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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rollcast... who wrote (7128)	9/8/2003 1:02:48 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793782

Safire is back from vacation, and in full cry. "the Daily Schadenfreude," what a line! The Failuremongers By WILLIAM SAFIRE LONDON - While global attention is fixed on the Franco-German attempt to wrest control of the resurrection of Iraq from its U.S.-led liberators, practical elements in the Arab world are moving to influence the nascent government we have put in place in Baghdad. In Cairo today, the Arab League considers whether to invite Hoshyar Zebari, the Kurd recently appointed foreign minister by Iraq's Governing Council, to provisionally occupy Iraq's seat. He is eager to make the three-hour flight to regional legitimacy. What's in it for Arab dictators who want no part of a democratic experiment in their region? Apparently the recent exercise of U.S. will and power has been taken to heart; to accommodate reality, the Arab nations are likely to play ball with post-Saddam Iraqis, expecting (1) to continue Iraq in the OPEC cartel, (2) to ensure Iraq's support of Palestinians against Israel and (3) to prevent export of anti-Sunni zealotry. If President Bush abdicates control of Iraq to the U.N. soon, Arabs may gain all that and more. On my return to the lists after vacation, let me animadvert on the swelling chorus of handwringing failuremongers. In Britain, for example, the BBC was recently revealed to have "sexed up" a story that accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of having "sexed up" a prewar intelligence report about Saddam's weaponry. When the anti-Blair, antiwar BBC learned of its reporter's exaggeration, it refused to correct his inflammatory story lest it appear to be caving in to government pressure. One board member claimed truth in reporting to be "less important" than an image of fearlessness. Some European media that had mistakenly warned of a long, high-casualty campaign, and were discomfited by the ease of our military victory, now claim vindication. They cite the present lack of proof of mass-destruction weapons, the lawlessness that followed Saddam's emptying jails of all criminals, and continued sniping and bombing. Iraqis are shown on TV blaming American troops ? not Baathist-paid terrorists ? for lack of electric power, lack of water and lack of protection (though 11,000 elderly Iraqis did not die from lack of care in the summer heat). In what is called here "the Daily Schadenfreude," the impression is being marketed that the rebuilding of Iraq is a colossal flop. That Arabs are culturally incapable of self-government. That Islamic fundamentalism will sweep away any Western notions of individual dignity. That while Saddam was admittedly a "bad guy," the hundreds of thousands of his victims who are missing are none of the West's concern, and that a cabal of neocon hawks manipulated President Bush into war. So goes the failuremongers' pitch. Their purpose, beyond justification of their decade of appeasement, is to cast as both ignoble and doomed this most necessary long-term counter to state-sponsored and fanaticism-driven terror. To wear down our will, they emphasize the likelihood that as long as we stay to rebuild, terrorists will shoot at our service members and relief workers and will sabotage power plants and oil fields. As we return fire, inevitable pictures of bloodied innocents will be shown on home screens. In the coming political campaigns, failuremongers in Europe and at home will exploit reactions to these costs in blood and treasure. They will beat the drums to abandon control to a feckless U.N. bureaucracy. George McGovern's slogan of 1972 will be echoed by de Villepin Democrats and some panicky Republicans: "Come home, America." How best to answer the merchants of dismay? Counseling patience is not enough. "Staying the course" needs no sexing up, as our British allies say, but does require the coalition's measurable accomplishment of steady Iraqi-ization. (I seek a more pronounceable verb along with an indigenous Iraqi army.) Success will be sped by straight reporting of the big picture as well as the shocking picture. Pols and pundits are obliged to cover misjudgment and misfortune, but also to examine evidence of progress toward a peaceful, prosperous, pluralistic Iraq led by the liberators, not the obstructionists. Failure may boast a thousand fashionable fathers in this summer of discontent, but for us realistic optimists ? if it succeeds, it leads.

