Giuliani’s troubles get worse — staffers agree to forgo paychecks

One of the underlying benefits of the Rudy Giuliani campaign’s decision to effectively skip all of the early primary/caucus contests is that it gives the campaign time to save its resources. The former mayor plans to actually try to win Florida on Jan. 29 and the Feb. 5 races, which means Giuliani can make a […]

The durability of the chain (email) gang

Just this morning, I received several chain emails making a series of ridiculous claims about Barack Obama. I immediately thought, “Haven’t we already been through this?” We have, of course, seen these baseless smears for nearly a year now, and they’ve been thorough and repeatedly debunked. It occurred to me, though, that the typical person […]

Read Jonah Goldberg’s interview — and save $27.95

I’ve never met Jonah Goldberg, the conservative writer for the National Review and the LA Times. I rarely highlight his work, and in those rare instances in which he mentions mine, he dismissively refers to me as “this guy.” We’re not, in other words, close, and I’ve never been the target of one of his […]

When did Ralph Reed become respectable again?

CNN likes to tell viewers, ad nauseum, that it offers “the best political team on television.” Of course, that’s just a silly slogan, and I long ago gave up on taking the claim seriously — when it hired best-selling conservative compiler Bob Bennett and plucked J.C. Watts from the world of infomercials to offer political […]

Michigan mischief with Mitt

Looking at the presidential fields, it seems only natural that Republicans would size up the Dems and consider who’d they most like to face, and who they’d least like to face, in a general election. Dems, looking at the GOP field, are doing the same thing. Now, people are often wrong about this. In the […]

Friday’s campaign 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: * This is a nice pick-up for the Obama campaign: “Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will endorse Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign today, according to two sources familiar with the decision. Napolitano’s endorsement has […]

Campaign, reporters, and screw-ups — first, admit that there’s a problem

The Politico has received its fair share of abuse since its launch, but I thought this piece, from John Harris and Jim VandeHei, suggests the publication is, at a minimum, aware of the shortcomings that have befallen the Politico and other campaign journalists. New Hampshire sealed it. The winner was Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the […]

GOP banking on Bush getting more popular

The president’s abysmal poll numbers aren’t worth noting anymore; there’s just no point. He’s extraordinarily unpopular; he’s reviled around the world; and his would-be Republican successors are embarrassed to say his name in public. It’s hardly worth mentioning anymore. But U.S. News noted this week, however, that the White House is eyeing a Bush comeback. […]

Giuliani makes Bush look fiscally responsible

Even if we put aside his terrifying foreign-policy vision, his 9/11-related scandals, his lack of experience, his record of absurd exaggerations, and the questions about his character, Rudy Giuliani made it abundantly clear in September that when it comes to domestic policy, he’s a clown. Yesterday, he put it in writing. In September, Giuliani insisted […]

I used to watch debates so you don’t have to

I admit it; I have an acute case of debate fatigue. Over the last eight months, I’ve watched every single debate for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, most of which were largely the same. In an apparent bid to drive political observers to tears, news outlets and state parties have apparently decided to crank […]