IRAQ
McCain's Imperial Plan

At the end of last year, President Bush quietly revealed his intention to create an endless, "enduring" relationship with Iraq. In September, Gen. David Petraeus said a 50-year presence in Iraq would be a "realistic assessment." Echoing this sentiment, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said last week that it "would be fine" with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for "a hundred years" or even a "million years" in order to ensure a stable Iraq. Yet today, the political stalemate in Iraq is essentially where it was two years ago. The Financial Times reports today that Iraq is so far from national reconciliation that "U.S. officers say that such a grand compromise may not be so important," abandoning the primary goal of Bush's escalation policy. Fifty-nine percent of Americans say the United States should "stick to a withdrawal timetable" instead of keeping "a significant number of troops in Iraq until the situation there gets better, even if that takes many years." A date certain for redeployment of troops out of Iraq -- nor endless occupation -- is more likely to give the needed "leverage to advance a political settlement between Iraq's warring factions."

THE COST OF OCCUPATION: Yesterday on the Sunday talk shows, McCain suggested that he supports "permanent bases" in Iraq, adding that Americans would endorse such an occupation plan. "I don't think Americans are concerned if we're there for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years," he said, as long as troop deaths are minimal. McCain, however, is ignoring the immense cost of occupation. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) recently said that the Iraq war and war on terror are now costing "$15 billion a month." Even with the reduced troop levels that McCain foresees, "total spending for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other activities related to the war on terrorism would amount to between $1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion for fiscal years 2001 through 2017," according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The "higher debt and interest costs, is going to cause severe economic dislocation, which are exacerbated by war costs," noted CBO Director Peter Orszag.

TOUGHER RHETORIC: While McCain is aligning himself with Bush, progressives are doing the opposite. As the Los Angeles Times notes today, Iraqi security forces have had only "a mixed track record" despite billions of dollars in U.S. investment. A June report from the Center for American Progress, titled Strategic Reset, called for "ceasing the unconditional arming and training of Iraq's national security forces until a political consensus and sustainable political solution is reached." "Spending billions to arm Iraq's security forces without political consensus among Iraq's leaders carries significant risks," the report states. Echoing Strategic Reset, former Democratic senator John Edwards told The New York Times last week "that if elected president he would withdraw the American troops who are training the Iraqi army." "I absolutely believe this to my soul: we are there propping up their bad behavior," he said. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have also recognized the risks of training without political progress and reconciliation. Obama gave a speech earlier this year saying he would continue training Iraqis if political progress was made and the Iraqi forces did not act in a sectarian manner. Though less clear, Clinton also has issued similar qualifications saying she would support training "only to the extent we believe such training is working."

NO LONGER DRIFTING: In October, the Center for American Progress Action Fund warned that heading into 2008, progressives were at risk of "drifting themselves into offering only a vague and muddled vision" for Iraq in light of declining violence levels. Progressive candidates have responded and toughened their stances on redeployment. Clinton told a New Hampshire audience on Friday that she would have "the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Defense, and my security advisers draw up the plans necessary to begin withdrawing our troops within 60 days" of entering office. Edwards's plan also calls for continuing "a steady redeployment until all combat troops are out in roughly nine to ten months," a quicker withdrawal than his previous emphasis on the "gradual reduction of forces and training of Iraqi forces." Obama recently called for a "complete redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2009, starting immediately."

Under the Radar

RADICAL RIGHT -- NOVAK: OBAMA'S A 'STRONG' CANDIDATE BECAUSE HE'S 'CLEAN' AND 'NOT A STEREOTYPE AFRICAN-AMERICAN': This weekend on Bloomberg television, conservative pundit Robert Novak discussed what Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) "Achilles heel" would be if the senator prevails in the Democratic primaries over the coming weeks. Novak said that Obama could be threatened by "racist prejudice" in the general election. In making this statement, however, Novak inadvertently made a racist comment of his own, arguing that such prejudice would be unlikely to work against Obama because he is "clean" and "not a stereotype African-American." Novak acknowledged borrowing language from "poor" Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) insensitive remarks from last year. In Jan. 2007, Biden said that Obama is a "clean" and "articulate" African-American. Biden was widely condemned for the comments. In stereotyping African-Americans as "unclean," Novak exemplified the type of "racist prejudice" that still exists. This isn't the first time Novak has injected such "prejudice" into his electoral coverage. In July, he claimed that a "woman or an African-American" Democratic nominee would give Republicans "hope."

ETHICS -- McCAIN FALSELY CLAIMS HE 'NEVER ASKED FOR A SINGLE EARMARK' FOR ARIZONA: In last night's Fox News GOP presidential forum, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) declared that, as president, he would eliminate "wasteful spending," citing his track record fighting against earmarks as evidence. "I'm proud to tell you," McCain said at the forum, "in 24 years as a member of Congress, I have never asked for nor received a single earmark or pork barrel project for my state and I guarantee you I'll veto those bills." McCain's claims are patently false. In 2006, he and Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) teamed up to funnel $10 million toward the University of Arizona for an academic center named after the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Three years earlier, McCain slipped $14.3 million into a defense appropriations bill to create a buffer zone around Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. As Roll Call reported, the project "was not requested by President Bush or fully authorized by the Senate Armed Services Committee -- two of McCain's criteria for identifying so-called 'pork.'" The move heartened notorious porker Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), who noted, "One man's pork is another man's alternate white meat."

ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH REAPPOINTS MINE SAFETY CHIEF WHO BUNGLED CRANDALL CANYON MINE DISASTER: The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) came under severe criticism for its mismanagement of August's Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah. Nine men died, including six trapped after the initial cave-in and three rescue workers. Many safety experts questioned why the MSHA allowed "anyone, including rescuers, into the still-dangerous mine." Overseeing the effort as head of the MSHA was Richard Stickler, a former Murray Beth Energy executive. The Senate had twice rejected his nomination to the post, in part because the mines he had previously managed "incurred injury rates double the national average." Stickler's term as assistant secretary expired on Dec. 31. His bio was quickly removed from the MSHA website earlier this week, and on Thursday, MSHA officials revealed that they had a new chief, John Pallasch. Pallasch's tenure was short-lived. Just three days later, Bush renamed Stickler as acting assistant secretary. Stickler's bio has also reappeared on the MSHA site. With his acting title, he will be able to serve 210 days. The White House has also renominated him for the permanent position. As The New York Times recently noted, Bush "has left whole agencies of the executive branch to be run largely by acting or interim appointees," who have not been approved by the Senate.

Think Fast

With the push to close the Guantanamo stalled, "a similar effort to scale down a larger and more secretive American detention center in Afghanistan has been troubled by political, legal and security problems." Last summer, the Red Cross warned that some prisoners at the site "were kept from its inspectors and sometimes subjected to cruel treatment in violation of the Geneva Conventions."

Martin Feldstein, former chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers, "said the odds of a recession have risen to more than 50 percent after a report showing unemployment jumped in December. 'We are now talking about more likely than not,' Feldstein said."

Blacks in the United States are "consistently" more likely than whites to receive "inferior cancer treatment." According to the findings published in the journal Cancer, the problem was "just as bad in 2002 as in 1992."

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Indiana's voter ID law, "the strictest in the nation." The Court will issue its decision by late June, "in time to affect the November elections."

President Bush is preparing to head to the Middle East tomorrow -- "his first extended presidential visit to the region" -- amid "low expectations." One Arab diplomat expressed "disbelief that the president will use the trip to renew his drive for Middle East democracy. 'Is that still on?' the Arab official replied sarcastically."

The Washington Post writes that President Bush "intends to use his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran, even as a recent U.S. intelligence report playing down Tehran's nuclear ambitions has left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran and questioning Washington's resolve."

Al Qaeda operative "Azzam the American" told his followers to welcome President Bush "with bombs and traps" upon his upcoming visit to the Middle East. Israeli officials in Jerusalem are to deploy more than 10,000 police officers in a vast security operation ahead of the arrival.

"Pakistan will not allow any country to conduct military operations on its territory, officials said on Monday, rejecting a report that said the United States was considering authorizing its forces to act in Pakistan." "This has been conveyed at the highest level," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq.

"In another sign of a weakening job market," the number of Americans working part-time hours increased to 2.8 million in 2007 "because of slower business conditions" up 231,000, or nine percent, from 2006. "Since August of 2007, the upward trend has accelerated, and it ticked up again in December to 3.1 million people, the highest monthly figure in four years."

And finally: Critics often attack the United Nations as a "web of bureaucracy." To battle that image and inform children of the body's humanitarian work, the United Nations has teamed up with the comic book company, Marvel, to print a special comic that will feature Spiderman fighting "alongside UN aid workers and peacekeepers." Outspoken United Nations critic former U.N. ambassador John Bolton called the comic an "act of desperation."

Good News

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert return to Comedy Central tonight with new episodes. The hosts, however, will be without their writers, and will be constrained by Writers Guild of America restrictions.

State Watch

NEW YORK: Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) to propose "establishing an endowment for the state's higher education system and adding 2,000 faculty members."

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey prohibits "state pension money from being invested in companies doing business in Iran."

CALIFORNIA: "Cancer risk from Southern California's air pollution has declined 17% over the last seven years but remains dangerously high."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney claims he "never supported a timed withdrawal" from Iraq, but forgets about his secret plan.

MEDIA MOB: The New York Times's David Brooks calls the paper's new columnist Bill Kristol "a pseudoconservative."

GLENN GREENWALD: Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) victory in Iowa inspires some conservative pundits to engage in race-baiting.

Daily Grill

"I do not support and have never supported a timed withdrawal [from Iraq]."
-- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, 1/5/08

VERSUS

"I would certainly sit down with al-Maliki as well as his government, plot out a series of milestones, timetables as well."
-- Romney, 4/4/07

Internships

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