EVENING UPDATE,  FEBRUARY 10, 2008

•   Hillary Clinton has replaced her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, with a long-time associate, Maggie Williams.  Williams was chief of staff to Hillary Clinton when Clinton was first lady.

The press pointed out that Solis Doyle is a Latina.  Williams is an African-American.  I have no idea whether this played a role in the switch.  The fact that we have to ask shows how identity politics have trapped us in this country.  Also, replacing a Latina with a black may not go down well in the Hispanic community, which has been supporting Clinton.  There is antagonism between Hispanics and blacks, which some analysts claim has suppressed Hispanic support for Barack Obama.

Williams has headed Fenton Communications, a leftist PR firm in Washington.  Look for the possibility that this may come up should Clinton get the nomination.  Republican research might discover some interesting clients or causes that have worn the Fenton label.

Clinton's campaign needed a shake-up.  Although Obama's victories yesterday were predictable, and ditto for his expected victories this week, they do create a steamroller effect.  As reported here, Clinton's great stand comes on March 4th, when major states more likely to lean in her direction hold their primaries.

•   Apologies to readers in San Francisco, but the SF political crowd never seems to stop embarrassing itself.  Now Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces to a waiting public that Iraq is a mess and that the surge has failed:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said twice Sunday that Iraq “is a failure,” adding that President Bush’s troop surge has “not produced the desired effect.”

“The purpose of the surge was to create a secure time for the government of Iraq to make the political change to bring reconciliation to Iraq,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “Late Edition.” “They have not done that.”

The speaker hastened to add: “The troops have succeeded, God bless them.”

Yes, we support the troops.  But of course they've failed.  The story continues:

Pelosi’s harsh verdict is a reminder of the dilemma for Democrats as they head into this fall’s presidential and congressional elections:

They need to make the case that the country needs to depart from the direction set by Bush. Yet they don’t want to look like naysayers at a time when Iraq has become more stable, albeit still violent.

Yes, that's the problem.  But if Saint Obama gets the nomination, who will listen, except the mature adults who sometimes seem to be fading into history?

•   As if to underline Pelosi's ridiculousness, Jim Hoagland in The Washington Post points out how unrealistic the Democratic position is:

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama share a problem as they move deeper into the primary season: They have both issued promises to withdraw from Iraq that are impossibly vague, unrealistic or worse. They must now rectify this -- for the good of their campaigns and the nation.

Of course, that assumes they want to win.  But they represent a party whose leftist base would have no problem with losing.  These are the people who cut off funding to our South Vietnamese allies in 1975, forcing a defeat, and walking away to join Jimmy Carter's campaign for president.

Hoagland continues:

Yes, Obama has promised to withdraw all combat troops within 16 months. Clinton promises to begin withdrawals within 60 days of her inauguration. Most significant, each has promised a hedge: to keep unspecified numbers of soldiers behind to fight terrorists or train Iraqis and, in Clinton's case, to protect the Kurds and deter Iranian aggression.

But neither has been pressed in debates or news conferences as to how these residual troops would be left behind. It strains credulity to think that the Iraqis would -- after being told that they are not worth protecting or working with -- allow U.S. troops to stay on and hunt al-Qaeda & Co. or protect the huge U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. What carrots do the two Democrats propose to keep this permanently dissed ally on board instead of making any U.S. retreat a hell on Earth?

Yup.  There are all those annoying details.  There are all those things the true believers don't want to handle.  You know, once you're inspired, you don't want to go back to responsibility.  It's so, so World War II.

•   The conservative Washington Times runs a well-reported story on the opposition to John McCain among conservative activists in his party.  But when you actually look at the results of a straw poll, the news for McCain isn't really depressing:

The straw poll of activists at the 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference showed resistance to Mr. McCain remains strong among conservatives and did not change much with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's suspension of his campaign Thursday.

Before Mr. Romney dropped out, 14 percent said they would not vote, 22 percent said they would vote for someone else and 62 percent said they would back Mr. McCain. After the Romney announcement, 10 percent said they would not vote, 19 percent said they would vote for someone else and 70 percent said they would vote for Mr. McCain.

These are the rock-ribbed conservatives, energized enough to go to a national conference, and 70 percent say they'll vote for McCain.  That number is likely to increase come November.  Add to it the independents and even conservative Democrats that McCain is capable of bringing in, and the number of hard-right defections may be washed out.  I don't wish to minimize Senator McCain's headaches on the right, but they shouldn't be exaggerated either.

•   Oh, look.  Some day our prince won't come.  Dearie, do you remember Prince Bandar, the high-struttin' ambassador from Saudi Arabia, with the little required beard, who made friends with everyone in Washington?  Of course you do.  He had all the oil cash.  Well, it seems our little prince has a big problem.  His assets are frozen.  (Please read that sentence carefully.)

Now, it all stems from a bribery case in Britain:

PRINCE Bandar Bin Sultan, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to America, has been hit by a court order in effect freezing some of his US assets, as part of a class-action lawsuit over bribery allegations at British defence giant BAE Systems.

A Michigan pension scheme, the City of Harper Woods Employees’ Retirement System, has been granted a restraining order, according to documents filed in the US district of Columbia and seen by The Sunday Times.

The order, granted last Tuesday, blocks Bandar from transferring out of the country any money he makes from the sale of property in America.

Bandar owns one of the world’s most expensive homes, Hala Ranch, in Pitkin County, Aspen, Colorado. The bulk of the estate was put up for sale for $135m (£69m) in July 2006 after Bandar reportedly decided he was spending too much time in Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the lavish property.

The 56,000 sq ft main residence is bigger than the White House and has 15 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, steam and exercise rooms and includes a private children’s wing with four bedroom suites and a sitting room. The estate spans 95 acres, includes two 15,000 sq ft guest houses, tennis and racquetball courts and equestrian facilities. It even has a dedicated waste-water treatment plant, a car wash and petrol pumps.

Remember:  Every time you gas up, that's where the money goes.

I feel for the prince, I really do.  He can't sell his cottage because his assets are frozen.  How is he going to move up, like any other homeowner?  Is this a betrayal of the American way, or what?

Oh, read the story, and weep for the man.

And I'll be back tomorrow with more tales of heartbreak and financial ruin.

Posted on February 10, 2008.