From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 4:42 P.M. EDT

Today's video on WSJ.com: Mary O'Grady on Canadians who want to cut and run from Afghanistan and Brendan Miniter on the politics of health care.

Pretty Ugly
"Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is calling on his supporters to turn this year's Memorial Day into a day of antiwar activism, saying that the best way to honor the troops is to demand an end to the Iraq war," the Washington Post reports. Edwards, who voted for the war, has set up a Web site for his effort, supportthetroopsendthewar.com.

Andrew Sullivan has observed of Edwards, "He's pretty, he has flowing locks, he's young-looking." But as lovely as Edwards may be on the outside, it is ugly to try to turn a solemn day honoring those who died in the service of their country into a political stunt.

What'll he think of next, turning Christmas into a day of pro-abortion activism?

In Your Heart, You Know He's Trite
The Chicago Tribune has an amusing report on Barack Obama, who appeared over the weekend on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos":

Obama's criticism of [President] Bush for his combative rhetoric came in answer to a question about whether the senator had the capacity to act ruthlessly when necessary if elected president.

"It's not just talking tough, because the truth is nobody's talked tougher than George Bush over the last six years. Being tough means, first of all, not having to talk about it all the time," Obama said. . . .

Without going into any specifics, Obama cited his testing in Chicago politics as a sign that he had an inner toughness. "Somebody who has arrived where I am out of Chicago politics has to have a little bit of steel in them," he said. "I have the capacity, I think, to make strong decisions even if they're unpopular, even if they're uncomfortable, even if sometimes I lose some friends."

So Obama says the first test of toughness is "not having to talk about it"--and he then proceeds to talk about how tough he is. By his own standard, he is a jellyfish.

National Journal's Hotline transcribes another bit of the interview:

Stephanopoulos: You've also said that with Social Security, everything should be on the table.

Obama: Yes.

Stephanopoulos: Raising the retirement age?

Obama: Everything should be on the table.

Stephanopoulos: Raising payroll taxes?

Obama: Everything should be on the table. I think we should approach it the same way Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan did back in 1983. They came together. I don't want to lay out my preferences beforehand, but what I know is that Social Security is solvable. It is not as difficult a problem as we're going to have with Medicaid and Medicare.

Stephanopoulos: Partial privatization?

Obama: Privatization is not something that I would consider . . .

So when Obama says that "everything should be on the table," what he means is, "Not everything should be on the table." Of course the real problem isn't privatization, it's cynicism.

Nice Going, Nancy
The Jerusalem Post reports on one Syrian who wasn't happy about Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to dictator Bashar Assad:

Mamoun Homsi is a courageous pro-democracy activist who had been one of the few independent members of Syria's puppet parliament. In March 2002 he was thrown out of the legislature and sentenced to five years in prison. As he was dragged off to jail, Homsi shouted, "This is a badge of honor to me and others like me. Long live the people!"

Released after four years in 2006, Homsi immediately left the country, saying there was no possibility of changing the regime by reform, and that any criticism would bring more imprisonment.

Homsi wrote Pelosi a letter urging her not to visit Syria as such a step would only strengthen the regime. Last week, the government seized all of his assets in the country, leaving his family destitute.

That Explains It!
"A U.S. troop pullout from Iraq would leave the country as a potent launchpad for international terrorism and Washington would be forced to go back in within a couple of years, a leading al Qaeda expert said on Tuesday," Reuters reports:

Rohan Gunaratna told a security conference at Lloyd's of London insurance market that Iraq, like Afghanistan in the 1990s, would become a "terrorist Disneyland" where al Qaeda could build up its strength unchallenged.

And to think, that strange lady in L.A. thought Disney wanted to liberate Iraq.

Un Scandale!
A group of French journalists is upset because a French newspaper decided not to publish a story about a nonstory, Reuters reports:

A French rights group said on Monday it was concerned by a newspaper's decision not to publish an article saying president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy's wife did not vote in the presidential ballot.

The case is the latest in a series of incidents that opponents of right-winger Sarkozy say show his links to the business world give him an iron grip over France's media.

Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF--"Reporters Without Borders") called for a public debate on the issue.

"Given the ties of friendship between Nicolas Sarkozy and several owners of media groups, Reporters Without Borders will be extremely vigilant at the start of this presidency and will denounce anything that might resemble pressure by the authorities," RSF said in a statement.

These guys should change their name to Reporters Sans Cerveaux.

Good Point!
"Wouldn't it be weird if French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy turns out to be more pro-American than all the Democrats running for U.S. president?"--Jim Seay of Henrico, Va., quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch's "Your Two Cents" feature

'Toga! Toga!'
"Sarkozy Courts Left in Appeal to Fraternity"--headline, Financial Times, May 15

Dems for Dehumanization
Here's a selection from an exchange in the comments section over at DailyKos.com. The readers, identified by their screen names, are responding to a post by proprietor Markos Moulitsas bashing Joe Lieberman:

  • OneCrankyDom: "Once we lock up a Majority where we don't need Lieberman, I hope they will kick him to the curb like the dog he is."

  • Dump Terry McAuliffe: "He's a much lower form of life than a dog. Weasel seems about right to describe him--if you're kind enough to afford him vertebrate status."

  • Sharon Jumper: "Don't insult dogs like that. Given a choice between my dog and Lieberman, I'd gas him without thinking twice."

  • TeresaInPa: "Sharon, jeez. I know you didn't mean it that way, but a reference to gassing a Jew needs to be hidden."

Lanny Davis had a point, didn't he?

Great Moments in Journalism
From the Associated Press:

Most people say their families and local emergency agencies are ready for the next natural disaster but the federal government is not. Women and minorities are less confident on both counts.

