Last week, TNR’s [tag]Ryan Lizza[/tag] caused quite a stir with a devastating article on Sen. [tag]George Allen[/tag] (R-Va.), whose disconcerting background on racial issues — and odd affinity for the [tag]Confederacy[/tag] — made for a series of embarrassing questions for the presidential hopeful. Allen and his allies have fought back against the Lizza article, accusing […]
Readers will definitely want to check out Eric Boehlert’s book excerpt in Salon.com today, in which we get a lengthy look at the new book, “Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush.” Boehlert calls it a look insider “one of the great journalistic collapses of our time,” and if today’s excerpt is any indication, […]
Laura Bush, on how the national anthem should be sung. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with singing it in Spanish. The point is it’s the United States national anthem and what people want is it to be sung in a way that respects the United States and our culture. At the same time, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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], […]