I can appreciate the fact that [tag]Dick Cheney[/tag] finds it embarrassing, but a year ago, he really did say that the insurgency in Iraq was in its “[tag]last throes[/tag].” “I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time,” Cheney said. “The level of activity that we see today […]
I know challenging Time’s Joe Klein has become something of a parlor game lately, and I don’t mean to pile on, but this week’s column is just, well, confusing. What can the Democrats do? They can play politics or be responsible. The political option is to embrace “cut and run”; call for an immediate withdrawal, […]
I’m still working my way through Helen Thomas’ new book, “[tag]Watchdogs of Democracy[/tag]?,” which I’m enjoying very much, and it’s encouraging to see that the veteran White House reporter isn’t pulling any punches while she promotes the book. White House legend [tag]Helen Thomas[/tag], the longtime United Press International reporter who is now a syndicated columnist […]
Just to follow up on yesterday’s discussion, there seems to be a growing consensus among Senate Dems on a phased-withdrawal plan. Congressional Democrats, seizing on public discontent over the war in Iraq, will offer legislation this week calling for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq and a shifting of forces to other nations, where […]
As part of his new-found interest in immigration policy, the president has vowed a crackdown on employers who ignore existing law and hire undocumented immigrants, under the notion that fewer job opportunities will mean fewer immigrants. But as the WaPo noted, Bush hasn’t exactly cared about this until very recently. The Bush administration, which is […]
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: * It hasn’t been publicly released, but according to the DSCC, a new Rasmussen poll show Sen. [tag]George Allen[/tag] (R) leading former Navy Secretary [tag]James Webb[/tag] (D) in Virginia by 10 points, 51% […]
If you haven’t seen it, the [tag]memo[/tag] (.pdf) from the U.S. [tag]Embassy[/tag] in I[tag]raq[/tag] on the hardships of life in Baghdad is a must-read. The document, obtained by the Washington Post’s Al Kamen, completely contradicts the “upbeat assessment” the president offered the nation about conditions on the ground, and suggests circumstances are getting worse, not […]
I’ve noted on several occasions in recent months that [tag]Barack Obama[/tag] says he’s not planning to run for [tag]president[/tag] in 2008, but when the Washington Post runs a front-page item on the possibility, the political world can’t help but notice. Obama, a first-term Democratic senator from [tag]Illinois[/tag], seems to be hitting the right notes these […]
The New York Times’s Eric Lipton had a terrific front-page report yesterday on the stunning revolving-door policies that allow several dozen top officials from the [tag]Department of Homeland Security[/tag] or the White House Office of [tag]Homeland Security[/tag] to cash in by moving to the private sector that lobbies for domestic security [tag]contracts[/tag]. While the lucrative […]
TNR’s Michael Crowley recently noted the odd relationship between Rep. [tag]Jack Murtha[/tag] (D-Pa.) and his progressive friends. Noting Murtha’s generally center/right approach to several policy issues, Crowley understandably calls the congressman an “unlikely liberal [tag]hero[/tag].” But to understand how and why progressive blogs and a blue-collar “hawk” from Pennsylvania get along so well, consider Murtha’s […]