Yet More on the Republicans

Why does that suckup apologist have a job?

Doesn't TIME have any dignity?

Why would anyone with dignity work with a guy who begs Hugh Hewitt for approval?

I guess people will do anything for money and fame.

Appear with Imus, work with Halperin, etc.

I am curious: is there a password-protected area of the Drudge site where Halperin goes to get his talking points on various issues? Will he be allowed to access that site when he is working in a Time office?

Cranky

Why would anyone get paid for analysis this facile? I've seen better analysis from commenters on other sites. Maybe the commenters here should get paid instead of Mr. Halperin.

Can't wait to see his review of the next Democratic debate:

"B-o-r-i-n-g. Wake me up when there are some real candidates. This campaign needs some Rove, stat!"

Mitt and the Directed Response:

Mitt is the Bush pick to pick it up. The Reagan thing was well planned to give him the Reagan look alike.

It's more of the Cabal Connection. He will be groomed and tutored.

Mama Barbara gave it all away on LKL. While fiddling with her pearls, she went off on the 'Mormon' thing. It told it all. Short version of the spin: You know Mormons are really good people. They take care of their own. They aren't on welfare.

Ana: How many amBusher-Rove sell it points did she cover in that statement? The MSM with a little wink, nod, push, and a few free snow cones will follow the elephants to the circus. They have no need to know that the cotton candy is spun full of hot air, as long as it tastes good.

Ana,

How can you call him a collegue? Shame on you and shame on time for hiring that right wing, wrong about everything, submissive to power, cowardly fool.

The NY Times just hired as their public editor one of the few news people who got it consistantly right about Iraq. That is how you improve your organization: you hire people who have done good work.

Time hires Krisol, Krauthammer and Halperin. All that tells me is that you are committed to being inaccurate and spouting government lies.

A Halperin piece?

No thanks. That sell-out right-wing tool can rot in hell.

I had been so impressed with Swampland, and with Klein's willingness to confront the daily shitstorm, that I was about to subscribe again to Time, after dropping it 5 years back. I was hesitant because of the Coulter cover. But hiring that hack sealed it.

No click for Halperin, and no dime to Time.

Yes, but all that clicking you have to do generates page views!

"Our new colleague"...how very, very sad you are, Ana Marie Cox.

From Halperin's review of Mitt- "Deftly told a Ted Kennedy joke"
I didn't catch that part of the debate but if Kennedy is a joke what does that make the guy who lost to him?

How could hiring Mark Halperin be considered a step down for a publication that pays for the opinions of Bill Kristol? A man who if his record counted for anything would have trouble getting his own street corner in crowded urban area?

I suspect if Rick Stengel owned a shipping company, he'd put the guy from the Exxon Valdez in charge of the fleet. But only because the captain of the Titanic is no longer available.

We all know that Stengel's telling you to push Halperin, Ana, even you're fully aware what a useless hack he is.

ha ha

You gotta do it.

Okay having read through them all I have to honestly ask-what is the point?
The most vacuous take on the debate I have seen yet.
That's Harperin with a "new spark"?

There was one clear winner and one clear loser in the debate last night: The Democrats and Chris Matthews, respectively.

This debate was a fiasco. Chris Matthews was in way, way over his head. While the hyper-manic out-of-focus Matthews may have some charms on Hardball, these skills serve neither the candidates nor the moderator in this particular format.

Further, couldn't have Mattews left his Clinton-bashing at home for one night, at least?

The DNC should send Matthews, MSNBC, and The Politico a thank you note and a big bouquet of flowers.

Thank God Halperin was able to clarify that deft Ted Kennedy jokes and knock-out attacks on the Clintons are what determines who wins a debate.

You all must be so proud.

Yes. Feel the spark. Time for a nickname?

Mark "The Spark" Halperin?

"Sparky" Mark Halperin?

I keep seeing photos of all the candidates at the debate. Except for Romney and his perfect hair, they're all old, ugly balding white dudes.

The Republicans really needs an infusion in the looks department. I mean we probably can't ask for candidates that are against continuing useless wars or accept evolution, but can't we at least ask for something easy on the eyes?

"note: I'm sort of flabbergasted by the love Mitt's getting from the media"

I know you won't recall, Ana, but I called ROMNEY as the probable nominee waaay back in February, I think it was. I subsequently gave my reasons for thinking that way. Later I qualified that with "if Fred Thompson doesn't enter the race." Last night someone was saying Thompson would enter in July. I now think Hollywood Fred may have postponed his decision too long, but I'll still qualify my prediction with "if Hollywood Fred doesn't enter the race."

