Dick Morris, Expert Pundit

Glenn Greenwald goes way back in the time machine (one month) and discovers that one of Dick Moris’ election predictions was completely wrong. Very surprising. I remember when the alleged liquid bomber threat was uncovered, Morris said that event would completely reshape the mid-terms in the Republicans’ favor.

Punditry and “analysis” of this type really is the backbone of American political dialogue. Most of the people who have been anointed as our mainstream pundits and experts know nothing. The better ones do nothing but mindlessly recite ossified, thoughtless conventional wisdom that they exchange with one another, while most of them are driven by all sorts of personal agendas that cause them to propagandistically spout their own desires and beliefs masquerading as political analysis.

I’m at the point where if I hear Morris say something, I suspect the opposite will likely happen.

“Short Amount Of Time”

Atrios points out this nugget by Republican Congresswoman (and amateur historian) Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:

And, you know, there’s been that comparison that was made this week about World War II. Remember that the casualty count for World War II, how many lives were lost there. And each life that has been lost in Iraq is a terrible, terrible loss, but it’s only been a short amount of time.

–Length of U.S. involvement in WWII: 1,244 days
–Number of days since Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq: 1,269
Perhaps a more favorable comparison for Ms. Ros-Lehtine would be the Seventh Crusade; that one lasted six years.

“He’ll Run Out And Help”

In Glenn Greenwald’s smackdown of Peggy Noonan he digs up this gem of hers from 2004:

Mr. Bush is the triumph of the seemingly average American man. He’s normal. He thinks in a sort of common-sense way. He speaks the language of business and sports and politics. You know him. He’s not exotic. But if there’s a fire on the block, he’ll run out and help. He’ll help direct the rig to the right house and count the kids coming out and say, “Where’s Sally?”

Running out to help. Directing the rig to the right house. I couldn’t come up with a more accurate way to describe Mr. Bush than that, as he flew over New Orleans two days after Katrina struck.

Frist Cuts and Runs from the GOP’s Supposed Electoral Trump Card

Wow, wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that all the wise D.C. pundits were saying that President Bush need only mention terrorism and patriotic voters would flock to the GOP? Now this:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says if Republican candidates want to succeed on Election Day, they should turn their focus away from the Iraq war.

"The challenge is to get Americans to focus on pocketbook issues, and not on the Iraq and terror issue," Frist said in an interview with the Concord Monitor on Tuesday.

I guess Iraq isn’t going so well.  But things aren’t all bad.  The chaos apparently hasn’t damped Frist’s sense of humor:

Frist suggested that Republicans remind voters of subjects like tax cuts and lower gas prices, the result, he said, of the energy bill passed by Congress last year.

What?  GOP candidates should be running on the energy bill?  Three months ago you couldn’t find a Republican talking up the energy bill if you had a search warrant.  I know many Americans have a short memories, but they aren’t that short.  The specter of $3.00/gallon gas lies just over the horizon.  What candidate is foolish enough to conjure up those recent images?  Would-be presidential candidate Bill First, apparently.