I’ve seen some suggest that Hillary Clinton’s attack ads, directed at Barack Obama, have been overly aggressive. The “3 a.m.” ad last month, and the ad featuring bin Laden this week, are in line with the kind of negative Republican ads we can expect in the fall. Or so the argument goes. In reality, right-wing […]
Autism, vaccines, and three candidates in need of a briefing
It’s pretty unusual for John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama to agree on a controversial subject. It’s even more unusual for them to agree and to contradict the available evidence, but apparently that’s the case today on the subject of vaccines and autism. I mentioned this briefly earlier, but since I did a post […]
‘Conduct waivers’ in the military — depending on the ‘conduct’
With military recruiting still struggling, the Pentagon continues to make it even easier for people with criminal records to join the military. The Army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record of legal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors to drug crimes and traffic offenses, as pressure to increase the […]
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: * The very last Pennsylvania polls to be released before voting began this morning both show Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by 10. The final Zogby tracking poll in the state shows Clinton […]
The painful task of measuring racism
The Politico’s Roger Simon has a new item that raises a depressing point that probably warrants some additional scrutiny. I was talking the other day to a prominent Republican who asked me what I thought John McCain’s strongest issues would be in the general election. Lower taxes and the argument he will be better able […]
It goes well beyond the Keating Five
When considering John McCain’s history of unethical behavior, the list usually starts (and ends) with the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s, for which McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for having shown, at a minimum, poor judgment. In the aftermath, McCain helped improve his public image, and bury the scandal, by becoming […]
Clinton’s surprising appearance on ‘Countdown’
It’s hardly unusual to think Hillary Clinton would appear on a popular, national cable talk show the night before a major primary, but her appearance on MSNBC’s “Countdown” was at least somewhat unexpected. For one thing, the Clinton campaign has done little to hide its disgust with the network’s coverage of the Democratic race, most […]
This … is CNN?
Remember, conservative activists are convinced that CNN is unfriendly territory for Republicans. That is, except for all the ones the network keeps hiring. Former White House press secretary Tony Snow will join CNN as a conservative commentator beginning Monday. CNN president Jon Klein announced that Snow, a long-time political observer with a longstanding news background, […]
Monday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * I suppose this represents some kind of diplomatic progress: “Islamist Hamas group Hamas said on Monday it would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, but it was not prepared to recognize the Jewish state. Hamas leader Khaled […]
Setting the record straight on capital gains
For all the discussion we’ve seen (and participated in) over the political trivia that dominated last week’s Democratic debate, let’s not forget that even when ABC’s Charlie Gibson was willing to ask a substantive question, he was still getting his facts wrong. Now that John McCain is repeating Gibson’s mistakes, it’s worth keeping reality in […]