"W" focused on winning

Fred Barnes has written a concise description of the change in strategy in Iraq.

Two points caught my eye. The most important person was focused on winning and understood what really strains military forces.

The chiefs had real grievances to air, and they didn't hold back. Schoomaker cited the stress on combat forces from repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. That, Bush told me, was "the main thing I remember from that meeting. That was clearly a factor in some of the people around the table's thinking .  .  . if you sustain our level, much less increase the level, you could, Mr. President, strain the force, which is an important consideration."

Bush agreed that strain was a problem. Then he delivered a sharp rejoinder, touching on a theme he returned to in nearly every meeting on Iraq. "The biggest strain on the force would be a defeat in Iraq," he said.

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The 20-minute speech on January 10, 2007, was not Bush's most eloquent. And it wasn't greeted with applause. Democrats condemned the surge and Republicans were mostly silent. Polls showing strong public opposition to the war in Iraq were unaffected.

But the president, as best I could tell, wasn't looking for affirmation. He was focused solely on victory in Iraq.

We have the right man in the White House.

Freddy Thompson seeks supporting role

Carl Cameron says he has known for months that Fred Dalton Thompson only sought to be Vice President:

Back in March of 07 at the CPAC convention in DC several former Fred Thompson Congressional staffers told me Fred Thompson was thinking about a run. Some of his Tennessee cronies had been talking him up too.

I reported first that he was eyeing a White House bid. At the time several insiders told me OFF THE RECORD that it was largely a trial ballon to guage his popularity and float his name as a possible vice presidential nominee. I was sworn to silence.

If Cameron is correct, Thompson never expected to make a real run for the presidency -- and was surprised to find that his "trial balloon" initially soared:

...the Thompson camp was stunned by the incredibly positive response and didn’t really know how to manage it.

Thompson still supposedly wants a supporting role as someone's running mate.

Next time, if there is a next time, when Thompson says he is drawing a line in the sand, wait until the tide comes in to see if he runs away from it.

Bill Clinton Endorses Mike Huckabee: "He is a very good man."

Isn't it customary to provide the names, if not a little background information, about people who endorse presidential candidates?

This Associated Press article, headlined, "Conservative black leaders endorse Huckabee," is little more than a teaser without that information.

An oar in the water

So what if they were Yankees -- they were our Yankees.

Biden Knows Hillary Doesn't Know

Senator Biden noticed Hillary's lack of knowledge about Pakistan. Since it comes from a Democrat, the Boston Globe apparently figured it's OK to publish. Will this be worth a small mention in any other "MSM" outlet?

Hillary Clinton doesn't know Pakistan

I wonder what it feels like to depend on propaganda organs (also known as "the mainstream media") to protect your candidate from being embarrassed by her own ignorance or mistakes.

Hillary Clinton demonstrated beyond cavil that she doesn't know beans about the situation in Pakistan, but so far not one "mainstream media" outlet has mentioned it.