http://www.amconmag.com/larison n. the principle of good order<br /><br /> "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:45:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Comparisons between NY-23 and NY-20 can be overdone, but what I found interesting in Hoffman's loss last night in northern New York was the similarity of his campaign to that of Jim Tedisco in the special election earlier this year. Both were put in the national spotlight by GOP ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/04/hoffman-and-the-failures-of-the-national-gop/ Reihan advances an unfortunate argument: [W]hile Parsi is undoubtedly a believer in democratic liberalism who wants to see Iran radically reform its institutions, he objectively serves Iranian interests insofar as he discourages Western efforts to exert pressure on the regime [bold mine-DL]. The charge being made against Parsi is that he serves ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/04/whom-do-you-objectively-serve/ Clearly, I overestimated Democratic power in New Jersey, which I assumed was more or less unbeatable despite Corzine's low approval ratings and weak polling. The pick-ups in both gubernatorial races were impressive, and it seems to me that the scale of the win in Virginia was significant and not ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/03/the-best-of-both-worlds-2/ Only Obama - with his dismissive view of the Cold War as a relic distorting our thinking and his attenuated commitment to America's exceptional role in the world - would spurn German president Angela Merkel's invitation to attend. ~Rich Lowry Perhaps Chancellor Merkel is offended by Obama's non-attendance, but I rather ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/03/give-it-a-rest/ Andrew: On the specific matter of Trita Parsi: I have no long-term knowledge of the dude (and for quite a while thought he was a woman) and have never met him. I just know that when the Dish was covering Iran's revolution, few people were as committed or as devoted to ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/03/on-parsi/ Now that I am back from Greece, I have been trying to catch up on the electoral news for tomorrow's off-year and special elections. As far as most political bloggers seem to be concerned, the gubernatorial races have faded into the background and the genuinely less significant special House ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/11/02/what-tomorrow-brings/ I'm at the Madrid airport with just a few minutes before boarding begins, but I wanted to say something about Ross' last column and Noah Millman's response to it. My impression is that Ross wanted to discuss Pope Benedict's outreach to conservative Christians, whether they are tradtionalist Catholic or ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/31/ecumenical-anti-jihad/ Obama's handling of the policy reversal on missile defense, in particular, has drawn sharp rebukes from the region, mostly on the execution rather than the policy itself. A Polish official was quoted by United Press International proclaiming that, "Waking Czech Prime Minister Fisher at midnight European time, and calling President ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/30/is-europe-worse-off-hardly/ In the short of it, President Obama's cancellation of America's agreements with the Polish and Czech governments was a serious blow to the hopes and aspirations of millions of Europeans. ~Dick Cheney Cheney's recent speech at the Center for Security Policy is much what you would expect from him, but that ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/23/the-gop-is-adrift/ Andrew Stuttaford cites a new Rasmussen poll of Republican presidential preferences showing some sizeable support for Huckabee, and he wonders if this means that the GOP will become the "party of Huckabee." I think this is extremely unlikely. While Huckabee was officially the second-biggest vote-getter in the primaries ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/17/the-anti-huckabee-party/ It is raining and overcast here in Athens (Koukaki), so I am inside this morning and thought I would check in. As I'm on vacation, I won't be writing much over the next couple of weeks, but I did see something that I wanted to address. Philip Klein ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/17/pro-and-anti-2/ Later today I'll be flying to Athens for a two-week visit to see my girlfriend in Greece. I may check in once or twice from the road, but I will be away most of this time. Check in at The Week to see my next couple of columns. ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/15/athenaze/ What if the Republicans come up with a conservative standard bearer who is smart, attractive, and dedicated to debunking Obama’s weakling foreign policy — and female? ~Jennifer Rubin Via Jack Ross I think they tried that twice last year in different ways. First there was Clinton, who received some fairly fawning ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/14/what-if-5/ Philip Klein asks the question that Obama's critics were inevitably going to ask: So President Obama agreed to negotiate with the Iranians, and he agreed to abandon a missile shield in Eastern Europe. What did he get for all this good will? Bubkes, it turns out. Klein's post is entitled, "Russia thwarts ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/14/russia-and-iran/ When talk turned to probable presidential contenders, no one last night seemed to give Tim Pawlenty much of a chance. Nonetheless, it appears that Pawlenty is moving to re-assemble many members of the McCain campaign as part of his preliminary efforts in preparing a bid. This makes sense, ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2009/10/13/son-of-mccain/