Right Wing Nut House

She will have more money than God when all is said and done. And if wresting campaign funds from fat cat Democratic party donors was all it took to win the nomination of her party, Hillary Clinton would undoubtedly be the runaway favorite, easily besting the populist candidacy of John Edwards and edging out the feel good vapidity of Barak Obama’s messageless run.

But something happened on the way to Hillary’s coronation that few would have predicted just a couple of months ago; that despite her fundraising acumen and the support of most of the Democratic party regulars who backed her husband in his successful runs for the Presidency, Senator Clinton has lost considerable support among rank and file Democrats while being unable to assuage the rage of the netroots and other party activists over her refusal to grovel before them by apologizing for her vote to authorize the Iraq War.

Every other candidate or potential candidate for the Democratic nomination who voted for the war authorization has come out and made a very public mea culpa, begging forgiveness for being “misled” into voting for the war. But just last month, Mrs. Clinton took a stand and made it clear that while she favors a withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, she will not apologize to anyone - even if it costs her votes:

Senator Hillary Clinton has defied the Left of the Democratic Party by refusing to apologise for backing the war in Iraq.

Some liberal activists have deserted Mrs Clinton’s campaign for the presidency because of her reluctance to repudiate her Senate vote in favour of the war.

Campaigning in New Hampshire at the weekend, however, she bid those lost supporters farewell: “If the most important thing to any of you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote or has said his vote was a mistake, then there are others to choose from,” she said.

William Greider, writing in The Nation, shows why this calculated political move is backfiring with not only the far left, but rank and file Democrats as well:

Senator Clinton’s struggles are visible in her repeated efforts to recalibrate her positions on major issues–adding a little muscle each time but always a step or two behind public opinion. A year ago, she was still straddling the gut question of withdrawing from Iraq. Now she wants action in ninety days. She is molting a little, but still sounds more comfortable as a hawk.

The demands for an apology on her original go-to-war vote is not the point. It reflects a deeper suspicion that Hillary is as cynical as Bill on the fundamental matter of warmaking. One recalls Bill Clinton’s scolding advice to Democrats after they lost the 2002 Congressional elections. People, he said, would “rather have someone who is strong and wrong rather than somebody who is weak and right.”

Referring to her as “Senator Inevitable,” Greider ruthlessly dissects Hillary’s problems and proffers a reason why both Democrats and the country may be moving beyond her candidacy:

Inevitability actually is (or was) her core strategy. For six years, talented ranks of Clintonistas have assiduously worked Washington and Wall Street to create that expectation for her. They promoted romantic yearnings for a Clinton restoration in the age of George W. Bush. They amassed awesome advantages to scare off less famous opponents or, if need be, to crush them. Senator Inevitable has all the money and brains and influential connections. Plus, she has a rock-star-popular husband, the ex-President, who’s a brilliant strategist and performer.

What could go wrong? Well, things changed–dramatically–and the front-runner now finds herself scrambling to catch up with the zeitgeist. The watershed election of 2006 confirmed that Bush and the conservative order are in collapse. That inspires Democrats to embrace a far more ambitious sense of what’s possible. Senator Clinton, the brainy policy wonk conscientiously calculating her next move, suddenly seems miscast for an era when Democrats are on offense and bolder ideas are back in play.

Clinton’s great vulnerability was captured brilliantly by Barack Obama in a single sentence, without a mention of her name. “It’s time to turn the page…” People are looking forward, not back, he declares. People long for a promising new generation in politics. Let’s not turn back to old fights, the acrimony of decades past.

Nothing personal. But Hillary Clinton is the past.

When she cites the family accomplishments–his and hers–or reminds audiences that “Bill and I” stood up to the vicious right-wing assaults, it sounds almost as though she is offering a co-presidency. If anyone misses the connection, the former President seems to be everywhere, touting his own thoughts on how to govern the country (presumably cleared with her, but who knows?).

This is the central tension in Senator Clinton’s campaign. It’s what makes her sound conflicted. Does she intend to emulate the risk-averse, center-right juggling act by which her husband governed? Or, as she sometimes suggests, will Clinton II be more aggressively progressive, less beholden to business and financial interests, more loyal to the struggles of working people? Senator Clinton tries to have it both ways: running on her husband’s record and popularity, yet hinting she will not be like Bill.

Greider’s article is a must read - a cold, dispassionate look at Clinton and Democratic politics today.

Clinton has been sidling to the right for at least two years, separating herself from the more radical wing of her party in order to project a more centrist personae. This is not news, of course. What has changed in recent months - and what makes that strategy seem quaint and outmoded - is that as a result of the fall elections, her party has no desire to tack toward the center. That, in fact, as demonstrated by the growing popularity of both the Edwards and Obama candidacies, the party yearns for nothing less than a leftist revolution, one that would mirror the conservative takeover of 1980.

Recent poll numbers for Clinton have been grim. Donald Lambro (in another must read article) tracks Clinton’s recent slide:

Hillary’s erosion has been nothing short of astonishing in the last week, though the campaign press has been slow to focus on it. Indeed, they’ve gone out of their way to ignore it.

Remarkably, Barack Obama trailed her by a mere 8 points among Democratic voters nationwide in last week’s NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, and by a razor thin 3 points in an American Research Group poll of likely Democratic primary voters.

Mr. Edwards, too, is showing considerable strength in the early caucus states of Iowa and Nevada where his sharp-edged, populist message is electrifying working class and union audiences.

Hillary’s early head-to-head general election numbers do not look good for her, either. She was trailing Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani by an average of 5 percentage points in all the major matchup polls of the last two weeks.

When did the Clinton political restoration campaign begin to falter? Democrats said in interviews last week that a that a critical factor contributing to her decline in the polls was her unwillingness to apologize for her vote for the Iraq war and admit it was a mistake. “Her Iraq war vote is coming back to haunt her. She’s said everything except that she made a mistake. Voters see this as Hillary wanting it both ways,” said pollster Del Ali of Research 2000.

But it was movie mogul David Geffen’s bitter broadside against her that ultimately triggered the slide. The former Clinton moneyman, who now backs Mr. Obama, was the first Democratic funder to attack her character and question her electability.

In short, Hillary’s inevitability as the Democratic nominee has been lost for good and she must now grub for votes along with the other challengers. And it is an open question whether the magic of her name as well as the presence of her rock star husband will be enough to keep her candidacy afloat in what is shaping up to be a most unusual primary and caucus season for Democrats.

Front loading the calendar with a “Hyper Tuesday” primary day on February 5 where 11 states have already scheduled primaries and another 8 are considering moving their contests will put a premium on money and organization. On the surface, this would seem to favor Senator Clinton’s broad based candidacy.

But prior to what for all intents and purposes will be a “national primary day” on February 5, there are caucuses in Iowa (January 14), Nevada (January 19), and primaries in New Hampshire (January 22) and South Carolina (January 29). Early momentum will be crucial in those caucus states and especially New Hampshire. The problem for Clinton is that she is not assured of winning any of those early contests. She has no regional advantage over any of the other candidates, although there may be some residual nostalgia for the Clinton name in New Hampshire given “The Comeback Kid’s” remarkable turnaround in that state in 1992.

