Shortly after Democrats took back the House majority in November 2006, the National Republican Congressional Committee began considering what it would take to get it back. After all, the 109th Congress was a national disgrace, but by November 2008, it would be ancient history. By last fall, the landscape was discouraging for the GOP. The […]
Earlier this week, a TPM Cafe writer had a very amusing item, urging Obama’s and Clinton’s most fervent supporters to “drop out of the race.” Noting that both have become “incredibly annoying,” the writer argued that “anything” is preferable to “your insistent and continual droning on and on about how perfect your candidate is.” It […]
About two months ago, the NYT’s Roger Cohen argued, without a hint of satire, “Nobody’s been right all the time on Iraq, but Senator John McCain has been less wrong than most.” Given that McCain’s votes, assessments, and predictions about Iraq have been consistently wrong every step of the way for six years, it seemed […]
I’ve long suspected that the right has greater success pushing culture-war issues to the fore when real issues lack political salience. Take the 1990s, for example. During a period of peace and prosperity, grassroots conservatives continued to push divisive trivia: “Gay people are scary!” “Why won’t the government do more to promote the Ten Commandments?” […]
Following up on an item from last weekend, the Washington Post, for reasons that defy comprehension, published a 1,700-word thought piece a week ago on women in America being dumb, shallow, and generally kind of pathetic. The author, Charlotte Allen, made her spectacularly dumb case, arguing that women are bad drivers, they have physically smaller […]
It was the first big election of 2008, and Republicans had every reason to feel pretty good about it. Illinois may be a reliably “blue” state, but its 14th congressional district — up until recently represented by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) — is considered a safe Republican seat. Not only have voters in […]
Barack Obama has certainly had better weeks than this one. With defeats in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island on Tuesday, and the unexpected controversy surrounding Samantha Power’s “monster” remark on Thursday, the campaign needed some good news. It got some in Wyoming today. Sen. Barack Obama captured the Wyoming Democratic caucuses Saturday, seizing a bit […]
What’s that old expression? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend? For the third time in the last four days, the Clinton camp is emphasizing, rather blatantly, the notion of a Clinton-Obama ticket. This time, it was the former president. At a small town hall meeting in Pass Christian, […]
Three days ago, CNN ran an online feature that asked, “Can Cindy McCain really be that perfect?” Today, the lead item on CNN’s Politics page shows this headline, “Fellow legislator saw little ‘bold’ about Obama.” [F]ormer Republican colleague Dan Cronin said the presidential candidate’s campaign of bold change doesn’t square with his past. “There were […]
Barack Obama got a bump in the polls after he pulled off 11 consecutive victories in February, and now Hillary Clinton is also getting a bump after winning in Texas and Ohio this week. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s primary victories in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island have revived her near-dead campaign and brought her into a […]