The New Republic’s Jonathan Chait, after being mocked rather relentlessly on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show for not owning a gun, brought some much needed attention this week to an interesting cultural phenomenon: [tag]red-state[/tag] elitism. This is a very odd cultural moment we find ourselves in, where there is a stigma attached to not owning a […]
Salon’s [tag]Joe Conason[/tag] picks up on what may be the most breathtaking line in the president’s rhetorical quiver. Specifically, Conason noted that Bush, at his most recent press conference, insisted that Saddam Hussein, before the March 2003 invasion, “chose to deny inspectors [and] chose not to disclose.” [H]ave the rest of the reporters in the […]
[tag]Gallup[/tag] released a poll earlier this week that made most of the [tag]Republican[/tag] establishment awfully nervous. When it comes to voters’ partisan ID, the GOP’s edge has vanished. Republicans had gained the upper hand in recent years, but 33% of Americans, in the latest Gallup poll, now call themselves [tag]Democrats[/tag], with those favoring the GOP […]
About a year ago, John McCain launched a series of hearings on Jack Abramoff through the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which McCain chaired. Did Mr. Straight Talk take a “let the chips fall where they may” attitude? Not so much. Roll Call reported that McCain “assured” his Republican colleagues that he would look into Abramoff’s […]
CNN’s [tag]Lou Dobbs[/tag] has a venue and a growing audience — and he’s not afraid to use it. The nation’s most prominent opponent of current immigration policy began his day yesterday on the “Today” show on NBC, debating a Hispanic defender of illegal immigrants. He moved on to “American Morning” on CNN to denounce a […]
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: * The competition between Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and retired football player Lynn Swann (R) is heating up so much that different polls show different candidates in the lead. An IssuesPA/Pew Poll […]
For several years, the debate over equipping U.S. troops with potentially life-saving [tag]body armor[/tag] has been one of the more contentious elements of the war. A report in January exasperated the problem when we learned that 80% of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from upper-body wounds could have survived if they had […]
It was exactly one year ago today that [tag]Terri Schiavo[/tag] died, and for reasons that still don’t make any sense, some high-profile conservatives want everyone to know that they were right all along. Focus on the Family Action Chairman Dr. [tag]James Dobson[/tag] said the media — even one year later — is still trying to […]
TNR’s [tag]Ryan Lizza[/tag] has a fascinating look at [tag]Andy Card[/tag]’s resignation as the president’s [tag]Chief of Staff[/tag], not necessarily because of any big controversy that sparked the departure, but because of the way the president perceives the man who effectively runs the White House. If you’ve watched West Wing on TV, you’ve no doubt seen […]
Ordinarily, I’m content pretending [tag]Ann Coulter[/tag] doesn’t exist, but one item jumped out at me that I considered too entertaining to ignore. Coulter, you may recall, ridiculed voters in Palm Beach, Fla., after the 2000 presidential election, when thousands of votes were miscast due to the infamous “butterfly ballot.” Coulter suggested those who are too […]