The Commentariat -- August 21, 2012

CW: Sorry, another day I have to work on other stuff all morning, but I'll catch up later. I'll also hit Brooks late in the day.

Ari Berman of The Nation: "Franklin County (Columbus, [Ohio]) GOP Chair Doug Preisse gave a surprisingly blunt answer to the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday: 'I guess I really actually feel we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate the urban -- read African-American -- voter-turnout machine.' Preisse is ... the chairman of the Republican Party in Ohio's second-largest county and a close adviser to Ohio Governor John Kasich.... Preisse said publicly what many Republicans believe privately -- keeping turnout down among Obama supporters is the best way for the GOP to win the 2012 election."

Presidential Race

Nicholas Confessore & Derek Willis of the New York Times: "Mitt Romney's cash advantage over President Obama and the Democrats more than doubled in July, as intense Republican fund-raising and heavy spending by Mr. Obama and his allies left Mr. Romney and the Republican National Committee with $62 million more in the bank than the Democrats at the end of last month."

Van Jones in Reader Supported News: "Any politician who wants to live in the White House for the next four years needs to start talking about how voters can keep the houses they're living in right now."

Jim Fallows of The Atlantic tears down Niall Ferguson's fact-challanged Newsweek cover story titled "Hit the Road, Barack." Fallows doesn't think Ferguson, who is a Harvard professor, is capable of grading his student's papers. ...

... Matthew O'Brien, also of The Atlantic, does "a full fact check" of "celebrity historian Niall Ferguson's ... counterfactual history of the past four years." ...

... Noah Smith also does a great job. Why does Newsweek publish this crap? It's embarrassing. Via Greg Sargent. ...

... Paul Krugman calls the Ferguson piece "unethical commentary" and says Newsweek should print a correction. ...

... Brad DeLong writes, "Fire his ass from Newsweek, and the Daily Beast. Convene a committee at Harvard to examine whether he has the moral character to teach at a university. There is a limit, somewhere. And Ferguson has gone beyond it."

Just Trust Him. Dana Milbank writes a great column detailing a Romney speech with no details. Milbank's opener -- on a different topic -- is hilarious:

Mitt Romney, returning to New Hampshire on Monday with his new running mate, lasted only about 30 seconds before stumbling right into the issue that has dogged his candidacy like no other. 'Gosh, I feel like I'm almost a New Hampshire resident,' ... Romney said. 'It would save me some tax dollars, I think.' D'oh! Does Mr. Thirteen Percent really want to remind everybody how determined he is to keep his tax returns private?

Robert Costa of the National Review: "In a phone interview this morning, Mitt Romney told National Review Online that Representative Todd Akin’s recent remarks on rape are 'inexcusable.'' Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,' Romney said. 'Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive.'" ...

... Kaili Gray of Daily Kos: "Mitt Romney sleeps on it, decides to be offended.... it only took him 12 hours to think about it, watch the entire country -- including his own party --condemn Akin's statement, and then decide he was offended."

Jon Walker of Firedoglake: "Already the Romney campaign has made multiple statements strongly distancing themselves from Akin. The statements are coming both from the campaign staff and directly from Romney in hasty interviews with the conservative National Review. There must be some worry that Akin's rape/abortion comment could taint Romney's running mate Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan co-sponsored a bill with Akin that would have restricted tax payer funds to be used for abortions only if they resulted from 'forcible rape.'" ...

... Oops! "Paul Ryan Changes His Abortion Stance. Trip Gabriel & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "A campaign statement that neither Mitt Romney nor Representative Paul D. Ryan opposes abortion in rape cases contradicts Mr. Ryan's earlier position on the issue.... Mr. Ryan ... has opposed abortion in the case of rape. During his first run for the seat in 1998, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that he opposed abortions in all cases except to save the life of the mother. More recently, Mr. Ryan was a co-sponsor of a House bill last year defining human life as beginning with fertilization and granting 'personhood' rights to embryos, a movement that supporters say will outlaw abortions in all cases, and may also restrict some forms of birth control." ...

