Rumor has it that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee hopes to be seriously considered for the VP slot on John McCain’s ticket. The reasoning, the conventional wisdom suggests, is that Huckabee is very strong with the GOP’s religious right base, which McCain a) is unpopular with; and b) will need in several competitive states. But […]
War supporters often find it tricky to praise events on the ground in Iraq. Invariably, they seem to praise war conditions in such a way that ends up embarrassing them, and undermining their point, in ways reminiscent of Baghdad Bob insisting that the U.S. “invaders” are nowhere near Baghdad. Take John McCain, for example, speaking […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * A new Michigan/Florida compromise seems to be gaining traction in Democratic circles. Under the scenario, the DNC would halve the votes for all of the Florida delegates, giving Clinton a net gain of 19, and the popular vote from the state would count. Michigan, meanwhile, would be split 50-50. […]
Yesterday, Democratic Party lawyers explained that the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, poised to meet on Saturday to consider whether to seat some delegates from Michigan and Florida, does not have the authority to do what the Clinton campaign wants the committee to do — reverse last year’s punishment and honor the results of the […]
When John McCain is asked how he’s substantively different from George W. Bush, the senator has a programmed response he repeats without hesitation. At the top of the list: “climate change.” Indeed, McCain, at least recently, has made his “green” credentials a key part of this early stage of his campaign. Two weeks ago, he […]
At first blush, Scott McClellan’s criticism of the Bush White House wouldn’t necessarily have anything to do with the 2008 presidential race. McClellan hasn’t had anything to do with John McCain, and most of the people McClellan calls out are not part of McCain’s campaign. But perhaps that’s an unimaginative approach. McClellan’s book apparently has […]
Once in a great while, a high-profile media personality will surprise me. Two weeks ago, it was Chris Matthews humiliating right-wing shock-jock Kevin James for using the word “appeasement” without knowing what it means. Last night, believe it or not, it was Bill O’Reilly. The Fox News personality did a segment last night on a […]
Nothing about John McCain’s outreach to radical, evangelical preachers has gone well. After securing the support of right-wing televangelists like John Hagee and Rod Parsley, the Republican presidential candidate has faced a series of headaches, with one nutty revelation about the preachers after another. Were it not for the media largely giving McCain a pass […]
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 two more of the last 24 hours, Wayne Kinney and Gail Rasmussen, both from Oregon. Hillary Clinton has not received any new superdelegate endorsements. […]
On Wednesday, Republicans collectively went completely berserk after Obama said a great-uncle had helped to liberate the Auschwitz death camp at the end of World War II. Once they realized Obama had a great-uncle who had actually helped to liberate Buchenwald, the first camp liberated by Americans, and Obama just misspoke about the Nazi camp […]