Jonah Goldberg: the Opinion L.A. chat

Moderator1: Hi everybody, this is TIm Cavanaugh. We’ve got Jonah Goldberg for the hour.

Moderator1: Let’s start off...

Eric Mankin: Mr. Goldberg why are you so offended by the Wilson (who was right about the Iraq WMD situation, and stuck his neck out to say so, now going around in something otehr than sackcloth and ashes?

David: Joe Wilson is a liar. The precious 9/11 commission said so.

Doug Brown: Your request for friendly visitors has been heard.

Jonah Goldberg: I’m offended by him because I think he’s a blowhard and a liar -- in the words of the Wash Post’s editors. Very little of what he claimed has survived close scrutiny, particularly for a guy who brags that much about how truthful he is.

Eric: If Joe Wilson was a liar, why did the President have to take back those 16 words?

cakewalk my ass: why do you oppose usama bin laden?

Jonah Goldberg: The White House clearly fouled up and made this whole situation worse by panicking. But the Butler Report and the senate intelligence report both backed up Bush and undermined Wilson.

Doug Barber: Who were some of your formative influences as an undergraduate at Goucher College, and how do they continue to shape your thinking today? I’m not so much thinking of Professors as I’m thinking of the writers/thinkers they introduced you to. Thanks.

David: The NR has it right . Politics has been criminalized. Sorry my speling sux.

Jonah Goldberg: Hmm. the biggest intellectual influence on me was my Dad. In terms of writers, I will confess to being a real New Republic and Commentary baby. I was reading those magazines in high school. Beyond my dad and the general political background radiation of my childhood, my biggest influences came after college.

Doug Barber: If Bonnie Prince Charlie is successful in outlawing McDonalds, will Couch’s gravitational footprint be reduced?

Jonah Goldberg: I spent a lot of time at the American Enterprise instutue when i was just ut of college reading Irving Kristol, Michael Novak and that whole crowd.

Jonah Goldberg: My couch will never go to Europe. He’s is very, very nativist and deeply suspeicious of continental ideas.

TyrantLimaBean: Why does NR’s blog the Corner descend into sci-fi geekiness so often?

Jonah Goldberg: For those who don’t understand, my Couch used to be a regular participant in my columns.

Bill: Why do folks on the far right have such a hard time seeing Sen. McCain as a conservative - but no qualms with Giuliani? Do you see this fading as time goes on?

Jonah Goldberg: Because we can.

brendan: When is Star Trek day?

Jonah Goldberg: Actually, one of the things I personally try to bring to the Corner is what I ‘ve tried to bring to much of my NR writing -- a decided lack of stodginess. I think it helps.

TyrantLimaBean: nice

Jonah Goldberg: Star Trek Day is every day at the Goldbergs.

Adrian: do you still keep up with comic books? how do you deal with the very leftist ideas that fill so many classic marvel and dc characters these days? (as in the current marvel civil war ridiculousness)

Jonah Goldberg: Actually, I don’t know what the hold up is with Star Trek Day. I think there’s a conspiracy afoot over at NR HQ

Mike: Howdy Jonah, just wanted to know where you got your info for your “Joe and Valerie Show” column today. Specifically, how did you obtain the info from Wilson’s “findings, as privately briefed to the CIA” that supposedly didn’t jube with his NY Times op-ed piece?

Jonah Goldberg: I don’t keep up as much as I would like. I find it sad that the folks at Marvel think that being edgey and avant garde is to recycle so many cliched and tiresome ideas and poses.

gary: You cite private briefings Wilson had with the CIA that support Bush’s “16 words” and later refer to a bipartisan Senate intelligence report that catalogues Wilson’s dishonesty. Could you identify and elaborate on your souces?

