While I Was Gone...

Catch-up items:

1) George Bush in the Wall Street Journal. Two important points of emphasis:

On the Iraq War: "But we can help Iraq defeat the extremists inside and outside of Iraq--and we can help provide the necessary breathing space for this young government to meet its responsibilities. If democracy fails and the extremists prevail in Iraq, America's enemies will be stronger, more lethal, and emboldened by our defeat. Leaders in both parties understand the stakes in this struggle. We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and win the war."

On the economy: "It is also a fact that our tax cuts have fueled robust economic growth and record revenues. Because revenues have grown and we've done a better job of holding the line on domestic spending, we met our goal of cutting the deficit in half three years ahead of schedule. By continuing these policies, we can balance the federal budget by 2012 while funding our priorities and making the tax cuts permanent. In early February, I will submit a budget that does exactly that. The bottom line is tax relief and spending restraint are good for the American worker, good for the American taxpayer, and good for the federal budget. Now is not the time to raise taxes on the American people."

I think the success of the economy, particularly recently, has gone FAR under the radar, for a couple reasons. One, I think many in the media are reluctant to give Bush any credit for any successes during his presidency. Two, though, and perhaps more importantly, I don't think Bush himself has publicized his achievements on this front enough. Everyone is so concerned about the war that any news absent from it becomes almost unimportant.

Democrats wanting to raise taxes and the minimum wage when the Dow keeps setting records, day after day? Doesn't make sense...

2) The Twenty Most Annoying Liberals in the United States, via Right Wing News. Some good ones here - aren't even liberals annoyed with these people? I'd like to hear from you. And Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton didn't even make the cut!

3) Oriana Fallaci, as portrayed by Atlantic Monthly, via Mark Steyn. Read it in full.

More on her life and works here.

Tributes here and here.

4) It's official. I refer you to Part I to find out where Obama stands on key issues. I'll keep digging and update with more info.

5) Deb Saunders tells Barbara Boxer to "cork it."

Good stuff.

There may be a couple more of these "catch-up" type posts in the upcoming days as I sort through all I want to write about. Feel free to comment on any of the above, and I'll try to respond.