... Michael Shear & Trip Gabriel: even as Paul Ryan's "presence continues to animate and enliven Mr. Romney's performance on the stump, Mr. Ryan remains a large new target for President Obama's campaign and his Democratic allies. On Monday, Democrats highlighted Mr. Ryan's history of opposing abortion -- even in cases in which a woman is raped -- after controversial comments from Representative Todd Akin, the Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri." ...

... Akin & Ryan -- Redefining Rape. Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "Last year, Akin joined with GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as two of the original co-sponsors of the 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,' a bill which, among other things, introduced the country to the bizarre term 'forcible rape.'" ...

... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: in "a 2007 statement ... at a debate..., Romney said he would be 'delighted' to sign a bill banning all abortions, saying it would be 'terrific.' Update Mitt Romney's 2007 'on the issues' page notes he supports exceptions in cases of rape and incest, but also notes that abortion should be a state issue. Update The Obama campaign says in a statement: 'While Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are working overtime to distance themselves from Rep. Todd Akin's comments on rape, they are contradicting their own records. Mr. Romney supports the Human Life Amendment, which would ban abortion in all instances, even in the case of rape and incest. In fact, that amendment is a central part of the Republican Party's platform that is being voted on tomorrow [Tuesday].'"

"Rape is rape." President Obama held an unscheduled press conference yesterday afternoon:

... Devin Dwyer & David Muir of ABC News: "Democrats said the presumptive nominee and his running mate have a history of aligning with Akin on 'extreme' positions, including legislation that would have redefined rape, banned abortion in all cases and cut off funding for abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood.... 'Congressman Ryan has already partnered with Akin on a whole host of issues that restrict women's ability to make their own health care decisions,' [DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz] said in an email blast to supporters Sunday night. 'This kind of "leadership" is dangerously wrong for women -- and I can't sit by and watch as these out-of-touch Republicans like Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and Todd Akin continue to roll back women's rights.'"

Congressional Races

CW: I'll bet Todd Akin always wanted to be famous. Now he is.

Nia-Malika Henderson & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders are focused on a Tuesday afternoon deadline, hoping that Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.), the embattled Senate candidate who used the phrase 'legitimate rape' in talking about abortion and pregnancy, will heed their calls to get out of the race and preserve the party's chances to take back the upper house. Akin has said repeatedly that he has no intention of ending his campaign, even as his prospects of winning have likely been diminished with Republican leaders pulling financial support from the contest and denouncing his comments."

Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "As part of his effort to keep his place on the November ballot, Representative Todd Akin, Republican of Missouri, released an ad Tuesday in which he asks for viewers' forgiveness for his comments on Sunday about rape." CW: Good. At least so far, he's staying in the race.

Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: "Facing a firestorm of criticism over his comments about 'legitimate rape,' Missouri Rep. Todd Akin canceled a scheduled interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on Monday. And in what's becoming something of a trend on cable news, Morgan opened his primetime show with a shot of Akin's empty chair, calling the embattled Republican Senate candidate a 'gutless little twerp' for cancelling the sit-down."

What's the Matter with Missouri? Laura Davis of Yahoo! News: "A poll conducted and released on Monday found that U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who's under fire for his comments about 'legitimate rape,' still has an edge over Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in Missouri's Senate race. Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based Democratic polling firm, has Akin leading McCaskill by one point, 44 percent to 43 percent. "

A Missouri reader sends this video of former Missouri Sen. Jack Danforth -- an Episcopalian priest -- expressing dismay at Todd Akin's remarks. Danforth claims "that's not the Republican party." Father Jack's hand-wringing would be a little more credible if he weren't responsible for bringing us Clarence Thomas:

Zack Beauchamp of Think Progress: "Akin's crusade against women's access to medical services fits with his broader worldview, which is heavily influenced by a particularly virulent group of fundamentalist thinkers described as 'Christian supremacists' by the Anti-Defamation League." ...

... Dan Amira of New York: "One study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that over 32,000 pregnancies result from rape every year in the United States." ...

... Amanda Marcotte in the American Prospect: "Akin's comment should serve as a reminder that despite its sentimentality surrounding the fetus, the anti-choice movement is motivated by misogyny and ignorance about human sexuality."

... Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed: "Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, said today on Mike Huckabee's radio show that he won't drop out of the race in the midst of a firestorm over comments he made this weekend about 'legitimate rape' and pregnancy.... 'We're going to take this thing forward and by the grace of God we're going to win this race,' Akin told Huckabee." CW: yes, because God is totally into Todd Akin. ...

Kaili Gray: "... Todd Akin himself announced ... that he will not be dropping out of the race.... He explained that he meant to say 'forcible rape' instead of 'legitimate rape,' which brings him in line with the rest of the Republican Party, including Paul Ryan. Does the party really intend to force out Paul Ryan and every other Republican who supported redefining rape to close 'loopholes' that victims of not-really-rape have been exploiting...? Republicans would like to force Akin to take the fall for this whole mess so they can go back to completely agreeing with him but without having to say so out loud." ...

... Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic: "Arguments like his have cropped up again and again on the right over the past quarter century and the idea that trauma is a form of birth control continues to be promulgated by anti-abortion forces that seek to outlaw all abortions.... The push for a no-exceptions anti-abortion policy has for decades gone hand in hand with efforts to downplay the frequency with which rape- or incest-related pregnancies occur, and even to deny that they happen, at all." ...

... Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones: "John C. Willke, an anti-abortion doctor, writes on the website Christian Life Resources about how pregnancies resulting from rape are 'extremely rare' because of hormones and stuff."

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "The Missouri GOP could replace Akin on the ballot if he voluntarily withdraws from the race, but Akin would need to decide to withdraw very quickly if he wants his party to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. Under Missouri law, Akin must withdraw 'not later than the eleventh Tuesday prior to the general election.' This year, the eleventh Tuesday prior to the general election is the 21st of August." ...

... AND David Taintor of TPM: "Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin's advisers are making preparations to withdraw from the race Tuesday, GOP operative Richard Grenell and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson report. Grenell cited 'GOP sources' in his tweet announcing the withdrawal." ...

... Alexander Burns of Politico: "The conservative outside-spending powerhouse Crossroads GPS is pulling its ads from the Missouri Senate race.... The group had originally booked a new round of ads to start Wednesday but began canceling them earlier today. The decision comes in the wake of comments by Missouri Rep. and GOP Senate nominee Todd Akin...." ...

... Later in the Day. Paul Kane & Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post: "... fearing the Akin controversy may cost them more that just that one race, Romney and Senate GOP leaders urged Akin to step aside and pulled funds from what they once considered a sure pickup. Democrats hope to capitalize on Akin's troubles, but it was the Republican response that brought the most pressure to bear. GOP leaders made the decision early Monday to try to forcefully push Akin out well before next week's national party convention, leaving his campaign in tatters by day's end."

... Peter Hamby of CNN: "Two top officials from the Family Research Council said the Missouri congressman is the target of a Democratic smear campaign and chided those Republicans who have condemned Akin."

... Dan Amira: "For the record, McCaskill does not think the party should try to replace the dim-witted neanderthal whose continued presence in the race gives her the best possible chance of winning. But only because it would upset so many Akin supporters."

Jon Walker: "It appears serious worries about being hurt by Akin also extend beyond people who have a direct connection to him on this issue. Already Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) has called for Akin to withdraw based on his statement." (Also linked above under Presidential Race.) ...

... Noah Bierman of the Boston Globe has more on Scott Brown's remarks and Elizabeth Warren's reaction.

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "House Republican leaders reprimanded 30 lawmakers last August for antics including drinking and skinny-dipping during a fact-finding trip to Israel, according to published reports. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) scolded the lawmakers -- many of them freshmen -- and senior GOP staffers for a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee. At least one of the lawmakers swam nude, according to a report published Sunday night by Politico. The FBI later inquired about the incident to determine whether there was any impropriety, the report said." Two of the participants whose re-election could be affected are Michael Grimm of Staten Island -- who is already in trouble for possible illegal campaign shenanigans -- & Ben Son-of-Dan Quayle, who is just an unmitigated jerk/chip-off-the-old-block. ...