Jonah Goldberg: Well, I have handy the Washington Post’s editorial: “Mr. Wilson was embraced by many because he was early in publicly charging that the Bush administration had “twisted,” if not invented, facts in making the case for war against Iraq. In conversations with journalists or in a July 6, 2003, op-ed, he claimed to have debunked evidence that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger; suggested that he had been dispatched by Mr. Cheney to look into the matter; and alleged that his report had circulated at the highest levels of the administration.A bipartisan investigation by the Senate intelligence committee subsequently established that all of these claims were false -- and that Mr. Wilson was recommended for the Niger trip by Ms. Plame, his wife. When this fact, along with Ms. Plame’s name, was disclosed in a column by Robert D. Novak, Mr. Wilson advanced yet another sensational charge: that his wife was a covert CIA operative and that senior White House officials had orchestrated the leak of her name to destroy her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson.”

JPeterson: Jonah -- I’ve just read David Frum’s column on Rudy Guiliani and find my reactions similar; I disagree with his positions, am unenthusiastic about his marital history, etc., but the guy just “feels”conservative. Wondering a) whether you think he can win the nomination; b) what sort of lines he needs to craft to get there.

Goheels: Gary, You libs love to live by the 9\11 Commission. They said that Wilson was a liar. HUH?

Jonah Goldberg: You might also check Susan Schmidts’s reporting, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html as well as the columns from Christopher Hitchens etc. I don’t really see how this is a controversial position at this point.

Benny Ace: Why does The Corner not allow comments?

Lee: Why doesn’t NRO allow public posting of comments on articles the way HUFFINGTONPOST does?

Scooter: how did you come to be so brilliant?

Goheels: Joe Wilson’s haircut alone discredits him. he looks like a guy trying way too hard.

David: Hi

Jonah Goldberg: We’ve talked about it A LOT. Personally, I would love to figure out how to do it, but there are a lot of downsides and managerial hassles to work out. The “Suits” at NR have long been worried that we could have one idiot commenter’s remarks held against us. I think that was more of a fair concern back when people weren’t educated about this stuff works.

Benny Ace: Should perjury be a crime? If (hypothetically) someone lies under oath, should they be prosecuted regardless of the nature of the “underlying matter”? If not, why did you favor Clinton’s impeachment?

Shabbosgoy: Jonah, this is the LA Times. No one but moonbats read it; why are you subjecting yourself to this?

Bill the Warthog: In Trek terms, is Joe Wilson a Romulan, Klingon or Ferengi?

Jonah Goldberg: I think, honestly that the conviction of Libby isn’t unreasonable, even if I think the case shouldn’t have been brought and I probably wouldn’t h ave voted to convict (though I haven’t looked at all the evidence etc).

Jackflash: I’m curious to know your natural inclination with regard to laws that enforce private morality. E.g., homosexual sex, marijuana smoking, pornography. That is, do you tend to approach such issues with libertarian suspicion of state power or conservative concern for social moral welfare?

Jonah Goldberg: I think the comparison to Clinton is flawed on numerous counts, but maybe we can get into all that later.

TyrantLimaBean: Why did the Justice Department, under President Bush, so ardently pursue the (non)leak that was the Plame fiasco, which had no actual effect on national security, yet it virtually ignored pursuing investigations of leaks actually affecting national security (like SWIFT and NSA terrorist eavesdropping)? I can understand why the media might focus on one over the other, but why the DoJ?

Sundarc: Mr. Goldberg. It is a pleasure to have a chance to talk to you. My question to you is this: “I read your ad-hoc review of Dinesh D’Souza’s book. Although I think D’Souza goes overboard in some parts, I think he has a valid point. Since 9/11, there seems to be a cottage industry in dedicated to bashing all muslims. Robert Spencer, Ann Coulter and others pick the worst parts of Islamic culture and actions and hold them up as the standard. Mr. D’souza charts a path in his book that will isolate these radicals and find common ground with the majority of muslims. What do you say about this?

Joel: the Brits still support the “16 words”

Jonah Goldberg: I’m against such laws generally speaking. But I am a staunch federalist and I don’t think they’re unconstitutional (we’re speaking in generalities of course). I’m against pretty much ALL such laws at the federal level. But I’m for the laboratories of democracy at the local level.

daryll: Jonah- if most people are conservatives or at least right of center, why is so much of the media and hollywood dominated by very liberal people?