"But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate?"

But, Ana, you have forgotten already how much that tan impressed you. Shallow is what you guys fell for in 2000, so what has changed since then?

P.S. Thanks for the link to the Fallows' article you posted yesterday. That's NOT the article I originally read, but it is a good one. I think the essay I read was written by a female, and maybe she was/is a professor of journalism--maybe in Missouri or someplace like that. I could be wrong though.

In Ana Marie's novel, "Karl Taylor" was the editor of "The Point," a daily online political newsletter. Perhaps she can discuss the degree to which Karl and Mark are similar.

Does Halperin still have his interns from Bob Jones University?

They'll make excellent TIME hires, I'm sure.

Here's Mark Halperin, desperately begging Hugh Hewitt for approval:

"Acknowledging the liberal bias that exists in the Old Media -- as John Harris and I do in The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008 doesn't necessarily prove that I am not liberal, but I would think you would be open to giving me the benefit of the doubt..."

>But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate?

Ms. Cox,
Please leave the Simple Answers to Simple Questions(TM) to Atrios.

Didn't like Halperin's analysis, though I'm not a Halperin hater. Where were the riddles, the strange references to obscure song lyrics, the uniquely Halperinesque turns of phrase ("ask yourself why that is", etc.)?

No fun, no fun, no fun.

A neutered Halperin is no Halperin at all. Why did you guys hire him to write this boring stuff?

Ana, any thoughts on this little tidbit from Glenn Greenwald? Joe? Mark?

**In the middle of an article by The Politico's Mike Allen regarding last night's GOP presidential debate, one finds this paragraph:
She [Nancy Reagan] was escorted out of the hall by Frederick J. Ryan Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, and president and CEO of The Politico.**

Now where would crazy liberals get the idea that The Politico is biased?

Okay, I bit and got through Mitt and the Huckster by what's his creds. Came back here after a gag me-LOL. He gets paid to do those spineless fluff. I remember better stuff in 'The Weekly Reader'.

The Huck, trying to accentuate the positive, by omission did discuss his record in AR. Oh, maybe he and Asa did get the FEMA trailers parked in Hope to CYA the cronies. Yup, Huck and Bill share Hope. For all his 'healthy AR', when pressed he couldn't get junk food vendo land out of the schools.

Maybe you could question Huck about the Alexander Youth Facility and Lakeisha Brown, etc. or Lake View Schools v. Huckabee and other related issues, truama centers rank 50th in the nation. YADA Ya, might wanna check out the commenter on your 'live blog' that went to school with Huck, Jr. No wonder he doesn't believe in evolution.

I'm shocked that Mr. "Matt Drudge Rules Our World" Halperin isn't working at "The Politico".

But I guess when you've already got Bill Kristol on board you might as well go "FULL ENABLER"!

As Anal Marie would say, "Matt Drudge rules Mark Halperin's anus."

DPS -

Sparky Mark and the Fund-y Bunch. Yes, it's weak ... but Mark Wahlberg is cool now, so, y'know.

I haven't clicked through, and already I know any analysis -- by Halperin or anyone else -- that praises Romney's performance is stupid. But Ana, you're also mistaken: Romney committed an enormous gaffe for anyone whose foreign policy ideas is more complex than "kill all the Islamists everywhere."

In what way is referring to the Muslim Brotherhood as part of some sort of International Terrorist Superfriends Coalition NOT a major gaffe? Ditto with pretending the basic aims of Hizb Allah and Al Qaeda are in any way the same. The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist group, but it specifically renounces violence. Hizb Allah and Al Qaeda pretty much hate everyone who populates the other group. So I mean, yeah, Mitt may not have told Republicans to sod off or anything, but this total lack of sophistication on foreign policy is, shall we say, quite bad. If the Republican Party is serious about foreign policy -- and they certainly do a good job of posturing as serious -- then this is a very serious mistake.

Spark? What spark.

That was the most silly "analysis" I've ever read. Though honestly, it's about what I'd expect from Halperin.

I still can't believe TIME hired that suckup.

Commenters rule :)

To call Halperin fatuous would be charitable. Giving Romney an A-? And he's not grading on a curve?