     ... According to this New York Times story by Jennifer Steinhauer, both Grimm & Quayle say they went for a swim because of the religious significance of the Sea of Galilee.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The police arrested a professional tennis referee at a Manhattan hotel on Tuesday on a charge of murder in the death of her husband in April. The referee, Lois Ann Goodman, nicknamed Lolo, was in New York to work the United States Open."

AP: "A federal appeals court ruled late Tuesday that Texas can cut off funding for Planned Parenthood clinics that provide health services to low-income women before a trial over a new law that bans state money from going to organizations tied to abortion providers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted a federal judge's temporary injunction calling for the funding to continue pending an October trial on Planned Parenthood's challenge to the law."

** New York Times: "Even as the Republican establishment continued to call for Representative Todd Akin of Missouri to drop out of his Senate race because of his comments on rape and abortion, Republicans approved platform language on Tuesday calling for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion with no explicit exceptions for cases of rape or incest." CW: Just astounding. ...

... Yahoo! News: "A committee drafting the Republican Party's platform decided not to add support for civil unions for gay couples into its document, according to the leader of a Republican gay rights group." CW: At least they're consistent: discriminate against everybody who isn't a straight male.

Washington Post: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned one of the Obama administration's hallmark air quality rules Tuesday, ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency had overstepped its authority in curbing pollution from Midwest power plants too sharply. The 2 to 1 ruling by the appeals court represents a major victory for utilities and business groups, who fought the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule on the grounds that it was costly, burdensome and arbitrary."

Washington Post: "The Justice Department has signed off on Virginia’s new voter ID law, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) said Monday night, in a decision that clears the way for the bitterly contested measure to take effect in time for Election Day. Justice officials found that the law, which closes a provision that had allowed Virginians to vote without identification but also expands the types of ID accepted at the polls, does not violate the Voting Rights Act, McDonnell said in a statement."

New York Times: "A discrimination and retaliation lawsuit has embroiled the upper reaches of the federal government's immigration< enforcement agency, contributing to a sense of turmoil in a bureaucracy that has been suffering major labor conflicts between senior officials and employees. The lawsuit, filed by [James T. Hayes, Jr,] a top federal immigration official in New York, alleges that he was shunted out of a high-level position in the agency in favor of a less qualified woman because he was a man."

Washington Post: "Afghan officials say they have launched an expanded effort to spy on their own police and army recruits, an acknowledgment that previous measures designed to reduce insurgent infiltration in the country's security services have failed." ...

... Washington Post: "A plane belonging to the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff was apparently attacked by insurgents in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Militants fired rockets at the Bagram Airfield outside Kabul, and shrapnel hit U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey's C-17 military plane, according to NATO officials. Dempsey was not in the plane at the time of the attack. Several members of the maintenance crew sustained minor injuries. A helicopter was also damaged."

AP: "Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's long-time ruler who held tight control over this East African country but was a major U.S counter-terrorism ally, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in public for weeks, Ethiopian authorities announced Tuesday. He was 57."

The Commentariat -- August 20, 2012

My column in the New York Times eXaminer is on Brian McFadden's comic strip. The NYTX front page is here. ...

... Dean Baker has a great piece -- it's short -- on the New York Times as Paul Ryan cheerleader.

When $11,000 a Year is Too Rich. Carla Johnson & Kelli Kennedy of the AP: "Governors [of] five [Southern] states have said they'll reject the Medicaid expansion underpinning Obama's health law after the Supreme Court's decision gave states that option. Many of those hurt by the decision are working parents who are poor -- but not poor enough -- to qualify for Medicaid. Republican Mitt Romney's new running mate ... Paul Ryan, has a budget plan that would turn Medicaid over to the states and sharply limit federal dollars. Romney hasn't specifically said where he stands on Ryan's idea, but has expressed broad support for his vice presidential pick's proposals." ...

