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This episode of Left, Right & Center has Matt Miller getting ticked off and petty because he supported the war in Iraq and the two lefties are criticizing him for it. I don’t really think much about the panelists, but I do like the fact that they discuss issues, and not just the Democratic horse race. Arianna’s good, though. She’s also a Dean supporter. Bob likes all of them, though I can see that he was leaning toward Clark before, and Kerry now. So no one likes Edwards?

I’ve said it before, but really you should read Campaign Desk everyday (as well as the Note). Here are some great recent posts:

Is Anybody Looking For Any Facts?

Campaign Desk criticizes the Washington Press Corps for not following up on what is meant by “weapons of mass destruction-related program activities.” According to testimony by David Kay before the Senate Armed Services Committee, these WMDRPA could include what amounts to a bunch of studies. Asked how many countries are engaged in WMDRPA, Kay admitted there were 50. Why isn’t anyone on this?

Sawyer Gets It Right (Finally)

Campaign Desk gives Diane Sawyer credit for finding other versions of the Iowa speech showing that Dean’s shouting was barely audible over the roar of the crowd. By using the unidirectional mic audio, the news organizations effectively took his speech out of context. Diane Sawyer apologizes and gets quotes from the heads of news organizations.

Letting Kerry Off the Hook

Campaign Desk takes issue with allowing a Kerry quote to stand without challenge. At issue is his quote about winning without the South.

Making Sense of It All

Campaign Desk lauds Robin Toner for being able to present the big picture. Dean may have lost the first two contests, but he’s changed the entire nomination race.

The “front-runner” gets more critical press, which is entirely appropriate. The difference here, I think, is that there are more substantive things to criticize about Kerry’s record (or lack thereof). This one’s about campaign financing.

The Washington Post’s Jim VandeHei reports that “Kerry Leads in Lobby Money.”

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who has made a fight against corporate special interests a centerpiece of his front-running campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, has raised more money from paid lobbyists than any other senator over the past 15 years, federal records show.

Kerry or any other longtime politician inevitably faces this charge when running for president as a self-styled reformer. Unless the candidate is someone like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has made a name for himself by fighting for reform and against corporate giveaways, or a self-financed independent, like Ross Perot in the 1990s, it is very hard to turn the theme into an effective campaign message, Noble said. “It’s the classic situation: Most politicians get money from what they are calling special interests because they are the ones who give.”

I would, of course, add that any campaign that shows the lowest percentage of $1000 and $2000 contributions, such as Dean’s, could also claim the mantle of reform-fighter.

Kerry, who did not begin his campaign with a heavy emphasis on fighting lobbyists, appears to have usurped the special interest message from Edwards and Dean over the past few months. Now, Kerry’s standard campaign refrain includes this warning to the “special interests” and their lobbyists: “We’re coming, you’re going and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Kerry’s stolen a lot from Dean and Edwards. Next thing you know, he’ll claim to be the son of a mill worker who became a small town doctor.

One of Kerry’s biggest — and perhaps most controversial — donors has been the Boston-based law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. The group, which lobbies on behalf of the telecommunications industry — and employs the senator’s brother, Cameron — is his single largest contributor over the course of his Senate career. David Leiter, Kerry’s former chief of staff, is vice president of a lobbying company affiliated with the Boston-based law firm.

Since 1999, Kerry has sponsored at least two bills and co-sponsored half a dozen that were sought by the CTIA, including industry-backed plans for winning lucrative auctions of spectrum, or airwaves. Thomas Wheeler, the former chief executive of the CTIA, and Christopher Putala, a lobbyist for the group, are both among Kerry’s biggest presidential fundraisers.

Pretty sketchy.

I think it’s part of the administration’s strategy: “We’re going to do something bad, but if we do, they’ll call us on it. So if we do a lot of superbad things, there’s no way they’ll keep track of it all, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get away with everything.”

Good thing we have people like Josh Marshall:

Talking Points Memo: David Kay’s admission that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction

Keep track of these things:

9/11 Commission
Valerie Plame leak
Intelligence used to make the case for war
Secret energy meetings

Squeaky Clean? Not Even Close

But most people don’t seem to worry about what experts say is a petri dish for food-borne illness: the home kitchen.

Sounds like the evening news.

They do have some good tips for reducing the bacteria count, though. First, wash your hands with soap and hot water. That means you, Bandur. Second, sterilize your sponges and wash cloths. Microwave them while wet, or just launder, in the case of wash cloths.

It’s that simple.

GQ’s piece on Joe Trippi (coming a day after Trippi resigned from DFA) contains this interesting tidbit:

His cell phone rings. It’s his pollster, Paul Maslin, who not only has bleak news out of Iowa—but bleak news out of New Hampshire. Trippi hangs up and stares out the window.

“Kerry,” he snaps. “They’re the only asshole snake campaign that would do it.” He sighs. “Every frickin’ day now, I’m reminded of why I got out of this in the first place.”

We need to find the proof.

ABC does a little analysis of the “Dean scream” and shows different footage that also contains the crowd noise as it was in the room. As much as I thought the speech was blown out of perspective, it did strike me as odd. Watch the video footage and you’ll notice that Dean was trying to get himself heard over the crowd. Rather unsuccessfully, I might add. It was that loud.

Salon.com | Joe Conason’s Journal: Mr. Bush’s fantasy planet

Bush in answer to questions about the absence of WMDs: “…then we went to the United Nations, of course, and got an overwhelming resolution — 1441 — unanimous resolution, that said to Saddam, you must disclose and destroy your weapons programs, which obviously meant the world felt he had such programs. He chose defiance. It was his choice to make, and he did not let us in.”

Of course, none of the press corps called him on it.

If you like Batman, download this film. Do yourself a favor and get the full 160MB version.

Batman: Dead End

They’re saying “We Told You So” about Kerry’s wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Those lying sacks of shit.

NDOL: Another Vote for Hope Over Anger