Presidential Race ctd 5

1. Iraq--First-Hand Update ("Terrorists' center of gravity..here in Iraq") (freerepublic)
2. Security Council members deny meeting Kerry: U.N. ambassadors from several nations are disputing assertions by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry that he met for hours with all members of the U.N. Security Council just a week before voting in October 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq. (Joel Mowbray, Washington Times)
3. Globe interview with John Kerry 10 Dec 2003: Secondly, I spent a lot of time before the vote looking at this issue. I went up to the United Nations at the request of some friends. And I met with the entire Security Council in a room just like this at a table like this. I spent two hours with them. (inaudible), just me and the Security Council, asking them questions. (boston globe)
4. A Less Than Ideal Choice (David Broder, WaPo)
5. No time for Kerry's Europhile delusions: There are legitimate differences of opinion about the war, but they don't include Kerry's silly debater's points. On the one hand, the Tora borer drones that Bush "outsourced" the search for Osama bin Laden to the Afghans, though at the time he supported it ("It is the best way to protect our troops," he said in December 2001. "I think we have been doing this pretty effectively."). But, on the other, he claims he's going to outsource Iraq to the French and the Germans, though neither of them wants anything to do with it. (Mark Steyn, Chicago SunTimes)
6. The Hate-America Left: Many of the doubts that hover over Sullivan's case for Kerry are rooted in the value system widely shared among Democrats: Most people are basically good; wars are caused not by evil motives but by misunderstandings that can be talked out; conflict can be overcome by more tolerance and examining of our own faults or by taking disputes to the United Nations. As a personal creed, these benign and humble attitudes are admirable. As the foundation of a policy to confront terrorists who wish to blow up our cities, they are alarming. (John Leo, US News&Wrld)
7. Houston Chronicle endorses Bush (chron.com)
8. Kerry refuses interview by Bob Woodward -- 22 questions: At the end of last year, during 3 1/2 hours of interviews over two days, I asked President Bush hundreds of detailed questions about his actions and decisions during the 16-month run-up to the war in Iraq. His answers were published in my book "Plan of Attack." Beginning on June 16, I had discussions and meetings with Sen. John Kerry's senior foreign policy, communications and political advisers about interviewing the senator to find out how he might have acted on Iraq -- to ask him what he would have done at certain key points. Senior Kerry advisers initially seemed positive about such an interview. One aide told me, "The short answer is yes, it's going to happen."
   In August, I was talking with Kerry's scheduler about possible dates. On Sept. 1, Kerry began his intense criticism of Bush's decisions in the Iraq war, saying "I would've done almost everything differently." A few days later, I provided the Kerry campaign with a list of 22 possible questions based entirely on Bush's actions leading up to the war and how Kerry might have responded in the same situations. The senator and his campaign have since decided not to do the interview, though his advisers say Kerry would have strong and compelling answers. (wapo)
9. Guardian says sorry, call for assassins was just a tasteless joke: The Guardian has taken a remarkable step by replacing a column in which the writer appeared to call for the assasination of George W Bush with an apology. (national biz review)
10. For Catholics, the stand for life is challenging to take (Tim Chavez, Tennessean)
11. Desperate times call for desperate fissures: Separate from the campaign itself, but still relevant as a symbol of the Democrats lack of ability for any self-expression not involving some form of slop, Ann Coulter's speech at the University of Arizona received a tasty interruption as a couple of bongwater bathers threw custard pies at the conservative columnist. Like most liberal points, they mostly missed their mark. Conservatives are often labeled heartless and mean, but the left is usually the one oppressing free speech, even if it requires two men hurling baked goods at a hundred pound woman – probably the greatest exhibition of masculinity those two pinheads will ever engage in. (Doug Powers, Worldnetdaily)
12. N.C., S.C. may share up to 60,000 voters: As many as 60,000 people may be registered to vote in both North and South Carolina, according to an investigation by The Charlotte Observer and WCNC-TV. A computer comparison by the news organizations found more than 60,000 people who appear to be registered to vote in both states, one of several instances of possible voter fraud cited in an Observer article Sunday.(freerepublic)
13. Kerry will put more pressure on Israel: Kerry senior advisor (kristol, weeklystandard)
14. Ed Koch & Rudy Giulani ad for Bush (nypost)
15. Kerry Says Missing Explosives in Iraq Illustrate Bush's Failures (nytimes)
16. HEY, WHAT ABOUT THE 248,000 TONS OF EXPLOSIVES DESTROYED OR CAPTURED? (kerryspot, nationalreview)
17. Bush I.Q. higher than Kerry's (nytimes)
18. Stephen Morris: Danger man John Kerry (theaustralian)
19. New Yorker endorses Kerry (newyorker.com)
20. Ghosts of 2000 (americanspectator)
21. KERRY'S BABE-HUNGRY BACKERS: WHILE John Kerry passes himself off as a family man these days, the Democratic presidential nominee's inner circle of friends working overtime to get him into the White House are mostly single, fiftysomething, skirt-chasing lotharios with an appetite for twentysomething babes. (nypost)
22. Mark Steyn: Guardian assassinate Bush "joke": Brooker's ironic assassination target, being famously moronic, is deluded enough to believe that, when one takes a position on something, one is expected to act on it. But in the "entire civilised world" that's no longer necessary: "Sneer globally, act fitfully" is the watchword. Because Belgium opposes the Iraq war, its foreign minister makes a few anti-Bush cracks and various lesser figures attempt to indict Rumsfeld and co for war crimes - but they know nothing's going to come of that; it's an empty gesture. (telegraph uk)
23. President Bush? Yes!Those who would replace President Bush are working to shore up the enemies of America and the Iranian populace (iranian.com)
24. Teresa's Favorite Green Groups Using Contributions for Anti-Bush Attacks(humanevents)
25. In final push, Kerry tries to close a perceived 'God gap' (csmonitor)
26. Muslim retracts bomb remark: anyone over 18 in Israel is ok target (toronto sun)

Other

• You’re a Republican??? (self-financed $100k ad in WaPo)
• AEL leader Abou Jahjah says 'every dead American, British or Dutch soldier I see as a victory' (freerepublic)
• Four . . . More . . . Years? The Left Contemplates the Unthinkable: The outcome of the race remains in doubt, of course, but there are huge implications for the media -- especially its openly liberal branch -- if President Bush is reelected next week. (Kurtz, WaPo)
• Calls to Reinvent a Party: So it seems fair to say that should Senator John Kerry lose to President Bush - which many Democrats insist is highly unlikely - the Democratic Party would be in for another bout of recrimination, self-examination and transformation. Such an exercise might seem familiar for the party, given recent experience. Yet the aftermath of a Kerry defeat might turn out to be even more traumatic than the ritualistic bloodletting that political parties undergo after a tough loss. (Nagourney, NYT)
• Marine snipers reclaim city from insurgents (usmc.mil)
• Palestinian TV: talking animal promotes massacre with AK-47 (imra.org)
• 25,000 Rat neurons used to pilot F-22 (wired)