Zumasocal: Hi Jonah. If Mr. Fizgerald was truly investigating a leak of Ms. Plame/WIlson, why is there no record that he ever asked Joe Wilson or Valerie if they ever discussed her job status with anyone not authorized to know i.e David Corn.

Sallyh: Mr. Goldberg, I read your column today.

Benny Ace: What SPECIFICALLY did Wilson lie about?

Jonah Goldberg: Sundarc - That’s a major point of my forthcoming reviw in the Claremont Review of Books. I think it’s very unproductive the way some conservatives want to blame Islam root and branch. Even if that were true -- and I doubt it is -- there’s no tolerable foreign policy on which such views can be built.

Sallyh: I think your attacking the Wilson child was very out of line.

JPeterson: True or false: William Shatner’s finest hour as Capt Kirk comes in “This Side of Paradise” when he finds he can’t leave the Enterprise and then taunts Spock into attacking him (“I . . . can’t . . . LEAVE!” and “Had enough?” being the crucial lines).

Moderator1: False. The finest hour is when he tells Spock he belongs in the circus RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOG-FACED BOY!

Jonah Goldberg: Sallyh, Okay. I’m sorry you feel that way. I thought it represented in a small way how the Wilson’s aren’t victims and even in their own family they’re having a blast. Anyone who watches wilson on TV can tell he’s having the time of his life.

acx: Libby is now a convicted felon. The jury system has worked. Why not focus on felonious conduct in the White House - serious business, indeed.

Jonah Goldberg: Golly, this is harder than I thought it would be to keep up. Kirk’s best line.... his best line....hmmm. I do like Y Plebnista.....

Benny Ace: Exactly HOW did the Senate report “back up Bush and undermine Wilson”?

Patti: I hope the Wilson’s have a great life and make a gazillion bucks.

Jonah Goldberg: ACX: I await word on what felonious behavior in the white house you have in mind.

GEX: Sports Illustrated has an article about global warming, mentioning that the Miami Dolphins now have to practice indoors because of the rise in temperature. Don’t you feel that these multimillionaires who get paid for winning about 50% of 16 games a year are the real victims of global warming? Especially when most of the team is African American?

HogWhitman: Ann Coulter vs Bill Maher in a steel cage deathmatch: Who would win?

Sallyh: Hog, Bill Maher. Both are reprehensible, but I don’t think I’d put my money on Ms. Coulter.

Jonah Goldberg: Bennny: It reported howPlame was involved in sending him on th e junket, which Wilson had sanctimoniously denied. It reported that teh CIA found his report to corroborate the suspicion that Iraq sought yellowcake. In his book he made all sorts of statements about the “forged” italian documents that couldn’t have been true on a chronological basis alone, which wilson later admitted.

Mike: Coulter only weighs 100 pounds.

Jonah Goldberg: Maher has the weight on her. But I suspect they’d both fight very, very dirty.

Mike: 2 pounds of hair, 98 pounds of Adam’s Apple.

Goheels: Hog- Maher would get killed because he’s soooo worried about the effects of Global Warming.

KevinTMC: Mike, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight...

Sallyh: Plame, according to numerous sources, did no such thing.

Scooter: how did rich lowry break you out of prison?

Sallyh: What I’m saying is, and I understand that you have a child, Mr. Goldberg, that I would never do anything to her like how you attacked one of the Wilson kids.

Sallyh: No kid deserves that.

Jonah Goldberg: Sallyh, of course you can cite your “sources.” I tend to trust the judgement of the Washington Post editorial board, hardly a bastion of rightwingery

LB: Should we start asking Sallyh for the details and citations of these numerous sources, or are we going to spend the last half-hour of this chat doing more than intimate that Bush lied, people died?

Jonah Goldberg: Sallh: I didn’t attack their kid and i think you’re trying to make it sound like I was being unfair. Sorry, no sale.

Panopticorps: Moderator: Why allow the idiotic Star Trek comments and not the ones that seek to hold Goldberg accountable for his fundamental inhumanity?

Jonah Goldberg: Scooter: How did you know about Rich breaking me out of prison?

