I sure hope it’s not about race

In my last post, I should probably have mentioned that Bush’s speech in the UAE also included a fierce attack on Iran, which he called “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.” He went on, “Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere.” Everywhere? He said the US is “rallying our friends around the world” against Iran “to confront this danger before it is too late.” Too late? Define “too late.” After January 20, 2009, presumably.

He also said that democracy in the Middle East is perfectly compatible with hereditary leaders such as the sheik-president of the UAE and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who he is visiting next, just like Japan has an emperor and the US has the Bush dynasty.

On Meet the Press this morning, Hillary Clinton accused Barack Obama of playing the race card: “I don’t think this campaign is about gender, and I sure hope it’s not about race.” So neither gender nor race are relevant to American politics anymore, Hillary?

Asked about her judgment in voting for the Iraq war (which she still says was not a vote for preemptive war, although when Bush used that vote to start a preemptive war, I don’t recall her complaining), she snapped, “Judgment is not a single snapshot. Judgment is what you do across the course of your life.” Wow, that’s really the best you can do?

British political comedian Armando Iannucci finds himself less than impressed with Obama’s speeches (and with presidential campaign rhetoric in general): “Maybe it’s because his is a rhetoric that soars and takes flight, but alights nowhere. It declares that together we can do anything, but doesn’t mention any of the things we can do. It’s a perpetual tickle in the nose that never turns into a sneeze.”

The British government is thinking about putting organ donation on an “assumed consent” basis (opt-out rather than opt-in). What’s the most alarming headline you could put on that story? From the Indy: “PM Backs Removal of Body Parts Without Consent.”