Tuesday’s campaign round-up

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: * Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on race just wrapped up, and I’ll have a report shortly. Here’s the prepared text, which was similar, but not identical, to the delivered speech. * Interesting […]

Does anyone care about Paterson’s adultery controversy?

At a minimum, this is a little embarrassing. Just a week after Eliot Spitzer’s sex scandal, his successor publicly acknowledged having an adulterous affair several years ago. The thunderous applause was still ringing in his ears when the state’s new governor, David Paterson, told the Daily News that he and his wife had extramarital affairs. […]

The missing element of the Jeremiah Wright flap — an actual controversy

While the political world waits for Barack Obama’s speech on race in America to get underway in Philadelphia, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what, exactly, the “controversy” about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is all about. Because, at this point, I’m no longer sure. For example, John McCain appeared on Fox News late last […]

Cheney’s mendacity knows no bounds

What’s always bothered me most about Dick Cheney isn’t his dishonesty, it’s the ease with which he tells obvious and transparent lies. The VP seems to have an almost pathological disdain for veracity, and thinks so little of the public that he has no qualms about making ridiculous claims. Take Cheney’s comments at a press […]

‘Florida doesn’t want to vote again. So we won’t’

If Florida’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention aren’t seated, about 1.7 million voters who participated in the state’s primary will, in a way, be disenfranchised. If Florida’s delegates are seated, millions of Democrats who would have voted but didn’t because they’d been told in advance that their vote wouldn’t count, would also effectively be […]

Monday’s Mini-Report

Today’s edition of quick hits. * Would you believe the Dow Jones finished up today? “Wall Street ended a temperamental session widely mixed Monday after investors grappled with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s government-backed buyout of the stricken investment bank Bear Stearns & Co. The Dow Jones industrials recovered from an initial drop of nearly 200 […]

When candidates walk the ‘arrogance line’

Comedian Chris Rock used to have a bit in his stand-up routine about how running for president was the single most arrogant thing a person could do. I don’t remember Rock’s exact words, but as I recall, he’d say, “Presidential candidates look at all of these problems and think, ‘I’m the perfect person to fix […]

Clinton challenges both McCain and Obama on Iraq

I did a radio show yesterday, and the host asked me, “If you were Hillary Clinton’s top campaign strategist, what would you tell her to do right now?” I said, “Go after McCain with a vengeance.” Throwing the kitchen sink at Obama helped deliver wins in Ohio and Texas, but the campaign has not fundamentally […]

Kristol corrects — has he done Obama a favor?

Following up on an earlier item, the NYT’s Bill Kristol has added a correction to his Obama hit-job from this morning: “In this column, I cite a report that Sen. Obama had attended services at Trinity Church on July 22, 2007. The Obama camapaign [sic] has provided information showing that Senator Obama did not attend […]

A closer look at the so-called ‘Limbaugh effect’

We’ve all heard quite a bit of talk lately about Republicans crossing over to vote in Democratic primaries, largely to help Hillary Clinton, which some have started calling the “Limbaugh Effect” (the far-right blowhard has encouraged listeners to back Clinton, in the hopes she’ll undermine Barack Obama before the general election). I’ve only seen a […]