Lee Bandy, South Carolina’s most revered political journalist, had an interesting item this week on the state Republican Party’s decision to host “An Evening Honoring Rudy Giuliani.” As the story goes, Giuliani’s presidential prospects are intact, even in a very conservative state like South Carolina, and despite the former NYC mayor’s liberal positions on several […]
These are exactly the kind of remarks that will draw praise from reporters and other admirers of John McCain’s style, but which aren’t nearly as impressive as the senator’s fans would like us to believe. Republican Sen. [tag]John McCain[/tag], a staunch defender of the [tag]Iraq[/tag] [tag]war[/tag], on Tuesday faulted the [tag]Bush[/tag] administration for misleading Americans […]
I hope Kevin Drum won’t mind too much if I blatantly steal borrow his post from this afternoon, but this Chronicle of Higher Education piece is simply breathtaking. The U.S. Department of Education has a new federal grant program, called “Smart Grants,” which are geared towards rewarding students majoring in engineering, mathematics, science, or certain […]
My opinion of the president couldn’t get much lower, but even I find this hard to believe. [Bush] loves to cuss, gets a jolly when a mountain biker wipes out trying to keep up with him, and now we’re learning that the first frat boy loves flatulence jokes. A top insider let that slip when […]
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: * Sen. [tag]George Allen[/tag]’s (R-Va.) “macaca” problems continue. In a new SurveyUSA poll done for WUSA in Washington, Allen’s lead over challenger [tag]James Webb[/tag] has dropped from 19 points to three, and the […]
I’m not quite sure what to make of this, and I certainly wouldn’t begin to know how to prescribe a remedy, but the notion of a “[tag]fertility gap[/tag]” is interesting. Arthur Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Public Affairs, believes that [tag]liberals[/tag] have “a big baby problem: They’re not having enough of […]
Just yesterday, the president was asked whether he cared about public support for the war, or whether he’s content with letting the results vindicate his strategy eventually. [tag]Bush[/tag] said, “Yes, I care, I really do. I wish — and so, therefore, I’m going to spend a lot of time trying to explain as best I […]
TNR’s Spencer [tag]Ackerman[/tag] spent last week in [tag]Dearborn[/tag], Michigan, home of the largest and oldest [tag]Muslim[/tag] community in the United States, and found that the [tag]president[/tag]’s recent use of the word “[tag]Islamofascism[/tag],” is offending the very people the president should be reaching out to. Practically everyone I’ve spoken with in Dearborn, from oncologists to students […]
Josh Marshall reminded readers yesterday of a weeks-old Jonathan [tag]Alter[/tag] column that seems to have been lost in the late-July shuffle. It raises a good point, particularly in an election-year in which Dems hope to emphasize [tag]stem-cell[/tag] [tag]research[/tag]. In July, 37 senators and 193 members of the House backed Bush and voted against allowing even […]
It’s August 22, and if you think this is just another date on the calendar, you’ve been missing out on all kinds of bizarre speculation, particularly coming from our friends on the right. This year, [tag]August 22[/tag] marks the holy day on the [tag]Islamic[/tag] [tag]calendar[/tag] that is the day of reckoning for Shiites. Some Shiite […]