The Senator’s problem is that if Obama or Edwards (or both) exceed expectations in those early contests, that momentum will carry them into Hyper Tuesday where several states that either one can do well in will be in play. And then there is that second tier of candidates, including Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who may very well emerge as a regional powerhouse in the mountain west and other states where the Hispanic vote is crucial.

This change in the dynamics of the Democratic race may actually help the Republicans in 2008. With the Democrats appearing to want a true believer, a 100%, dyed in the wool liberal, it could make a more conservative candidate like Senator Brownback or, more likely, a Fred Thompson more attractive. Sharp contrasts in candidates have favored Republicans in every election since 1980 and recent polling would seem to suggest that this will not change anytime soon. Americans largely still see themselves as “conservative” despite their support for some “liberal” social programs. What pollsters have been unable to fathom is that the American people support those liberal social programs - as long as they don’t have to pay for them.

Hillary can still make it, especially if Obama/Edwards split the progressive vote and allow her to take a plurality of the rest. This will mean a long, bruising primary season and a problem with a disparity in money going into the general election campaign. But it is not likely that Clinton will drop out unless either Edwards or Obama (or some other Democrat) goes over the top with committed delegates. In that respect, she is in it for the long haul.

For the moment, Mrs. Clinton maintains her lead. Whether she can build upon her advantages will be a question on many Democrat’s minds over the coming months.

I can hardly believe my eyes when looking at the number of spam comments and trackbacks my excellent spam catcher Askimet has plucked from the ether in the last 48 hours.

Nearly 5,000 in the last 24 hours alone. That’s about 4 times the normal amount of spam that attacks this site every day. I know that it’s slowing the site’s load time but I am at a loss as to how to go about minimizing it.

The attacks have been so bad that it overwhelms Askimet every once and a while and a couple of them dribble through to the moderation queue.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be most appreciative.

When the Democrats were campaigning last fall, they promised that if they took over the Congress that there would be numerous changes in the way that things got done in the nation’s capitol.

Judging by what’s been happening these first months of Democratic rule, I think congratulations are in order. We have left the incompetent and corrupt Republican leadership behind and placed in their stead the cowardly, the manipulative, the sneaky, and the screeching hysterics of the netroots and their allies on the far left who are whipping the cowed Democratic leadership toward the edge of the cliff.

On Iraq, the confusion and indecision of the leadership has led them to offer up a plan that few completely understand and that no one can coherently explain. And to make matters worse, the situation on the ground in that bloody country is slowly but noticeably changing for the better. At this point, the Democrats are in a race not with the Republicans or the White House but with al-Qaeda and the insurgents in Iraq. Can the Democrats surrender the US armed forces on the field of battle before al-Qaeda and the insurgents are beaten down in Baghdad and defeated in Anbar?

Inquiring minds want to know. And for the sporting public, there’s some serious side action on exactly when the Democrats will declare that it was actually their policy recommendations that contributed to what ever nominal turnaround in Iraq can be “benchmarked.” Right now, the odds are 4-1 that by the 4th of July, the Democrats will simultaneously be crowing about an improvement in the fortunes of war as a result of their brilliant strategy while pandering to the netroots by calling for a timetable for withdrawal.

But Iraq has now been gratefully taken off the front burner because the Democrats have been handed a gift by the Justice Department and the White House that will temporarily make people forget their nauseating grovelling before the Mighty Kos and the loons at Moveon.Org and transfer their attention to the Democratic Party’s new industrial strategy for our country.

It doesn’t involve making cars or fashioning steel or even reviving the horse and buggy industry that many of the left’s more radical Luddites would prefer given their belief that automobiles are the spawn of Satan and are the major cause of global warming . . . or is it global cooling? So hard to keep track of the concerns of weeping celebrities and hysterical greenies these days.

Instead, this new industrial policy will concentrate on the manufacture of scandals. The benefits of this policy are immediately apparent; workers’ wages and benefits aren’t important nor does the federal government have to give tax breaks or tax incentives in order for the policy to be successful. All that’s necessary is to strike the right tone of outrage - the more over the top the better - so that a the scandal mongering press will pick up on the drama and add their own outrage quotient to the mess. (A convenient loss of memory is also a requirement but since we’ve forgotten what the Clinton Administration did when they fired every single US attorney in order to get just one of them off the back of a powerful Congressman, we can’t make it part of the overall policy, can we?)

Add an incoherent Attorney General and a clueless assistant, throw in Harriet Meyers and Karl Rove and what you have is a perfect storm that combines political interference in the offices of US attorneys (a time honored custom that for anyone to express outrage at finding can rightly be accused of indulging in the height of political hypocrisy) with the incompetence of Alberto Gonzalez, Harriet Meyers and a White House that can’t seem to stop shooting itself in the foot - or other, more vital areas of the body.

The more I read about this “scandal” the more I’m amazed at two things; 1) a White House in denial that they can continue to carry on business as usual, acting as if no one is going to question everything they do and portray it in the worst possible light; and 2) a Democratic party whose fall campaign was bereft of ideas and whose stewardship of Congress so far has been defined by a comedy of starts and stops on Iraq policy now ginning up fake outrage over the non issue of firing people who serve at the pleasure of the President.

It might feel good to wail and weep over interference by politicians in the offices of US attorneys but I challenge anyone to say that this is not a custom practiced by Republicans and Democrats - Congress and White House - from the beginning.

Bobby Kennedy routinely intervened in the cases of federal prosecutors - calling them, cajoling them to prosecute voting rights violations among others. Was it “interference” in a good cause that made Kennedy’s actions legitimate?

And, of course, even though we are supposed to have forgotten the matter, Bill Clinton fired every single US Attorney in March of 1993. As the New York Times explained at the time, it was done largely to get rid of a particularly troublesome prosecutor who was going after Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski:

Attorney General Janet Reno today demanded the prompt resignation of all United States Attorneys, leading the Federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia to suggest that the order could be tied to his long-running investigation of Representative Dan Rostenkowski, a crucial ally of President Clinton.

Jay B. Stephens, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, who is a Bush Administration holdover, said he had advised the Justice Department that he was within 30 days of making a “critical decision” in the Rostenkowski case when Ms. Reno directed him and other United States Attorneys to submit their resignations, effective in a matter of days.

While prosecutors are routinely replaced after a change in Administration, Ms. Reno’s order accelerated what had been expected to be a leisurely changeover.

(HT and Kudos to Macranger)

But this case is different. And the reason is simple; George W. Bush is President. Once that reason is invoked, history can be ignored, precedent disregarded, custom overlooked, and the truth slighted.

