At last night’s debate, Tim Russert noted that a Meet the Press guest posed this scenario: “We get lucky. We get the number three guy in Al Qaida. We know there’s a big bomb going off in America in three days and we know this guy knows where it is. Don’t we have the right […]
The conventional wisdom, which in this case isn’t entirely wrong, tells us that the Democratic candidates not named Hillary Clinton have to start taking some pointed risks in order to shake up the race. That means, among other things, taking Clinton on directly at debates. The approach is not without risk. Dem voters frequently sour […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * MSNBC: “Bomb attacks killed 57 people and wounded more than 120 across Iraq on Wednesday as suspected al-Qaida militants stepped up a campaign of violence coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In a mainly Shiite district of southwest Baghdad, twin car bombs killed 32 people in one […]
We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Far-right conservatives appear to have more of the latter than the prior, but they are good at a few things: playing the victim, making emotional appeals, raising money from gullible supporters, and most importantly, manufacturing an outrage. The left, for all of its strengths, is horrible at this. […]
The on-again, off-again resignation plans of Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) are now off-again. With just four days until his self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline, the embattled Republican now appears ready to push his departure off beyond this week. Sen. Larry Craig won’t resign from the Senate while awaiting a judge’s ruling on his effort to get […]
More than two weeks after the fact, I would have been more than pleased to ignore any further discussion of MoveOn.org’s “Betray Us” ad in the New York Times, but it appears that House Republicans, fresh off their vote denying healthcare to low-income children, have finally found something they can support. The House on Wednesday […]
Yesterday, the Senate was poised to vote on a non-binding resolution, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), to get the chamber on record supporting some aggressive language towards Iran. The measure was, as Josh Marshall described it, a building block towards an eventual military confrontation with Tehran, following the same pattern […]
In February 2003, the president was insistent that he hoped to find a peaceful solution to his standoff with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and would work with and through the United Nations to resolve the conflict. At least, that was what he was saying publicly. According to a new report published today by El Pais, Spain’s […]
Several years ago, Rudy Giuliani asked his staff to put together a “vulnerability study,” which would highlight potential weaknesses on the campaign trail. The report identified plenty of flaws, but highlighted Giuliani’s “weirdness factor.” It was an interesting choice of words — Giuliani’s own aides seem to realize that their boss is just odd. This […]
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: * According to the latest fundraising tallies, the DCCC has $22.1 million in the bank, and $3.1 million in debt, for a total of $19 million. It’s Republican counterpart, the NRCC, has $1.6 […]