What do we know about the status of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) “compromise” legislation, currently pending in the Senate? As of yesterday, we know quite a bit. We know, for example, that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid feels obligated to move the bill to the floor, but he’s not going to vote for […]
Following up on an item from yesterday, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson launched a fairly aggressive offensive against Barack Obama on the religious right leader’s radio show, accusing the senator of “dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.” Yesterday afternoon, Obama responded to the criticism. Barack Obama said Tuesday that evangelical leader James Dobson was […]
Over the weekend, Newsweek released the results of a national poll that showed Barack Obama leading John McCain by an eye-opening 15 points. Given that most recent national polls showed Obama’s lead more in the low-to-mid single-digit range, it was easy to assume the Newsweek numbers were just an outlier. But when two major, reliable […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Reuters: “Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday defied mounting pressure from both inside and outside Africa to call off Friday’s presidential election, saying he had a legal obligation to go ahead.” * Bloodshed in Sadr City: “Two U.S. soldiers and two American civilians working for the U.S. government were […]
I’ve heard a lot about how superstitious John McCain is, but I’m a little surprised that he’d tell the building that houses his campaign offices to redo their elevator labels like this. (via Mark Kleiman) For the lowdown on McCain’s economic plan, we turn to Doug Holtz-Eakin, the bearded, balding former director of the nonpartisan […]
With a couple dozen House Republicans retiring this year, GOP leaders are counting on them to cast cost-free, party-line votes this election year. It’s not working out the way the leadership hoped. As far as Boehner & Co. are concerned, they can understand when a vulnerable incumbent in a competitive district breaks party ranks. Plenty […]
The “gas-tax holiday” proposal was a bust. The coastal drilling plan is a fraud. Anything else in John McCain’s bag of tricks in the way of an energy policy? Actually, yes. In the 18th century the British offered a £20,000 prize to anyone who figured out how to calculate longitude. More recently, Netflix offered a […]
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but it appears the Justice Department, throughout Bush’s two terms, flagrantly and repeatedly broke the law by politicizing the hiring process. Yes, I know we knew that before, but the DoJ’s Inspector General has made it official. Justice Department officials over the last six years illegally used “political or […]
Delivering a speech on energy policy in California this morning, John McCain emphasized the importance of pragmatism. “Energy efficiency is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue. A smarter use of energy is part of a critical national effort to regain control of our own energy future. And in this effort, practical […]
Two months ago, the Washington Post’s Richard Cohen noted in passing that John McCain has “fudged and ducked and swallowed the truth on occasion.” Cohen, however, said McCain deserved a pass because he had “understandable” reasons for his mendacity. And what, pray tell, were these “understandable” reasons? Cohen didn’t say. They were just, ipso facto, […]