Earlier this week, Ben Adler and Avi Zenilman noted, “Despite his background as a lawyer and law lecturer at the University of Chicago, Barack Obama has said little from the stump about legal issues, particularly what sort of justices he’d want on the Supreme Court, whose makeup is likely to be shaped for decades to […]
Following up on an earlier item, former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), described as John McCain’s “brain” on economic matters, and the man whose financial deregulation efforts make the market meltdown possible, told the far-right Washington Times that the economy is great; Americans just don’t realize it. Gramm said we’re in the midst of a “mental […]
As a rule, Karl Rove’s word isn’t worth much, but today he did exactly as promised — he said he’d blow off a House Judiciary Committee subpoena, and that’s precisely what he did. Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena and refused to testify Thursday about allegations of political pressure at the […]
I’ve been following John McCain for quite some time, but my single favorite McCain story of all time came in March 2007, when the senator was chatting with some reporters aboard his campaign bus. The subject turned to sexual health and contraception — and McCain hadn’t the foggiest idea what to say. Asked whether federal […]
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: * A new USAT/Gallup national poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by six, 48% to 42%. Among the key details, once again, is the enthusiasm gap: “In all, 67% of Obama supporters […]
Given economic conditions, the housing crisis, the energy market, dispiriting employment numbers, and the value of the dollar, you’d think the McCain campaign would be going to extraordinary lengths to show that John McCain a) recognizes the seriousness of the problem; and b) has a plan to help turn things around. But that’s not quite […]
On Monday, John McCain told a town-hall audience in Denver, “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.” A phalanx of campaign reporters were on hand to hear […]
When it came to developments on Capitol Hill yesterday, most of the attention was on the Senate’s vote on the FISA “compromise.” That’s not surprising — it was an exceedingly disappointing vote on a very bad piece of legislation. The outcome, and even the margin, was as discouraging as anything we’ve seen from Congress this […]
Even seasoned veterans, who’ve done countless interviews, sometimes forgets to watch what they say around live microphones. Take Jesse Jackson, for example. If you can’t watch the clip, and in the unlikely event you haven’t seen the clip elsewhere, Jackson was in the Fox News studio on Sunday, and privately whispered his disapproval of Barack […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Oh my: “At least six people were killed Wednesday after gunmen opened fire outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. Several armed men attacked the police post at the consulate’s entrance at around 11 a.m. local time, Turkish television channels reported. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said that three police officers […]