The N.Y. Times has early coverage of the latest IPCC report. The bottom line is what Climate Progress–and many others–have been saying for a while:
We’ll have more on the report when it is formally adopted Friday.
Rush Limbaugh on Bush’s legacy:
“Long after we’re all dead and gone, when historians who are not yet born begin to write about this era, they’re going to place George Bush in the upper echelon of presidents who had a great vision for America, who looked beyond our shores, who didn’t just restrict himself to domestic policy niceties.”
CLICK HERE TO LISTENRush may not know it, but there is already a debate going on among historians. Rolling Stone recently wrote, “Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.”
Fineman: ‘A Lot Of Voters’ Find ‘Hierarchical’ ‘Male’ Qualities In Politicians ‘Reassuring’
Tonight, prior to the first Republican presidential debate, MSNBC showed footage of all 10 participating candidates holding a “regal,” coronation-esque walk-through of the Reagan Library, where the debate is being held.
Commenting on the candidates, MSNBC analyst and Newsweek editor Howard Fineman said, “There is a hierarchical, there is, dare I say it, male, there’s an old-line quality to them that some voters, indeed a lot of voters, find reassuring.” Watch it:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/05/coronat54.320.240.flv]
Maybe Fineman is projecting. A CBS News/New York Times poll last year found that 92 percent of Americans would vote for a qualified woman for president.
Transcript: Read more
Rumsfeld to receive statesman award.
The Claremont Institute, a conservative California think tank, has announced that Rumsfeld would receive its “Statemanship” award at a Nov. 17 gala. The WSJ writes, “The award may seem ironic since Rumsfeld prided himself on being a blunt-spoken defense secretary with little time for diplomatic niceties. During his six-year tenure, Rumsfeld famously belittled France and Germany as being part of ‘old Europe’ and said the looting of Baghdad illustrated that ‘freedom is messy.’”
Anti-war planes buzz debate.
“Two planes are circling the sky above the GOP presidential candidates’ debate tonight, dragging anti-war banners.” Funded and organized by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, the small aircraft have banners reading “Mission Accomplished.”
UPDATE: Hotline has a photo.
McKay on hit list in March 2005.
“Former U.S. Attorney John McKay’s name was on a list of federal prosecutors to be fired in March 2005, 18 months earlier than previously reported.” This timing is “contemporaneous with Republican challenges to the closely contested 2004 governor’s election in Washington state, won by Democrat Chris Gregoire. Many supporters of the GOP candidate, Dino Rossi, angrily believed that McKay did not do enough to investigate their claims of voter fraud — something McKay disputes.”
Conservatives Are Cracking On Iraq
President Bush has emerged from the recent veto battle more politically isolated on Iraq than ever.
Despite spending weeks using his bully pulpit to blister war critics with rhetoric about “abandoning troops” and “timetables for retreat,” public opinion has shifted further away from his position, and conservatives in Congress are breaking ranks.
This is a major success. A key to bringing an end to this war is for Bush’s supporters to finally demand a change. We’re getting closer every day:
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME):
“Obviously, the president would prefer a straight funding bill with no benchmarks, no conditions, no reports,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “Many of us, on both sides of the aisle, don’t see that as viable.” [LA Times, 5/3/07]
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
A likely sticking point is whether to include penalties if the Iraqi government fails to meet the benchmarks. Democrats, and some Republicans such as Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, insist that there be consequences for falling short, such as a loss of U.S. financial support or the withdrawal of some coalition forces.
“We can’t be there in an open-ended fashion,” Snowe said. “We have to say: how long does it really take to pass the benchmarks?” [Bloomberg, 5/2/07]
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE):
Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), a leading moderate, said many Republicans are looking for a way out of Iraq, and he hopes that the Democrats will work with them after Bush likely vetoes the $124 billion war supplemental this week. “I think a lot of us feel that the time has come for us to look for solutions to bring this war to a close,” Castle said. “And I don’t think that’s just a feeling among moderate Republicans but among Republicans in general.” Castle said Republicans of all stripes “are very reluctant to put in dates on our Army” but said that other ideas, including Blunt’s talk of a “consequences package” for the Iraqi government, could bring the parties together. [Roll Call, 4/30/07]
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN):
“I think we’re still in a fairly toxic political environment,” said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who opposed the president’s troop buildup but voted against the Democratic withdrawal plan. “And I think it will continue like this for a while. That’s the reality.” [LA Times, 5/3/07]
Telling the Difference
In the midst of an interesting post on his disagreements with myself and Ezra Klein, Mickey Kaus writes:
For example, Democrats aren’t going to fix the schools unless they in effect bust the teachers’ unions. If you make that point, is it because you want to bolster your credentials as an independent-minded blogger or because you want to fix the schools?
As it happens, some of my favorite people are neoliberal education policy analysts and it’s genuinely not so hard to tell the difference. Someone who wants to fix the schools and says mean things about teacher’s unions because they believe teacher’s unions are an impediment to improving American education will, for example, write on a range of education-related topics and engage in various education-related debates. Kaus’s interest in education policy, by contrast, begins and ends with his dislike of the teacher’s unions. And, not incidentally, there are all kinds of other unions — all unions, as best I can tell — that Kaus doesn’t like.
Battle of the Developed vs. the Developing
As this round of the IPCC unfolds, developing countries are scurrying to relieve themselves of any major responsibility for historic emissions and consequently, aggressive mitigation policies.
For example, China has requested inserting language that formally recognizes the percentage of emissions for which developed countries are responsible – 95% from the pre-industrial era until 1950, and 77% from 1950 to the start of the milennium.
China is also trying to earn reduction credit for social policies that have unintentionally curbed emissions. In other words, the one-child policy. Elsewhere, efforts to reduce air pollution from factories and cars has slowed emissons growth.
And yet China is poised to pass the U.S. in annual emissions this year or next, so it will need to join emissions-reductions efforts soon after we do, whenever that will be….
New HHS deputy secretary is Bush’s former debate prepper.
Tevi David Troy’s main qualifications: “Troy had primary responsibility for debate preparation in President Bush’s re-election campaign. He also has served as the president’s liaison to the Jewish community. He began working in the Bush administration at the Labor Department.” He has also written for National Review and the Weekly Standard.
