Pakistan’s Archduke Ferdinand
Byron York opines on the potential political fallout of the Bhutto assassination. He contends that this hurts Iowa frontrunners Huckabee and Romney, helps Giuliani and McCain, and would help Fred Thompson if more people were paying attention to him. By the same logic, someone else it helps is Hillary. That’s because we will be reminded that very recently Obama had some very naive things to say about Pakistan.
All that being said, it is not hyperbole to say that the biggest story of 2007 just happened today with less than a week left in the year. If this event touches off a wider war a la the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, everything just changed. Everything.
UPDATE:
Jules Crittenden has a big roundup.
As does Drudge.
John Podhoretz reminds voters as I did two weeks ago that the world won’t give us a holiday from history.
Glenn is following the developments too.
Mark Steyn knew her and says that “today’s events [had] a horrible inevitability.”
There’s no way to know how accurate this is but Al Qaeda is taking credit.
Susan Davis covers news of the assassination from the perspective of each of the campaigns.
Bill Roggio wonders who did it?
Just two days ago Austin Bay predicted another Tet would disrupt another presidential election. Was this Tet? Or Ngo Dinh Diem? (In effect, not in the implication of American involvement–although that is certainly to emerge among the many theories.)
Michael Silence has several posts on today’s events.
The Wall Street Journal reruns Bret Stephens’ recent interview with Ms. Bhutto.
An NRO Symposium
Many more stories will rapidly follow to be sure, so let me close this post with one final thought:
Ms. Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally just two weeks before a Pakistani election. It is worth remembering as we begin our own campaign season in earnest next week that no matter how acrimonious the political discussion becomes, we live in a country where those who root for the death of their political opponents exist far outside the mainstream and that even if an assassination attempt were to occur here, there is zero risk of anything but an orderly transition of power on January 20, 2009.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:31 am
[...] Pakistan??s Archduke Ferdinand [...]
December 27th, 2007 at 9:44 am
[...] Bob Krumm thinks the assaisaination of Benzair Bhutto may turn out to be bigger news than we may realize right now: [I]t is not hyperbole to say that the biggest story of 2007 just happened today with less than a week left in the year. If this event touches off a wider war a la the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, everything just changed. Everything. [...]
December 27th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[...] Bob Krumm points out that not only does Bhutto’s death help Giuliani and McCain, it helps Hillary Clinton. Rod [...]
December 27th, 2007 at 11:57 am
[...] states this is the biggest news story of 2007, and claims that this could be as big a deal as the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. That would imply it would start a war as big as World War I. I don’t think it will cause [...]
December 27th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
[...] Bob Krumm: Pakistan’s Archduke Fredinand All that being said, it is not hyperbole to say that the biggest story of 2007 just happened today with less than a week left in the year. If this event touches off a wider war a la the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, everything just changed. Everything. [...]
December 27th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
[...] the final word in all of this is from Bob Krumm: It is worth remembering as we begin our own campaign season in earnest next week that no matter [...]