Today’s edition of quick hits. * In an encouraging move, Congress passed its stem-cell legislation, despite an almost-certain veto by the president. The House vote was 247 to 176, which included 37 Republicans joining the vast majority of Dems. That’s a big majority — but it’s 35 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to […]
That abstinence-only education programs are ineffective is not news. The Bush administration and the GOP-led Congress pumped enormous resources (i.e., our money) into these programs, which in turn offered students misleading information and failed to actually change young people’s behavior. The funding was a ridiculous waste of time and money. So, when Dems reclaimed the […]
Almost a month ago, the White House announced that Army Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute had agreed to join Bush’s team as the “war czar,” despite ambiguities about what the job entailed. In some ways, it was a surprising choice — Lute voiced opposition to the president’s surge policy. In other words, the general Bush […]
Most of the time, I’m absolutely convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that it’s literally impossible for Rudy Giuliani to get the Republican nomination. It simply defies comprehension. He supports abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control. He claims to be an expert on national security matters, but knows nothing about the issue. His […]
Yesterday, we talked a bit about Mitt Romney’s bizarre belief, articulated during Tuesday’s debate, that Saddam Hussein refused to open Iraq up to IAEA inspectors, despite reality. As it turns out, Romney’s answer was actually worse than I originally suggested. Let’s take another look at the transcript. Romney was asked whether it was “a mistake […]
Following up on an item from last week, Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., Bush’s nominee for Surgeon General, has a record of activism that suggests a strong anti-gay bias. Opposition to his nomination has been growing, but it’s been unclear whether there was enough information available to sink his chances. Maybe this will do the […]
Oh dear. Another post criticizing David Broder? I’m afraid so. Today’s column is particularly egregious. Both parties are blessed with a multitude of contenders with attractive personalities and impressive resumes — people it’s easy to imagine in the Oval Office. But the dynamic on both sides is trending toward extreme positions that would open the […]
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 upcoming GOP Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, was set to be a critically important early test for the Republican presidential field, possibly even knocking some of the bottom-tier guys out of […]
Watching the recent Republican presidential candidates debate, we’ve seen plenty of nonsense, dissembling, errors of fact and judgment, but we haven’t seen any true lunacy. The candidates are too busy trying to appear presidential to unleash the real crazy. And where’s the fun in that? Clearly, what we need is Alan Keyes. An organization calling […]
Newsweek reported about a week ago what most of us have known for years: Valerie Plame was really, truly a covert agent at the CIA when the White House decided to expose her identity. Summarizing what most of us were thinking, Kevin Drum noted, “So that settles that. I hope the wingosphere can finally stop […]