What Caught My Eye Today

2008 Presidential Campaign - Republican presidential candidate John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Thursday he believes President Bush's low approval ratings are hurting the GOP yet won't affect the party's 2008 nominee. The president's numbers have fallen largely because of his stewardship of the Iraq war. On Tuesday, 11 moderate House Republicans met with Bush at the White House and bluntly told him that the war was unsustainable without public support and that it was damaging GOP political fortunes. Give McCain credit for having the stones to publicly say what all the other GOP candidates are thinking.

National Guard - Here's a follow up to an earlier posting I made on the same topic a few days ago. With repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leaving state National Guards without nearly half of their required equipment, some governors are loudly questioning whether they will be able to handle the next hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack at home. The widespread problem of permanently losing National Guard equipment to the war was pushed to the forefront this week when Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius complained that shortages of equipment and well-trained personnel slowed Guard response to the killer tornadoes that ravaged her state. The California National Guard is missing 700 Humvees and over 1,100 high-water vehicles — nearly half the number it's supposed to have, according to documents reviewed by The AP. The Guard also has just 1,301 M4 machine guns, or less than a third of its required stockpile. Connecticut is missing more than 200 high-mobility multipurpose vehicles, a Chinook CH-47D cargo helicopter, 1,500 pairs of night-vision goggles and 21 large support vehicles such as tankers, wreckers and heavy cargo vehicles. The Pentagon acknowledged this week that Army National Guard units had only 56 percent of their required equipment, the lowest levels since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. I'm shocked. If I'm not mistaken, there seems to be consensus on this issue. Wouldn't it be great if this was followed up with a solution that actually got enacted?

Britain - Tony Blair said Thursday he would step down as prime minister on June 27, closing a decade of power in which he fostered peace in Northern Ireland and followed the United States to a war in Iraq that cost him much of his popularity. Blair's announcement came days after he celebrated the 10th anniversary of Labour's landslide election victory of May 1, 1997. Since then, he has been one of the most praised, and reviled, leaders in British history — the man who transformed the Labour Party, helped end Northern Ireland's troubles but angered many of his supporters by committing Britain to a bloody, unpopular war in Iraq. 10 years in any job is pretty tough these days. Have a pint, mate. You've earned it. And it gets better. If Clinton is any indicator, you are going to be rolling in the loot on the lecture circuit.

American Idol - LaKisha is out. The final 3--Blake, Melinda and Jordin duke it out in the semifinals next week. My vote still hangs with Melinda, but Jordin is coming on strong.

Movies - Johnny Depp, star of the upcoming film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," said that he is open to making a fourth film in the blockbuster series, which has earned more than $1.7 billion at worldwide box offices. In the movies, Depp plays a buccaneer known as Captain Jack Sparrow, distinguished as much for his swishy hips and love of adventure as his pirating skills. The 43-year-old actor's portrayal of wildly funny Sparrow has been credited with much of the franchise's popularity. You can almost here the execs at Disney counting the dollar signs.

NBA - With the Conference Semifinals underway, here are my picks (admittedly a bit late):

Eastern Conference
(5) Chicago Bulls vs. (1) Detroit Pistons - Pistons in 5
(6) New Jersey Nets vs. (2) Cleveland Caviliers - Cleveland in 6

Western Conference
(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Phoenix Suns - Suns in 7
(8) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Utah Jazz - Jazz in 6

NHL - Not to be outdone, the NHL Conference Finals start today. My picks for this round:

Eastern Conference
(4) Ottawa Senators vs. (1) Buffalo Sabres - Sabres in 6

Western Conference
(2) Anaheim Ducks vs. (1) Detroit Red Wings - Ducks in 6