Really, I think it ends up a push. Both candidates held their own, both got in some solid points, both responded to direct attacks.So, tactically a push. Strategically, though, I think the tie goes to Obama. Foreign policy is McCain's strong suit, and where Obama is...
Charles Krauthammer is wrong, and I think Matt misses the point as to just how wrong Krauthammer is.Shorter Krauthammer: Bush is like Truman. Unpopular at the end of his term but history will...
One of my favorite Cleveland sports columnists often does a column of brief observations and insights after a game or big event. I don't scribble, and I lack a notebook, but watching the AIG bailout...
The NY Times has a very interesting article out today reporting that the influence of the US Supreme Court is waning--internationally. While the Court holds no jurisdiction beyond the US borders,...
Listen people, Palin delivered a friggin speech. That someone else wrote. Biden delivered a speech. That someone else wrote. Obama delivered a speech. That he apparently wrote at least part of. McCain will deliver a speech. That someone else wrote.This is not speaking for yourself. It's more like a high-school forensics, albeit with the functional equivalent of performance-enhancing drugs... and woefully inconsistent judging on the "supportment" and "factual" citeria. Despite of the apparent evidence of my video blogging, I was, in fact, pretty good at high-school forensics. But I'd make a...
Is 2008 more like 1988 or 1992?
The youtube video of Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy saying what they really think about McCain's pick of Palin as VP will obviously get a lot of play among left-wing circles. But it is probably more significant as a window (if not a particularly surprising one) into the nature of contemporary punditry. As Taegan Goddard points out, Noonan's frank assessment of what Palin's pick means--"It's over"--directly contradicts her "own column in today's Wall Street Journal. Noonan clearly views her job as boosting her party rather than calling it as she sees it. I'd wager that outlook is pretty common...
Via email:You've seen the Georgian claims that they were just responding to a Russian attack when they invaded Tskhinvali.The Russians are now citing amateur video taken on the first day of fighting to claim that there were no Russian forces in the city and that the Georgians were initially unopposed in the city and firing at random, civilian targets (including apartment buildings).The video seems to have been taken by Georgian troops. You can hear them whooping (basically, yeehaw!) as they drive through the city and fire on various structures (which the Vesti.ru reporter visits and shows to...
Besides Dan's creative performance at the Network Theory panel, the most noteworthy event I attended at this year's APSA conference was the early Saturday morning roundtable "The Future of Global Order." Jeff Legro, Dan Drezner, John Ikenberry and Bruce Jentleson spoke all too eloquently (especially given the hour) of the crisis in global institutions, the changing nature of sovereignty, the rise of the global south, and the legitimacy gap between existing institutions of global governance and the balance of power. Their points differed in emphasis but shared an agreement with the premise of...
Russian Foreign Ministry pleased that the European Union eschewed sanctions.
There's been a fair amount of reporting on an interview that Medvedev gave to German ARD, in which he talked about seeking "constructive dialogue" with the European Union. He also laid out "five principles" of Russian foreign policy, including opposition to unipolarity and a defense of sphere of influence... most notably, Russia's. Paul Reynolds of the BBC provides a cynical analysis:Those therefore are the stated principles. What implications do they have?To take them in the order he presented them:The primacy of International Law: This on the face of it sounds encouraging. But Russia...