Was it wrong for Senator Domenici to try and interfere in the duties of the US Attorney? Of course. But the dripping hypocrisy of the Democrats in making it appear that what Domenici did or the purge itself planned by Harriet Meyers at the White House and Kyle Sampson at Justice was some kind of heinous crime, unprecedented in the annals of American jurisprudence is plain poppycock.

Expect more “revelations” as this scandal unfolds. I notice we are already “Fitzgeralding” the scandal by moving on to secondary issues not related to the original “crime.” Already, Gonzalez is being taken to task for having some of his statements contradicted by a slew of emails released that purport to show his Chief of Staff Sampson heavily engaged in the purge from the beginning despite Gonzalez incoherent denials. And no doubt other discrepancies will show up - or will be manufactured. All the better to drag out the shelf life of the scandal and give it as much play as possible.

Well, at least you can say it’s making us forget that the Democrats can’t get their act together when it comes to what they want to do about Iraq. Thank God for small favors…

UPDATE

Definition of “Perspective” by Orrin Kerr:

I haven’t written about the U.S. Attorney’s story because I’m having a hard time figuring out just how big a deal it is. Parts of it are obviously very troubling: I was very disturbed to learn of the Domenici calls, for example. More broadly, I have longrunning objections to the extent to which DOJ is under White House control, objections that this story helps bring to the fore (although my objections are based on my views of sound policy, not on law).

At the same time, several parts of the story seem overblown. U.S. Attorneys are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the President, and the press seems to overlook that in a lot of its reporting. Also, I know one or two of the Administration figures named in some of the stories, and based on my knowledge of them and their character (although no secret details of the story — I have not spoken with anyone about it) I have a feeling that they’re getting a bad rap.

So in the end I don’t quite know where I come out based on what we know. Without knowing where I come out, I don’t feel I have much helpful to add. I realize that this may mean I am missing a big story. Perhaps this will prove to be a simply huge scandal, and in time it will seem odd that we weren’t all blogging about it. But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I read a story and I’m not sure what to make of it.

Thank you and (to coin a phrase) “Good night and good luck.”

UPDATE II

Patterico, a prosecutor himself, takes apart the case fairly rationally.

And I should add that you will forgive me if I find it laughable that the newest talking point coming from the left is that Bush fired political appointees midway through his term rather than in the immediate aftermath of his innauguration. “Bush fired more prosecutors in one day than had been fired in the last 25 years midterm,” is the refrain coming from many sources today.

The reason this is a no-no is because it relates to the appearance of impropriety. Clinton firing 70 prosecutors in order to purge one or two troublesome appointees who were going after Democrats is perfectly acceptable because the veneer of legitimacy was maintained! The fiction that there was no politics involved could be advanced with a straight face. Since Clinton took that action at the start of his term, he was only doing what other Presidents had done previously and not trying to squash the investigation of a powerful Democrat vital to the Administration’s legislative agenda.

Enter George Bush and suddenly, the veneer is gone, the appearance of impropriety is resurrected and voila! Instant scandal and more evidence that Bush threatens the foundation of the American Republic.

This really is getting sickening. It’s not even a question of double standards any longer. It is simply “The Bush Standard.” George Bush wakes up in the morning and his very existence is a threat to women, children and dogs not to mention the American Constitution and the rule of law. Ghengis Khan didn’t even get this kind of press. It is silly and destructive. And to my mind, allows legitimate and measured critiques of the Bush Administration to get lumped in with these hysterically ginned up controversies so that some Republicans can simply dismiss any criticism of Bush as deranged mouthings of the insanely partisan.

As for specific issues like the firing of Carol Lam supposedly because her investigation was getting to close to Republican Jerry Lewis, I would simply point out that Clinton’s firing of the prosecutor investigating Rostenkowski did not prevent that crooked Congressman from getting convicted and sentenced to jail by the fired prosecutor’s successor.

So get off your fake moral high horses and stop pretending that you are shocked, simply shocked that politics is played with US Attorneys’ offices. If we had heard similar outrage about political interference in federal cases in the decade preceding Bush, you would be on much firmer ground to criticize what is happening now. As it is, all I see are a bunch of hypocrites taking political advantage of the stupidity and incompetence of the White House and Gonzalez.

“Thus Always to Tyrants” was the dramatic line delivered by John Wilkes Booth as he leapt from the Presidential box at Ford’s Theater onto the stage after firing one shot into the head of Abraham Lincoln. Booth, the actor and imagined confederate spy, is something of a pathetic figure in history - “an Oswald with charm” as historian William Manchester referred to him.

And like Oswald, he saw his act changing history. Booth’s convoluted reasoning allowed him to believe that the death of Lincoln would save the confederacy. Oswald believed the death of Kennedy would help usher in the Marxist revolution in America (with Oswald at the top of the heap). It says something depressing about history that the fate of nations can sometimes turn on the paranoid dreams of such losers.

The stabbing of ex-President Charles Logan by his ex-wife Martha lacked the kind of satisfaction such an act might be expected to engender only because of the sympathy we feel for Martha. She faced her tormentor/husband and once again was treated to his manipulative, insincere, entreaties for help. It was too much for her and she snapped. Even though she realized that her help was needed, no one - not Martha, not Aaron, nor anyone at CTU or the White House - believes Logan has changed one bit. What his hidden agenda might be is anyone’s guess. But it’s safe to say that helping in this crisis “for the good of the country” is the very last thing on his mind.

Another echo from history was Martha’s genuine bewilderment at why she was in handcuffs after her attack on Logan:

“Why are they doing this to me? They should be giving me a medal. He was one of the biggest criminals in history and they give him house arrest?”

Martha’s perplexity was matched by that of Jack Ruby following the strip club owner’s shooting of Oswald. Ruby was befuddled by the reaction of the Dallas police to his murderous act, going so far as to say during his interrogation that he thought that the people of Dallas would treat him as a hero for dispatching the man who ruined the city’s reputation.

I always looked upon the relationship between Charles and Martha as somewhat similar to the kind of marriage Richard and Pat Nixon had. Clearly, he needs her a lot more than she needed him. And whether the writers were consciously trying to evoke that relationship or not, there are clear parallels between the two - especially the similarity between Logan and Nixon and how they saw their spouse.

For such men - friendless, unlovely, unattractive - having a wife as a combination of mother, friend, advisor, and verbal punching bag allowed them the veneer of normality despite their paranoia. In effect, the women were their anchors, keeping them from giving in to the dark forces that threatened to control their lives. The fact that both men allowed those forces to come to the fore in the end is indicative of the way that Martha Logan and Pat Nixon eventually burned themselves out taking care of their men. Martha went crazy while Pat Nixon, we are told, turned to drink and was pretty much in the bag by noon every day. The incapacitation of their wives led directly to their downfall.

I suspect Charles Logan is not dead despite the dramatic end to the episode that showed his heart stopping in the ambulance. Nor do I believe that Martha’s role in the day’s events are over either. Both are too valuable to the show for the writers to let them slip away. And I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever game Logan is playing will provide one more shock in a season already full of surprises.

