A Just One Minute link, so click with a clear conscience.

As violence declines in Baghdad, the leading Democratic presidential candidates are undertaking a new and challenging balancing act on Iraq: acknowledging that success, trying to shift the focus to the lack of political progress there, and highlighting more domestic concerns like health care and the economy.

Advisers to Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama say that the candidates have watched security conditions improve after the troop escalation in Iraq and concluded that it would be folly not to acknowledge those gains. At the same time, they are arguing that American casualties are still too high, that a quick withdrawal is the only way to end the war and that the so-called surge in additional troops has not paid off in political progress in Iraq.

But the changing situation suggests for the first time that the politics of the war could shift in the general election next year, particularly if the gains continue. While the Democratic candidates are continuing to assail the war — a popular position with many of the party’s primary voters — they run the risk that Republicans will use those critiques to attack the party’s nominee in the election as defeatist and lacking faith in the American military.

Peace runs through victory, guys.

Jeff Jacoby recounts the recent grudging media acknowledgment of the improvements.

Both links ripped off from Instapundit, who also notes John McCain is giving it to Hillary and John Edwards on Iraq. And taking some not-undeserved credit for being stalwart on winning the war.

Posted by: Ace at 09:35 AM | Comments (7)
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Heh™

Heh™ is a registered trademark of the Instapundit Corporation, and cannot be used without the express written consent of Major League Baseball.

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:27 AM | Comments (6)
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The dozens of horror stories about holiday travel woes.

Did I just overlook them? I heard about the commo problem at DFW early last week, but that was about it as far as I can see.

I must not be trying hard enough. I shall redouble my efforts.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 09:18 AM | Comments (7)
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It's about time we start thinking about what our relationship with Iraq will be after the drawdown:

Iraq's government, seeking protection against foreign threats and internal coups, will offer the U.S. a long-term troop presence in Iraq in return for U.S. security guarantees as part of a strategic partnership, two Iraqi officials said Monday.

[...]

The two senior Iraqi officials said Iraqi authorities had discussed the broad outlines of the proposal with U.S. military and diplomatic representatives. The Americans appeared generally favorable subject to negotiations on the details, which include preferential treatment for American investments, according to the Iraqi officials involved in the discussions.

The two Iraqi officials, who are from two different political parties, spoke on condition of anonymity because the subject is sensitive. Members of parliament were briefed on the plan during a three-hour closed-door meeting Sunday, during which lawmakers loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr objected to the formula.

Preferential treatment for U.S. investors could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources. Such a deal would also enable the United States to maintain leverage against Iranian expansion at a time of growing fears about Tehran's nuclear aspirations.

The Iraqis are eager to end the UN involvement in their country and reassert their sovereignty. We benefit by keeping bases in the region.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:12 AM | Comments (35)
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You'll appreciate this story from Emil Steiner's OFF/beat blog at WaPo:

Six California high-school cheerleaders who flashed their bloomers during a halftime performance were suspended last week. But not for showing their underwear: According to school officials, they were suspended for not telling their coaches they were going to show their underwear -- and then for refusing to leave the stadium after their routine.

And here's the routine that got them in trouble:

Poor quality, I know. That routine was tame compared to my high school's cheer and dance teams. Hell, the Dallas Cowboys are tame compared to my high school's teams.

And here's an absurd idea: auction off a used can of bugspray as "MLB memorabilia."

I still think this game is boring. Now maybe if we drop hives of killer bees on the dugout or something...

Update For Lonely Men [Ace]: The "bloomers-flash" is at the very end and it's quite lame.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:46 AM | Comments (7)
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Shocker.

Ms Gibbons, who joined the school in August, asked a seven-year-old girl to bring in her teddy bear and asked the class to pick names for it, he saidÂ…

Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad as their favourite nameÂ…

It is seen as an insult to Islam to attempt to make an image of the Prophet Muhammad.

The school has been closed to avoid... unpleasantness, and the teacher has been arrested and may receive up to 40 lashes for her horrible transgression.

Posted by: Ace at 08:33 AM | Comments (25)
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At Drudge:

The TIMES of London starts 'The Ugliest Month' with a full page photo takeout on Hillary Clinton and her beautiful personal assistant.

"Hillary Clinton has been accused of having an affair with Huma Abedin," reads the caption.

MORE

The splash stunned British readers and angered campaign insiders.

"This does not even qualify as tabloid trash... it's ridiculous and reckless," a Hillary confidante explained over the weekend.

This next bit from a reader. I believe him, though this is third hand so I can vouch for the original source or the intermediary.

Oh, and BTW, another good friend from California [with political and legal connections] told me in 1999 that Hillary used to have women sent to her hotel when she visited SoCal.

As you can imagine, it was a very small and loyal circle that reportedly knew about it. My friend was "in the know" but never liked Hillary and was ambivalent about Bill after the impeachment.

Hmmm... had women sent to her hotel room? I don't know; that seems pretty dangerous. Do women bother doing that? I never thought of women as having much use for paid escorts. Maybe he just meant she had lady "friends" quietly slipped in, but it sounds from his description like call girls. There's no way that could have avoided becoming public, right?

Nip/Tuck, a show I have never watched and will never watch, helps prepare us for President Hillary and her First Ladyfriend with a lesbian affair between characters played by Joely Richardson, whoever that is, and Portia de Rossi. Eh. I like this quote by Rossi:

"I think men respond to the sexiness of two women being together."

Really? Is that your theory, Braniac?

