The AP had a good item the other day about Tom DeLay going on the “offensive” in response to the series of ethical and criminal charges surrounding his political empire. One part of the Majority Leader’s response stood out. [DeLay] also has devised a blame-the-Democrats strategy, portraying his accusers as politically motivated while saying, “I […]
At first, it was just one poll. Newsweek showed Bush’s job approval rating slipping to 45%, the lowest it’s been in nearly a year and the second lowest in a Newsweek poll since Bush’s presidency began in 2001. Then, a CBS poll reinforced the slide, showing Bush’s support dropping to 43%, a six-point drop in […]
To follow up on an item from last week, there’s something about the Republican agenda that has a certain “Groundhog Day” quality to it. Despite all the talk that the GOP is the party of new and innovative ideas, Republican lawmakers keep unveiling agenda items that tend to generate a haven’t-we-already-done-this response. Two weeks ago, […]
There are some terrific analyses available of yesterday’s Trustees’ report on Social Security, but I wanted to bring attention to something more mundane: the press conference held to release the report. As it happens, two of the five trustees weren’t there, in large part because their conclusions were different from the administration’s line. The two […]
Here’s a pretty accurate description of one facet of the White House’s ineffective Social Security privatization pitch. Take a guess as to who said it. [This lawmaker] criticized the White House for “tactical mistakes” in not taking time to enlist Democratic support, dating back to the president’s first term and his 2001 Commission to Strengthen […]
My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Not content to withdraw himself from consideration from Rhode Island’s Senate race, Rep. Jim Langevin (D) also urged secretary of state and fellow Democrat Matt Brown to drop out as […]
The Supreme Court has had an unusually busy week. First there was the announcement that the justices would not consider terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui’s attempt to question al Queda prisoners as part of his defense. Today the high court, as expected, turned down the Schiavo case. But I was hoping, perhaps naively, that I could […]
Though the picture was ultimately changed, this is what MSNBC’s homepage showed visitors this morning: That darn liberal media strikes again. Un…be…lievable.
One of the stranger political fights of the year has to be the growing feud between U.S. Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison (R-Texas) and Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), both of whom, apparently, plan to be the Republican candidate for governor next year. They’ve been taking pot shots at each other for months, but this week, it […]
I don’t have anything special to add to the subject, but I do recommend Jeff Zeleny’s piece in the Chicago Tribune this week profiling Barack Obama’s transition from rock-star candidate to hard-working freshman senator. It’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes look. As Zeleny notes, Obama is in a unique position among his colleagues, rivaled only, perhaps, by […]