Giuliani’s six donations to Planned Parenthood

Rudy Giuliani’s abortion problem keeps getting worse. At last week’s debate, Chris Matthews asked the GOP candidates, “Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for Americans?” Nine of the 10 said yes, with varying degrees of intensity (Brownback said it would be “a glorious day of human liberty and […]

The plot at Fort Dix

I try not to be a cynical person. When mainstream news outlets report on disrupted terrorist plots, my first instinct isn’t to question the timing or doubt the validity of the report, but rather to cheer. But when it comes to disrupted plots, the Bush administration’s track record is discouraging. Too often, threats have been […]

Tuesday’s political round-up

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: * Following a series of staffing changes in April, John McCain’s presidential campaign continues to change the players at various positions. Yesterday, Michael P. Dennehy, McCain’s national political director, stepped down from his […]

GOP base still wants creationist answers

Who knew a question about evolutionary biology would end up being the most important part of last week’s Republican presidential debate? Thursday night, John McCain was asked, simply, “Do you believe in evolution?” After pausing briefly, the senator answered, “Yes.” The Politico’s Jim VandeHei then opened it up to the whole GOP field: “I’m curious, […]

When ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ falls apart

Just last week, we learned that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) believes openly gay soldiers represent an “intolerable risk” to the United States armed forces. Apparently, the Navy doesn’t agree. The Navy returned an openly gay sailor to active duty last year in what gay rights advocates say is an example of how some military commanders […]

Republican quotes KKK founder on House floor

Roll Call reports today that a House Republican delivered a foreign policy speech yesterday in which he quoted Nathan Bedford Forrest, founder of the KKK. On Monday, Rep. Ted Poe took to the House floor to discuss foreign policy matters. To make a point, the Texas Republican invoked the words of Civil War Confederate Gen. […]

Wake me up when September ends

After hearing “just a few more months” repeatedly for years, it looks increasingly likely that September may very well be the end of the president’s Iraq policy. Congressional leaders from both political parties are giving President Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking […]

Monday’s Mini-Report

Today’s edition of quick hits. * Paul Wolfowitz’s position atop the World Bank grew significantly less stable this afternoon when one of his top aides resigned, saying the current leadership crisis made progress impossible. “Given the current environment surrounding the leadership of the World Bank Group, it is very difficult to be effective in helping […]

‘People in the White House are talking only to each other’

Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, recently broke ranks with his White House buddies and denounced Bush’s leadership. He said he sees a president who only hears what he wants to hear, from those who know not to challenge him with competing ideas. “I think he’s become more, in my view, […]

Welcoming the LA Times editorial board to the reality-based community

The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times has hardly been reliable when it comes to the war in Iraq. This is not to say the paper has been consistently wrong — as far back as October 2002, the Times’ editorial board showed impressive foresight in denouncing Congress’ resolution authorizing Bush to pursue a confrontation […]