The McCain campaign and its supporters have been complaining quite a bit this week about the media directing so much attention to Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe. As Republicans see it, John McCain deserves more time in the media spotlight. It’s not at all clear, though, precisely what it is Republicans […]
Following up on the last item, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, unprompted and by name, announced yesterday that Barack Obama’s troop-withdrawal policy is right, while John McCain is wrong about “artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops.” It’s the kind of development that fundamentally changes the geo-political landscape, and creates a seemingly-insurmountable hurdle for the […]
By any reasonable measure, the debate over U.S. policy towards Iraq changed in a fundamental way yesterday. Just as importantly, the presidential campaign has experienced a game-changing moment, from which John McCain may struggle to recover. Just as Barack Obama was poised to visit Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, unprompted, announced his belief that Obama’s […]
In the aggressive new McCain campaign ad, the Republican nominee hits Barack Obama on his votes against the Bush administration’s Iraq policy. “[Obama] voted against funding our troops,” the narrator says, with the words, “Against Troop Funding” appearing on screen, in all caps. “Positions that helped him win his nomination. Now Obama is changing to […]
John McCain was for national emissions standards before he was against them. (thanks to T.D. and R.P. for the tip) U.S. Sen. John McCain backtracked Friday on a pledge to set national auto emissions standards that would supersede those California and other states want to set. “I guess at the end of the day, I […]
After former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) explained his belief that he lives in a “nation of whiners,” because Americans are unsatisfied with the state of the economy, the McCain campaign scrambled to argue that Gramm’s opinion does not reflect that of the Republican presidential nominee. Soon after, we were told that Gramm would no longer […]
First up from the God machine this week is a poll that didn’t get a lot of attention, but was actually pretty important. A Quinnipiac University national poll released on Thursday covered quite a bit of ground when it came to “culture war” issues, and perhaps most importantly given the recent campaign discussion, produced some […]
When Americans were asked in 1993 about whether U.S. troops should be able to serve, even if they’re gay, a majority (55%) were opposed to the idea. About eight years later, in 2001, public opinion had already shifted a great deal — 62% of Americans supported gays serving openly in the Armed Forces, while 35% […]
Americans have a clear choice in the election. On the one hand, we have a candidate who wants a flexible, 16-month withdrawal policy from Iraq, shaped by conditions on the ground and in consultation with commanders on the ground. On the other hand, we have a candidate who wants the status quo to continue indefinitely, […]
For the last several years, anytime high-profile U.S. officials arrive in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s described as a “surprise” visit. No matter how many times these officials go to the countries, or how long their stay, it’s always a “surprise.” There’s no real mystery here — if the arrival of VIPs were publicized, their lives […]