The presidential campaign process usually includes an odd irony — while being a presidential candidate seems to automatically raise one’s stature, the process also makes the candidates appear small. Flaws become exaggerated, minor gaffes become major news stories, innocuous conduct is spun into controversies by a hungry media, policy positions divide supporters, and microscopic scrutiny […]
The good news is, an outside expert, who works for neither Congress nor the White House, will try to recover some of the Bush gang’s missing emails. The Senate Judiciary Committee requested the independent consultant and today the White House agreed. Of course, there’s a small catch. On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, […]
At this point, it’s probably a little too easy to highlight the war-related flaws in a Charles Krauthammer column, but Krauthammer’s latest was so entertaining, I can’t myself. By the day, the debate at home about Iraq becomes increasingly disconnected from the realities of the war on the ground. The Democrats in Congress are so […]
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but telling teenagers not to have sex apparently doesn’t stop them from having sex. A long-awaited national study has concluded that abstinence-only sex education, a cornerstone of the Bush administration’s social agenda, does not keep teenagers from having sex. Neither does it increase or decrease the likelihood that if […]
What have we learned over the last half-day or so about the prosecutor purge scandal? Plenty. * We learned a couple of weeks ago that the White House considered a proposal to fire all 93 U.S. Attorneys. Yesterday, NPR explained why: “NPR now has new information about that plan. According to someone who’s had conversations […]
First up from the God Machine this week is an odd flap about Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee extending Easter wishes to Christians, which ended up bothering a variety of conservative evangelicals. Late last week, shortly before the holiday, the DNC celebrated Easter with a brief statement from Dean. “Easter Sunday is a […]
Guest Post by Morbo What exactly does Pope Benedict XVI believe about evolution? No one seems to know for sure. Some comments he made on the topic last September have just been published in a new German book, but they haven’t shed much light on the matter. Media reports about this have been all over […]
Guest Post by Morbo Every now and then, folks in a red state do something surprising. Consider Utah, for example. States don’t come much redder than Utah, where socially conservative Mormons account for 70 percent of the population. They vote reliably for the Republican Party. As the Carpetbagger noted recently, 71 percent of them went […]
Guest Post by Morbo If there is justice in the universe, Oprah Winfrey will one day be held accountable for her crimes, which are legion. Winfrey’s daily program is seen by millions, and her monthly magazine adds to her reach. She has been called the most influential woman in the world. Winfrey has incredible power […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Best wishes go out to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) after a serious car accident last night left him in critical condition. All the news today about his condition was discouraging. The crash broke the governor’s leg, six ribs, his sternum and a vertebra. The AP noted that […]