Richard Cohen

Psst! There's a liberal in the White House

"[O]ne reason for our involvement was an attempt to do some good -- rid the world of a really bad guy and make life better for Iraqis and others in the region. This 'liberal' intent may have left Dick Cheney cold and found Don Rumsfeld indifferent, but it appealed to Bush and it showed in his rhetoric and body language. Contrast it to the position of the so-called foreign policy realists, exemplified by the first President Bush and his trusted foreign policy sidekick, Brent Scowcroft.

"It was their decision -- cold realism at its best -- to end the first Gulf War with Saddam Hussein still in power, and not to intervene when Saddam later decimated rebellious Shiites in the south. Realistic? Sure. But also sickening.

"...For years to come, his war will be cited to smother any liberal impulse in American foreign policy -- to further discredit John F. Kennedy's vow to 'pay any price, bear any burden ... to assure the survival and the success of liberty.' We shall revert to this thing called "realism," which is heartless and cynical, no matter what its other virtues. The debacle of Iraq has cost us -- and others -- plenty in lives. But in the end, it will cost us our soul as well."

--Richard Cohen, The New York Daily News

RealClearPolitics - Articles - A 21st Century Health Care System

RealClearPolitics - Articles - A 21st Century Health Care System

Big Insurance is the enemy.

--Barack Obama

Cyberwar for real: It looks like a war, it acts like a war and maybe the devastating computer attack on Estonia was a war --Houston Chronicle

Cyberwar for real: It looks like a war, it acts like a war and maybe the devastating computer attack on Estonia was a war

It looks like a war, it acts like a war and maybe the devastating computer attack on Estonia was a war.

--The Houston Chronicle

John Edwards' populism is a risky bet - Los Angeles Times

John Edwards' populism is a risky bet - Los Angeles Times

The presidential candidate takes a forceful tone on poverty that appeals to the Democratic base but might alienate others.

--Janet Hook, The Los Angeles Times (via RCP)

John Edwards' poor scam - Los Angeles Times

Barring the ambulance-chasing bullshit, this was interesting:

John Edwards' poor scam - Los Angeles Times

There's a little hustler in every politician. But sometimes there's a little politician in a hustler. Such is the case with John Edwards.

--Jonah Goldberg, The Los Angeles Times (via RCP)

Letter From Moscow : Kremlin, Inc. --The New Yorker

Letter From Moscow : Kremlin, Inc.

On freedom of the press in Russia.

--Michael Specter, The New Yorker

Immigrants and Politics --The New York Times

Immigrants and Politics

Meanwhile, the bill creates a guest worker program, which is exactly what we don’t want to do. Yes, it would raise the income of the guest workers themselves, and in narrow financial terms guest workers are a good deal for the host nation — because they don’t bring their families, they impose few costs on taxpayers. But it formally creates exactly the kind of apartheid system we want to avoid.

--Paul Krugman, The New York Times

Pass the Clam Dip - New York Times

Pass the Clam Dip - New York Times

It’s no wonder Al Gore is a little touchy about his weight, what with everyone trying to read his fat cells like tea leaves to see if he’s going to run.

--Maureen Dowd, The New York Times

Cave-in, or smart politics? --The Guardian

Comment is free: Cave-in, or smart politics?

De-funding would have handed the Republicans a great argument going into next year's election - which is, of course, one in which Democrats have their best shot at winning the White House in a long time. Iraq is Bush's war, and Democrats need to make certain that it stays that way.

--Michael Tomasky, The Guardian

The Reverend Falwell’s Heavenly Timing - New York Times

The Reverend Falwell’s Heavenly Timing - New York Times

But whatever his ultimate fate, the enthusiasm and poll numbers Mr. Giuliani arouses among Republicans to date are a death knell for the political orthodoxy of the Rove era. The agents of intolerance are well on their way to being forgotten, even in those cases when they, unlike Jerry Falwell, are not yet gone.

--Frank Rich, The New York Times

Don’t Blame Bush -- The New York Times

Probably a bit extreme, but his heart is in the right place:

Don’t Blame Bush

The president has done just what his party wants and expects....

--Paul Krugman, The New York Times

Rocket From Gaza --The Washington Post

Rocket From Gaza

The Middle East is on the brink of another summer war.

The growing willingness of Arab and European states to tolerate and even aid the Hamas movement has been based on the notion that Hamas could be coaxed toward more civilized behavior and tacit recognition of Israel; that is why many supported the creation of a "unity" government of Hamas with the secular and more moderate Fatah. But Mr. Meshal and his sponsors in Syria and Iran have a very different agenda: to use force to intimidate and eventually dominate Fatah, and to wage an unending war of attrition against Israel. That's the same course that Hezbollah, another proxy of Iran and Syria, has been pursuing in Lebanon.

--The Washington Post

Congress's dodge: They're for the war but also against it. --The Wall Street Journal

Congress's dodge: They're for the war but also against it.

"Democrats in the Senate yesterday demonstrated, once again, that they neither have the votes for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq nor a real policy on the war.

"We should add that some Republicans are behaving little better...

"Most embarrassing was last week's demonstration of faux political courage by 11 Republican 'moderates' who met privately with President Bush at the White House to warn him about falling support for Iraq, as if he wasn't aware of it. They then promptly called reporters to advertise their willingness to confront a President with a 33% approval rating. They had no such doubts about the war when they voted for it in October 2002."

--The Wall Street Journal