KevinTMC: Do you agree with those who say that American political life is angrier and more bitter these days? Is there any way you can think of to encourage left-leaners and right-leaners to talk with each other better, rather than recite talking points and throw accusations at each other?

Jonah Goldberg: LOL. Yes, yes, let’s delve deeper into my fundamental inhumanity! I am borg. I am not a carbon based life form. I eat puppies.

Doug Barber: According to Wikipedia, you were involved in the dismissal of Ann Coulter from NRO. Say something about that.

GP: why does Joe Wilson have better hair than Katie Couric?

Jonah Goldberg: Kevin- I go back and forth on this. I do think there is somethig to do the idea that we are more polarized. But I think it’s also true that the internet and telelvision just amke it feel so much more immediate and bitter. One of t he major problems is that presidents have become symbols in the culture war in a way they haven’t in the past. I don’t like that, which is one of the reasons I’m more sympathetic to someone like Giuliani than I would have been in the past.

Jonah Goldberg: Ann wrote some probelmatic columns. We tried to work with her on how to explain herself and instead she decided to go a different direction. It was an unpleasant affair. But she seems to be laughing to the bank.

LB: Doug, Jonah wrote about Coulter here: https://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment100301.shtml

Mike: The Wilson/Plame kid was mentioned, not “attacked” in any way. Be fair.

JPeterson: Hello from Austin. I’ve just read David Frum on Guiliani and have similar reactions -- disagree with him on several issues, not crazy about his marital history, but he just “feels” conservative. If you were his chief strategist, what would you be telling him to say right now?

Sallyh: I see a lot of polarization has been exacerbated by the doctrines of those who particpated in the Project for a New American Century.

daryll: When is your book coming out and what is its about, will it be readable to the average person or some academic tome

big oil hq: Jonah, please confirm or disconfirm whether Cosmo was a jury consultant for the defense in the Libby trial.

Goheels: It’s disgusting that there are so many people that hate George Bush more than they hate the terrorists. I want to know how how many people will have to die before the left decides we are in a real fight.

Jonah Goldberg: Well, he’s doing really well right now with his fly above the fray strategy so i’m not sure he needs to say much. I’m always reluctant to advise politicians that what I want them to do would be the right thing tactically. But I do think if he could present himself as a defuser of the culture war it might help him. This can be done without compromising conservative bonafides.

jules_siegel: In your column today you refer to Wilson’s trip as a “junket.” What did you mean by that? Is Niger some kind of vacation spot?

vertex11: Give us your opinion of Maureen Dowd. Is she both misguided and a fox, or not?

Mike: Jonah, what you wrote on the NRO about Coulter back in 2001 was masterful. She must be a difficult person to work with.

Jonah Goldberg: Book will be out at the end of the year. It will be pretty serious in tone, but I think accessible. I know some people want it to be more gonzo. but there’s more time for that.

HJA: Jonah: I’m an AEI and Heritage alum just a few years younger than you. I wonder to what extent you think social conservatism is essential to modern conservatism. I have to say, I don’t know more than two young conservatives who think marijuana should be illegal, or that gay sex is wrong, or that Judge Bork’s take on America is more accurate than Dan Savage’s. Thoughts?

Bill the Warthog: Why do you think Scooter faces a cameo on Prison Break, while perjury for Bill Clinton lost him the tens of dollas he could have earned with his Arkansas law license and Sandy Burger might have to speak for free to the League of Woman Voters?

Panopticorps: Your laughing at a comment on your fundamental inhumanity -- your willingness to joke about it -- comes from a place of denial. Do you ever examine your own misanthropy in moments of quiet reflection?

patl: First intelligent question of the day, HJA.

Mike: I’ve been to Uganda, it is beautiful. If Niger is half as nice (probably not) I would vacation there

Jonah Goldberg: Golly. HJA, there’s a lot going on there. I think it’s true that younger conservatives are much more libertarian these days. But libertarianisn has always been strongest in the young. I think one really big change is 9/11. It’s made social conservatism seem less relevant in a lot of ways.

brendan: RE the Presidential race; it’s early but while I’ll almost certainly vote R, there are some Ds who, if nominated, I could support over some of the Rs. Is this true for you also?

