Below, in Jeff’s Goodbye post (arrivederci, I hope), commenter MarkC offers the following valediction: Comment by MarkC on 7/27 @ 11:26 am # Well, I think it is noble of you to take such a step, and am willing to sacrifice my enjoyment of your posts to help our boys and girls in the field. But it is you who is volunteering to make the greatest sacrifice, and for that

or, Maiden Error. Jennifer Rubin at Commentary: The McCain camp is circulating this exchange from a Newsweek interview: RICHARD WOLFFE: “You’ve been talking about those limited missions for a long time. Having gone there and talked to both diplomatic and military folks, do you have a clearer idea of how big a force you’d need to leave behind to fulfill all those functions?” BARACK OBAMA: “I do think that’s entirely

At US News & World Report, Paul Bedard whispers that Blackwater handled Barack Obama’s security during his trip to Afghanistan and helped in Iraq: What’s more, Obama was overheard saying: “Blackwater is getting a bad rap.” From whom did Blackwater get a bad rap?  From the politician who said they run amok and erode the core of our military’s relationship to the nation, despite evidence showing the contractor’s actions in the

I like cheese, especially jalepeno cheddar.  A few too many slices and a bottle of beer are a great way to finish off the day. Just sayin’ is all.

Barack Obama’s interview with Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe shows the candidate did learn something on his World Tour: Wolffe: Based on what you’ve seen and heard on this trip, is there anything that has led you to review any policy, tweak things, rethink anything? Obama: Our success in Afghanistan is going to be deeply dependent not just on getting more troops there, which we need, but also some sustained high-level engagement with

…One Tin Soldier rides away. Inherent in that is a Morning After.

I may be back at some later date, but for now, I just don’t have the time. If the guest posters want to give it up, that’s their call. If they wish to keep it going, that would be their call too — and much appreciated. But sometimes you have to make choices. And I’m forced now to make such a choice. So. Take care. I’ll miss you.

In my initial take on Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin, I wrote: Substantively, I welcomed his call for more support from Germany to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.  However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she would make clear to Obama that there were limits to Germany’s military engagement in Afghanistan.  Merkel may find Obama well-equipped physically, but this seems to be another case in which a government will

This Baghdad is not the Baghdad that Barack knew, says the AP (!): The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost. Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the U.S. now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace — a

I dunno, Starry Night works for me — though come November, I might be all about the Salvador Dali. Nothing says progressivism rising quite like melting clock faces and the like, I don’t think.