One of the points I’ve tried to emphasize with my ever-growing list of John McCain’s flip-flops is that this isn’t just about catching McCain with a bunch of “gotchas.” The point, rather, is to highlight McCain’s malleable principles. As Josh Marshall put it a while back, “McCain is absolutely gung-ho and certain that he’s right […]
Appeasement goes mainstream — Israel, Syria sit down for talks
I vaguely recall a time — I think it’s the period known as “before 2001” — in which the United States would play a key diplomatic role in bringing Middle East countries to the table for talks. Now, discussions like these seem to fall into the White House’s category of “appeasement.” After eight years of […]
Lobbyists start to think McCain is ungrateful for all their support
As John McCain has gone through a series of ideological shifts, so too has his approach to lobbyists. For years, McCain dealt with lobbyists the same way most lawmakers do: taking their money and offering them influence. After McCain’s role in the Keating Five scandal, for which he was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee, […]
IRS clears Obama’s Christian denomination
Federal tax law, as it relates to tax-exempt religious ministries, is pretty clear — houses of worship may not legally intervene in political campaigns, either in support of or opposition to a candidate or a party. Those that violate the law run the risk of losing their tax-exempt status. Once in a great while, unfortunately, […]
Wednesday’s campaign round-up
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Interesting tidbit from Oregon — Greg Sargent noted that Obama beat Clinton among working-class whites by a healthy margin, despite the fact that these are the same voters Obama is supposed to […]
Lieberman’s capacity to be a Republican hack knows no bounds
It’s funny, in a way. Every time Joe Lieberman gets more comfortable in the role of Republican attack dog, I think, “Well, now he’s done it. Lieberman couldn’t possibly get any worse.” And yet, the guy keeps finding new sharks to jump over. It’s not that Lieberman has changed, necessarily, but rather it’s that his […]
Obama’s GOP answer to Joe Lieberman?
In late March, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), the co-chairman of John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, raised a few eyebrows when he said he hadn’t endorsed McCain this year, and didn’t have any plans to do so. “When I endorse someone, or when I work for someone, or commit to someone, I want to be behind […]
Going down swinging, in the wrong direction
Following up on the last item, the Clinton campaign has a variety of reasons for hanging around and keeping the Democratic race going, some more compelling than others. In the meantime, though, the campaign’s worst arguments do little to build up goodwill within the party. If I’m not mistaken Terry McAuliffe just announced two new […]
Clinton sees no reason for an exit strategy
It’s hard to measure these questions with any reliable specifics, but it seems as if there’s been a relative ceasefire in Democratic circles the past couple of weeks. Hillary Clinton is still working hard, just as she has been, but it’s clear her campaign has shelved the “kitchen-sink” strategy first utilized in March, preferring not […]
After big win in Oregon, Obama ‘within reach’ of Democratic nomination
For a change, the conventional wisdom and the expectations of the political world were pretty much spot-on yesterday. Hillary Clinton cruised to an easy victory, as expected, in Kentucky, winning by a landslide margin of more than 35 points. Barack Obama also saw smooth sailing in Oregon, winning by about 16 points. None of this […]