Republican competence has been a myth for far too long. Josh Marshall did a fine job debunking it a couple of years ago, but new examples that undermine the myth, particularly as it relates to the Bush White House, just keep coming. For example, a competent presidential administration would probably be able to find thousands […]
Last week, Michael Kinsley had a terrific column explaining the use (and abuse) of “optimism” in campaigns. Yesterday, John Kerry did a nice job flipping it. As Kinsley put it, optimism seems to go hand-in-hand with incumbency. It’s a bit of a cheat for the incumbent to accuse his opponent of pessimism. By the very […]
Former U.S. administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer told Good Morning America a few hours ago that Iraq is “incomparably” better off today than it was a year ago. I respectfully disagree. In a few key areas — electricity, the judicial system and overall security — the Iraq that America handed back to its residents Monday […]
With so much going on, it’s easy to forget the Republican House, Republican Senate, and Republican White House can’t pass a federal budget. The budget was due over two months ago, but they still haven’t been able to get their collective act together. A deep rift in the Republican Party has left Congress unable to […]
The White House claims, incorrectly, that it has a plan to cut the deficit in half by 2008. It’s complete nonsense, but it suggests that even Bush, who has run up the largest budget deficits in the history of the world, would prefer quarter-trillion dollar shortfalls to half-trillion dollar shortfalls. I have a hunch Karl […]
It’s reached the point that I now believe the left is happier to see Ashcroft remain as attorney general than the right. This is not to say that Ashcroft’s critics wouldn’t be thrilled to see him resign, but the right seems to be keenly aware that his controversial actions and unpopularity is a drag on […]
Administration rhetoric about military readiness — which is basically, “Don’t worry, everything’s fine” — looks increasingly ridiculous as the Pentagon’s back-door draft continues. Amid Congressional concerns that the military is stretched too thin, the Army is preparing to take advantage of a rarely used wartime program that allows it to recall soldiers who have left […]
I’ve written on too many occasions about how John Kerry is poised to reverse Dem troubles with Cuban-American voters in South Florida. But it’s also worth noting that Florida’s Latino community is itself a diverse population, with immigrants from several Central and South American countries. Cuban Americans remain the dominant political constituency in the Miami […]
Just to wrap up a strange story, I thought I’d let folks know that Bush has finally been cleared to appear on the presidential ballot in Illinois. Illinois lawmakers agreed Monday to grant President Bush an exception from the usual deadline for placing candidates’ names on the fall election ballot. Illinois law requires the ballot […]
I’ve seen some pretty bad Capitol Hill press conferences — I’ve even been to more than a few — but I’m really glad I missed this one last week. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a staunch opponent of stem-cell research, hosted a photo-op in which he had planned to denounce the drive for expanded research. The […]