The latest NBC/WSJ poll has plenty of the usual bad news for the GOP — Bush’s approval is at 39%, Republicans are seen as more corrupt than Dems, a clear majority are concerned that warrantless searches could be misused and could violate a person’s privacy, Americans prefer a Dem-run Congress 47% to 38% — but […]
In the 2000 presidential campaign, John McCain excelled in states with open primaries — in which anyone can vote — thanks to support from independents and Dems who preferred the Arizona senator to Bush. Six years later, some Republicans are considering steps that might make McCain’s 2008 effort a little more complicated. Republicans in states […]
When the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes next week to consider the president’s warrantless-search program, one Dem member will have a really good question for the attorney general. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales misled the Senate during his confirmation hearing a year ago when he appeared to try to […]
On Day 26 of the Bush gang’s stonewall over Jack Abramoff’s White House connections, a reporter noted to Scott McClellan that there are now several Republican lawmakers who believe the White House should come clean and release the materials. McClellan, predictably, dodged, and said, “Nothing has changed.” According to an item in the Wall Street […]
I regret not having done more thorough coverage of the Senate “fight,” if we can call it that, over Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination yesterday, but my heart just wasn’t in it. The writing’s been on the wall for, well, several months now, so yesterday’s theatrics just weren’t as captivating as they could have been. […]
Part of the Dems’ message problem, it seems to me, is the too-many-balls-in-the-air problem. The party believes it needs to keep the focus on Bush’s warrantless-search program. And Abramoff. And Medicare. While also articulating a clear national security message. And a vision for how a Dem-run Congress would operate. If Dems narrow the focus to […]
The president has repeatedly emphasized his desire to see more public funds go to religious ministries to provide social services that have historically been offered through government agencies and secular non-profit organizations. It’s a drive that has some disturbing results when over $14 million goes to someone like TV preacher Pat Robertson. But Bush’s faith-based […]
Samuel Alito has the votes to be confirmed; Senate Democrats don’t have the votes to filibuster; and now that the fight is over, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) is ready to stand up for his liberal Republican principles. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI) announced this morning in Providence that he will vote against the nomination of […]
In every president’s White House, there will be reporters who want more access and officials who want less. With Bush, this is a problem that’s become intensified. It doesn’t come up as often, but photo journalists are struggling with being shutout as well. For example, under eight years of Clinton, the White House distributed 100 […]
Almost a year ago, the Washington Post ran a front-page item on pharmacists who are refusing to fill prescriptions when medications violate their “personal moral or religious beliefs.” It caused a fuss, but the scope of the issue was not altogether clear. It was a solid article, but it was vague about how serious a […]