... CW: what NOBODY EVER SAYS is that Medicaid is pretty much a business subsidy. The working poor are poor because their employers don't pay them a living wage & don't provide health insurance. Our tax dollars go to Medicaid because many of the places we do business won't pay fair compensation. Ironically, the woman featured in the Johnson-Kennedy story works as a health aide. She's caring for people, but thanks to America's Worst Governor Rick Scott (RTP-Florida) won't be eligible for Medicaid. Thanks to contributor Dave S. for the link.

Larry Summers, who's right about some things, has an op-ed in today's Washington Post which responds to Paul Ryan, et al. idea of shrinking government: "For structural reasons, even preserving the amount of government functions that predated the financial crisis will require substantial increases in the share of the U.S. economy devoted to the public sector.

Presidential Race

Here's the latest Obama ad, this time appealing specifically to women, on reproductive rights:

Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: President Obama doesn't enjoy fundraising.

CW: haven't read it, by Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker has a long piece on what President Obama might do in his second term. I think I'll save it till after I find out if he has a second term.

This is quite sweet. Ralph Maxwell is a 92-year-old former Fargo, North Dakota, trial judge and World War II veteran. Watch it through. The text for Judge Maxwell's poem is here at the Blue Virginia site. Thanks to contributor Lisa for the links:

Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "The nation’s painfully slow pace of growth is now the primary threat to Mr. Obama's bid for a second term, and some economists and political allies say the cautious response to the housing crisis was the administration's most significant mistake.... Peter P. Swire, Mr. Obama's special assistant for economic policy in 2009 and 2010, said both the administration's successes in repairing financial markets and its shortcomings in helping homeowners could be traced to the president's reliance on Mr. Geithner and Mr. Summers." CW: for what it's worth, I think those "economists & political allies" are exactly right. Besides, there are ways to help underwater homeowners at no cost to taxpayers -- like allowing them to refinance at a lower interest rate & not allowing the banks to charge refinancing fees.

Faking the Real Romney. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Working from makeshift offices at a hockey arena [in Tampa, Florida], a team of Romney advisers, producers and designers have been staging and scripting a program for the Republican National Convention that they say they hope will accomplish something a year of campaigning has failed to do: paint a full and revealing portrait of who Mitt Romney is."

CW: as long as you think it's okay to be an autocrat who thinks he personally speaks for Jesus, Jason Horowitz of the Washington Post has written a fairly glowing piece about Romney as a church leader. ...

... CW: speaking of crazy anti-abortion ideas, as we do in the Congressional Races section below & in today's Comments, this version of "Bishop Mitt Tries to Stop a Woman from Having a Life-Saving Abortion," by Erin Ryan of Jezebel & published last October, is a bit more specific than was the version in the New York Times. If Prof. Judith Dushku is telling the whole truth, then the story has even broader application. It tells us why Mitt will "say anything, do anything" to get elected -- it's a church-approved tactic.

Paul Krugman: "Ryanomics is and always has been a con game, although to be fair, it has become even more of a con since Mr. Ryan joined the ticket.... What Mr. Ryan actually offers, then, are specific proposals that would sharply increase the deficit, plus an assertion that he has secret tax and spending plans that he refuses to share with us, but which will turn his overall plan into deficit reduction. If this sounds like a joke, that's because it is. Yet Mr. Ryan's 'plan' has been treated with great respect in Washington." ...

... What Con Game? What Hypocrisy? Here's Paul Ryan in 2002, taking to the well of the House to argue in favor of deficit spending to stimulate the economy. Notice how he is as passionately for it as he is now passionately against it. Thanks to contributor "Nisky Guy" for the link:

... Robert Reich: Paul Ryan's "faux populism obscures the main point. A much smaller government still dominated by money would continue to do the bidding of billionaires like casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, energy moguls like the Koch bothers, military contractors, and other high rollers now actively trying to put Ryan and Romney into the White House. It just wouldn't do anything for the rest of us.

Worth reading: Amy Davidson's post from last week on the social safety net which was available to Paul Ryan when his father died young.

Congressional Races

Nate Silver: "Based on some loose historical precedents, the remarks that the Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin of Missouri made about pregnancy and rape could be enough to swing the polls to the incumbent, Claire McCaskill." ...

