“I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy”
by Tom Sullivan
Political satire sometimes leaves a mark that lingers. I would have sworn the old joke involved an eye-rolling Al Gore debating George W. Bush in 2000. In fact, it was "Saturday Night Live" in 1988. Jon Lovitz played Gov. Michael Dukakis to Dana Carvey's platitude-spouting George H.W. Bush (“Stay the course, a thousand points of light … stay the course”). Future former Sen. Al Franken wrote the Dukakis line, “I can’t believe I’m losing to this guy.”
Democrats Dukakis and Gore both lost to a George Bush.
NBC News just announced the lineups for the two-nights of debate among Democratic candidates for president. Ten each night, beginning Wednesday, June 26. Barring any unforeseen accidents, resignations or removals from office, one of those Democrats will face off against Donald J. Trump. Unless Trump decides he doesn't want to, like he decides which laws he'll obey.
Democrats might remember that old joke when taking on Trump. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's got an animal cunning that his whole life has helped him evade accountability before the law. It may yet serve to prevent accountability before voters in 2020.
The New York Times revealed on Saturday that U.S. cyber warriors have pre-positioned "potentially crippling malware" inside Russia's electrical grid "and other targets." Unnamed officials in three months of interviews told the Times the code is there "partly as a warning, and partly to be poised to conduct cyberstrikes if a major conflict broke out between Washington and Moscow." The commander of United States Cyber Command, Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, describes such efforts as meeting the need to "defend forward."
A 2018 military authorization bill and a classified document known as National Security Presidential Memoranda 13 signed by Trump last summer provide authorization for such actions without presidential approval.
Now, back to Trump not being too sharp:
Two administration officials said they believed Mr. Trump had not been briefed in any detail about the steps to place “implants” — software code that can be used for surveillance or attack — inside the Russian grid.Good call. The Times report Saturday night set him off:
Pentagon and intelligence officials described broad hesitation to go into detail with Mr. Trump about operations against Russia for concern over his reaction — and the possibility that he might countermand it or discuss it with foreign officials, as he did in 2017 when he mentioned a sensitive operation in Syria to the Russian foreign minister.
So to recap: it’s treasonous that the New York Times reported on U.S. cyberstrategies that according to you are... not true? pic.twitter.com/0YfRCt7lUu
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) June 16, 2019