TimHunter: I disliked your editorial piece today regarding the Libby case. I think it distracts from the central issue: intelligence leaks of any kind are against the law and Mr. Libby was not honest in resolving the source of the leak once the information was out. Just wanted to share, no response is needed. I think America really appreciates truly “objective” editorials. There’s so much extra distractions that can be brought up in any discussion.

Doug Barber: Give me a break. Calling Jonah’s politics “misanthropy” without making an argument is junk science.

LB: Panopticorps is right: Jonah’s denials that he’s a silicon-based parasitic cyborg is only further proof that he originally hails from Cybertron. The more he claims to be human, the more he proves he is not.

george: to go heels. When we begin a draft, and this becomes a “real” ware to all conservatives and preppies. I am ready to go, are you?

Jonah Goldberg: Panop: Do you ever wonder that you might be full of it? That’s a total when did you stop beating your wife tactic you’re taking. If I deny it, you say i’m in denial. Lighten up francis.

Scooter: where did you meet the fair jessica?

JPeterson: Have you seen the line about Coulter that she got it 2/3 right -- we’re invading Muslim countries and killing their leaders, but trying to convert them to secular democracy rather than Christianity!

Patti: I suggest chatters go to the Washington Post’s editorial re Libby trial and then read all the comments.

Goheels: Benny, Clinton admitted to lying. The blue dress gave him no choice. Libby is a difference of recollection.

Gary M: Shabbosgoy has a point...Goldberg’s the only reason many of us hold on to our seven day subscriptions.

Jonah Goldberg: Tim -- That’s a fine position to take. But why have liberals and much of the press not been remotely as horrified by the countless intelligence leaks and disclosures over the last few years which have undermined national security. It seems that the Plame thing is the only leak that bothers them, even though it did the least damage.

DaveyBoy: Do you believe your commentary is motivated by politics or principle? If the latter, how do you explain that it is a rarity for Republicans to be the object of your scorn even though most Americans would view Republicans and Democrats (the politicians, not the voters) as equally corrupt and petty?

Sallyh: Gary, and the reason I may let go of mine.

gimmesometruth: not only has this paper gone to s--t , but now we are presented with this bogus “chat”....Mr. Moderator, you are an ASS

lester: What specific damage has been done by the “countless leaks” you talk about. Specifics, please

KevinTMC: Don’t call another member of the NR family a misanthrope, Panopticorps. That title rightfully belongs to the divine Florence King.

Qbert: When you travel to France, do you have to wear a disguise?

Jonah Goldberg: Dave: I’m a conservative. It makes sense that I would focus more of my ire on liberals and democrats. But it is simply false that I haven’t criticized Republics or shown them scorn. I have written dozens of coulmns criticizing Bush, compassionate conservatism, trent lott, etc. Indeed, I was one of the first oundits anywhere, left or right, to criticisze Lott.

Shabbosgoy: Jonah, have you read “The Looming Tower?” and what are you reading now, fiction and non?

KevinTMC: DaveyBoy, you should do a Google search of the NRO website for the phrase “feckless crapweasel”. I’ll bet you at least half of the hits involve Jonah laying into Republicans.

Cycloptichorn: Seems rather odd to me that an administration which is supposedly ‘anti-leak,’ leaks continually; yet only the media is blamed

Jonah Goldberg: Lester, let’s see. There was the location of our CIA “bases” in Eastern Europe that seriously undermined our credibility with allies. There have been leaks about sources and methods, etc.

vertex11: How come no one stood up for Dennis Prager when he objected to the Representative how refused to follow tradition and take his oath on the Bible? He could have used the Bible and the Koran, but refused to maintain the tradition of using the Bible.

Montrose: If global warming is based on science, why do it’s advocates use the language of religion (belief, for instance).

Jonah Goldberg: I’m reading Brian Doherty’s epic history of Libertarianism. It’s very, very, long but quite good and much-needed. I have arguments with it, but i’ll save those for my review.

Libby: Jonah, thanks.

JPeterson: What do you think is the single biggest failing or misjudgment of the Bush administration?

