Iraqis danced in the streets today as American soldiers pulled back from towns and cities (including Basra, above) to the stronghold of U.S. bases. A countdown clock on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as midnight approached. Fireworks lit up the skies over Baghdad.
Iraq declared a national holiday and Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki proclaimed June 30 Iraq's "National Sovereignty Day." "All of us are happy — Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds — on this day," Waleed al-Bahadili said to the Associated Press as he celebrated in a Badghad park. "The Americans harmed and insulted us too much."
Americans might be upset to hear that, given that they gave so much of blood and treasure to give Iraq a chance at democracy. But the latest poll by CNN found 73% of Americans favor the withdrawal with surprising unanimity -- 72% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans said yes. And two-thirds said even if violence flares again (which a majority think is likely), U.S. troops should not go back into Iraqi population centers.
Of course, the Big Number is that two-thirds of Americans no longer support the war in Iraq, a rebuke to President Bush's policy -- though his neo-con supporters hope he will be vindicated by history's more long-range endorsement -- and an explanation for President Obama's decision to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31 of next year.
But for today, the news was not in the Oval Office but in the streets of Iraq. Here are more photos:
-- Johanna Neuman
In Ramadi, as Iraqi forces take charge of patrols in the city.
In Basra, Iraqi police officers celebrate.
At a cafe in Baghdad.
In Baghdad's Green Zone, a parade of Iraqi security forces.
Spc. Charles Lewis of the 10th Combat Support Hospital prepared to leave Baghdad.
Photo credits, from top: Khalid Mohammed / Associated Press; Karim Kadin / Associated Press; Haider Al-Assadee / European Pressphoto Agency; Khalil al-Murshidi / AFP/Getty Images; Ali al-Saadi / AFP/Getty Images; Daniel C. Britt / Reuters
For 150 days, he was a model citizen, and certainly an admirable former president, a member of the Golden Rule of the elite Ex-Presidents' Club.
Unlike his vice president, the chatty Dick Cheney (or, to be fair, the Democrats' oft-quoted former President Carter), former President George W. Bush promised not to throw spitballs at the new administration. "I'm not going to criticize my successor," he said.
But last night, speaking in Erie, Pa., at the Manufacturer & Business Assn.'s annual meeting, Bush allowed as how Barack Obama might be a socialist.
According to the Washington Times, Bush told a cheering crowd, "I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." As for the president's healthcare reform ideas, Bush said he didn't like them. "I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for healthcare," he said.
The former president also defended his administration's handling of terrorism suspects, like waterboarding, a torture technique that Obama has banned, and the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which Obama is working to close.
"There are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that -- persuasion isn't going to work," Bush said. "Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."
One of the most interesting aspects of any Supreme Court nomination is trying to read into the choice revelations of what the president is thinking, his values and goals.
We've got two revealing videos below that help do that.
With the recent nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the top court -- she began her confirmation campaign courtesy calls on top senators Tuesday -- President Obama began his sales pitch to the nation and Congress by describing her important character as the finest, tried and true. And he described her rise from the public housing projects of the Bronx as an ultimate American success story.
Republicans wisely hailed that too. Who can oppose the evergreen American hero Horatio Alger, even if he's a she?
Although Sotomayor's eventual Senate confirmation is hardly in doubt as of today, the GOP will probably focus its examination and any possible political assault on Sotomayor's allegedly activist judicial views and decisions. In coming weeks they'll be poring over her hundreds of decisions, seeking telltale clues.
But perhaps more importantly for the long term, what does her selection say about the man in the White House, the man who wants this confirmation process to move along quickly?
Here, from the riches of C-SPAN's video archives are two wonderful clips. Both are of then-Sen. Obama on the Senate floor opposing, first, Judge John Roberts' nomination as chief justice and then Judge Samuel Alito as a justice.
They are both revealing videos. They show the freshman senator (with speech text on ...
For those who have been wondering why former Vice President Dick Cheney doesn't just go gently into the night -- or at least park himself at that undisclosed location for a while -- now comes the answer. Apparently he really cares.
Liz Cheney, the vice presidential daughter who got a plum job at the State Department during George W. Bush's administration, has taken to the airwaves to defend her father's rants. Ever since Barack Obama started initiating new policies -- closing Gitmo, ending torture -- Cheney has made the oft-repeated and truly incendiary assertion that Obama's policies are making the country less safe from terrorism.
Today on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Liz Cheneysaid her father would "rather be fishing in Wyoming" but felt compelled to tear down the Obama administration instead.
Her basic argument: Waterboarding was not only effective, it was legal, since the Bush administration had the legal documents that said so -- despite international conventions to the contrary.
Liz Cheney also accused the media of a double standard in criticizing her father over his outspoken views, noting that the media embraces former Vice President Al Gore when he speaks about global climate change. "You want him [Cheney] to shut up because you disagree with what he's saying," she told the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, whose column this morning called Cheney "an Old Faithful of self-serving nonsense."
The Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist also asked this question:
Can't we send Dick Cheney back to Wyoming? Shouldn't we chip in and buy him a home where the buffalo roam and there's always room for one more crazy old coot down at the general store?
