at a press briefing this morning, press secretary liz cheney stated that president mccain was deeply troubled by news this morning of the deaths of the two journalists, laura ling and euna lee, imprisoned by north korea. later, the president spoke to condemn the north korean government for its "outrageous" conduct, and to respond directly to rumors that the journalists were executed. however, the president also emphasized that the incident should not serve as a distraction from the war with iran, and that americans should not draw any parallels to the death of roxana saberi in a botched rescue attempt that was widely condemned and seemed to solidify mahmoud ahmadinejad's political power in advance of what was expected to be a contentious election.
sources close to senator hillary clinton indicated that her husband, former president bill clinton, had offered to meet unofficially with north korean president kim jong il, but that offer had been rebuffed by the white house. secretary of state john bolton denounced clinton's offer as "interference with the president's foreign policy" and that "america does not negotiate with terrorist regimes."
elections have consequences.
(stay tuned for an update on mccain's nomination of alberto gonzales to the supreme court).