If you’re John Kerry, and you’re considering how best to criticize the Bush presidency, it’s easy to consider your rival’s record a “target-rich environment.” In fact, it’s a little too easy. Part of a successful campaign is a focused message. If Kerry is going to critique Bush’s job performance, he can’t very well “swing for […]
The presidential race will continue to dominate the political world in the coming months, but there are plenty of great congressional races that warrant attention as well. For right now, here are some updates on three of my favorites, all open-seat Senate campaigns created by a Republican retirement. In Colorado, last week’s retirement announcement from […]
Murray Waas, in The American Prospect, moves the Plame Game ball forward a bit with a closer look at Karl Rove’s testimony to the FBI last fall. There aren’t any major breakthrough details, but it’s a helpful review and it confirms several widespread beliefs. President Bush’s chief political adviser, Karl Rove, told the FBI in […]
I still have some mixed feelings about John Edwards on the Dem ticket, but it’s interesting to see that a number of Senate Dems are stepping up to boost his prospects. As The Hill reported today: “Why not John Edwards?” asked Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), when asked about the party’s vice presidential nominee. “He’s done […]
I’ve noticed, over the years, that conservatives tend to be fans of “pilot programs” for their favorite conservative social experiments. I don’t think they’ll like it, but I have another possible addition to their list. This is a common policy move. Conservatives, for example, want to use public funds to subsidize private religious education through […]
As I noted yesterday, the AP account of Ted Kennedy’s letter to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals about Bill Pryor’s recess appointment didn’t go into a lot of detail about what, exactly, Kennedy wanted the appeals court to do. Fortunately, a report in The Hill today fleshes things out a bit. To review for […]
Two major national polls were released today and both of them are nothing but bad news for the Bush White House. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll shows Kerry leading Bush by a sizable 8-point margin, 52%-44% among likely voters. Looking at some of the finer details, there’s plenty more good news in the results. * Kerry […]
Everyone’s favorite theocrat — former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore — continues to generate news. I’m glad; it’s actually fun to follow someone as misguided as he is. Moore spoke at some length to the New York Times over the weekend, responding to a variety of ongoing controversies. Two points, in particular, jumped out at […]
As you may know, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), infuriated by Bush’s recess appointment of Bill Pryor to the 11th Circuit, told The Hill two weeks ago that he’s considering a legal challenge to the practice. (For more background, check my previous post on the subject.) Apparently, this wasn’t just an academic exercise. The AP is […]
We’ve already seen first hand how unreliable national polls are eight months before people actually vote. Watching the Dem nomination fight, at least four different candidates held leads between May 2002 and January 2003, and none of the data ended up mattering in the end. These polls are nevertheless interesting, not for predictive value, but […]