Graham is quoted in Murray's piece as saying, "You need the ability to break away from your base at times and find another ground. We'll see if he can do that. That would take him to another level."

You mean like supporting the president on the recent FISA legislation?

Webb is indeed a compelling political figure. However, it's sad beyond measure that the Democratic faithful are so starved for spirit and toughness in their leadership many are willing to canonize a man who so willingly violated his oath to perserve and protect the Constitution, an oath Webb took both as a new senator and as a Marine Corps officer.

On March, 2 1805, two days before the administration changed hands, Vice President (and President of the Senate) Aaron Burr gave is farewell address in the Senate chamber. Burr predicted that

"if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor."

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/aaron_burr.pdf

As everyone here knows, it isn't about hair. Otherwise Ms. Noonan would have to call out those naked-pated politicians who spends hundreds, if not thousands, on hairpieces and considerably more than a couple of minutes each morning getting it looking just right. Vanity, thy name is Trent Lott.

And what about Peggy's hero? Yes, Mr. Reagan colored his hair. (I recall the 1980 campaign where supporters insisted Grecian Formula isn't technically a dye and, therefore, St. Ronnie couldn't possibly be a girlie man.)

And isn't more than a little ironic that while Noonan decries "poofing" on the left, she continues to "fluff" the right? Just asking.

Democratic Party partisans are in deep denial (or, corrupt). I keep hearing how things will change once Obama or Clinton take the oath of office.

I'm not holding my breath.

"While Jay Rockefeller, Claire McCaskill, Herb Kohl, Ken Salazar and their distinguished friends in the Senate happily rolled over as always...."

You failed to highlight James Webb in your list of obsequious senators.

"Over the past couple decades, prior to the Bush Era, the people who needed the sort of psychological fulfillment that comes from prancing around as Hofstadterian faux-warriors waging Civilization Wars obtained their fulfillment from...dressing up on the weekend in camouflage costumes and -- rather than playing golf or going fishing -- marched around in militia formations, primed to defend the nation from Janet Reno and her squadrons of hovering U.N. black helicopters. It was equally pathetic, but at least the damage was minimal."

It is a mistake to underestimate this strain of delusion, or to attempt to laugh it away. The damage done in the Oklahoma City bombing was, I guess, minimal in terms of relative body count, but hardly insignificant.

Joel Dyer investigated the "militia" phenomenon in his 1998 book Harvest of Rage. In the subsequent ten years, the economic and social conditions that fostered Timothy McVeigh have only gotten worse.

As our engagement in Iraq winds down, there will be no shortage of demagogues who will be only too happy to shift their focus on who the existential enemy is and encourage (implicitly, if not explicitly) domestic action against the perfidious liberals. ("The knife in the back" theory, for example, will be used to explain our "failure" to eradicate islamism and to justify "patriotic" responses here at home.) Tens of thousands of veterans will be returning home, many of them disaffected and psychologically scarred. Unfortunately, some of these will have the willingness and skill set needed to wreck serious havoc.

The next Democratic president, regardless of who he or she is, will unquestionably have to deal with a resurgence of domestic terrorism.

Of course Williams is attempting to trivialize last week's Sunday Times (not a terribly difficult thing to do these days, sadly). As several commenters on the referenced blog post pointed out, that was the edition that exposed the utter mendacity of NBC News (and others) with respect to the Pentagon's propaganda operation. "Nothing to see here folks. Meanwhile, did you see those stories about sex chairs and gay weddings?"

But it's all good. Afterall, Brian tells us he's a NASCAR fan.

"At no time did our analysts, on my watch or to my knowledge, attempt to push a rosy Pentagon agenda before our viewers. I think they are better men than that, and I believe our news division is better than that."

I can see it now: The Greaterest Generation by Brian Williams.

"Williams cited McCaffrey and Downing as proof that they did nothing wrong, and insists that his and their credibility simply ought to be beyond reproach because they are good, patriotic men."

I can see it now: The Greaterest Generation by Brian Williams.

"....it changed into a nation-building mission, and that's where the mission went wrong. The mission was changed. And as a result, our nation paid a price. And so I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building."

--George W. Bush

Second Gore-Bush Presidential Debate

October 11, 2000

For the hell of it, I answered the quiz questions such that each response fit Joe Lieberman. Much to my amusement, your algorithm says my top choice is Hillary Clinton. Hmmm.

The Democratic Party is systemically corrupt. God help us all.

The thing I find most amusing about the Politico story is that Mike Allen doesn't offer any perspective on McClelland's criticism of the media other than to say "McClellan repeatedly embraces the rhetoric of Bush's liberal critics...." He just copies it down.

Either Allen has become so accustomed to his role as a stenographer that he wasn't actually paying attention to the meaning of the words or he doesn't think the criticism applies to him personally. I tend to think that it is the latter case even though before joining Politico Allen was the White House correspondent for Time and before that he covered the president for the Washington Post.

Astounding.