Webb: Lieberman-Kyl is "Cheney's fondest pipe dream"

The same week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his bizarre visit to America, Senators Lieberman and Kyl proposed a "Sense of the Senate" resolution to the FY 2008 Defense Authorization bill. The resolution criticizes Iran's involvement in the insurgency in Iraq, and calls for the US to "combat, contain, and roll back" Iran’s "violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq." [National Review]

Today, Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) ripped into the resolution:

The constant turmoil that these sorts of proposals and actions are bringing to the region is counterproductive. They are regrettable substitute for a failure of diplomacy by this Administration.

I do not believe that any serious student of foreign policy could support this amendment as it now exists.

This proposal is Dick Cheney’s fondest pipe dream. It’s not a prescription for success. At best, it’s a deliberate attempt to divert attention from a failed diplomatic policy. At worst, it could be read as a back door method of gaining congressional validation for action with one hearing or without serious debate. [Crooks and Liars]

It is important to note that "Sense of the Senate" resolutions are not binding, but as Webb suggests, they often do have significant ramifications, especially in foreign policy. [C-SPAN]

Sen. Webb blasts Lieberman/Kyl Amendment [Crooks and Liars]
Threatening Lieberman-Kyl Amendment On Iran [A Tiny Revolution]

Is McNabb living in the past?

This week, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb said in an interview that white quarterbacks don't get criticized as much as their black counterparts do.

"There's not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra," McNabb tells HBO. "Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play ... is low, so we do a little extra." [AP]

Now, McNabb is definitely right that, for a long time, people didn't want blacks to play quarterback. For decades, high school and college coaches would not play black players at the position, either out of their own racism, or out of fear of what the students, parents, administrators, or community would think. As a result, it has taken a while to get to the point where there are a lot of pro-caliber black quarterbacks - but nowadays, most NFL teams either have at least one black quarterback, or have had one at some point.

There are currently six starting black quarterbacks: McNabb, David Garrard of Jacksonville, Vince Young of Tennessee, Steve McNair of Baltimore, Jason Campbell of Washington and Tarvaris Jackson of Minnesota. There would be seven if Michael Vick - the number one overall pick in the 2001 draft - hadn't gotten busted for operating a dogfighting ring. And the #1 overall pick in this year's draft, Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, is a black quarterback out of LSU. In addition to the starters (and Russell will obviously be a starter before too long), there are a number of black backup quarterbacks, including rookies like Chicago's Chris Leak (the former Florida star, who was MVP of the 2007 National Championship), and Baltimore's Troy Smith (who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy).

The same day McNabb's comments hit the press, there was a high-profile free-agent signing which provides an excellent example of how things have changed. Atlanta signed Byron Leftwich, who is black and started for Jacksonville for several years, but was waived during training camp when the team decided to go with another black quarterback, David Garrard. The signing sparked immediate speculation among fans and the media that Leftwich will replace current starter Joey Harrington, a white quarterback who has been criticized heavily for his role in the Falcons' 0-2 start (and was arguably the most-criticized and ridiculed quarterback in the league during his tenure as the starter for a horrible Detroit team). [Atlanta Journal-Consitution]

If McNabb thinks the avalanche of criticism he's gotten after the team's 0-2 start is about race, he should talk to Harrington or David Carr (the white starter for the Houston Texans during their first five seasons, during which the team compiled a 23-56 record). Every time someone like McNabb cries racism without good reason, it makes the country less receptive to potentially legitimate examples of racism (like the charges in the "Jena 6" case).

Mark Warner announces Senate bid

Today, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner announced his bid for the US Senate seat currently held by Republican John Warner (no relation). [Washington Post] Last year, Warner was entertaining a run for the Democratic Presidential nomination, but he called it off in October, citing the strain on his family.

In June, I ran into Warner outside RFK stadium, before a Nationals-Padres game. Well, maybe I should say that I ran after him. I was waiting for friends, and all of a sudden, one of the scalpers interrupted his "Have tick-ets? Need tick-ets?" mantra to shout out "Former Governor War-ner!" I looked over towards the street, and sure enough, Warner waved and said hello to the scalper, and then hurried across the parking lot towards the stadium (the game had just started).

I figured I should say something, because, after all, I had spent the last two years convinced that he was the strongest Democratic candidate for President. So I grabbed my backpack and scrambled to catch up with him.

"Governor Warner . . ."
"Hey."
"I just wanted to say that I really wish you were running for President."
Warner smiled, and said "well, a lot of times, I wish I was, too."
"I . . . I run a political blog called outraged moderates."
"Hey, that sounds like me!"
I laughed. "You were my guy!"

By that point, we were nearing the entrance to the stadium, so I let him go. The Nationals ended up winning the game, which was especially impressive because Cy Young favorite Jake Peavy was pitching for the Padres.

"Former Va. Gov. Warner Set to Seek Senate Seat" [Washington Post]

A conservative lawyer on Bush's foreign policy

The New York Times has a fascinating article about Jack Goldsmith, a conservative lawyer who resigned after nine months of working for the Office of Legal Counsel during 2003 and 2004.

During the 2004 Presidential debates, Kerry kept claiming that he was actually the "conservative" candidate, which made some sense in the context of issues like the Bush administration's torture policies, and the debate over realist foreign policy vs. neoconservative pollyannaism, but probably confused more voters than it won over. Goldsmith's new book, "The Terror Presidency," looks like a good primer on why the legal underpinnings of Bush's foreign policy are more radical than conservative. Excerpt:

Several hours after Goldsmith was sworn in, on Oct. 6, 2003, he recalls that he received a phone call from Gonzales: the White House needed to know as soon as possible whether the Fourth Geneva Convention, which describes protections that explicitly cover civilians in war zones like Iraq, also covered insurgents and terrorists. After several days of study, Goldsmith agreed with lawyers in several other federal agencies, who had concluded that the convention applied to all Iraqi civilians, including terrorists and insurgents. In a meeting with Ashcroft, Goldsmith explained his analysis, which Ashcroft accepted. Later, Goldsmith drove from the Justice Department to the White House for a meeting with Gonzales and Addington. Goldsmith remembers his deputy Patrick Philbin turning to him in the car and saying: “They’re going to be really mad. They’re not going to understand our decision. They’ve never been told no.” (Philbin declined to discuss the conversation.)

"Conscience of a Conservative" [New York Times]