The Washington Post’s Dan Balz ponders seven key questions in the presidential race, and coming in at #6 is, “Do ideas matter in this election?” Joe Lieberman aide Dan Gerstein comes up with the single most Broderesque response imaginable. Dan Gerstein, a centrist Democrat and strategist, said: “The reality is both parties are brain-dead — […]
Let’s see, Sen. John Warner of Virginia is retiring, giving Democrats another key pick-up opportunity next year. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is resigning, and the DSCC is talking about making a serious run at that seat, too. Looking ahead, Dems also appear to be in a good position to pick up seats in Colorado, […]
In most interviews and press conferences, the president seems almost allergic to contemplation. Bush avoids discussion of his legacy, his previous decisions, his place in history, even what he might do after his presidency ends. Robert Draper, however, a former writer for Texas Monthly, spent hours with the president at the White House, getting Bush […]
When it comes to aides, staffers, and high-ranking officials, the Bush White House has had a reverse Midas touch. People who have reasonably good reputations before working for Bush, tend to leave humiliated. It’s as if the president’s inner circle is some kind of credibility-sapping black hole. Condoleezza Rice, for example, left Stanford with at […]
The fact that the sex scandals involving Republican Sens. Larry Craig (gay) and David Vitter (not gay) are being treated very differently has not gone unnoticed by the GOP establishment. The NYT’s Carl Hulse quoted some anonymous Republican insiders who offered an explanation. Despite such unusual steps against [Craig], Republicans took no punitive action against […]
A couple of days ago, the NYT reported that the White House “is growing more confident that it can beat back efforts by Congressional Democrats to shift course in Iraq.” It’s not because conditions in Iraq have improved, and it’s not because the president’s policy is producing results, but because the administration has “a sense […]
I’ve let my subscription lapse on Republican Talking Points Weekly, but it’s pretty obvious that the Powers That Be have a clear message in the wake of the Larry Craig scandal: this shows that the GOP means business. On Thursday’s edition of “Hardball,” for example, Tom DeLay, who inexplicably has been assigned to defend the […]
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), as expected, announced his resignation just a few minutes ago, citing his ongoing scandal as an “unfair distraction” to his constituents. He added, “I apologize for what I have caused,” though that’s just vague enough to leave ambiguities. Craig did not respond to reporters’ questions after reading his brief statement, though […]
When Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested, his first instinct was to blame the police for trying to “entrap” him. When Craig held a press conference this week to defend himself, his second instinct was to blame The Idaho Statesman for causing him undue stress. Ezra poses a hypothetical that I’ve been pondering the past […]
First up from The God Machine this week is an interesting study about religious ministries and the increasing interest in some circles about public faith-based initiatives. To hear proponents, including the president tell it, ministries deserve taxpayer-financed contracts, not to fund religion, but to get results — religious charities, the theory goes, are simply more […]