... I'd like to draw your attention to my piece on McCain running interference for Rudy in today's American Spectator.

The piece has already generated a whirlwind of comment. By the time I checked email this morning, I already had about 25 emails about the piece-- a high number for 9AM! So, if you haven't checked out the column, please do-- and send me your thoughts!

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I'm late in the day posting on this, but we all learned today, definitively, that Tom Davis isn't going to be running for John Warner's Senate seat in Virginia.

I'll be the first to say this is a shame. I think Davis would be best placed to beat Mark Warner.

But, I also understand why he's not doing it. In a campaign against a well-known character like M. Warner, the only real shot a Republican will have, in my view, is to get to the task of reaching out to a wide swathe of voters early-- as opposed to concentrating on the active GOP faithful, which is exactly what would be required in order to win a nomination via a convention, as opposed to a primary. That the process chosen by the Virginia GOP (convention) will probably hurt Jim Gilmore, too, is not in doubt so far as I am concerned. He, too, will spend months making nice with the state party bods, instead of talking to ordinary voters, whose support he will need come November 2008. But, at the end of the day, with more of the state party than not deeming itself "conservative," Gilmore benefits at least a little from a convention, insofar as it makes it easier for him to get the nomination (on the basis that he too is "conservative"-- admittedly, I don't think much more so than me, which should raise some questions for some of our super-conservative state party members here in the Old Dominion)-- if not win the actual election, due to time-wasting and narrow outreach.

If I were Davis, I probably would have at least strongly considered pulling out, for just this reason. -- though I personally still think it's a shame that he has. Ultimately, Gilmore and I have a lot of views in common (in fact, that is possibly more the case than with, perhaps, a maximum of another 10 well-known Republicans, full-stop). But I think it's going to be incredibly tough for him to beat Warner, given that he hasn't been on the scene in VA much since 2001, what he's mainly known for to the influx of voters ...

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Charlie Rangel's at it again.

At what, you ask? Raising taxes. By 4% on those earning more than $150k a year (or, it seems couples making more than $200k). By 4.6% on those earning more than $500k.

It's a stupid move, yes, and I think it gives us all a pretty good indication of what Democrats' definition of "rich" is (i.e., probably not the same as yours and mine-- $150k a year is a nice income, but it certainly isn't like the Dems are only going after Paris Hiltons here, is it?). The only good news? Looks like Rangel's going to cut corporate taxes, too.

Now, that bit is welcome. But if Democrats would actually cut some spending, maybe we could have avoided the tax hikes and still had the corporate tax rate cut, too. Wouldn't that have been nice? And good for the economy?

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