Convention Arrival

I pulled in around 9:00 PM local time last night, weary from too much flying (I still don’t know if it was Northwest or Priceline that bumped my two-hour direct flight from Charlotte to MSP into two separate two hour flights, with Memphis in the middle… I suspect the airline… and I digress.)

The trip up was eventful. The drive up I-77 to Charlotte included some guy in a minivan who rode my bumper for an hour (even when I changed lanes…). You know that section where 77 goes from two to three to four lanes? I stayed in the “fast” lane, which became the “2” lane. The minivan goes flying around me, but fails to notice the real reason I was driving 70 – the unmarked officer car in front of me, who promptly nails the minivan for whatever speed he was doing when he blew by Sparky. Sometimes, karma’s a beaut.

My first flight was with an LAPD officer who just got back from Iraq this week. Definitely an eye-opener on what’s going on there. It’s clear we’ve won what we went to do – so it’s fast approaching time to declare victory, turn it over to the Iraqis and bring the boys home. Victory with honor is a great way to wrap it all up…

My second flight was also interesting. I was next to two older gals from Mississippi. One was from the north part of the state and was headed to a Montana retreat with her family for two weeks. The place sounds idyllic – a ranch with a stream in the mountains… The other gal was from Pass Christiane, and was fleeing Gustav in advance. When she had returned to her home after Katrina, EVERYTHING had been gone, including the foundation, and two of her best friends. This time, she and her husband didn’t pack the blueprints for the house – if this hurricane takes the newly rebuilt home, they’ll go somewhere else.

These two gals are part of a very important sector of the Republican coalition – married women (who, the polling tells us, are twice as likely to vote Republican as are single women.) Suffice it to say they both had similar feelings as I have had in this election season. None of us were all that thrilled with the concept of a McCain candidacy, but we’re all absolutely stoked over a McCain/Palin candidacy. Two days on, among the folks who are the backbone of the Party, the Palin choice is an absolute home run – exactly what was needed to reach out to the Republican base and energize it. McCain is his own best outreach to the middle (though Palin’s reach to independent women and the “hockey moms” of the battleground states of the northern Midwest {MN, MI, WI, IA, OH, and PA} will be critical).

After so much flying (and a long wait for the luggage at MSP) it was a relief to get to the hotel and immediately be among so many friends. I’ve already run into at least a dozen SC folks, including Chairman Dawson this morning. It’s kinda weird to travel all day, and then see friendly faces you know when you get here. I’ve also run into a fellow traveler from the Fred Thompson campaign as well as Bud McFarlane, the former Reagan National Security Advisor who is now a delegate from DC.

Dawn broke this morning to a brilliant blue sky day here – a cool breeze blowing through the sun-splashed city. I walked the two blocks down to Key’s Café, which came highly recommended by security here. (Travelers hint – if you want to know where to go to get a real breakfast, ask security. They know. Trust me.) The “Everything” omelette was as good as promised, including the homemade strawberry jam on the 12-grain wheat toast. The ambiance was somewhat disturbed when we were joined by the members of a lesbian protestor choir who saw our badges and simply glared…

OH yes, I nearly forgot – the “protestors”. A handful of “peaceful protestors” were arrested yesterday by local law enforcement (God Bless Them All), and charged with conspiracy to start a riot. Among the items confiscated were knives, machetes, slingshots, bows, arrows, lighter fluid, and (my personal favorite) “buckets of urine.” I’m guessing they wanted to mark their territory before they shot the flaming arrows of Gladiator doom in our direction. Good on the local sheriff for shutting it down.

St. Paul city Councilman Dave Thune gets the prize for clueless local Democrat politician quote of the day: (amalgamated from MSNBC and the STrib)

"This is not the way to start things off," Thune said Saturday morning. "This is sending the wrong message. Regardless of how you feel about these people...they had a right to be there… We spent so much time trying to welcome people to the city and now this is the way we start out," he said. "It pretty much sucks."

Gee, Councilman Thune, “We invited folks to be here” is an awfully strange excuse for why those folks should be met with weaponry upon arrival…or did you mean you’ve been inviting anarchist rioters to your district, while the rest of the city is trying welcome Republicans here for a convention? (So… yes, I am wearing my convention security badge for the next week…)

Actually, the local folks working the convention have been spectacularly welcoming. Special shout-out to Annie and Lorri from the MSP2008 crew who have been invaluable in dispensing tourism advice and maps... even last night's cab driver was into the convention spirit, as an immigrant who came here legally to start a new business and enjoy the American dream as “his own boss.”

