Poll Day

I’m taking only my second day off of the year today. Sorry. But to make up for it, I’m still posting my every-Friday feature — your favorite and mine — Poll Day. As always, these state-by-state poll results were released within the last seven days. See you Monday. California (55 electoral votes) LA Times — […]

The $700 million question — Day Four

There are several big items in the media today about the Bush administration diverting $700 million from appropriations meant for the war Afghanistan and spending it to prepare for our invasion of Iraq. This controversy really seems to be going somewhere. First up, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon is more-or-less admitting that […]

‘Hill Democrats have figured out a way to drive Republicans crazy’

It’s a 51-49 Senate, so compromise has to rule the day, right? Wrong. Dems may be one seat shy of parity, but they’ve been completely shut out of the legislative process by Republicans who — with control of both chambers of Congress and the White House — are in no mood to negotiate. So Dems […]

Tell us something we don’t know

Bush spoke to a large gathering of newspaper editors, publishers, and executives yesterday, and admitted what everyone already knew. The whole issue of questions from the audience at the Associated Press annual luncheon was a running joke for the president during his talk. He opened his speech by saying, “I kind of like ducking questions,” […]

Still hoping for the Plame Game to have a major impact

This may be misplaced optimism, but I still have hope that the Plame Game scandal will play a major role in this year’s campaign. Sure, there are a rash of other Bush-related scandals swirling around the White House — the $700 million diversion, the Bandar deal, the ignored al Queda warnings, the WMD, the lies […]

Why must Iraq be the first domino?

Just a couple of weeks before the invasion of Iraq began, Bush shared the neo-con fantasy about a 21st-century domino theory for the Middle East: “A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the lives of millions… The world has a clear interest […]

AWOL revisited

One last thing about the non-story surrounding Kerry’s military records. An email tip from an alert reader, B.W., noticed that the Bush campaign prepared a bizarre attack on Kerry’s handling of the issue, culminating with this statement: When Asked By Tim Russert On “Meet The Press” (2/8/04) To Release All His Records, The President Did […]

Kerry to GOP: Careful what you wish for

Over the last several days, the Bush campaign and the RNC made John Kerry’s military records out to be an incredibly important set of documents, crucial to the coming election. Any hesitation or hint of reluctance on the part of the Kerry campaign about this was effectively waving a red flag in front of an […]

Ranger or Pioneer?

Best…quote…ever: “If Prince Bandar’s pledge to President Bush on energy prices is true, would that designate him as a Ranger or a Pioneer?” Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), commenting on Bob Woodward’s book Plan of Attack, which reported that Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan said his country “hoped to fine-tune oil prices over 10 months […]

Bush campaign’s foolish whining about Kerry’s military records

I can admit, the Kerry campaign hasn’t handled questions about his full military record with its usual aplomb. They’ve been a little clumsy with what is apparently a non-story, but the really frustrating part is the Bush campaign’s mock-outrage. When asked on Sunday if he would agree to release all of his military records, Kerry […]