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<DIV><FONT face=Georgia color=#008000 size=2>nathan, it's interesting how you
continually put an intellectual face -- and rationale if one could call it that
-- on incompetence, weakness, corruption, failure and
stupidity. you find "reason" where there is none. strategy
among the hopeless and confused. and sense among the
senseless. you should be writing columns for a newspaper somewhere;
an embedded journalist for the fools paradise set.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Georgia color=#008000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Georgia color=#008000 size=2>R</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Georgia color=#008000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #008000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=nathanne@nathannewman.org
href="mailto:nathanne@nathannewman.org">Nathan Newman</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=lbo-talk@lists.panix.com
href="mailto:lbo-talk@lists.panix.com">lbo-talk@lists.panix.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 30, 2003 11:23
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Daschle eats his words, and
then some</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "RE" <<A
href="mailto:earnest@tallynet.com">earnest@tallynet.com</A>><BR><BR><BR>>But
Daschle does seem to think that unless he apologizes he will be
in<BR>>trouble, so he believes someone is paying
attention. It's just not<BR>clear<BR>>to me if he
is being overwhelmed by public opinion's vagaries, or allowing<BR>>himself
to be overwhelmed in a masochistic, stupefying gesture. In
that<BR>>respect I wish he'd just keep his mouth shut in the first place,
rather<BR>than<BR>>say "Look at me, I'm powerful, and even I have to
crumble and apologize."<BR><BR>Actually I think it was more strategic than
that, laying the political<BR>marker that Bush had screwed up the diplomacy
then signing off for the<BR>duration. And he never apologized for the
analysis, only for the timing--<BR>which in many ways is a great way to appear
to apologize while not<BR>withdrawing the substance of the criticism.
When things go bad, despite<BR>official Dem support for the troops, the GOP
won't be able to then say that<BR>it was really a bipartisan
position.<BR><BR>Daschle and the Dems are trying to have their cake (criticize
Bush) and eat<BR>it too (appear supportive of the troops). There may be better
strategic ways<BR>to do it, but I think people are overemphasizing the apology
and not enought<BR>the substance of the criticism.<BR><BR>--
Nathan<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>