Marc Ambinder (here) explains how the GOP is putting its foot into its mouth, or shooting itself in the foot…or some combination thereof.
in the mood — finds a way to reduce Republican opposition to President
Obama's plans to the words of someone who is very unpopular with most
Americans. (A side note: Cheney, smarter than the average elephant,
understands this. He has his legacy to defend. He is worried not about
criminal prosecution; rather, if the Obama mindset over next
four-to-eight years sets in, Dick Cheney, a guy who most Americans
don't like, will be the Dick Cheney that Andrew Sullivan knows: truly
infamous and even wretched; someone who sanctioned torture; someone who
abused executive power with relish. Obama's Justice Department may soon
renounce the legal foundations upon which Cheney's policies were
constructed and may even cite the former administration's lawyers for
misconduct. If they do this — once they do this — the edifice will
be nothing but dust.)
In other dusty news of the day, Ann Powers, the pop music critic for The Los Angeles Times, gets a chance to listen to Bob Dylan's new record, coming out next month, and reports (here) that its last song is on the same subject:
"It's All Good": "Throw on the dust! Pile on the
dust!" Dylan shouts in this apocalypse party of a song. Sharp guitar
lines and one of the album's fastest tempos gives the band a chance to
fade out on a high note. Dylan's final word: Enjoy this world, even as
it descends into chaos. In fact, especially enjoy the chaos.
I've had something of a falling-out with Dylan over the last decade, considering his recent records wildly overrated, and his recent performances mostly dreadful, but I do love the picture and title for the new one. Hope springs eternal…as does love:
Kit Stolz 