I am back, and the Morning Jolt resumes its normal weekday schedule. Just sent off to the editors, and arriving in your e-mailbox shortly . . .
Now back to my to-do list of story ideas that I left on my desk before leaving August 12 . . .
How Tim Pawlenty Can Surprise Everyone and Win in 2012
Mitt Romney, the Frontrunner Who Can’t Be Dislodged
Why the Libyan Rebels Will Never Win
The Fed: When Will GOP Candidates Give It More Attention?
Eh . . . Okay, so a lot can change in a week.
The Libyan Conflict Suddenly Shifts Out of Neutral Gear
By the time you read this, it’s entirely possible that things will have changed completely, but in the evening hours of Sunday and early morning hours of Monday, it appeared that Col. Moammar el-Qaddafi’s regime was finally appearing to be on its last legs.
. . . Intelwire chuckles, “I suggest we all refrain from tweeting reports of Gaddafi’s arrest or demise until he’s been safely buried at the bottom of the Arabian Sea.”
Robert Stacy McCain feels like we’ve heard this song before: “Qaddafi’s ‘days are numbered,’ the White House says again for the umpteenth time. From Day One of this operation, Obama, Hillary and other administration figures have repeatedly declared that Qaddafi’s ‘days are numbered,’ but they didn’t tell us the number was ‘at least 150,’ and even now we don’t know how many of those numbered days still remain. As long as Qaddafi is killed or captured before Nov. 6, 2012, the White House will proclaim it a triumphant vindication of the president’s policy.”
I guess technically, everyone’s days are numbered, right? As they said in SportCenter’s glory days, “He’s listed as day to day, but, then again, aren’t we all?”
But it appears the wa- er, I mean, the kinetic military action is over. Here comes the 2011 protest song/Christmas hit.
Former Army infantry officer Tim Mathews watched some of the celebrating Libyan rebels and observed, “I’ve been informed the rebels chants translate to: I don’t conserve ammo, handle weapons safely, or apply fundamentals of rifle marksmanship.”
Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live tries to make sense of the conflicting coverage: “Gaddafi is ousted but Qaddafi fights on. No one can find Gadhafi.”
If you missed last night’s TV coverage, Jeremy S. Cahill noticed, “MSNBC is running footage of a bear being electrocuted while ‘Caught on Camera.’”