Paul Glastris

Tortured Writing… In a previous post, I tried to figure out from the first day’s coverage of the new Schlesinger panel report on Abu Ghraib and a quick scan of the thing myself what the report actually says about the degree to which Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was responsible for the prisoner abuses. The question I […]

Shock and Awe… I know it shouldn’t matter. After three and a half years, we?re all well aware of the president?s peculiar style of leadership–his aggressive ignorance, the cocky way he asserts obvious falsehoods, his seeming indifference to the negative consequences of his policies. We?ve long incorporated these qualities into our estimation of the man. […]

A Slot for Ralph… Since the GOP is giving Ralph Nader so much help getting on ballots, maybe they should just go ahead and let him speak at the convention. If you agree, you can sign the petition.

Poll Vault… I don?t know quite what to make of the new LA Times poll that seems to show a perceptible move towards Bush since last month on an array of fronts. Alas Ruy Teixeira is on the road, so we may have to wait for his always-interesting analysis. But a couple quick thoughts. First, […]

Command in Chains… The big unanswered question about Abu Ghraib prison scandal has been: to what degree, if any, do Bush administration policymakers, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in particular, bear responsibility? Obviously, nobody at the top ordered this kind of sick (and militarily counterproductive) abuse, or wanted it to happen. But did their decisions to […]

Next Draft… Paul Rieckhoff, the ex-Army lieutenant who served as an infantry platoon leader with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq and gave the Democrat’s rebuttle to one of President Bush’s radio addresses, has co-founded an organization called Operation Truth. From its web site , the group looks fairly non-partisan. Among other things, the site […]

Calling RE/MAX… Earlier this year, Ben Wallace-Wells argued in The Washington Monthly that the fragile economic recovery could be brought down by a collapse of home prices. As evidence that there is indeed a housing bubble, he noted economic studies showing that in the nation?s twenty or so most overheated housing markets (where about half […]

Nader Raided… A friend of mine with wide experience in politics and national security was telling me, apropos of the GOP’s attacks on Kerry’s medals, that this whole race will ride on whether the Kerry camp is willing and able to practice what my friend calls the political “black arts.” I hope he?s wrong, and […]

Group grope… To connect some of the dots of the discussion by Matt Yglesias, Atrios, and my colleague Amy (see below) about the president’s curious sudden dislike of 527s. The group his campaign set up to cover the legal and political expenses of contesting the 2000 Florida recount was, yes, a 527. I don’t know […]

Offense vs defense… So where are we in this swift boat controversy, what?s likely to happen next, and what ought to happen next? The answer to the first question is pretty obvious: The Kerry camp, though damaged by the allegations, has all but won on the merits. In the last couple of days, several mainstream […]