Here's the unvarnished truth: Some days I end up thinking the so-called "art of politics" has all the charm and constructive qualities of a grease fire.

Such was my state of mind the day after British authorities foiled a terrorist plot to blow up several American jetliners bound for the United States. They saved the day with the help of Pakistan and the United States.

Hooray, right? Great job, right? Chalk one up for the good guys, right?

Wrong.

There was no rejoicing among key Democrats. In fact, for them, this was very bad news.

Why? Because it undercuts a key point Democrats hope to use against Republicans in November's midterm elections. Democratic strategists want voters to think the United States is at greater risk of a terrorist attack under Republican leadership. Hence, following the breakup of this terrorist plot, we heard the Democratic power brokers employ tortured logic to spin good news into bad.

More's the pity, because Nevada's own Sen. Harry Reid was one of these folks. Thus sayeth Harry:

"As a result of mismanagement and the wrong funding priorities, we are not as safe as we should be. ... The Iraq war has diverted our focus and more than $300 billion in resources from the war on terrorism and has created a rallying cry for international terrorists. This latest plot demonstrates the need for the Bush administration and the Congress to change course in Iraq and ensure that we are taking all the steps necessary to protect Americans at home and across the world."

Look, I know that politics is a rough and tumble business. But there comes a time when patriotism must trump politics. This was such a time, and Reid should have used the opportunity to praise America, not blast President Bush. This was a time to say, "Good job, Brits. Nice going, Pakistan. And -- plug your ears, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, et al -- atta boy, United States."

Acknowledging American success in a time of war seems just and right. To not to do so ... well ... in my book, that ain't right and that ain't just.

Carter Spiegel

Come to think of it, "Things That Ain't Right" would make a good title for a book. And if I were writing it, one of the first pictures in it would be of former President Jimmy Carter.

Now, I must first confess that I have a soft spot for Carter. Not exactly sure why, other than I've always been curious about how he puts together his conservative Baptist faith with his left-leaning politics. He's got to be the most politically liberal Baptist Sunday School teacher in the history of the planet. I'll stand by that assessment until proved otherwise.

But Carter would make my book based on an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel. Carter tells the magazine how bad Christian fundamentalism is for America, why Israel is to blame for unrest in Lebanon and how he hopes Fidel Castro gets to feeling better.

Here's a snippet from the interview:

Spiegel: You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited?

Carter: No, as a matter of fact, the concerns I exposed have gotten even worse now with the United States supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon.

Spiegel: But wasn't Israel the first to get attacked?

Carter: I don't think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza. I do not think that's justified, no.

Jeez, Jimmy, I can't tell you how much I disagree.

Beyond that, the unavoidable truth is that President Carter's view of the Middle East and most global issues is rapidly becoming the "mainstream" Democratic position. You need look no further than the Democratic establishment's glee at the primary defeat of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., for an example.

For Nevadans, the shame of this is that Sen. Harry Reid is a willing accomplice to all of it. As a card-carrying member of the Democratic power elite, he's helping move the party closer and closer to Jimmy Carter.

At some point, you have to wonder when Nevadans who care about the well-being of Israel will begin to exact political punishment on Harry and the Democratic Party. For that matter, when does Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., (an ardent supporter of Israel) publicly tell Harry and her party that enough is enough?

If I'm wrong about Reid, I'd be happy to hear him rebuke his fellow Democratic leaders and say that President Bush, the United States and Israel did exactly the right thing in Lebanon.

It won't happen.

(To read Jimmy Carter's full interview with Der Spiegel, go to (tinyurl.com/h3mcd). I recommend it to liberals and conservatives alike.)

Democratic revolution

With all due respect to former President Carter and Sen. Harry Reid, I remain convinced that the Middle East will be less stable -- not more stable -- if we get out of Iraq without finishing the job there. Appeasing Hamas, Hezbollah and other radical Islamic fascists who seek to commit genocide on Jews is a grade-A bad idea.

If you want to cultivate another Holocaust, embark upon a foreign policy that erodes the military capability of Israel and replaces it with U.N. forces.

You say you want a Democratic Party revolution? Well, if that's it (with apologies to John Lennon) you can count me out.

Fish nor fowl

As a newspaper reader, what you don't know can hurt you. If you are a reader of the Las Vegas Sun, you're cruisin' for a bruisin'.

For months now, the Sun has been writing stories and editorializing against the Tax and Spending Control initiative, which will be up for voter approval this fall.

The Sun gives its readers a steady diet of TASC stories and opinions, most of them negative.

What Sun readers haven't known is that while Sun columnists, reporters, editors were producing purportedly objective stories on TASC and the efforts to keep TASC off November's ballot, the Sun's owners were bankrolling the aforementioned anti-TASC campaign.

I can't say whether Sun columnists and reporters knew about the conflict and withheld the information, or whether they were just unwitting schmucks in the whole deal. I can say that Sun owner and Editor Brian Greenspun most certainly knew, because he was writing both columns and checks against the TASC initiative.

For this kind of revelation, you have to read the Review-Journal. We reported the conflict -- which the Sun should have disclosed long ago -- on Tuesday, after groups supporting and opposing various ballot questions submitted their financial reports.

Some may say that Brian was just putting his money where his mouth is.

But that doesn't quite get to the heart of the matter, does it?

Brian has every right as a private citizen and business owner to contribute to the anti-TASC effort.

But as a newspaperman, he owes readers more. I'd call it full disclosure. Readers would call it honesty.

Jumpin' jeezus palomino, Brian, don't pretend to be an honest commentator on the game and then fail to tell us that you're also coaching one of the teams.

Sherman Frederick is publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and president of Stephens Media. Readers may write him at sfrederick@ reviewjournal.com.