Having It Both Ways

Well, he may not be able to do it much longer:

…there’s no cherry-picking occurring here. Furthermore, the cherry-picking defense, even when plausible, has never been accepted when it comes to racism. Don Imus, for example, has received widespread condemnation for very occasional statements that showed racial insensitivity. Trent Lott was condemned for one statement praising Strom Thurmond’s 1948 presidential campaign.

Obama appears to be playing a double game here, distancing himself from Wright without really denouncing him. It’s essentially the same game Obama (we now see) has been playing for years — cater to racist black nationalists at home while presenting himself as “post-racial” nationally.

Ah, but you see, according to the narrative, Reverend Wright can’t be a racist, because it’s not possible for blacks to be racist. Only the Man, with the power, can be a racist.

You know, this double game kind of reminds me of when Yasser Arafat would give one speech in English, talking about peace and negotiations with Israel, and then the very same day, give another one in Arabic, calling for the destruction of that nation and the death of the Jews. But in this case, the media doesn’t even have the excuse of not understanding the language.

[Update a few minutes later]

Another good point, from Mark Hemingway:

How many times has Obama used “judgment” as a cudgel against his opponents this campaign? Well, choosing someone to offer your family spiritual guidance that isn’t an anti-semite coddling, America-hating, race-baiting crazypants would appear to be a far easier decision than deciding whether to go to war. I anxiously await to see how Obama explains this aspect of his celebrated decision-making ability.

Don’t we all.

[Update a while later]

New readers who came via Instapundit might want to see my follow-on thoughts on Hillary teaching a horse to sing. Or just click on the main page in the link above, and check out the place in general. Anyway, welcome to all.

“Cry Me A River, Mr. Wright”

A screed, over at the Navlog:

That’s it for me. I am no fan of Ms. Clinton. And as a conservative I have become used to perpetual abuse and viciousness from a Left my mother would neither recognize nor stand for, despite her politics of 40 years ago. But enough is enough, Mr. Wright, you whiney candyass. The fact is that you, Mr. Wright, will never know what it is like to step out of school as a kid and year after year, hear someone yell, “Get the kike!” and have four or five kids jump you and beat you up, sometimes leaving you unconscious by the side of the road. The difference, Mr. Wright, is that Jews — and Mormons and Catholics and Adians — who suffered through such a childhood 40 or 50 years ago never called a press conference, never demanded ‘reparations,’ never went to the press with demands, never just sat on their asses and complained. They just determined to work even harder to succeed and learned to fight. Mr. Wright, you are a poisonous embarrassment to the United States and to black America. That Mr. Obama refuses to call you for what you are and continues to seek your support should be all that a voter needs to know this November.

He not only “refuses to call him for what he is,” but he gives him thousands of dollars (while Michelle whines about what a terrible world it is in which she has to pay back her loans that got her through the Ivy League and into her multi-hundred-thousand-dollar job), and he takes his young children to church on Sundays to poison their minds with this America hatred.

I can understand why the Clinton campaign is so furious with the media, when they could have been reporting this stuff months ago. On the other hand, I have no sympathy, since Bill Clinton could never have gotten elected without similarly fawning and myopic press coverage. If I were a Democrat, I would be very, very concerned about what’s going to happen this summer and fall. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving political party.

“Cry Me A River, Mr. Wright”

A screed, over at the Navlog:

That’s it for me. I am no fan of Ms. Clinton. And as a conservative I have become used to perpetual abuse and viciousness from a Left my mother would neither recognize nor stand for, despite her politics of 40 years ago. But enough is enough, Mr. Wright, you whiney candyass. The fact is that you, Mr. Wright, will never know what it is like to step out of school as a kid and year after year, hear someone yell, “Get the kike!” and have four or five kids jump you and beat you up, sometimes leaving you unconscious by the side of the road. The difference, Mr. Wright, is that Jews — and Mormons and Catholics and Adians — who suffered through such a childhood 40 or 50 years ago never called a press conference, never demanded ‘reparations,’ never went to the press with demands, never just sat on their asses and complained. They just determined to work even harder to succeed and learned to fight. Mr. Wright, you are a poisonous embarrassment to the United States and to black America. That Mr. Obama refuses to call you for what you are and continues to seek your support should be all that a voter needs to know this November.

He not only “refuses to call him for what he is,” but he gives him thousands of dollars (while Michelle whines about what a terrible world it is in which she has to pay back her loans that got her through the Ivy League and into her multi-hundred-thousand-dollar job), and he takes his young children to church on Sundays to poison their minds with this America hatred.

