From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Thursday, December 11, 2003 3:38 P.M. EST

Protecting Porn but Not Politics
In the case of McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme court yesterday upheld key provisions of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance "reform" law. National Review blogress Kathryn Lopez notes this passage from Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent, which sums matters up nicely:

Who could have imagined that the same Court which, within the past four years, has sternly disapproved of restrictions upon such inconsequential forms of expression as virtual child pornography, tobacco advertising, dissemination of illegally intercepted communications, and sexually explicit cable programming, would smile with favor upon a law that cut to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government.

This wonderfully encapsulates the perversity at the heart of contemporary American liberalism: "Free speech," in this view, protects everything except actual political speech. And of course we're all familiar with variants of this argument, such as: Criticizing anti-American speech is censorship, while censoring conservative speech is mere criticism. Or: It's un-American to criticize people who side with America's enemies; indeed, as "dissenters," they are the true patriots. It's mind-boggling that this sort of nonsense gets taken seriously.

Clark to bin Laden: Don't Drop Dead
We missed Wesley Clark's appearance earlier this week on Chris Matthews's "Hardball," but an alert reader calls our attention to this exchange:

Matthews: General, do you think Osama bin Laden, if we catch him, when we catch him, should be tried here at the U.S. or in The Hague, the international court?

Clark: I would like to see him tried in The Hague, and I tell you why. I think it's very important for U.S. legitimacy and for building other support in the war on terror for trying them in The Hague, under international law with an international group of justices, bringing witnesses from other nations. Remember, 80 other nations lost citizens in that strike on the World Trade Center. It was a crime against humanity, and he needs to be tried in international court.

Matthews: Well, 3,000 Americans were killed here. Do you believe he should be held exempt from capital punishment, because if you send him to Hague he will be. They don't have capital punishment at The Hague.

Clark: I think that's a separate issue. I think that's a separate issues.

Matthews: No, it's a key issue, because the sentencing limitation, they do not execute people at the Hague.

Clark: I think that you can adequately punish Osama bin Laden, and you've got to look beyond simple retribution against an individual. You have to look at what's in the long-term security interest in the security in America and you have to look at how we handle the war on terror from here on out.

Matthews: But doesn't life in Holland beat life in a cave?

Clark: Not in a Dutch prison. Chris, they're under water, they're damp, they're cold, they're really miserable.

Has Clark been hitting the Dutch courage? This is supposed to be the "electable" Democrat, the tough military man, the alternative to peevish peacenik Howard Dean. Does he really think he can get elected by saying "Vote for me. I'll send Osama bin Laden to a Dutch prison"?

Dean Gets Religion?
Howard Dean went on CNN the other day and talked religion with Judy Woodruff, who asked about, in National Review's Jay Nordlinger's words, "his departure from an Episcopal church over a dispute concerning a bike path." Nordlinger quotes Dean's answer and sums up the ensuing conversation (the comments in brackets are his):

"You know what it really says? [The "it" refers to public curiosity over this bike-path affair.] It says the Republicans are talking like they're out of the Pharisees. Because if you're a Christian, you're a Christian. I don't believe it ought to matter what kind of a denomination you are. As a matter of fact, if you're a religious person, you're a religious person. I don't think it ought to matter what religion you are."

I will keep quoting: Woodruff: "Was it just over a bike path that you left the Episcopal Church?" (Even Judy Woodruff seems incredulous, doesn't she?) Dean: "Yes, as a matter of fact it was. I was fighting to have public access to the waterfront, and we were fighting very hard in the citizens group to allow the public to use it. [Notice how these people are always "fighting"?] And this particular diocese decided to join a property-rights suit [please gasp here] to close it down. I didn't think that was very public-spirited. One thing I feel about religion, you have to be very careful not to be a hypocrite if you're a religious person. It is really tough to preach one thing and do something else. And I don't think you can do that."

His English is incoherent, his reasoning shallow, his understanding weak. The amazing thing is that Democrats, and probably not a few others, consider this guy the mental superior of George W. Bush. Dean doesn't reach to Bush's knees.

That's for sure. Woodruff notes that "Republicans are going to have a field day with comments like these," to which Dean responds, "The Republicans always have a field day with things like this. That's the reason Democrats lose, is because they're so afraid of the Republicans having a field day with comments like this or like that, that they never make any comments."

No "better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" for Howard Dean. Which should make for a delightful campaign season, not only for Republicans but for anyone who loves a circus.

