No matter how long the Democratic presidential race lasts, and how much damage it does, the saving grace for the party may very well turn out to be John McCain’s inability to speak coherently about foreign policy. If he were bright and lucid, I’d probably feel a whole lot worse about Democrats’ chances. Take his […]
Years ago, I was having a conversation with a jazz pianist who told me, “When I hit a wrong note, I keep hitting it — so the audience will think it’s intentional.” To move away from the wrong note would be a subtle admission of a mistake. About a week ago, Hillary Clinton hit the […]
First up from the God machine this week is a story that’s come up more than once over the last 30 years or so, as prominent evangelicals question their role in public life. Do they pursue the political realm to advance their agenda, or do they steer clear of politics to focus on, to borrow […]
Guest Post by Morbo Lots of articles are written about gay people, but the ones that probably most drive Religious Right leaders like James Dobson and Pat Robertson crazy are stories that portray gays as what they are – just plain folks. The New York Times Magazine ran a piece like this last week. Benoit […]
Guest Post by Morbo On Thursday the Carpetbagger wrote a post pointing out that Ben Stein appears to be going off the deep end. I’m happy to report that some conservatives have noticed as well. When I was young and still trying to sort out my political stance, one of the things that turned me […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * In today’s economy, when the news is bad, but better than expected, it’s good: “The American economy shed 20,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department said on Friday in a report that many economists took as powerful evidence that the United States is ensnared in a recession. It was […]
It’s obviously just a conversation piece, meant for water-cooler fodder, but it’s Friday afternoon, and I kind of like mulling over conversation pieces like these. London’s Telegraph likes to run occasional lists about American politics. It’s latest installment counts down the most influential political pundits in the country. With the internet revolution and the growing […]
I hesitate to even mention this, in part because it’s a classic non-story, and in part because I suspect the target of the story would much prefer that people stop talking about. But once in a while, I assume readers want to know what the political world is buzzing about and today’s topic du jour […]
The DNC’s “100 years” ad targeting John McCain drew the predictably ire of the Republican Party this week, with McCain allies arguing that McCain doesn’t want to keep the war going through 2108, he’s just willing to leave U.S. troops in Iraq there indefinitely to help maintain the peace. Now, as I noted the other […]
At first blush, there’s no obvious reason to explain why Barack Obama is, according to exit polls, struggling with Catholic voters. He’s opposed the war in Iraq; he’s presented an ambitious plan to combat global warming; he’s taken a progressive attitude on capital punishment and immigration, emphasizes “social justice,” and while he’s pro-choice, Obama has […]