Bad Republican rumor of the day – if and when Gustav hits we may shut down the convention. That would be a mistake. This is an opportunity for Senator McCain and Governor Palin to be serious about serious issues at the convention – even if by satellite live from the Gulf Coast. We delegates can be responsible and dial down the “party” aspect of a convention like this – but we shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to energize the base (here and around the country). The Palin nomination has us all in high-energy mode right now, and this convention could be a terrific way to channel that energy into community service projects (locally and in the Gulf) that could go a long way towards building our reputation along those lines. All that said, our prayers go out to the folks along the Gulf Coast right now in the path of the storm. They’re very much in our thoughts.

I’m one of at least three of us blogging from the SC delegation – along with my convention roomie Drew McKissick (Conservative Outpost), and Rep. Alan Clemmons, who is writing for the Sun News. I’m looking forward to what the next week holds.

OK, Moye Graham just rolled up - time for the Party to start...

BREAKING: McCain/Palin

Terrific news out of Dayton, Ohio this morning – Fox News is confirming that Senator McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate!

Governor Palin:

• Has more Executive experience than either of the Democrats on their team (and more than McCain for that matter);
• is staunchly pro-life, with a compelling life story to tell, and impeccable pro-Second Amendment credentials, cementing the Republican base;
• is the perfect foil against “Beltway” Biden;
• is the younger looking person we needed to offset McCain’s age;
• is a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” (of 5 kids) who will play well in the battleground states of the upper Midwest;
• is the perfect response to Obama’s inability or unwillingness to choose Hillary Clinton – and the perfect way to reach out to women swing voters;
• has a great reputation as a reformer – someone who has cleaned up corruption and stands up against the lobbyist corruption; and
• has a tremendous grasp of the energy issue as it relates to oil and gasoline (the one Obama stupidly pooh-poohed last night during his speech).

My Grade: A. She’s a slight touch soft on the global warming issue for me, but other than that, she’s an absolutely dynamite pick.

This is the pick I had hoped for, and it cements my vote for McCain/Palin in the fall. I had been holding out to commit, waiting for this pick to make my own decision, and hoping he would pick a pro-lifer. After his stellar performance at Saddleback, and with this great pick, now I can proudly say – Vote McCain/Palin!

Next week is going to be a lot of fun – and I’ll be there, laptop in hand, to post a few blogs along the way. I’ll have a cam with me, so hopefully we can get some good video as well!

Best Olympic Commercials: Nike

The first features USA Basketball to the sounds of Marvin Gaye. (or as my sister referred to it "The Most Fly National Anthem Ever."



The second ad is just a celebration of sport (utilizing Nike athletes, to be sure) but it's a visual stunner...

The Games of the XXIX Olympiad

As the glow of the Olympic flame dies away, here are the thoughts from a 16 day Couch Potato…

The Highs:

Michael Phelps, Most Decorated Olympian Ever

His 8 gold medals in Beijing give Phelps a whopping 14 career golds (to go with the two other bronzes he received in Athens) while passing Mark Spitz’s record for gold medals in one Games. Many of the performances were dominating, two were squeaked out by a fingernail (including that unbelievable finish in the 100 Fly). But any way you cut it, the performance by Phelps was the headline of these Games, one for the history books. It’s also one for Frosted Flakes, which will be featuring Phelps on its boxes after the latest endorsement deal was struck.

Brian Clay Wins the Decathlon

An American winning the title “World’s Greatest Athlete”? Awesome. Clay did it in style, winning 7 of the ten events outright. Notable: Clay’s coach at Azusa Pacific was former US Olympian Dan O’Brien, who you may remember from the 1992 “Dan and Dave” Reebok ad campaign.


USA Volleyball Dominates – Indoor and on the Beach, and in Prime Time

In the not-so-long history of Olympic Beach Volleyball, no nation had ever taken the gold in the men’s and women’s events – until the US did it this year with the double duos of Misty May and Kerri Walsh along with “Professor” Rogers and “Thin Beast” Dalhausser. Walsh and Dalhausser were especially dominant at the net. May and Walsh provided one of the indelible images of the Athens Games four years ago, and their celebration was notable again this year, mostly for their irrepressible joy on the court.

