http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/120...6&out=00:01:54 http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=650
http://www.thenextright.com/about http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/120...0&out=00:04:23
He worked on damage control for "macaca" George Allen, consulted on the Fred "Law and Order" Thompson campaign and now calls John McCain a "Maverick."
Just don't call him a conservative.
Reminds me of the old joke about touching, tasting and smelling some crap - Only to declare : Good thing we didn't step in it! Would the Neolibertarians invite Brink Lindsey to their party? Would he accept?

Yup. File this one under Distinction without a Difference. I am inclined to think this is more of a self-branding effort, whether Jon's aim is to make himself stand out, or to distance himself from the wingnuttier of today's self-identifying conservatives. But, hey, if he wants to say, "... I am neither a Conservative nor a Republican. I am a Man of the Right," that's his privilege. It's about the same thing as liberals insisting on calling themselves progressives. I did think he did a pretty nice job on this diavlog. Nothing major jumps to mind as an example, but while watching, there were several times when I thought that he avoided going down the partisan hack road and instead showed a nice honesty.

This guy's like the Bob Shrum of the GOP. Just kiddiing, He sounds like a good guy with a string of bad jobs.

This snippet perfectly illustrates the right's thinking over the past 30 years or so; people are stupid, so get them to vote for you based on their values, which you pretend to share, then institute policies that will destroy their way of life. This is the Reagan/Rovian enshrinement of cynicism. While I agree that it seemed to work for a long time, eventually (to quote poor old Jeremiah Wright), the chickens come home to roost. I think Bill has it exactly right here; you can't get away with this anymore. I think Jon's dismissal of this is why the Republicans stand to get eviscerated in the fall. Overall, though, I think Jon did a good job of defending the indefensible. Hope he comes back.

It did seem as if too many arguments (and I think Scher was guiltier of this than Henke) stalled with some disclaimer about the difference between tactics ("politics") and substantive issues.

Ditto! I added Henke's blog to my blogroll! The Bob Barker coinage was enough to impress me. This was an efficient, courteous, sometimes witty and provocative diavlog, while still being a debate. I actually thought Scher was a bit zealous at times, pushing for a foul. But, when the bhTV schedulers find these bloggers for W-in-B, the whole diavlog is better! Why do we need the hacks? Four weeks, 8 bloggers! Is that so hard to comprehend?

I was mostly impressed by Henke's non-political arguments about environmentalism and consumer choice. Again, he brought a much need extra element to a diavlog. Here's a related link I listened to before this diavlog on a related riff, Fred Krupp on business-friendly environmentalism.

no.......more......election coverage. please, bob. I can barely breath and my heart is slowing.....I don't think I'm going to make it. the redundancy is......is sucking away my will to live......help.....help me bob, please, I beg you.......eehh......arguhhhhh. (and he was no more)

Quoting Bokonon: This [url="http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/12089?in=00:11:45&out=00:13:10"] I think Jon's dismissal of this is why the Republicans stand to get eviscerated in the fall.

*eviscerated*
That would HAVE to hurt, I hate to say it (sarc.), but I am soo looking forward to the evisceration.
Sorry to plagiarize, but I'm getting the shirts printed ASAP.

I have been reading Q&O for quite some time now. Mr. Henke while explicitly decrying that he is not a conservative pretty much follows there standard line, on many subjects, so it is probably only a matter of semantics as far as political labeling goes, but he does not hold conservatives in awe or find them without defect.

Politics as usual. John did great at not taking Bill's baiting. The removal of the Muslim woman is just another case of the Obama campaign blaming underlings while showing the two-faced aspect of his campaign. Bill's attempt at twisting it into removing ammunition from the REAL bigots was a joke.

Quoting piscivorous: I have been reading Q&O for quite some time now. Mr. Henke while explicitly decrying that he is not a conservative pretty much follows there standard line, on many subjects, so it is probably only a matter of semantics as far as political labeling goes, but he does not hold conservatives in awe or find them without defect.

Independent thinking is the best you can hope for in a blogger... imagine if you got that from a politician. I will take a closer look at the next right site. This may be the source of the upcoming movement Conn alludes to.

Quoting Whatfur: Politics as usual.

John did great at not taking Bill's baiting.

The removal of the Muslim woman is just another case of the Obama campaign blaming underlings while showing the two-faced aspect of his campaign. Bill's attempt at twisting it into removing ammunition from the REAL bigots was a joke.

