When I think about political issues, I usually think of specific areas of policy — health care, education, the environment, etc. — and shy away from the vague areas of debate, on points such as “trust” and “values.” The prior are more substantive and easier to dissect; the latter are ambiguous and subjective. That said, […]
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bush emphasize job training in the State of the Union the other night; it’s money well spent in a nation with chronic unemployment and drastic losses in manufacturing jobs. And then I realized I had nothing to be pleased about — this is the Bush White House, where rhetoric […]
It seemed a little odd at first. In November, the Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, and Fox News’ Sean Hannity suddenly “obtained” an unsent memo from Democrats on the Senate Judciary Committee. The memos proved slightly embarrassing, documenting how and why Dem senators were working with progressive political organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund […]
While I’m sure the White House would love nothing more than to see Congress, the Justice Department, and everyone else forget all about the illegal leak of an undercover CIA agent, the story is nevertheless managing to stay in the news. The New York Times reported today that a group of former CIA agents, who […]
Going through Bush’s State of the Union address, it’s hard to pick out the single most deceptive and cynical manipulation of the truth. There’s just so much to choose from. But in light of some excellent analysis from Kevin Drum, I think there’s some consensus building around this: “Unless you act, Americans face a tax […]
A month ago, a Zogby poll in New Hampshire was released, showing Howard Dean in the lead with a whopping 42%, Kerry a distant second at 12%, and Clark in single digits at 9%. At the time, I foolishly said, “The question isn’t whether Dean will win, it’s how much he’ll win by.” (Note to […]
Speaking of the State of the Union, Bush appears to have missed a key opportunity Tuesday night. Presidents usually use the SOTU, particularly in an election year, to lay out a popular agenda that puts the opposition on the defensive and strikes a chord with the public. Bush appears to have done the opposite this […]
I saw this, thought it was hilarious, and decided to share it with you. Addressing the WMD issue in the State of the Union the other night, Bush said the following: “[T]he Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations.” […]
I talked a bit yesterday about how Dean fell apart in Iowa, but I wanted to expand a bit on figuring out why he did so poorly. It’s no trivial matter — if Dean can fix his problems, he can still recover and win the nomination; if not, he’s toast. On paper, Howard Dean seemed […]
Slate’s Explainer feature, usually written by Brendan Koerner, raised a really interesting question yesterday: Where do campaign war chests go when candidates quit? I’ve always wondered about that, but never knew the details. Dick Gephardt, for example, withdrew yesterday with millions of dollars left his campaign accounts. Even after paying off some debts, he’s still […]