Indoors, the US Women were led to the silver medal by outside hitter Logan Tom, whose booming spikes from all over the floor proved too much for the rest of the field to compete with.

But the US Men became one of the feel good stories of the Olympics. Coach Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law was tragically murdered in Beijing, and his mother-in-law was also stabbed and critically injured. The Men’s team rallied around their coach, pushing their way into a gold medal win over Brazil.

USA Gymnastics Women Weather Controversy, Bring Home Gold

Nastia Liukin (more on her shortly) wins the all-around gold over Shawn Johnson, while Johnson takes home the gold in the Balance Beam. They combine for a team silver as well (for now - more on that later). Liukin’s grace and Russian-style elegance contrasts with Johnson’s power and athletic execution – yet both are uniquely American, and both very successful. Watch for Johnson to return as the overall favorite in London in four years.

USA Womens Soccer Loses Star, Wins Gold

Despite the loss of superstar striker Abby Wambach in the last pre-Olympic warmup game (the Brazilians broke her leg - not kidding…), and losing its opening match with Norway, the US rallied behind stellar goalkeeping by Hope Solo and a well rounded attack to take the Gold in an overtime final match against Brazil (ironically enough). Best Medal Ceremony of the Games: All of the US Women singing along with the National Anthem.

China Produces Most Beautiful Opening Ceremonies Ever

OK, so with a reported budget of $300M, this wasn’t the highest hurdle to cross. Still, the Opening Ceremonies were truly memorable, a blend of Chinese philosophy, art, and culture (without the ugly Communist brown and grey). It was the largest LED screen ever, the largest fireworks display ever, and the largest cultural display – all at once. Fitting ceremony from the world’s largest populace, though not without controversy (more later).

The Forgotten Olympic Swimming Champion? Natalie Coughlin wins 6 medals

Coughlin takes home the gold in the 100 Back, plus two silvers and three bronzes, bringing her remarkable career total to 11 Olympic medals. I guess that was too few to get the press’ attention compared to Phelps, but Coughlin’s accomplishment is still extraordinary, and she wears it well.


The American Dream is Alive and Well

Nastia Liukin’s father? A Russian immigrant who won gold in Seoul, then came to America for a better life. Shawn Johnson’s Coach? A Chinese gymnast who came to America for a better life. USA Wrestler Henry Cejudo? Son of a single mom who was once an illegal immigrant. Cejudo’s father died in prison last year. Cejudo used his wrestling to get out of South Central LA and start a better life – and now he’s the “future of USA Wrestling.” Awesome.

The Redeem Team saves USA Basketball

Remember all of the bad buzz around the last Dream Team? Celebrity behavior, non-team gangsters out for personal glory, and no gold medal? (I have to admit – I haven’t been an NBA fan since Doctor J retired. Too many gangster thugs running around in too many tattoos now. But I digress). All is forgiven for this year. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were stellar team players and leaders, not to mention good American envoys. Kobe even took the time to tick off the American Left by talking up his patriotism and love of country (which even took Cris Collinsworth aback). In the end, the USA waltzed away with the Gold, and with the hearts of many of the Chinese fans.

USA Equestrians Jump to Gold

OK, so you’re surprised that I like the horses? Long story. Still, Team USA looked fantastic in winning the gold medal in the Team Jumping event. Beezie Madden and McClain Ward led the USA over Canada in a jumpoff for Gold – and in the process, legendary 61 year old, 9-time Olympic veteran Ian Millar won his first Olympic medal (the silver.)



The Bittersweet Hurdles

Liu Xiang was the defending Olympic champion, but a bad Achilles tendon made starting his race impossible. Yet, through the pain, Xiang lined up and at least tried to race. After another competitor false-started, however, the pain was too much and he limped off the track to the horrified gasps of the home crowd.

American champion Lolo Jones was leading the final after 8 hurdles, but tripped over the top of the ninth hurdle, somehow managed to clear the 10th hurdle, but finished 7th.

Lolo Jones and Liu Xiang are still champion athletes that can hold their heads high. They both conducted themselves with grace, even as they mourned their lost Olympic chance.