ROTFLMAO AT "J" Two faced politicians! what will they think of next?
You guys are feeling the fire already, aren't you?
I'm starting to feel your pain, and it is as sweet as a summer breeze, just wait until you've endured 8 long years and nobody seems to want to hear your angry rants about the administration that's destroying the country you love. YOu think I'm nUTs, but I am you in 4.5 years, when you won't be able to believe you lost two in a row.... and you're in for 4 more.... ha ahhaaahhahhahahhahaaahahahahaahahahahahah!!!!!!!!

While Bill is congratulatiing Obama on his toughness against terrorism, he might want to read how the certain democratic nominee showed a complete lack of understanding when comparing the recent SCOTUS ruling regarding terror detainees to the Nuremberg trials. Barack Obama once again embarrasses himself with his poor grasp of history. Habeas Corpus? Law Expert Obama Gaffes on Nuremberg Trials The Nazis were given their day in court. But that court wasn’t an American court, and they didn’t have the right to challenge their detention which is what habeas corpus is.
The parade of errors continues. Now he's going completely back on his word, not only refusing public financing he was vowing to accept but going the extra mile and blaming McCain for the decision. Comedy gold.

I agree with the comments saying that Jon seemed like a decent, thoughtful guy. That made me all the more surprised to see him calling Obama's comments on being willing target bin Laden within Pakistan "insane," then elaborating about it here. I thought the canard about how this showed Obama to be irresponsible and/or naive had been thoroughly discredited in January when the U.S. did exactly what Obama was discussing and none of Obama's critics seemed the slightest bit upset about it. I was surprised that Jon repeated this line of attack, and I was disappointed that Bill failed to call him on it. (There was a separate argument about whether it was naive for Obama to publicly state that he would be willing to take action against bin Laden in Pakistan w/out Pakistan's consent, but Henke is clearly arguing here that the policy itself is "insane," not the public discussion of it.)

Quoting harkin: ...Comedy gold.

Now a little FISA Flop!!! The comedy never stops.

I'm a little unclear about the "mission statement" of this program. Is this a forum for Bill to ensure that his political points are validated in all cases.. or is this a program where each side gives a run down on what could be found on the various blogs on each side?

Quoting Whatfur: Politics as usual.

John did great at not taking Bill's baiting.

The removal of the Muslim woman is just another case of the Obama campaign blaming underlings while showing the two-faced aspect of his campaign. Bill's attempt at twisting it into removing ammunition from the REAL bigots was a joke.

Bill put a lot of emphasis "Obama was making it clear that it's ok to be a Muslim. That simply being called a Muslim isn't a smear" Oh really? I haven't heard that message at all coming from the Obama's. And his smear site is aptly named since in its rebuttals it has the tendency to false smear others (like Rush) The thing about Obama's claim of not being a Muslim is that he claims he wasn't EVER a Muslim, but it's clear that he was raised as a Muslim while living in Indonesia. So why is he lying? The lying about this is what gets people aroused.

Quoting Whatfur: Now a little FISA Flop!!!

The comedy never stops.

Oh I forgot the best part! The day you realize that the true fault for your misery lies with your very own party! They went to sleep and ran some has been from the Vietnam era and some rich dickheads smear his service record, and tell lies about his decorations, and twist his heroism into near criminal status, and then the same jerks turn around and insist that they "support the troops". This then, leaves a hole in your agenda so big the opposition could drive a truck through. And a candidate you think is the lamest you've ever seen, climbs on that metaphorical truck and drives it right on in to the white house.
AND THE "COMEDY", LITERALLY, NEVER STOPS. Ha Ha
Before you start thinking I erroneously mixed the Gore and Kerry stories, My little story is about your huntin' dog. And don't try to say he ain't yours, 'cause you are obviously still in this hunt or you wouldn't be beating the partisan hack bushes for ammunition. Welcome to the nightmare. Hope your resume is in order... 'cause I get the feeling this latest flipflopper is ready to trim the fat.

First a flopper...and now a race baiter! Does he think that if he surrounds his "inexperience" with race baiting that it will hide it? “The choice is clear. Most of all we can choose between hope and fear. It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy. We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?" Classy Obama...real classy.

Quoting Whatfur: Classy Obama...real classy.

Yeah, it's amazing how distasteful the right's talking points sound when heard coming from someone you don't like, isn't it?

Quoting bjkeefe: Yeah, it's amazing how distasteful the right's talking points sound when heard coming from someone you don't like, isn't it?

Riigghht. Show me where McCain (or ANY recognizable Republican) is pointing out Obama's blackness. Your response is as much of a farce as his statement.

