I suspect readers are getting tired of seeing it — I know I’m tired of writing it — but as long as the president continues to misrepresent his warrantless-search program, I feel compelled to call him on it. And since his latest defense was featured in such a high-profile setting last night, it seems particularly […]
It was perhaps the most memorable phrase in the State of the Union, and it’s already been picked up far and wide by a soundbite-starved media: “Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.” Indeed, […]
There was an episode of The Simspons a few years ago in which Springfield faced one of its many crises. Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby called a townhall meeting and pledged to create a “blue-ribbon commission” to investigate and address the emergency. One character responded earnestly, “Did he say a blue-ribbon commission?” Prompting another to say, […]
A few readers have asked about SOTU plans for the evening, as they relate to the site. Alas, I will not be live-blogging the speech — I’ve never been able to figure out how to listen, analyze, and type simultaneously — but I thought I’d create an open thread for readers who wanted to discuss […]
There’s been plenty of controversy surrounding the Dems’ decision to give Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine the chance to deliver the party’s response to Bush’s SOTU, but Bruce Reed says it doesn’t matter, because it’s doomed to fail. Consider the inherent disadvantages. First, it’s a ten-minute rebuttal to an hour-long speech. By the time the opposition […]
The president will likely address his warrantless-search program in the State of the Union tonight, if for no other reason than to get his spin on the controversy out there in front of a very large television audience. Bush will want, of course, to try and establish the terms of the debate, which as Boston […]
The news is pretty far from my usual beat, but I noticed that the Oscar nominations came out this morning and Brokeback Mountain led all films with eight nominations, including Best Picture. Shortly after the nominations were announced, James Dobson’s Focus on the Family issued a statement to its membership. Take a guess what it […]
The Note mentioned some interesting context today for the State of the Union address from ABC News’ Polling Director Gary Langer: 1. “Partisans watch these things; rather than torturing themselves, people who don’t like the guy can just turn to another of their 100 channels. When we polled on the SOTU in 2003, we found […]
The floor vote on Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination went largely according to the script, with 58 votes for and 42 votes against. Of that small cadre of moderate, pro-choice Republicans, only Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee voted against Alito. It was, as MSNBC noted, the most partisan vote on a high court nomination in modern […]
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: * Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to cruise towards re-election, with the latest Siena College’s Research Institute poll showing Clinton ahead of former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, 58% to 31%. State Republican leaders continue […]