June 20, 2003

Mr. Springer goes to Washington?

Could be. Jerry Springer, the host of what may be the trashiest show in TV history -- and we're talking a lot of trash -- is contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Voinovich of Ohio. Don’t laugh. Cincinnati voters once elected him mayor at the tender age of 33. Even the Aussies are on top of this one. The Melbourne Age reports that, "Unlike most politicians, Springer is not unduly concerned about skeletons in his closet. 'That's one big closet, buddy. That's a walk-in closet,' he said. In his previous political career he survived the revelation he had paid for 'extras' in a massage parlour, and in 1998 he was secretly filmed having sex with a porn star who appeared on his show. 'Everybody knows it,' he said. 'That's the one advantage. What are you going to say about me that people don't already suspect?' " Springer has also put up a web site. What the hey? If Jesse Ventura was good enough to be a governor, maybe Jerry can hack it as a senator. After all the yelling at weirdos he's done on the tube he could fit right in. Oh, yeah. He’s a Democrat.

Posted by tbrown at 11:28 AM

Does finding Saddam’s WMDs still matter?

Yes. Wars are – or at least should be – fought against imminent threats to national security. The Bush administration proffered two of these: WMDs and the apparently bogus assertion that Iraq and Al Qaida were cooperating on terror activities aimed at the U.S. Since one of the justifications didn’t exist, it’s critical that other does. We expect that some evidence of WMD production eventually will be found in Iraq. After all, almost everyone thought Iraq still had WMD capabilities when UN inspectors were thrown out in 1998. Kenneth Pollack, a National Security Council member during the Clinton administration and a supporter of the war, recounts that evidence here (free New York Times registration required). Unfortunately, however, it is increasingly clear that the Bush administration cooked intelligence estimates about Iraq’s capabilities, then lied to the American people about the severity of the threat in order to build support for the war. This piece from The New Republic sets the evidence out in damning detail.

Posted by tbrown at 09:49 AM