"A note: I'm sort of flabbergasted by the love Mitt's getting from the media. I thought he did, you know, okay. He didn't commit a gaffe on the level of bin Laden/varmints/Battlefield Earth. But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate? "

The media has figured out that both Rudy and McCain are nuts, and will crash and burn during the general election. This "Romney love" is nothing new.... check out your own Time polls. Romney, who is at best a marginal candidate, gets "head to head" poll questions against Democratic candidates. John Edwards, who is a nationally reconized candidate doing far better in the polls than Romney, does get "head to head" questions.

maybe you should start a series of "press loves Mitt Romney" posts.... big snark included.

"Our new colleague Mark Halperin judges the contenders"

Translation: The black hole code named "Mark Halperin" is using his massive gravitational suck to distort space-time, making this the longest fucking year in the history of the universe.

'a night that produced no gaffes'---------?????
Fire homosexuals for starters.

Me thinks, Sparky let 'the smoke get in his eyes' playing in a 'league of his own'.

I grew up in Michigan, and "Our New Spark Will Surprise You" used to be the city of Flint's tourism slogan.

You remember Flint, right? From "Roger & Me"? The place that turned into a sh**hole after GM left?

I'm sure it's a coinkydink on Ana's part, but likening Mark Halperin to an infamous run-down town made me laugh.

Mark thought some of those turkeys rated as high as an 'A'. All I need to know.

Interestingly enough, Halperin favorably grades two of the three idiots who said they don't believe in evolution -- Brownback and Huckabee. Speaks volumes for your new "colleague" Sparky Mark.

Hey, has the TIME staff's new colleague Mark Halperin told any of them whether they are among the people in the media who "hate the military"? Is Halperin at TIME to "fix" the liberal media bias of Kristol and Krauthammer?

Oops. Previous comment was from me.

Please do not link to Halperin. He is a tool. I'm embarrassed that Time hired him.

No choice.

The boss says link to Halperin, tell everyone he's cool and sparky, and so Halperin gets his links.

This blog's written by a big-time media player, you see.

Embarrassing. Forgot this already, Ana, from the distant past of, um, April? 'Cause we haven't.

"Apologies for my absence yesterday, I was up in Boston, pretending I know something about politics. Also there: Mark Halperin, late of the Note, who gave a brown bag talk at Harvard's Institute of Politics about the "problems" present in modern political journalism, as observed by him and from his talks with actual campaign professionals.

Shockingly, "absurdly kowtowing to whoever happens to be in power" was not on the list."

http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/04/the_word_from_up_on_high.html

ha ha

Mitt Romney. A-.

Great insight from Mark.

Not a big deal the he doesn't have any understanding of the most important issue of the day. From Matt Yglesias-- who could have been hired by Time, but instead was hired by The Atlantic.

http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/05/romney_versus_the_muslim_broth.php

Romney Versus The Muslim Brotherhood
04 May 2007 11:25 am

While Mitt Romney impressed me and most other reporters with his presentation, it would be good for some to observe that he also put forward a completely insane policy idea on the leading issue of the day:

We’ll move everything to get him. But I don’t want to buy into the Democratic pitch, that this is all about one person, Osama bin Laden. Because after we get him, there’s going to be another and another. This is about Shi’a and Sunni. This is about Hezbollah and Hamas and al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the worldwide jihadist effort to try and cause the collapse of all moderate Islamic governments and replace them with a caliphate.
To put it bluntly, the trouble here is that the Muslim Brotherhood just isn't a violent terrorist organization, and certainly doesn't commit acts of violence against the United States. It's an extremely traditionalist multinational civil society organization. It's true that a lot of violent types used to be in the Brotherhood and now they're in terrorist groups, but used to be is the key phrase here, they left the Brotherhood because the Brotherhood wouldn't sign on for their agenda. In one clause, Romney's just gone and broadened the war to include a huge new category of people who have no intention of waging war against the United States or even against Israel.

Note that even without the Muslim Brotherhood bit, this is a terrible idea. If you liked Iraq, you're going to love trying to root Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and Hamas out of the West Bank. Check out Spencer's remarks on this as well. He notes that "it's hardly remarkable that Romney doesn't know what he's talking about." It isn't surprising, but then again this point needs to be driven home again and again -- Mitt Romney displayed zero understanding of political Islam or global terrorism, none of his Republican opponents called him on it, and as far as I know, nobody in the press (the same press, you'll recall, that's concerned with the Pursuit of Truth above all else) bothered to notice.

I do think some good has come of this, as Sparky Halperin now has a new netroots nickname.

No more Halperin, ever again. Please, Ana?