See a Dentist, Dr. Dean
"Angry People Have Higher Risk of Gum Disease"--headline, United Press International, Dec. 10

Merrilly, Merrilly, Merrilly, Life Is but a Dream
Our Monday item on lovelorn Howard Dean backers--and especially young Clay Johnson--prompted this e-mail from Merrill Wilcox:

Oh Mister Taranto!

It is I! The ex-girlfriend, full of rue!

When I read my name in the New York Times article, I was a little shocked that a well respected news organization would print the story of a recent and seemingly devastating breakup, straight from the mouth of the devastated party, without so much as pausing to corroborate the story and make sure it wasn't completely invented. It's kinda sad no one did. While I might expect my ex to be that unprofessional, I would not have expected it from the campaign, and I would certainly not have expected a member of the international press to put its journalistic integrity on the shelf in order to take on the mantle of "gossip mill."

Yet upon reading your response, Mr. Taranto, I just can't stop laughing. I'd like to thank you. It's nice to know I am not the only one who thinks this was a pathetic display both of journalism and of Mr. Johnson's personal problems.

Though I live each day haunted by the past, I hope that one day, with the help of the Dean campaign, I too can experience that epic rebirth always hovering at the horizon.

Assuming this is authentic--and we have no reason to doubt that it is--we've gotta say, this Merrill girl is pretty cool. No wonder Clay was bummed when she dumped him.

Dennis's Big Date
"For a Democrat, Dennis Kucinich's approach on a first date was rather conservative Thursday: He greeted her by shaking her hand," the Associated Press reports. Huh? Does the AP really think a Clinton-style groping is the norm for Dems on first dates?

Anyway, Kucinich had breakfast this morning with Gina Marie Santore, the lucky lady who won the LiberalHarts.com "Who Wants to Be a First Lady?" contest. But it's not as exciting as it sounds. The pair actually met for breakfast.

Santore describes Kucinich's views as "intoxicating" and described him as "very kind, very gentle." (When George H.W. Bush said he wanted "a kinder, gentler America," is Kucinich what he had in mind?) Although she's an omnivore, Kucinich's abstention from meat doesn't bother her. "I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no problem with someone else who is," she tells the AP. "He may be a vegan, but as long as he drinks, it's OK." Nice to know she has her priorities straight.

There's no word on a second date, and the AP notes that "a long-term future between the two is uncertain," since Santore lives with her boyfriend, Robert. Presumably Dennis wouldn't want Gina Marie to dump Robert, lest he join the Dean campaign.

The Great Communicator?
"I can't maybe even convey it as strongly as I feel, how dangerous this administration is to the future of our country."--Sen. Hillary Clinton, quoted in the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, Dec. 11

Those Clever Republicans!
Columnist James O. Goldsborough of the San Diego Union-Tribune offers this brilliant bit of political analysis:

The GOP's strength in the South has increased in the past decade. Since 1994, when the GOP took control of Congress, hundreds of small-town Southern politicians have been encouraged to switch from the Democratic to Republican Party. District gerrymandering has delivered still more GOP votes. Al Gore would lose six of the 267 electoral votes he won in 2000 through clever redistricting.

Actually, the net change in electoral votes from Gore states to Bush states is seven, not six. More important, this is a product of reapportionment--changing the number of congressional districts allocated to particular states to conform to changes in population--not redistricting, which is the redrawing of political lines within states. And isn't it clever of those Republicans to have arranged for so many people to move from blue states to red ones between 1990 and 2000 so as to boost President Bush's chances next year?

Not So Noble After All
OK, so we were overly optimistic about Shirin Ebadi, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. In her Nobel lecture yesterday, Ebadi bashed Israel, America and our allies:

Why is it that some decisions and resolutions of the UN Security Council are binding, while some other resolutions of the council have no binding force? Why is it that in the past 35 years, dozens of UN resolutions concerning the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the state of Israel have not been implemented promptly, yet, in the past 12 years, the state and people of Iraq, once on the recommendation of the Security Council, and the second time, in spite of UN Security Council opposition, were subjected to attack, military assault, economic sanctions, and, ultimately, military occupation?

Why is it that she can't spare a breath for the horrors the erstwhile state of Iraq inflicted on the people of Iraq?

The Roe Effect
The Christian Science Monitor reports a "religious upsurge" among American college students: "Religion on campus--particularly evangelical groups . . .--is thriving these days, but it doesn't always find an easy home in the intellectual, secular world of higher education." Example:

Evangelism, intolerance of homosexuality and other lifestyles, and the "our way is the only way" version of Christianity can be awkward fits in secular higher education, with its increasingly inclusive culture.

