A few readers have asked about SOTU plans for the evening, as they relate to the site. Alas, I will not be live-blogging the speech — I’ve never been able to figure out how to listen, analyze, and type simultaneously — but I thought I’d create an open thread for readers who wanted to discuss […]
There’s been plenty of controversy surrounding the Dems’ decision to give Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine the chance to deliver the party’s response to Bush’s SOTU, but Bruce Reed says it doesn’t matter, because it’s doomed to fail. Consider the inherent disadvantages. First, it’s a ten-minute rebuttal to an hour-long speech. By the time the opposition […]
The president will likely address his warrantless-search program in the State of the Union tonight, if for no other reason than to get his spin on the controversy out there in front of a very large television audience. Bush will want, of course, to try and establish the terms of the debate, which as Boston […]
The news is pretty far from my usual beat, but I noticed that the Oscar nominations came out this morning and Brokeback Mountain led all films with eight nominations, including Best Picture. Shortly after the nominations were announced, James Dobson’s Focus on the Family issued a statement to its membership. Take a guess what it […]
The Note mentioned some interesting context today for the State of the Union address from ABC News’ Polling Director Gary Langer: 1. “Partisans watch these things; rather than torturing themselves, people who don’t like the guy can just turn to another of their 100 channels. When we polled on the SOTU in 2003, we found […]
The floor vote on Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination went largely according to the script, with 58 votes for and 42 votes against. Of that small cadre of moderate, pro-choice Republicans, only Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee voted against Alito. It was, as MSNBC noted, the most partisan vote on a high court nomination in modern […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to cruise towards re-election, with the latest Siena College’s Research Institute poll showing Clinton ahead of former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, 58% to 31%. State Republican leaders continue […]
The latest NBC/WSJ poll has plenty of the usual bad news for the GOP — Bush’s approval is at 39%, Republicans are seen as more corrupt than Dems, a clear majority are concerned that warrantless searches could be misused and could violate a person’s privacy, Americans prefer a Dem-run Congress 47% to 38% — but […]
In the 2000 presidential campaign, John McCain excelled in states with open primaries — in which anyone can vote — thanks to support from independents and Dems who preferred the Arizona senator to Bush. Six years later, some Republicans are considering steps that might make McCain’s 2008 effort a little more complicated. Republicans in states […]
When the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes next week to consider the president’s warrantless-search program, one Dem member will have a really good question for the attorney general. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales misled the Senate during his confirmation hearing a year ago when he appeared to try to […]