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: * Uncommitted superdelegates seem to be falling off the fence this week in far larger numbers. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton picked up support from Puerto Rico’s Luisette Cabanas, and today she’ll get the endorsement […]
Happy Law Day
As a rule, Law Day, a ceremonial holiday since 1958, goes by largely unnoticed. It was established as a Cold War counterpart to May 1, the biggest day on the socialist calendar. Ever since, presidents have issued proclamations that went by largely unnoticed and unread. But Bush isn’t just any president, and respect for the […]
The RNC vs the DNC — ‘The shoe is on the other footage’
As part of its nearly-hysterical push-back against the Democratic National Committee’s “100 years” ad targeting John McCain, the Republican National Committee has decided to focus on where the DNC found its war images for the commercial. It’s not only an odd argument, it’s actually counter-productive for the RNC. As you’ve no doubt seen by now, […]
Voters far more concerned with Bush than Jeremiah Wright
It’s painfully obvious that major media outlets really want Americans to care deeply about the former pastor that Barack Obama has already denounced, and to a large extent, the coverage has convinced a lot of voters that the Obama-Wright association matters. But for most Americans, there’s another association that matters a lot more. Sen. Barack […]
Perino punts on Pentagon Pundit propaganda
It’s been nearly two weeks 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 […]
Clinton ventures into the Papa Bear den
Yesterday afternoon, during his radio show, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly seemed quite pleased with himself while promoting the first part of two-part interview with Hillary Clinton. “This is, without a doubt, the toughest interview she’s ever done,” O’Reilly boasted. O’Reilly’s bravado notwithstanding, it looks like the Fox News personality ended up being “tougher” on his […]
Wednesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Economic growth has almost come to a complete halt: “The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.” * Paul Krugman tackles anemic growth and the “r” word: “So, GDP […]
‘Mission Accomplished’ revisited
Five years ago tomorrow, the president stood in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner, and boasted about the end of “major combat operations” in Iraq. It continues to be a touchy subject for the White House. For those who can’t watch videos online, the clip shows White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, responding to a […]
John McCain is not an introverted shrinking violet
In his Wall Street Journal op-ed this morning, Karl Rove, who swears he’s not formally advising John McCain on his presidential campaign, suggests the Republican presidential nominee needs to do more to let people know about his personal story. It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris […]
Those mysterious robo-calls in North Carolina
We learned earlier this week that an untold number of North Carolinians, less than a week before their Democratic presidential primary, have received automated calls, suggesting they’ll need to fill out a registration form before they vote. “Hello, this is Lamont Williams,” the robo-call said. “In the next few days, you will receive a voter […]