The quote Daniel put in above was abetter moment for you.

Definitely NOT Mark Halperin or his magazine:

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/111500/111635UACy_w.jpg

"But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate?"

Nope. It's all you want from a Republican candidate. (Exhibit A: Look at the horrendous coverage of the 2000 Bush-Gore debates.)

"Wait, don't answer that..."

Oops, sorry. ;)

As for Halperin's Simon Cowell imitation, American Idol is indeed a good metaphor for that kind of coverage. On the other hand, some of us would prefer to get a sense of where a candidate stands on the issues rather than pure style and horse race commentary. We're choosing a President not a rock star.

when you said simon cowell STYLE we didn't think you meant the guy should actually BE writing for amer. idol.

jeeze, must be desperate for talent out there.

there are a million bloggers reading this NOW with more insight than we see here. is mitt PAYING this guy?

btw, where is Fred Instead? the r's are flailing big time. they need an actor to get them through the positively Shakespearean drama '08 is going to be for them.

Can I get a job at TIME if I write in complete sentences? That doesn't appear to be a requirement.

Ana,

"But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate? Wait, don't answer that..."

Too late.

Yes Ana, that's what the MSM wants from a presidential candidate. That and the fact that you all want to have a beer with him.

BTW, it is embarrassing watching Chris Matthes swoon on Rudy. He practically drools. There is something homoerotic going on between Matthews and GOP politicians he considers "manly".

Matthews practically foams at the mouth when he mentions Bill Clinton because as he likes reminding his viewers Clinton cheated on his wife. And yet Matthews acts like a school girl with a crush when he mentions Rudy who openly paraded his mistress around town.

"Can I get a job at TIME if I write in complete sentences? That doesn't appear to be a requirement."

sure you can. Karen writes in complete sentences. But you have to be willing to publish rumors that make the Democrats look bad WITHOUT even bothering to check with the leadership offices for official comment -- just like Karen. You're writing skills don't matter, you just need to be able to write to the pre-existing Beltway cocktail weenie narrative.

When God was handing out brains, Mark Halperin thought he said trains and decided to take the next one.

Seriously, Ana. I'm sure this gig pays well and all, but you've got to get out of there.

Having Halperin write for Time magazine seems kind of redundant to me. After all, if I want to know what "Sparky" Halperin has been told to think I can just go read the Drudge Report...

"As for those bloggers, the ones "tainted" by having ideological motives -- unlike our patriotic politicians, mind you -- Halperin generously allowed that "I don't mind if people blog -- but they should apply high standards of journalism," and "they should focus on news organizations when they fail to meet the standards of the profession," i.e., accuracy and objectivity. In fact, he said, "the best solution is for serious consumers of news to write letters to the editor.""

Sparky Halperin doesn't mind if people blog. How *white* of him!

Sparky is to 'judging the candidate debate' as
Mr. Magoo is to 'reffing the Wizards Games'

Hey, Ana, I think Sparky Magoo's fans at The Note want him to come home and play. Geez, what if they follow him over here. Shoo, Sparky, Shoo

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but Jebby Bush has endorsed Mitt. Go figure!!

Can someone please give me back the three minutes of my life I wasted reading the "analysis" from your new Drudge admirer. Thanks a lot Ana-I guess you need to pump the product.

Please, Ana, enough absurdly cowtowing to whomever's in power. Run very far and very fast while you still have some semblance of bona fides rattling around. Your integrity is worth more than a pay check or even your vaunted "Imus insider" credentials..

That's not snarky at all--it's boring. Is this the best he can do?

It's clear Zombie Reagan won the debate. ; >

(and Politico, better known as Drudge-lite--it got more mentions than even Reagan i bet)

Here is what I said in response to this article:
http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2007/05/why_the_withdrawal_debate_worr.html
but I wanted to post it here where some people might actually see it:

Exactly! Why can't the numb nuts in Washington figure this out rather than jumping to insane, knee-jerk conclusions? Democrats catch wind that the war is unpopular and the Great Decider may not really know what the hell is going on, and they figure let's just walk away and sweep this disaster under the rug.

It really seems like the politicians are just guessing at this point--drowning in the pool of blood that they have spilled and hopelessly struggling to keep their heads up. And that is truly scary, as we have so much at stake here. We owe it to the Iraqi people that after such a horrendously mismanaged war and occupation to not just leave them to fend for themselves just like we did in Bush War I.