Jonah Goldberg: Montrose: That’s a rich subject. The best short discussion of it might be Chrichton’s San Fran speech on environmeantalism as a religion. It’s googleable.

Ed: Have you read recently that the planet Mars is exhibiting the conditions we define as ‘global warming’ and who can we blame for it?

Goheels: Jonah, Dot’t defend yourself to guys like Dave. Ask hom what liberal ides he would condemn. You are such a nice guy, but Jesus Christ, call these guys on their hipocracy.

Boratt: Have you know earned the title of “The Ann Coulter of the L.A. Times” If not will it be soon.

Shabbosgoy: You’re talking about Keith Elison. I’m in St. Paul, where the GOP convention will be held in 2008. Will buy you a drink, Jonah.

Libby: Blame the Mars probes.

Libby: Global warming refers to hot air coming from DC.

TimHunter: Lester, I agree. There is so much redundancy in our intelligence community, that minor compromises are expected (however, careers are still ruined). In this case, a CIA operative’s identity was compromised. Any intelligence leak that weakens our national security is pursued. People in the intelligence community loose security clearances all the time as a result of a breach of protocol - i.e. their profession is seriously impaired. People really are held accountable in any non-political forum. Mr. Libby lied about a security breach. As the chief of staff to the vice president, he was held accountable. End of story - it should happen like this for any public official who has the capability of causing damage.

brendan: Those on the left who call you a misanthrope, Republicans fascists, etc. - do you think they really mean it? Are they venting or actually deranged?

rotkosky: The Ann Coulter of the LA Times! Best your read your Jonah a bit closer. They are not the same.

lester: Tell the National Academy of Sciences that they’ve gotten the sciene wrong on climate change

KevinTMC: Jonah, Mark Steyn today described the Libby fiasco as coming from “a freak intersection of bad personnel decisions, which is one of the worst features of this presidency”. Is it a coincidence that this is also the first MBA President?

Jonah Goldberg: Jpeterson: That’s a very long list. The biggest wasn’t WMDs, but the systemwide failure to appreciate the decline of civil society in Iraq. More narrowly political. I think the way the administration handled Katrina was politically disastrous. I also think the appointment of all these cronies in the second term -- folks like Gonzales -- has increased grpoup think at precisely the moment they needed less of it. But I could go on for a while on that score.

daryll: Jonah, do you think this is a pointless waste of your time - which no real discussion is likely to occur

JPeterson: Thanks for chatting -- I’ll stand a round in Austin!

Zeke51: Damn, Jonah, do you read anything that you are not writing a review for?

GP: Vertex: Ellison is actually working with the Bush admin. to improve our image in the ME. https://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6464885,00.html

Doug Barber: I object to calling Jonah the “Ann Coulter” of anything.

daryll: Jonah, ever considered running for office yourself?

rotkosky: Well, Cosmo is the Ann Coulter of squirrels.

KevinTMC: For one thing, Jonah is much hotter than Ann Coulter. And I say that as a 100% heterosexual male.

Jonah Goldberg: Zeke: I wish, but I’m so crazy busy these days. That when it comes to books, it’s very hard for me to read for pleasure. I hope when I’m done with my own book to catch up on all sorts of stuff.

lester: Which do you think is worse: the US torturing people or reporters reporting that we are?

cam: montrose/Jonah - we must distinguish between advocates on both sides and the scientific facts. Good point lester

Jonah Goldberg: Kevin, do you mean in the sense that i constantly sweat like a fat man at an all you can eat pasta bar?

DaveyBoy: I would argue that most of your criticism of Republicans is for their political weakness or fecklessness, not for their corruption, ignorance, stupidity, etc., that you would criticize Democracts for. In other words, it’s politics.

Josiah: Would you support Hillary if she favored volcano lancing?

XTolled: I loved how Rep. Keith Ellis used a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson to show up the people who had criticized him.

rotkosky: If the US is torturing people, then it should be reported. But, you must define torture.

KevinTMC: At least you know what pasta is, Jonah.

rotkosky: Cylco, after all, many Republicans are trying to point out that Armitage was the original leaker.

