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: * The very first debate of the presidential campaign season will be held tonight at South Carolina State University. All eight Democratic candidates are scheduled to appear at the event, which will be […]
I noticed last night that Atrios, highlighting the results of the latest NBC/WSJ poll, said, “People hate Bush and hate the war. I don’t know what it’ll take for that to enter the bloodstream of Official Washington.” It’s exactly why I found it curious that Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, who helped conduct the poll for […]
Yesterday, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) delivered a sweeping indictment of the White House’s political tactics in a speech at the Brookings Institution. “Instead of promoting solutions to our nation’s broad challenges, the Bush Administration used all the levers of power to promote their party and its narrow interests,” Emanuel explained. He added […]
I suggested the other day that the Washington Post’s David Broder, generally considered the “dean” of the DC political establishment, has been off his game lately. As of today’s column, Broder seems to be playing a new game altogether. Here’s a Washington political riddle where you fill in the blanks: As Alberto Gonzales is to […]
Not to belabor the point, but yesterday’s discussion(s) throughout the political world about Rudy Giuliani’s latest attack on Dems not only captured everyone’s attention, but also led to a gut-check moment for Dems — Republicans are coming at us with the same talking points they’ve used for years. Are Dems ready? Do they have a […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Henry Waxman’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was unusually busy today, approving subpoenas for Condoleezza Rice to answer questions about the president’s bogus Niger claims before the war, and for the RNC to provide testimony and documents about White House e-mails on RNC accounts that have apparently gone […]
This morning, we talked about Rudy Giuliani smearing the Dems’ presidential candidates, arguing that if any of them are elected, there will be a “new 9/11,” because the “Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.” Giuliani made the same argument Republicans have made in every campaign cycle […]
GOP pollster/consultant Frank Luntz, as recently as 2000, encouraged his Republican clients to not only be skeptical of global warming, but to plant seeds of doubt with the public. Just as Americans needed to understand the seriousness of the threat, Luntz helped lead the way in making sure that didn’t happen. As one infamous Luntz […]
If this wasn’t published directly on the Pentagon’s website, I’d swear it was some kind of parody, meant to make the Bush administration look foolish. Extended overseas deployments affecting soldiers serving in Afghanistan and other locales overseen by U.S. Central Command should help to alleviate the stress on the Army, a senior U.S. officer in […]
Last night on MSNBC, fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias said former Alberto Gonzales aide Monica Goodling is the key to understanding exactly what transpired in the prosecutor purge. “I think Monica Goodling is holding the keys to the kingdom,” Iglesias said. “I think if they get her to testify under oath with a transcript, and […]