In August, TV preacher Pat Robertson became an international laughing stock (again) for announcing on his Christian evangelism program that he’d like to see Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez assassinated. Robertson eventually offered a half-hearted apology and the story went away. Last night, Robertson returned to the issue, and incomprehensively argued that Chavez still needs to […]
Bush knows his fight to privatize Social Security is over. He mentioned it briefly during his State of the Union — prompting the Dems to stand and applaud, much to Bush’s chagrin — and told an audience in Minnesota yesterday that it “appears that there will be no solution because there’s too much politics.” And […]
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: * In Nevada’s competitive gubernatorial race, Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) is ahead, but his lead is hardly insurmountable. In a new Rasmussen poll, Gibbons leads Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson (D) 43% to 38%, […]
For the past few days, there’s been plenty of talk about the specific things Bush left out of his State of the Union address. There was no mention of Hurricane Katrina, his new Medicare prescription drug plan/debacle, or lobbying reform. Mars and steroids apparently didn’t make the cut either. But the WaPo’s E. J. Dionne […]
Ever since the Supreme Court kinda sorta said local governments can promote Ten Commandments displays on public property, religious right activists have made concerted efforts to get more “religion in the public square” with more religious monuments. But in one very interesting case in Utah, these same activists suddenly want less religion in public, not […]
James Hansen, the top climate scientist at NASA, recently explained that his superiors have tried to silence him because his commitment to reducing greenhouse gases linked to global warming is inconsistent with the Bush agenda. As the WaPo noted, it’s reached a point in which NASA officials won’t let Hansen speak to reporters unless his […]
Last July, rumor had it that conservative allies of the White House would begin a concerted effort to undermine Patrick Fitzgerald’s reputation and credibility. William Safire tried to get the ball rolling, blasting the Fitzgerald as a “runaway prosecutor.” Soon after, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page blasted the special prosecutor as a “loose cannon” […]
Less than a day after the president vowed in his State of the Union address to reduce America’s dependence on oil from the Middle East, Bush’s secretary and national economic adviser said the president didn’t really mean it. And as if that weren’t enough, when Bush said in the same speech that he’s committed to […]
When it comes to those missing emails from Dick Cheney’s office, this is exactly the kind of Plame-related conversation, on CNN no less, that the White House doesn’t want to hear. Wolf Blitzer: [W]hen I hear a story like this, it hearkens back, I remember, of course, some of those missing tapes during Watergate and […]
Before we talk about the results, this is hilarious. House Republicans are taking a mulligan on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting. Republicans can’t even run their own elections in a fair and reliable way. No word on whether Katherine Harris […]