Electoral Strategy of Tension

* clemons: "Hu Jintao should have been compelled to face questions, but the Washington Post's lead should have been: "Why should American reporters expect Hu Jintao to respond to questions when our own government mocks the public's right to know?""

* clemons: "I think some in the adminstration do want some semblance of a political collision with Iran. I think that they want to wreck the United Nations in the process and to further enhance the stature of neo-Jesse Helmsianism that runs through the veins of players like Vice President Cheney, John Bolton, David Addington, and others."

* it looks like even the 'British Intelligence' part of the 16 words in the SOTU was bollox (link)

* im sure you've seen that the Fox poll has Bush at 33%. The amazing thing is that they had him at 39% just one month ago. that's quite a fall.

* emptywheel:

"Berlusconi's Strategy of Tension: ...And, I fear, the same may be true here. By all accounts, the Republicans are rightly fearful they'll lose their stranglehold on Congress in November. If Democrats gain subpoena power, Bush and his cronies face at least as much scrutiny as Silvio does. The collective weight of all the Bush/Republican scandals already threatens to do permanent damage. Imagine how much more so if investigations into those scandals aren't mitigated by a friendly bench or a craven Abu Gonzales?

I'm not sure what that would mean. Perhaps a return of the Brooks Brothers Riot. But I do worry that Berlusconi's games in Italy are just a preview of what we can expect in November."

read the rest