West Virginia, and its five electoral votes, went with Bush in 2000 by a surprisingly strong 6.3% margin. Yet, despite its cultural conservatism, Bush appears to be slipping badly in popularity in the state and one recent poll showed him tied with Kerry at 46% in a general election match-up. If you’re wondering why, look […]
Earlier this month, the GOP released talking points to its attack dogs, complete with specific data on how best to attack John Kerry’s economic plan. They felt comfortable with the fiscal analysis because they relied on Treasury Department officials to crunch the numbers. Which is precisely the problem. As the Wall Street Journal reported today, […]
Number of words Bill Frist used on Friday to accuse Richard Clarke of being a self-serving, opportunistic, felonious perjurer: 2,074 Number of words Frist has used on this matter since he admitted he hadn’t even seen Clarke’s 2002 testimony and since Clarke announced his support for broad declassification: Zero. Shouldn’t some enterprising young reporter ask […]
Josh Marshall found a terrific nugget in this Reuters piece. It’s so awful, it’s hilarious. An emotional former President George H.W. Bush on Tuesday defended his son’s Iraq war and lashed out at White House critics. It is “deeply offensive and contemptible” to hear “elites and intellectuals on the campaign trail” dismiss progress in Iraq […]
It seemed like an unusually responsible course of action for Tom DeLay. Facing a possible indictment for one of his many fundraising scandals, DeLay started talking, according to several articles citing several sources, about contingency plans if and when that happens. In fact, the reports were surprising in their specificity. Roll Call noted that DeLay […]
I never thought I’d see a journalist actually apologize — in print — for the media’s Iraq coverage, but one finally has (via Ezra). As Editor & Publisher noted yesterday, “While the major media, from The New York Times on down, has largely remained silent about their own failings in [covering the false information on […]
Like Ryan Lizza, I found the following part of a New York Times article about the White House’s political strategy completely bizarre. One outside adviser to the White House said that Mr. Bush’s political staff was inclined to compromise on Ms. Rice’s testimony, judging the political costs of continuing to fight in the midst of […]
I mentioned last month that right-wing senators like Richard Shelby (Ala.) and Zell Miller (Ga.) had introduced an insane proposal called the “Constitution Restoration Act” (S. 2082). The measure, which its proponents admit was written in part by Roy Moore, would restrict the federal courts’ ability to even hear cases regarding a state-sponsored “acknowledgment of […]
Obviously, the Dems haven’t had a lot of luck over the last four years. Republicans control the House and Senate, more Americans chose our guy for president but their guy is sitting in the Oval Office, and the GOP has a majority of the nation’s governors and state legislatures. It’s not a pretty picture. But […]
I’m glad Paul Krugman pays more attention to USA Today than I do. He noted in his column today: The truth is that among experts, what Mr. Clarke says about Mr. Bush’s terrorism policy isn’t controversial. The facts that terrorism was placed on the back burner before 9/11 and that Mr. Bush blamed Iraq despite […]