In an earlier post, I tackled Mitt Romney’s speech on religion and the political implications, but I also wanted to take a moment to consider some of the substantive flaws in his criticism of church-state separation. For example, Romney sees some nefarious forces working to undermine religion. “They seek to remove from the public domain […]
Former Gov. Mitt Romney — or, more accurately, his capable speech writers — was given a fairly daunting task. With his position in the polls faltering, and much of the Republican base unwilling to support a Mormon candidate, Romney apparently decided it was time for “The Religion Speech,” which purportedly would settle anti-Mormon anxieties. For […]
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: * A WaPo/ABC poll of New Hampshire Dems shows the race in the Granite State closer than ever. At this point, Hillary Clinton leads with 35%, followed by Barack Obama with 29%, and […]
In October 2004, as the administration’s Iraq policy was failing on all fronts, Dick Cheney bragged that Iraq was “a remarkable success story.” In June 2005, in this midst of devastating violence in Iraq, Cheney bragged that Iraq “will be an enormous success story.” And now, in December 2007, Cheney is convinced that Iraq “will […]
The Wayne Dumond controversy has clearly thrown Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign for a loop — given the seriousness of Huckabee’s role in Dumond’s release, the story has the potential to permanently undermine his campaign. In response, the former Arkansas governor has come up with a two-prong defense: 1) Huckabee claims not to have been involved; […]
Guest Post by Caroline Fredrickson, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office [Editor’s Note: We’ve been closely following developments on the Hill regarding the latest FISA bill, which is on the move in the Senate. With an update on the latest progress, as well as a look at what’s at stake, my friends at the ACLU have […]
I’ve long assumed that “loyal Bushies” get wrapped up in the inevitable groupthink that happens while working inside the White House bubble, but then get a dose of reality upon re-entering the real world. I’d always hoped that this transition is a helpful one for former presidential aides — they stop drinking the Kool Aid, […]
In the wake of a National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Iran stopped its nuclear-weapons program in 2003, the White House story on what Bush knew when has been burdened by contradictions and apparent falsehoods. Yesterday, it got slightly worse. To briefly recap, the president said on Tuesday that he learned about the NIE conclusions “last […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Horrific scene in Nebraska: “A gunman killed eight people and wounded five others Wednesday at the popular Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. ‘We do not believe that we have any other shooter,’ said Sgt. Teresa Negron. The shooting took place […]
In an apparent attempt at cuteness, the NYT’s Thomas Friedman wrote a column today written as if it were an “Iranian National Intelligence Estimate of America” to Ahmadinejad from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence It included this bizarre assertion: True, thanks to Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. Congress decided to increase the miles per gallon required […]