EVENING UPDATE,  MARCH 2,  2008

BULLETIN

This just in.  Dmitry Medvedev has won the Russian presidency in a landslide.  You know, I was on edge about this.  I thought Barack Obama might have a real chance, but his failure to learn "Yes we can!" in Russian hurt his chances.  Poor staff work, I say.  They didn't warn him that the Russians speak another language.  Today's news:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated his handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev on his projected presidential poll victory.

"I congratulate (Medvedev) and wish him success," Mr Putin said, standing beside his protege in front of a cheering crowd at a rock concert in Red Square.

The event came as early results showed Mr Medvedev was well on the way to victory, taking 66.5% of the vote after 30% percent of polling stations had posted results.

Mr Medvedev was the first to speak, saying that "together we can continue the course set by President Putin".

Mr Putin then defended the conduct of the polls, which critics have said were rigged due to a lack of liberal candidates, skewed media coverage and violations on voting day.

The polls were conducted "strictly in accordance with the constitution and within the time frame set by the law," Mr Putin said.

Urgent Agenda congratulates Mr. Medvedev and advises him to get a food taster.

GAZA

The rumblings in Gaza continue.  Condi Rice is going to the area this week to try to salvage peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.  Palestinian Authority President Abbas has broken off those talks in protest over Israeli strikes into Gaza.  The strikes are in retaliation for Hamas rocket fire into Israel.

The Washington Post story on the conflict is basically fair, but I was annoyed that these paragraphs were put on page three of a three-page story:

David Baker, an Israeli government spokesman, blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, saying, "Palestinian terrorists are hiding behind their civilians."

Israeli defense officials said they had targeted the area east of the refugee camp because it was one of the primary areas for launching rocket strikes into Israel. The officials said that they targeted only individuals who were involved in firing the rockets but that Hamas deliberately locates its military operations in heavily populated areas to dissuade Israel from attacking.

Hamas, a radical Islamic movement that has a military wing and a network of social services, has not participated in the peace process and has sharply increased the volume of rocket fire from Gaza since seizing control of the territory last June. It advocates eradicating Israel.

And that, of course, is the heart of the issue.  When you advocate eradication, it's amazing how the targeted eradicees get upset.  Sometimes they do stuff to avoid being eradicated. 

Why is that difficult for the "Arab street" to understand?

ONE MORE DAY

The political vultures are circling, signalling that Hillary Clinton should get out of the race if she doesn't do spectacularly well on Tuesday.  Since there's no realistic chance that she can do spectacularly well, the vultures are really saying that she's dead meat.  Former candidate Bill Richardson has apparently soared upward to join the vulture formation:

Mr. Richardson, saying that it was vital to Democrats’ hopes in the general election in November to mount a positive, unifying campaign, said on the CBS News program “Face the Nation” that “whoever has the most delegates after Tuesday, a clear lead, should be, in my judgment, the nominee.” 

The guts, the courage.  William, we hardly knew ye.

But others are hanging tough.  There may well be a growing number of Hillary supporters who resent the fast hustle and the "stop killing the dream" stuff that's coming down:

And a Clinton supporter, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, said on “Fox News Sunday” that Mrs. Clinton should ignore the pressure to bow out and decide for herself what is best. “Hillary Clinton is a major candidate,” Ms. Feinstein said. “She has every right to stay in the race if she chooses to do so.”

I've long felt that this race will leave permanent scars.  The divisions go so much deeper than preferences for one personality over the other.

A CHANGING PARTY

Excellent political reporter Ronald Brownstein, writing in National Journal, explores those divisions.  You can see, in what he reports, either a changed and expanded Democratic Party, or a party that will break apart:

In the 18 states for which exit polls are available from both 2004 and 2008, the share of the Democratic vote cast by young people has risen, often by substantial margins. Voters earning at least $100,000 annually have also increased their representation in every state for which comparisons are available -- again, usually by big margins. Women's share of the vote has grown in 17 of the 18 states (although generally by smaller increments). In 12 of the states, Latinos have cast a larger percentage of votes, as have the voters who consider themselves liberals. African-Americans have boosted their share in 11 of the 18 states.

