Author: COB6

“The war is lost. The surge has failed” (Sen. Harry Reid)
“The U.S. troop buildup in Iraq has failed” (Sen. Carl Levin)
“It’s clear that the current strategy – the escalation – has failed” (Sen. John Kerry)
“We should stop the surge and start bringing our troops home” (Sen. Joe Biden)

Bill Roggio reports:

Iraqi police announced the arrest of five senior leaders of the Mahdi Army in the city of Karbala as assassination attempts were made on three police commanders in Baghdad and southern Iraq. The largest attack occurred in a Shia neighborhood in Baghdad, and resulted in more than 13 killed and 50 wounded.

The Karbala police announced the captureof Mahdi Army commanders Ali Abd Taan, Sayyid Munadil, Muhsin Sharea, Haidar Jouri, and Razzaq al Samma. The five men lead a Mahdi Army unit in Karbala that was behind attacks on Iraqi police forces during a religious festival in August 2007. The attacks led to the closing down of the festival and a declaration of a unilateral cease-fire by Mahdi Army and Sadrist movement leader Muqtada al Sadr.

What would this report read if the president had followed the sage wisdom of Barack Obama? Remember the Killing Fields?

This is why amateurs don’t run big companies and shouldn’t run big countries.

The biggest problem with identity politics and trying to pander to every conceivable identity voter is that sooner or later these hard core identities collide and that means some group has to lose.

Identity voters are worse than single-issue voters in that the ultimate winner can not soften or clarify a position on an issue to pander to that group. Hillary Clinton could not become black and Barack Obama can not become a women.

Another important point is that when identity voters lose; they get really pissed:

They are downright angry about some of the language employed by the media to describe Clinton, and at what they see as the media’s undue haste in shoving her out of the race. And they don’t like some of the phrases tossed around by Barack Obama (“Sweetie”; “You’re likable enough, Hillary”) either.

The major newspapers now regale us with stories about the many women, especially but not limited to the Geraldine Ferraro generation, who threaten to withhold their votes from Obama. Such angry and disillusioned female Democrats seem, for the moment, to be everywhere.

Way too early to say for sure that this sentiment will last through November but one thing is pretty certain. This just sunk any hopes of Jim Webb getting the Vice President job.

Women who voted for Hillary for the sole reason that she has a uterus are not taking the loss well. They feel that the media conspired with the Obama camp and the DNC to bully her out.

Obama is now forced to reverse the charge of sexism against his campaign. Tapping Jim Webb would be the most amazing act of political suicide in 50 years.

Webb’s problems with women go back a long way. It hit the forefront in his infamous November 1979 article where he tore in to the decision to allow women into the Naval Academy, where he wrote:

“There is a place for women in our military, but not in combat. And their presence at institutions dedicated to the preparation of men for combat command is poisoning that preparation. By attempting to sexually sterilize the Naval Academy environment in the name of equality, this country has sterilized the whole process of combat leadership training, and our military forces are doomed to suffer the consequences.”

Kathy G., writing for Matthew Yglesias at The Atlantic noted this article in her May 27th piece on Webb:

Webb’s writings on women did a hell of a lot of damage. It gave invaluable ammunition to the enemies of women’s presence in the military and helped stall and perhaps even roll back women’s progress there. Kathleen Murray, a 1984 academy graduate who went on to become a commander in the Navy, said of Webb’s screed: “This article was brandished repeatedly. [Men] quoted and used it as an excuse to mistreat us.” Her observation is confirmed by this post, which contains devastating testimony by women in the military about the effect Webb’s writings had.

She goes on to point to some of the statements and uber flip-flops that Webb has said over the years to question his liberal bona fides:

To quote a Rolling Stone profile of the man, just a few years ago he was saying that “Liberals were ‘cultural Marxists,’ and ‘the upper crust of academia and the pampered salons of Hollywood’ were a fifth column waging war on American traditions.”

In 2000, Webb opined that affirmative action was “state-sponsored racism”; that same year he endorsed the ultra-conservative Republican George Allen for the senate. In 2004, Webb wrote an op-ed for USA Today arguing that John Kerry “deserved condemnation” for his opposition to the Vietnam War.

These pissed off and very vocal feminists will be the deciding factor in Obama’s VP choice. And trust me, it won’t be Jim Webb.

Obama is weak in every conceivable measure of a presidential candidate; foreign policy, national security, military experience, executive experience, business economics and pretty much everything else. But this outrage by democrat women has to be a huge concern inside Camp Obama.

I think Webb is already toast because of his verifiable record but if the outrage starts to get legs it could spell the end for tools like Wes Clark, Mike Bloomberg and Chuck Hagel as well.

