Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, recently broke ranks with his White House buddies and denounced Bush’s leadership. He said he sees a president who only hears what he wants to hear, from those who know not to challenge him with competing ideas. “I think he’s become more, in my view, […]
The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times has hardly been reliable when it comes to the war in Iraq. This is not to say the paper has been consistently wrong — as far back as October 2002, the Times’ editorial board showed impressive foresight in denouncing Congress’ resolution authorizing Bush to pursue a confrontation […]
When we think about the enormous costs associated with the war in Iraq, we generally consider the deaths, injuries, hundreds of billions of dollars, the increased threat of terrorism, and the weakened international standing. But once in a while, it’s important to remember some of the underreported consequences — such as the ability to respond […]
The [tag]AP[/tag] ran an important piece over the weekend about the media generally and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann specifically that deserves to be read. I describe the article as important because it captures the broader political dynamic in exactly the wrong way. In an angry commentary on April 25, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann accused Rudolph Giuliani of […]
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: * Fred Thompson, the Republican lobbyist/senator/actor weighing a possible presidential bid, appeared at the Lincoln Club of Orange County Dinner on Friday night, with high expectations. A packed crowd thought Thompson might even […]
The politicization of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is not entirely new. Far-right attorneys suddenly were given employment priority. Career staffers were pressured out of their jobs. Cases without merit would be pushed by political appointees. All of a sudden, a department that existed to protect the integrity of the 1965 Voting Rights Act […]
Any policy discussion about reforming Medicare usually revolves around competing ideas to spend less money, promote more competition, and/or offer fewer benefits. But the Republicans’ 2003 Medicare expansion bill did something a little different — and it’s a terrific case study for how the GOP approaches policy Kevin Drum summarized the background nicely: “As part […]
Over the weekend, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney delivered the commencement address at Regent University, the fourth-tier college created by TV preacher Pat Robertson. There are a couple of angles to the story — what Romney said and to whom he said it. First, there’s what Romney told Regent’s graduating class. “There is no work […]
Over the weekend, Ayman al Zawahri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 man, released the latest in a series of bizarre videos, this time discussing his barely coherent “insights” on the war in Iraq. The video was quickly seized upon by partisans on both sides on the U.S. political divide, but one side seems wrong. I should […]
For all the talk about Dems needing to compromise with the Bush White House — Leon Panetta, we’re looking in your direction — the message from the electorate appears to be unambiguous. It’s hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American […]