More: A Times of London columnist mentions the possibility that it was the "Hillary confidante" quoted as calling this story reckless who actually tipped it to Drudge, perhaps to insulate the Hilldebeast against further charges, and perhaps to make her seem like a victim as her supporters tag Barack Obama as a Muslim Manchurian Candidate.

Posted by: Ace at 08:11 AM | Comments (100)
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It was good to take a few days off, but I can see I missed a bunch of interesting stories.

First up is Fred Thompson's Boo-Hoo Moment.

When the camera returned to Thompson, he was visibly angry. "This has been a constant mantra of Fox, to tell you the truth," he said.

Wallace tried to defend his network: "Well, I don't know that -- I mean, I don't know that Fox has been going after you, and I certainly don't think Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes . . ."

"From Day One, they said I got in too late, I couldn't do it," Thompson interrupted.

He later blasted Fox for running criticism from "your own guys, who have been predicting for four months, really, that I couldn't do it. [It] kind of skews things a little bit."

I see that Allah had it first, of course. The amusing thing about Thompson's outburst is that it provides actual proof that the man is alive and still running for president. There were a few weeks where I wasn't quite sure.

Second, a federal judge is fed up with secret filings and verdicts based on secret evidence in terrorism cases. Last week, she ordered that prosecutors and lead defense counsel be granted security clearances so that they would be able to actually, y'know, participate in the case of jihad promoter Ali al-Timimi.

Judge Leonie M. Brinkema was burned before when, in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial, the CIA told the her that there were no audio or video recordings of terrorist interrogations. That was revealed to be a lie (or at least a serious mistake) last month. As in the Moussaoui case, the CIA has made secret filings in Timimi's case. Understandably, she doesn't want to proceed unless the prosecution and the defense have an opportunity to examine the filings.

As a general rule, it's a bad idea to lie to a judge.

Third, "labor, business and farm organizations" have managed to stave off a DHS program that would have cracked down on employers of illegal aliens and probably deprive the illegals of jobs, too.

On Oct. 10, [Judge Charles R.] Breyer barred the government from mailing Social Security "no-match" letters to 140,000 U.S. employers, citing serious legal questions about requiring companies to resolve questions about their employees' identities, fire them within 90 days, or else face potential fines and criminal prosecution.

The case was set to proceed on the merits. Sensing defeat, the Department of Justice asked for a delay while DHS comes up with a new program.

What else did I miss?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:44 AM | Comments (11)
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Sad? Funny?

Can't it be both?

Rather’s shock turned to quiet fury. He stalked the offices, barely acknowledging staffers in the hallways. People referred to this mode as “Defcon 4.” “He got progressively, visually angry,” says a former colleague. “You don’t want to be in his eyesight when he’s like that.” His only release was commiserating on the phone late at night with Mary Mapes; he would announce himself as “Dan Rather, plus three”—meaning he’d had three glasses of bourbon.

His own brand of Trutherism:

As the commission’s investigation dragged on through the fall, Rather began to piece together his conspiracy theory. “As soon as we began to see that the company was wobbling,” says Rather, “I said to myself, ‘I think Redstone said to Moonves, Make this disappear. This is killing us in Washington.’” Now, everywhere he looked, he saw signs of his company’s caving to pressure from the Bush administration. Moonves told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference that the Thornburgh-Boccardi report would be delayed until “after the election, so it won’t affect what is going on.” In a Time magazine interview before the election, Redstone said his reaction to Rather’s report was one of “severe distress” and announced his preference of Bush for president: “I do believe that a Republican administration is better for media companies than a Democratic one.” It was an unusual political declaration from a media CEO. At the time, the Republican-controlled FCC had levied heavy fines against Viacom for shock jock Howard Stern’s on-air infractions, just as Viacom was lobbying the FCC for more media deregulation. Rather now suspects that Viacom’s top lobbyist in Washington, Carol Melton, suggested Dick Thornburgh for the panel to appease Republicans. (Soon after, Melton hired an outside lobbying firm to strengthen Viacom’s relationship with the GOP.)

Rather believes Redstone wanted him out because he was costing the company too much political capital. As evidence, he refers me to a paragraph buried deep in Edward Klein’s recent book about Katie Couric. Klein reports that Redstone declared in a board meeting, “I want anyone associated with that guy to go,” referring to Rather, because he was jeopardizing the company’s lobbying efforts on a major corporate-tax bill passing through the Republican-controlled Congress.

Posted by: Ace at 07:23 AM | Comments (35)
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Good Lord. Only 15 screens, but even its per-screen average isn't very high.

While the public is staying away in droves from “Rendition," “Lions for Lambs" and “In the Valley of Elah," audiences are really avoiding “Redacted," De Palma's picture about US soldiers who rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, then kill her and her family. The message movie was produced by NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who insisted on deleting grisly images of Iraqi war casualties from the montage at the film's end. Cuban offered to sell the film back to De Palma at cost, but the director was too smart to go for that deal. “Redacted" - which “could be the worst movie I've ever seen," said critic Michael Medved -took in just $25,628 in its opening weekend in 15 theaters, which means roughly 3,000 people saw it in the entire country. “This, despite an A-list director, a huge wave of publicity, high praise in the Times, The New Yorker, left-leaning sites like Salon, etc. A Joe Strummer documentary [of punk-rock band The Clash] playing in fewer theaters made more in its third week," e-mailed one cineaste. “Not even people who presumably agree with the movie's antiwar thesis made the effort to see it."

DePalma is an A-list director? Please, DePalma wasn't even really A-list when he could be charitably called A-list. He's had exactly one unreservedly good movie (The Untouchables) in his long, long career.

Thanks to Mike.

Posted by: Ace at 07:17 AM | Comments (31)
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