The Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin had a great follow-up item in his White House Briefing (which links to me today — thanks, Dan) about an issue that deserves more attention. To review for a moment, Irish television correspondent Carole Coleman interviewed Bush late last week before the president’s trip to Ireland. It didn’t go well. […]
Senate Republicans are moving forward with their plan to hold a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment in just two weeks. Fortunately, a brief report in Time magazine included a candid quote about the real motivation behind the endeavor. G.O.P. conservatives argue that even a losing vote, besides putting Democrats in an uncomfortable spot, will […]
We learned earlier this month that the Bush-Cheney campaign has reached out to churches in Pennsylvania to incorporate tax-exempt houses of worship into a partisan political machine. Today we’re learning that was just the tip of the iceberg. The Bush-Cheney reelection campaign has sent a detailed plan of action to religious volunteers across the country […]
A couple of days ago I mentioned how the Republican National Convention will feature a slate of prime-time speakers, none of whom are actual party leaders, and several of whom have actually praised John Kerry. The point of the schedule, of course, is to con the public — hide the GOP’s right-wing leadership and maybe […]
I have no doubt that next week’s Howard Dean-Ralph Nader showdown at the National Press Club will make for excellent theater, but I really can’t figure out what the point of the exercise is. Dean and Nader are scheduled to conduct a 90-minute debate July 9 at the National Press Club in Washington, a forum […]
I never thought I’d see the day, but a well-known Republican has admitted that Bill Clinton’s presidency wasn’t as bad as conservatives make it out to be. Be still my heart. Former White House and Treasury official Bruce Bartlett, who worked for Reagan and H. W. Bush, had an op-ed in today’s New York Times […]
I know John McCain has solidified his hold as the Republican that Dems hate to love, but Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel has been almost as admirable in recent years. I probably disagree with Hagel on 90% of the major political issues of the day, but the things he’s saying about the other 10% are music to […]
For reasons that have never really been clear to me, the religious right has consistently opposed gambling in nearly all of its forms. And yet, a few of the movement’s biggest leaders have had some personal trouble with the issue over the years. Best-selling compiler Bob Bennett is widely known for his expensive gambling habits. […]
John Kerry deserves a lot of credit for handling his VP search discretely. After his own experiences in 2000, he realized the flaws in parading potential candidates around before the cameras in an effort to please various constituencies, and insisted his search be conducted with some diplomatic acumen. The frustrating part of this secrecy is, […]
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 […]