Dick Cheney ‘may face subpoena’ in Halliburton bribery scheme

This story hasn’t quite worked its way up to the front page of the national papers yet, but it’s percolating along and you might be hearing more about it soon. I have no idea if there’s something to this or not, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. The Dallas Morning News ran a detailed […]

CBS rejects MoveOn ad for Super Bowl

That was quick. A day after reportedly being in “negotiations” to broadcast the winning commercial from MoveOn’s “Bush in 30 seconds” contest during the Super Bowl, CBS announced yesterday that the ad has been rejected. Ad Age magazine reported that a CBS spokesman “said the decision against broadcasting the spot had nothing to do with […]

A media case study — who got the Drudge scoop wrong and who got it right

Just to add to the last post, I found it interesting to see how the press played this story differently. It’s a classic case study. One of my biggest difficulties with contemporary journalism is the fear of drawing conclusions. Reporters and editors are afraid, somewhat understandably, of appearing biased. As a result, stories/articles strive for […]

Drudge, GOP unleash smear against Clark

While I certainly don’t think Wesley Clark should be immune to criticism, I think it only fair to criticize him for things he’s actually said and done, not things his detractors wish he’s said and done. Yesterday, cyberhack Matt Drudge, whose journalistic integrity appears to fall somewhere between the National Enquirer and Fox News Channel, […]

Bush’s drive to politicize science takes another turn

I don’t know if there’s a significant pro-science voting bloc out there, but if there is, Bush is in trouble. Or at least should be. Yesterday, I talked about the Bush administration’s habit of manipulating government research and reports for political purposes. The truth is, the HHS report on race and health is really the […]

Clark inches even closer in New Hampshire

From today’s daily tracking poll in New Hampshire, conducted by ARG: Dean — 29% (down 3 points) Clark — 24% (up 2 points) Kerry — 15% (up 2 points) In other words, Dean continues to fall, Clark and Kerry continue to rise. Who would have predicted this a month ago at this time? Not me. […]

Right wingers still not satisfied with Bush’s marriage initiative

If the Bush White House hoped the unveiling of a new $1.5 billion marriage initiative would help the president “solidify his conservative base,” as the New York Times reported yesterday, it looks like Rove & Co. will have to go back to the drawing board. The left obviously isn’t crazy about Bush’s marriage plan. Not […]

MoveOn’s terrific winning commercial

MoveOn.org hosted a terrific contest recently in which regular people were invited to create 30-second ads about Bush to be aired during the campaign. The point, as MoveOn explained, was to “bring new talent and new messages into the world of mainstream political advertising” by opening the process up to amateurs. All the finalists were […]

Did you hear about the WMD they found in Iraq? Well, never mind

Last weekend, I blew off this story because I thought it was too weak to take seriously. It turns out I blew it off for the wrong reason. Initial reports indicated that Danish troops found mortal shells buried in Iraq which were believed, at least at first, to show trace amounts blister gas, a chemical […]

And then there were eight

Carol Mosley Braun has apparently decided to withdraw from the presidential race and will endorse Howard Dean. This really is for the best. Braun’s campaign never really came together and she’s wisely realized that there’s no realistic way for her to become competitive. Braun’s campaign had no money, no real organization, and no meaningful support […]