I don’t mean to belabor the point, but I think it’s important to remember — for policy and political reasons — that when it comes to the war in Iraq, the public and Republicans in DC are not on the same page. Last week, the New York Times released a poll showing a clear majority […]
After initially balking at the invitation, Defense Secretary [tag]Donald Rumsfeld[/tag] reversed course and agreed to speak to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Given his position, he might as well have stuck to his original plans. Sen. [tag]Hillary Clinton[/tag] asked Rumsfeld a series of aggressive questions, in particular noting his track record of […]
The Bush administration, known for its unambiguous moral certainties, with-us-or-against-us worldview, and disdain for nuance and “gray areas,” isn’t quite clear on what conduct is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. [S]enators [told Attorney General Alberto Gonzales] Congress should not endorse any treatment it would not want used on American soldiers. “We must remain a nation […]
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: * Two new Rasmussen polls offer good news for Dems in Pennsylvania. According to the latest numbers, Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[/tag] (D) has sustained a double-digit lead for the third month in a row, […]
Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) has always supported the president’s approach to the war in Iraq, but after having recently visited Baghdad, he’s starting to waver a bit. (via Holden and a tip from reader J.D.) While still hopeful that Americans would one day be able to look back on their foray into Iraq as “a […]
In the world of inside-pool and back-room rumors, this is interesting. Some high level Democratic Party political insiders have shared with TWN details of a potential shift in vectors for several of the major political stars in that party. First of all, Senate Minority Leader [tag]Harry Reid[/tag], whom most give high marks for the manner […]
The first six months of 2006 were the hottest ever recorded in the United States. The National Climatic Data Center reports that more than 50 American cities have set [tag]record highs[/tag] this summer. It’s prompted the New York Times’ [tag]Bob Herbert[/tag] to ask, “[tag]Hot[/tag] enough yet?” The heat wave burned its way east from California, […]
We learned on Tuesday that [tag]Carl Romanelli[/tag], the [tag]Green Party[/tag] candidate running in the Rick [tag]Santorum[/tag]/Bob [tag]Casey[/tag] Senate race in [tag]Pennsylvania[/tag], acknowledged that Republican contributors “probably supplied most” of his campaign’s financial support. As it turns out, that was an understatement. Paul Kiel discovered yesterday that “every single contributor to the Pennsylvania Green Party Senate […]
Two weeks ago, a [tag]Quinnipiac[/tag] [tag]poll[/tag] showed [tag]Ned Lamont[/tag] taking the lead over [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag] in Connecticut’s Dem Senate [tag]primary[/tag] for the first time. Lamont, at the time, was ahead, 51% to 47%. His lead’s a little bigger now. OK, more than a little. Millionaire businessman Ned [tag]Lamont[/tag] has extended his lead against veteran Sen. […]
Since the Supreme Court’s [tag]Hamdan[/tag] ruling was issued, and the White House agreed to “revise” its legal procedures for holding detainees, Bush’s lawyers have been crafting a proposal for Congress that would become the administration’s new policy. To put it mildly, the first draft isn’t encouraging. A draft Bush administration plan for special [tag]military courts[/tag] […]