Last night, in his first [tag]Oval Office[/tag] address on domestic public policy, [tag]Bush[/tag] had a few goals in mind. It’s not at all clear he achieved any of them. President Bush, acknowledging that the nation “has not been in complete control of its [tag]borders[/tag],” said Monday that he would send as many as 6,000 [tag]National […]
As political desperation goes, tonight’s presidential prime-time address on immigration policy is rather dire. It was particularly telling over the weekend when one [tag]Republican[/tag] House member told the New York Times, “Karl Rove seems determined to secure the border.” Not [tag]Bush[/tag], not [tag]DHS[/tag], but [tag]Rove[/tag]. The new-found presidential interest in the issue, in other words, […]
Way back in January, NBC’s [tag]Andrea Mitchell[/tag] was interviewing New York Times reporter [tag]James Risen[/tag], discussing Bush’s warrantless-search program, which Risen helped expose. Mitchell, mid-way through the interview, asked, “You don’t have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, [tag]Christiane Amanpour[/tag], might have been eavesdropped upon?” It seemed like an odd question, the […]
For those of us who’ve been watching the [tag]religious right[/tag] for a long while, a pattern emerges. The political movement helps elects [tag]Republicans[/tag], who in turn take the theocrats for granted, which prompts the religious right to threaten GOP leaders. The party throws the base just enough bones to placate [tag]James Dobson[/tag], which eases tensions […]
An interesting report was published in the May issue of American Politics Research, a poli sci journal, which suggests that young Americans’ political views are “negatively impacted” by watching my favorite show, [tag]The Daily Show[/tag] with [tag]Jon Stewart[/tag]. From the report: We test the effects of a popular televised source of political humor for young […]
On Thursday, in response to a growing national controversy over federal monitoring of Americans’ phone calls, the president publicly explained that there was no cause for concern. The administration’s target, [tag]Bush[/tag] said, is “[tag]al Qaeda[/tag] and their known affiliates.” Today, however, [tag]ABC News[/tag]’ Brian Ross and Richard Esposito reported that an administration sources have said […]
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: * [tag]Tommy Thompson[/tag], the former Wisconsin governor and former HHS secretary, told reporters recently that he’s considering a return to politics. “I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said in a telephone […]
Over the weekend, Truthout’s [tag]Jason Leopold[/tag] reported that [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] has, in fact, been [tag]indicted[/tag] for [tag]perjury[/tag] by [tag]Patrick Fitzgerald[/tag]’s grand jury. I’m more than a little skeptical about the report, but it occurs to me that I should take a moment to explain why, instead of just ignoring the [tag]Truthout[/tag] piece altogether. Obviously, this […]
I didn’t realize conservatives considered “[tag]24[/tag],” the [tag]Fox[/tag] action/drama, a [tag]Republican[/tag] [tag]show[/tag]. According to TNR’s Christopher Orr, it’s a fairly common sentiment. American hero [tag]Jack Bauer[/tag] is an ex-swat, ex-Delta Force commando working for the Los Angeles branch of the (fictional) Counter Terrorist Unit ([tag]CTU[/tag]), an elite, high-tech CIA spin-off. As befits his training, he […]
The poll results didn’t make any sense. Friday, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that the public didn’t much mind that the government has kept a secret [tag]database[/tag] that logs almost every [tag]phone call[/tag] made by every American. What’s worse, respondents were asked specifically if it would bother them if there was a record of […]