SUMMARY

Logan walks into CTU for his debriefing and the entire crew stares at him. This is the man responsible for not only the death of David Palmer but also their friend and co-worker Michelle Dessler. Suffice it to say there didn’t appear to be much love lost.

This becomes apparent when Chloe enters the debriefing room to set up the computer hook up and Logan starts firing questions at her about Jack. Chloe, who can barely stand being in the same room with the guy, gets off a great “Chloeism” when she finally tells the traitorous ex-President “Sorry. I’m feeling ambivalent. I’ve got to go.”

We are then introduced to Little Ricky Schroeder, new head of field ops and, despite his angelic looks (and the fact that we can’t forget when he was a child star), a real hard case.

This is actually the worst mis-casting in the series history. As was casting Little Ricky in NYPD Blue. Perhaps some can get over Schroeder’s turn as the precocious Ricky Stratton in Silver Spoons. But all I can think of when I see Schroeder in either NYPD Blue or as Mike Doyle is Little Ricky, child actor.

He does seem to be able to handle a gun okay which, for the purposes of 24, is all that is necessary.

Doyle takes over and starts firing orders to Milo’s geeks as if they were in the military. Milo objects only to be brushed aside by Little Ricky who, we discover, worked with Milo in Denver where the two didn’t get along very well. Milo does grudgingly give Little Ricky credit for being good at his job, however. Little Ricky makes it clear that rescuing Jack is secondary, that capturing Markov and getting him back to CTU headquarters for a little session with Dr. Feel Good and his magic bag of pharmaceuticals is the primary goal of the mission.

Back at the Russian consulate, Jack is in deep trouble. He is taken down to the basement by Markov’s man on the security staff who throws Jack quite rudely down the stairs where he lands on top of the dead body of the Russian security chief who was going to help him, only to be executed by Vasili who now envisions the same treatment for Jack. This was a huge mistake since if there’s one thing Jack can’t stand it’s bad manners. Also, being tossed on top of a dead person is probably not Jack’s idea of proper diplomatic protocols.

Preparing to kill Jack, the silly man takes his eyes off of him for a moment to confirm with Markov that Jack needs to be whacked. Surreptitiously, Bauer removes the belt from the waist of the dead security chief so that when Vasili moves in for the kill, Jack pulls a trick worthy of a champion roper in a rodeo. He flings the belt over Vasili’s gun hand, rolling on the floor and flipping the gun up in the air while simultaneously kicking the Russian away.

The Russian goes for his knife. Jack goes for the gun. Chalk up another kill for our hero.

But Jack is far from being out of the woods. He hides from the guards frantically searching the basement for him by showing his Spider Man skills and hiding on the ceiling. Being Russians and therefore dumb as posts, the guards fail to look up when searching the room and miss him. Markov realizes that Jack’s play will be to try and contact CTU so that Fayed can be stopped and orders all phone lines switched off. Sure enough, Jack finds a convenient phone and dials up CTU. Morris answers but Jack is cut off before he can say anything more than he knows where Gredenko is hiding. Relaying this info to Bill, Buchanan instructs Little Ricky to rescue Jack as well as grab Markov.

With all of this going on Bill visits Logan and tells him that the debriefing will have to wait, that there are more important things to take care of. Logan wheedles the info from Bill about the impending raid against the consulate and convinces him that he knows how they can get Markov without firing a shot. Just have his ex-wife Martha call Anna Suvarov, wife of the Russian President and get him to tell Markov to give himself up peacefully.

Bill is dubious but gives his okay. And that’s when we learn that Martha is in an asylum - again. Logan says he can talk Martha into helping them. One wonders what Bill thought of the idea of placing the fate of the country in the hands of a loony woman.

The plot is thickening back at the White House where the Veep welcomes Tom Lennox back enthusiastically. But Lennox is still troubled by the fact that Reed and Dawson are about to go scott free while the blame will fall on Assad for the assassination attempt. The Veep dismisses his concerns, saying that he only wants to keep the country united.

DANIELS: We can’t have our citizens screaming, ‘Look at how bad we are - we’re worse than the terrorists.”

And that’s only the half of it. Daniels ups the ante for Lennox when he orders him to lie to the Ambassador by telling him that he saw his countryman, Assad with the bomb.

Lennox is extremely doubtful about this but goes along - for the moment. The only question is when Lennox will turn and go against the Veep. It will be at a moment that his support will be crucial you can be sure. My guess is with Karen Hayes coming back, he will at some point make common cause with her to stop the Veep from starting World War III.

In Shadow Valley, Fayed arrives with the nukes. And with the drones well on their way to becoming operational, it is just a matter of time before Gredenko’s plans will start to unfold.

Back at CTU, Bill finally tells Daniels that he is preparing an assault to snatch Markov and rescue Jack. Sensibly, the Veep doesn’t think it’s such a great idea given that he would be ordering an act of war against Russia and America already has a pretty full plate of problems. He tells Bill to go ahead as if he had approved the plan but to stop short of carrying it out. He wants Logan’s plan regarding Martha to play out first.

And when we finally catch up to Martha, she is ensconced in the nicest loony bin I’ve ever seen. The damn place looks like a high class resort. Aaron, her ex-Secret Service Agent is evidently living with her. Or not. It’s hard to tell exactly what kind of relationship they have although we are led to believe later that it is, in fact, a romantic one. But with Aaron it’s hard to tell. He’s such a straight arrow and so formal that one can hardly imagine him getting down and doing the slap and tickle with anyone. Seeing him without a tie is shocking enough.

Anyway, they look domestic enough together. Charles’ call interrupts their bliss and it takes all of the ex-President’s persuasive powers plus a good deal of wheedling to even get Martha on the phone. Logan tries to fill her in and ask her to help in the crisis by calling Anna Suvarov but she just can’t listen. No matter. Charles is on his way to ask her in person.

In the helicopter on the way over, Buchanan calls Logan and tells him that the assault on the consulate is set and only Martha’s intercession can head it off. One senses that Logan is thoroughly enjoying his being back in the middle of the action, making a difference, working through problems. It makes one believe that whatever his agenda might be, it doesn’t include going back and allowing himself to be under house arrest.

Meanwhile, Little Ricky is flexing his muscles - at the expense of Morris who, as only Morris can do, gives the former child star some snark about a project he’s working on. Grabbing Chloe’s ex by the throat, Little Ricky tells all assembled that there’s a new sheriff in town and if they won’t respect his authority, they will feel his wrath.

I’m sorry, I’m not buying it. The guy is a puppy dog not a bull terrier. Morris looks like he could take him easy. But the gang looks suitably impressed (they are geeks after all) while Milo commiserates with Morris about Little Ricky’s methods.