These are human beings over there that are dying by the thousands as we sit over here, sipping our Starbucks, polishing the brass on the Titanic. It is high time Democrats and Republicans alike accepted the reality of our situation in Iraq and understood that this problem is not solved merely by retreating and proclaiming "Oops! Our bad...now you guys [the Iraqis] figure out how to get along and we'll check back in in a couple of years."

Hopefully, the rational view expressed by Ryan Cocker will become the message relayed to the greater American public...but I fear that will not be case.

JKc: Read back through the commenters or go to the Larry King Live page at CNN and find the Bushes 41 Interview (try Mon. Apr. 23) transcript and read the 'candidate discussion.

When you think about it, it is the perfect fit except for the 'Mormon' and Momma Barbara swept that one aside. Do you suppose 'they' already held their National Convention in Halliburton's Dubai Offices? Mitt is visiting the Rapturists sanctuary, Regent University.

Strike up the band, blow up the balloons.

I don't blame Ana for the Halperin hire, and she's got to work with what she has, I guess.

But Halperin? No thanks. If I want to read warmed-over Michael Barone I'll go straight to the source.

New spark? I always suggested Halperin became animated in the Frankenstein fashion.

Time should have hired digby instead--this is snark of the highest quality: "Was everyone suitably impressed with all the manly, man's-man, manliness of the Republican field? You should be. ...
It's true. Every last one of them had a p*nis while the Democrats produced at least one last week who failed to show up with one. ..." --- http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/reassuring-old-line-by-digby-was.html

you're flabbergasted that a candidate is getting love from the media largely based on style over substance? Can you be that clueless? Can you be that unselfaware? It's part and parcel of the very same way you yourself engage in politics. It's all just meaningless theater, and the campaign gets covered as if it were a personality contest. What's shocking, considering that you exemplify this as much as any single journalist, is that you're shocked.

Hey, Ana,
I meant to ask you about all the questions you were supposed to be answering on Fridays. Remember that? A couple of weeks ago several of us submitted questions, and you answered only a few and indicated you would answer more later. I haven't seen any more answers since then. What happened to that little Friday feature? Huh?

rudepundit would have been a better hire too: (on Romney) "...
But his uber-creepy moment was, in answer to what he disliked about America (which is a stupid f*ckin' question to begin with), he went on about how molto-splendiferous America is, full of "hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God-loving, family-oriented American people." And then he said, "It's that optimism we thank Ronald Reagan for." Yep, before Reagan, America was just a cesspool of cynicism and hatred, pessimism and blind adherence to lazy, solitary worship of ancient deities that they sacrificed babies to. But the divorced guy who was an assh*le to his kids, gutted poverty programs, and wrecked the American economy, he made us all feel better. ..." -- http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2007/05/republican-debate-dead-dog-could-beat.html

JKc and anybody else: Comments requested

After Mushmouth Mehlman left the RNC, the 'leadership' there seemed really strange to me. At first I thought it was a move for the Hispanic-Florida vote, as I don't think Crist is a Bushy.
Now, I am wondering if this was a planned move to take power away from the RNC. Were the Bushies covering the bases fearing that McCave might be THE MAN and Giuliani was an unknown?

on style over substance: "... Substance isn't important, policy and experience are not important, it's the "presidential look and feel" that are critical to the GOP at this point in time. The base wants someone to sell them b*llsh*t, someone whose eyes sparkle when they say "a thousand points of light" when what they really mean is "screw the poor" because the mouth breathers don't quite feel good about that and they really, really want to. Ronald Reagan gave them that, and those who remember him as "The Great Communicator" (*cough*) were only to happy to let him unlock the gate and let all his rich buddies in to loot the place in return. ..." -- http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/05/04/and-the-winner-is-6/

Dear Ms. Cox: To answer your question, yes.

Okay, it's his first gig. He's a little nervous. He's never had to "do" analysis before. He's never had to face the rabble. His mommy always told him "You're the best, Sparky!" Daddy Drudge always told him "No, YOU rule, Sparky!" His buddies at the Washington Post and ABC always told him "You're not liberal, Sparky! You da shizzle!"

Don't crush his spirit. He still aches from Hewitt's rejection. Give him time.

Besides, with that bunch of dolts up there on the stage, if you are grading on the curve and everyone gets at least a B+, who's to say Mittnik didn't get an A- ? Did he drool on himself? No! Did he raise his arm in a Heil Hitler? No! Did he walk on stage with his fly open? NO! So there ya go.

