After any debate, the first and most natural question is “who won?” Last night, the winner was obvious: Ronald Reagan. Look, I know Reagan is the only president of the 20th century that Republicans really like. And I know that the debate was being held at the Reagan Library in California. But over the course […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The House passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act this afternoon, 237 to 180. Dems picked up 25 Republican votes to pass the measure, which has already drawn a veto threat from the White House. * Brad Plumer and the Progress Report both did a fine job […]
Following up on an item from yesterday, the White House excoriated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for engaging with Syrian officials a month ago, which is why today’s meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem was so interesting. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister […]
This story doesn’t appear to be generating much attention, but it might be one of the day’s most intriguing political items. The inspector general who uncovered cases of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S.-led reconstruction effort in Iraq is under investigation by a presidential panel, according to the White House. Stuart W. Bowen Jr., […]
Seventeen days ago, The Politico ran a blog item about John Edwards getting a $400 haircut. As you no doubt recall, it made the rounds extraordinarily quickly, even generating a question at last week’s debate. By and large, there’s not much more to say about it; the “news” angle has been relegated to the late-night […]
I suspect it’s difficult for supporters of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to come up with a rationale for their position. They probably realize they can’t come right out and say, “I don’t like gay people,” or “Dobson told me I have to take this position,” so they’re left with varying degrees of incoherence. Take John […]
When the going gets tough, the tough leave town for a couple of months. (thanks to S.W. for the tip) Lawmakers divided over whether to keep U.S. troops in Iraq are finding common ground on at least one topic: They are furious that Iraqi politicians are considering a lengthy break this summer. “If they go […]
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: * Tonight will be the first Republican presidential debate, with 10 candidates taking the stage to field questions from Chris Matthews. The event will be held at (where else?) the Ronald Reagan Presidential […]
I was doing some research recently on presidential primary debates and came across a transcript of a Democratic event from September 2003. Reading over the candidates’ remarks, the only name that came up as often as George W. Bush was his immediate predecessor. John Kerry said, “We can have the deficit cut in half the […]
When it comes to funding the war in Iraq, Dems (who enjoy public support and majority status in both chambers) feel like they have no choice but to back away from their recently passed withdrawal plan. Conversely, congressional Republicans (who have neither support nor the majority) feel like they have no choice but to back […]