At the consulate, Jack is in obvious pain. Could be some broken ribs which, as we know from past seasons, will magically knit back together in about 2 hours and allow our hero to perform as if he was never injured at all. Jack, still dodging Russian security in the basement, comes upon an open door where two Russian underlings are sharing a passionate embrace. Bursting in on the lovers, Jack demands access to an outside line. The male promises he can get Jack hooked up on his sat phone but that he’s got to go upstairs to get it. As the Russian leaves on his errand for Jack, Bauer sinks to the floor assuring the woman “Don’t be scared. You’ll be fine,” which, when you think about it, may be the dumbest thing Jack has ever said. By assuring her that he won’t harm her, he makes it more likely that she will try and doublecross him.

No doubt about it. Jack is losing his touch.

Logan arrives at Martha’s bungalow and tries to shake Aaron’s hand as if he didn’t try to have him killed last year. Aaron is having none of it and escorts Logan into the house with a look on his face as if he had been given a vomit flavored Bertie Bott Jelly Bean.

Martha has evidently changed her mind about seeing Charles which goes perfectly with her personae as mentally unstable. Ultimately though, she makes an appearance and the first looks exchanged between the two are telling. Charles looks like an expectant puppy, happy to see his master while Martha appeared to soften just a bit while still maintaining a sneering contempt on her face.

Logan starts pouring on the charm, alternately pleading with her and appealing to her vanity. It’s the same manipulative crap she had to endure from him for years and she sees right through it. But she agrees to help after checking with Aaron to see if it was something she should really do.

At the White House, the Ambassador comes calling and Daniels gives us a performance that calls to mind perhaps the ugliest American of all time. He bullies the diplomat, getting Tom to confirm his lies about Assad, while openly threatening to level the Ambassador’s country unless they help track down the terrorists and stop the nukes from detonating:

DANIELS: You help me find those nukes before they go off or I’m going to unleash the full power of our military on your country.

If you’ve ever seen an antelope cornered by a leopard, you will recognize the look on the Ambassador’s face immediately.

At Martha’s bungalow, the group waits for Anna Suvarov to take Martha’s call. Making small talk, Charles sees Martha’s nervousness:

CHARLES: The last thing I wanted to do was upset you.

MARTHA: Really? You always managed to get to that “last thing.”

Barely holding it together, Martha leans heavily on Aaron. She asks Charles if it bothers him that she’s with another man. Logan, who congratulated Aaron earlier on his “catch,” answers that it does indeed bother him. This sets Martha off on a rant about his many betrayals that has Aaron concerned that she’s going to flip out on him.

He shouldn’t have worried. In one of the more rational acts of her life, she takes a knife from a plate she is taking back to the kitchen and, as if inspired to greatness, turns around and stabs Charles in the neck.

All hell breaks loose with Charles looking perhaps the most surprised of all of them. A doctor is called and judging by the placement of the wound, he better get their quick.

As Logan is being wheeled out, Aaron gives Bill the good news/bad news that Logan is stabbed but that Martha may not be able to go through with her call to Anna. Martha is genuinely perplexed that people think she did anything wrong and Aaron gives her a look as if he is wondering if he made a good choice regarding a life partner.

CTU finally puts the call through to Anna and Martha gets herself together long enough to sound reasonably coherent about what she wants the Russian to do. It works. With the CTU TAC team in place outside the consulate, Suvarov calls Markov and orders him to turn himself in to the Americans. When Markov refuses, the Russian President calls Daniels and tells him to go ahead and storm the consulate.

Getting the go ahead, Little Ricky and the guys begin their assault. Like clockwork, the teams move in taking out 9 guards while losing nary a man, proving that the Russians are almost as bad shots as World War II Germans who could never hit American GI’s no matter how many bullets they fired (depending on which John Wayne movie you were watching).

In the middle of the assault, Markov calls Fayed and tells him he better launch the drones quickly because once Jack is safe, CTU will concentrate all their resources on searching for him in Shadow Valley. Two TAC teamers burst into Markov’s office and shoot him. He may be wounded although it doesn’t look good with the Russian being shot twice in the chest.

In the basement,, things look pretty bleak for Jack. Guards have him cornered and he’s out of ammo. Just in the nick of time, two TAC teamers break through the windows in the room and kill the guards. Jack runs into Little Ricky and tells him about the drones and where Fayed can be found. Ricky relays the info to Bill and the race is on; find Fayed before he can launch the drone.

And in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Charles calls out for Martha just as his heart stops beating. EMS races to save his life and we wonder why. He’s not worth the trouble.

BODY COUNT

First, it was pointed out to me in the comments from my last post that I totally forgot the execution of the Russian security chief at the end of last week’s show. He will be added to the total this week.

Finally, a decent firefight! And Jack had a decent night as well, proving that he hasn’t lost it completely.

Jack takes out his would be executioner.
Russian guards kill one of Jack’s hostages.
Jack bags two russkies.
CTU TAC takes out 8 consular security men.

Unknown if Markov is dead or alive.

TOTALS:

JACK: 11

SHOW: 384

Sunday morning, Sue’s mother passed away at St. Catherine’s hospital in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Maria had 9 children with her husband Laszlo Berczy, former member of the Hungarian Air Force who fled that country in 1956 when Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest. Their harrowing escape to America seemed to be the answer to their prayers. But a few short years later, her husband died leaving her to raise the family alone.

She briefly remarried - a short, unhappy interlude - and settled in Ohio, struggling to feed and clothe her brood. Poor in everything but spirit, Maria nevertheless raised her children successfully and today, they will gather in Wisconsin for the wake.

Then it’s off to Ohio for the funeral tomorrow and burial next to her husband.

When Sue talks of her childhood, she relates stories of want, of hardship, and heartbreak. But she never felt unloved. She speaks of her mother in terms of respect for her efforts to keep the family together through times that I myself am unable to relate to or even fathom. It may be sophistry to repeat the old canard “That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But in Sue’s case, the adage may apply. She is the strongest woman I have ever met with physical and emotional reserves that have stood her well through her own tumultuous, difficult life. Clearly, that kind of strength runs in the family.

Sue will spend a few days in Ohio with her children and grand kids and be back on Monday. As always, I will miss her terribly while she’s gone. She’s my rock, my anchor. Without her, I am adrift in a stormy sea with the shore so very far away.

The great thing about the NCAA basketball tourney that sets it apart from all other sporting events is that even if you know little or nothing about basketball, you can participate in the 64 team extravaganza by guessing which teams will be advancing through the brackets.

Known formally as “Bracketology,” it has become one of the biggest avenues for the sporting public to wager a few bucks while viewing the games at your favorite watering hole, cheering on your picks - even if you aren’t even aware where the school is located.

Most of us who are so inclined will participate in an office bracket pool or perhaps sign up at the local tavern. But this year, why not try something a little different?

