I don’t want to belabor the point, but I re-read the transcript of the president’s brief South Lawn press conference yesterday, and a few of Bush’s comments about telecom immunity suggest the president doesn’t have the foggiest idea what he’s talking about. “The Senate bill will provide fair and just liability protection for companies that […]
A few months ago, when Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) endorsed Hillary Clinton, it was a key development. Lewis, a Democratic icon and civil-right legend, became Clinton’s highest-profile African-American supporter, and sent a signal to the party about Clinton’s strong connection to the African-American community. As I understand it, Lewis was, a few months prior, undecided […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * For all the complaining we do about congressional Dems caving all the time, I just thought I’d mention that over the course of one day, House Dems didn’t back down at all on Bush’s surveillance authorities and congressional subpoena power. Maybe they’re learning. * Discouraging assessment of the economy: […]
They had sparred repeatedly up until very recently, but Mitt Romney, who ended his presidential bid last week, endorsed John McCain at an event in Boston this afternoon. Those past disagreements are almost certain to be glossed over later this afternoon when Romney offers his seal of approval for McCain. But given the animosity between […]
Just to focus the last item a little more, when it comes to FISA expansion, the president and his supporters are pulling all the stops. Here, for example, was Bush in the Rose Garden this morning: “This Saturday at midnight, legislation authorizing intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor terrorist communications will expire. If Congress […]
Yesterday, the House considered a 21-day extension of the poorly-named “Protect America Act,” rather than endorse a Senate bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that broke the law by cooperating with Bush’s warrantless-search program. The measure was rejected on the floor — the right hated it (they want to give Bush permanent and […]
Last summer, Mark McKinnon, the former chief media adviser to George W. Bush, and now a top aide to John McCain’s presidential campaign, admitted that he liked Obama so much, he wouldn’t create negative ads against him if the Illinois senator became the Democratic nominee. Of course, that was easy to say at the time. […]
The far-right Washington Times, a political enterprise of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, ran an item on the front page today, under the headline, “McCain refuses to pander.” The point of the piece was to suggest McCain realizes his difficulties with the Republican Party’s base, but he won’t “pander for conservative support.” One wonders which […]
I’ll occasionally wonder if the hostility many Democrats have for Clinton strategist/pollster Mark Penn is excessive, right up until he gives another on-the-record interview and reminds me how he ended up with his reputation. As I’ve mentioned before, the problem is hardly ever with what Hillary Clinton herself says. She’s sharp, on-message, and disciplined, rarely […]
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: * AP: “Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday that as president he would spend $210 billion to create jobs in construction and environmental industries, as he tried to win over economically struggling voters. Obama’s […]