I realize that criticizing David Brooks’ New York Times columns has become something of a parlor game among blog writers, one which I usually ignore, but today will be an exception. Brooks’ column was so bizarre today, I just can’t help myself. The column notes that the Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow over the […]
I guess we should be glad that Richard Clarke’s wife is not an undercover CIA agent. The smear machine is in full gear and there’s no telling what Bush’s lackeys might do next. The fact that the White House has to defend itself from criticism from former aides is not unpredecented, but the reaction this […]
Is it me or has Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) been unusually good lately? While Joe Lieberman was dismissing the charges brought against the White House by Richard Clarke, Hagel had the good sense (and non-partisan courage) to state the obvious. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said he believes the White House has to respond directly to […]
I just got an email from Hillary Clinton on behalf of John Kerry. It sure sounds like she’s supporting Kerry’s campaign enthusiastically. I appreciate having this opportunity to talk with you about something that’s important to both of us — the 2004 presidential election. You and I share a strong desire to put John Kerry […]
This may seem unimportant to those of us outside of Alaska, but the state’s Senate race this year will likely play a critical role in determining which party controls the chamber next year. It’s hard to see a scenario in which the Dems can get to 51 without picking up this heretofore GOP seat. Fortunately, […]
When Marilyn Musgrave’s proposal for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was unveiled, one of the many areas of debate focused on civil unions. Some backers of the “Federal Marriage Amendment” insisted the text would allow states to create civil union statutes on their own, while others said the language would do the opposite. […]
Richard Clarke, among others, has made it clear that Bush was negligent before 9/11 and careless after 9/11. But what about on 9/11? I realize in some circles this topic is more than taboo; it’s practically heresy. But a report in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal offered a detailed critique about a day that “remains shrouded […]
Just to follow up for a moment on the last post about the Medicare cost cover-up, there’s one other thing that doesn’t make sense to me. Doug Badger, Bush’s senior health policy adviser, seems anxious to paint himself as completely out of the loop when Scully and Foster were disagreeing about what to do with […]
I mentioned last week that I thought the Dems on Capitol Hill were taking their collective eye off the ball a bit in expressing their pleasure with an HHS internal investigation into the Medicare cost cover-up. Dems were demanding Tommy Thompson launch a probe, Thompson did, and the Dems sounded happy. This struck me as […]
The Gadflyer’s Amy Sullivan, whom I usually really like, seems to have kicked off a bit of a firestorm with her provocative essay last week on progressive constituencies. As Amy herself noted over the weekend, she apparently “touched a nerve.” There were plenty of things in her original column that I think were fair and […]