Let’s see, Dems won their congressional majorities last month, and they’ll start actually governing next month. Now seems like a fair time for CNN to start speculating about “Do-Nothing Dems,” right? A December 19 report on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight featured the graphic “Do-Nothing Dems?” But, as the report noted, Democrats will not actually assume […]
At yesterday’s presidential press conference, a reporter asked a seemingly straightforward question: “After five years now of war, what lessons will you take into the final two years of your presidency?” It’s hardly unreasonable to think Bush has learned a few lessons by this point, right? He’s launched two invasions, executed strategies, and seen a […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Remember back during the Lieberman-Lamont primary when Lieberman claimed that his website had been hacked by his rival? The former Dem asked the U.S. attorney’s office to conduct an investigation. Yesterday, the issue was resolved and — surprise, surprise — Lamont and his supporters were cleared. (The accusations got […]
Stuff like this really irks me. Yesterday on Fox News, talk radio host Mike Gallagher said the U.S. government should “round up” actor Matt Damon, “The View” host Joy Behar, and MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann and “put them in a detention camp until this war is over because they’re a bunch of traitors.” Gallagher was […]
I imagine in some circles, the “controversy” is still a fairly big deal, but my sense is that this year’s “war on Christmas” is largely a bust. It was vaguely faddish last year, but most sensible people got sick of the issue quickly. Reasonable, levelheaded Americans figured out a long time ago that there is […]
For years, leading conservative voices have described the media as the principal problem with the war in Iraq. Reporters, according to the many on the right, “refuse to pay more attention to repainted schoolhouses and instead focus on stuff like insurgent attacks, ethnic rivalries, collapsing infrastructure, ineffective government, and corrupt police forces.” Journalists, obviously, hate […]
Yesterday we learned that the Joint Chiefs of Staff are unanimous in their opposition to the president’s apparent escalation plans for the war in Iraq. It puts Bush in a tough spot — he wants to show a change in course, but bucking the recommendations of the nation’s top uniformed leaders is a tough hurdle. […]
Last week, we talked about how the right, anxious to smear Barack Obama but unsure how, had come with a variety of uninspiring attacks, including criticizing Obama for having mainstream Democratic beliefs, attending a Christian church that isn’t right-wing enough, and having big ears. They’re hardly the kind of criticisms that will undermine Obama’s popularity. […]
In Bob Woodward’s latest book, State of Denial, we learned that former Secretary of State Henry [tag]Kissinger[/tag], of all people, had become an important advisor to the Bush White House on the war in Iraq. Kissinger perceived “wobbliness” within the administration on Iraq, and told the president that the overriding lesson of Vietnam is to […]
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: * That recent Newsweek poll showing Hillary Clinton leading all the major GOP 2008 contenders — you know, the one the magazine chose not to publish — wasn’t the only one with encouraging […]