The Lows:

Russia’s Olympic Truce Aggression

Vladimir Putin shows his contempt for the international community, his neighbors, and the Olympic tradition by rolling troops and tanks into Georgia during the Opening Ceremonies, murdering civilians and bombing pipelines along the way. If the IOC had any guts, they would have kicked the Russians out, sent them home, and revoked the Sochi 2014 games. No such luck so far.

A Murdered American

As mentioned above, the in-laws of USA Volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon were attacked by a crazed Chinese man at a tourist spot in Beijing. Todd Bachmann died, and his wife Barbara was seriously injured.

Lipsynched Anthem during Opening Ceremony

So, what would your reaction be if you participated in a national singing contest for the right to sing your national anthem on live global television, you won that contest, and then were replaced at the last minute by “someone cuter.” Too much image consciousness led to a travesty for an 8-year old girl. Only the ChiComs would’ve even considered this blunder.

Gymnastics scoring and age questions

The Chinese also were involved in a scandal involving allegedly underage gymnasts (“fetal medalists” as the Jawas called them). But those questions were frankly overshadowed by the awful execution of a judging system that caused more questions than it answered, and led to some very questionable results – including women’s vault medalists who fell and landed out of bounds.

Boxing scoring debacle

As bad as the gymnastic scoring was, it couldn’t hold a candle to how awful the boxing venue was. There were rounds of Olympic boxing where dozens of punches were thrown and landed – and scored 0-0. The US team is alleging that there was misconduct of a political nature, pointing to the near systematic elimination of US and Russian boxers. I’m not so sure – I’d point to the comical ineptitude of a hopelessly broken system being run by hopelessly incompetent judges and officials. Olympic boxing is dead.

The end of Olympic Baseball and Softball

Now, the elimination of baseball and softball from the Olympic program can definitely be tied to the political anti-Americanism of IOC delegates. Jacques Rogge admitted as much in his final interview with Bob Costas. Most moving protest of the games – the USA softball players taking a page from the wrestling mat and placing their cleats on home plate to signify the ends of their careers after the gold medal match loss to Japan.

USA Track and Field Disappoints

OK, so USA Track and Field won more medals than any other nation. They were still a letdown from the dominance they were expected to achieve. No finalists in the men’s long, high, or triple jumps; or the javelin or 800m finals. Jamaica sweeping all six medal sprints. Two dropped batons in the 4x100 relays, preventing US teams from even reaching the finals. The injuries to Tyson Gay, Terrence Trammell, and Bernard Lagat. At least the 4x400 relays salvaged the day with impressive and exciting victories on the last night of competition.

Cuban athlete attacks judge

The video of a Cuban taekwondo guy kicking the judge in the head is surely going to become a youtube classis, but not for any good reason. It's good to see the athlete barred for life...

***

Olympic “Sports” that need to go away
Synchronized Swimming, Synchronized Diving, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline, BMX, Taekwondo, Judo, and (saddest to me) Boxing.

Sports to replace these with: Rugby, Golf, Softball.

Favorite athletes at these games: Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Hope Solo, Kobe Bryant, Allyson Felix, Lolo Jones, Jason Lezak, Dara Torres, Beezie Madden, Logan Tom, Kerri Walsh, Phil Dalhausser, Brian Clay, Kristin Armstrong, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Mariel Zagunis, Jonathan Horton, Henry Cejudo, Dmitri Klokov, Kosuke Kitajima.

Obama picks... Biden?

The text messages are out this morning - Obama’s dithering on a Vice Presidential choice has left him with the unappealing choice of Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.

On behalf of Republicans everywhere, I’d just like to say

WAY TO GO, BARACK!!!

First off, let’s see how Biden competes for the news cycle with the continued Russian invasion of Georgia and the end of the Olympic Games tonight. Delaying the timing past Tuesday the 5th was already a mistake (you simply don’t want to have your VP choice have to compete with Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, Kerri Walsh, or any other members of the USA Olympic Team’s Gold Medal winners… more on them over the weekend). But anyone who has ever watched the West Wing (much less actually worked communications) knows that you “take out the trash” on Friday – not announce some major new initiative, like, say, who your new running mate is going to be. (Hot Air is calling it “burying the pick”) Overnight Friday night? Even worse. So, this is a great way to diss your own running mate pick, while having the rest of the world not pay attention. It’s almost like he doesn’t want anyone to notice who he picked. There may be good reasons for that.

