Pols and pundits know a sinking ship when they see one, hence Hagel, Volcker and Kmiec. The screwed up the GOP, why not jump on board and screw the Democratic party too. That's why I like Lambert's FKD (formerly knows as Democratic) formulation. It sums it up perfectly.

they've done a fine job of it.

"You'd better get this straight. Wise up before it's too late." -- Sister Sledge

Jesus Christ!

All I have to comfort myself, and it's a bare thread, is: the shit will hit the fan and it'll be spread all over the new administration. The financial crisis and failed bailout won't give them much breathing room with the public.

I agree with GQM: the media is a parasite and they're going to do to the Democratic Party what they they did to the GOP (Mind you, corporate interests have already wreaked havoc on the Democratic Party, making them energetic, Republican enablers). Obama will not disappoint the media, which only spells disaster for the country.

...pretty early on as a dark horse VP pick for Obama? They are going to force him somewhere into this picture.

Yes, many Republicans are jumping their own ship knowing where their current course is taking them only to force them onto the Democratic ship of which they'll also foul. All of these GOP turncoats aren't at all ideologically disgusted with their party's policies; they are simply looking for a new meal ticket, and Obama is more than happy to oblige them.

Clemons on Powell:

In the case of Powell -- he is a sensible national security realist and cautious general who Obama (if he wins) should solicit advice from frequently.

Yeah, if Obama needs somebody to hold up a vial of white powder, Powell's definitely the man for the job.

What is it in the Village water supply, anyhow?

[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.

To see how quickly so-called liberals abandoned real liberals when it comes to talking about Obama. I remember when there was the whole hub-bub about whether Powell had endorsed Obama or not I saw liberals seriously praising how good of a vice presidential pick Powell would be. The whole year has been the "Year of the WTF?" if you ask me.

Invasion, right? Came rather late to the realization it sucked big time?

He's a Villager insider (outer orbit, perhaps, but still a Villager).

in an Obama administration. Goes into his plans for the new military (everything's bigger except the Air Force). LINK.

Gates offered a vision of a U.S. military-plus. There was the usual support for a range of conventional weapons systems for wars that will never be fought and their futuristic equivalents, as well as for a larger Army, a larger Marine Corps, and a larger Navy. (The Air Force, except for unmanned aerial vehicles, looks to be in trouble in Gatesworld.) But above all, the once and (possibly) future secretary of defense wants to invest in "institutionalizing counterinsurgency skills, and our ability to conduct stability and support operations." Backed by a growing lobby eager to put ever more warm bodies in the military, he's opting for a major build-up to deal with future insurgencies out there in the global badlands. Think… gulp… "nation building." Think, as well, future Afghanistans and Iraqs.

And that's just the intro to an essay by Aziz Huq, who asks "Do empires end with a bang, a whimper, or the sibilant hiss of financial deflation?"

Hiss looks likely. He posits that our fiscal breakdown, caused by the hubris of the Big Banker Boiz, will indeed cause a breakdown in most aspects of our inernational relations.

Thank you, George and Dick, BushCo, Inc. This time, George, even Poppy's rich friends will probably not be able to fix the problems you caused. Enjoy your corner of Paraguay.