When John McCain talks about the U.S. counter-terrorism efforts, he identifies “radical Islamic extremism” as the principal problem we face. When his buddy Joe Lieberman talks about the same issue, he condemns Democrats for neglecting to use phrases like “Islamist extremism” or “Islamist terrorism.” The Bush administration is weighing in on the rhetorical aspect of […]
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: * Polls out of Indiana continue to point to a close Democratic presidential primary. Selzer & Co., a regional pollster, has Obama leading Clinton by three, 41% to 38%. Research 2000 shows Obama […]
I know how tiresome it can get to play one of my favorite parlor games: “Imagine if a Democrat had said this.” But I’m trying to imagine what the response would be if, say, a host on Air America Radio told listeners how helpful it would be to Democrats if people started a riot at […]
Barack Obama has picked up support from Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, while Will.i.am put one of Obama’s speeches to music. Hillary Clinton appeared alongside Elton John at a concert in her honor, and relies on a Celine Dion song as a campaign anthem. John McCain, well, at least he has Orrin Hatch. Not content […]
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia usually shies away from media attention, but now that he has a book coming out, and interviews might help sell his new product, Scalia is opening up a bit. He chatted with “60 Minutes” and the discussion turned to “Bush v. Gore.” Scalia’s message? Critics of the ruling should just […]
Some very strange conservative activists, apparently with far too much time on their hands, launched an initiative last November to limit U.S. troops’ access to adult materials. It never occurred to me that policy makers would take this seriously, but apparently, they are. To quickly recap for those just joining us, Congress banned sales of […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Oh my: “Sales of new homes in March plummeted to the lowest level since the housing recession of the 1990s, the government said on Thursday, as inventories rose to the highest point in more than a quarter century. Buyers vanished from the housing market last month at a swift […]
Quick quiz: what does Iraq really need? If you said “political reconciliation” or “a functioning infrastructure,” you’re not thinking with the kind of outside-the-box creativity that Llewellyn Werner is. Llewellyn Werner admits he is facing obstacles most amusement park developers never have to deal with – insurgent attacks and looting. When you are building an […]
Roll Call noted today that Senate Democrats have some legislative priorities on the calendar, which the paper described as “red meat.” The rallying cry Wednesday was, “Equal pay for women.” Next week, it likely will be “Insurance companies play fair.” And in the next month it will probably be “Gay rights.” By design or happenstance, […]
We know that both of the Democratic presidential candidates have ambitious healthcare plans. What we did not know is that congressional Dems, who expect to be in the majority next year, don’t sound especially optimistic that sweeping changes to the existing healthcare system will be possible. It is still seven months before Election Day, but […]