| Be clear on who you need to fight:
Hillary Clinton often points to Kosovo as an example of interventionism done the right way. Yet if we look at the actual results, in practice, of nation-building, Clinton-style, it has been no more successful than the Republican version, albeit far less bloody and on a smaller scale. The ethnic cleansing that followed the military victory of NATO forces left the Serbian inhabitants of Kosovo living in a state of siege and sent them fleeing by the thousands. In the meantime, the rise of a virulently nationalistic regime in Pristina created an ethnically pure and fiercely militaristic state, which embodies the "principle" of gangsterism both in substance and style. Here again, the parallels with Iraq – where a Shi'ite majority has largely succeeded in driving the Sunnis out of Baghdad and into the hinterlands and surrounding countries – are all too tragically obvious.
After leap breaks body, a miracle renews spirit
On the evening of Sept. 28, at an apartment complex in King of Prussia, a tragedy and a miracle occurred 2.5 seconds apart. The tragedy took place when Jordan Burnham, 18, a senior just nominated to the homecoming court at Upper Merion High School, jumped out his ninth-floor window. The miracle happened 90 feet below, when he hit the ground at 50 m.p.h. - and survived. Jordan has no recollection of going out the window. Even though he was suffering from depression, neither he nor anyone close to him ever expected him to do something so impulsive, so lethal. "I had everything to live for," he says now. Today, 114 days later, Jordan's body remains badly broken. With the help of three therapists, he stood on his right leg last week for 60 seconds.
Democrats laugh the loudest
First, it throws the Republican race into disarray. People (including me) were already writing post-New Hampshire and pre-Michigan that the nod appeared to be John McCain's for the taking. McCain had momentum after his New Hampshire win, and he had won Michigan against George W Bush in 2000, so it wasn't entirely unreasonable to think that he might be on his way to glory. But that was stopped cold by Michigan voters. Now, not only is there no Republican frontrunner; there's not even anything resembling a likely victory scenario for any of the top-tier candidates. Second, the result seemed to confirm that Republican voters are deeply unenthusiastic about the choices before them. The Republicans, far more than the Democrats, usually have by this point in the process an “establishment" candidate around whom the party faithful have rallied.
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