... What comments might those be? Rebecca Berg of the New York Times reports: "Comments by Representative Todd Akin, a Republican running against Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, are drawing condemnation after he asserted that victims of 'a legitimate rape' have biological mechanisms to prevent pregnancy. 'If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,' Mr. Akin told KTVI-TV of St. Louis in an interview that was broadcast on Sunday." CW Translation: "If the fetus remains viable, then you were asking for it, you slut." ...

... John Eligon & Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times elaborate. ...

... Apparently the anti-abortion crowd, which would appear to include whatever Roman Catholic hierarchy was -- at least once upon a time -- responsible for determining the school sex education curriculum, has long passed around the idea that women only get pregnant when they "want it." Several months ago, Anna North of BuzzFeed rounded up some remarks from other charter members of Todd Akin's Sex & Science Club. Considering that at least one of the club members is a Bush-appointed federal judge, are we amazed that (white) rapists often get away with the she-consented defense? ...

... Amy Davidson of the New Yorker has a good post on Akin's views, & she is among those who note that Paul Ryan's views are not a lot different from Akin's -- no matter what "statements" the R&R campaign put out.

Local News

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "In a state crucial to Mitt Romney's battle to replace President Obama, a law passed in 2011 by the Republican legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) has created an awesome wake of litigation. The law imposes more than 75 changes, including restrictions on who can register voters and limits on the time allowed for early voting.... Every Democratic lawmaker, called it a partisan ploy to suppress voters who traditionally favor Democrats."

News Ledes

President Obama holds a news conference:

New York Times: "President Obama on Monday threatened military action against Syria if there was evidence that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was moving its stocks of chemical or biological weapons. It was Mr. Obama's most direct warning of American intervention in Syria, where Mr. Assad's military is fighting an 18-month-old rebellion." CW: the full presser is above, & is worth listening to on several counts.

New York Times: On Monday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "became one of the first two female members admitted to Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters tournament, which has excluded women as members throughout its 80-year history. The other new member is Darla Moore, a South Carolina financier and philanthropist who was on the cover of Fortune in 1997 as 'The Toughest Babe in Business.'"

New York Times: "Phyllis Diller, whose sassy, screeching, rapid-fire stand-up comedy helped open the door for two generations of funny women, died on Monday at her home in Brentwood, Calif. She was 95."

Los Angeles Times: "The Los Angeles County coroner's office and Los Angeles Police Department were both investigating the death of filmmaker Tony Scott, including interviewing witnesses.... Los Angeles police first learned of the incident after 12:30 p.m. from a 911 caller who said that an unidentified man had leaped off the suspension bridge that connects San Pedro and Terminal Island. It's a 185-foot fall from the bridge roadway to the waters of L.A. Harbor."

New York Times: "A Chinese court on Monday handed Gu Kailai, the wife of a disgraced Communist Party leader, a suspended death sentence for killing a British business associate who she reportedly feared was plotting to harm her son. In the Chinese legal system, such a sentence is tantamount to life in prison."

The Commentariat -- August 19, 2012

Lawrence Downes of the New York Times laments the popularization & dillution of Woody Guthrie, who would be 100 this year. ...

... An actual protest song against government-sponsored mass murder:

James Risen & Duraid Adnan of the New York Times: "When President Obama announced last month that he was barring a Baghdad bank from any dealings with the American banking system, it was a rare acknowledgment of a delicate problem facing the administration in a country that American troops just left: for months, Iraq has been helping Iran skirt economic sanctions imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear program."

Prof. Jennifer Scanlon, who wrote a biography of Helen Gurley Brown, on Brown's "other revolutionary idea: saving money is sexy." In the Washington Post.

Childhood Redux -- when the comic strip was the best part of the paper. Brian McFadden of the New York Times on campaign reporting:

CLICK ON CARTOON TO SEE LARGER IMAGE.