Panopticorps: I’m impressed that my comments about your inhumanity, your fundamental misanthropy hit home. It suggested there’s a glimmer of consciousness on your part, though you persist in regarding yourself as somehow clever, which is baffling.

Goheels: this is getting way too stupid

Jonah Goldberg: Dave: I’m open to the possibility, but actually being the person who writes my columns I think I’m more familiar with their content. I have NEVER taken much pride in being a republican. I’m an american, Goldberg, and conservative first and republican very far down that list.

Shabbosgoy: I agree with goheels.

Libby: Maybe the reporters writing about my convixction should spend longer in the pen than me. I like the way you think lester.

TyrantLimaBean: Train A, traveling 70 miles per hour (mph), leaves Westford heading toward Eastford, 260 miles away. At the same time Train B, traveling 60 mph, leaves Eastford heading toward Westford. When do the two trains meet? How far from each city do they meet?

Jonah Goldberg: Oh Panny, big hug

MarkB: Jonah, why aren’t people who are against inner city crime, and do not sign up for the police force, considered chickenhawks?

Zeke51: XTolled, Jefferson owned that Koran to understand how to thrash their asses.

daryll: Is there any central control or review of what contributors post to The Corner?

Jonah Goldberg: Mark: You know the answer. Conservatives wouldn’t bother making that argument and they’d be foolish to do so simply to illustrate liberal hypocrsiy.

Libby: The two trains will meet between Westford and Eastford, my administration sources say.

Jonah Goldberg: Daryll: Well we decide who is a contributor. And on occassion editors have the right to nix some posts. But basically no.

daryll: Would you ever run for officer yourself?

SistaInfidel: Since today is International Women’s Day, any thoughts/comments on the convenient omission of Islam when most organizations (and lefty websites) describe the opression of women?

Jonah Goldberg: Hey folks, I’m sorry ifI haven’t answered everyone’s question fully, but it’s basically impossoibke to okeep up or answer nearly as thoughtfully as i would like.

Moderator1: And we have only been able to get to a fraction of the actual questions.

Jonah Goldberg: Daryll: I really, really, really doubt it. Where would I run from? DC? My ancestral land of t he Upper West Side of Manhattan?

dblbogey: no kidding....this chat format sucks!

cam: trains meet after 2 hours, 140 miles from westford, 120 from eastford

LB: When’s the book?

Moderator1: OK, a couple more:

Scooter: To what extent has the Vice President’s almost reckless disregard for public opinion undercut the President’s ability to build consensus around his policies? Would the President be better off without Cheney at this point?

KevinTMC: Do you think the mainstream press has a responsibility to shine a light on Joe Wilson’s lies in the midst of their straight news reporting? And if so, how does one distinguish that responsibility from the calls of Media Matters and the like to expose what they see as continual Bush lies?

Colin: I just read you defending the Crusades on NRO. Did you not know that they killed many Jews on the way to liberating the Holy land?

Scooter: how did you come to be so brilliant?

Jonah Goldberg: Sistan: i think that’s a great subject. I think it gets to the heart of t he problem of both the UN which covers the butts of bad countries and multiculturalism because it won’t attack the self-esteem, as it were, of some of its constituents.

Jonah Goldberg: Scooter, you keep asking that and I am way too stupid to figure out how to answer.

dblbogey: i think it’s spelled “stoopid”

Jonah Goldberg: Colin: I think “defending” the Crusades is a bit of a stretch. But I do think it’s worth correcting the erroneous dominant mythology about what the Crusades were about. I think religious slaughter, forced conversions etc are bad no matter whose doing them and no matter who’s being victimized.

Libby: Religious slaughter, now we’re back to Ann Coulter territory.

Jonah Goldberg: Scooter: re the VP, I think it’s a problem. I’m actually a fan of Cheney’s but I think the experiment of having a lame duck VP from the get-go shouldn’t be repeated.

daryll: would you please get off ann, this is not about her

Panopticorps: You seem unable to really deal with the reality of genuine human suffering, let alone human feeling of any kind. That’s what makes your columns mere detritus.

