Hoping to reinforce attacks on John Kerry’s alleged inconsistencies, Bush seems to enjoy a specific sound bite. He says it on the stump all the time and he used it in the debates. “I understand everybody in this country doesn’t agree with the decisions I’ve made. And I made some tough decisions. But people know […]
Those Bush campaign officials sure are sneaky. On a chilly recent morning at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Bush backers showing up early for a rally were greeted with a sign that said, “Want to be closer? Upgrade your tickets here!” Those who signed up were taken to a table of cell phones near where first […]
Two interesting things happened yesterday with the Kerry campaign. Only one was important. Guess which was all over the national media today? In March, an NBC News report explained that the Bush administration had an opportunity to strike against Abu Musab Zarqawi on multiple occasions, but chose not to. It was a devastating story, which […]
Sure, the presidential race is the center of the nation’s attention, but it’s helpful to look down Pennsylvania Avenue and remember that the Senate is still very much up-for-grabs. I last looked at the competitive Senate races two months ago and thought this might be a good time to see how things have changed. Quick […]
Too many news outlets have bought into the BC04 spin that Kerry’s characterization of Bush’s Social Security plan is untrue. Jonathan Chait helps set the record straight today. If you relied on the press coverage, you might conclude from the phrases surrounding Kerry’s charge — “unsubstantiated attacks,” “shaky evidence” — that Bush has no plan […]
That was a standard BC04 talking point over the summer — “promises made, promises kept.” I never understood why they’d use it, considering how different candidate Bush was from President Bush, which may help to explain why the phrase was dropped from the rhetorical repertoire. But Kevin Drum noticed an interesting Knight Ridder report that […]
For me, one of the most important moments of any of the debates came in the Tempe event when Kerry highlighted his Catholicism and what his faith means to him as a leader. He didn’t get a fraction of the post-debate attention — after all, have you heard Mary Cheney is a lesbian? — but […]
It was a pleasant surprise to see the press pick up on the controversy over Condoleezza Rice doing campaign work on Bush’s behalf, an unprecedented step for a national security advisor. I don’t think the White House has thought the story through, however, because their spin doesn’t make any sense. Dems turned up the heat […]
The past several days have focused Kerry and Bush on a simple task: defining their rival as incapable of fighting an effective war on terror. Despite all of Kerry’s emphasis on fighting and killing the actual terrorists (al Queda instead of Saddam Hussein), Bush’s take is that Kerry doesn’t understand the fight we’re in. With […]
Maybe we should all chip in and get TV preacher Pat Robertson a gift basket or something, because his uncontrollable popping off on CNN Tuesday night threw the Bush gang wildly off message yesterday. (Insert Nelson Muntz’s “ha, ha” here) It was a golden opportunity that the Kerry campaign was quick to seize on. Mike […]