When I was young, the idea that the affluent would vote Democratic was laughable.  But we now have the phenomenon of the "limousine liberals," educated in leftist universities, people who knife each other in business or law firms during the day, and come out as great "change agents" at night.  Believe me, I've known some of this crowd in Hollywood, and I wouldn't have trusted any of them to babysit my kids. 

As far as youth is concerned, the general political behavior of kids is pretty obnoxious, and in marked contrast to the work done by their peers in the American military. 

What is particularly disturbing about the emerging patterns in the Democratic Party is that the rising groups are not known for their interest in, or knowledge of, defense policy.  In case of serious trouble, if we ask who'll rush to the recruiting stations, the term "young, affluent Ivy Leaguer" does not come rushing to mind.

But many moderate Democrats may not like what they see.  And there are opportunities there for creative Republicans, if they'll take them.

QUESTIONS FOR BARACK

Lynn Sweet, of the Chicago Sun-Times, who is emerging as one of the most effective reporters of this campaign, highlights some little problems that Barack Obama has back home in Chicago, where politicians tend to have problems, especially the ethical or financial kind.  She notes:

SAN ANTONIO -- With increasing frequency, Republicans are taking aim at Sen. Barack Obama as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton faces an uphill fight to keep her presidential hopes alive. And several people from Chicago connected to Obama -- with the major figure being the indicted Tony Rezko -- could provide material his foes can use.

If Obama wins the nomination, he will face an onslaught from presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as well as the Republican National Committee, with a research and press operation churning out e-mails about Obama's record.

Sweet then goes on to list a rogues gallery of swells who have crossed paths with the junior senator.  In the immortal words of that great political observer, Desi Arnaz, Obama's got some 'splainin' to do:  Alleged crook Tony Rezko, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, radical minister Jeremiah Wright, retired bomb maker and nut case William Ayers, and economist Austan Goolsbee, who may have already created an international incident with Canada. 

Strange company.  News stories to follow.

USS NEW YORK

We welcome the USS New York to the line of ships that have borne that name.  The new amphibious assault ship, built partly with steel recovered from the wreck of the World Trade Center in New York, was christened yesterday in Louisiana.  That was news enough, but I thought this was particularly stirring:

Along with the steel from one of the worst terrorist attacks in the U.S., it also survived one of the nation's worst natural disasters: Hurricane Katrina.

The ship motivated many of the Avondale shipyard workers to return to the job, even though many lost their homes in the 2005 storm.

It's amazing what real inspiration, and a sense of mission, will do.  The audacity of accomplishment. 

WHAT USS NEW YORK IS FOR

As if to highlight the threat, terrorism expert Steve Emerson writes of slick propaganda efforts that can lull us to sleep, efforts that involve artful double talk.  He begins:

There's a famously funny scene in the 1976 movie The Pink Panther Strikes Again in which Peter Sellers' bumbling Inspector Clouseau eyes a dog sitting near a hotel clerk. Clouseau: Does your dog bite?

Hotel Clerk: No.

Clouseau: (bowing to pet the dog) Nice doggie.

(Dog barks and bites Clouseau in the hand)

Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite!

Hotel Clerk: That is not my dog.

A RECENT article by Ohio blogger Patrick Poole reminded us of how Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Foundation director Mahdi Bray similarly told a lie while telling the truth. In December 2005, Bray issued a blanket denial that his organization's magazine, The American Muslim, had published a fatwa in March 2002 condoning suicide bombings:

"There is absolutely no such fatwa in the March 2002 edition of the American Muslim magazine. However, if one reads the fatwa section of our magazine, we have presented differing opinions, both literal and interpretive, by Islamic scholars throughout the world, and provide a balanced view from all perspectives. In addition, the magazine carries our disclaimer that the views and opinions presented in the American Muslim magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or the Muslim American Society.

"Our views on suicide bombing are consistent, clear and unambiguous: We condemn it."

And he was right. The March 2002 printed edition of the American Muslim did not contain the fatwa. The June 2002 issue did.

Great piece by a well-informed writer. 

And I'll be back in the morning.

Posted on March 2, 2008.