The NYT’s Robin Toner had an interesting piece today with this headline: “Obama’s Test: Can a Liberal Be a Unifier?” My first assumption was that this would be an analysis of Obama’s ability to put together a winning electoral coalition. Can he win independents against McCain? Could he peel off frustrated Republicans disgusted after eight […]
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: * Maybe we’ll get lucky? “Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, once so eager to debate she ran two ads questioning why her rival wouldn’t, has yet to say whether she’ll debate Sen. Barack […]
A couple of weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus touted the decline in violence in Iraq in recent months, and credited two main developments: the Sunni “Awakening” and the cease-fire called by Shiite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr. This week, the latter seems to be unraveling. A cease-fire critical to the improved security situation in […]
The ground rules seem pretty clear at this point — Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns are going after superdelegates with everything they’ve got. Pledged delegates were chosen through primaries and caucuses, voters have reasonable expectations that they will do what they’re supposed to do, and wooing them is perceived as a real no-no. […]
In January, when John McCain indicated his willingness to leave U.S. troops in Iraq for 100 years, it was the single greatest gift the Republican candidate could have given to Democrats. The biggest goals for Dems in defining the GOP nominee is that he a) represents more of the same; and b) wants to keep […]
Bloggers have been on this story for a while, but now that there’s video, and it was a slow news day on the campaign trail, it appears the rest of the media is catching up. For the Clinton campaign, that isn’t good news. As part of her argument that she has the best experience and […]
ABC News aired an interesting interview with Dick Cheney last night — it was a pleasant surprise to see the VP willing to chat with a network other than Fox News — that covered quite a bit of ground relating to Iraq. “The president carries the biggest burden, obviously,” Cheney said. “He’s the one who […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * At the breaking point in China: “One policeman was killed and several others injured in riots Monday in western Sichuan province, China’s state media reported…. Xinhua also said that 381 people involved in protests in another Sichuan county, Aba, had surrendered to police, according to local authorities.” * XM […]
Fairly early this morning, Barack Obama’s campaign released a statement on the milestone of the 4,000th U.S. military fatality in Iraq: “It is with great sadness that we have reached another grim milestone in Iraq, with at least 4,000 of our finest Americans having been killed. Each death is a tragedy, and we honor every […]
The fact that Hillary Clinton continues to fight on, despite practical hurdles that appear insurmountable, has led some to argue that she’s intentionally trying to undermine Barack Obama’s general-election prospects, possibly to improve her own chances in 2012, or to maintain the Clintons’ collective role as the leaders of the Democratic Party. Either way, the […]