This week, the NYT reported on a classified plan, which “represents the coordinated strategy of the top American commander and the American ambassador,” that foresees a significant U.S. role in Iraq for the next two years, with a goal of “sustainable security” throughout the country by the summer of 2009. The approach is called the […]
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: * John Edwards unveiled a fairly detailed tax plan this morning in Des Moines. Among the highlights: repealing tax breaks for families earning more than $200,000, raising the top tax rate on long-term […]
The AP’s Ron Fournier suggests in his latest piece that the Democratic presidential field is “snub[bing] party moderates.” Bill Clinton will be there. So will 300 officeholders from more than 45 states. But one thing will be missing when Democrats gather in Tennessee this weekend to discuss how to appeal to moderate, independent-minded voters in […]
As I’ve been told, there’s an old law-school joke that everyone learns fairly quickly: when you have the facts, argue the facts … when you have the law, argue the law … and when you have neither, bang on the table. Yesterday, after the House Judiciary Committee approved contempt citations against former White House Counsel […]
I’ve heard some talk from the punditocracy that the Democratic presidential candidates have been surprisingly nice to one another so far. Kucinich and Gravel have lashed out at the top tier with angry outbursts, which tend to be ignored, but the more competitive candidates have been getting along fairly well. I think that initial let’s-all-be-pleasant […]
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, Tony Snow actually bragged about how strong Alberto Gonzales appears after having been exposed as a corrupt, incompetent and dishonest fraud. Bush’s press secretary boasted that the Senate Judiciary Committee never “laid a glove on him.” Maybe Snow and I have different definitions of “gloves.” Does perjury count? Documents […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.) is back with a new Iraq bill that would mandate U.S. troop withdrawal begin in two months, following a vote in September. As Murtha sees it, the plan would take about a year to complete. “This is big time,” Murtha told reporters, explaining why he […]
Nutpicking: (verb) 1. the practice of trawling through open comment threads in order to find a few wackjobs who can be held up as evidence that liberals are nuts. About a week ago, Bill O’Reilly launched what might be the most high-profile nutpicking fight of all time, launching a massive offensive against JetBlue for its […]
Like Kevin, I found it hard to believe the LA Times’ Ron Brownstein is willing to take Rudy Giuliani’s “federalism” argument at face value. I thought it was a fairly transparent sham, but apparently, the former mayor has fooled at least one prominent political analyst at a major news outlet. Social issues such as gay […]
Far-right uber-activist Grover Norquist and his cohort now believe that the war in Iraq is likely to cost the GOP dearly in 2008, so they’ve crafted a plan to save the party from electoral ruin. As The Hill reported, “To assuage an angry public, the activists argue that the White House soon needs to articulate […]