Yes, blow dried and on message is all the media wants. That's how W got afree ride from the media in 2000.

Mark Halprin. I can hear Ana sucking wind all the way up here...

How come Halprin's piece doesn't have a comments section?

Maybe Matthews did go home with Romney after all? A time analysis--Romney got the most-- http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/05/hey_big_talker.html

Instead of Halperin's smug, inside the beltway crap ... does anyone want to pay attention to this story? Stengel?

From EmptyWheel blog ...

Why Did Comey Fire Thomas DeBiagio?
by emptywheel

As Paul Kiel notes, one of the pieces of news from today's hearing is that James Comey asked two different USAs to resign. Comey didn't say who he had to fire. But it's clear that one of those USAs is Thomas DiBiagio (DiBiagio resigned December 3, 2004, so he's the guy who resigned under Ashcroft). In an article earlier this year, David Margolis confirmed that DiBiagio was asked to step down.

The Justice Department acknowledged yesterday that Thomas M. DiBiagio, the Maryland U.S. attorney who stepped down early in 2005, was forced from office and did not, as he said at the time, decide on his own to leave for personal reasons.

But the department official who asked for his resignation dismissed DiBiagio's claim in a New York Times article yesterday that he was ousted because of political pressure over public corruption investigations into the administration of then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

[snip]

Margolis said that he asked DiBiagio for his resignation because he had "lost confidence in his abilities" and that he was not aware at the time of any investigations involving the Ehrlich administration. "There were absolutely no political shenanigans," said Margolis, a 42-year department employee who oversees ethics matters.

DiBiagio made a half-baked attempt to yoke his fate with those who were fired last year, suggesting he was ousted because he was looking into corruption on Governor Ehrlich's Administration. But there is plenty of evidence that other things were behind the firing. First, there's the news that DiBiagio demanded at least three high-profile public corruption indictments in time for the 2004 election. Comey followed up on DiBiagio's deman by demanding to review any public indictments he planned to file.

In addition, there's the evidence that Ehrlich's associates actually intervened to try to support DiBiagio.

In fact, the Republican governor's chief legal counsel, Jervis Finney, twice contacted the Justice Department to argue in DiBiagio's behalf, said David Margolis, an associate deputy attorney general. Finney contacted the department in fall 2004, not long after DiBiagio drew a rebuke for ordering his subordinates to produce "front-page" indictments, Margolis said.

Finney, he said, "called me during this process, claiming that I was being too harsh on Tom and that Tom was being railroaded by a bunch of Democrats in the U.S. attorney's office."

There's much more smoke related to DiBiagio, including accusations from one of his AUSAs that DiBiagio's attempts to force out another of his AUSAs contribued greatly to that lawyer's stress before he died in mysterious circumstances.

The confirmation of DiBiagio as one of the two USAs about whom Comey said "it was not a close case" tells there's more story to DiBiagio's firing. Particularly since DiBiagio may have gotten ousted for things that Karl Rove and Monica Goodling would seem to approve of.

Update: There's some great detail in this Baltimore Sun profile of DiBiagio upon his resignation:

In July [2004], The Sun obtained e-mails that DiBiagio wrote to his staff asking for three "front page" indictments for public corruption or white-collar crimes by November, and complaining about the pace of cases against elected officials.

The next day, the Justice Department told him all future public corruption cases from his office must be reviewed and approved by Washington to protect the office's credibility.

[snip]

In a case that angered Democrats, DiBiagio indicted Stephen P. Amos, a former director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, on charges that he had misused grant money. Amos has pleaded not guilty. The office was overseen by former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a Democrat who lost the governor's race to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in 2002.

Ehrlich, a Republican who has long been friends with DiBiagio, recommended him for the U.S. attorney job while a congressman.

A running theme of DiBiagio's tenure has been criticism from [Baltimore Mayor Martin] O'Malley. The Democratic mayor argued that DiBiagio did not pursue enough of the city's gun cases in the federal system, where juries tend to be tougher on crime.

Update 2: It seems highly likely the second fired (for cause) USA was David York, the USA for the Southern District of Alabama before Deborah Rhodes. He apparently resigned on September 30, 2005, after the Alabama Mobile-Register reported he was the subject of an internal DOJ probe. I'm looking for the report to see if it specified what the probe was about.

