I was going to write a satirical post criticizing Olbermann's background at ESPN being "indicative" of his lack of journalistic credentials, but it looks like CB beat me to it. That's one less thing for me to do today.

So when is anyone going to bring up Hume's favorite analogy that Iraq is safer than California because more people were murdered in California than soldiers in Iraq since the Iraq War started?

It just doesn't get any more dishonest--or retarded--than that. Hume's reply when called on it was, "Well, it may not be accurate, but it's indicative of something."

How is it that Brit Hume and so many others can say stuff like: "I mean, this is why the Democratic Party has had this reputation, going back decades, of really not being very serious about national defense. It's because they aren't," and be taken seriously? By anyone? What I want to know is, who are the Democrats he's referring to? Woodrow Wilson, arguably the first neocon? FDR, who was just itching to get into WWII and finally managed it? Truman, who sent troops to Korea without consulting congress in the slightest? Kennedy and Johnson, who armed us mightily against the USSR and embroiled us in Vietnam for the national security? Who ARE these wimpy Democrats Hume and others keep referring to?

The questioner said nothing about the staff of thePolitico.com, but about its ownership.

Amazing, isn't it? In his defense, maybe he doesn't know about the Politico ownership piece I wrote, so I am going to send it to him and ask that he clarify what he said in response to that questioner.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9813180

'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Oct. 24th

Updated: 9:20 a.m. ET Oct 25, 2005

TONY BLANKLEY, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: . . . He‘s got three years left in his administration and it‘s important for him and for the country that he be functional.

MATTHEWS: You know, Tony, there is in the past, it‘s not always there, but sometimes it glimmers with this man, our president, that kind of sunny nobility . . .

- - "Hardball"

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070419-3.html

President Bush Discusses the Global War on Terror in Tipp City, Ohio

. . . And I will tell you, one reason -- this may sound counterintuitive, but a good marriage is really good after serving together in Washington, D.C. It's been an amazing experience to be a husband and then a dad as President of the United States. I emphasize, that is the priority for me as the President. It's my faith, my family, and my country. And I am pleased to report that our family is doing great, particularly since my wife is such a fantastic person.

. . . I said, they've asked me to design a rug in the Oval Office; I don't know anything about rug designing; will you help me? She said, of course. But I said, I want it to say something -- the President has got to be a strategic thinker and I said to her, make sure the rug says "optimistic person comes to work." Because you can't make decisions unless you're optimistic that the decisions you make will lead to a better tomorrow.

And so, if you were to come in the Oval Office, what you would see is this fantastic rug that looks like the sun. And it just sets the tone for the Oval Office.

. . . So I have a decision point to make, last fall. And the decision point was whether or not to either scale back or increase our presence in Iraq. And that was a difficult decision . . . The question was, do we increase our -- I call it, reinforce, you can call it, surge, there's all kind of words for it -- or do we pull back? As you know, I made a decision to reinforce. And I did because I believe the Iraqis want to have a peaceful society . . . If the United States were to leave a chaotic Iraq, not only would the vacuum of our failure there to help this young government enable extremists to move more freely and embolden them, but I also believe it would -- it could cause the Middle East to enter into a nuclear arms race.

. . . It's very important -- I think some really are -- I know a lot of people are tired of it. People get pretty tired of war, and I understand that. It's really important as we -- that we have a sober discussion and understand what will be the consequences of failure.

As I've told you, on the rug -- the reason I brought up the rug was to not only kind of break the ice, but also to talk about strategic thought. The President's job is to think not only about today, but tomorrow . . .

- - whitehouse.gov

Louis XIV chose the sun as an emblem of, among other things, peace -- despite his reign being one of frequent (and very expensive) wars.

Louis XIV wasn't a particularly honest king.

More capable than some other kings, though.

I don't understand your point.

Glenn also conveniently omits that Hume was a longtime journalist with ABC News before his stint at Fox. Olbermann's time before MSNBC was reading sport highlights.

-- Charles Bird

But Olbermann did go to Cornell, and I think he stayed in a Holiday Inn last night.

JD Hayworth was a TV sporstcaster before he went to Congress. Now he could end up in prison. That ain't no Holiday Inn, birdbrain.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/howard+kurtz/

...to what William Timberman just said, the obligations of the medical system outweigh the libertarian needs of individuals in any MCI, or in any epidemic situation. The government has always had, and has in the past used, its right to quarantine, and its right to keep order in medical situations.

The alternative is that anyone can exercise their right to believe in any rumor or miracle cure that comes along. That sounds alright and you can get plenty of libertarian adherence when you deal with non-communicable disease, like cancer or drug addiction.

Did you know that they almost wiped out polio last year? Here is where your right to believe in medical rumor runs aground. The rumor went around many Muslim countries, and Muslim areas of countries, that the polio vaccine was actually a plot by the West to harm Muslims, and so many refused to be vaccinated. Polio flared in those countries, particularly in the Sahel and India, and when the infected people went to Mecca during the Hajj, it spread worldwide again.

The WHO abandoned the initiative, the possibility of success having slipped permanently from their grasp for the forseeable future.

Do you know what the herd effect is? It is why river blindness is coming back in Africa. You need to cure the "herd" to stop endemic disease. In that case, you need to stop the symptoms (the disease is incurable) so the disease can't be transmitted. War caused a break in the import of the medicine that stops the symptoms. Another generation got infected. Where was your free market to rush in with it's shining sword and cure all ills? Or, like usual, didn't it give a damn?

Does your right to do what you want to yourself medically preclude my right to remain healthy? At what point is libertarianism just an excuse for ignorance and selfishness?