Political bits

(Newsday) Giuliani walked out on his position on the Iraq Study Group to make speeches for big cash. He kept not showing up for what most would've considered a fairly important duty to country. (ThinkProgress has excerpts.)

(NYPost) Meanwhile, Bernie Kerik cries over the lost relationship, "I accept the distance created by Giuliani. I understand it, but inside, it's killing me... It's like dying a slow death, watching him have to answer for my mistakes."

(Kerik is conveniently (for the Giuliani campaign) out of the country building a nuclear bunker in Jordan.)

(Politico) Roger Simon tears into Romney for the pardon not given, and the pardon he urges for Libby. "And Romney's true standard seems to be: No pardons for nobodies. Somebodies can catch a break." (What, the man-crush is over?)

And, Sweet Jesus, are you kidding me? Anton Scalia, at a legal conference in Ottawa.

Senior judges from North America and Europe were in the midst of a panel discussion about torture and terrorism law, when a Canadian judge's passing remark - "Thankfully, security agencies in all our countries do not subscribe to the mantra 'What would Jack Bauer do?' " - got the legal bulldog in Judge Scalia barking.

The conservative jurist stuck up for Agent Bauer, arguing that fictional or not, federal agents require latitude in times of great crisis. "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles. ... He saved hundreds of thousands of lives," Judge Scalia said. Then, recalling Season 2, where the agent's rough interrogation tactics saved California from a terrorist nuke, the Supreme Court judge etched a line in the sand.

Later: This is interesting. Take a minute to look at this graph. Notably, the top three Republican candidates have all appeared on FoxNews more than the other two networks combined, and the Dems haven't appeared on FoxNews at all.

And, the Giuliani campaign doesn't like the ISG story at all.