Here's what Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, said on the floor of the House of Representatives this week about Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming gay man brutally murdered in 1998:
"We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. The bill was named for him, the hate-crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."
See her House floor video below, courtesy of C-SPAN.
Foxx, who's not related to the TV network, is a 65-year-old former state senator in her third term in Washington. She was speaking against an expansion of hate-crimes legislation.
Foxx now says that although she said those words, her words did not convey what she really meant to say. What she really meant to say, which she is now saying but didn't say in the first place, is:
"The term 'hoax' was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate-crimes bill. Mr. Shepard's death was nothing less than a tragedy, and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received."
The beating and killing of the 22-year-old University of Wyoming student, allegedly for his openly gay lifestyle, quickly became a national rallying point for gays and lesbians. Now, Foxx's uninformed comments have done the same again.
Two men were found guilty of the slaying, in which Shepard was beaten and left to die, strung up on a range fence outside of town. They are serving life sentences. But the court never ruled on the motive -- robbery, drugs or anti-gay hatred.
-- Andrew Malcolm
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The Navy flier was the highest-ranking naval officer held as a POW in the Vietnam War. He was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965 and had his shoulders, arms and a leg virtually crippled during seven-plus years of torture. Though unable to fly, he was kept on active duty after his release and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his combat duty and leadership of American POWs.
In a 1992 "Saturday Night Live" skit Stockdale was brutally mocked for his televised debate performance as independent Ross Perot's running mate against Democrat Al Gore and Republican Dan Quayle.
It seems Stockdale's hearing aid had malfunctioned, but it wasn't the last time the late-night caricaturers would successfully damage a politician. The image of an ancient slow-witted bumbler stuck for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.
Stockdale died in 2005 at 81.
But this Saturday a brand new James Stockdale goes back on U.S. military duty. (Don't wait for that news on "SNL's" update.)
In Port Hueneme on California's coast, the Navy will officially commission DDG 106 Stockdale, the 56th of 62 planned Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Vice Adm. Stockdale's widow, Sybil, will officiate.
Cmdr. Fred W. Kacher, of Oakton, Va., will be the guided-missile destroyer's first commanding officer, overseeing a crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Stockdale was built by Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics Co. She is 509 feet long with a waterline beam of 59 feet and a navigational draft of 31 feet.
Photos: Naval pilot James Stockdale exiting his A-10 Skyhawk in 1965 one week before being shot down over North Vietnam and beginning seven-plus years as a POW. Credit: Associated Press. The guided-missile destroyer Stockdale at its 2008 christening in Maine. It will enter naval service Saturday at Port Hueneme, Calif. Credit: Associated Press
Though, admittedly, maybe not now at breakfast time.
But we wanted to alert U.S. Ticket readers before they headed for the airport that if you find yourself traveling on this almost all-important party day celebrating St. Patrick, our blogging colleague Jen Leo over at the Travel & Deal blog has just the thing for you today:
A St. Patrick's Day guide to airport beer spots. And where there's beer these days, there are political arguments.
Where to go on Concourse C in Minneapolis? What are the offerings in Las Vegas' Terminal D? And what about Chicago's O'Hare, where more travelers spend more involuntary time than almost anywhere else (not counting the 101).
And, hey, if you're flying East from the West, it's already getting late by their time.
According to White House Democratic Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, the top conservative radio talk-show host, Rush Limbaugh, is now the de facto leader of the wandering Republican Party.
According to Rush, you're darned right. Rush -- or as his e-mail self-reverentially calls him, ElRushbo@eibnet.com -- is a selfless self-promoter. He never lets an opportunity pass to promote himself and his program -- and it works. Frequently to the advantage of some charity too.
Emanuel's feigned admiration for Limbaugh's political leadership is clearly driven by polls showing many Americans do not like him. Even if they've never listened to him. Which is dandy with Rush because, hey, if you want to attract a crowd anywhere, start a fight. Right?
A growing number of Democratic supporters are wondering now if this is really a good fight for the youthful Obama administration to have against a lowly, verbose broadcaster.
Not because it might lose a PR struggle. But because it's playing on Rush's homefield, distracting debate from more important issues and galvanizing many Republicans who don't otherwise yet have anyone else to coalesce around. Not to mention raising Democratic blood pressures. And introducing countless new potential listeners to Limbaugh.
Remember, Ronald Reagan's political dictum for a president was: "Always fight up. Never fight down."
Is Limbaugh pompous? Is Mt. Everest tall? He even tells jokes about it, as you'll see below. That infuriates his opponents, who can't grasp why that shouldn't disqualify him from popularity. And Limbaugh loves that. And so do his listeners. Fun political theater.
Many of us have seen on cable channels brief video clips of Rush's more pompous recent remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, providing him two weeks of priceless publicity, capped by an outrageous debate challenge to the president himself. But what did Limbaugh really say in that speech? In total? How outrageous were his points? Are some worth thinking about, discussing, dismissing, ridiculing -- beyond cable's verbal foodfights?
