Wrong About Rove?

"Maybe potential employees don't know about her tiny Riverside firm. Maybe the problem is Southern California's solid economy and low unemployment rate. Or maybe manual labor is something that many Americans couldn't dream of doing. . . .

"Smallwood is ambivalent on immigration reform, saying demands for immediate citizenship by those who entered the country illegally are offensive. But without a guest worker program, she says, her company probably will not survive. . . .

"Ambivalent on immigration reform?

"Alert Beyond Borders Blog reader Chris Googled Ms. Smallwood, discovering that she is a member of the California Landscape Contractor's Association's Immigration Task Force." Quotes indicating her strong views on the issue follow.

John Hinderaker x

The administration's strategy, as outlined by the Post, is to run mostly on three issues: tax cuts, immigration and national security. The administration is urging Republicans not to run away from Iraq, but rather to emphasize the conflict as a key national security issue:

The Rove-Taylor view is that one-third of Americans agree with liberal Democrats calling for immediate withdrawal and another third support staying the course. The middle third wants a new strategy, but would be leery of pulling out and leaving behind a volatile Iraq, a position strategists believe leaves those voters open to persuasion.

I think that's right. The public's negative view of Iraq is driven mostly by biased press coverage, not the realities on the ground. If Republican candidates run away from the issue, the negative perceptions won't be challenged. If they address Iraq straightforwardly and optimistically, they can erode the superficial negativity on which Democrats rely.

Michelle Malkin is mighty steamed at this dumb Wonkette item, and who can blame her?

" wonkette: OMG I AM WATCHING MICHELLE MALKIN'S INTERNET VIDEOS FOR THE FIRST TIME

"operative: she has internet videos?

"operative: does she do the thing with the ping-pong balls?

"This is hardly the first time liberals have made Asian whore ping-pong ball jokes about me.

"But Wonkette has now mainstreamed it. And I'm sick of it. Are you proud of yourselves? Do you get a bonus from Nick Denton for scraping the bottom of the barrel?"

The offensive Wonkette post is still up there, but with an "update":

"This is not funny. We apologize."

I thought I covered television pretty intensively, but TV Week's Michelle Greppi has a story I would never get:

"Incoming 'Today' co-anchor Meredith Vieira strode confidently onto the NBC stage in a gray pantsuit she said was an expensive loaner from the network, which had asked her to leave the tag in the jacket in case it had to go back. She was joking about how after nine years with the women of ABC's 'The View,' it was either go to 'Today' or go lesbian. But she wasn't joking about the price tag. The Insider peeked at the tag at the party after the NBC presentation. It was $1,950 worth of Armani."