When did Ralph Reed become respectable again?

CNN likes to tell viewers, ad nauseum, that it offers “the best political team on television.” Of course, that’s just a silly slogan, and I long ago gave up on taking the claim seriously — when it hired best-selling conservative compiler Bob Bennett and plucked J.C. Watts from the world of infomercials to offer political […]

Michigan mischief with Mitt

Looking at the presidential fields, it seems only natural that Republicans would size up the Dems and consider who’d they most like to face, and who they’d least like to face, in a general election. Dems, looking at the GOP field, are doing the same thing. Now, people are often wrong about this. In the […]

Friday’s campaign round-up

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: * This is a nice pick-up for the Obama campaign: “Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will endorse Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign today, according to two sources familiar with the decision. Napolitano’s endorsement has […]

Campaign, reporters, and screw-ups — first, admit that there’s a problem

The Politico has received its fair share of abuse since its launch, but I thought this piece, from John Harris and Jim VandeHei, suggests the publication is, at a minimum, aware of the shortcomings that have befallen the Politico and other campaign journalists. New Hampshire sealed it. The winner was Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the […]

GOP banking on Bush getting more popular

The president’s abysmal poll numbers aren’t worth noting anymore; there’s just no point. He’s extraordinarily unpopular; he’s reviled around the world; and his would-be Republican successors are embarrassed to say his name in public. It’s hardly worth mentioning anymore. But U.S. News noted this week, however, that the White House is eyeing a Bush comeback. […]

Giuliani makes Bush look fiscally responsible

Even if we put aside his terrifying foreign-policy vision, his 9/11-related scandals, his lack of experience, his record of absurd exaggerations, and the questions about his character, Rudy Giuliani made it abundantly clear in September that when it comes to domestic policy, he’s a clown. Yesterday, he put it in writing. In September, Giuliani insisted […]

I used to watch debates so you don’t have to

I admit it; I have an acute case of debate fatigue. Over the last eight months, I’ve watched every single debate for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, most of which were largely the same. In an apparent bid to drive political observers to tears, news outlets and state parties have apparently decided to crank […]

Thursday’s Mini-Report

Today’s edition of quick hits. * This isn’t going away anytime soon: “The United States on Thursday lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Iran over an incident last weekend in which Iranian speedboats harassed U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf. The protest repeats U.S. complaints about Sunday’s “provocative” action in the Strait of Hormuz and […]

Racial code words rear their ugly head?

I’ve been pretty familiar with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s work for quite some time, so I’m willing to extend some benefit of the doubt here, but this was certainly a poor choice of words. A big Hillary Clinton supporter and statewide official in New York might have just given the Hillary campaign a […]

Bush’s surge policy — One year later

One year ago today, the president delivered a lengthy White House address on what was labeled the “surge” policy. It was delivered at a time when Bush had lost most of the country and a growing number of lawmakers, and when the nation learned that the president was sending more troops to Iraq, it was […]