Well, you’ve still got Kathleen Sebilius and Janet Napolitano.

Yes it is true friends; I am either frighteningly brilliant or just a mediocre master of the obvious. The bottom line is that I was 100% right in my prediction.

A few minutes ago, I followed Jonn’s link to the nasty story supposedly about to break at No Quarter USA. Reading the comments vindicates all that I said. These are Democrats folks.

Just a couple of hours ago, I said “If Hillary wrangles the nomination, under any possible circumstances, Obama’s supporters will view it as stolen. Even if either of the two rumors are true, it will be perceived as a dirty trick to “hold the brother back”. These are not smart people, they are identity voters.”

Oh please, please, let the tape come out. Finally, we can have hillary win the nomination. she could not win in a fair contest wiht a freshman senator from Illinois, who ran a SUPER BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN. she cannot win the contests fairly, so she relies on tactics such as these to win. Wow. arent we desperate. If abc has the tape then they will surely play it and we shall see what happens. But, remember, her win will always be a black mark on those of us who support the opposite candidate. she did not win fair and square but through dirty tactics, hoping someone would bump Obama off RFK style in June. She is staying in the race becuse he is a black man and surely there MUST be something in his character that could be questionable. She is WHITE TRAILER TRASH, A WEAK PATHETIC WOMAN WHO MADE IT OK FOR WV AND KY TO VOTE AGAINST A BLASCK MAN. AND MICHELLE IS A RACIST???????????

As for the Hillary supporters, I predicted their reaction as well saying, “Just as important is that a huge part of Hillary’s army (low and middle class women) will not vote for Obama and have said so. These ladies feel scorned and we all know what that’s all about.”

From the same comment thread that are all Democrats, I offer the following passage:

You are right on the money. As a Hill supporter, I would rather see McCain in than Obama and I am sure the Reps can agree with the reverse also. Hopefully this tape will surface tomorrow before the Supers urged by the DNC rush to vote for Obama. If it is as bad as it sounds I am hoping BO would drop out of the race..yes, prayers can be answered…or at least get the Supers to stop drinking the koolaide.

This is a united party?

This is a train wreck waiting to happen.

Jonn added at 10 AM, 6-2-08; It looks like Larry Johnson was pulling our collective leg about the Michelle Obama “Whitey” tape. I guess he was trying to bump up his Sunday traffic.

In spite of her big win today in Puerto Rico, Hillary is mathematically toast and she knows it. So, why is still driving on?

Stephanopolus thinks she is waiting for something to break that will shatter Obama’s chance in the General election and sway those super delegates that are left her way.

Former Clinton operative and ABC pseudo-journalist says that Hillary Clinton’s campaign is waiting on more to break on Obama and his church, and that that’s why Obama left his church yesterday.

Obama is on the ropes and appears to be limping into the nomination but he still has the lead and even with a recent series of blows to Obama, Hillary hasn’t been able to spike enough.

Hillary is either desperately hoping that some bombshell is on the horizon or she knows it. There are certainly some juicy rumors floating around the blogosphere.

Gateway Pundit seems to think that Obama has an Iranian Agent working for him!

According to sources, Trita Parsi who worked for the corrupt Congressman Bob Ney, and is protected by the likes of Brzezinski is said to be advising Obama on Iran!

I heard this news yesterday from anonymous sources close to Iran Press News…

This is unconfirmed on many levels but it could be something. If this clown is in fact an “agent”, Barry will lose worse than McGovern.

But far away the best rumor floating around is this juicy bit:

But the real reason for Obama’s extraordinary freakout is that he fears the release of the videotape, reported here, of Michelle Obama in the pulpit of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church railing against “whitey.” And we don’t mean Whitey Ford. Four Republican sources have told me that the tape exists. I’ve also been informed that Karl Rove and his allies have a copy of it and are using it to raise funds for independent expenditure groups. The tape, I’m told, will be disclosed as the GOP October Surprise. It’s a ticking time bomb.

Actually the Iranian agent rumor would make Barry far scarier as president. But if you think you heard “God Damn America” a few times, wait till the screeching “whitey” sound bite hits.

What is happening is that neither Hillary nor Barry is electable.

Middle America doesn’t like “militant racists” (whether real or perceived) and it is evident in his pathetic showings in West Virginia and Kentucky. Just as important is that a huge part of Hillary’s army (low and middle class women) will not vote for Obama and have said so. These ladies feel scorned and we all know what that’s all about. Obama may get to be the head of the Dem house but he’ll be sleeping on the couch.

