That’s one harsh lesson Obama recently learned:
In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Cheney said that in the course of researching her husband’s genealogy for her new book, “Blue Skies, No Fences,” she discovered that [Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama] share an ancestor eight generations ago.
. . .
Obama’s family […]

Oh, god, yes!
Appearing on Larry King’s CNN show Thursday night, Stephen Colbert was accused by the host of using the publication of his new book as a platform to run for president. Colbert happily confirmed this, saying that he would likely seek the nomination from both parties.
When King said this was a “cop out,” Colbert, […]

Love it!
A substitute judge lost his position with the North Las Vegas Justice Court last week because of hostile comments aimed at prosecutors on his MySpace page.
Among the personal interests listed by Jonathan MacArthur, a 34-year-old criminal defense attorney, was: “Breaking my foot off in a prosecutor’s ass … and improving my ability to break […]

The Tank has posted an editorial photograph from The New York Post making fun of Barack Obama’s discussion of sending troops to rout al-Qaeda in Pakistan:

I suppose no one remembers Bush’s inability to name Pakistan’s president before he was elected:
Andy Hiller, a political reporter for WHDH-TV in Boston . . . asked Bush to name […]

Two more notes before I end the night:
An “escort” is advertising online her services to private military contractors in Baghdad’s Green Zone. Sorry, no active-duty troops need call.
Also, for those who aren’t aware: “The Texas Constitution, by the way, has been amended more than 400 times since it was enacted in 1876.”

FYI:

(Source: The Gallup Poll)
[Hotel Tango: Air Force Magazine Daily Report]

I’m going to post select excerpts from this article in today’s The New York Times that I think display the heart of COIN operations and the changes happening in the Sunni-populated areas outside of Baghdad. The article, of course, has some sour notes, but I think the overall conclusion is fairly optimistic.
Capt. Ben Richards had […]

The New York Times:
G.O.P. Support for Iraq Policy Erodes Further
Support among Republicans for President Bush’s Iraq policy eroded further on Thursday as another senior lawmaker, Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, broke with the White House just as Congressional Democrats prepared to renew their challenge to the war.
“We cannot continue asking our troops […]

Prior to the ‘04 election, I predicted two paths President Bush might take if he won reelection:

No longer having to face another election to office, he would abandon the base that put him in office and finally pursue a “compassionate conservative,” or, as I was hoping, a moderate path; or
He’d get far worse because he […]

From The Wall Street Journal:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and some allies in the Bush administration are seeking to build bipartisan political support for a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq by moving toward withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq by the end of President Bush’s term.
The complicating factor is how long the administration will […]