Presidential Race

Joe Conason in the National Memo: "Veteran Republican political consultant, unrepentant dirty trickster, and recently reborn libertarian Roger Stone yesterday published a startling accusation against Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney on his personal website, The Stone Zone. According to Stone, the billionaire Koch brothers purchased the Republican vice presidential nomination for Ryan from Romney in late July by promising to fork over an additional $100 million toward 'independent expenditure' campaigning for the GOP ticket. Any such transaction would represent a serious violation of federal election laws and perhaps other statutes, aside from the ethical and character implications for all concerned. What he has written amounts to a gleeful felony indictment of everyone involved. Will any of them demand a retraction or even issue a denial?" CW: Absent a confession from one or more of the interested parties or testaments from numerous fatcats within earshots, proving the case against Romney-Koch is virtually impossible. Thanks to contributor Lisa for the link.

Gov. Romney's just sort of a guy that you never want to play pick-up basketball with. He's always fouling, and he's always crying foul. -- Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Maryland)

CW: Jim Kuhnhenn & Philip Elliott of the AP write a fairly classic he-said/he-said report on the Medicare debate and provide a fine example of the sloppy sort of reporting McFadden (above) lampoons. Kuhnhenn & Elliott write that "Romney's and Ryan's were at the ready, too, to point out Obama had shifted billions from the program to pay for Democrats' health care law.... On Saturday, Ryan accused Obama of raiding the Medicare 'piggybank' to pay for his health care overhaul. Obama countered that seniors shouldn't trust their golden years to Romney." Note that the reporters never say that Ryan's two budgets would have made the same cost savings Ryan is bashing on the campaign trail & that rather than repurposing those cost savings for healthcare needs for Americans of all ages (including those +65), Ryan would have used the savings "to reduce the deficit." Now that Ryan has "evolved," I guess he & Willard are committed to either increasing the deficit by $716BB or cutting more out of food stamps, Pell grants & such.

The Transformation of Barack Obama. Ta-Nehisi Coates in the New York Times: "Before Obama became the Great Deceiver of Men, he was a pinot-noir-sipping weakling who was a horrible bowler, marveled at arugula and otherwise failed at manhood.... And so, no longer able to portray Obama as weak, the authors of Willie Horton, swift-boating and modern day poll-taxing have been reduced to other tactics -- among them wildly yelping, 'Please, Mr. President, nothing to the face.' Arugula partisan that I am, I must admit to some glee here.... [But] Obama's tough guy bona fides were largely built on the expansive bombing campaign he launched against Al Qaeda, a campaign that regards due process and the avoidance of civilian casualties as indulgences.... It is an ambiguous feat, accomplished by going to the dark side, by walking the G.O.P.'s talk, by becoming the man Dick Cheney fashioned himself to be."

New York Times Editors: "Republican attacks on President Obama's plans for Medicare are growing more heated and inaccurate by the day. Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan made statements last week implying that the Affordable Care Act would eviscerate Medicare when in fact the law should shore up the program's finances. Both men have also twisted themselves into knots to distance themselves from previous positions, so that voters can no longer believe anything they say. Last week, both insisted that they would save Medicare by pumping a huge amount of money into the program, a bizarre turnaround for supposed fiscal conservatives out to rein in federal spending. The likelihood that they would stand by that irresponsible pledge after the election is close to zero." ...

... Trip Gabriel & Helene Cooper of the New York Times finally do some due diligence: In a retirement community in Florida, "Paul D. Ryan wove a story of generational obligation on Saturday to make the case for his controversial Medicare plan.... Mr. Ryan accused Mr. Obama of being the bigger threat to the program because of savings wrung from the growth of spending in the program contained in the president's health law of 2010. The savings -- or cuts, in the eyes of Mr. Ryan -- are used to help pay for health care for the currently uninsured.... Left unsaid was that his own budget plan passed by the House in March includes the same $716 billion in savings, to be used to reduce the deficit." ...

... BUT Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post went the "he said/he said" route, refusing to call our Ryan. ...

