Shut Up & Sing — but not on NBC

As you may have heard, a new documentary about the [tag]Dixie Chicks[/tag], called “[tag]Shut Up & Sing[/tag],” is hitting theaters in LA and NYC today, and the rest of the country on Nov. 11. It sounds pretty interesting — the documentary highlights the band’s experiences after lead singer Natalie Maines said she was ashamed that […]

‘What’s it like to be kidnapped, man?’

The president had a very lengthy chat in the Oval Office this week with a series of conservative writers, including National Review’s Byron York and US News’s Michael Barone. There are plenty of gems in the transcript, but like Michael Crowley, this one left me shaking my head: “One of the stories – interesting stories […]

Rumsfeld to war skeptics: ‘Back off!’

I suppose it’s possible for a Defense Secretary to come up with a worse response to questions about a disastrous war, I’m just not sure what it would be. With his chorus of critics expanding deeper into Republican ranks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told detractors yesterday to pull back as U.S. and Iraqi officials […]

Taking aim at Webb — by attacking one of his novels

The right is all atwitter with revelations, leaked to the Drudge Report, that Virginia Democratic Senate candidate [tag]Jim Webb[/tag], an accomplished and successful [tag]novel[/tag]ist, included a racy fictional scene in one of his books about a pedophile. It seems like a relatively odd thing to base the campaign on, but Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) is […]

Thursday’s Mini-Report

Today’s edition of quick hits. (It’s a little bit longer than usual, but there’s a lot of good stuff in the news — and in my inbox — today.) * In light of recent speculation, it was only a matter of time before we saw our first national poll gauging Barack Obama’s presidential prospects. Fox […]

Michael J. Fox ad has an impact

I knew the Michael J. Fox ad was powerful, but I may have underestimated its punch. A new national study revealed that American voters’ support for stem cell research increased after they viewed an ad featuring Michael J. Fox in which he expresses his support for candidates who are in favor of stem cell research. […]

‘The only person in this race who has broken House rules is Jean Schmidt’

I noticed that both Josh Marshall and Charles Pierce referred to Rep. Jean Schmidt as “stupid” today, so I was curious what all the fuss was about. It turns out they were onto something. You may recall that Schmidt helped drag the House down to one of it’s lowest points last year when she lashed […]

The ‘15% Lie’

In 1982, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (D) appeared to be well on his way to winning California’s gubernatorial race. Polls showed him with a big lead … and then the results came in and Bradley came up just short. Some political scientists created a label for the new-found problem — the “Bradley Effect” — […]

The elections are 12 days away — and terrorists are glued to their TVs

Following up on an earlier post, reader R.M. suggested I missed the really interesting part of Dick Cheney’s interview with WDAY’s Scott Hennen. In retrospect, R.M. is probably right. Q: Are the terrorists trying to influence our election in your view? Cheney: I think they’re very much aware of our political calendar here, I really […]

‘Rove would never allow it’

On Tuesday’s edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, CBS White House correspondent Jim Axelrod mentioned that he’s spoken with some White House officials about possible changes to the president’s policy for the war in Iraq. He added what should have been a rather startling comment. AXELROD: Well, the White House is in […]