I know you don't really like to see references to other blogs here, but Little Green Footballs' take on Kerry's FEC complaint was just too good to pass up - they put up a picture and audio of a _crybaby_ . :)

Joe:

To the contrary, we're happy to have such references in the comments, but find it pointless and deeply annoying when blogs discuss other blogs [which are generally discussing other blogs in a recursion remeniscent of Jeff's vision of Darwinism].

The only sense I can make of the FEC complaint (which, if it worked, would destroy one of Kerry's only advantages, as his campaign's ties to the lefty 527s are much closer) is that they needed to give their defenders some talking point for the Sunday shows.

David:

Remember when the McCain people thought that folks would object to how rough SC was? Going to the American people and saying my opponent plays tougher than I do seems a dubious tactic. Unfortunately for the Senator it also jibes with his "sensitive war on terror" problem. If you can't go toe-to-toe with the moron why would we think you could take on terrorists?

Didn't anyone else find it odd that the author seems surprised that this was brought up? And "Kerry hoped to focus on domestic matters"? And the SwiftVets existed "a few months ago". That kind of reality dysfunction seems worse that just being stupid.

This is some of the sloppiest work I've ever seen in a major political campaign. The Bush campaign getting caught unawares by DUI in '00 has absolutely nothing on it.

Orin, I don't expect this to be posted, I get rather longwinding, cause I'm home alone here most of the time.
I am somewhat disappointed that you bother discussing something so ephemeral (I had to get out my dictionary to check my spelling)as a momentary English ad on TV in a country that hardly represents more than 10% of mankind, out of a campaign that has lasted for about 1 year out of more than 50 of the present generation. Can this be defended by the "beat of the butterfly's wing" arguement? What about the Eternal Values? Where, pray tell (what a great cliche, by the way!) are the Eternal Values in this sort of discussion? What will be remembered from this discussion....20 years from now? Forgive me if you have already answered my questions from a similar comment or thought you had in march of 2002.
Yes, I am an American. But I fail to see how ANY that I have read associated with the two candidates has much more longevity than the beat of a butterfly's wing. I am sure you have already broken down the stereotypes that the two men have been placed in by the media and the opponents of either side. But without carrying through that criticism, in my books, is a Calvinistic sin of intellectual laziness (or possibly fear that the critic will be exposed?). The value of the criticism, it seems to me is to make connections to the bigger picture. there is always something more around us than where we stand. there is always something more beyond the horizons that we can scan.(did i just invent that or did someone else?) I predict that you (or someone like you) will respond that the bigger issues are "freedom and security". ....but I think that even in the political sphere, this is rather cliche...yes, cliches, esp. Ben's are true...but beyond that I think Pogo's cliche, "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us" is a splendid answer to my perception of this blog's facination with politics,,,, Politics is wonder filled at projecting out towards "the others" what lies hidden in themselves...Isn't this what conservatives rail on Clinton about? Yet where and when did either man mention, even mention, the mote in his own eye? Orin, Orin, I have read admirers of your web and its associated philosopy and I would suppose you stand behind, if not next to President Bush's self-confidence based on his Biblical intuition (hardly his knowledge), his Judeo-Christian imagery, and I would suppose you have roundly, and probably justly, criticized the mote in the challenger's eyes esp regarding his betrayal of loyalty associated with the Vietnam issue, and I suspect you intensely dislike anyone who is accused/(condemned in your eyes?) of PROTECTING!! (Clinton is probably your personification of humanistic evil, yes, no? in this regard), let alone harboring, a SHALLOW belief structure.... So on these accounts, the symbolic personalities of two boomers in a self-indulgent society like the US political social world, these accounts you are prepared to spin your time and words worrying over??? Do you have so much time???!!! Are these the accounts that deserve the serious wrestling of mens minds over....? For the next presidency of a country that will, fairly soon in the historical sense, no longer be a proud sponsor of Caucasian,Western European value systems (I deliberately left off Judeo-Christian) it will hardly matter who wins the next 4 years in office. In your great grandchildren's adulthood (I assume, from your bio, that you already have grand kids) it will hardly matter what was said in August of 2004 campaign about John who? and George who? It won't matter.....
What do I think does matter? It matters to me that neither man has clearly mentioned a plan of simple, detached justice for Israel's security and Palestine's human rights and respectable, responsible nationhood. this is an issue that is much older than the current situation and the US has failed vitally to take the lead on since 9/11 WHY??....How many dishonest writers wring their hands and comfortably point out the mote in everyone else's eye on the matter?
Secondly,
CAN YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION??????

I would like to know whether either candidate, from his personal resources has spent his hard earned cash to support the numerous grass-roots, internationally verifiable (at least from the stant point of Japan, where I live, verifiable) NGOs that are doing work to help the innocents of this situation! Can you or anyone who participates in this BLOG answer this question?

EdoRiver:

The settlement of the Palestine/Israel issue procveeds even today along the lines the President has laid out, along with Likud. Israel is unilaterally creating an independent Palestinian state and we're presssuring them to make it democratic.

NGOs are evil.

The McPeak ad struck me most with its prominent photograph of McPeak with, among others, Colin Powell (chosen very much on purpose, I'm sure).

I would think that Powell would get on the phone pretty quickly with McPeak.

McPeak's big accomplishment as USAF chief was designing the uniform that made Air Force officers look like airline pilots. He is a classic re-arrange the boxes type.

Dick Cheney pretty well settled the hash of all these retired generals back during the invasion of Iraq. Almost everytime I see one of them commenting on the war or on politics, it reminds me of Robert McNamara. While the generals wouldn't like that, it seems accurate.

"NGOs are evil"

Leftists have created these caricatures of "War Profiteers" and "Arms Dealers" and "Merchants of Misery" and "Halliburton". Far too many NGOs are no different, in that the people involved are in the business of profiting on the misery of others, while trafficking in false hope and providing cover for thugs. Even the best are middlemen who divert a sizeable cut to their own bank accounts while adding nothing of value. I've known some people who've made comfy lives for themselves while living in places like Sarajevo and Jerusalem, supposedly "helping people."

At least the caricatures spare us the bloviating about how morally superior they are while quoting Chomsky to justify their behavior.

Too many points to add so I'll just note a few. "Kerry and aides plotted a way to get this issue behind them" - this would be the issue of Vietnam which Kerry has based his whole campaign on? This would be the issue of military service which Kerry could put to bed by simply releasing his military records (he hasn't which seems to indicate the charges are true unless Kerry is playing a massive rope-a-dope). Kerry does look like a whiner running to the FEC. And if he is successful will the Dem 527s like moveon and get hit as well? if so then it is a pyhrric victory for Kerry.