This from The New Yorker (April 9, 2007):

“At first, public opinion favored the war. But, when the Americans fucked up, that changed. Now the Turks are furious — with themselves as well. They think, How could we do this?”

Mehmet Ali Birand, nightly news anchor on Turkish television

Last night on Charlie Rose, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek said (in reference to Barack Obama’s Q1 fund raising):

I think its a very big day in what I’d call “small ‘D'” democracy politics. I think we’re seeing the birth of what you could call ‘Open Source Politics’… In other words the old authority structures that we all became accustomed to are breaking down, and this is very very good for American politics and American society. To level the playing field, let the people weigh in. If you’re saying something that people connect to, [if] you have a message of optimism that resonates… the money will follow.”

This came as news to those active in the last presidential campaign cycle. Or many others:

• Wikipedia “Open Politics”
• The Nation: The Rise of Open Source Politics (Nov. 22, 2004)
• And interestingly enough, Jonathan Alter himself, in a June 2006 Newseek article^*: A New Open-Source Politics

Of course there is another side to Open Source Politics, as discussed here previously and over at ZDNet: Creativity trumps money in open source politics.

The political calender stretches before us like a yawning canyon. We have a lot yet to see.

^*Which itself begins with this Charlie Rose reference, “Bob Schieffer of CBS News made a good point on ‘The Charlie Rose Show’ last week.” Thus demonstrating the circularity of nature.

Constitutional crisis was much in the news a week or two back, when the House and Senate were voting to impose restrictions on the Bush administrations Iraq plans, or supoena presidential advisors.
While these claims of crisis are more hyperbole than real (not that the issues aren’t real, they’re just not a crisis) there are a number of real constitutional crises going on in the world right now. Here is a quick review:

• Pakistan: President Parvez Musharraf fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Since then, lawyers have taken to protesting the government on a regular basis. Here is some coverage:
  Khaleej Times Online – Pakistan’s framework contest
  The Peninsula On-line: Qatar’s leading English Daily
• Ukraine: President Viktor Yushchenko, himself only in power for a couple of years (following the “Orange Revolution”), and precariously at that, has disbanded the Verhovna Rada, the parliament, and called new elections. Parliament, for their part, responded by declaring the dissolution decree to be null and void. The Rada asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the matter, but that body is itself dysfunctional. Protesters are in the streets from both sides. Coverage here:
  B92 – News – Globe – Ukraine PM challenges dissolution of parliament
  BBC NEWS | Europe | Q&A: Ukraine political crisis
  UNIAN – Ukraine leaders start crisis talks
  Ukraine Lawmakers Reject Dissolution, Crisis Intensifies – RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY
  UPDATE – 4/4/2007: Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych called on President Victor Yushchenko to rescind his decree dissolving parliament, and asked the Constitutional Court to overturn the decree. The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court has reportedly stepped down from his post, citing pressure:
  Ukraine premier rejects early elections
  Fears of constitutional crisis in Ukraine
  Ukraine PM increases pressure on president
• Ecuador: President Rafael Correa has attempted to expel 57 members of congress through his control of the electoral court and with the backing of the military. This led to a court ruling from a provincial judge suspending their firing. Then the judge was himself fired. A referendum is planned for April 15 to decide whether a constitutional assembly shall be convened to rewrite that document. Coverage here:
  Another Ecuador Crisis Deepens as a Judge Is Fired Ahead of Voting – New York Times
  Ecuador’s crisis merits OAS response – 03/29/2007 – MiamiHerald.com
  Ecuador political crisis grows as judge fired – CNN.com
• Zimbabwe: President Mugabe, dictator since independence, has once again allowed the brutal suppression of opposition politicians and their supporters. Not much more need be said here.
  Zimbabwejournalists.com: Let us Drive the Tyrant out of Town – Mutambara
  Zimbabwe’s Downward Spiral – Catholic Online
• Lebanon: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is under pressure to dissolve parliament and call new elections following a power struggle with Hezbollah, whose MPs have abandoned their posts and lead their supporters into the streets in protests which have raged for weeks. The fear is that if new elections were called, Hezbollah may be able to ride a wave of popular support based upon their month long war with Israel last summer. Politics in Lebanon are famously fluid, however, so many surprises are in store. The best coverage of this may be found at The Independent, whose Robert Fisk has lived in and written from Beruit for the last 30 years:
  Independent Online Edition > Robert Fisk

With all of this going on in the world today, you would imagine our diplomatic corps would be racking up the frequent flier miles. Doesn’t look like it, though. The myopia of our current government has kept it focused almost exclusively on Iraq and Iran.

Robert Novak in his most recent column offers up this nugget about a potential campaign for the Republican party Presidential nomination by Fred Thompson, former Congressman and Senator from Tennessee:

Sophisticated social conservative activists tell me they cannot vote
for Giuliani under any conditions and have no rapport with McCain or
Romney. They do not view Sen. Sam Brownback, representing the social
right, as a viable candidate. They are coming to see Thompson as the
only conservative who can be nominated. Their appreciation of him stems
not from his eight years as a U.S. senator from Tennessee but his
actor’s role as district attorney of Manhattan on “Law and Order.” That
part was molded to Thompson’s specifications as a tough prosecutor,
lending him political star power.
RealClearPolitics – Articles – Fred Thompson Is for Real

So a politician retires from politics to pursue an acting career, negotiates the role he will play, and then leverages that role as a springboard back into politics. That, in itself, is an interesting plot line.

Thompson could potentially turn the GOP primaries upside-down. Stay tuned…