About six months ago, John McCain was not only the presumptive favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination, he was the GOP candidate recruiting some of the top campaign talent available. McCain even picked up some of the same people who helped George W. Bush smear him in 2000, assuming it was more important to […]
If Scooter Libby is counting on a pardon to keep him out of jail, he’ll need Bush to act very quickly. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, must go to prison while appealing his conviction for obstructing a CIA leak probe, a U.S. appeals court said. Libby may be behind […]
It’s hardly the most important element of Peter Baker’s piece on Bush’s behind-the-scenes persona, but he does tackle the enduring question: Does Bush read newspapers? To an extent, Bush walls himself off from criticism. He does read newspapers, contrary to public impression, but watches little television news and does not linger in the media echo […]
Towards the end of a report about the Department of Homeland Security responding to possible terrorist threats over the summer, ABC News added a disconcerting tidbit of information: As ABCNews.com reported, U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against “airport infrastructure […]
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: * This sounds like it warrants some follow-up: “Two of the leading GOP presidential contenders took time out of their frenetic fundraising schedules late last week to address ‘Legacy,’ a group of wealthy […]
We’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about the president reaching out to observers outside his inner circle for big-picture bull sessions. In April, Bush met with some “big money players up from Texas,” who got out exactly one question before president launched into an extended rant about how no one understands him. In May, […]
The Senate Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed the White House for information related to the U.S. Attorney purge scandal. The White House announced that it would ignore the subpoenas. Yesterday morning on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) what happens next. RUSSERT: You have asked the White House and […]
It’s not often major news outlets fact-check documentaries, but Michael Moore’s not just another documentary filmmaker, and healthcare is not just another public policy. So, I suppose it’s not a big surprise that CNN would give “Sicko” some close scrutiny. As it turns out, the network gives the movie a clean bill of health. Moore […]
In some ways, measuring presidential candidates by their fundraising totals is just about the ultimate in political inside pool. The typical American doesn’t know or care how much money a campaign raises — but the numbers are carefully scrutinized by reporters, candidates, staffers, and major donors. It’s not necessarily fair, and fundraising conditions can change, […]