Yesterday, while exploring whether a center-left presidential candidate can win with a progressive policy agenda, the NYT noted: To achieve the change the country wants, [Obama] says, “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.” But this promise […]
When Freedom’s Watch burst upon the political scene in August 2007, it was part of a coordinated effort to rally support for staying the course in Iraq. The group unveiled four slick TV ads, including one featuring a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq who argued that we have to stay in Iraq because […]
Following up on an item from yesterday, Hillary Clinton, for the first time, went after Barack Obama rather aggressively on the Jeremiah Wright controversy, apparently hoping to reignite a fire that had already gone out, while at the same time, redirecting reporters’ attention away from her admittedly false claims about her 1996 Bosnia trip. Was […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * We’ll see if the Bosnia story is still dogging Clinton tomorrow, but for today, it’s still a headache: “Clinton told reporters in Pennsylvania on Tuesday that she erred in describing the scene, which she now realizes after talking with aides and others. ‘So I made a mistake,’ she said. […]
Yesterday’s fun discussion focused on whether Hillary Clinton would want Barack Obama to lose in November if he’s the Democratic nominee. I said no, Yglesias said yes, Drum said no, and Chait said the question itself is missing the more important point, but he seems to lean towards yes. Today’s question is an off-shoot of […]
It’s always the downside of any major discussion — someone ends up saying something that doesn’t make any sense. In light of Barack Obama’s speech last week on race in America, we’re apparently in the midst of a national conversation of sorts. I get the sense this is one conversation in which Lou Dobbs deserves […]
When the controversy surrounding some of Jeremiah Wright’s sermons first erupted a couple of weeks ago, the Clinton campaign went out of its way to say absolutely nothing about the story publicly. If a reporter brought it up during one of the campaign’s many conference calls, you could practically hear tumbleweeds rolling. The flap was […]
James Dobson’s Focus on the Family issued an alert to its membership yesterday with a banner headline: “Liberals Want Federal Abstinence Education Cut.” To which I thought, “It’s about time.” From the religious right group’s report: President Bush’s 2009 budget proposal includes $204 million to support Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE), but dozens of liberals in […]
The NYT’s Robin Toner had an interesting piece today with this headline: “Obama’s Test: Can a Liberal Be a Unifier?” My first assumption was that this would be an analysis of Obama’s ability to put together a winning electoral coalition. Can he win independents against McCain? Could he peel off frustrated Republicans disgusted after eight […]
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: * Maybe we’ll get lucky? “Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, once so eager to debate she ran two ads questioning why her rival wouldn’t, has yet to say whether she’ll debate Sen. Barack […]