As far as the Republican base is concerned, the lesson of the 2006 elections is that the GOP hasn’t been nearly right-wing enough. The key to getting the party back on track, activists say, is embracing as many far-right initiatives as possible between now and the next election cycle. In Georgia, which has become one […]
I wondered this morning whether Gerald Ford’s embargoed criticism of the Bush White House and the war in Iraq might affect the right’s praise of the former president this week. As it turns out, the blowback didn’t take long. Consider Bill Bennett’s fairly aggressive attack on Ford this morning. (via John Cole) Since “decency” seems […]
I’m going to remain officially neutral on the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, but I don’t mind admitting that I like John Edwards — who officially threw his hat into the ring this morning — and consider him a strong top-tier candidate. Former North Carolina senator John Edwards this morning declared his candidacy for […]
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: * Much to my relief, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, rumored to be eyeing a congressional race against Rep.-elect John Hall (D-N.Y.), said this week that he has no interest in […]
I’ve been a little surprised by the various analyses drawing parallels between Ford’s presidency and that of George W. Bush. Other than taking office under dubious circumstances, they don’t seem particularly similar. And yet, plenty of news items have been published like this one, from Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey, noting the “striking parallels […]
Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), soon to be the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made it clear this week that he’s heard all he needs to hear about a plan for a military escalation in Iraq. It’s an idea Biden made clear that he deplores, setting the stage for a bitter political battle between […]
When it comes to the war in Iraq, George Will has not always been entirely unreasonable. He’s denounced neocons, and in a surprisingly hard-hitting 2004 column, described the war as “untenable,” compared it to Vietnam, and said the war could “unmake” Bush’s presidency. With this in mind, I was a little startled to see this […]
Late on Tuesday, after the Ford family announced the passing of the former president, President Bush released a statement praising Gerald Ford for his “quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts.” As it turns out, Bush was more right than he realized — Ford’s common sense and instincts served him well. Former president Gerald R. […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) had hoped to score some points with the GOP base for his presidential campaign by filing a lawsuit that would have forced a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the state ballot, over the objections of the legislature. Today, the state Supreme Judicial Court […]
National Review’s Cliff May published this comment today from an unnamed Marine in Iraq. [M]orale among our guys is very high. They not only believe that they are winning, but that they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the American press, whom they almost universally view as against […]