... Don't Kid Yourselves, Seniors. Elise Viebeck of The Hill: "Medicare is not the only entitlement Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has big plans to reform. Its sister program, Medicaid, would lose about three-quarters of its federal funding by 2050 under proposals from the Republican vice presidential candidate, according to federal budget auditors. Medicaid provides healthcare for the poor and the disabled. Over 10 years, Ryan's budget plan would cut the program's budget by about $810 billion.... Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors [said,] 'It pays for 40 percent of the country's births and the majority of the nation's long-term care [for the elderly].'"

Shannon Young of the AP: "Speaking before 2,300 supporters in a crowded high school gym [in Windham, New Hampshire, President] Obama touched on his proposals to fix the economy, while drawing comparisons between his plan and that of Republican challenger Mitt Romney and running-mate Rep. Paul Ryan."

Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "Are taxes a form of charitable donation? ... Mitt Romney seemed to suggest that he might think so last week, when he responded to questions about how much he pays in taxes by suggesting that people should take into account his total contributions to the government and charities.... Experts ... said it was an inadvertently revealing moment, a brief window into the deep philosophical differences between how liberals and conservatives view government and society." CW: not mentioned in the story -- Romney seems to think that taxes -- like charitable gifts -- are optional. Also, the other day when I commented on Romney's remark, I exaggerated his gift to the Mormon Church. According to Helderman's story, the Romneys don't tithe.

Maureen Dowd lets other people take down Paul Ryan. But in the end, she writes, "Beyond the even-keeled Ryan mien lurks full-tilt virulence. A moderate demeanor is not a sign of a moderate view of the world." ...

... Dowd refers to a Rolling Stone essay by Tom Morello, the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine. Here's the post: "Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage."

I voted to send people to war. -- Paul Ryan, on why he has more foreign policy experience than President Obama did in 2008. Really, he said that. ...

... Andrew Kirell of Mediaite: "Speaking to Fox News’ Carl Cameron Saturday morning, Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan made the case for why he believes his foreign policy credentials are stronger than President Obama's, emphasizing that he has been a voting member of Congress longer than the president. Ryan cited his votes in favor of the Iraq War as evidence that he has had more foreign policy experience than Obama. 'I've been in Congress for a number of years,' he told Cameron. 'That's more experience than Barack Obama had when he came into office. 'I voted to send people to war,' he added."

AND the Boston Globe's editors say Vice President Biden should apologize for his "back in chains" remark.

Congressional Races

Parker of Fired Up Missouri: "f it's a day that ends in Y, extremist Rep. Todd Akin (R-Clayton) is saying something outrageous and/or dumb. Today [Friday] is no different. From Fox 2:

Republican Congressman Todd Akin said Friday afternoon he thinks it's time for a second look at federal "civil rights and voting rights" laws. The republican U.S. senate candidate told FOX 2's Charles Jaco states not the federal government should set voter rules. Congressman Akin of course is trying to unseat democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. And Akin has always said the federal government's role should be much smaller than it is. But Akin says that federal voting rights laws may need to be looked at, changed or overturned is something new. Those laws were passed in 1964, 1965 and 1968.

     ... CW: Obviously, the very need for these laws was created by the states themselves -- states that denied black Americans their Constitutional rights. So mark Friday as a day Todd Akin said something both dumb and outrageous -- which likely doesn't make Friday unique in any way.

News Ledes

AP: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange planned to make his first public appearance Sunday since he took refuge inside Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago, seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over sexual misconduct allegations." The Guardian is liveblogging the event. ...

     ... Update: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has called on President Barack Obama to end a 'witch hunt' against his secret-spilling website, after appearing in public for the first time since he took refuge inside Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago."

AP: "At least some of the seven people arrested in a fatal shootout with Louisiana deputies have been linked to violent anarchists on the FBI's domestic terrorism watch lists.... Detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday's shootout in Laplace in which two deputies were killed and two more wounded, said DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle. His detectives and other law enforcement discovered the suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the 'sovereign citizens' movement. The FBI has classified 'sovereign citizens'" as people who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes."

Guardian: "United Nations observers have begun to leave Damascus as their mission in Syria comes to an end. The last 100 out of 300 observers have been departing throughout Saturday -- their mandate expires after midnight on Sunday -- as their commander spoke of his frustration at being unable to minimise the violence."