Today’s edition of quick hits. * Economic growth has almost come to a complete halt: “The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.” * Paul Krugman tackles anemic growth and the “r” word: “So, GDP […]
Five years ago tomorrow, the president stood in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner, and boasted about the end of “major combat operations” in Iraq. It continues to be a touchy subject for the White House. For those who can’t watch videos online, the clip shows White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, responding to a […]
In his Wall Street Journal op-ed this morning, Karl Rove, who swears he’s not formally advising John McCain on his presidential campaign, suggests the Republican presidential nominee needs to do more to let people know about his personal story. It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris […]
We learned earlier this week that an untold number of North Carolinians, less than a week before their Democratic presidential primary, have received automated calls, suggesting they’ll need to fill out a registration form before they vote. “Hello, this is Lamont Williams,” the robo-call said. “In the next few days, you will receive a voter […]
Once in a while, I’ll hear some of Barack Obama’s detractors — from both sides — argue that he’s been lax in offering detailing policy proposals. I’ve never entirely understood the line of attack — both the Obama and Clinton campaigns have been extremely forthcoming when it comes to presenting a detailed platform, filled with […]
A couple of weeks ago, John McCain talked about the importance of increasing the size of the U.S. military. To entice more volunteers, he said, the government should focus on incentives: “[O]ne of the things we ought to do is provide [the troops with] significant educational benefits in return for serving.” A few days later, […]
The General Services Administration generally isn’t one of those departments that captures the public’s attention. The GSA is, by design, a behind-the-scenes agency — it helps other parts of the government function by managing federal contracts. In recent years, however, the GSA has found itself under the spotlight, after the White House tried to exploit […]
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: * There’s been a flurry of superdelegate endorsements over the last 24 hours. Hillary Clinton picked up the support of House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri, and Pennsylvania AFL-CIO president […]
The always-creative team of Dick Cheney and his lawyers are at it again. The lawyer for US vice-president Dick Cheney claimed [Monday] that the Congress lacks any authority to examine his behaviour on the job. The exception claimed by Cheney’s counsel came in response to requests from congressional Democrats that David Addington, the vice-president’s chief […]
That John McCain is getting a free ride from the media hardly seems controversial anymore, so it was encouraging to see the Washington Post’s Shailagh Murray concede yesterday that reporters haven’t subjected the Republican nominee to the kind of scrutiny he deserves. (via ThinkProgress) St. Paul, Minn.: Hi Shailagh — thank you for taking my […]