Musings on some key issues (feel free to comment) and also some links to past columns–that suggest, at least sometimes, I do get it right!
General Petreaus and MoveOn.org:
MoveOn.org has received some scathing critiques for its full page ad in the New York Times on the day of General Petraeus’s testimony in the House (Sept. 10). Americans would like to think their military commanders are above politics. I share deep reservations about how MoveOn.org used a catchy headline of “General Petraeus or General Betray Us: Cooking the Books for the White House” to garner attention.
It worked–a kinder, gentler ad would have been ignored. The aftermath creates far more heat than light, but it creates an important political opening for Democrats to move into the middle of the mess and seem more reasonable, but it also provides fodder for Republicans to pull the focus to the ad’s characterization of Petraeus rather than the more meaningful issue of Iraq.
General Petraeus may have honorable intentions, but he’s not above criticism. General Petraeus has served this country for 30 years. However, in Iraq he’s been a long and wrong advocate of our failed policy there—and even chose to indirectly publicly endorse President Bush in the 2004 Presidential campaign by writing an op-ed in the Washington Post just 40 days before the election day providing a glowing picture of progress in Iraq that proved incorrect.
Perhaps the greatest irony of all were the deaths in Iraq days ago of two service men, Staff Sgt. Yance T. Gray, 26, and Sgt. Omar Mora, 28, who along with five others co-authored an opinion piece, “The War as We Saw It,” in the New York Times last month that stood in sharp contrast to Petraeus’ account, including, “As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day.”
Obama on Iraq:
I focus on Democrats because they now control Congress (not quite as they still need 60 votes to pass anything in the Senate)–and Republicans have been generally unwilling to break sufficiently from the Bush Administration. On May 1, I wrote in an op-ed about how Democrats need to stop using the win-lose frame for discussing Iraq and should indicate that troops will be withdrawn, not immediately, but likely over a longer period of months–and use that announcement to create the political motivation (with follow through on our end) for warring parties within Iraq and neighboring countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria to focus on helping create a more peaceful, stable future. Finally, one Democratic Presidential contender has put forward a plan that largely mirrors that view, Barack Obama–Other Democratic contenders criticize it for lack of a fixed timetable, taking too long (until Dec. 2008), for not fully withdrawing but redeploying about 40-50,000. Whether these are criticisms they truly believe or they are simply playing to their primary base, it’s refreshing to see a candidate stake out a position that’s sensible. From my view, he’s set out a solid, pragmatic and flexible approach–that nicely outlines a workable starting point to contrast with current policy.
Read the plan yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20070912obama_iraq.pdf.
CityNorth Lawsuit:
If you’ve read earlier op-eds, you know I’m no fan of retail subsidies–as they take from taxpayers and give to developers with no net benefit–as these retailers were going to locate somewhere near their customers anyway! Last week, the Phoenix New Times did a story on the Goldwater Institute’s lawsuit, ”Revolting Development.” You’ll find my economic analysis critiquing the guaranteed profit rate quoted near the end.
Mortgage Market Meltdown:
Whether its Iraq not being a military threat to the United States or an overblown housing market, it doesn’t take someone with a Ph.D. to know what’s going on. I continue to be amazed by the number of experts who completely miss these things (I know you’ll now find something I missed). In case you missed it when I wrote about it in October 2005, read “Real Estate Boom A House of Cards.”
Loren Wade’s Sentencing:
I won’t take credit–and it will take 20 years to find out if he’s good to his word, but I was pleased to hear Loren Wade at his sentencing for murdering Brandon Falkner, a fellow ASU student whom I once had in an on line class, cry as he said to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson, “I promise with every ounce of my breath that every moment of my life will be in his honor. I promise you that your mercy will not be in vain.”
The closing line in my May 2005 column, Brandon’s Commencement, was “And, Loren, if you read this, while you sit in jail, I hope you’re imagining how you can give back to the community that you have taken from. When you leave prison, as one day I hope you will, may you find a path that Brandon would admire.”