Today’s edition of quick hits. * More discouraging economic news: “The number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest level in more than two years, fresh evidence of the damage to a national economy clobbered by housing, credit and financial crises.” * Why did the Maliki offensive […]
Who’s done more on global warming, Al Gore or John McCain?
As high profile leaders in the Republican Party go, John McCain deserves some credit for believing that the earth really is warming, and that climate change is real. When it comes to environmental policy, McCain’s votes are pretty unreliable, and his plans to address climate change are sad and thin, but at an absolute minimum, […]
Mukasey plays fast and loose with surveillance, 9/11
About a week ago, Attorney General Michael Mukasey was talking up the Bush administration’s surveillance efforts, and raised a few eyebrows when he got choked up while discussing 9/11 and telecom immunity. But as my friend Sarabeth explained to me yesterday, it was the comments right before Mukasey got emotional that are probably the most […]
It’s only the Fourth Amendment
It’s possible you’ve had your fill on secret memos written for the Bush administration by John Yoo. But just in case, you may also find it interesting to know that for over a year after 9/11, the Bush gang operated under the assumption that the “war on terror” trumped the Fourth Amendment. Seriously. For at […]
Modernizing the GI Bill — where’s McCain?
The GI Bill was instrumental in helping send a generation of U.S. veterans to college and helping create the post-WWII middle class, but the law has not kept up with the times. Whereas veterans used to be able to count on the government to pay for all of their college expenses, troops returning from Iraq […]
The wrong kind of Democratic primary
When a Democratic lawmaker is letting his or her party and constituents down, it makes perfect sense to see a spirited primary challenge. When it’s unlikely that a Republican will win the seat, it’s even better — let the better Democrat win. We’ve seen a couple of good examples lately. In 2006, of course, Joe […]
What about the VP search(es)?
He didn’t even hint about any specific considerations, but when John McCain mentioned yesterday that he is in the “embryonic stages” of picking a running mate, it was treated as big news. The senator said his list-in-the-making has “every name imaginable,” which apparently includes 20 people, and renewed speculation about who might be included 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: * Love him or hate him, I’ve never seen or heard of a Democrat who could rally this kind of financial support: “Sen. Barack Obama raised better than $40 million for his presidential […]
McCain’s elusive medical records
In 1999, during John McCain’s first presidential campaign, the senator, then 63, couldn’t have been any more forthcoming when it came to his medical history. Months before a single vote was cast, McCain instructed his campaign to release 1,500 pages of medical and psychiatric records. What’s more, journalists with additional questions were given direct access […]
Lieberman creates new imaginary foe: al Qaeda in Iran
We’ve seen more than a few instances of late in which John McCain has made comments about foreign policy that didn’t make any sense, only to have Joe Lieberman intervene, whisper in his ear, and walk the Republican presidential candidate back a bit. It’s easy to get the sense that while McCain is confused about […]