Given John McCain’s record, and rhetoric, Republicans are clearly worried about how voters are going to react to the argument that McCain offers the nation “Bush’s third term.” In fact, conservatives are so worried about it, the misguided ideologues at the Wall Street Journal editorial page have decided to make a novel argument: it’s Barack […]
TNR’s Michael Crowley, commenting on the still-inexplicable Wesley Clark flap, noted today, “I do think the whole episode was bad for Obama in the short term, although if it plants seeds with MSM editors to think more critically about McCain’s military experience down the road that would be substantially mitigating.” That sounds about right. The […]
I noted a few weeks ago that there’s a new religious political action committee, the “Matthew 25 Network,” that may very well have an impact on the political scene this year, far more than any religious progressives have had in quite a while. To briefly review, the Matthew 25 Network is spearheaded by Mara Vanderslice, […]
The perception in Republican circles is that John McCain’s campaign has been slow to take advantage of various opportunities, lacks focus, and has generally been unimpressive as the general-election phase of the campaign has gotten underway over the last month. Given the intra-party grumbling, it probably shouldn’t come as too big a surprise that McCain […]
In 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign decided early on in the race exactly how they’d define John Kerry: “flip-flopper.” The charge was quickly parroted by the media, and reinforced the Republican campaign’s narrative: in the first post-9/11 election, in a time of war, we don’t want someone who’s inconsistent. Four years later, it’s the Republican who […]
Earlier this year, in a nationally televised debate, Tim Russert confronted John McCain with some of his inconvenient admissions: “You have said repeatedly, ‘I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues.’” McCain was incredulous and dismissive, “Actually, I don’t know where you got that quote from.” Soon […]
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: * If the McCain campaign wants to do more to distance McCain from Bush, it probably shouldn’t send out pictures of McCain and Bush standing side by side. * McCain blasted Barack Obama […]
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with this year’s presidential campaign is no doubt familiar with the smears directed at Barack Obama. His detractors have gone after him — and in multiple instances, simply made up trash — on any number of subjects, including his faith, his family, and his patriotism. What’s worse, there’s evidence […]
In recent weeks we’ve seen some controversies, most notably surrounding Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D), in which certain politicians received dubious mortgage discounts, thanks to personal connections. Based on the evidence, it looks like this is far more benign. Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, […]
The congressional campaign committees for both major parties create target lists of key, competitive campaigns. The idea, of course, is to find the defining contests that the parties see as vital to the strength and size of their caucuses. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has its “Red to Blue” initiative. The National Republican Congressional […]