Reagan staffer takes Bush to task for skipping memorial services

Do not miss today’s op-ed essay in the New York Times by John Roberts, a Reagan aide in the early ’80s, on the Bush White House’s failure to attend memorial services for troops killed in the Middle East. After recalling personal experiences preparing similar services for Reagan, Roberts explained the importance of these services and […]

Clark shows fiery side in Fox News interview

I’m sure most reasonable people who’ve watched the Fox News Channel have grown so frustrated by its unfair and unbalanced demagoguery that they’ve wanted throw things at the TV. I know I have. With this in mind, it’s hard to blame Wesley Clark for raising his voice and getting visibly angry with a Fox News […]

Being thrown off the court for ethics violations won’t slow Roy Moore’s political career

In a lot of places, being a disgraced judge that was removed from office for violating judicial ethics would probably be, shall we say, damaging for one’s political prospects. Of course, when it comes to Roy Moore and Alabama, things are a little different. The Mobile Register reported this week that Moore is already the […]

Why did the chicken cross the pond…

The president and first lady leave today for England, but Bush has already started a fuss across the pond by announcing yesterday that he has cancelled his speech before the British Parliament. When Tony Blair visited the United States in July for an official state visit, the British prime minister spoke before a joint session […]

‘You get to live free, but you don’t’

I know we’ll all be hearing a lot of noise about the gay marriage decision out of Massachusetts today, but for all of you who’ll be hearing from conservatives about how we’ll need new laws to prevent gay marriages and override states’ rights, I’d like to offer you a quote (via Atrios) that may be […]

Kerry’s new staffers help shape a persuasive new campaign theme

I’ve heard John Kerry’s stump speech a few times this year and I’ve always thought it was pretty good. He’s experimented with a few different tacks, including various emphases on his record as a war hero, but substantively, Kerry has always made a strong pitch about his priorities. That said, the competitions within his staff […]

It’s still Dean and Clark leading the field in national polls

Three national polls tracking the Dem presidential candidates show more or less the same thing: Dean and Clark battling it out for the lead. Dean and Gephardt may be neck and neck in Iowa, and Dean appears to be running away with New Hampshire, but nationally, Clark is holding his own nicely. In a CNN/USA […]

Eisenhower read nine newspapers a day; Bush prefers his news ‘filtered’

Editor and Publisher’s Carl Sullivan noticed an interesting item about previous presidents’ appetite for news and how they compare with the current occupant of the Oval Office. Sullivan noted that this week’s “50 Years Ago” feature on E&P magazine notes that Dwight Eisenhower read nine newspaper a day. As the Nov. 21, 1953 issue of […]

Bush bounce? What Bush bounce?

A couple of weeks ago, a few polls showed Bush’s job approval ratings ticking back up, perhaps in light of strong GDP growth in the third quarter. Nevertheless, three national polls from the last week show that if Bush was enjoying a small bounce in the popularity, it’s since disappeared. First, the latest CNN/USA Today […]

Massachusetts high court clears way for gay marriage

In a decision that will likely reverberate in legal and political circles for a long time, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court ruled this morning that the state cannot deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. The 4-3 ruling said the state “failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying civil marriage to same-sex couples.” […]