Former presidential candidate Wesley Clark is now a Fox News military analyst. He was on O'Reilly tonight.

O'Reilly: You don't think 50 news stories in the New York Times about Abu Graib undermined the war effort?

Clark: I think Abu Ghraib undermined the war effort.

Crooks and Liars watched Olberman who said the ratings for Bush's Iraq speech were a flop. [link fixed]

Only 23 million saw the show, down from 34.7 million for his Social Security speech. It sure looks like he was preaching to the choir.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich says it's critical that we have a withdrawal plan from Iraq.

The longer we stay in Iraq, accidentally killing tens of thousands of civilians, we create more people who swear vengeance against America. Pre-war intelligence, including the c.I.A., saw no serious link between Osama Bin Laden and Hussein.

....Everything about the war in Iraq has been wrong. It was wrong to go in. It is wrong to stay in. It is wrong to keep our troops in harm's way. H.J. Res. 55 gives us a chance to right the wrong and exit with a plan which is sensitive to the security concerns of both the Iraqi people and the American people, because the truth is that this war is making people in both countries less safe.

Contact your Congressperson and ask him or her to support H.J. Res. 55, a binding congressional resolution calling on President Bush to begin withdrawing the United States Armed Forces from Iraq on or before October 1, 2006. Let's start the exit process.

Senator Harry Reid has proposed several consensus candidates to the Supreme Court.

Seeking a possible consensus nominee, Reid recommended Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Mike Crapo of Idaho. Reid described them all as bright and able lawyers who would be strong additions to the nation's highest court.

I have to disagree. None of those would be acceptable to me. They are all either lacking in judicial experience or far too much to the right. I think Supreme Court Justices should have a proven judicial record and be free of the appearance of impropriety that comes with long-standing political loyalties gained through fundraising for Senate elections.

The best consensus choice would be 5th Circuit Appeals Court Justice Ed Prado. President Bush nominated him for the 5th Circuit and he was overwhelmingly approved (97 to 0.) He's been on the federal bench since Reagan appointed him to the Distict Court in 1984.

Judge Prado is the only judicial nominee of President Bush's that I have endorsed.

Draft Prado.

Update: Here's Senator Schumer's 2003 list of consensus candidates and Judge Prado is on it.

And Lindsay Graham says he's not interested:

Bump and Update: 6:00 pm: All 17 soldiers on board the helicopter downed in Afghanistan are believed dead. May they rest in peace. It's time for an exit stratgegy. Or at least a workable one. Go here and sign Sen. Ted Kennedy's petition.

Our soldiers in Iraq need more than vague assurances of progress from the President. They need an effective plan to end the violence, bring peace and stability to Iraq, and return home with dignity and honor. Unfortunately, the Administration’s view of the war is ignoring reality. Our soldiers need more than a public relations campaign from the Administration to win this war. They need honesty and leadership.

Bump and Update: 20 hours later and still no word on the fate of those aboard? Why?

Arianna is still on top of the visit VP Dick Cheney made to the Vail Valley Medical Center last week. Cheney's office has officially denied he had an EKG while in Vail. Arianna says,

This morning, a source close to the hospital told me that, in fact, the vice president was administered “a 12 lead EKG” by a nurse in the cardiac unit. “The hospital has put a clamp on all discussions of the Cheney visit,” my source told me. “Each department was asked to gather its employees and give them a short HIPAA Privacy Rule lesson. People were told that anyone who is treating a patient and discloses information could be fined up to $50,000 and 5 years in jail. And if it’s malicious, it can be $100,000 and 10 years in jail.” A nurse speaking to our source said, her voice shaking: ‘I can’t talk to you about this...

From Defense Attorney John Wesley Hall (author of Search and Seizure Textbook, among others):

....the Republicans decry judicial activism at every turn, but, in Kelo v. City of New London (pdf), the "liberal" majority engages in judicial passivity to permit a taking by local government to use private property for a "public purpose" by granting near total deference to the determination of local officials.

The label "judicial activism" always applies to the judges aligned with the other guy. When it's their guys doing it furthering their agenda, "well, that's just the way it goes, citizen, suck it up." When you think about it, the only mouths the words "judicial activism" come out of are from the Right, but with an agenda to threaten judges with impeachment or a constitutional amendment limiting terms. Note that they didn't think of that when Reagan-Bush packed the federal courts with about two-thirds of its active members in that twelve years.

And I sit here, with my divining rod, trying to forecast where the Court is going in the next constitutional case.

In other Kelo news, developers want to seize Justice Souter's home. Law Prof Eric Muller of IsThatLegal has some thoughts on this and a lot of links to other law profs discussing it.

Update: Skippy has a blog roundup of opinion on the case from both sides.

Received by e-mail from some Democrats on Capitol Hill:

" This morning on CNN Daybreak (scroll to bottom for transcript) Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC) directly asserted multiple times that there is a connection between 9/11 and Iraq/Saddam Hussein. Last night, President Bush alluded to it 6 times and today other Republicans are asserting that evidence that no one can see exists as to the connection between 9/11 and Iraq exists.

The facts, however, completely undermine all of these fictitious assertions. Among the many sources refuting Rep. Hayes and others claiming Iraqi ties to 9/11 are:

• President George Bush: "No, we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th." [FNS, 9/17/03]

• NSC Chair Condaleeza Rice: "...We have never claimed that Saddam Hussein had either, that Saddam Hussein had either direction or control of 9/11." [ABC, 9/16/03]

• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: "I've not seen any indication that would lead me to believe that I could say that [Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11th attacks]." [CNN, 9/16/03]

[Via Wall Street Journal]

Your turn. Have fun.

Very cool, Markos of Daily Kos and Atrios testified at the FEC hearing today on media regulation.

Update: Here are Markos' prepared remarks.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke in Georgia today at a Judge's swearing in ceremony:

Thomas noted that his court ended its term on Monday as "winds of controversy swirled about the Court's decisions and, unfortunately, about the imagined resignations."

From his mouth to Bush's ear. Let's hope Rehnquist and O'Connor last out Bush's term. [Via CrimProf Blog].