Result: President McCain

If Hillary wrangles the nomination, under any possible circumstances, Obama’s supporters will view it as stolen. Even if either of the two rumors are true, it will be perceived as a dirty trick to “hold the brother back”. These are not smart people, they are identity voters. If Barry is not the man, the Dems can say good bye to 90% of the black vote and the hundreds of thousands of pimple-faced college idiots will fold up their Che t-shirts and stay home.

Result: President McCain

There has been a lot written about the recent book “What Happened” by Scott McClellan, President Bush’s former Press Secretary. I don’t think anyone captured it better than Bob Dole did in an email, not to the media, but to McClellan himself.

When I thought about it, I was stunned at the similarities with a former high-ranking official who left his job in disgrace and then lashed out at a wartime president – also named McClellan.

That of course was Union General George McClellan who served under President Abraham Lincoln.

Both McClellan’s benefited greatly from relationships that their parents had with people in high positions. General McClellan’s father was a close personal friend of General Winfield Scott and Scott McClellan’s mother has been a powerful fixture in Texas politics for years.

Both McClellan’s seemed to have had little experience or qualifications for the jobs foisted upon them. General McClellan, who was only 35 years old at the time, was certainly experienced as a soldier but had never held anything close to the level of command that Lincoln gave him.

Scott McClellan, who was also 35 in 2003 when he assumed the Secretary position, had worked in Governor Bush’s press office and later as a Deputy Press Secretary in the White House but never as the top man and certainly never in a position as intensely scrutinized as a president’s Press Secretary.

The performance of both men in these high visibility jobs was criticized almost universally.

Watching Scott McClellan face the White House press corps was painful to anybody who understands media relations and public affairs. He always appeared timid and overly cautious; could not stay on message and seemed to get easily bullied by reporters.

General McClellan’s performance during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 has become a tactical lesson in poor command, fragmented synchronicity and being operationally uncoordinated.

He did manage a bloody draw against Lee at Antietam but Lincoln had hoped for much more than a bloody draw. McClellan outnumbered Lee 2-1 yet suffered 25% more casualties. The biggest blunder was his refusal to aggressively pursue Lee allowing the Confederate Army to escape intact.

This inaction led to Lincoln’s famous quote; “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.”

After Scott McClellan’s handling of the press during the Valerie Plame affair and particularly the Katrina aftermath, one can imagine Bush saying, “Scott if you’re not going to use that microphone, I have a pal over at Fox News.”

General McClellan was relieved of command and sent to New Jersey to await orders that never came. Scott McClellan “resigned” and went home to Texas to help with his mother’s failed race for the Governor’s office.

Then Scott comes out with a book blasting his former boss. More than that, he seemed to have flipped on any conservative principles he may have ever held. In a recent interview on MSNBC, he said that he found Barack Obama’s positions “intriguing”.

General McClellan may have found Obama intriguing as well. In 1864, he decided to run for President as a Democrat against Lincoln.

The Democrat platform of 1864 called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy.

The general consensus is that Scott McClellan was a piss poor spokesman for the President and the comparison between his performance and that of Tony Snow makes that abundantly clear.

When one recalls how badly he stumbled before the press and could never stay on message; it’s hard to imagine McClelland even having the cognitive prowess to write such a book. Even in recent TV interviews it seems that the interviewers know more about the book than McClellan does.

To a man, Whitehouse insiders seem shocked that Scott would write such things about his benefactor. After all President Bush gave him a very high profile job that he had zero qualifications for. So, why would he do it?

Because, maybe he didn’t.

Today, the Washington Times almost tripped on the likely source of the vitriol in the book.

Bush defenders and impartial observers point in particular to Mr. McClellan’s mother, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, as having set a precedent for turning on former allies, while others say that his family tree had strong liberal leanings.

This is not about liberal leanings. Strayhorn is more conservative than President Bush.

McClellan’s mother, the former Texas state Comptroller, refers to herself as “One Tough Grandma” and she has been a lifelong “tough” politician in Texas. She’s been married three times and had just as many political affiliations. First she was a Democrat, then a Republican and now an Independent. But she has always been a fierce advocate of her own position over all others.

This came to a head in 2006 when Texas Governor Rick Perry was running for re-election. Strayhorn had been at odds with Perry (another Democrat turned squishy Republican for some time) and decided to run against him for governor. After all she could likely count on a very popular and influential endorsement from her son’s boss, right?

In the spring of the 2006 campaign, President Bush decided to support Governor Perry’s re-election. McClellan resigned in April 2006. In November his mother lost badly and Perry was re-elected.

President Bush may have chosen unwisely.

McClellan may have never struck anyone as being terribly bright but his mother is sharp and certainly capable of this type of vicious back stabbing.

IMHO it is very likely that Strayhorn wrote the book as political payback and in so doing threw her own son under the bus.

Politics in Texas can be a blood sport.