As a conservative, it’s just great to see Mr. Audacity of Hope and Change pick a Washington Beltway hack. Biden’s presence on the ticket undermines the “Change” raison d’etre of the Obama campaign, instantly transforming the Democrat ticket to yet another combination of failed liberal ideas espoused by two Washington insider Senators.

Further, it’s not like Biden helps nail anything down. Does he bring a battleground state? Delaware has been pretty solidly blue for some time now. A constituency? Nothing other than Beltway Insider. I suppose he does bring more Senatorial experience than Obama does, helping McCain make that attack (“Hey, at least his VP choice is more experienced than he is…”) He has less foreign policy experience than Bill Richardson, who should have been his ideal choice, and a domestic policy record that helps Republicans continue to pin down the Dems as hopelessly liberal on bread and butter issues. And he's never been an executive.

Choosing Biden does not help the far-left Obama reach out to the center of the political spectrum, which is exactly what he needed to do with sagging poll numbers and McCain’s much more solid performance at the Saddleback proto-debate. (Irony of these choices – both McCain and Obama need to choose running mates to their right.)

Then again, I’m sure they’ll be able to work well together. They certainly have one thing in common: plagiarism. Biden famously plagiarized speeches and law school work; Obama just stole speech material.

Overall Grade, for timing and selection: F+ The plus is only there because Biden is a solid enough debater when he's not committing gaffes.

Memo to John McCain: Learn from this. Don’t pick a Senator, pick a Governor from outside the Amtrak Corridor; one whose experience outshines Obama’s, but whose youth can serve as a complement to your experience. Oh, and make sure they’re pro-life. Here’s to hoping yesterday's NY Times reporting is correct…

UPDATE: Reaction coming in:

Chris Cilizza lays out "The Case against Joe Biden":

Over the course of his presidential bid, Biden cemented his reputation as -- how to put this nicely? -- less than disciplined on the campaign trail.

In the summer of 2006, as he was publicly mulling the race, Biden set off a controversy over comments he made about Indian Americans.

"I've had a great relationship [with Indian Americans]," Biden said. "In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

On the day he formally announced his candidacy, a New York Observer story that quoted Biden as calling Obama "articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" came out, and the resultant uproar effectively undercut any momentum Biden was hoping to build.

***
Amanda Carpenter at TownHall:

Obama announced his VP in the dead of night AFTER CNN broke the story through a text message system that didn't work properly. FAIL.

My message didn't come through till 4:59 am. I see other people got theirs around 3:20. The text messages were not "instant" it was the same ol' master list dump every other politician uses that takes two or three hours to cycle through. Maybe the Obama team thought we wouldn't notice because we were all sleeping.

This guy can't even announce his VP smoothly (you know what I am going to say next) How can he run a country?

***

Politico headline: A stateman known for slips of his tongue


***
Jawa Report adds: "This is going to be more fun than Carter/Mondale '80."

Beach Volleyball Gold Medalists Thank President Bush

Trip to Beijing: $1300

Years of work preparing: 4

Thanking the President of the United States after you win the Gold Medal: Priceless.

Pro-Life VP or Bust

Cross-posted at SC Conservative

There has been a ton of speculation that John McCain may be considering a pro-abortion Vice Presidential nominee (bringing responses and pontifications at Politico, Hot Air, Rush, just to name a few).

I'm with the Hot Air folks on this one. A pro-abortion nominee like Lieberman (or Guiliani, or Ridge) would be an unmitigated disaster for McCain, perhaps the one last way he could derail his own campaign and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. As a strategy, it would lead to the wholesale departure of the Republican base, (more than making up for any gains he would make with independents) and the resulting low-base turnout could lead to a filibuster-proof majority in the US Senate - for the Democrats.

With those specters looming, do not expect the delegates at the Convention to go quietly on this point. I've been talking to some of my fellow delegates and alternates from around the state and around the country, and they do indeed have the stomach to fight their own nominee on this one. Remember: the delegates hold the power at the convention - and we can nominate someone of our own choosing to go up against a pro-abortion VP nominee. Alert pro-life Republican delegates are already organizing for a possible convention uprising if the need arises. Speculation centers around the same list of pro-life Governors that McCain has been said to be considering - Palin, Jindal, Romney, Pawlenty, and yes, Mark Sanford.

