Today’s edition of quick hits. * With the House GOP caucus having announced that they will not whip tomorrow’s vote on the anti-escalation resolution, some sources indicate that as many as 60 House Republicans may break ranks and vote with Democrats in support of the measure. * MSNBC has signed Keith Olbermann to a contract […]
The New York Times’ David Brooks takes a shot at war critics today, saying, “[T]he liberal wing of the Democratic Party believes that the world … owes it an apology.” Brooks apparently believes there’s some bitterness about the fact that war critics have been on the right side of the war debate, while war supporters […]
On Friday, the House is going to pass a resolution supporting the troops and criticizing the president’s escalation strategy. On Saturday, the Senate may do the same thing. From a press release issued by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: (thanks to L.M. for the tip) “For nearly four years, the Republican-controlled Senate stood silent on […]
Perhaps the most important moment in yesterday’s White House press conference came when CNN’s Ed Henry pressed the president to explain why he and officials in Iraq had contradictory messages on Iranian weapons being used against Americans in Iraq. Henry asked Bush, “You saying today that you do not know if senior members of the […]
I didn’t exactly intend to do a whole series of posts on the TV show “24,” but as long as I started down this road, I might as well let readers know about the resolution of the “torture question.” As it turns out, there may be a less offensive outcome. Fox’s 24 will become less […]
Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, is on the right track about public perceptions of the president, but he’s woefully behind. ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports: In the forthcoming issue of Texas Monthly, former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd writes that President Bush’s “gut-level bond” with the American people “may be lost” […]
Rudy Giuliani has always been unswervingly pro-choice, even accepting an award from NARAL, which is why it’s been noticeably odd to see him try to finesse the issue lately, suggesting to Republican primary voters that it may not matter that he’s pro-choice, because he’d appoint conservative judges. The subject came up last night, during an […]
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: * Al Franken announced yesterday that he is running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota and unveiled an excellent web video explaining why. Franken will likely face attorney Mike Ciresi in a Dem […]
For most of Bush’s presidency, congressional Republicans had a standard knock on Dems: they’re against Bush’s agenda, but won’t offer one of their own. It consistently struck me as having the broader dynamic backwards: Dems were chomping at the bit with policy ideas they wanted Congress to consider, but Republicans rejected their ideas. Lately, I’ve […]
Last September, Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid explained that Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists to develop plans for securing a postwar Iraq in early 2003, at one point going so far as to threaten to “fire the next person” to mention the need for a postwar plan. “The secretary of defense continued to push on […]