Fred Thompson says the Afghanistan war has been lost, and nothing President Obama does will make a difference because he doesn’t have the will to win it. He also accuses the president of emboldening our enemies.

“It really doesn’t matter how President Obama divides the Afghan baby, how he splits the difference between McChrystal and Biden. Because the war has been lost,” Thompson said on his radio show today. “I say this because of one sad and simple fact. The president does not have the will and determination to do what’s necessary to win it. His heart’s not in it, and never has been. The Taliban knows it. Al Qaeda knows it. Our allies know it. And the American people know it.

“Our enemies are now emboldened and our friends are discouraged. We cannot prevail if the American people are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary for an extended effort. The case has not been made to them to justify this effort. The case can only be made by the president. This president is unable or unwilling to make that case,” Thompson said.

However, on a show that I’m slightly familiar with, “Hannity and Colmes,” Thompson attacked Senator Harry Reid on May 1, 2007, when Reid said the Iraq war was lost, agreeing with a woman questioning how Reid could say such a thing when there are troops in the field.

THOMPSON: Well, let’s talk about Senator Reid for a moment. Right before I came over here, I was sitting outside, getting a bite to eat, before we did our interview. A young woman [former Army captain] came up and asked if she could sit down and talk to me a minute. . . . I asked her what she thought about this. She said, “How in the world can anyone, any one of our leaders, declare war, declare that the war has been lost when we’ve got troops in the field? My friends are over there in the field. I know what they think about this.”

And, of course, it’s just like all other Americans think. The very idea that they would do this and undercut our efforts over there is unprecedented. And it’s not only unprecedented; it’s awful politics.

Thompson then even used the same language about Harry Reid he’s now using on Obama, accusing Reid of “encouraging our enemies.”

After months of dithering on the issue, former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York.  Many Republicans may be disappointed with this decision, as he is the highest profile GOP-er likely to seek the post.

It was not clear what prompted the decision, but the prospect of potentially facing Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who is quietly planning his own run for governor, may not have appealed to Mr. Giuliani, who suffered a bruising defeat in the 2008 Republican presidential primary. While many political analysts believe Mr. Giuliani would have comfortably beaten Gov. David A. Paterson, he would likely have faced an uphill battle against Mr. Cuomo, one of the most popular politicians in the state.

Giulian’s camp has not confirmed the decision not to run.

No, it’s not Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Crooks and Liars, Atros, Kos, or Media Matters for America. It’s Newsmax.com, as they are gleefully blaring today.

Republicans are planning a series of delaying tactics, such as reading the entire bill on the Senate floor.  And Utah Senator Orrin Hatch says,”It’s going to be a holy war.” (h/t Americablog) And that is in spite of a number of concessions already made to conservatives:

Unlike the House bill, which would establish a national public option, Reid would give states the option to “opt out” of the government plan, a concession he made in a bid to win the support of conservative Democrats.

Reid has also been working to defuse concerns about limiting federal funding for abortion and about a new and potentially costly government program to provide insurance for long-term care.

The Senate bill would ban the use of federal funds for abortion services except in cases of rape and incest, requiring insurers that cover elective abortions to segregate money from Americans who get government subsidies.

A Lithuanian official and a former CIA official have told ABC News about a concrete structure built by the US where up to eight detainees at a time could be harshly interrogated.

“The activities in that prison were illegal,” said human rights researcher John Sifton. “They included various forms of torture, including sleep deprivation, forced standing, painful stress positions.”

As Laffy properly notes, the proper word for “harsh interrogations” is “torture.”  And see her links to more on blight in our detainee policies.

Bumper stickers and t-shirts saying “Pray for Obama Psalm 109.8″ seem to no longer be available on cafepress.  Offered by the maturely-named upyoursobama.com, Psalm 109.8 reads, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” The next verse in Psalms is, “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” As Gawker chronicles, may conservative sites believe this is thigh-slapping hilarious. Here is the cached link to the no-longer-available offering.

Still available on the Obama hate site, however, which bills itself as ”Anti Barack Obama – Pro McCain Palin”, are such classy gems as these:

Texas adopted an amendment to its constitution in 2005 to assert that marriage had to be between a man and a woman.  But the language used indicates that marriage, itself, may be illegal.

Prop. 2 – The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

Outcome: Adopted

Election date: 11/08/2005

Democratic attorney general candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky believes this language may effectively ban all marriages in the state.  She is blaming the current attorney general, Republican Gregg Abbott, for allowing this to become law. (h/t Think Progress)

Radnofsky called on Abbott to acknowledge the wording as an error and consider an apology. She also said that another constitutional amendment may be necessary to reverse the problem.

With former members of John McCain’s campaign staff taking issue with accounts in Sarah Palin’s book, McCain himself has now weighed in.

“There’s been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days and I just wanted to mention that I have the highest regard for Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace and the rest of the team … and I appreciated all the hard work and everything they did to help the campaign,” he said.

“I think it’s just time to move on,” he said.

McCain also threw some good words Palin’s way:

“I’m still really proud of her and the campaign she ran and I think it’s pretty obvious that she has a substantial base and interest out there,” McCain said.

• Illinois Republican State Rep. Jim Sacia says his GOP colleagues would be “idiots” to block the transfer of Gitmo detainees to a prison in his state. He’ll tell Alan why.

• Shushannah Walshe, co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar, separates fact from fiction in Palin’s new memoir.

• Alan exposes shockingly shameless new examples of anti-Obama hatred.

Sarah Palin complains in her new book that Nicole Wallace pushed her to do an interview with Katie Couric because Katie “needed a career boost” and “was going through a tough time.”  Wallace says this is “a fictional description.”  Palin told Oprah it was supposed to be “an interview that was lighthearted and fun”, just “two working moms,” which is why she didn’t prepare for it.  Wallace says not true, that the interview was set up as a walk and talk in front of the UN to highlight Palin’s ability to be VP. (via TV Newser)