Quoting Whatfur: Riigghht. Show me where McCain (or ANY recognizable Republican) is pointing out Obama's blackness. Your response is as much of a farce as his statement.

Perhaps McCain and most other top-ranked elected Republicans have not done this that much, but the entire vast rightwing noise machine has been pushing FUD related to Obama's skin color since January at least. Granted, one rarely hears a direct statement to the effect of "Obama wants to get whitey" from people less unbalanced than David Thomson, but there are all kinds of codewords used -- hints about "secret Muslim," "secret Marxist," "affirmative action candidate," "radical," "elitist" and "arrogant" (to mean "uppity"), harping on questions of his or his wife's love for America, the emphasis on the church he went to, "terrorist fist jab," the list goes on and on. I hope you won't try to deny that. It's also arguable that McCain could be guilty of a sin of omission here -- he could make some strong statements regarding the smears. So far he hasn't, and I don't expect that he will. So, he's kind of getting to enjoy the benefit of such attacks, while making sure his St. John halo stays in place. Reminds me a lot

Quoting bjkeefe: Perhaps McCain and most other top-ranked elected Republicans have not done this that much,
...

"Perhaps"??? Going out on a limb I see.

Quoting bjkeefe: It's also arguable that McCain could be guilty of a sin of omission here..."

Only by those without an argument. I asked for specifics and of course you provide none while once again attempting to deflect the discussion towards someone not currently running in this election. Bottom line is it is YOUR candidate's comment. You may find it acceptable for whatever imagined reason, I personally find it reprehensible. If he chooses to go down that path, then he deserves everything he gets.

Nor would we want to get into the 527 bit from the 2004 election. I believe the Democrats had approximately a 3:1 spending advantage there. It just seems that the Republicans got more bang for the buck.

"Swiftboating" [Byron York]
It's common to see mentions in the press these days about some "swiftboating" of Barack Obama that is allegedly in the works, or might someday allegedly be in the works, or might someday be thought to be allegedly in the works. While I'm sure there will be some hit jobs on Obama — this is a presidential campaign, after all — this talk seems to be based on a fundamental misunderstanding, perhaps willful in some cases, of the swift boat episode in the 2004 campaign. The swift boat veterans in that year were the officers who served alongside John Kerry in Vietnam. They had first-hand knowledge of Kerry's service, and they had a story to tell about Kerry's behavior in Vietnam and his later antiwar activities at home. Based on 35 year-old memories, some of their claims were accurate, and some weren't. But the point is, these men were in a specific position to know about a specific time in Kerry's life. It was entirely proper that their criticisms be aired. Later, some of the swift boat veterans criticized Kerry on other issues, but who cared? They had no more standing to speak about

Shorter Whatfur/Byron York: How dare you criticize attempts to put simplistic labels on Obama by putting a simplistic label on them.

Quoting bjkeefe: Shorter Whatfur/Byron York:

How dare you criticize attempts to put simplistic labels on Obama by putting a simplistic label on them.

Not sure that makes any sense, but I did find it interesting to read Mr. York echoing my feeling a day after I read and responded to your note while also hearing talk radio today echoing my disgust with Obama's comment. Very interesting putting up those comments along with other speeches of Obama where he was on the race "high road". Just a little detour I guess.

Quoting Whatfur: Not sure that makes any sense, but I did find it interesting to read Mr. York echoing my feeling a day after I read and responded to your note while also hearing talk radio today echoing my disgust with Obama's comment. Very interesting putting up those comments along with other speeches of Obama where he was on the race "high road". Just a little detour I guess.

You always find it "interesting" when someone is echoing your feelings, even when they aren't. (see Science Saturday: Time’s Arrow) Swiftboating is here to stay, Rovie let that cork out of the bottle and you can't put it back in. The donkeys don't want to forget that ugly smear campaign. How many of those vets were on Kerry's boat? ONE! how many of his commanding officers tried to debunk that crap?
see for yourself "Swiftboating" is valuable code for "mean ass bullshitting".
It's sticking like "gating" and I can't wait for S&Lgate 'cause your dog was in on that mess, big time!

Just wanted to post an update on the despicable practice of dishonoring our vets:
Swiftjetters! I hate this kind of crap, but I gotta give the dems some credit for turning it back on the Bush-kissing scumbags that let the original swiftboating continue. Of course I personally do not endorse this kind of character assassination, which, like W himself, allows me to take the moral high ground while benefiting from the very act I feign disdain for.