So, as we often do here on The Ticket, we decided to print the whole thing, let Ticket readers see the full text and context and decide for themselves. It's a long speech. Very long, in fact. Hey, he fills hours every weekday talking. And for this speech Limbaugh actually had a live -- and enthusiastic -- audience that hasn't had much to applaud in recent weeks, egging him on.
We also invited Limbaugh to add an introduction, which he did.
You may not realize it, but you are actually doing something now that the Drive-By Media consistently fails to do. You are actually reading what I had to say -- in context no less -- before forming an opinion on it.
Congratulations!
And I want to give a special thanks to Top of the Ticket for making this happen (and you should too).
Rush Limbaugh
Now the opportunity here to address the nation, a serious one, it really is. And I want to take it seriously. I want to address something. I know that people are probably watching this who never have listened to my program and may not even really know what conservatism is. They think they do based on how they've been told -- the way we've been impugned and maligned and so forth. One of the things that is totally erroneous about me -- and I just want to get this up front -- is that I'm pompous. [Laughter]
And that I am arrogant. Neither of these things are remotely true. I can tell you a joke to illustrate this. Larry King passed away, goes to heaven. He's greeted by St. Peter at the gates. St. Peter says, "Welcome, Mr. King, it's great to have you here. I want to show you around, give you an idea of ....
Aides to President-elect Barack Obama confirmed that he will meet today in Washington with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and will make his first foreign trip as president to Canada on an as-yet-unannounced date.
The moves continue a tradition of at least acknowledging the importance of two of the United States' contiguous neighbors early in a new administration, although the U.S. looms far larger in the minds and economies of Canada and Mexico than vice versa. Obama was wildly popular especially in Canada, where polls showed he could get elected there. (See fake border sign below.)
The two meetings -- Mexico's before Jan. 20, Canada's after the inauguration) are particularly important for the Obama administration because as a candidate seeking union support for the Democratic nomination, the ex-Illinois senator made much of his concerns over the allegedly adverse impact on American workers of the North American Free Trade Agreement with both countries.
Obama said upon becoming president, "I would immediately call the president of Mexico, the president of Canada, to try to amend NAFTA, because I think that we can get labor agreements in that agreement right now."
Problem is, as some Harvard graduates might know, our next-door neighbor Canada doesn't have a president. For more than 140 years now it has had a parliamentary system.
Presumably, Obama now knows that Stephen Harper is prime minister of Canada, which has fallen into its own recession and might well have its own amendment demands if the settled trade treaty can of worms is reopened.
Presumably, Obama has also learned that the U.S.-Canada ties, so little noticed on the southern side of the border, form the largest bilateral economic relationship in the world, more than $1.35 billion in trade flowing between the two countries each day.
In fact, more goods cross over just the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor each year than move between the United States and Japan. More economic numbers here.
Also little-noticed on the southern side, where so many Canadians boost local economies by spending their winters, is Canada's reliability as an energy provider and reliable sturdiness as a military ally. On 9/11, private homes housed thousands of American travelers stranded there when all flights were grounded.
Canada, which is 10% larger than the United States with but 10% of the population, has since the beginning also fought alongside American troops in Afghanistan, which Obama has said is the central front on terror and where he will send more U.S. soldiers.
Every Saturday night millions of Canadians are reminded of the week's combat losses with individual photos of their latest fallen soldiers on national TV during the featured hockey game, one reason perhaps Harper, who is a conservative by Canadian standards, has announced that his country's Afghan role will definitely end in 2011.
That subject may be on Obama's bilateral agenda. But with Harper's minority government in precarious balance, a changed date seems highly unlikely. Not to mention a possible change in government there.
Also, in case you're monitoring the looming first-dog situation, sources say the about-to-be first family has narrowed its canine candidates down to a Labradoodle (see there's the Canadian influence again) or a Portuguese water hound. Mark Silva has a little more on that in the Swamp.
Catching up: With the election over, Bill Ayers has a new part-time job. You may remember him as Sen. John McCain's favorite washed-up terrorist, the co-founder of the Weather Underground '60s radical group.
The Republicans tried to turn the Ayers-Obama Chicago friendship and joint education reform work into a vague extremist conspiracy, suggesting dark things about the Democratic candidate's hidden agendas.
Well, now that the election is over and it's safe to speak out as Barack Obama will be officially elected president of these United States today by the archaic Electoral College system in Washington, with the inauguration to come in 12 days, Ayers has written a column on Huffington Post, the world's top-ranked blog.
Acknowledging that Duncan, who's been heading Chicago public schools, was "the smart choice, the unity choice," Ayers also calls him "a failed urban superintendent," saying Duncan's among many who "have little to show in terms of school improvement."
"Obama is not a monarch," Ayers states, "Arne Duncan is not education czar -- and we are not his subjects."
Ayers says his own Cabinet choices, among others, would have been his wife, fellow radical Bernardine Dohrn as attorney general, Noam Chomsky as secretary of State, Paul Krugman as the Treasury chief, Naomi Klein at the Defense Department and Amy Goodman as White House press secretary.
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Our Bloggers
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the Countdown to Crawford blog here at The Times.
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