Reuters ran an odd report late yesterday, telling readers that former Vice President Al Gore had told an audience in Japan that “he would not run in the next presidential race.” Reuters added that Gore was asked about his campaign plans, but “Gore ruled it out.” It was odd for a few reasons. One, as […]
Republicans are divided on Iraq. And domestic policy. And political strategies. But even more dramatically, they’re really divided over the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. The week after the Republicans were handed a series of devastating election defeats, the White House announced that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) would take over as RNC chair. The […]
As the keeper of the John McCain flip-flop list, I wanted to report on a great find from my friend Cliff Schecter, who found this quote from McCain from August 1990. The context is a discussion about using U.S. troops in the first Gulf War. “If you get involved in a major ground war in […]
We can add several hundred U.S. troops to the growing list of opponents of the president’s policy in Iraq. Vocal opposition to President’s Bush’s strategy of sending more than 20,000 additional troops to help secure Iraq has grown to include some of the troops themselves. A group of more than 50 active-duty military officers will […]
It was a little frustrating in the immediate aftermath of the 2006 elections to hear the media characterize many of the new incoming Democrats as being center-right on the ideological spectrum. There was, however, a silver lining to an otherwise misleading spin: the “center” was on the move for the first time in a while. […]
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: * In very big 2008 news of a non-presidential variety, two-term incumbent Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), recently named by Time magazine one of the Senate’s five worst members, announced yesterday that he will […]
The writing was on the wall, and today he made it official: Barack Obama announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, with a formal announcement due in Feb. 10 in Chicago. Obama’s move dramatically punctuates the extraordinary arc of a political career for a man who said he had trouble even renting a car […]
Last week was when the Bush White House was finally going to get back on track. No more playing defense, no more delays in presenting a coherent policy for Iraq, no more leaving the bully pulpit empty. The president would take to the airwaves on Wednesday, the White House team would fan out with aggressive […]
Just two months ago, the Iraq Study Group suggested that promoting democracy in the Middle East is a noble goal, but it’s probably not the top priority in the region right now. It prompted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, just a few weeks ago, to remind everyone of the administration’s agenda and vision: “Rice also […]
Henry Crumpton isn’t a household name, but he has a pretty important job: he’s the Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the State Department. Crumpton recently announced his resignation, and with about two weeks left before stepping down, he apparently feels less compelled to stick to the party line. An ex-CIA operative, Crumpton told NEWSWEEK that a […]