Doug Barber: Colin, are you living now, or then?

superdude: Boy, this chat room is a real technological triumph. Its interface is not at all anti-intuitive and keeping track of the conversation is *not* like navigating through some kind of stupid labyrinth.

rotkosky: I don’t think Cheney’s lame-duckedness is a problem, but more of Bush’s inability to effectively communicate his policies and vision.

daryll: Jonah, I think I would pay to see you be white house press secretary...

Jonah Goldberg: Yeah, I should say that I think both the left and much of the right’s fascination with ann is baffling to me. The left wants her to be our michael moore (though you’d never see the GOP dealing with her the way the Dems embraced moore). and many of ann’s fans think it’s a matter of honor to applaud her at every turn.

TyrantLimaBean: At least this Labrynth does not feature David Bowie’s crotch

dblbogey: yeah, but superdude did u notice how many different font colors u can use?

Jonah Goldberg: Panny: You still there? At some point you’ll have to tell me how you got elected the cosmic conscience of the universe able to pontifcate on the inner moral workings of others so cavalierly. It’s a nifty trick. Great for parties.

MarkB: Do you think if Dems could create a slogan combining “For the Children” and “Climate Change” they would have teh magic bullet to win elections forever?

TroopshipBerlin: Armitage was the original leaker of what? That Plame was in the CIA? How was that a leak? What was wrongful about the Administration trying to refute Wilson?

KevinTMC: rotkosy is quite right. Does the White House have trouble making their case--and even climb down when they’re right (e.g. the “16 words”) because they’re incompetent at communicating, or because they secretly doubt themselves somehow?

rotkosky: Actually, speaking of your book, I must confess that the sub-title is a little Ann-ish

rogerb: Tim Hunter seems apiece with NPR. On their main story about the Libby case this morning, they said the White House comes off looking pretty bad, but never mentioned that the actual leaker was Richard Armitage, much less expressing any outrage toward him.

HogWhitman: Jonah: I’m in favor of basic gay rights, but I’m unwilling to engage in homosexual behavior myself. Does this make me a chickenhawk?

Libby: Thanks anyway Jonah, and thanks for everything.

brendan: Thanks Jonah for a great chat - don’t let the loony left get you down.

cam: Ann coulter is a female version of Bill O’Reilly without his nightly forum

Moderator1: That’s it for questions. Thanks a lot, fans, haters, and tweeners, and thanks to Jonah.

Jonah Goldberg: Rotosky: I think Bush’s inarticulateness compounds the problem. Cheney won’t be an effective spokesmean and bush can’t be and no one else, save Tony Snow, has been given the job.

Lee: I disagree with the Coulter/Moore analogy. Moore may be a blowhard but he isn’t a hater. And conservatives have certainly embraced Coulter.

Doug Barber: Thanks Jonah.

KevinTMC: Thank you Jonah. (And Panny, for the comic relief.)

Jonah Goldberg: Moore is a consumate hater and if you payt attention to what he says in Euopean press, it’s pretty clear he hates much of america too.

LB: Yeah, thanks Jonah!

daryll: thanks jonah

Jonah Goldberg: Okay folks, I’m gone. Thanks for coming out. Try the veal!

rotkosky: go get ‘em Cosmo

HogWhitman: thx Jonah... look forward to your columns

TyrantLimaBean: THanks

Jackflash: Thank you for spending your time answering a few questions...please consider writing another FAQ column for NRO

Shabbosgoy: hogwhitman was hilarious.

Joel: thanks

HogWhitman: thx shabb

Moderator1: OK, I’m outta here. One more hater before we go:

smashmouth_dems: Mr. Goldberg from your editorial today and it’s blatant attempt to distract from the Libby Conviction, it is apparent that you believe that the Rule of Law does not apply to you and your Neo-Con Clique. Libby is a lawyer, he broke the law by lieing to a Grand Jury, he was convicted. From this Lumpenproletariat viewpoint, he should do the maximum amount of time to provide an example to the rest of the Traitorous Pols like yourself.

Doug Barber: this was fun, thanks LA Times

Moderator1: Bye!