Hopefully, Senator McCain won't make the pro-abortion VP mistake, and will instead choose a running mate who can secure his base while he tacks to the middle in the general election campaign (which he does without really trying, frankly). With a 5 point lead (according to Zogby this morning), Senator McCain would be wise to secure his base and consolidate the lead with less than 3 months to go.

Revoke Sochi

It appears that someone has found a push point in the Russian/Georgian conflict. Someone has a new website up petitioning the International Olympic Committee to revoke awarding the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, Russia. Representatives Allyson Schwartz and Bill Shuster of PA have sponsored a bipartisan resolution asking the IOC to find a new venue for the 2014 Games.

This is the first real pressure point I've seen (not too many people calling for Russia to be removed from the G-8 yet, though that would be a strong step as well) that has a chance to succeed. When you consider the national pride and success that Beijing has seen as a result of their Olympic experience (certainly not without downside, but overall a very positive impact for China so far...), removing the chance for the Russians to have a similar experience when they thought they would have such a moment would be a strong deterrent from a domestic political standpoint.

Until that kind of serious and strong isolative pressure is brought, we will continue to see video of Russian "peacekeepers" rolling tanks over police cars while "withdrawing" during a "ceasefire". The Bad Old Days are back.

Lessons from South Ossetia

Ceasefire or not, the Georgian/Russian conflict has already taught us some important (and unfortunate) things.

Vladimir Putin is the New Tyrant on the Block.

Call him Tsar Putin I or Vlad the Invader (or NTOTB), but Putin is now certainly the biggest baddest dude on the foreign policy block. This is yet another blow to Russia's democratic reformers, including former chess champion Garry Kasparov, who might have held out hopes that a change in Russia's Presidency would allow for an opportunity for reform. Instead, it is now blatantly clear that Putin is Prime Minister in name and President in function. (Russian "President" Dmitry Medvedev was on a boat cruise down the Volga while the invasion occurred; Putin was at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, with all the other heads of state.)

The historical role of Russia as an authoritarian state with expansionist tendencies is back, and more dangerous than ever.

Historians will surely point to South Ossetia as the Sudetenland of the early 21st Century, with Putin now using the same "reunification" and "protection" as cover for blatant and open aggression, just as Hitler did in 1938. Combine that with Tsar Putin's assertion that the Soviet demise was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th Century", and you have a recipe for disaster - a Russian nationalist dictator with Hitler's tendencies (including a top notch internal propaganda machine) and a lust for Stalin's brutality. Oh - and nukes. Let's not forget those.

The Cold War just reheated up, and America's prestige and international reputation is at stake, as is the promise of continued post-Soviet Eastern European democracy.

Only now, a new set of strategies will need to be employed. The old Cold War doctrine of containment may not be possible in the same ways as it was used in the last century. Georgia was applying for NATO membership, and was the third largest contributor of troops to the Iraq coalition. Yet it only had 30,000 troops at its disposal - absolutely no match for the Russians. If the Russians remain obstinate, and if, as now appears probable, Ukraine is next in line for Russian aggression, multiple democracies could get gobbled up into the new Russian empire without the West doing anything substantive to stop it. Would the US act militarily to protect one of Russia's neighbors? Doubtful - direct military conflict with the Russians is far too likely to go nuclear. Knowing this, Putin is free to act with impugnity, knowing that the old rules of Mutual Assured Destruction prevent us from stopping him. This is a tremendous challenge for NATO in a post-Soviet Cold War, now that most of Eastern Europe has gone the pro-US democracy route.

So, the leaders of the World (especially those of the free world) are going to have to figure out how best to punish Putin in a way that makes him think twice about future murderous land grabs. Ironically, any steps taken to destabilize Russia's economy would play directly into Putin's domestic political needs, making isolation very difficult. Also - we may be at a point where we need Russian oil more than Russia needs whatever the West is selling.

This will be the single greatest challenge the next President faces. Combine that with an ongoing civizational conflict with fundamentalist Islam, and the foreign policy outlook becomes rather grim. We are in for a long rough century, (or at least the next couple of decades) and it is going to take bold leadership and monumental strength of will for America to succeed.

As a postscript, I hold out zero hope that Barack Obama has either that will or that leadership.

Barack Obama gets Rickrolled?

Whomever did this gets a Gold Medal for Video Editing...

