Glenn makes an observation that warrants repeating, far and wide. In the past two weeks, the following events transpired. A Department of Justice memo, authored by John Yoo, was released which authorized torture and presidential lawbreaking. It was revealed that the Bush administration declared the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights to be inapplicable […]
A couple of weeks ago, a growing number of political insiders were noting the similarities between John Kerry’s comment four years ago about voting for a spending bill before he voted against it, and John McCain’s remarks about his willingness to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for as long as 100 years. Mark Salter, a […]
The AP had an item the other day noting that John McCain is walking a fine line between running on Bush’s ideas and keeping some distance from a wildly unpopular president. The senator told ABC News on Monday, “The point is, I’m not running on the Bush presidency, I’m running on my own service to […]
Every Dem has to reach their own conclusion about how seriously to take senators’ 2002 votes authorizing Bush to go to war with Iraq. I try not to use the vote as a litmus test — John Kerry and John Edwards both went the wrong way on that vote, arguably for the wrong reasons, and […]
Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn’s lobbying work on behalf the Colombian government continues to be a headache for the controversial pollster. His meeting, relating to the pending Colombian trade deal that Hillary Clinton opposes, not only undermined the senator’s message, it contradicted his claims about clients with whom he’s directly engaged. In some ways, his […]
Time’s Joe Klein devotes his print column this week to Barack Obama and what Klein perceives as the senator’s “patriotism problem.” After watching Obama campaign in Pennsylvania, the columnist argues that it’s the one thing “missing” from Obama’s campaign pitch. Patriotism is, sadly, a crucial challenge for Obama now. His aides believe that the Wright […]
This isn’t an especially political story, but I was nevertheless amazed at the government’s role in — and response to — this mess. You’re not allowed to fly with more than a few ounces of shampoo in a carry-on, but you might be amazed at what airlines can get away with. In startling disclosures to […]
There’s a suspicion on the part of many Dems — including me, from time to time — that Karl Rove’s influence is felt in almost every move made by the Republican Party and its national candidates. The concerns are generally unfounded. But once in a while, Rove really might be pulling certain strings behind the […]
First up from the God machine this week is a church-state controversy I’ve been following for several years now, which I admit I find endlessly entertaining. Best of all, the controversy is going to be heard by the Supreme Court, which guarantees an enormous amount of interest. If a city allows a monument with the […]
For several weeks, the Clinton campaign has been under pressure to release the senator’s tax returns. The more she resisted, and declined to explain the delay, the greater the anticipation. For that matter, announcing that the tax records would be released late on a Friday afternoon only reinforced the notion that these returns were of […]