Encouraging clues from this week’s primaries

With November’s elections still six months away, political prognosticators are looking for “signs” as to what might happen. Roll Call reported today that this week’s primary elections in three large states — Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina — offer encouragement to Dems. From the Roll Call article: In [tag]Ohio[/tag], state Sen. [tag]Charlie Wilson[/tag] (D), running […]

Thursday’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: * A new [tag]Keystone Poll[/tag] offers Dems good news and bad news. The good news is Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[/tag] (D), fresh off a recent ad blitz, now has a big lead over former […]

The whiff of panic

Occasionally, outlets like The Note will mention that [tag]Republicans[/tag] turn pale every time they glace at their most recent internal polling. National Journal noted yesterday that [tag]Ken Mehlman[/tag] wants the caucus to be prepared for the worst. [tag]RNC[/tag] Chairman Ken Mehlman met with Republican members of [tag]Congress[/tag] this week to impress upon them just how […]

Bush wants you to pray today

It’s not a widely recognized “holiday,” but today is the official National Day of Prayer. The name is rather self-explanatory: It’s a day, set aside by law, in which the federal government encourages the nation to pray. And if you’re thinking it’s none of the government’s business whether you pray or not, we’re on the […]

‘Across this country, it was a time in which we had lost our minds’

Kudos to [tag]Montana[/tag] Gov. [tag]Brian Schweitzer[/tag] (D) for these [tag]pardons[/tag], but it’s tragic that they were necessary. Before a packed crowd in the state Capitol, Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed pardons on Wednesday to clear the names posthumously of 78 Montanans convicted of [tag]sedition[/tag] during World War One. The 78 people — all but one were […]

The McCaffrey Memo

A long-time reader, D.M., emailed me yesterday with an interesting document. It was a .pdf of a report written by retired Army Gen. [tag]Barry McCaffrey[/tag], addressed to two West Point professors, on his observations stemming from a week-long trip through Iraq. It included plenty of optimistic assessments, but a few discouraging facts, including lengthy delays […]

Colbert riles political establishment — Day Six

I would have been more than happy to let the [tag]Stephen Colbert[/tag] story go — I went all of yesterday without even mentioning it — but the WaPo’s [tag]Richard Cohen[/tag] decided he’d weigh in on the “controversy” and his comments were odd enough to warrant a response. Why are you wasting my time with [tag]Colbert[/tag], […]

If he’s losing white evangelicals…

After the 2000 presidential race, Karl [tag]Rove[/tag] was reportedly confused about where his missing evangelicals were. As he explained it, “If you look at the model of the electorate, and you look at the model of who voted, the big discrepancy is among self-identified, [tag]white[/tag], [tag]evangelical Protestants[/tag], Pentecostals, and fundamentalists. … [T]here should have been […]

Sham ethics measure set to pass House

The good news is the House is poised to vote on a measure today that allegedly will change the way the chamber operates. The bad news is it’s a plan crafted by [tag]House[/tag] [tag]Republicans[/tag], which is hollow and insulting. House lawmakers today are expected to approve the first overhaul of [tag]Congress[/tag]ional [tag]ethics[/tag] rules in a […]

A false choice between free speech and honest government

This has been making its way around several conservative blogs for a few days, but I think [tag]John McCain[/tag]’s provocative comments about campaign-finance reform should generate concerns on both sides of the aisle. On [tag]Imus[/tag], [tag]McCain[/tag] said: “I work in Washington and I know that money [tag]corrupt[/tag]s…. I would rather have a clean government than […]