Bush’s Social Security plan could be the miracle Dems have been waiting for

For years, Social Security was supposed to be the “third rail” of American politics — the one no wanted to touch. George W. Bush treaded gently into this area in the 2000 campaign, emphasizing (without details) his desire to privatize the system by allowing workers to invest money in private accounts instead of the Social […]

Remember that terrorist network, the one that killed 3,000 Americans?

A few days ago, Wesley Clark called the war in Iraq a “distraction” from the real war on terror. Fox News may not have liked Clark’s choice of words, but if you want proof of how right he was, consider the first three paragraphs of this article from today’s Philadelphia Inquirer: With al-Qaeda being linked […]

I wish they’d make up their mind

It’s hard to criticize the Bush administration’s Iraq policies when the White House does not appear to know what its Iraq policies are. On Wednesday, U.S. officials announced that the administration would go to the United Nations seeking another resolution on Iraq. As was reported on the front page of the Washington Post, the White […]

The MeetUp Primary — Take Two

About a month ago, I did a short tally on how the presidential candidates were doing in signing activists up for their campaign’s MeetUp gatherings. I thought it’d be interesting to return to the topic to see how the candidates were doing. Just to be clear, as I said last month, there is no such […]

Free speech for me, but not for thee

(as mentioned by TomPaine.com and the Center for American Progress) George W. Bush, speaking in London yesterday: “I’ve been here only a short time, but I’ve noticed that the tradition of free speech — exercised with enthusiasm — is alive and well here in London. We have that at home, too. They now have that […]

Confederate Flag flap isn’t hurting Dean with African-American leaders

I have to give credit where credit is due. When Howard Dean walked into a self-generated controversy over the Confederate Flag, I thought his campaign, which has struggled in winning support from African Americans, would have even more trouble courting black voters. If today’s Roll Call is any indication, Dean has done just the opposite, […]

Wesley Clark modestly leaves his best story out of his autobiography

I noticed the other day that The New Republic’s Michael Crowley was giving Wesley Clark a lot of credit for leaving an incredibly good story — that shows Clark to be a hero — out of his autobiography. I wanted to echo that praise here. The story has run in several publications, including the Boston […]

I guess being humiliated in New Hampshire wasn’t enough

There’s no kind way to say this, so I’ll be blunt. Former-New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith (R) is a bit of a nut. Always has been, always will be. During his two terms in the Senate, Smith was not only one of the most right-wing members in the chamber, he was about as right-wing as […]

Is it really the ‘Party of Clinton’ vs. the ‘Party of Dean’ in 2004?

The New Republic has a fascinating article by Ryan Lizza in this week’s issue on the under-the-radar power struggle that he believes is playing out in the race for the Democratic nomination. It’s a great read and it’s generated a lot of buzz, but I just don’t think the conclusions Lizza draws are correct. Lizza […]

Clark’s position on the Cuban embargo garners at least one more supporter

Regular readers may recall a couple of weeks ago, when I was excited about Wesley Clark’s announced position on the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. I had an interesting follow-up email I thought I’d share. To review, Clark joined his Dem rivals at a CNN/Rock the Vote candidates’ forum in Boston. A young man asked […]