News Roundup, 3/26/2008: A World in Flux

Tuesday presented new developments in Iraq, the Antarctic, and Indiana, of all places.

Yesterday morning we heard the news about the new troop deployment plans Petraeus presented to President Bush, which boil down to a decision to not change much and then leave it for the next administration. This is unfortunate on several levels, especially considering that the situational instability was illustrated late yesterday by the enormous battles that broke out between US and Iraqi forces and Sadr's militia.

The war will prove to be more of a millstone for the GOP than they would currently like to admit. John McCain won't help and can't help on that score, and he continues to blindly assert that everything is fine with Iraq and with US policy there. They also have to contend with an enormous amount of retirements in the House, and despite efforts to find the good side to it all, the joy in Republican Mudville is getting increasingly more difficult to come by.

McCain has other problems besides his defense of the Iraq War. His history with telecom companies is starting to rear its ugly head, and his plan for the housing crisis ended up being not having a plan.

On the Democratic side, there has been plenty of interest in Rick Noriega's candidacy for the Senate at the national level, and that recently translated into some financial winnings for him. He was named as the newest Progressive Patriot by Senator Russ Feingold's outfit, and garnered some dollars in the process.

There were also interesting developments in the Democratic primary — many, many developments — but yesterday I was interested to see that Indiana's primary on May 6th may be shaping up as an even-keel battleground on the map after Pennsylvania.

In Chris Bell's weekly column, he examines the potential costs for candidates associated with increased turnout and voter interest and the responsibilities we all share as voters. On a similar subject, I took a look at the turnout possibilities for the general election and how recent voter behavior in the U.S. compares with other nations around the world.

Lastly, two bits of news that didn't really fit into the other categories. First, a giant chunk of ice in the Atlantic split apart. I'm not a climate scientist (or even an Antarcticologist), but that seems bad. Second, Patrick McLeod clued us in to a new territorial battle being fought at Valley Forge over land for a museum dedicated to the Revolutionary War.

As always, thanks for reading.