Probably every member of Congress has office interns, and a guide to help these interns familiarize themselves with office policies. One assumes these guides include rules and procedures on supervisors, attire, working hours, etc. But the intern instructions in Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) office offer a fascinating peek behind a pretty corrupt curtain. Capitol Hill […]
Dear Iraq, sorry the war hasn’t gone well. But now that the surge is wrapping up, we hope you won’t mind that we need several dozen permanent bases in your country. Oh, and did we mention that we’ll need you to approve some no-bid contracts for our oil companies, too? After all, what’s a few […]
We knew this “compromise” was in the works, but it doesn’t make today’s announcement any less disappointing. After more than a year of partisan acrimony over government surveillance powers, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed to a bipartisan deal that would be the most sweeping rewrite of spy powers in three decades. The House is […]
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 one way to avoid pesky questions: “After getting zinged for having a number of domestic and foreign lobbyists advising the candidate, the McCain campaign recently introduced new campaign rules barring […]
This will probably be at least mildly controversial, but I think Barack Obama made the right call this morning by announcing that he would not stay within the public financing system for the general election. The senator made the announcement in a video released earlier today. A transcript of Obama’s comments is online. He explains […]
The NYT had an item a couple of weeks ago about the Obama campaign taking the “50-state strategy” pretty seriously, including on-the-ground operations in every state and inquiring about advertising rates in 25 states, including “red” states like Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina. When it comes to “stretching” the map, how ambitious a plan are […]
Update: This post has been updated, expanded, and broken down by category. Long-time readers know that I’ve been emphasizing John McCain’s dozens of major policy flip-flops for months now, hoping that this would a) catch on as a campaign issue; and b) undermine McCain’s unearned reputation for principled stands on the issues. I’m beginning to […]
Remember the Darwin Awards? They’re the awards that go to honor those who “ensure the long-term survival of the human race by removing themselves from the gene pool in a sublimely idiotic fashion.” If there were a Darwin Awards for politics, I suspect Larry Sinclair would be a big winner. We talked a bit last […]
It’s possible John McCain and the Republican establishment sincerely believe that they will “own” national security during the presidential campaign, and that exploiting the attacks of 9/11 for partisan gain will make Dems recoil and/or furiously try to change the subject. The GOP is, therefore, very likely to be disappointed. Barack Obama isn’t going to […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The news in the Midwest is not good: “Water spilled over two levees on the Mississippi River on Wednesday, surging into west-central Illinois, covering fertile farmland and pushing residents from their homes, officials said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Mississippi Valley said water flowed over the […]