The Supreme Court’s decision on patients suing HMOs in state courts was, to be sure, discouraging. But it does offer Dems, and John Kerry in particular, a terrific political opportunity. If an HMO refuses to treat something that ends up injuring the patient, most of us would like to see that person be able to […]
Michael Kinsley takes on the whole notion of “optimism” today as only Kinsley can. I wish I had something interesting to add to this, but I actually just wanted to recommend the column. Kinsley notes that “optimism” has not only been identified as Reagan’s best quality, but also as a characteristic that consultants insist is […]
I know this issue has been rehashed repeatedly, online and off, but I was nevertheless glad to see Senate Dems (led by New Jersey’s Frank Lautenberg) force the military coffin issue onto the Senate floor yesterday. It didn’t work out — the GOP majority stood with the Bush administration — but it’s a reminder about […]
For months, Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan (R) assured Republican leaders — in his home state and in DC — that his divorce files don’t contain information embarrassing enough to end his campaign. It’s a promise he may regret making. Just to be clear, I really don’t care about Ryan’s personal life. The recently-released documents […]
Remember all the fun we had with the story about Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) being offered $100,000 by GOP leaders in exchange for his vote on Bush’s Medicare bill? Those were good times. I wanted to mention that the scandal isn’t making a lot of headlines lately, but the investigation is still ongoing. In fact, […]
I can appreciate that reporters will occasionally chase inane campaign stories, but this one strikes me as unusually vapid. Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign has returned a $2,000 check after discovering that it came from a former South Korean president’s son who has been arrested and charged with tax evasion. The campaign gave back the […]
I’d much prefer a scenario in which Nader’s name wasn’t on any state’s ballot. That said, there’s something amusing to me about the fact that Nader is poised to be on Illinois’ ballot, but Bush isn’t. [Nader’s] campaign turned in about 40,000 signatures on Monday to get on the Illinois ballot, more than the required […]
Obviously, the White House really wants us to believe that there was a meaningful connection between Saddam Hussein and al Queda. It’s not only a key justification for the war in Iraq; it’s an argument that has put the president’s credibility on the line. So far, the debate hasn’t gone well for Bush. There have […]
For the better part of his presidency, Bush has enjoyed stronger support in Washington Post/ABC News national polls than any other outlet. With this in mind, there are plenty of interesting numbers in the data released last night and they’re almost entirely bad for Bush. Approval rating — So much for the post-Reagan “bounce.” Once […]
It’s hard not to be disappointed by a new report showing that 770 people were discharged from the U.S. military under the nonsensical “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. There are, however, three points that jumped out at me. First, with growing concerns over the number of active troops available during a time of war, it […]