Republicans may be wrong, but they certainly seem excited about facing Dean

I’ve heard that people should be careful what they wish for, but it’s disconcerting to see just how happy Republicans are about Howard Dean’s prospects in the Dem primaries. National Review has Dean on the cover this week with the all-caps headline, “Please nominate this man.” The photo shows Dean in a frothing-at-the-mouth kind of […]

Far right critics will need to look elsewhere for anti-Dean fodder

This week, we’re beginning to see an inkling of the kind of attacks the far right will make against Howard Dean if he’s the Dems’ presidential nominee. As regular readers know, I’m not much of a Dean fan, but these kinds of attacks are maddening. The ultra-conservative Washington Times reported yesterday, for example, that Dean […]

Impressions of the Dems’ New Hampshire debate

The AP keeps posting feeds that claim, “Rivals Gang Up on Dean in Debate.” After having watched it, I have no idea what the AP is talking about. I’ve watched every single one of these debates, going back to the first one seven months ago in South Carolina, and last night’s forum had to be […]

Those darned years that end in 4

Yes, I know this is just a coincidence, so please don’t email me. I’m a card-carrying Skeptic who puts no value in calendar quirks. But… Has anyone else noticed that presidential elections in years than end in 4 tend to be ridiculously one-sided affairs? We’re talking about real blowouts here. If you’re into looking for […]

Don’t forget to watch tonight’s debate

The last of six official DNC presidential debates will be tonight in New Hampshire at 7pm Eastern. C-SPAN will be covering the event live on TV and streaming video of the debate online. ABC will also be airing most of the debate on tonight’s episode of Nightline, which starts at 11:30 Eastern. I wonder if […]

Janklow resigns from House after manslaughter conviction

The manslaughter trial for Rep. Bill Janklow (R-S.D.) ended after surprisingly-brief jury deliberations yesterday. He was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, running a stop sign and speeding for an Aug. 16 crash that killed motorcyclist Randy Scott. It’s a sad story about a tragic incident. At the risk of appearing insensitive, I wanted […]

Nick Smith, the attempted bribe, and why he can’t credibly change his story now

The “Who bribed Nick Smith?” story is alive and well. In fact, it continues to pick up steam. The biggest development since we last visited the issue is a report documenting a taped radio interview Smith did in Michigan shortly after the Medicare vote. During the broadcast, the Republican lawmaker explained that he was offered […]

Reversing course on ‘keeping Bush honest’ in the South

A few weeks ago, I was offering a critique of a Washington Post article, written by Univ of Maryland prof Thomas Schaller, on whether the Dems should just give up on the South altogether and concentrate its attention and resources elsewhere. At the time, I said it would be a mistake for the party to […]

Gore endorses Dean

I knew something huge would happen if I took a day off. Note to self: no more days off… OK, so everyone now knows that Al Gore has thrown his support behind Howard Dean. There are dozens of angles to this, but on the whole, it’s a significant development for Dean and will give his […]

Day off

I’m exhausted after shoveling snow all weekend, so I’m taking the day off. I’ll be back tomorrow with plenty of fun stuff, including an update on the exciting Nick Smith bribery story.