In 2001, Bush described his vision of a war on terrorism as a “crusade.” It quickly became a diplomatic disaster — when Muslims in the Middle East heard a Christian president talking about a “crusade,” it reinforced fears about a conquering power, bent on hegemony. Bush, thankfully, has been careful not to use the word […]
The Dems are feeling relatively confident about the ’06 midterms, but the optimism has done nothing to ease the often-intense animosity between DNC Chairman Howard Dean and DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel, whose disagreements over campaign strategy have grown so heated, they reportedly can’t even be in the same room with one another. Fortunately, yesterday, 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: * There were primary results o’ plenty yesterday. A quick rundown of high-profile, statewide races include Chafee’s victory in Rhode Island, Cardin’s win in Maryland, Clinton and Spitzer cruising in New York, Pawlenty […]
Looking at the three “major public-relations offensives” the Bush gang has launched over the last year on Iraq and national security, there are a few subtle differences, but one constant: every time the president speaks, he gets blanket media coverage. No matter how similar Bush’s comments are to every other time he’s spoken on the […]
I wish I could say I find this surprising, but it’s really just par for the course. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean sent a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman today calling on him to stop RNC-funded campaign activities that promote discrimination and endorse violence against political opponents. The letter was sent […]
If there’s an innocent explanation for this, I’m anxious to hear it. Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee are complaining that the National Security Agency has played politics in support of the secret program to intercept phone calls between alleged terrorists in the United States and abroad. On July 27, shortly after most members of […]
Yesterday’s White House press briefing included one of those classic [tag]Tony Snow[/tag] moments that just leaves me shaking my head. NBC’s [tag]David Gregory[/tag] asked the press secretary if he could “describe how it’s possible to oppose the President on the war on Iraq without emboldening the terrorists.” In other words, the White House can and […]
First, I’d like to thank The Reaction’s Michael J.W. Stickings, once again, for his terrific guest-blogging. It’s great to know I can step away for a day and leave the site in good hands. Second, I thought I’d take a moment to tell readers where I was yesterday. I wasn’t entirely clear on the ground […]
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is I’m taking an exceedingly rare day off and will be away from my desk. The good news is I’ve recruited The Reaction‘s Michael J.W. Stickings to, once again, help out in my absence. Stickings did a terrific job filling in for me in April […]
As much as it’s appropriate to use today to reflect on the last five years, it’s equally worthwhile to imagine what the last five years could have been like had our leadership had more noble, and less partisan, goals in mind. Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter devoted his Newsweek column to an “alternate” history for the today. […]