Live Blogging Bill Kristol at Heritage

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Quick note: like a J.K Rowling Horcrux, I have separated my blogging life into numerous venues:

• RightSideRedux - The original of the Justin Hart blogs covering all things political and "me" related.
• MyManMitt.com - The incredibly popular site in support of our next President Mitt Romney
• FamilyFragments.com - The job. The newly launched blog of the Lighted Candle Society with Ed Meese, Judith Reisman, John Harmer and yours truly

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Now, onto the main event: Live blogging with Bill Kristol at the Heritage Foundation.

1:07 - Q: What does the war look like in a year from now?

"Its a very fluid situation. #14 on his list Politics of war are very fluid. If things change on ground all sorts of things can change... It can also get better than we expect. A Lt. Col. in August 2006 thought Ramadi was gone. Falujah was in horrible shape... much of that has flipped"

12:53 - Q: "You were at the forefront of the debate against Hillary. Are you going to weigh in on this?

Kristol: "I agree we've given up some ground on this. I thought we could defeat HillaryCare without compromise. It is easier to be in opposition than to govern We had a huge Medicate fight in '95... everyone got allergic to good Healthcare ideas... people were scared of the issue. I think that's a good instance... if the GOP agenda had been more reform oriented rather than slow the rate of growth down. Still, we didn't have a good explanation as to how this would help people. We paid some price for that defeat in '95... I have a hunch that Healthcare is coming back at a national level. .. We should not be timid. Romney and Giuliani have ambitious Healthcare plans. "

12:45 - Q: "What would a 'more energetic' government look like?

"I'm not sure... but the current administration could, for example, pay more attention to staffing your own administratrion. One thing Reagan did very well is that a lot got done under the radar... there were a lot of things that got done in ways taht were constitutional and legal and the Executive branche has a lot of discretion. The current administration hasn't done that. Good executives delegate but they get in and they get a lot of advice. I'm a little worried that they've gone on auto pilot..."

12:37 - Kristo: "I'm a energetic and limited government conservative... "

12:34 - Kristol: ""I'm more skeptical about Hillary's chances. The truth is the Dems could nominate some general mid-westeren modern democrat and they would be in "

12:32 - Kristol, in answer to the question: "What about the media war?":

"One problem has not thought of this as a war. When you get a military briefing you see a serious thoughtful interesting discussion. The media never thought of it as a way. The administration certainly hasn't No maps. No one explains what is going on like in past wars."

12:21 - Kristol:

"As a friend of mind put it the other day... everyone's focus is on the three I's: Iraq, Iran, and Iowa"

"The current Republican debate is very positive for the conservative movement.... There's no evidence that a good and heated debate among candidates would harm the party."

"I was struck in Iraq how much the generals emphasized Iran."

"The contrast of the debate among military leaders with serious discussion in contrast to the discussio in Washington is striking."

"The Rumsfeld strategy wasn't crazy but it was wrong and we stuck with it too long."

"The Petreus strategy is working. There is no one in the military that thinks we are not winning."

"The military is incredibly impressive."

12:14 - Bill Kristol on the war in Iraq...

12:09 - Michelle from Americans for Prosperity is touting an event called "Defending the American Dream Summit" in October here in DC including Mitt Romney.

12:07 - NZ Bear is explaining a new website to help get people set up to drive petitions in support of the war. (more info coming: see Victory Caucus.com

12:00 - Bill just entered