I can understand why the Clinton campaign is so furious with the media, when they could have been reporting this stuff months ago. On the other hand, I have no sympathy, since Bill Clinton could never have gotten elected without similarly fawning and myopic press coverage. If I were a Democrat, I would be very, very concerned about what’s going to happen this summer and fall. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving political party.

“Cry Me A River, Mr. Wright”

A screed, over at the Navlog:

That’s it for me. I am no fan of Ms. Clinton. And as a conservative I have become used to perpetual abuse and viciousness from a Left my mother would neither recognize nor stand for, despite her politics of 40 years ago. But enough is enough, Mr. Wright, you whiney candyass. The fact is that you, Mr. Wright, will never know what it is like to step out of school as a kid and year after year, hear someone yell, “Get the kike!” and have four or five kids jump you and beat you up, sometimes leaving you unconscious by the side of the road. The difference, Mr. Wright, is that Jews — and Mormons and Catholics and Adians — who suffered through such a childhood 40 or 50 years ago never called a press conference, never demanded ‘reparations,’ never went to the press with demands, never just sat on their asses and complained. They just determined to work even harder to succeed and learned to fight. Mr. Wright, you are a poisonous embarrassment to the United States and to black America. That Mr. Obama refuses to call you for what you are and continues to seek your support should be all that a voter needs to know this November.

He not only “refuses to call him for what he is,” but he gives him thousands of dollars (while Michelle whines about what a terrible world it is in which she has to pay back her loans that got her through the Ivy League and into her multi-hundred-thousand-dollar job), and he takes his young children to church on Sundays to poison their minds with this America hatred.

I can understand why the Clinton campaign is so furious with the media, when they could have been reporting this stuff months ago. On the other hand, I have no sympathy, since Bill Clinton could never have gotten elected without similarly fawning and myopic press coverage. If I were a Democrat, I would be very, very concerned about what’s going to happen this summer and fall. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving political party.

Actually Reading The Report

One of the prevailing myths (though that’s a generous term–perhaps Big Lie would be more accurate) of the left was that Saddam had no ties to terrorism prior to his removal (Obama has used it as a central theme, in fact, of his campaign). Many in the media reported a few days ago that a recent Pentagon report had substantiated this template. However, as Ed Morrissey notes, they could have done this only by not reading the report, relying instead on spin and leaks from the Pentagon. Those who did actually read it would come to an opposite conclusion:

The report, released this week by the Institute for Defense Analyses, says it found no “smoking gun” linking Iraq operationally to Al Qaeda. But it does say Saddam collaborated with known Al Qaeda affiliates and a wider constellation of Islamist terror groups.

And why would anyone be surprised that this was the case? He hated the US, and Israel, and was rewarding Palestinian suicide bombers’ families with cash. Other than the other myth (that he was secular, and they were extreme Islamic fanatics, and would have nothing to do with each other), why wouldn’t he collaborate and cooperate with them against a common enemy?

If the McCain campaign is smart, they’ll use this to school Obama again. Particularly since his proposed solution–to not have invaded Iraq–involves the need for a time machine.

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Not that he’s ever been optimistic, but “Rocketman” thinks that the end of ESAS is in sight:

MSFC and contractor engineers are looking at all sorts of band aids for the vibration problem that ARES is most prone to. The leading candidate this week is a “D” strut system between the first and second stage to reduce the vibration that will literally shake the crew to pieces. The Emperor is putting all of his chips on the table betting on the strut. But the contractors are forlorn. They know the strut has issues…and they know ARES will go away with the Emperor in short order. Its hard to work on something you know is headed for the trash heap of history.

I haven’t worked on the program for a year and a half, but I can imagine that a lot of people are eying their options to bail.

[Update in the afternoon]

Once again, Mark Whittington demonstrates his lack of comprehension of the English language.

exalt (g-zôlt)
tr.v. exalted, exalting, exalts
1. To raise in rank, character, or status; elevate: exalted the shepherd to the rank of grand vizier.
2. To glorify, praise, or honor.
3. To increase the effect or intensity of; heighten: works of art that exalt the imagination.

No one familiar with written English could imagine that my above words do any of those three things, in any way.

If and when the program does die, I will not be rejoicing. I will be grieving over the lost years and lost billions. But my grief will be tempered by the hope (though, sadly, not expectation) that we will finally start doing something sensible.

Too Big A Hurry?

Rob Coppinger writes that the Chinese are taking big risks rushing their human space program.

We’ll see. They may be going too fast for safety, but at their current general sluggish pace, they’re not going to beat us to the moon any time soon, despite Mike Griffin’s cynical scare mongering.

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