http://www.amconmag.com/larison n. the principle of good order "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Sun, 11 May 2008 21:36:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This N.C. Senate poll should sound another alarm for the GOP.  No one will confuse Liddy Dole with a great or effective political operator, and it's rather fitting that the one responsible for leading Republican Senate electoral efforts in '06 is now in danger of losing her seat, but the ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/11/trouble-brewing/  If Obama's biography and appeal affect global opinion and therefore foreign policy, the subject should be on the table - as a weapon in pursuit of national self-interest. If we cannot have a debate in a democracy about this impact without fostering xenophobia, ignorance and fear, then democracy cannot work. ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/defeatists-and-pessimists/ No sooner was Novak talking about Doug Goodyear, McCain's convention chairman, than he was drop-kicked by the campaign for ties to a lobbying firm that had worked for the Burmese junta.  "Republican Convention Chairman's Ties To Monstrous Government That Starves Its Cyclone-Ruined Nation" is probably not a headline McCain wants to see.  Goodyear ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/well-that-was-quick/ Obama is a South Sider and does not hail from Camelot or Mt. Olympus or the lush forests of mythical Narnia.  I've joked that reporters feel compelled to hug him, in their copy, as if he were the cuddly faun, the Mr. Tumnus of American politics. But I was only kidding. ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/quote-of-the-week-2/ Sullivan picks up on part of this L.A. Times article on West Virginia: Neil Gillies, an Obama supporter who runs a local environmental nonprofit group, glumly recounted the gibes that his wife, a schoolteacher, hears regularly from her students. "They're convinced [Obama] is a Muslim, a terrorist, a guy who's coming ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/its-not-just-sad-its-unavoidable/ If this is right, speculation about Clinton receiving the VP slot is pointless, but where would blogging be if we stopped speculating about things that aren't going to happen?  Reihan's take on the possibility is still an interesting read.  Obviously Reihan is far from being sympathetic to Clinton, that much is ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/lets-not-get-carried-away-3/ I have neglected mentioning the excellent articles in the current online issue of TAC, including Prof. Bacevich on Petraeus and the results of the "surge," Dan McCarthy on the developing Ron Paul movement, and Scott McConnell on Obama.  If you haven't looked at them yet, I recommend them all to you. http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/tac-online/ Yglesias points to George Will's review of Nixonland, noting Will's complaint that Perlstein dismissively referred to ARVN as a "joke."  That must mean that George Will was a vehement, outspoken critic of Fred Thompson when he insultingly ignored or belittled the sacrifices of allied war dead in his regular stump ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/10/no-joke/ But this is actually a sticking point in the Paul campaign: Some people in his circle want him to swing his weight behind McCain once the primaries are over. At the moment, they're being overruled. ~Dave Weigel I have to assume that they will keep being overruled, and the idea of ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/09/objectionable/ Looking at the praise being heaped on David Cameron lately, you'd think he had done a great deal.  Obviously, I have been very critical of Cameron since he first ascended to the leadership, and it seems to me that he still has yet to prove that he can lead the ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/09/david-cameron/ We Evangelicals trace our heritage, not to Constantine, but to the very different stance of Jesus of Nazareth. ~An Evangelical Manifesto Related to the previous post, this is an attitude in the manifesto that strikes me as far more troubling and obnoxious than any perceived defensiveness.  No Christians today trace their ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/09/the-way-of-goldilocks/ Undoubtedly, many people would place all Christians in this category, because of the Emperor Constantine and the state-sponsored oppression he inaugurated [bold mine-DL], leading to the dangerous alliance between church and state continued in European church-state relations down to the present. ~An Evangelical Manifesto Most of the manifesto is actually pretty ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/09/just-plain-wrong/ Following up on the last posts on West Virginia and Kentucky, I would note that Obama's level of support in West Virginia today (according to ARG) is essentially identical to his level of support in March 2007.  A little over one fifth of West Virginia Democrats backed Obama then, and the same ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/09/low-ceiling-2/ "Viva Obamus"?  I like phony Latin as much as anyone, but it can't be this silly. http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/seriously/ Jay Cost takes up the cause of arguing that the West Virginia and Kentucky primaries matter.  That now makes two of us.  Cost goes out on a pretty sturdy limb: Minimally, I will predict that West Virginia will be either her best or her second best finish, behind only Arkansas. Kentucky ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/wvky/ Whatever else you want to say about Michael Gerson (and I could say a lot), he is just really, really weird:  A president is expected to be a patriotic symbol himself, not the arbiter of patriotic symbols. He is supposed to be the face-painted superfan at every home game; to wear ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/beware-gerson/ I have good news for my postmodern, post-Smyrniot colleague: James has a street (hodos) named after him, which is even more remarkable since the Greek for James is Iakovos.  Maybe the street is named for both Mr. Apostolopoulos and James at the same time--what a mark of distinction for Mr. Apostolopoulos.  http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/jimmy-the-greek/ At Taki's Magazine, Richard puts the conservative dilemma this way: If we went for Baldwin, our vote would be perceived as, “Wow, those guys are to the right of John McCain!” This is not helpful.  Helpful to whom?  I think it's very helpful to keep framing all the things that are wrong ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/not-much-of-a-dilemma/ Ross reads my mind. http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/mr-zakaria-we-cannot-allow-a-skyscraper-gap/ Ross cites some notable figures given by Michael Franc about the profile of donors to the different parties, but I have to call a foul when I see someone refer to John McCain as a "populist," even if it is just in passing.  If McCain is a populist, I am a Sandanista.  ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/08/mccain-the-populist-thats-a-good-one/ James has taken his disgust with Hillary Clinton to the big time with a column in The Guardian, in which he rejects the suggestion that she be made the VP candidate.  As a matter of electoral calculation, I think he is basically right.  She will not cover Obama's weaknesses, which ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/07/nightmares-and-dreamscapes/ Anyone who invokes Alan Keyes as an authority must be having a hard time proving his case, and I think that especially applies to Sean Higgins' article that alleges that Obama is an agnostic ("The Unbeliever" is the title).  Let's be clear about something: Obama is a liberal Protestant, which ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/07/lord-i-believe-help-thou-my-unbelief/ Posting will likely be light starting tomorrow and through the weekend.  I will be driving to and then very briefly attending the Medieval Studies Conference at Kalamazoo tomorrow to talk about Maronites and (you guessed it) monotheletism, and otherwise I'll be caught up with teaching responsibilities for the next few days.  ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/07/the-monotheletes-probably-wanted-a-re-vote-too/ Michael is right that uses of the word "globalise" are usually just nonsense, and Ross is right that "globalising ourselves" is undesirable, but if the phrase means anything then I have to dispute Zakaria's original claim that Americans have failed to "globalise."  On the contrary, because we have been at the leading ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/07/globalising-ourselves/ Ambinder: Still, big victories in West Virginia and Kentucky will help Clinton make the argument that she is indispensable. Sullivan: What Obama needs to do is fight hard in those states to keep her victories muted. Actually, what he needs to do is to change the subject and act as if these primaries are ... http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/05/07/steep-appalachian-hills-revisited/