stock, goddam it. And his campaign to bury the story? . . . . uh, isn't that what he and we have been condemning Bushnev and his Pravda-ites about? I can't help feeling more and more lately that the blogs on our side are making a very big mistake hitching too much of our future credibility on a guy whose technical skill to political wisdom ratio is as enormous as his . . . uh, confidence. (And please stop showing his military picture. It's a cross between Dukakis in the tank and a head shot of Colmes. As Digby as always noted, effeminizing the Dems' leadership is a Repub standard. We shouldn't help them.)