POLITICAL SHOCKER OF THE DAY:
"Sen. Evan Bayh is expected to announce Monday that he will not seek a third term in the Senate, a source close to the Indiana Democrat told CNN."
Quick reactions: 1] Wow! I didn't see that one coming. 2] One wonders why. Bayh faced a tougher race this year, but he still would have been the favorite to win.
3] Obviously this is good news for Republicans; assuming they can field any kind of a credible candidate, they'll be favored to take this seat.
MSNBC's First Read agrees with this, and adds that perhaps some Republicans, who have shied away from running for this seat with Bayh still in the running, will take a second look at it.
And by the way, here's confirmation that this story is true.
Bayh claims he got tired of all the partisanship in Congress. And who knows, maybe that was truly his reasoning.
OTHER POLITICS NEWS:
Has Dick Cheney hit some paydirt with his recent blasts against the Obama administration's terrorism policies? Some think so:
"Former Vice President Dick Cheney stormed the beachheads of the liberal US media again today with a fiery performance on ABC’s This Week. He offered a stinging rebuke to current VP Joe Biden’s ludicrous claim that Iraq may end up as one of Barack Obama’s “great achievements”, as well as blistering criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of terrorist suspects. He also launched a strike on Biden’s recent comment that another 9/11 scale attack was “unlikely.”
“I just think that’s just dead wrong. I think the biggest threat the United States faces today is the possibility of another 9/11 with a nuclear weapon or a biological agent of some kind. And I think al Qaeda is out there — even as we meet — trying to do that. You have to consider it as a war. You have to consider it as something we may have to deal with tomorrow. You don’t want the vice president of the United States running around saying, ‘Oh, it’s not likely going to happen.’”
Meanwhile, Republicans and conservatives should absolutely hammer the Obama administration over a statement made recently by one of its counter-terrorism chiefs:
"Obama counter-terror chief John Brennan is drawing criticism for comments he made Saturday about the recidivism rate of detainees released from Guantanamo Bay.
During a Q&A following remarks Brennan delivered at the Islamic Center of New York University, Brennan defended the administration's estimate that one in five foreign nationals released from the prison at Guantanamo Bay since its opening return to terrorist activities.
"People sometimes use that figure, 20 percent, say 'Oh my goodness, one out of five detainees returned to some type of extremist activity,'" Brennan said. "You know, the American penal system, the recidivism rate is up to something about 50 percent or so, as far as return to crime. Twenty percent isn't that bad."
Not that bad??? Someone needs to explain to Mr. Brennan that counter-intelligence is a little different than criminology. A recidivist crook maybe wants to rob a bank. A recidivist terrorist might very well like to kill 5000 Americans in an explosion. There's a big difference. Duh...
NCAA HOOPS DIARY:
St. John's 69, Notre Dame 68: arrggghhh. Yes, no Luke Harangody due to injury, but this was a home game for the Irish and one they led late. But again they found a way to lose, largely due to their continuing defensive deficiencies. Key stat: twice ND regained the lead in this game in the final minute. But twice, the Irish failed to get a defensive stop when they needed it.
Let's face it--Notre Dame is again likely headed to the NIT.
But there was better news for the Notre Dame women's hoops team--Notre Dame 90, DePaul 66: the Irish move to 23-1 on the season. Key stats: ND had a 12-2 run to end the first half. Becca Bruszewski scored 25 points; she's becoming the post presence the Irish have needed. Notre Dame is showing what CBS analyst Clark Kellogg describes as "spurtability"--the ability to go on a big run during a game, score points, get defensive stops and force turnovers, and thus open up big leads that can't be overcome. It's needed in March, especially...
