I’ll admit from the outset that I have unrealistic expectations for political accountability, but I’m nevertheless surprised that a) this isn’t a bigger deal; and b) John McCain is so confident about media incompetence that he’d even take the risk in the first place. John McCain says he has earned the trust of Hispanic voters […]
For quite a while, John McCain had a talking point he really enjoyed: “You know what Barack Obama really should do? He should go to Iraq and see the war first-hand.” This touched off a debate about, well, I’m not quite sure what the debate was about. Apparently, McCain and the RNC wanted voters to […]
In a new issue that will hit newsstands today, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza has an interesting piece on the political identity Barack Obama forged in Chicago. It’s 15,000 words long, and adds details and insights I haven’t seen anywhere else. But before anyone gets to the article, there’s the issue of the magazine’s cover […]
You’d think, at this point in the presidential race, that McCain campaign surrogates would be prepped on how to answer some of the easy, obvious questions, such as, “Are there any differences between Bush and McCain on economic policy?” This came up in May, when Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the second highest-ranking Republican in the […]
Following up on an item from last month, Paul Krugman had an interesting item in early June on the media’s coverage of the presidential campaign as the dominant story shifts from a heated primary race to the general election. When the focus was on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it was in the media’s interest […]
The WaPo’s Dan Eggen and Paul Kane make the case today that “the decider has become the compromiser.” Yes, apparently we’re supposed to believe that George W. Bush, arguably the most rigid and obstinate figure in American public life, has suddenly discovered the virtues of concession and conciliation. President Bush has racked up a series […]
Like Yglesias, I really have to wonder what gets into the minds of the editors of the Washington Post’s op-ed page. This item, from writer Matthew DeBord, emphasizes the virtues of the Hummer tank truck, and its 10 miles-to-the-gallon fuel efficiency. When General Motors announced that it would subject its Hummer division to what in […]
Fundraising for a presidential library has always been controversial, in part because, unlike contributions to U.S. political campaigns, donations to libraries can come from foreign sources, and are easier to conceal. But this kind of corruption is striking, even by the Bush administration’s standards. The Sunday Times reports Stephen Payne, a Bush pioneer and a […]
About a month ago, John McCain was raising money in Richmond, Va., when he brought up his search for a running mate. “We’re going through a process where you get a whole bunch of names, and ya — well, basically, it’s a Google,” McCain said. “You just, you know, what you can find out now […]
Reading the tea leaves is always difficult, but one gets the sense that Hillary Clinton’s chances of making the Democratic ticket are less than good. Barack Obama told a potential donor to his campaign that Hillary Rodham Clinton is on his list of possible vice presidential running mates, but that her husband’s status as a […]