Slate’s Tim Noah is doing his very best to remind everyone that the Nick Smith bribery scandal still needs an investigation. Despite Noah’s efforts, it doesn’t appear to be going well. (If you’re new to this controversy and want background, I’ve written about it a few times before.) The Lansing State Journal, a Michigan newspaper […]
When we last heard about the fight between MoveOn.org and CBS, the network had decided not to broadcast the group’s commercial about the deficit during the Super Bowl. Last week, a CBS spokesman said the decision was based on the network’s “long-term policy not to air issue ads anywhere on the network.” This explanation didn’t […]
We’ve finally winnowed the Democratic field to a slightly-more manageable seven candidates, but the two candidates with virtually no support or hopes for the future — Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich — want everyone to know they’re not going anywhere. That’s a shame. Sharpton apparently heard that Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe wants to […]
Howard Dean said something bizarre the other day that I can’t quite figure out. It seems to have gone largely unnoticed because so much of the media has obsessed over his “scream” speech from Monday night, but for me, the comment was just as troubling. Dean told USA Today that he wanted to change his […]
Though leaks about progress have been far and few between, Time has learned that a federal grand jury began hearing testimony this week in the ongoing investigation into who was responsible for leaking the identity of an undercover CIA agent to reporters, including conservative columnist Robert Novak. Time reported that, at this point, prosecutors are […]
All in all, this was a pretty dull event. Everyone was ridiculously civil, there were no fireworks, and no memorable quips from anyone. In fact, even when the panel of journalists set the candidates up to attack one another, no one took the bait. From where I sat, none of the serious candidates gained or […]
After more debates than could possibly be necessary, the seven remaining Democratic presidential candidates will meet tonight for the last debate before the New Hampshire primary. No matter what you thought of the previous 900 debates (I’m exaggerating, but not much), this one may actually have an impact on the race. Fox News will broadcast […]
I thought we were pretty much past this. Saddam Hussein’s regime was not tied to al Queda — it’s one of the few points that nearly everyone can agree on. Except Dick Cheney. The vice president was on National Public Radio this morning, where the urge to say things that are demonstrably false was apparently […]
When I think about political issues, I usually think of specific areas of policy — health care, education, the environment, etc. — and shy away from the vague areas of debate, on points such as “trust” and “values.” The prior are more substantive and easier to dissect; the latter are ambiguous and subjective. That said, […]
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bush emphasize job training in the State of the Union the other night; it’s money well spent in a nation with chronic unemployment and drastic losses in manufacturing jobs. And then I realized I had nothing to be pleased about — this is the Bush White House, where rhetoric […]