Laugh on...

Random thoughts on this that and the other...

Now that the Olympics are well under way (and consuming my television viewing habits for the nexxt two weeks - I'm a total Olympic junkie...), I thought I'd post a few thoughts...

***

Do you remember the long-held "Olympic Truce"? The idea was that nations competing in the Olympic Games would stop fighting long enough to enjoy the sporting events, and maybe even sit down long enough to work out their differences. (Hey, we were dealing with civilised nations at the time - Islamist countries need not apply...)

Well, it seems someone needed to remind President Vladimir Putin of that one. Putin's aggression against the former Soviet state of Georgia was possibly the most ill-timed invasion of all time - the tanks rolled over the border just as the Opening ceremonies were getting underway. Definitely the PR blunder of the year - Moscow rolls tanks as Beijing highlights new Century with best artistic opening ceremonies ever.

Oh - and kudos to President Bush for pulling Putin aside at those ceremonies to voice his displeasure. Bush has had one of the better weeks of his Presidency with these ceremonies - a deft diplomatic touch previously unseen, massaging the Chinese while speaking out against them openly. Definitely one of the highlights of his Presidency, when it's all said and done.

***

On the domestic front, what's this we hear about John McCain considering Joe Lieberman for his Veep nominee? How many Republicans with older vehicles would be scrambling to scrape "Sore Loserman" bumper stickers off from the Florida debacle?

Seriously - this is the single biggest mistake McCain could make right now. He has ALL of the momentum at present - Obama has botched his own Veep pick by failing to make it before the Olympics dominated the news cycle (whomever Obama picks cannot compete with Michael Phelps). McCain is his own best asset and ally to reach out to the middle, but his VP choice needs to shore up the base. If he sticks with the Palin/Pawlenty/Jindal/Sanford/Romney/Huckabee list, he's safe (and I'm still rooting for Palin...). But if he picks someone not provably pro-life, or worse, provably pro-choice (Lieberman or Ridge), he alienates the base entirely.

Hopefully, he'll do the smart thing and allow his VP choice to tack right while he remains in the middle.

***

Did anyone else stay up last night to watch that Olympic swimming relay (pic above)? Absolutely fabulous stuff. Favorite moments (other than when Lezak touched out the French at the wall, or the sheet brute force of the celebration pictured above): when in the interview segment, one of the swimmers referred to their loudmouthed, trash talking competitors as "those Frenchies." Awesome.

***

Anyone who has watched the last two golf majors (the PGA and the Open Championship) will be hard pressed to believe in global warming. That hoax must surely be winding down now...

***

Lastly, RIP to Shaft and Bernie Mac, both of whom passed away over the weekend. Two entertainers who will surely be missed...

Why I'm a Conservative Republican

I have no idea who this is, but I endorse what he's saying - wholeheartedly.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

In case you missed it, Alexander Solzhenitsyn died over the weekend. For those who don't know, Solzhenitsyn was the anti-Soviet dissident whose writings (including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and the The Gulag Archipelago) had a seminal impact on the conservative movement in the United States, especially on modern conservative foreign policy.

Ronald Reagan read Solzhenitsyn's work and redoubled his commitment to ending the Communist/Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn's work provided the West with a window into the horrors of Soviet despotism, and provided Reagan with a treasure trove of examples to put steel into the American spine and keep us focused on the inherent danger and evil of the Soviet state.

But Solzhenitsyn's impact remains today. His work inspired a generation of fellow Soviet dissidents, including Andrei Sakharov, the Russian nuclear scientist turned dissident who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 and died in 1989. It was Sakharov's young protege, Natan Sharansky, whose book The Case for Democracy is a "must read" within the current Bush Administration, and President Bush quoted it in his second inaugural address. Sharansky has since moved to Israel and is now a sitting member of the Knesset in the Likud Party.

Those of you who ever saw my first office at Club for Growth may recall that I had a "quote wall" of "deep thoughts" (for those of you who didn't see it, think Jack Handey, only inspiring conservatism instead of cheap laughs). Solzhenitsyn and Sharansky were both on that wall for these quotes:

If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being? (Solzhenitsyn).

The drug of freedom is universally potent. (Sharansky)

May we not forget Solzhenitsyn's wisdom, and may he rest in peace.


Also Blogging: Earl Capps, Dan Cassidy