You know those little lights Kerry and Bush had on their podiums last night? Kerry’s campaign, at least publicly, acted like they were going to cause a problem for their candidate. As it turns out, the opposite was true. Yesterday afternoon, the AP reported that this had become a major point of last-minute contention. Democratic […]
The polls show Americans were impressed by John Kerry last night, but many of those same Americans will be swayed by what the media say about the debate and the candidates’ performances. Fortunately, the opinions were pretty consistent here, too. Here’s a telling anecdote from The New Republic’s Ryan Lizza: The first inkling that the […]
ABC News poll: Who won the debate? Kerry 45%, Bush 36%, Tie 17% (Among self-identified independents: Kerry 48%, Bush 28%, Tie 24%) CBS News poll: Kerry 43%, Bush 28%, Tie 29% USA Today/CNN/Gallup: Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the better job in the debate? Kerry 53%, Bush […]
There was one fact I couldn’t get out of my head throughout last night’s debate. The Bush campaign’s only real demand throughout pre-debate negotiations was that the national security debate come first. The debate commission had that slated third, but BC04 was adamant. It may turn out to be the single biggest mistake Karl Rove […]
National Journal’s Chuck Todd, in setting the stage for tonight’s debate, captured the significance perfectly. As clichéd as it sounds, this is the first debate in the most important election of our lifetimes on the most important issues of the day (Iraq and terrorism) in the most important battleground state (Florida). Overdramatic? Actually, no. Tonight’s […]
It seemed odd to many that Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s address to a joint session of Congress last week would dovetail so perfectly with the Bush campaign’s message. Coincidence? No reasonable person could think so. Naturally, all of the likely suspects — Karen Hughes, Dan Senor, David Frum — denied having anything to do […]
I think the most frequent comment I receive via email asks how so many Americans, despite all we’ve learned over the last four years, can still support Bush. It’s a reasonable question that I struggle over myself. While there are a variety of explanations available, I tend to believe the most obvious one: many voters […]
In case you weren’t absolutely convinced that Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly is a vapid hack masquerading as a “journalist,” consider this quote (via Atrios and Jon Stewart) from O’Reilly’s Tuesday broadcast, before his interview with Bush was aired. “The president did not receive the questions in advance, nor were there any restrictions on what I […]
In case you missed it, the Washington Post had a good item about missile defense yesterday, but with an unhelpful headline that read, “Interceptor System Set, But Doubts Remain.” That’s an outrageously forgiving way of saying, “Ineffective System In Place, No One Thinks It Can Work.” At a newly constructed launch site on a tree-shorn […]
White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett had a classic “Michael Kinsley Moment” last week: he committed a gaffe by telling the truth. In a departure from public pronouncements about the federal budget deficit, a senior aide to President Bush said last week that the record deficits have been caused, in part, by tax cuts. Administration […]