What a busy news week this was. Here are a few things that caught my attention.

First up, Rosie O’Donnell. This week Rosie O’Donnell announced that she is leaving “The View.” Many who have written about O’Donnell, as I have, mourned the loss of a steady stream of mockable moonbat material. Some others expressed concern that this followed the Imus firing as a case of free speech being squelched. As for the loss of rude and ridiculous Rosie quotes available to talk radio show hosts, bloggers, and entertainment reporters, I have no doubt that, even away from “The View,” she will continue to provide plenty.

The free speech issue concerns me, but not in this case. It does not appear that ABC/Disney did anything to silence O’Donnell. From most recent reports it appears more likely that O’Donnell decided to leave The View because she was not as comfortable there as she would like to be, due to network and specifically Barbara Walters’ reaction to the various controversies. That is not the same as being censored. The right to free speech comes with responsibility and even if ABC had decided to fire O’Donnell because she did not put forth the image they wanted, it would not have been a blow to free speech. It would have just been a blow to ignorant speech.

Second up, Harry Reid. Last week Reid said the war in Iraq is “lost.” It’s breathtaking that the Senate Majority Leader would say such a thing with troops in harm’s way and with Democrats lacking the courage to then defund the mission and bring them home immediately. This week he went further and admitted to not believing what General Petraeus says about the situation in Iraq. If he doesn’t believe the general in charge of the mission, and he doesn’t believe the commander in chief, and he obviously doesn’t believe those on the ground in the field who say (many through milblogs) that the war is not lost, then who does he believe?

I would not be surprised to see Reid lose his job before 2008. It looks unlikely that Joe Lieberman is going to fire him, but Reid continually makes statements even many Democrats can’t defend. This week he slammed Dick Cheney by saying he would not engage in name-calling, as he claims Cheney had, then he called Cheney an “attack dog” three times in less than five minutes.

In Thursday’s Washington Post , David Broder said Reid is “a continuing embarrassment thanks to his amateurish performance” and “assuredly not a man who misses many opportunities to put his foot in his mouth.” Broder said the Democrats and the country deserve better.

That brings me to Rudy Giuliani, admittedly my favorite of the current crop of GOP hopefuls, who said this week what too many Republican candidates are afraid to say about the prospect of a Democrat presidential victory in 2008. Continued...