In last night’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas, John Edwards, in one of his strongest moments of the event, highlighted how often military veterans are left behind after they serve. “Tonight across this country, 200,000 men and women who wore our uniform and served this country patriotically, veterans, will go to sleep under bridges and […]
The AP’s Ron Fournier, one of the more influential voices in the political media establishment, has a surprisingly pointed piece today, taking on Mitt Romney on the issue of “authenticity.” Mitt Romney’s victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics. The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents’ record and continued […]
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: * Barack Obama picked up a somehwat helpful endorsement in Nevada today, earning the backing of the Las Vegas Review Journal. The state’s largest newspaper wasn’t exactly complementary to any of the Dems […]
As recently as the summer, Rudy Giuliani was leading the field in Michigan’s Republican primary. As recently as early December, a Rasmussen poll showed him within two points of first place. Yesterday, the former mayor finished a distant sixth, with a pathetic 2.8% of the vote. Consider this: Giuliani not only had well under half […]
Last year, the DNC was not at all pleased when Michigan blew off the agreed-upon rules and moved its presidential primary to January 15. As part of its drive to maintain the integrity of its calendar, the DNC punished the state by stripping it of its delegates. In keeping with their commitment to play by […]
While political observers are understandably divided about who “won” last night’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas, it seems everyone who watched can come together in agreement on one underlying point: the moderators were truly awful. About a half-hour into the debate, an angry man started shouting, interrupting the event while security personnel intervened. Usually, these […]
The Democratic presidential primaries have, in recent weeks, taken an ugly, often acrimonious, turn. There have been some unusually bitter disputes about race, gender, unions, history, abortion, and the media, and one couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the campaign would get too nasty for the candidates’ own good. With that in mind, I imagine […]
Once again, the stage was set for a predictable result. John McCain had just won the New Hampshire primary, and was widely considered the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination. The next key contest was the Michigan primary, which seemed to be McCain’s kind of place — it has an open primary, McCain enjoyed a […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Subprime mania continues to take its toll: “Citigroup announced a steep cut in its stock dividend and another big investment by foreign investors on Tuesday after taking more write-downs related to subprime securities and posting a $9.83 billion loss for the fourth quarter. Beginning what is expected to be […]
After the president’s rationale(s) for the war in Iraq fell apart, the White House crafted a post-hoc rationalization for the invasion — the United States was committed, above all else, to spreading democracies and toppling dictators across the globe. For Bush, this met our idealistic goals (spreading freedom), and our practical goals (more democracy means […]