One of the principal knocks on actor/lobbyist/senator Fred Thompson’s presidential aspirations is that he’s kind of lazy and unwilling to go beyond the pleasantries and soundbites. He’s an all-hat, no-cattle candidate who doesn’t even take his own policy priorities seriously. After one day as a candidate, Thompson is already reinforcing the conventional wisdom. Fred Thompson […]
The new report from the Government Accountability Office is obviously a thorn in the side of the Bush administration and supporters of its Iraq policy. They have a lot of non-existent progress to point to, and the GAO has produced a detailed, objective, and well-researched document highlighting the failures of the president’s “surge.” So, naturally, […]
It looks like Robert Draper’s Dead Certain is just a wealth of information. Kevin Drum noted this excerpt, published earlier this week in Slate, which had me laughing out loud. Bush, as always, bridled at the request to navel-gaze. “You’re the observer,” he said as he worked the cheese in his mouth. “I’m not. I […]
The last time the New York Sun looked beyond the existing Republican presidential field for their dream candidate, the conservative paper’s editorial board begged Dick Cheney to throw his hat into the ring. Today, the Sun’s imagination went in an even more creative direction. “I am prepared, even eager, to command our forces in this […]
It’s not that I’m necessarily opposed to some kind of compromise on Iraq. There’s a Democratic Congress and a Republican White House. The Senate is practically split right down the middle. Given reality, it should be fairly obvious that the president’s policy is misguided and lawmakers have to impose a major change in direction, but […]
Hoping desperately to maintain the status quo, the Bush administration insists that Iraq is less violent now than it was before the “surge” policy went into effect. Forget political progress, reconciliation, and the agreed-upon benchmarks, they say; reduced violence proves how effective the strategy is. The WaPo’s Karen DeYoung wrote a must-read on the subject […]
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: * As expected, actor/lobbyist/senator Fred Thompson launched his presidential campaign last night on The Tonight Show. When Jay Leno asked about the delay, Thompson said, “I don’t think people are going to say, […]
I always enjoy listening to conservatives explain why they oppose gay marriage. Given the seriousness with which they take the issue, and their campaign for a constitutional amendment, you’d think they would have come up with some compelling reasons by now. Except, in most instances, they’re surprisingly incoherent. Usually it comes down to an inherent […]
Next week, the White House will unveil the progress report on Iraq, ostensibly written by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker (but really written by the president’s team), which will no doubt make quite a splash. But in the meantime, we’re seeing the release of several key reports, all of which offer a credible, […]
So, what’s the latest from Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)? Keeping up is getting tricky, but the senator is apparently convinced that he can “clear his name.” The Senate Ethics Committee, however, isn’t anxious to help in that endeavor. The Senate Ethics committee late Wednesday rejected Sen. Larry Craig’s request to drop ethics charges against him, […]