May 03, 2007 at 14:42 in Bush/Republican Scandals, Contributor--emptywheel | Permalink

BTW, was Rudy Guiliani around during the 80s?

http://matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/05/reaganesque.php

"Is that the version of Ronald Reagan who sold the Iranians weapons, or it is the version that sought to check Iranian power by sending Don Rumsfeld to Baghdad to assure Saddam Hussein that the United States didn't really mind if he used poison gas to attack the Kurdish civilian population?"

Really, Ronnie worhsip is getting comical. And the so called journalists aren't even bothering correcting the record anymore. They just allow Ronnie Cultists spread lies and misinformation. They have all turned into Peggy Noonan clones.

Mark Halperin? Drudge rules our world Mark Halperin? The "No, Mr. Hewitt, I'm not a liberal, please, please believe me" Mark Halperin? I'll pass.

"And then he said, "It's that optimism we thank Ronald Reagan for."

Did Romney also thank Reagan for the record number of people indicted and convicted during his administration?

The corporate media keep repeating the "Clinton scandals" meme. How many Clinton officials went to jail? Compare than to dozens and dozens of top Reagan officials who got convicted.

I remember reading somewhere it was like 192 Reagan officials who got indicted for crimes directly linked to their jobs. The most corrupt administratioin since Warren Harding.

Here, Keith Olbermann fact-checks the Republican debate via Crooks and Liars:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/04/fact-checking-the-republican-debate/

I haven't seen anybody at Time fact check any of the Republicans. Why is that? You just believe whatever comes out of their mouth? Write it down and go on your merry way?

Romney can't "blow dried" -- only Democrats have hair!

Mitt Romney's real first name is "Willard". Willard Romney.

New Rule!

Anytime Romney is referred to in this Swampland Comment section....he will be referred to as "WILLARD ROMNEY". Please help enforce this rule. Don't make me stop this car.

I suppose it would be more correct to say "Mark E. Halperin judges the contenders, Paula Abdul style. His Halperin-esque approach better not surprise you - we paid good money for this guy!"

All the Republican front runners get As or Bs! They must all be "teh awesome!"

Here's hoping that Time regularly puts "stories" on its website that don't make it into the next weeks's magazine. (Thanks for the reminder, Daniel Rutherford: http://time-blog.com/swampland/2007/04/the_word_from_up_on_high.html .)

Awright. Willard Romney. Also, the Willard Romney Rule Amendment 1: "72-year-old John Sidney McCain".

Great comments Linda, especially the first one, but here's a quote from the second one:

"YADA Ya, might wanna check out the commenter on your 'live blog' that went to school with Huck, Jr. No wonder he doesn't believe in evolution."

woohoo, a shout out to me!

I think the only (note the only there) really good thing Huckabee did was regarding the Lakeview school case - he had to fight a LOT (Dems and Reps)of "I don't want my kids going to school in a big school district with 'those' kind of people" rednecks to get the podunk schools to consolidate and actually improve things, not to mention raising revenue for schools that might actually get AR out of the toilet. That being said he wasn't a tenth of the governor Clinton was.

Huckabee doesn't have a chance if Reagan is the idol. All an opponent has to do is dig up some of Huckabee's speeches where he gives a (very good) Reagan impression and makes fun of his "forgetfullness". I've heard him give two speeches and he did the impression at both.

I like Willard, but McCave is McCave is McCave. Or maybe Gates McCave or Barbara Ann.

Did anybody catch the Rudy ferret piece on CNN? They had the Rudy sound byte and interviewed the ferret rescuer.

I fear that not only did we get Sparky Magoo, but his dopey, groupies from the Note, too. At least they don't cut and paste like QH and the sock puppets.

Side Bar: I checked out Sham and Colmes last night. I really expected to Sham do his Reagan homage number, but instead, it was the Time 100 without Bush.

Anyway, I'll give Time big bonus points for the major snark 'The alt-100'.

'But is being blow-dried and on message all we -- the media -- want from candidate?'

Yes, provided the blow dry is not captured on video or too expensive.

Mark Halperin? The man who's a universal figure of contempt across the blogosphere for his servility in the face of right-wing poseurs? That Mark Halperin?

Why would anyone in their right mind employ him? Oh, hold on, this is TIME we're talking about...

Ana----Ana----Ana----Ana

Are you going to blog from the 'milblog'?

Are you up to speed on the new 'mental health status' report that the Military is a little embarrassed about? They are claiming number of and length of deployment is the biggy factor. Going further are the 'exception status' recruits a problem? How about complaints of 'rushed' training?

