Ted Kennedy has written a new book in which he condemns the Bush Doctrine of preventive war. The Liberal Lion also lays out his case for higher taxes on the rich (himself included, I would hope), universal health care, etc., etc. I'm all in favor of politicians getting their views before the public as clearly as possible, so I applaud the senior Senator from Massachusetts for his efforts. I hope many Americans read the book (or excerpts) and think about which committees he will chair if the Democrats take back the Senate this November.

Jeff Jacoby chastises the chattering classes for making hasty judgments about Jill Carroll upon her release from captivity. Although I didn't write about it here, and therefore I can't prove it, I was very skeptical about her initial remarks. I wasn't going to believe a word of it until she was safely in the arms of the U.S. Armed Forces. The earlier video of her crying and pleading for her life was just to real for me to buy that it was an acting job, therefore, the last video and interview essentially taking the side of her kidnappers just didn't strike me as being genuine. I was right, but my doubts are the reason I refrained from commenting on her case immediately after her release, which is the essence of Jacoby's article...think before you speak (or write).

Eliot Cohen, in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, says the recent academic paper purporting to show the undue and destructive influence of the so-called "Jewish Lobby" is an example of anti-Semitic bigotry. I haven't read the paper, but if the only people praising it are David Duke and a bunch of Islamists overseas, my guess is that it is pretty suspect. At some point, if I can find it online, I'll get around to reading it and judge for myself.

Robert Samuelson, in another op-ed piece in the Post, lays out a solution to the immigration impasse in Congress. He doesn't think they will adopt it, and I don't either. My guess is that nothing substantive will be done before the elections.

The Belmont Club continues to analyze the political situation in Iraq, with a critique of the pessimistic appraisals made by such Conservative luminaries as George Will and William F. Buckley. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Let's wait and see if the political leaders of Iraq's various factions really want to cooperate, or consign their country to the fate of Afghanistan or Lebanon, except on a much larger and deadlier scale. I don't think they want to do that, and every time their is an outbreak of large-scale violence they stare into the abyss, which is a great incentive for them to set aside their differences and come to some sort of compromise.