Mea Culpa; Guiliani's Kinky Supporters; McCain--Can He Recover; Al Queda "Stronger"

Our regular readers will realize that we've been posting only intermittently of late. We're sorry--we want to do more, indeed, we have much to say. But who knew--with the kids out of school and shuttling to various day camps, and with vacations, etc., we've gotten quite busy. In any event, we'll be out for the next 10 days, so take a Curmudgeon break and--please--check back in with us around July 23.

Now, about some of those things we've had on our mind.

Have you noticed that Rudy Guiliani's campaign has attracted all the GOP hypocrites in the South? First it was South Carolina state co-chair Thomas Ravenel, indicted for dealing crack cocaine (will Republicans suddenly sympathize with him when the federal sentencing guidelines mandate a much stiffer sentence than if he were a regular white guy just dealing powdered coke?). Now it's Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, caught up in a prostitution sex scandal.

Then there's John McCain, whose campaign is melting down faster the Arctic ice cap. Can McCain recover? We doubt it, but there is precedent. We can recall sitting around the Capitol Hilton in December 2003, prematurely mourning the evident implosion of John Kerry's campaign. It was a sad night, a dour fundraiser punctuated with various supporters whispering amongst each other over who they'd support next. A few weeks later, Kerry surprised many by turning the corner with a good showing in Iowa and beginning to show some real momentum. We don't think the situation's the same now for McCain--for one thing, there's no imminent primary or other event that can give him a real lift. But there's still a long way to go, and we don't think McCain's a quitter.

Now what about this Washington Post headline today: "U.S. Warns of Stronger Al-Queda"? Yes, an intelligence estimate presented to the White House today reports that, six years after we declared war on terror, the terrorists who brazenly attacked our country on 9/11 have established a "safe haven" in remote Pakistan and are "better-positioned" to attack the west.

How did that happen? Easy. The country re-elected (after his appointment by the Supreme Court) a President who ran on an anti-terror campaign, but whose policies in fact were to expend the bulk of our military strength getting bogged down in the wrong war with a country that posed no real threat, while at the same time downplaying the real war, i.e., against Al Queda. If someone wanted to impeach Bush AND Cheney, it should be for simple malfeasance!