less self-awareness than the Washington press corpse

* digby:

'Are there any people on the planet who have less self-awareness than the Washington press corpse?"

* kathleen reardon:

"In short, Secretary Rice is the right person for the job of failing to negotiate and thereby making a war with Iran look like a last resort. But where would that leave her?

Strained relations between the President and his Secretary of State may be speculation, yet there's often truth in rigorous forms and something is not quite right in that relationship. Rice knows far too much for the President to let her go, but he seems to be putting distance between the two of them. He has given more praise and nods of approval lately to Joe Lieberman than he's given to her. John Negroponte, a powerful and experienced diplomat, is on her heels. Something is indeed amiss."

(btw - kathleen's "Courage as a Skill" is in the latest Harvard Business Review)

* jeff @ largely:

"The genius of Osama bin Laden is that he's managed to maneuver the mightiest nation in history into a downward spiral, and he's done so without an army or a navy or an air force or an economy or a diplomatic corps or any other traditional, institutional form of power. Bin Laden has so expertly disrupted our decision/action cycle that whatever action we take plays into his grand strategy."

* seattlePI:

"Less than a month before his court-martial begins, Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada turned to the public Friday, urging it to get involved in the discussion about the Iraq war.

Seven months ago, Watada made headlines when he refused to deploy to Iraq with a Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade, saying the war was illegal. His decision drew the attention of the anti-war movement, and eventually charges for conduct unbecoming an officer and missing a troop movement.

On Friday, Watada continued to talk, wondering about the lack of public outrage over the nearly four-year-old war.

"Could it be that ... many people don't care about the illegality of this war?" Watada asked students and others who packed a hall at Seattle Central Community College. "It is my belief that the American people have relinquished their responsibility."

He also blamed elected officials."

* jonathon has a bloggycrush on avedon.

* scott has a great interview with chris floyd. 30mins. quote:

"i hope we can get to the day when we (libs, conservatives etc) can all start arguing again - but that the life of the republic is not at stake"