Last week, Barack Obama indicated that, despite previous talk to the contrary, he’s prepared to opt out of the public-financing system in the fall, should he win the Democratic nomination. There’s some debate as to whether Obama actually pledged to stay in the system, but in either case, John McCain, hoping to pressure Obama to […]
At this point, Democrats everywhere are pretty familiar with the Senate caucus’ “Lieberman Problem.” Aside from his problematic votes and rhetoric, Joe Lieberman wants, apparently more than just about everything, to be the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. If Harry Reid denied him the gavel, Lieberman would leave the party, […]
A few weeks ago, Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter raised the notion of a fallback job for Hillary Clinton, if the whole presidential campaign didn’t quite work out: governor of New York. Alter’s pitch was sound, if not altogether persuasive, noting that Gov. David Paterson (D) is off to a rough start, and some executive experience in […]
A couple of weeks ago, The Nation’s Chris Hayes noted, “I was just on a conservative talk radio show where the host accused the Obamas of being Marxists. Really! I told him I spend my whole time on the left and I literally know one Marxist. One! It’s a fascinating trope of conservatism that despite […]
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: * The significance of the “bitter” remarks is based largely on how the public perceives them. At this point, the initial reaction for Obama isn’t encouraging for his campaign: “A new Rasmussen poll […]
What a pleasant surprise; the Associated Press has made note of John McCain’s political ideology. The independent label sticks to John McCain because he antagonizes fellow Republicans and likes to work with Democrats. But a different label applies to his actual record: conservative. The likely Republican presidential nominee is much more conservative than voters appear […]
Every Saturday night, I check in on the “Meet the Press” homepage to see who’s going to be on Sunday morning. Most of the time, it’s a panel of political reporters, political spin doctors, and occasionally some combination therein. I’m invariably relieved, knowing I can safely skip the episode and do something else with my […]
Atrios raised a very good point over the weekend, which captures an important aspect of the presidential campaign: “95% of the time in politics, all that matters who is perceived as playing offense and who is perceived as playing defense. The details are usually irrelevant, although occasionally such things backfire. If you can get the […]
I’ve marveled for years at the apparent corruption and incompetence in Bush’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, but the Washington Post ran a disconcerting front-page item yesterday explaining that mismanagement and criminal investigations arguably weren’t the most offensive part of Bush’s HUD. In late 2006, as economists warned of an imminent housing market collapse, […]
When Faith in Public Life first scheduled a forum weeks ago for the presidential candidates, it sounded like it was going to be a pretty compelling event. While not a debate, per se, the event would press the candidates specifically on issues relating to compassion, morality, and culture in a way that most forums usually […]