At the University of Chicago, the school was so nervous about an evangelical speaker that it called in the campus police. And a few years ago, Tufts University derecognized the local InterVarsity [Christian Fellowship] chapter--though the group was later reinstated--after a very public dispute when a lesbian student filed a discrimination charge against InterVarsity.

See what we mean about the perversity of the left? An "increasingly inclusive culture" is one that deals with disagreement by calling in the cops and shutting down groups whose views are deemed unacceptable.

Expect to hear more about this trend. For just as the baby boom of the 1940s transformed campus culture in the 1960s, so the liberal baby bust following Roe v. Wade is producing a more conservative student body today.

Palestine's Best and Brightest
A "baby boom" of sorts is also having an effect on Palestinian Arab college students. "In a West Bank university election for the student leadership that focused on which party had killed the most Israelis, the violent Hamas swept to victory Wednesday, defeating Yasser Arafat 's Fatah," the Associated Press reports from Ramallah:

At a debate, the Hamas candidate asked the Fatah candidate: "Hamas activists in this university killed 135 Zionists. How many did Fatah activists from Bir Zeit kill?"

Someone remind us again why these people ought to have their own state?

How a Real Ally Acts
Unlike France, Germany and other members of the axis of weasels, Israel is taking a pragmatic approach to its exclusion from the eligibility list for Iraqi reconstruction contracts, the Jerusalem Post reports:

"Of course the US cannot say it wants Israel to be involved in the reconstruction," Yitzhak Kiryati, director of international projects for the Israel Export Institute, said. "That would be a political disaster."

Nonetheless, he said, "the bottom line is that Israeli companies will find a way to sell to Iraq. The technology companies here are some of the best in the world, and American companies will find ways to work with them if it is in their best interest. Ultimately we will be involved."

Kiryati "noted that Israeli firms had been involved in projects they should have been barred from in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. For security reasons, he declined to cite examples."

You've Just Gotta Love the Guy
From an Associated Press dispatch on the dispute over Iraq reconstruction contracts:

Bush scoffed at a question seeking his reaction to Schroeder's statement on Thursday that international law must apply to the awarding of the contracts.

"International law? I better call my lawyer," he said.

Yeah, but When Did Critics Ever Support Anything?
"Critics Oppose U.S. Decision on Iraq Bids"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 11

Paying Tribute
The death yesterday of Robert Bartley has brought forth many eulogies; here are some of our favorites:

Seth Lipsky, editor of the New York Sun: "About a year before Bob died, he gathered a few of his friends in a meeting room of Plymouth Church and, together with his daughter Beth, showed them the movie 'Inherit the Wind.' The movie was about the Tennessee Monkey Trial of 1925, when John Scopes was put in the dock for teaching Darwinism. The film mocks the religious fundamentalists, particularly the lawyer who prosecuted the case, William Jennings Bryan. Our Knickerbocker columnist, Gary Shapiro, quoted Bob as saying that Bryan himself was 'not my cup of tea,' what with his nutty monetary theories and his support for prohibition. But 'Bryan had a point,' Bartley said. 'I don't think it's inappropriate for a legislature to decide how public moneys are spent. That includes the right to make mistakes.' It was clear from the lecture that Bartley had come to detest--to see through--the brand of wisecracking, conservative cynicism of which [H.L.] Mencken was the leading voice. He stood for a more ennobling, uplifting, and inclusive brand of conservatism that even at the end of his life was still ahead of his time."

David Asman of Fox News Channel, in the New York Post: "This may be a minor point, but for some reason it stands out in my mind. The only time I ever heard Bob Bartley curse was the day I told him I was leaving my post as oped editor to become a Fox News anchor. 'S---!' Bob said, turning his head away from me. What shocked me most was not what he said, but my realization that I'd never heard it from him in 14 years of almost daily contact. Bob didn't have to curse for emphasis. He could make enemies wince with nothing more than the facts and a pincer-like construction of those facts on paper. He would box his arguments so completely that no one could back out of them without tripping over them."

Our Peggy Noonan: "He was by nature mild, soft-spoken, and possibly shy. I was never sure. When you sat and talked with him he was direct, humorous, probing, unself-conscious. That doesn't sound shy. At the same time he maintained a certain reserve and wasn't given to the spontaneous spilling of emotions, secrets, insights or gossip. I always thought it interesting that he didn't care if anyone knew who he was. He didn't care if you were impressed. Part of this, I think, is due to the fact that he thought that if the waiter in the restaurant didn't know he was the great Bob Bartley, editor of The Wall Street Journal, he'd have a more authentic experience with the waiter. And if you had to have an experience it might as well be an authentic one. I also think he was constitutionally incapable of vanity."

