In Tuesday night’s debate for Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton’s rivals went after her fairly aggressively on everything from consistency to integrity to electability. The frontrunner appeared a little rattled at time, but in the end, Clinton was probably no worse for wear. But it’s the post-debate spin that’s turned out to be more provocative. […]
There’s been some grumbling of late that if Senate Dems successfully defeat Michael Mukasey’s Attorney General nomination, the Bush White House may just turn around and offer someone even worse. Mukasey’s future remains in doubt, but that’s one scenario Dems need not fear. President Bush yesterday warned Democrats that if they do not confirm his […]
For five years, the Bush White House has had no more reliable an ally on Iraq policy than John McCain. So it was more than a little odd to hear the presidential hopeful lash out at his top Republican rivals today for not doing more to question the president’s Iraq strategy. …McCain broadened his broadside […]
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has been a little off-track the past couple of weeks. The gospel concert in South Carolina was a dumb mistake, compounded by additional dumb mistakes. Taking on Social Security solvency proved to be very unhelpful. He took the right stands on telecom immunity and the Mukasey nomination, but only after others […]
When the Washington Post added Michael Gerson, Bush’s former chief speechwriter, to its stable of columnists, I tried to give Gerson the benefit of the doubt. He’s a former journalist, he can turn a phrase, and when it comes to former speechwriters joining major papers, William Safire sets a pretty low bar. With that in […]
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: * John Edwards’ campaign has released probably the hardest-hitting spot of the Democratic campaign, issuing a YouTube clip this morning accusing Hillary Clinton of engaging in the “politics of parsing.” * Speaking of […]
Apparently, you reality-huggers have been so focused on facts and veracity that you missed the big news: we won the war in Iraq. In fact, the whole conflict is over. We know this, of course, because Andrew Bolt, a conservative columnist in Australia, says so. In a piece today, Bolt proclaims, “The battle is actually […]
It’s been a discouraging week when it comes to the right and torture. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page argued that waterboarding doesn’t necessarily constitute “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment of U.S. detainees. The National Review’s Rich Lowry argued, in Matt Yglesias’ words, that “torture a defining value of the American conservative movement.” But a […]
Earlier this week, we learned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for reviewing thousands of consumer products to look for potential health risks, wants less money, a smaller staff, and weaker rules for product safety. Given recent events — most notably, toys from China with lead “issues” — the CPSC should want […]
Last week, The Onion, which is a satirical publication, ran a very amusing editorial cartoon, mocking right-wing attitudes. The cartoon asked, “Halloween: What is it teaching our kids?” It depicted a kid trick-or-treating with a bag that read, “Something for Nothing,” under the caption, “Everyone deserves hand-outs!” Proving once again that today’s right is practically […]