For reasons that have always alluded me, it’s considered tactless to explain why, exactly, today’s political environment is as toxic as it’s become. The conventional wisdom seems to suggest that this is just the way politics as always been, and will always be. For every observer who notes that congressional animosity is worse now than […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. (It’s a longer edition than usual, but there’s a lot of good stuff in here.) * In Connecticut, Joe Lieberman (I), Ned Lamont (D), and Alan Schlesinger (R) met for a three-way debate this afternoon. Rumor has it, Schlesinger surprised a lot of people with a strong performance. Right now, […]
I know this has come up more than once, but when [tag]Paul Krugman[/tag] tackles an issue, it adds a certain weight to the controversy at hand. And this week, with the elections just 22 days away, Krugman has a simple message: “[T]his is a [tag]one-letter[/tag] [tag]election[/tag]. [tag]D or R[/tag], that’s all that matters.” I can […]
George W. [tag]Bush[/tag], 10 months ago: “And for every terrorist working to stop freedom in Iraq, there are many more Iraqis and Americans working to defeat them. My fellow citizens: Not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are [tag]winning[/tag] the [tag]war[/tag] in Iraq.” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, today: QUESTION: Just […]
As most people now realize, the terrorist attack on the [tag]USS Cole[/tag] has become something of an embarrassment for the [tag]Bush[/tag] [tag]White House[/tag]. The [tag]Cole[/tag] was bombed in October 2000, shortly before the Gore-Bush presidential election. Intelligence and law-enforcement officials confirmed that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the attack early in 2001, which foreclosed […]
The Shakespearean drama between [tag]Bush[/tag] [tag]41[/tag] and Bush [tag]43[/tag] continues to grow increasingly bitter. The New York Daily News’ Thomas DeFrank, for example, noted over the weekend that aides to the first President Bush are becoming more and more candid in their criticisms of Jr. Indeed, one of the worst-kept secrets in Bush World is […]
Up until very recently, I assumed talk of Sen. [tag]Barack Obama[/tag] (D-Ill.) running for [tag]president[/tag] was idle speculation. He wasn’t going to run — and that was that. And then a close associate of Obama’s told Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter, “I’d put the chances [of a presidential campaign] right now at no better than 50 percent.” […]
No White House press secretary has ever hit the campaign trail to back candidates or raise money, but [tag]Tony Snow[/tag] is … how should we put this … a trailblazer. With Bush and Cheney having “popularity issues,” and First Lady Laura Bush only able to attend so many events a week, the White House is […]
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: * Virginia’s Senate race is practically tied according to a Washington Post poll released over the weekend. Sen. George Allen (R) now leads Democratic challenger Jim Webb, 49% to 47%. The bad news […]
After ABC’s scandal-plagued “Path to [tag]9/11[/tag]” became a fiasco, I foolishly assumed that it’s writer, conservative activist Cyrus [tag]Nowrasteh[/tag], might have a little trouble finding work again. After all, this was his most high-profile project to date, and instead of creating a historically-accurate movie to be shown to the nation on the fifth anniversary of […]