DL Open Thread 9/26

The whistleblower complaint has been released. The upshot: It’s not just the phone call that triggered concern, it was White House efforts to cover it up. In other words, they’re simultaneously arguing that the call was innocent and that they had every right not to let the public, or history, know about it.

The entire smear-Biden campaign apparently began in an effort to find a reason to pardon Paul Manafort.

Susan Glasser chronicles how Washington’s conventional wisdom changed over 48 hours this week.

Until yesterday I didn’t realize that Rudy Giuliani is the one who feeds Trump all the conspiracy theories that rattle around in his empty head. Here’s a rundown of the one that claimsDemocrats faked the Russian hacking evidence with computers in the Ukraine. Or something. So get ready for a “Ukraine truther” movement.

My dog breeder, with whom I’ve co-owned several dogs of the past 25 years, disdains so-called “designer” dog breeds. “Somebody figured out a way to make a lot of money on a mutt,” I’ve heard her say more than once, in a voice dripping with contempt. Guess who agrees with her: The guy who bred the first labradoodles, who told media in his native Australia that it’s the biggest regret of his life.