You probably recall the incident a couple of years ago where a family who recently lost a loved one in Iraq decorated their block with American flags only to have two idiots rip the flags out of the ground and set them afire beneath the family’s car. PFC Tim Hines was training police in Iraq when his humvee was struck by an IED on Father’s Day, 2005. He died a month later leaving his pregnant wife Katy and a 2 year old little girl. Katy delivered a boy three weeks after the funeral. More than 400 people attended Private Hines memorial service where his wife remembered him:

“Tim was a fighter. He fought hard for his country, family and ultimately, his life. He was a loyal husband and father and an incredible American,” a tearful Katy Hines said at the funeral. “There is a price for freedom and Tim paid the ultimate price. Now he is in the loving arms of God.”

The story garnered national headlines and was conservative blog fodder for a few days because of the outpouring of support from the community. The 20 or so flags that were ripped up were replaced with more than 200 national banners. In addition, the attention drawn to the family resulted in some amazing generosity. A donor gave $130,000 so that the soldier’s kids could attend the private Christian academy where he and his wife Katy met. The family was also given a new home.

Like most blog swarms, the incident, the family, and even the hero himself was forgotten after a few days - just one more item that flickered across our attention radar momentarily moving us to outrage and then fading into the background never to be seen again.

Except there’s more to this story - a good deal more. What happened next just might restore your faith in your fellow man while moving you to help honor all of those who have fallen in service to their country.

First, the family of the fallen Marine decided to give something back to their community after that outpouring of generosity. Katy Hines explains in this email:

March Madness Scholarship Fundraiser in Memory of PFC Tim Hines Jr.

My name is Katy Hines and for those of you who don’t know, my husband was PFC Tim Hines Jr. Tim was deployed to Iraq in February of ‘05, he was critically injured on Father’s Day (June 19, 2005), and after a month of fighting for his life, he passed away (July 14, 2005). At the time we had a 2 year old daughter (Lily), and were expecting our second child (Noah), who was born 3 weeks later. Tim was an amazing guy that was filled with life and love, and his absolute favorite sport was basketball. Because of his love of basketball, my family and I have decided that having a March Madness Fundraiser would be a great way to raise funds for the scholarship that is given in his name (each year this scholarship is given to a high school student). This scholarship is a great way to remember Tim and the sacrifices that he made for all of us and to help a high school student attend college (which is the reason why Tim joined the army).

Tim was such a huge basketball fan that when he was training at Fort Hood, he made sure that the place they lived could get both ESPN and ESPN 2 so that he could watch as many games as possible.

To raise funds for the scholarship, the family is asking you to participate in their very own NCAA tourney pool:

“The main reason to have the fund-raiser is to honor Tim’s memory so people will never forget what sacrifices he and all the other soldiers are making and have made,” Hines said. “It’s good too because his memory will live on and will be honored in a special way.”

The annual scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior from Cincinnati Christian Schools, where Katy and Tim Hines graduated.

The basketball fund-raiser is important because it was what her husband loved, and he played or watched it as much as he could, she said.

To participate in this worthy cause (and have a little fun while you’re at it), go to The David Stein Show Myspace site and follow the instructions. The cost to enter your bracket picks is $20 with the winner receiving a $200 gift certificate from Best Buy.

Stein, whose show on Sporting News Network is called “Pay it Forward” and features some fantastic stories of people carrying out the most selfless acts, says this of Katy and the Hines family:

Katy and her family have been blessed, there has been a great outpouring of support for her in our community, God has blessed her and she is taken care of. Her kids have been given a free Private school education. She has been given a brand new home. But now she is getting of the bench and and on to the court, and returning the favor.

We read so many stories of soldier’s families who desperately need help and having the community reach out and assist them in their hour of need. But this act of selflessness on the part of the Hines family is truly remarkable. And what a fantastic living memorial to Tim Hines that a scholarship in his name will enable a worthy kid to receive a first class high school education.

A great idea. A great cause. And a great way to honor not only Tim Hines, but all the basketball fans who are serving in harms way or have given their lives so that we can live in freedom.

That’s the title of this Chicago Tribune jaw dropper about the United Nations Development Program - an agency largely funded by US tax dollars - and how the North Koreans ripped them off to the tune of $150 million while the clueless bureaucrats did nothing:

The United Nations Development Programme office in Pyongyang, North Korea, sits in a Soviet-style compound. Like clockwork, a North Korean official wearing a standard-issue dark windbreaker and slacks would come to the door each business day.

He would take a manila envelope stuffed with cash–a healthy portion of the UN’s disbursements for aid projects in the country–and leave without ever providing receipts.

According to sources at the UN, this went on for years, resulting in the transfer of up to $150 million in hard foreign currency to the Kim Jong Il government at a time when the United States was trying to keep North Korea from receiving hard currency as part of its sanctions against the Kim regime.

“At the end, we were being used completely as an ATM machine for the regime,” said one UN official with extensive knowledge of the program. “We were completely a cash cow, the only cash cow in town. The money was going to the regime whenever they wanted it.”

Kim uses hard currency to stay in power by disbursing the funds to reward loyal subordinates who in turn can then purchase capitalist goodies from South Korea and Japan. This is due to the fact that the North Korean won has about as much value in international markets as a wad of used toilet paper.

Riding to the rescue of the totalitarian regime however, are the UN flunkies who run the UNDP:

Documents obtained by the Tribune indicate that as early as last May, top UNDP officials at headquarters in New York were informed in writing of significant problems relating to the agency’s use of hard foreign currency in North Korea, and that such use violated UN regulations that local expenses be paid in local currency. No action was taken for months.

Then, under pressure from the United States, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Jan. 19 ordered an audit of all UN operations in North Korea to be completed within 90 days, or by mid-April.

The Board of Auditors, the UN body tasked with the audit, made no movement on the audit for 40 days after Ban’s order. It sent out its notification letter for the beginning of the audit on the same day the development program announced the closure of its office–March 1.

Bad enough that they stupidly enable one of the most totalitarian regimes on the planet with a nutcase for a leader who likes to dabble in nuclear diplomacy, they have to go and try and cover up their negligence by pulling one of the oldest bureaucratic tricks in the book; the “What? Who? Me?” defense:

That timing, combined with past concerns about the UNDP’s transparency, has raised suspicions that suspending operations would be a way to hamstring the audit, the results of which may prove damning to the organization.

“The office was closed precisely for that reason,” said another UN official with extensive knowledge of the program. “With no operations in place, first of all, you have no claim to get auditors into the country. Second, it will take months and months to get documentation out of the office there, to transfer to somewhere else like New York.”

The UN sources who spoke about the development operations in North Korea requested anonymity either for fear of retribution or because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the subject.

No North Korean office, no evidence. No evidence, no audit. Beeutiful.

And what does it say about that fine, upstanding “best hope for mankind” organization that the leaker fears “retribution” for telling the truth?

The way this swindle worked could have been serialized and made into a weekly sit-com - if it wasn’t for the fact that the regime being propped up is one of the most destructive of human rights on the planet:

UN officials privately describe a vivid scene playing out at the agency’s compound each day.

A driver in a UN-issued Toyota Corolla would pull out of the compound’s gate, taking UN checks to the bank. A short time later the driver, a North Korean employed by UNDP, would return with manila envelopes stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars in hard currency.

