The Daily Top Five: Jan. 11, 2007

1. There has been, predictably, lots of talk about the President's speech last night and a lot of talk about the Democratic opposition. But Emily Bazelon does something that most Democrats haven't done--offer four ways to stop the war in Iraq, if only they dared. Her ideas: 1. Unauthorize the war or Reauthorize it.; 2. Cut off the money.; 3. Condition the money.; 4. Set a time limit.

Bazelon acknowledges the political impracticality of these proposals. A better proposal would be a little better oversight on the part of Congress, a duty the GOP more or less abdicated when they were in power.

Any decision Congress makes on the money side of things, their power and perogative, will immediately be spun as "not supporting the troops" and the GOP would be right.

Hat Tip: Howard Bashman

2. The always accurate Philip Mella calls the Democratic response political cowardice.

As is the case with all wars, we can't know whether this strategic correction will be successful, and for those attentive to the mainstream media's handling of it as well as the leftist blogosphere's, the din of disdain is truly deafening. Expressions of disagreement comprise the very backbone of our nation, but they would garner more support and credibility if their authors outlined a rigorous and persuasive alternative plan.

Alas, no such plan appears to be forthcoming, and neither do they appear to have the temerity to legislatively act on their visceral disapproval of the president's plan.

That's called political cowardice.

Mella, like most of the country is looking for Democrats to offer an alternative but the only alternative we are likely to see anytime soon will come if a Democrat occupies the White House next.

3. Michelle Malkin is in Iraq, embedded with an army unit and weilding her pen and camera. Keep checking her site for updates.

4. How this guy got into college is a mystery, but he probably won't be there for long. Hat tip: Outside the Beltway.

5. I have often argued in this space that teachers need to be held accountable, meaning risk their job, for the success of their students. Brett Pawlowski has a great explanation of accountability in a post titled to generate traffic: Accountable....Like Ken Lay.

Accountability is a core element of any kind of meaningful education reform. But when the issue is raised, particularly from people in the business community, those opposed to such reforms often question both the reality of accountability in the business world and the morals of those suggesting it. “Do you want us to be accountable like Ken Lay was accountable?” is a question that I’ve heard more than once in this debate.

This argument is flawed on many levels.

Read on.