Are they still giving antidepressants out to troops? (rhetorical)
Are they aware that finally, these drugs are being 'black boxed with warnings for 18 to 24 year old'?
My guess is that they need to monitor each other for adverse side effects.

Are they up on the rumble about the VA administrative bonuses? Paper SNAFUS with the average wait 177 for treatment? The mental health negative status is really high for the Guard (longer deployments than the Marines) and they go through the VA.

Any Gulf War Vets around? Do they know that they have found 'brain changes' in those with complaints of the symptoms that were first label 'Desert Storm Syndrome' but quickly denied (no benefits). My guess is that the DoD will have to recognize this now and give the benefits. Theory is that exposure to 'hazardous materials' is the cause. Some guys are getting exposure again in Iraqi Freedom and training with protection gear was not properly done.

Are they aware that 'headaches' are now being considered as a precursor for depression-PTSD. They need to report the headaches!

Even the VFW (big Bush backer) has raised its voice about the health care problems.

Mrack vehicles?

Give 'em a hug and a shout out.
**************************
Hilrod :):):) ama, you've been on a roll.

I think the link is broken. I couldn't find any analysis. I just saw a series of pictures with captions. Should fire your intern. Doesn't use nouns in sentences.

Why won't you morons love me?

Ana get out You have the talent start a new blog.

I'm not sure why I would read anything Halperin writes at this point. When I want a dose of right-wing hackery, I can listen to Limbaugh who gets his talking points straight from the source, as opposed to Halperin who has to get them second-hand via Matt "Rules [His] World" Drudge.

Well, the Helperin reviews, combined with the employment of William Kristol, demonstrate Time's utter enthusiasm for prostitution as journalism. Disgusting. Where is David Halperin when we need him?

David Halberstam

How low will Ana sink?

Now she's dancing for Halperin.

I think we need to save some time and heartache and ask her where the cutoff point is. Will she link to Rove when he signs on with Time after they hose him out of the White House? Will she recommend we read Wolfowitz's column when he oozes into the Time terrarium after they flush him out of the World Bank?

C'mon Ana, get it over with now, tell us. What is rock bottom for you when it comes to the life limbo? How low will you go?

Here's a 'fast track' thought about the powers pushing Willard. Bush's deals including the Security and Prosperity Partnership need protecting. This would include the containers unloaded in Mexico onto Mexican trucks proceding to Kansas City before they are ever inspected. Then, proceding north to Canada unimpeded. Willard must be the most likely to keep these fast tracks in place and take them forward.

Tom Delay, although his PAC became history this week, has a Web site poll that shows Willard with a major lead followed by Paul and Giuliani.
http://www.tomdelay.com/home/

Ana...you say you are flabbergasted by the media's love for Romney. Where have you been? It's time for the quadrennial love affair of the media and a republican candidate running for Prez. Since the media has fallen out of love w/ McCain and Bush can't run again they have to find someone else to massage and love and Romney is their pick.

I wonder if Halperin gets off on sucking Hewitt's ginormous man tits?

i don't know what's more grotesque -- halperin clambering up romney's butt, or Ana clambering up halperin's. halperin's scorecard was a series of worthless belches from a lazy vacuous hack ... the kind of material a good editor would kill in a heartbeat. yet time prints it as if it were the insights of the buddha. there's nothing wrong with being stunningly stupid, but generally it's a trait one should try to keep to one's self.

Cliff Notes for 'eyeball' and others: Ya missed the subtle, but definite snark in Ana's 'read my new buddy, Sparky Magoo's rosy review of the same debates that I snarked while live blogging'.

Given the usual depth of understanding of Slow-pitch Jay and Tricky Ricky displayed again by the hiring of Sparky and actually publishing his 'insightful, cutting edgy' piece, they probably thought good for Ana. Look at her. She's welcoming her new colleague.

Hmmm... "Spark" isn't quite the word I'd use. How about "shallowness" or "lack of insight."

I decided, since Time hired him, to give Halperin a shot at proving he can think and write at the same time. Now I'm not so sure if he can even pat his head while rubbing his tummy.

The good news is that Jay's going to come off looking much less biased by comparison, now that Time's got someone even more skilled at fluffing the Republicans.

Way to go, Time!

Ana, I refrained from clicking through. You're a game 'un, a real teamplayer, to push Halp's idiotic drivel, but I hope your readers are wilier than that.

So-- good question-- is anyone keeping track of which of these bad hires actually gets read? I won't add to Halperin's or Kristol's totals then.

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