Then the windbreaker-clad North Korean official would show up and take the cash away.

UNDP spokesman David Morrison said the use of hard currency and the hiring of staff through local governments was standard practice in authoritarian countries like North Korea. Morrison said his understanding was that the agency had never had problems with site visits, and that in 2005 its staff had visited 10 of its 11 monitorable projects.

I wonder if the visits were as informative as when they checked up on a program that purchased computers for a North Korean university?

One of the UNDP projects, sources said, involved the purchase of 300 computers for Kim Il Sung University. The computers supposedly arrived in Pyongyang, but the international staff was not allowed to see the equipment it had donated.

Finally, after a month and a half of pressuring their North Korean handlers, staffers were led to a room in which two computers sat. They were told the others were packed in boxes, which they were not allowed to open.

And while the UNDP’s programs–which have included projects such as “Human Resource Upgrading to Support Air Traffic Services” and “Strengthening of the Institute for Garment Technology”–cost anywhere from $3 million to$8 million a year total, the development program also acted as the administrative officer for all the UN agencies and wrote checks for tens of millions of dollars worth of programming every year.

The UNDP’s financial officer and its treasurer in Pyongyang, who issued those checks, were both North Korean.

This is the kind of nonsense that John Bolton was fighting against. So of course, he had to go. He was being mean and nasty to people whose towering incompetence is matched only by the depth of their apathy. It isn’t a “culture of corruption” as much as it’s a seriocomic nightmare of small men, small minds, and a Byzantine bureaucracy that allows ineptitude to become the norm and inefficiency to rule the roost. The loss of $150 million in tax dollars doesn’t anger me half as much as the attitude of UN officials who don’t care enough about the integrity of the organization to reform it. They revel in chaos. They thrive in an atmosphere of unaccountability. And for that, they should all be thrown into the East River and given a good dunking.

Perhaps then they’ll get serious about making the United Nations less of a bad joke and more of serious forum for dealing with serious problems.

This is way cool:

Built for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Orbital Express vehicles are aimed at demonstrating autonomous spacecraft refueling and servicing techniques [video, image].

For military uses, such capabilities would allow reconnaissance satellites to keep station over specific areas of interest and tank up on vital propellant later, though the technology could also aid general-use spacecraft in need of periodic equipment repairs, replacements or an orbital boost, mission managers said.

“I think it’s extremely valuable for the entire space arena,” Kennedy said of Orbital Express’ goal, adding that the mission could help ease the stringent requirements of long-life satellites. “Maybe you can accept a level of imperfection that will allow you to go up later and perform upgrades and perform repairs, and put more propellant onboard to get the job done. That will be a sea change in the way we do business.”

Need to clean a little space debris off the camera lens of a reconnaissance satellite? Call in the Orbiter Express and have them fill ‘er up and check the oil while they’re at it!

And if the Orbital Express carries some decent road maps with it, they can franchise the damn thing and make billions.

Actually, I said this is way cool. It’s actually super way cool. This is from the Orbital Express website:

The goal of the Orbital Express Space Operations Architecture program is to validate the technical feasibility of robotic, autonomous onorbit refueling and reconfiguration of satellites to support a broad range of future U.S. national security and commercial space programs. Refueling satellites will enable frequent maneuver to improve coverage, change arrival times to counter denial and deception and improve survivability, as well as extend satellite lifetime. Electronics upgrades on-orbit can provide regular performance improvements and dramatically reduce the time to deploy new technology on-orbit. The Orbital Express advanced technology demonstration will design, develop and test on-orbit a prototype servicing satellite (ASTRO) and a surrogate next generation serviceable satellite (NextSat). The elements of the Orbital Express demonstration, coordinated with Air Force Space Command and Air Force Space and Missile Command, will be tied together by non-proprietary satellite servicing interfaces (mechanical, electrical, etc.) that will facilitate the development of an industry wide on-orbit servicing infrastructure. NASA will apply the sensors and software developed for autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations to reduce risk for collaborative human-robotic operations in space for the NASA Exploration Initiative.

The proto-type did indeed launch this week, rocketed into orbit with 4 other satellites on a gigantic Atlas V booster. ASTRO represents an extraordinary leap in our space capability. And, an ironic twist to the saga of the Space Shuttle.

It was the Space Shuttle that was supposed to be able to go up on a regular basis and service satellites. This was back in the 1970’s when it was thought the Shuttle would be carrying out about 30-35 missions a year including the civilian and military shuttles.

Many people forget that the Air Force was supposed to be a partner with NASA in the Shuttle program. From 1984-92, 14 of the 57 Shuttle missions had military payloads, some of them top secret. But the Air Force found it was much cheaper to launch their satellites using our conventional boosters, leaving NASA as the sole proprietor of what most experts consider a most inefficient system to launch satellites into space.

The Orbital Express promises to alter the way we build and maintain satellites - commercial and military. This will lower costs while allowing for continuous upgrades. Apparently, future versions will be able to rendezvous with orbiting supply satellites, take what it needs for servicing be it fuel, electronics, or whatever and then make its way to the bird that needs work. It’s equipped with a sophisticated robotic arm that can carry out repairs or replace components - all directed remotely from earth.

In a few years, it will be hard to imagine how we ever got along without it…

This article originally appears in The American Thinker

The traditional folk dance of Lebanon is called the Dabke, or literally “stomping of the feet” - a descriptive that refers to the communal nature of the dance and the fact that it is most often performed at joyous occasions like weddings. As in other traditional folk dances like the Jewish Hora, it’s purpose is to unite the celebrants with feelings of nationhood while drawing on the emotional power of the community and family.

For the Lebanese people, who have endured 3 months of being on the edge of civil war, teetering over the abyss while the politicians have exchanged bitter and personal denunciations of each other, recent events have given them hope that soon, the political impasse that has led to strife and bloodshed will be broken and they can dance the dabke with abandon.

Yesterday, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri of the opposition Amal Party sat down with Said Hariri, leader of the majority March 14th coalition for talks aimed at resolving the crisis. What made the meeting so significant was that it was the first time in months that the two sides sat in the same room, face to face, to discuss a way to cut the Gordian knot of sectarian differences that threatens to plunge the country into the unimaginable tragedy of civil conflict.

In a nutshell, Hezb’allah has been in the streets since December 1 calling on the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to resign or to give the Shia parties enough ministries in the cabinet so that they would have veto power over measures they dislike. And the measure they most definitely want to see vetoed is the establishment of an international tribunal, authorized by the United Nations and approved by the Security Council, to try the assassins of the former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Quite simply, Siniora refuses these demands on the very practical grounds that his coalition received roughly 2/3 of the vote in the last Parliamentary elections and giving the opposition veto power over the decisions of the majority would be tantamount to nullifying the election. Hezb’allah’s real game is to act as a cat’s paw for Syria, who desperately wants to stop the tribunal from sitting since it is clear from the 2 year investigation by UN special prosecutors that responsibility for Hariri’s death extends to the highest levels of the Syrian government.

