One of the more interesting things to happen politically this year is the manner in which the Beltway Establishment has basically been utterly rejected by most of the country. While David Broder bleats for "sensible bipartisanship" without ever explaining what substantive policies should actually look like, the American People have basically rejected the performance of the Washington Establishment.

For Democrats in Washington, their performance on Iraq has pushed their approval ratings to extreme lows. For Republicans, it has been Bush's immigration bill.

One thing is clear about this year, the big loser has been the Washington Elite. NOBODY likes them. They have never been as out of step with the country as they are now. I wonder if they have any clue about this.

Kevin Drum makes a great point about Michael Moore:

It's true that I wish Michael Moore were a wee bit more scrupulous with the facts in his films, but I sometimes wonder if he doesn't insert random distortions into his movies deliberately. . . . [T]he end result is the kind of publicity money can't buy, and it's the sweetest kind of publicity of all: the kind that's subsidized by his enemies, who helpfully boost ticket sales by furiously denouncing his films for weeks on end. . . . Which, of course, explains why he shot part of SiCKO in Cuba. Sweden or Canada would have worked just as well, but probably no other country in the world could have produced the kind of howling denunciations from the National Review set that Cuba has produced. . . .

That makes total sense.

Taylor Marsh and a host of people say:

There is no doubt that Reid said what he said [that Pace is incompetent]. The question now is, why in the world did Reid let this hang out there all day without confirming it? Since he did the honorable thing and told Pace to his face what he thought of him, why not also confirm to someone, anyone? Also, since Reid believes it why not take the opportunity to also come out and stand by your story strongly at least in a statement? And why sidestep the question at a press conference? Again, the strongest thing to do when you've leveled a charge like this is stand up and stand behind it. Reid's silence all day while the rest of us tried to get to the bottom of this was ridiculous. It makes no sense.

With due respect, I disagree with almost every particular of this analysis. I will explain on the flip.

Greg Sargent got it:

REID: Look what this Justice Department has done. And now, with the Surgeon General, we have a man here who has written articles that I think are a little questionable as to in our modern society. He's a medical doctor. And don't worry, he's gonna be looked at very closely.

BLOGGER QUESTION: What's the next step on Gonzales?

REID: Well, I guess the President, he's gotten rid of Pace because he could not get confirmed here in the Senate. Pace is also a yes-man for the President. I told him to his face, I laid it out last time he came in to see me. I told him what an incompetent man I thought he was. But he got rid of his Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, but he still hangs on to this failed Attorney General. And I guess he's gonna [inaudible]. We're gonna keep focusing on it. Every day that goes by, it seems he keeps giving. Now we've learned that the immigration judges are all graduates of Regent University I guess.

Joining the 3 bloggers who denied that Sen. Reid called Gens. Petraeus and Pace incompetent, the Americablog bloggers on the call also deny that Reid said it, increasing the pressure on Politico to retract its story or be more forthcoming on its sourcing. As of now, Politico identifies "sources familiar with the interview."

[Edited to remove any speculation on Bob Geiger. As I wrote, I take Bob Geiger at this word that he was not the source. My apologies to Bob. ]

The Politico is reporting:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported. Reid made similar disparaging remarks about Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said several sources familiar with the interview.

Hmm. Who are these sources familiar with the interview? I assume it was not Reid. Who else was there? The most likely candidates are the people who were on the call. The "liberal bloggers." Now here is a question for Politico and the sources and, for that matter, everyone who was on the call - Why are you anonymous (or at least not identified by your blogger name)? Why are the sources anonymous? Why did the sources, if they are bloggers, not write about this? And if Reid did say it, why was this not blogged about it?

This is extremely strange. Do "liberal bloggers" fear "retaliation" for being a source on this story? Or is it that they are embarrassed that they did not blog about it? Is "being embarrassed" sufficient for the grant of anonymity? The description of the sources "persons familiar" provides no guidance on this one. But here is a chance for blogs to shake things up.

If you have a 5 ounce tube of Colgate toothpaste, read this.

Five-ounce tubes of toothpaste labeled Colgate and sold in discount stores in four states are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical, according to the importer.

Via Digby, this is just, well, read it:

Eli Lake adds a comment.

. . . What if the netleft, that has created the impression that there is a rising plurality that would like to abandon Iraqis to Qaeda, Quds and the Ba'ath, are just a few thousand committed Marxists in their pajamas? What if the Dems have strategically miscalculated? What if their over-compensation is to appease a vocal 1 percent of the electorate that actually draws contempt from the rest of the country?

Bush's former speechwriter quotes this approvingly. I was looking for a tongue in cheek but could not find it. These folks are insane. Black helicopters on the "tubes" anyone?

There was a bomb threat at Jerry Falwell's funeral. Interesting that the threat was by a student at his own university.

The student, 19-year-old Mark D. Uhl of Amissville, Va., reportedly told authorities that he was making the bombs to stop protesters from disrupting the funeral service. The devices were made of a combination of gasoline and detergent, a law enforcement official told ABC News' Pierre Thomas.

Indications are others were involved. None of the Republican candidates for President attended.

In honor of John Ashcroft's moment of honor, as described by James Comey:

And it was only a matter of minutes that the door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales, carrying an envelope, and Mr. Card. . . . And Attorney General Ashcroft then stunned me. He lifted his head off the pillow and in very strong terms expressed his view of the matter . . . and then laid his head back down on the pillow, seemed spent, and said to them, But that doesn’t matter, because I’m not the attorney general. . . . Mr. Ashcroft’s chief of staff asked me something that meant a great deal to him, and that is that I not resign until Mr. Ashcroft was well enough to resign with me. SCHUMER: And it was his view that Mr. Ashcroft was likely to resign as well? COMEY: Yes.

Let the Eagle Soar

Reverand Jerry Falwell has died.

Leading US conservative evangelist Rev Jerry Falwell has died in hospital in Virginia after being found unconscious in his office, his assistants said.

Doctors gave Rev Falwell emergency treatment at Lynchburg General Hospital but could not revive him.

Update: Reactions:

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

“The death of a family member or friend is always a sad occasion and we express our condolences to all those who were close to the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America’s anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation’s appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation.”

The Washington Post has a longer article on Falwell and his evangelical work.

A nice get for MSOC, Jeff Huber and Shockwave. They have an exclusive interview with fired New Mexico USA David Iglesias. Well done crew.

The Iraq bills are being debated and voted on. Catch it on C-Span. This is an Open Thread.

The McGovern withdrawal bill got a surprisingly strong amount of support, drawing 171 votes. The new Out of Iraq Caucus looks like it needs to expand its membership. Not surprisingly, Steny Hoyer votes with the Republicans.

The Short leash funding bill passed 221-205.