On Monday, John McCain told a town-hall audience in Denver, “Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.” A phalanx of campaign reporters were on hand to hear […]
When it came to developments on Capitol Hill yesterday, most of the attention was on the Senate’s vote on the FISA “compromise.” That’s not surprising — it was an exceedingly disappointing vote on a very bad piece of legislation. The outcome, and even the margin, was as discouraging as anything we’ve seen from Congress this […]
Even seasoned veterans, who’ve done countless interviews, sometimes forgets to watch what they say around live microphones. Take Jesse Jackson, for example. If you can’t watch the clip, and in the unlikely event you haven’t seen the clip elsewhere, Jackson was in the Fox News studio on Sunday, and privately whispered his disapproval of Barack […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Oh my: “At least six people were killed Wednesday after gunmen opened fire outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. Several armed men attacked the police post at the consulate’s entrance at around 11 a.m. local time, Turkish television channels reported. Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler said that three police officers […]
Four years ago, talking to the Council on Foreign Relations, John McCain was asked what would happen if the Iraqi government, democratically elected and sovereign, asked for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. “Well, if that scenario evolves than I think it’s obvious that we would have to leave because — if it was an elected […]
There were, regrettably, no surprises on the Senate floor today. The Senate has approved a bill overhauling the rules on secret government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telecom companies that helped listen in on Americans after Sept. 11. The Senate passed the bill Wednesday, 69-28. It turned back three amendments that would have watered down, […]
After some very encouraging comments on bankruptcy law in Georgia yesterday, Barack Obama opened the floor to some questions. Someone asked about preventing high-school dropouts and added that she believes “there should be a push more for our citizens to become bilingual here in America.” I didn’t hear the entire response, but these comments on […]
John McCain has developed a legendary reputation for affording reporters unfettered access. Now, however, his campaign has apparently decided to pursue a new strategy: avoid reporters. McCain today held a 10-minute press conference, complete with podium, microphones for the questioners, network-quality audio and a camera for a local television station, which allowed CNN to carry […]
In light of Iran’s missile test this morning, Barack Obama referred to Tehran as a “grave threat,” while also arguing that the U.S. should pursue sanctions and diplomacy instead of “over the top rhetoric.” On CBS’s Early Show, Obama added, “We’ve been combining bellicose rhetoric with not very effective action. And that’s one of the […]
I can appreciate how difficult it must be for a news outlet like the Associated Press to find new and interesting things to write about when it comes to the presidential campaign. For that matter, I can even appreciate that, once in a while, a story with a human-interest angle might help break things up […]