About a year ago, it became painfully obvious that the president started lying about al Qaeda in Iraq as part of a cynical approach to bolstering support for the war. While that was hardly unexpected, the more noticeable problem was that the media started playing along with the White House’s scheme, and began characterizing everyone […]
Questioning the patriotism of those who do wear flag-pins?
How stupid has the flag-pin nonsense become? Karl Rove told a national television audience that Barack Obama’s argument is that, “If you wear a flag lapel pin, you’re not a true patriot.” He did not appear to be kidding. We’re clearly well past the point at which Rove can jump the shark, but for goodness […]
Why the ABC debate sparked so much outrage
I had thought there was something of a consensus in Democratic circles about Wednesday night’s ABC-sponsored debate in Philadelphia. Dems hated it because Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos spent most of the debate obsessing over trivia and process, and when they got around to substance, they framed the questions in conservative ways. Republicans loved the […]
Senator Hothead
A couple of months ago, Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, one of John McCain’s conservative Republican colleagues and a man who’s worked with McCain for years, raised serious doubts about McCain’s temperament. “The thought of him being president sends a cold chill down my spine,” Cochran said. “He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses […]
‘Do you feel better off?’
The Democratic National Committee launched its first television ad of the general election campaign today. (It first aired this morning on ABC’s “This Week,” where John McCain was the featured guest.) It’s a doozy. I like it. Coupled with the first ad from Progressive Media USA, it helps define McCain as someone who not only […]
‘The Torture Sessions’
It’s kind of the New York Times editorial board to notice. Ever since Americans learned that American soldiers and intelligence agents were torturing prisoners, there has been a disturbing question: How high up did the decision go to ignore United States law, international treaties, the Geneva Conventions and basic morality? The answer, we have learned […]
Lieberman is not ‘with us on everything but the war’
The NYT notes today that the Democratic leaders in the Senate are aware of the disgust and disappointment over Joe Lieberman, but they’re not especially concerned about it. There is much speculation that the Democrats will run Mr. Lieberman out of their caucus (he now sits with Democrats and votes with them on most issues […]
Puppets of the Defense Department
Over the course of the last five years, the public debate over the war in Iraq has been driven in part by retired military commanders who seem to be ubiquitous, with dozens having been hired by television networks as analysis and commentators. They speak with the authority that comes with their experience, but too often, […]
McCain decides to change the meaning of the word ‘earmark’
John McCain has an earmark problem. I don’t mean a problem with earmarks; I mean an earmark problem. It includes confusion over what an earmark is, how much they cost, and whether he actually likes them or not. To briefly recap, McCain, presenting hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts this week, said the […]
McCain sees ‘great economic progress’ under Bush
It’s encouraging to see someone jump on this. Three days before the Pennsylvania presidential primary, Senator Barack Obama barely mentioned his Democratic rival here today, but rather criticized Senator John McCain’s assessment of the American economy. “John McCain went on television and said that there has been great progress economically over the last seven-and-a-half year […]