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Nuthin' but 'Net

Hi. Today's offerings are all about politics.. the politics of the war in Iraq, the politics of U.S. Iran policy, the politics of politics, and at the end, a little political music.

The Democratic presidential candidates appeared at a forum in Washington this morning and Chris Matthews asked them what is their specific exit strategy for Iraq?
Salon's Tim Grieve rounds up the answers.

Speaking of war, Steve M. at NoMoreMr.NiceBlog posts about a Fred Thompson radio commentary that starts one with the left blogosphere.

Rick Moran at RightWingNuthouse posts about the wisdom of the GOP candidates' efforts to distance themselves from President Bush.

After weeks of being assured that diplomacy is the only way to go, all of a sudden, attacking Iran is a possibility again? Glenn Greenwald finds flaws in the NYT take.

Bret Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal that there's anything but consensus on the issue.

And Ezra Klein writes about the Iran dilemma for liberals who supported the war in Iraq.

Oh, and speaking of picking apart the NYT, BullDogPundit at AnkleBitingPundits thinks a recent front page story on John McCain's money woes missed the point.

Who's talking to whom? TPM's Muckraker picks upon the Waxman Committee's analysis of email that are perhaps lost forever.

More Greenwald -- Boy did he hate Richard Cohen's Washington Post column about Scooter Libby today.

Jim Lobe talks about the foreign policy crises the Bush Administration faces.. that stretch from "Palestine to Pakistan."

But Victor Davis Hanson looks at what's going on in the Middle East (and on the U.S. border with Mexico) and finds hypocrisy.

Sy Hersh writes a disturbing follow-up to his original blockbuster about Abu Ghraib.

Yes, it's long... the Washington Post digests it.

FireDogLake's Christy Hardin Smith is "beyond furious all over again" after reading it.

The L.A. Times on what might be considered predictable fallout from the U.S. Attorneys controversy.

Salon's Walter Shapiro talked to Hillary Clinton, and everybody seized on his "should she be called Hillary instead of Clinton" question, but reading the whole thing makes you realize how refreshing it is to just look at what the candidates have to SAY rather than hearing a reporter/pundit/analyst's interpretation of it.

And speaking of what candidates have to say, Barack Obama has posted a video podcast on the front page of his Web site. He's talking in a very personal way about himself and his Dad in what are billed as a Father's Day reflections.

And NBC's Domenico Montanaro links to the video in which Hillary Clinton reveals the results of the contest to choose her campaign's theme song. (Does this mean spoofs of the Sopranos ending have already jumped the shark?)

(And yes, here's a late entry into Soprano-ology, and it's a good one.)

And while we're on the subject of music, which we just were, Salon links to a piece in the London Guardian in which readers deliver brutal takedowns of some of rock's classic albums. The Sgt. Pepper critique will either make you cheer, or wince.

And one last musical nugget. A trip to the multiplex with a 3-year-old this weekend was mostly disappointing (recycled story -- how many Penguin movies can there BE? -- not enough action) but the closing scene of "Surf's Up" led to the rediscovery of a forgotten song from the late '90s that totally rocks.

Early Nightly is up

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