Guest Post by Morbo Just in time for back to school, I was pleased to see the latest issue of “Harper’s” run an article on one of my favorite themes: dumb attacks on public education. Peter Schrag’s piece, “Schoolhouse crock: Fifty years of blaming America’s educational system for our stupidity,” makes several important points. We […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, announced yesterday that he no longer shares the president’s vision for a democracy in Iraq. “You’ve got a culture where democracy is not part of, ‘Let’s go there,’ ” Hoekstra said. “It was a stretch.” He insists […]
Fourth-string White House spokesperson Gordon Johndroe hosted a brief press gaggle today from Crawford Middle School. It was fairly mundane, except for this exchange. Q: Is it still administration policy that the U.S. commitment in Iraq is not open-ended? JOHNDROE: I think the President has made it clear that he eventually would like to see […]
I had a great idea for a post this morning. I was going to explain how conservative supporters of the president’s Iraq policy were making fools of themselves by arguing that recent successes against al Qaeda in Iraq were a result of the surge. I was really looking forward to pulling the post together — […]
With over-the-counter contraceptives having been available in this country for several decades now, it seems like the right’s culture warriors would focus their attention elsewhere. After all, in 2007, are there still national political figures are seriously going to speak out against birth control? Apparently, yes. In an item that most of my favorite blogs […]
Following up on an item from yesterday, it may seem like inside poll that former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has hired a powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House, but the more details that emerge, the more interesting this story gets. Christina Davidson reports today that Robert Blackwill, president […]
There’s nothing wrong with a presidential speechwriter using quotes, with citations, to jazz up a speech, but it’s important that the citation make sense. Speechwriters learn not to quote embarrassing sources or to take quotes out of context, because, especially when writing for the president, you will get caught. Regrettably, the Bush gang is not […]
Sen. Hillary Clinton has spoken quite a bit this week about the war in Iraq, and raised eyebrows with two comments in particular. In the first instance, I think she was slammed unfairly. In the second, she probably went a step too far. On Monday, Clinton told the VFW’s national convention, “We’ve begun to change […]
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: * In the latest in a series of similar announcements from House Republicans, Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) said yesterday that he will not seek re-election next year. He’s the fifth GOP incumbent this […]
In the very first sentence of his latest column, Charles Krauthammer explains, “After months of surreality, the Iraq debate has quite abruptly acquired a relationship to reality.” Given that we’re talking about Krauthammer, whose appreciation for “surreality” is practically limitless, the reader knows immediately that this column is going to be painful. The latest report […]