Home > Jay Bookman > Archives > 2008 > July > 11
Friday, July 11, 2008
Oh my, has it come to this?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Matt Towery over at Insider Advantage claims that, well, I’ll let him say it:
“(Sonny) Perdue, according to strong national sources, has risen to the top four in the veepstakes” to run with John McCain.
Why? First, Perdue has strong approval ratings in his home state. Second, his home state is now in play and could, in a perfect storm, become the decision-maker of 2008. Third, former Sen. Sam Nunn, according to both Time and Newsweek, is an eye-blink away from being the Democratic nominee for VP. But Perdue’s name identification and popularity as a current Governor would easily eclipse that of Nunn.”
I’ll leave any comments to the rest of you. There’s not much sport in this one. It’s like hunting over a baited field, fishing in chummed waters, trolling for senators in airport men’s rooms…. not much challenge to it, in other words.
Permalink | Comments (66) | Post your comment |
Iran, bombs, Bush and Obama…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Imagine that you’re a member of Iran’s leadership, and that you and your colleagues have come to understand that pursuing a nuclear weapon is a bad idea. The economic and political sanctions engineered by the United States and Europe have taken a harsh toll, and you’re willing to cut a deal, just as North Korea and Libya did, to achieve a more normal international standing.
But you have a big problem. You simply can’t be seen by your fellow Iranians and the rest of the Middle East as backing down to the bullying of George Bush. So what do you do?
Maybe, just maybe, you take a page from your own country’s history. Back in the hostage crisis of the late ’70s, Iran refused to bow to immense pressure from President Jimmy Carter to release the 52 American hostages it had taken from the U.S embassy in Tehran. The confrontation with Carter apparently became personal with the Iranians.
But on the day a new president, Ronald Reagan, was inaugurated, Tehran relented. Six minutes after Reagan became president, the hostages were freed, denying Carter credit for their release.
We could see something similar happen on the nuclear issue, particularly if Barack Obama becomes the next president. With Bush, the invader of Iraq, gone from office, Iran’s leadership could suddenly find a nuclear deal more palatable.
I’m not saying it’s gonna happen like that —for one thing, I’m not at all convinced that Iran is ready to cut such a deal. Nor am I in any way suggesting this scenario as a reason to vote for Obama. You can’t make such important decisions on mere speculation.
I’m just saying that if it happens, you read it here first.
Services »
