DNC Chairman Howard Dean recently argued that, instead of waiting until the convention, superdelegates should announce their candidate preferences by July 1, which is well after every voter will have participated in every primary and caucus. Yesterday, Dean’s plan picked up some high-profile support on the Hill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday […]
McCain’s century-long problem
Democrats seem to have found the one criticism that gets John McCain angrier than anything else — bring up his comments about keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for “100 years.” Every time a high profile Dem (Clinton, Obama, Dean, et al) mentions this, he becomes enraged and insists his comments have been mischaracterized. It’s true […]
Obama shifts gears, pivots towards McCain
For the better part of the last two weeks, the burgeoning consensus in the political world was that Barack Obama has become the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination. The race would continue, but the competition was over — Hillary Clinton couldn’t narrow the gap, and would trail Obama in delegates, popular votes, and states. […]
Yoo said it
We’ve long been aware of the 2003 “Yoo memo,” written by John Yoo, then a top official in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, and the almost-laughably expansive views the memo takes on presidential authority. For that matter, we’ve also known that Yoo effectively argued that the administration could break the law on a […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * More of this, please: “Lawmakers grilled executives from the world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies Tuesday, criticizing them for taking tax subsidies and not investing in renewable resources amid record prices for oil and gasoline. ‘Americans are hoping that the top executives from the five largest oil companies […]
Fox News ratings struggling to keep up
Following up on an item from the other day, I thought it was worth noting that all three cable networks have seen their ratings go up during the presidential primaries, but among the “money demo,” Fox News is falling behind. (via TP) The political season continues to be very good to CNN, which will officially […]
Hagel wouldn’t endorse a Dem, would he?
About a week ago, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a co-chairman of John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, raised a few eyebrows when he said he hadn’t endorsed McCain this year, and didn’t have any plans to do so. “When I endorse someone, or when I work for someone, or commit to someone, I want to be […]
When Obama’s bowling score takes on political significance
The six-week gap between the Mississippi and Pennsylvania primaries is a long slog for the political world, but it seems to have taken a painful toll on our poor media personalities. As Dayo Olopade noted today, the gap has created “a ‘news’ vacuum that has essentially forced the national media into a sort of 1950s, […]
Is the Bush gang willing to deal on FISA?
Much to everyone’s surprise, House Democrats simply wouldn’t budge a month ago when the Bush administration demanded that Congress pass a permanent “Protect America Act” — with retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. The law expired, the president threw a fit, and lawmakers broke for a two-week spring recess. Throughout the debate, especially after the PAA […]
McCain’s misstatements on Iraq keep piling up
John McCain, when discussing the war in Iraq, hasn’t had any luck at all lately. He’s repeatedly been confused about al Qaeda’s and Iran’s role in Iraq; he’s publicly contradicted Gen. David Petraeus; and now he’s not quite sure who came out on top after Maliki’s failed offensive in Basra. Asked if the Basra campaign […]