At this point, reporters really are building up expectations for the media firestorm that John McCain will face. Eventually. During a Washington Post online discussion today, a questioner wondered why Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is running close to Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in polling despite “discontent” with the direction of the […]
The dubious reliability of running-mate polls
A couple of the new national polls out today point to a lot of Dems who seem to think Hillary Clinton would be a fine running mate. The latest numbers from Gallup point to a majority of rank-and-file Dems who like the idea of an Obama/Clinton ticket. A new Gallup poll shows 55 percent of […]
Hagee backpedals, expresses ‘regret’ for anti-Catholic bigotry
John Hagee, a televangelist sought out by John McCain for political support, has repeatedly gone after the Roman Catholic Church, calling it, among other things, “the great whore” and “a false cult system.” As of today, Hagee feels bad about it. John Hagee, the controversial Evangelical pastor who endorsed John McCain, will issue a letter […]
Lieberman’s antics do not go by unnoticed by Dem leadership
About a month ago, Joe Lieberman explained that he’s open to delivering the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in September. “If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will,” Lieberman told The Hill. (His remarks came just days after Lieberman […]
Tuesday’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: * I’ve been trying to keep up with superdelegate announcements over the last 24 hours, and if my count is right, Obama has picked up seven, including this morning’s endorsements (Sen. Daniel Akaka […]
‘GMA’ reports that Obama ‘says he’s a Christian’
In general, I think most news outlets and journalists have been pretty responsible of late in pointing out that the nuts who insist that Barack Obama is a Muslim are wrong. We’ve seen less “he said, she said,” and more basic fact-checking. This one’s easy — Obama’s a Christian. Anyone who says otherwise is just […]
Pentagon Pundit propaganda produces political peril
It’s been nearly a month since the New York Times first reported on a Pentagon program in which retired military officers, who’ve since become lobbyists or consultants for military contractors, were recruited to become propaganda agents of the Bush administration. Throughout the war in Iraq, these retired officers — or “message multipliers,” as they were […]
Obama expands lead over McCain, the ‘age issue’ lingers
The new Washington Post/ABC News poll is chock full of interesting tidbits to mull over. Most notably, in light of the past week’s events in the Democratic presidential race, it appears that Barack Obama is largely where he wants to be. As the Democratic race nears the end of its primary season, with the next […]
Barr makes the transition from far-right gadfly to Libertarian candidate
Former Rep. Bob Barr, as Dana Milbank reminds us, developed a colorful reputation during his four-term tenure in the House. As a Republican candidate for the House in 1994, he rose to national attention when reports alleged that he had licked whipped cream off the breasts of two women at a charity event. As a […]
House GOP motto: when in doubt, lie
Barack Obama sat down with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss U.S. policy towards Israel, and for the first 95% of the interview, Obama offered a solid, uncontroversial position, which included effusive praise for the Jewish state. After describing some of the first times he thought about Zionism, Obama said “the idea of a secure […]