Monday’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: * Mitt Romney backed off from comments he made last week, when he equated his sons’ efforts on behalf of his campaign with military service in a time of war. Yesterday, on Fox […]

And then there were eight

After a miserable performance in the Ames Straw Poll, former Wisconsin governor and former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson is leaving the Republican presidential field just a little smaller. After a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson, the four-term governor of Wisconsin and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, […]

Steering clear of recess appointments

In April, some White House recess appointments really annoyed Senate Democrats. Looking ahead, Harry Reid & Co. didn’t know what to expect Bush to do when the Senate broke for August, but the prospects were discouraging. One report suggested Senate Dems would limit the recess to just 10 days, while another noted that Reid would […]

Giuliani backs away from civil unions

Several months ago, I had a constantly-updated list of John McCain’s many policy flip-flops, as the one-time GOP maverick abandoned every position that made him popular, on route to currying favor with the conservative Republican base. The list got up to 17, which is quite a few flip-flops for one candidate. As it turns out, […]

Kos vs. Ford

Meet the Press offered one of the more compelling line-ups in a while yesterday morning, with the “debate” between Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas and Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford, Jr. You’d think, given recent history, that there is no love lost between the two, and a high-profile confrontation on national television could lead to […]

Karl Rove to resign

He won’t be frog-marched out of the White House, but the man the president affectionately refers to as “Turd Blossom” is stepping down. Karl Rove, U.S. President George W. Bush’s senior political adviser, will voluntarily step down from his White House post at the end of the month, senior administration officials said Monday. Rove, who […]