In the grand scheme of things, this really didn’t take long. Eliot Spitzer was caught on Monday afternoon, he pondered his fate on Tuesday, and he gave up his office on Wednesday, less than 48 hours after the story broke in the New York Times. Here’s the transcript of Spitzer’s brief announcement in New York […]
Apparently with an eye towards Gen. David Patraeus’ upcoming congressional testimony, the president is involved in yet another p.r. push to defend staying the course in Iraq. President Bush delivered a rousing defense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Tuesday, mixing faith and foreign policy as he told a group of Christian broadcasters […]
We talked the other day about presidential candidates and foreign policy expertise. There are basically two categories: less experienced candidates who emphasize judgment, vision, and temperament (such as Obama this year, and Bill Clinton in ’92), and more experienced candidates who emphasize expertise, knowledge, and background (such as Joe Biden). Hillary Clinton has gone to […]
I would have been more than content to avoid further comment on John McCain’s outreach and embrace of anti-Catholic, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, and anti-Semitic televangelist John Hagee. The media collectively decided to give McCain a pass, the senator made a half-hearted effort to distance himself from some of Hagee’s comments, and McCain critics had no […]
The entire dynamic is tiresome. An associate of one of the Democratic presidential candidates says something intemperate, the other campaign is “Outraged!” and calls for resignations and dismissals fly. Both sides insist these dust-ups are character tests for the rival candidate. The “umbrage wars,” as John Dickerson calls them, began in earnest 13 months ago […]
By any reasonable measure, last week wasn’t Barack Obama’s best ever. He lost primaries in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island; he lost his top foreign policy advisor; and his intention of ending the nominating contest fell far short. Hillary Clinton narrowed Obama’s lead among pledged delegates by about 10, and claimed a new sense of […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Spitzer-Watch 2008 will continue, at least until tomorrow: “Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who has spent much of the day considering his options following allegations that he was linked to a high-priced prostitution ring, will not resign his office on Tuesday, according to a person involved in discussions with the governor.” […]
We’ve all seen Hillary Clinton’s “3 a.m.” ad. We’ve also seen Barack Obama’s response ad. And the parodies of both. It seemed as if, over the course of just two weeks, there wasn’t much else to say about the whole exchange. But Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson considers the ad from a perspective I hadn’t considered. […]
For quite a while, CENTCOM Commander Adm. William Fallon has not exactly been diligent about reading Republican talking points, especially when it comes to Iran. Right around the time the White House was blustering about “World War III,” Fallon said publicly, “[G]enerally, the bellicose comments are not particularly helpful.” Worse, from the Bush gang’s perspective, […]
The Brookings Institute’s Michael O’Hanlon, a high-profile supporter of the war in Iraq, has his op-eds published in major newspapers more than any human being should. Ilan Goldenberg noted that O’Hanlon has recently made his case for staying the course four times in the NYT, three times in the WaPo, three times in USAT, and […]