Barack Obama stopped by CNN’s “Situation Room” yesterday, and Wolf Blitzer asked about John McCain’s recent assertion that Hamas wants Obama to be president. Obama noted McCain is wrong on the substance (Obama and McCain have largely the same position on policy towards Hamas), and wrong on the style (McCain had vowed to take the […]
Marc Ambinder noted that this clip of Fox News personality Juan Williams is making the rounds in “Republican circles.” For those who can’t watch clips online, the video features Williams, on Fox News, saying, “You think about everything from campaign finance to immigration and on and there’s John McCain working across party lines. Sen. Obama […]
When considering John McCain’s history of unethical behavior, the list usually starts (and ends) with the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s, for which McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for having shown, at a minimum, poor judgment. While McCain took on the role of a “reformer” in the scandal’s aftermath, his ethical […]
At this point, the dust has settled after Tuesday’s contests in Indiana and North Carolina. What’s the state of the Democratic race? Consider an anecdote: when Barack Obama was making the rounds on Capitol Hill yesterday, he stopped by the House to visit with lawmakers and shake a few hands. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) greeted […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Relief efforts shouldn’t be this difficult: “Relief supplies from the United Nations arrived in Myanmar Thursday, but U.S. military planes loaded with aid were still denied access by the country’s isolationist regime five days after a devastating cyclone. The military junta also continued to stall on visas for U.N. […]
At a certain point, a couple of months ago, news outlets decided that Barack Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright was the single most important facet of this year’s presidential campaign, at least so far. How could a presidential hopeful have a relationship with an intemperate pastor? Who’s said nutty things? What does it say about […]
The Obamas released tax returns for both Barack and Michelle. The Clintons released returns for both Bill and Hillary. But when John McCain released his tax returns a few weeks ago, Cindy McCain’s tax documents will remain private. It’s not too hard to understand why. The McCains are extraordinarily wealthy — one might even be […]
In less than two weeks, the Obama campaign will have claimed a majority of the pledged delegates, and depending on the circumstances, possibly a majority of the superdelegates, too. At that point, according to one report today, the Obama campaign will feel comfortable claiming victory. Not long after the polls close in the May 20 […]
Two weeks ago, several Bush administration agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, released guidelines on how U.S. officials should talk about terrorism. It’s a mistake to describe Islamic extremists as “jihadists” or “mujahedeen,” the guidelines said, just as it’s wrong to condemn “Islamo-fascism.” As the […]
It’s been a while since the Republicans had a sex scandal. We had Mark Foley’s page scandal in ’06, David Vitter’s prostitution problem and Larry Craig’s bathroom incident in ’07, but it’s been a little quiet lately. Indeed, the last few sex scandals have been Dems (Gov. Spitzer in New York, State AG Dann in […]