Today’s edition of quick hits. * This morning, the McCain campaign insisted there was nothing wrong with using pictures of Gen. David Petraeus, without his permission, in their fundraising solicitations. This afternoon, McCain himself admitted the campaign was wrong and said it “will not happen again.” * As for McCain ignorance about how many U.S. […]
Given that the Bush White House prefers to pretend that the co-equal branch at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue doesn’t really exist (or, at a minimum, its oversight authorities don’t really exist), members of Congress are rarely aware of what folks in the West Wing are up to. It’s why there’s near constant talk […]
Kevin Drum recently wrote, “I’ve been reading an unusually large number of current events books lately (aka ‘books that publishers send me for free’), and although there have a couple of clunkers in the lot, several of them have been very good. I’ve been remiss in not writing them up on the blog, but at […]
In late 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court threw the political world a curveball when it ruled that gay couples should be able to get legally married. At the time, as Paul Waldman recently noted, “Republican politicians tripped over each other to predict the demise of American civilization if the marriage equality outbreak were not contained, […]
Following up on an item from this morning, John McCain told a Wisconsin audience yesterday, “I can look you in the eye and tell you [the president’s policy in Iraq is] succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul, and now Sadr city are quiet and it’s long and it’s hard and it’s […]
I was going through Ben Smith’s blog and noticed this headline: “GOP priest attacks Obama in invocation.” This struck me as problematic for a couple of reasons. First, there shouldn’t be any such thing as a “GOP priest,” just as there shouldn’t be a “Dem priest.” Priests are not supposed to serve one party or […]
Following up on an earlier item, John McCain’s decision to use a photo of Gen. David Petraeus, in uniform, without his permission, in a fundraising appeal is starting to generate some attention. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reminded those in uniform this week to steer clear of the political […]
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: * On the superdelegate front, Barack Obama picked up three new superdelegates over the last 24 hours — Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, and Boyd Richie and Betty Richie of Texas. Hillary […]
The issue of whether Barack Obama should spend more time in Iraq seems to be gaining quite a bit of media traction. John McCain and the Republican National Committee are pushing the matter pretty aggressively, and media outlets seem to perceive this as a new issue that didn’t play a role in the Democratic nominating […]
Update: There have been additional developments on this story. In the coming issue of Joint Force Quarterly, an official military journal widely distributed among officers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff writes a welcome but unusual open letter to everyone who wears an Armed Forces uniform: stay out of the political arena during […]