‘Nuestro Himno’ madness — redux

What has to be the dumbest “controversy” of the year — whether it’s wrong to sing the national anthem in a language other than English — unfortunately continues to percolate. Monday, the Senate passed a resolution (S.RES.458) “affirming that statements of national unity, including the [tag]National Anthem[/tag], should be recited or sung in [tag]English[/tag].” The […]

New lows in CBS/NYT poll

Given these results, Republicans who were worried about the elections in November have every reason to panic. Americans have a bleaker view of the country’s direction than at any time in more than two decades, according to the latest [tag]New York Times[/tag]/[tag]CBS[/tag] News [tag]poll[/tag]. Sharp disapproval of President [tag]Bush[/tag]’s handling of gasoline prices has combined […]

New HUD defense — Alphonso Jackson lied

Yesterday, we learned that [tag]Housing and Urban Development[/tag] Secretary [tag]Alphonso Jackson[/tag] recently spoke at a public forum and explained that he denied funding to a qualified minority contractor because the contractor said he didn’t like [tag]Bush[/tag]. In fact, Jackson went into considerable detail about the incident, explaining that the contractor worked in the advertising industry, […]

‘Don’t vote for them — they might act like us’

Looking ahead to [tag]November[/tag], [tag]Republicans[/tag] seem to have settled on a [tag]talking point[/tag] that they can all agree on and which they consider a political winner. [tag]Elizabeth Dole[/tag] sounded desperate last week. Trying to inspire dispirited Republicans, the head of the party’s Senatorial Campaign Committee wrote a fund-raising letter urging the GOP faithful to rally, […]

An alternative theory on Bush’s poor standing

I have to admit, I’m fascinated by rationalizations from the president’s supporters on why [tag]Bush[/tag] is so [tag]unpopular[/tag]. The common argument I see is that he will be appreciated, one day, after historians can consider Bush’s greatness with the benefits of hindsight. I guess we’ll have to wait on that one. But in terms of […]

The GOP finally comes around on the combustion engine

A few days ago, [tag]Bush[/tag] delivered the commencement address at Oklahoma State University and touched on his optimistic view of the future of energy technology. “Some of the most exciting advances in technology you’ll see will be in the field of energy. When I graduated from school, cars drank gasoline. Last month in California, I […]

‘Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president?’

I think it’s probably fair to call on Housing and Urban Development Secretary [tag]Alphonso Jackson[/tag] to resign over this one. Jackson, a former president and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, was among the featured speakers at a forum sponsored by the Real Estate Executive Council, a national minority real estate consortium. After discussing the […]

Tuesday’s political round-up

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]Paul Hackett[/tag] fans will be pleased to hear that the Iraq veteran may be weighing a comeback. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported today that there are rumors in Ohio’s 2nd congressional district that […]

Are we in the midst of World War III?

The Bush administration has toyed around with different names for our war on terror — remember the “[tag]Global War on Terrorism[/tag]” vs. “[tag]Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism[/tag]” debate? — and last month seemed to be settling on the oddly-worded “[tag]long war[/tag].” National Journal noted this morning, however, that the president seems to have settled on […]

As the poll floor drops, the debt ceiling rises

In March, the Senate narrowly voted to increase the federal [tag]debt limit[/tag] by $781 billion, bringing the debt ceiling to nearly $9 trillion. As it turns out, two months later, lawmakers decided the government needs a little more of a cushion. A $2.7 trillion budget plan pending before the House would raise the federal [tag]debt […]