To: Rollcast... who wrote (7128)	9/8/2003 10:41:45 AM
From: Rollcast...	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793782

Will the Estrada obstruction by dems be an issue in '04? These numbers say it will... Will repubs/Rove use it? Count on it... From LatinoOpinions.com... latinoopinions.com Regardless of whether or not you are registered to vote, with which political party do you most closely identify? Republican 22% Democrat 47 Independent 16 Other 1 Don't know/Refused 14 Are you aware that more than two years ago, President Bush was the first president, from either party, to nominate a Latino, Miguel Estrada, to be the first Latino on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered to be the second most important court in the country, and that Miguel Estrada has still not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate? Yes 33% No 65 Don't know/Refused 3 In your opinion, how important is it to the Latino community that Miguel Estrada is confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serves on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals? Very important 60% Somewhat important 20 Not very important 2 Not at all important 6 Don't know/Refused 12 Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements: Every nominee to a federal court should be given the chance for a yes-or-no vote, regardless of whether or not they are ultimately confirmed: Strongly agree 60% Somewhat agree 25 Somewhat disagree 4 Strongly disagree 3 Don't know/Refused 8 It is important that Latinos are represented on the federal courts, where some of the most important decisions in our government are made: Strongly agree 78% Somewhat agree 17 Somewhat disagree 2 Strongly disagree 1 Don't know/Refused 3 Now I'm going to read you a list of statements about Miguel Estrada. For each one, please tell me whether this would make you more or less likely to support his nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Miguel Estrada is an immigrant from Honduras: Much more likely 41% Somewhat more likely 16 Somewhat less likely 2 Much less likely 2 No difference 34 Don't know/Refused 5 Miguel Estrada came to this country as a teenager, learned English, and graduated from Harvard University with the highest honors: Much more likely 66% Somewhat more likely 18 Somewhat less likely 1 Much less likely 1 No difference 11 Don't know/Refused 4 Miguel Estrada has been rated 'Unanimously Well Qualified' by the American Bar Association. This is the best possible ranking a person can receive: Much more likely 63% Somewhat more likely 21 Somewhat less likely 3 Much less likely 2 No difference 8 Don't know/Refused 3 Miguel Estrada has argued 15 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and won the majority of them: Much more likely 63% Somewhat more likely 19 Somewhat less likely 2 Much less likely 1 No difference 10 Don't know/Refused 6 Miguel Estrada would be the first Hispanic to serve on the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals: Much more likely 59% Somewhat more likely 20 Somewhat less likely 2 Much less likely 1 No difference 12 Don't know/Refused 6 Miguel Estrada was nominated by the president and has been waiting to be confirmed for more than two years: Much more likely 50% Somewhat more likely 19 Somewhat less likely 3 Much less likely 3 No difference 19 Don't know/Refused 7 Knowing all this, do you believe that Miguel Estrada deserves to be approved by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals? Yes 87% No 5 Don't know/Refused 8 Regardless of whether or not you believe Miguel Estrada should serve on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals, do you believe the Senate should at least vote on Miguel Estrada's nomination? This would only mean that senators would vote "yes" or "no," for or against Miguel Estrada's nomination. Yes 88% No 6 Don't know/Refused 6 Conducted 5/25-28/03 for the Committee for Justice; surveyed 800 Hispanic adults; margin of error +/-3.4% (release, 6/11). A response of * indicates less than 0.5 percent. reviewjournal.com The issue is not bigger because Democrats have no interest in making it an issue," said Ruben Hofliger, editor of El Tiempo Libre. Hofliger predicted "a bigger than expected backlash for Democrats" if Estrada's nomination is killed. "The Hispanic community is starting to look at the Republicans as not the bad guys that Democrats usually paint them," he said. "The Hispanic community in Las Vegas is not very involved in politics. It's sad but it's true," said Alejandro Romo, news director for the Las Vegas affiliate of Univision. The Republican Leadership Council bought time on the affiliate for ads criticizing Reid. Romo said the commercials ran two or three times, but were pulled by the station after Reid complained. Reid said he was not aware of that, but added it sounded like something his staff may have done. Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said later Reid was trying to find out who may have called the station, adding it would be against office policy to seek to have unfriendly commercials killed. washtimes.com A Democratic filibuster to prevent an up-or-down vote on U.S. Appeals Court nominee Miguel Estrada is also fueling a backlash in the Hispanic and Latino communities. The news media have given the Estrada story little attention lately but the GOP has been flogging the story for all its worth in the less-visible, under-the-radar Hispanic media. However, the Democrats' political troubles run much deeper than this. House Democrats, who lost their majority control in 1994, have been in decline for the last 22 years. Their numbers fell from 273 in 1980 to 267 in 1990 to 207 in 2002. Senate Democrats saw their seats shrink from 58 to 48 during this same period.