I’ve been following Bush’s faith-based initiative since it was unveiled five years ago, and it never ceases to amaze me how it manages to get worse over time. It was bad enough when the president was ignoring the separation of church and state, and funding religions against the will of taxpayers, and putting families in […]
This story has kind of been simmering just below the surface for a few weeks, but it’s pretty interesting. It deals with a legislative typo — generally not fascinating stuff — but it also speaks to some of the major issues in politics right now, most notably Republican incompetence and willingness to cut corners. Washington […]
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: * Among the big winners in Illinois’ various primaries were Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth in the 6th congressional district and investment banker David McSweeney in Illinois’ 8th. As expected, in the state’s […]
A couple of weeks ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s office put together some materials for the Dem caucus on how best to use their time during this week’s St. Patrick’s Day recess. Roll Call obtained a copy of the internal planning document last week and noted that Reid’ office encouraged Dems to focus their […]
I’ve long been troubled by the lucrative federal grants the Bush administration has directed to a charity run by TV preacher Pat Robertson. But what about the voluntary contributions from everyday Americans who enjoy The 700 Club? Would you believe that donations to Robertson have grown considerably in recent years? Inexplicably, they have. Pat Robertson’s […]
A party’s get-out-the-vote efforts are always easier when their supporters are actually anxious to get to the polls. And as National Journal’s Charlie Cook noted in his column this week, right now, Dems are motivated and ready to vote — and Republicans are less so. When Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Bill McInturff […]
Nicholas Lemann has a fascinating look at Bill O’Reilly in the latest issue of the New Yorker, which goes beyond the usual count-the-demagogic-attacks articles that we’ve seen before. In fact, as TNR’s Michael Crowley noted, Lemann does a fine job highlighting O’Reilly’s 1998 novel, called “Those Who Trespass,” which I’d never even heard of. Based […]
The New York Times’ two most recent additions to its legendary stable of op-ed columnists are David Brooks and John Tierney, both conservatives. CNN’s three most recent additions to the network’s political coverage are former Republican congressman J.C. Watts, moralist Bill Bennett, and far-right radio host Glenn Beck, all conservatives. And so when the Washington […]
Over the weekend, the AP’s Jennifer Loven published a terrific item about Bush’s use of straw men in his rhetoric. As Loven explained, when the president “starts a sentence with ‘some say’ or offers up what ‘some in Washington’ believe, as he is doing more often these days, a rhetorical retort almost assuredly follows.” In […]
Just one month ago, I wrote, “As part of my ongoing fascinating with Al Gore’s prospects in 2008, I find it interesting that every few weeks, a handful of new items pop up that add a little more fuel to the still largely non-existent fire.” This week is just such a week. The estimable Ezra […]