The very highest levels.

The prospect of a tribunal has President Bashar Assad of Syria so spooked that during a phone conversation with his friend and partner President Ahmadinejad, he lost his temper when the Iranian came out in favor of seating the international body. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siyassah reported on Wednesday that “Assad became enraged and launched into an angry tirade, cursing the Iranians at the end of the conversation.”

Why would Ahmadinejad break with his ally over an issue that Assad feels so strongly about? The fact is, the Iranian president has his own agenda with Hezb’allah and Lebanon. Right now, it will be in Iran’s best interests to help get the best deal possible for Hezb’allah and end the crisis that is threatening the Lebanese economy as well as political stability in the country. Neither Ahmadinejad nor Hezb’allah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah desires a civil war. And if they can get a much larger presence in the cabinet without having to bother with messy democratic details like elections, it is time to pick up their winnings and leave the table a winner.

Hence, the meeting between Berri and Hariri and the start of the endgame for the two sides. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has been extremely active in trying to work out a compromise solution that will get Hezb’allah off the streets of Beirut - where they’ve been since December 1, strangling the economy and causing jitters among foreign investors who are waiting to pour more than $7 billion into rebuilding the country so devastated by the war with Israel last summer. Abdullah’s close relationship with Siniora as well as being Lebanon’s number one financier gives him a unique position that enables him to work with both sides while acting as a go between for Siniora to President Assad.

Up to this point, Assad has absolutely refused any compromise that includes the sitting of the tribunal. But he is alone now, having been abandoned in that position by his erstwhile ally Ahmadinejad whose recent visit to Saudi Arabia underscores Assad’s growing isolation. It is not known whether Ahmadinejad gave the go ahead for the tribunal at that meeting but his subsequent phone conversation with Assad would seem to indicate he has at least dropped his objections to it. This could mean a relatively quick end to the crisis if some face saving deal on the tribunal can be worked out that would satisfy Nasrallah. In the past, some ideas for such a deal included a substantial representation of Lebanese judges on the tribunal or limiting the scope of its mandate.

In the meantime, the diplomatic dance continues behind the scenes with King Abdullah and the Arab League in the lead. It should be noted that Abdullah is acting with the full blessing and support of the United States who have quietly urged the Saudis to take a more active and forceful role in combating the influence of Iran in the region. The Saudi King hasn’t shied away from this task, becoming more active in brokering peace in the Palestinian conflict between Hamas and Fatah while also taking a more pro-active role in Iraq with the Sunnis. You can say what you wish about Saudi support for ultra-conservative Wahabbists in the region but the fact is, the King is performing very well in this expanded role.

And Washington has not been idle either. When George Bush took office, aid to Lebanon amounted to around $35 million. This year, in keeping with our pledges made at the recently concluded Paris Roundtable on aid to Lebanon, the President is asking Congress for $770 million which would make Lebanon the third largest recipient of US aid per capita. This is an amount that Iran can’t come close to matching. Clearly, Lebanon has become one of the most important Middle Eastern countries to American interests.

As if to underscore that point, the canny old Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt paid a visit to Washington a few weeks ago and sat down with President Bush for an extraordinary 35 minute, face to face meeting. In contrast, the President met with Prime Minister Ohlmert for 45 minutes on his recent trip to Washington. There is little doubt the passionate Jumblatt impressed on Mr. Bush the continued support of the United States for the government of Prime Minister Siniora was vital to maintaining Lebanon’s independence.

But the United States is severely limited in exactly what kind of diplomatic help we can give Beirut given Siniora’s sensitivity to the opposition charges of being in the pocket of France and the US. Thus, our quiet and effective support of King Abdullah, backing up his efforts to resolve the crisis while working behind the scenes with other regional actors to bolster support for Siniora’s government.

While the meeting between Berri and Hariri didn’t solve anything, there is no doubt that there has been positive movement. There appears to be agreement that the March 14th forces will be granted 19 ministers in an expanded 30 member cabinet with the Hezb’allah led opposition allowed 10 posts. The sticking point involves the issue of who will name the “11th” minister? That minister is supposed to be “neutral” - a near impossibility in a country so divided. Hezb’allah says that they will name the “neutral” minister. But just recently, Abdullah got Ahmadinejad to sign off on a plan that would have the Saudi King naming that minister. This sits well with his good friend Prime Minister Siniora but didn’t go down well with the opposition.

The important thing, as Hariri points out, is that both sides recognize the fact that they need each other to rule. “”We can only accept the no victor, no vanquished formula,” the son of the martyred ex-Prime Minister said yesterday. Can Nasrallah find the statesmanship to agree? He has gone out on a very long limb by proclaiming early in the crisis that his people would be in the streets until the government fell. He is finding it very hard to find his way back from that position. It appears, however, that his partner Mr. Berri is willing to act as a bridge between the opposition and the majority. Given the determination of the two men to come to an agreement, this bodes well for the near future.

Coaxing Hezb’allah back into the government will not solve Lebanon’s problems. A new electoral law must be drafted and Presidential elections held. There’s the issue of the small spit of land called Shebaa Farms currently occupied by Israel but claimed by Lebanon. And the issues raised by the sitting of the Hariri tribunal will almost certainly affect the effort to normalize relations with its powerful and intrusive neighbor Syria. There is war reconstruction to think of, economic reforms promised to the Paris Roundtable to enact, and the stickiest problem of all - how to get the guns away from Hezb’allah without starting a civil war.

Daunting tasks all. But first things first. And before the people can celebrate, the forces that threaten to tear the country apart must be harnessed and turned towards building a future where all Lebanese regardless of sect can enjoy independence and freedom.

Dereliction in my duty as a Weaselite cost me dearly last week as I incurred the dreaded 3/4 vote penalty for failing to post the results and not voting.

In order to avoid even sterner punishment, I am posting two weeks worth of results - a task made all the more pleasant by my spectacular win from the W/E February 23.

Here then, are the results. Enjoy.

Results from Week Ending February 23:

Council

1st Place: Yours truly for “A Rock, a Hard Place, and the Deep Blue Sea”

2nd Place: “I’m Tired of ‘Supporting the Troops” by Joshuapundit

Non Council

1st Place: “Islamist Historiography” by Cross-Currents

2nd Place: “No Blogger Is an Island” by Wizbang

Results for Week Ending March 2

Council

1st Place: “Germany and Iraq, Part 4″ by Done With Mirrors

2nd Place: “Means v. Ends” by Bookworm Room

Non Council

1st Place: “The Blame Game” From My Position… On the Way!

A spot has opened up on the Council due to the impending retirement of Marc Schulman of American Future. Mark’s penetrating analysis and excellent writing will be sorely missed. If you would like to be considered for this open spot, go here and follow instructions.

And if you’d like to particpate in the weekly Watchers vote, do as your told here.