Back in early April, Josh Marshall asked, “Now that Hillary’s fired Mark Penn, can she now fire Lanny Davis? Please? Or ask that he be put under some sort of house arrest?” It’s not an uncommon sentiment, though the Clinton campaign can’t fire Davis; he’s not actually on staff. He’s just a very vocal campaign […]
I genuinely believed, foolishly, that one of the unintended side benefits of the media’s fascination with Jeremiah Wright is that no one, anywhere, could still possibly believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim. After all, everyone in the country got to see a whole lot of Obama’s Christian pastor and his Christian church. Sure, there […]
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 very last primaries in the Democratic nominating race are one week from today, when voters in Montana and South Dakota head to the polls. On ABC’s “Good Morning America,” George Stephanopoulos […]
Last week, after reports surfaced that radical televangelist John Hagee had described Hitler as fulfilling God’s will, John McCain, who had wooed Hagee for a year, had seen enough. After touting Hagee’s endorsement, and campaigning alongside him, McCain announced that he now “rejects” Hagee’s support. But what about Joe Lieberman? It was Lieberman, of course, […]
Almost immediately after securing the Republican presidential nomination in March, John McCain visited the White House for a get-together with the man he hopes to replace. Thanking Bush for his endorsement, McCain was effusive with praise for the president. “I’m very honored and humbled to have the opportunity to receive the endorsement of the president […]
One gets the distinct impression that Bush and McCain, both of whom announced their unyielding opposition to a bipartisan expansion of the GI Bill, are a little touchy on the subject. Given how wrong they are, I guess this isn’t especially surprising. Yesterday, the New York Times published a hard-hitting editorial questioning the White House’s […]
Every time John McCain aims low in his increasingly belligerent campaign rhetoric, I think about an item Time’s Joe Klein wrote about a month ago. Klein, a McCain admirer, predicted that McCain would avoid the cheap and pathetic style of campaigning we’re seeing now. McCain, Klein said, “sees the tawdry ceremonies of politics — the […]
It is with a heavy heart that I mention that Ed Stephan, one of the Carpetbagger community’s most trusted and admired friends, died over the weekend. Ed first emailed me four years ago, letting me know about a fascinating report on war casualties. He quickly became someone I turned to for advice, insights, and a […]
It looks like the column of the day comes by way of the NYT’s Paul Krugman, at least with regard to the piece everyone is talking about. There are plenty of competing opinions out there, but I thought I’d add my two cents. Krugman gets started arguing that Hillary Clinton got a raw deal on […]
There’s been quite a bit of buzz about Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), and the likelihood that she would be considered for Barack Obama’s shortlist of running mates. As a rule, I think Sebelius would make a fine choice. Not perfect, of course, but her positives easily outweigh her negatives. One of the catches, though, […]