The Obamas released tax returns for both Barack and Michelle. The Clintons released returns for both Bill and Hillary. But when John McCain released his tax returns a few weeks ago, Cindy McCain’s tax documents will remain private. It’s not too hard to understand why. The McCains are extraordinarily wealthy — one might even be […]
Obama eyes May 20; Clinton won’t ‘accept’ 2,025 finish line
In less than two weeks, the Obama campaign will have claimed a majority of the pledged delegates, and depending on the circumstances, possibly a majority of the superdelegates, too. At that point, according to one report today, the Obama campaign will feel comfortable claiming victory. Not long after the polls close in the May 20 […]
Santorum rails against Bush admin’s ‘politically correct version of the truth’
Two weeks ago, several Bush administration agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, released guidelines on how U.S. officials should talk about terrorism. It’s a mistake to describe Islamic extremists as “jihadists” or “mujahedeen,” the guidelines said, just as it’s wrong to condemn “Islamo-fascism.” As the […]
New York Republican joins the sex-scandal club
It’s been a while since the Republicans had a sex scandal. We had Mark Foley’s page scandal in ’06, David Vitter’s prostitution problem and Larry Craig’s bathroom incident in ’07, but it’s been a little quiet lately. Indeed, the last few sex scandals have been Dems (Gov. Spitzer in New York, State AG Dann in […]
Thursday’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: * We haven’t heard too much superdelegate news this morning, but late yesterday, Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) threw his support to Hillary Clinton, citing her success in his home district. (Later, however, Ellsworth’s […]
Playing fast and loose with the FEC
If you’re just joining us, the Federal Elections Commission has effectively ceased to function, due to a dispute over nominees between the Bush White House and Senate Dems. This may seem like inside-pool, but it’s an interesting example of how Republicans choose to do business these days. Here’s a quick primer. There are currently four […]
An economist emerges in support of the McCain-Clinton gas-tax holiday
In the midst of the recent debate over a “gas-tax holiday” over the summer, the Huffington Post tried to find a single economist who thought the idea had merit. There were none. Last weekend, George Stephanopoulos asked Hillary Clinton to name an economist who supports her proposal and she responded by saying she doesn’t trust […]
Unfortunate racial talk creeps back into Democratic campaign
Hillary Clinton still clearly hopes to make a case to the Democratic Party that she’d be the strongest candidate in a general election, but I have a hunch she’d like to take this one back. “I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she said in an interview with USA TODAY. […]
‘Maverick’ McCain? Not when it counts
The Arizona Republic thought it might be a good idea to scrutinize John McCain’s voting record a bit, and consider whether his media-driven “maverick” reputation holds up. Take a wild guess what they found. Over the years, Sen. John McCain has publicly condemned Republican Party leaders and occasionally voted against the GOP on selected issues. […]
A ‘quiet consensus’ emerges in Democratic circles
Hillary Clinton’s campaign hasn’t given the slightest indication that she’s thinking about withdrawing from the race. No slow-down in the schedule, no anonymous leaks about heated discussions, no rumors about a graceful exit. Nothing. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell said on the “Today” show yesterday that Clinton is “ready to give up.” Given what we’ve seen over […]