Jay Nordlinger of National Review: "I did not know Robert Bartley, . . . but I met him several times, and I was struck by his common sense, a puckish look on his face, and his famous Iowa taciturnity. Mainly, I learned from him--loads and loads--by reading the editorials and columns he wrote, and the pages he edited, for years and years and years. He was a teacher of many of us, and, given the positions he took, the perfect recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He not only stood for freedom--he could explain why, brilliantly and incontestably. A loss, yes. But he did so much."

Michael Bloomberg's New York
High cigarette taxes may be deadlier than secondhand smoke. "A bootleg cigarette war in Brooklyn has claimed the lives of at least three people since the summer," reports the New York Daily News. "With city and state taxes boosting the price of cigarettes, hundreds of streetwise hustlers are selling cheap tax-free smokes--an illegal but lucrative trade that is becoming nearly as cutthroat as dealing drugs."

The most recent victim of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's antismoking crusade: 19-year-old Cody Knox, who was buried Tuesday, "two weeks after he was chased by two fellow bootleggers and fatally stabbed because he was undercutting cigarette prices by a buck, stealing his rivals' business."

What Would Pretty Women Do Without Experts?
"Men Lose Rationality When They See a Pretty Woman: Experts"--headline, Hindustan Times, Dec. 10

What Would We Do Without Annan?
"Annan: Internet Can Better People's Lives"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 10

Wardrobe by Kerkorian
In an article about a court appearance by Juergen Schrempp, chairman of DaimlerChrysler, the New York Times reports: "Mr. Schrempp took the stand in a suit brought by Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire who was the largest premerger shareholder in Chrysler." What's a fashion story doing in the business section?

This Seems a Tad Harsh
"Keep Murdering Radicals in Jail"--headline, The Corner, National Review Online, Dec. 10

Finally, a Solution to the Sperm Shortage!
"Scientists Create Sperm From Stem Cells"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 10

Say What?
"Academics Attack Nursery Rhyme Injuries"--headline, Ananova.com, Dec. 10

The Prosecutors Say So Too
"Jacko's Parents: He Loves Children"--headline, New York Daily News, Dec. 11

He'll Have to Relocate From Frostbite Falls
"Moose Is a Finalist for Minneapolis Job"--headline, Washington Post. Dec. 11

Barbie's Great Unraveling
From a report on Christmas retailing in the News-Daily of Jonesboro, Ga.:

The National Retail Federation conducted a consumer survey in November that indicated older toys like Hot Wheels cars, Barbie dolls and Care Bears will be popular this year, NRF spokesman Paul Krugman said.

Most retailers are expecting more sales this year than previous years, and parents plan to spend more money this year, he said.

Does this mean Krugman finally admits the economy is looking up?

Those Little Green Men Aren't So Green
Have you ever noticed how environmentalists always refer to the world as a "planet"? It is a planet, of course, but this seems an odd way to think about it in this context. You're not "saving the planet" if you follow environmentalists' prescriptions; it's not as if some alien Death Star is going to blow us up as punishment for failing to carpool or recycle.

Space.com, however, reports that "scientists have suspected in recent years that Mars might be undergoing some sort of global warming." They don't know what's causing it, but no doubt we'll soon be hearing that it has something to do with Martian disgust at President Bush's rejection of the Kyoto treaty.

(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Barak Moore, Erik Moy, Tim Graham, John Williamson, Curt Stubhar, Len James, Steve Roberts, Patrick Charles, Michael Nunnelley, Arnold Nelson, Gregory Brunt, Kirk Petersen, Rosanne Klass, Laurence Louden, Jerome Marcus, Jeff Marti, Shalom Mitchell, Joel Goldberg, Jeffrey Shapiro, Monty Krieger, Michael Segal, Moshe Bell, Pesach Wolicki, C.E. Dobkin, Ed Lasky, Elliot Ganz, Yehuda Hilewitz, Lyle Katz, David Shapero, Martin Kimel, Dan Calabrese, Don Burton, Joseph Lazauskas, Edward Himmelfarb, David Schlosser, Nathan Whitlock, Chris Fountain, Mark Simpson, Patrick Baker, Charlie Gaylord, Dean Gannon, Brian O'Rourke and Brett Garver. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

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