At some point, it’s not entirely clear when, the DC establishment decided that Newt Gingrich is an intellectual. He gained a reputation as a “big thinker.” He’s someone whose ideas are “outside the box.” All of this is rather silly. The former Speaker can bloviate with the best of them, and he has opinions on […]
Last week, in an eye-catching moment on the Senate floor, Barack Obama led Joe Lieberman to the back of the chamber and, according to one report, “engaged in what appeared to reporters in the gallery as an intense, three-minute conversation.” No one could hear the senators, but Roll Call noted the body language, and said […]
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: * The post-primary “bounce” is modest but noticeable for Barack Obama. Gallup now has Obama leading John McCain by six, 48% to 42%, while Rasmussen also has Obama leading by the same margin, […]
The good news is, Bush’s Justice Department offers grants to community programs to address juvenile crime nationwide. The bad news is, Bush’s Justice Department seems to award the grants based on political connections, not merit. There’s a program in San Diego, for example, that was ranked #2 by the DoJ in its category of prevention […]
I can’t understand it, or relate to it on any level, but I realize there are probably a few pro-choice Democrats who supported Hillary Clinton and are looking for some rationalization to justify voting for a conservative Republican who opposes abortion rights and has vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade. Columnist Froma Harrop seems anxious […]
The most common comparison John McCain faces is, of course, to Still-President Bush. The problem for the Republican presidential hopeful is that the similarities are pretty overwhelming — they agree on practically everything; they’re both conservative Republicans; and neither seems to have any intellectual curiosity or tolerance for competing ideas. The McCain campaign seems to […]
Considering how worked up John McCain gets if anyone confronts him with his “100 years” comments on Iraq, it’s odd that he continues to articulate a policy of indefinite war. The Jed Report highlighted this clip from last night’s NBC Nightly News: For those who can’t watch clips online, Brian Williams asks, “The videotape clip […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * If only this had come out sooner: “The White House had stronger ties to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff than it has publicly admitted, according to a draft congressional report released Monday. President Bush met Abramoff on at least four occasions the White House has yet to acknowledge, according to […]
I just find it hard to believe we’re still talking about this obvious nonsense. With gas prices reaching a national average of four dollars a gallon — a record high — John McCain is planning to resurrect his call for a national gas tax holiday, which became a staple of his stump speech in late […]
Remember when one of the big concerns about Barack Obama was whether he was “too nice” to withstand the Republican Attack Machine? That his above-the-fray style might not be assertive enough for a rough-and-tumble general election campaign? Those questions look almost amusing in hindsight. Two weeks ago, Obama went after John McCain pretty aggressively on […]