A poll on the subject was released Monday, less than three weeks before the official start of an Atlantic hurricane season that some forecasters say will be an active one.

The USA Today/Gallup poll found that two-thirds of people said their local first responders were prepared for a disaster, while nearly as many said their hospitals and families were ready.

So rather than reporting on whether government agencies actually are ready for another disaster, the AP reports on another news organization's poll, which shows nothing more than that the ignorant public has been influenced by the media stereotypes of the past two years.

Another great AP moment is this photo caption:

High gas prices are posted at a Shell gas station, right, with a Chevron gas station gas prices posted at left, in San Francisco, Thursday, May 10, 2007. With gasoline prices poised to break records at the pump, energy futures prices jumped Thursday as traders noticed a gas supply imbalance in the fine print of Wednesday's government inventory report.

Gas at the Chevron station is $3.759 for intermediate grade and $3.879 for premium (regular is cropped out), but at the Shell station, shockingly, it's over $4 a gallon: $4.339 for regular up to $4.539 for premium.

What the AP doesn't note but the San Francisco Chronicle does is that the owner of the Shell station, Bob Oyster, raised his prices as a protest:

Putting the price way up over $4 a gallon isn't about making a profit. It's about making a statement to a multinational corporation. After Shell forced him to pay higher prices for gas in San Francisco and jacked up his rent, Oyster says, he decided to fight back.

"I got fed up,'' Oyster admits. "It makes a statement, and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it.''

In fact, far from making a huge profit, Oyster is going out of business. He has operated the Shell station at Sixth and Harrison for 22 years, but he's walking away from it at the end of the month, handing over the keys to Shell officials and expecting them to shut it down.

Soon, no doubt, the AP will report that someone has done a poll finding that Americans think big oil companies are to blame for high gas prices.

Disclosure for Thee, Not for Me
A New York Times report on the effort to oust Paul Wolfowitz from the World Bank contains this gem:

Speaking on the condition of anonymity because the bank bars disclosure of evidence in the case, the officials said Mr. Coll's testimony and notes have become central to the charges Mr. Wolfowitz is fighting.

Apparently the only evidence the bank actually bars disclosure of is who is disclosing evidence.

Meanwhile, the Times's Andrew Ross Sorkin, in his DealBook blog, is silly in the opposite way:

A JetBlue spokeswoman declined to comment on the latest deal speculation but told CNNMoney.com, "We don't have any interest in merging with another airline or developing code share alliances."

That sounds suspiciously like a comment to us.

But Can He Walk on Water?
"Bush Moving on Air Pollution"--headline, Associated Press, May 14

But Can It Move on Air Pollution?
"Cruise Ship Runs Around Off Alaska Coast"--headline, Associated Press, May 14

'No Thanks, I Couldn't Eat Another Bite'
"Turkey Tests Islamist Appetite for Democracy"--headline, Financial Times, May 14

The First Step Is Admitting You Have a Problem
"Nagin Demands State Provide Mental Health Services"--headline, Times-Picayune (New Orleans), May 14

'That's One Heavy Opening!'
"Red Cross to Weigh Opening of Nazi Archive"--headline, New York Sun, May 14

But Leave the Heavy Ones Alone
"Editorial: Crackdown on Light Runners Is Warranted"--headline, Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald, May 14

Well-Dressed Jurors
"Deliberations Continue in Church Suit"--headline, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), May 14

Now They'll Fight Over Who Gets to Wear It
"Ballack, Kahn Win Sex Toy Suit"--headline, Reuters, May 14

Lock Up Your Daughters!--I
"Nudists Reach Out to Connecticut Youth"--headline, Daily Collegian (University of Massachusetts), May 15

Lock Up Your Daughters!--II
"Clinton Courting Non-Voters"--headline, Chicago Tribune, May 15

He Must've Been Forced Out
"Plexus CFO Bitter to Retire"--headline, Business Journal of Milwaukee, May 14

We'll Bite, WHO?
"WHO Rejects Taiwan's Bid for Membership"--headline, Associated Press, May 14

News You Can Use

Bottom Stories of the Day

  • "Saint John Airport Adds Daily Flight to Toronto"--headline, CBC.ca, May 14

  • "Lodi Board Discusses Boiler"--headline, Finger Lakes Times (Geneva, N.Y.), May 13

  • "EU Welcomes Malta Bird Reprieve"--headline, BBC Web site, May 15

  • "Lithuanian Bus Drivers Protest Gay Ads"--headline, Baltic Times (Riga, Latvia), May 14

  • "Few Minorities Appear on U.S. News Talk Shows: Report"--headline, Reuters, May 14

  • "Taliban Leader Says Jihad Will Continue"--headline, Associated Press, May 15

Father of the Year
Jeff Napolitano, a University of Massachusetts graduate student who was last seen in December, urging the reinstatement of the draft while trying to get military recruiters kicked off campus, has "an open letter to the chancellor" in the Daily Collegian. It begins:

This Andrew Card fiasco is really beginning to get on my nerves. I've had to spend the last couple of weeks attending meetings and rallies, as well as signing petitions to try to convince you that your decision (rather, your recommendation to the Board of Trustees) to award a prominent war criminal an honorary degree was "wrong." I have schoolwork to do, I have a new baby son I should be spending time with, but instead I have to waste my time making a public case that you--as an intelligent and supposedly moral man--have made a very bad mistake in giving an honorary degree to a very bad man.

Yikes, what a self-centered creep. We feel sorry for his son, not to mention his wife.

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Today on OpinionJournal:

  • Review & Outlook: More evidence the Wolfowitz accusers chose to ignore.
  • Bret Stephens: Putin wants to disbar Russia's most distinguished human-rights lawyer.
  • Max Boot: The new strategy in Iraq can work. But Washington has to give it time.

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