If I were a Republican, I wouldn’t be especially optimistic about putting Mel Martinez in as RNC Chair as a strategy “intended to appeal to disaffected Latino voters.” The thing about “Latino voters” is that this isn’t a very meaningful category. Republicans don’t have a problem with Cuban-Americans, and Martinez is from Cuba. Now, it’s true that Martinez favors liberalized immigration rules, which really might help the GOP with more problematic ethnic groups. But, of course, what got the GOP in trouble was that the party, notwithstanding George W. Bush’s sentiments, in fact does not favor liberalizing immigration rules. That’s not a something voters concerned with this issue are confused about, it’s actually the case that while Bush and some other Republicans have lax immigration views, the bulk of the party follows a restrictionist line.

The big picture issues aside, though, this does still leave me wondering about the pure ethnic pandering issue here. Do they really not see that you can’t give jobs to Cubans as a way of appealing to Mexican-Americans? That the two political communities are completely different in terms of demographics, voting behavior, issue concerns, etc. I thought there was a crack political machine lurking somewhere in the White House.

Speaking with reporters about the pursuit of nuclear progams by Iran and North Korea, a senior U.S. government official told Reuters: “We, the United States, and others who might be threatened by these developments will have to look at how to respond and inevitably I think people will have to look at the question of pre-emption.”

UPDATE: Meet the Iran Enterprise Institute.

The new multiple award-winning documentary on Iraq opened this week in select cities. Salon writes, “it’s head and shoulders above the rest [of Iraq docs] in its clarity, intimacy and poetry, and it illustrates the dreadful predicament America has created in Iraq, which drove so many angry people to the polls on Tuesday.” Watch the trailer HERE.

Outgoing House Majority Whip and “DeLay protege” Roy Blunt (R-MO) delivered a post-election mea culpa at the Heritage Foundation, entitled “The New Way Forward: Refocusing the Conservative Agenda.”

Blunt said voters’ rebuke of conservatism was due in part to “a seemingly constant stream of ethics issues afflicting a few Members of Congress.” Blunt’s suggestion to fix the problem is to stop covering up for corrupt members:

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats, neither liberals nor conservatives, is immune from having bad actors in their midst. … The test of any organization or political movement is how it responds when confronted with these individuals. [...]

Before 1994, when conservatives were out of power and were unable to make new laws or rules, we recognized this truth and confronted serious legal and ethical violations by declaring that those who were part of that had no place in our movement. I suggest that we need to recommit ourselves to that standard. For conservatives, holding onto or gaining political power should never come before our obligation to be worthy of people’s trust.

Blunt should take his own advice. Here’s Blunt last year:

Blunt has been among DeLay’s the most visible defenders since the probe into DeLay’s use of corporate donations began. Blunt has contributed $5,000 to DeLay’s legal defense fund and $10,000 to the DeLay Foundation.

He continued that support Wednesday, vowing that DeLay would not stop exerting influence in the House leadership.

“He’s going to be an effective and influential part of what we are doing as he works now to get beyond this terribly unfair thing that’s happened to him,” Blunt said of Delay.

Blunt is currently locked in a tight race with John Shadegg (R-AZ) for Minority Whip, the #2 minority position in the House. The election is on Friday.

as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). In August, a State Dept. inspector general’s report showed that Tomlinson had abused his position by using BBG resources to support his personal horse racing operation and receiving compensation that exceeded the maximum allowed by law.

A host of former advisers to President George H.W. Bush have gained ascendancy in recent weeks. His former Secretary of State James Baker and former deputy national security adviser Robert Gates will assume major roles in determining the future course of Iraq. Both Baker and Gates are prot©g©s and colleagues of Brent Scowcroft, the former national security adviser under Bush 41 who opposed the Iraq war.

This assemblage of Baker, Gates, and Scowcroft has been described as “pragmatists” and “realists” by the media. The New York Times, noting his connection to Scowcroft and Baker, suggested the Gates’ appointment may be “part of a carefully orchestrated course change.” Neoconservatives have argued that the Baker-Gates-Scowcroft position “presents a clear shift” on Iraq.

But these claims by the media and neoconservatives appear to be creating a false myth that the rise of the “realists” will change course in Iraq. In a recent interview with the Turkish Daily News, Scowcroft explicitly argued the U.S. must continue to stay in Iraq:

Question: You were opposed to the invasion of Iraq. Do you feel vindicated now that we see chaos there? How do you see the situation as it is today and what do you see for the future?

Scowcroft: No, I don’t have any feeling of satisfaction. Regardless of how we got there, we are there, and it is a difficult situation. Far more difficult than the administration expected. And it will be increasingly hard to stay in because it has become an unusually important issue in domestic U.S. politics. But I think we have to stay and try and manage the situation to get some kind of a resolution where we can have an Iraq that is relatively stable.

If Scowcroft’s position is representative of his colleagues, the changing face of the Bush administration will bear a close resemblance to the old face.

In a 25-24 vote, the Senate Republican caucus has elected Trent Lott (R-MS) as Minority Whip, the #2 minority position in the Senate. As expected, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was elected Senate Minority Leader. Lott, who defeated Lamar Alexander (R-TN), resigned his post as Minority Leader in 2002 after he said the United States would have avoided “all these problems” if then-segregationist Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948.

UPDATE: The full leadership roster.

for the release of Fox News reporters? Aravosis wants to know.