Looking over the coverage of Hillary Clinton’s pitch this week, I can’t help but think she’s off message. Today in Philadelphia, for example, Clinton is emphasizing the need to keep the presidential campaign going. In excerpt of a speech she’s set to give to the AFL-CIO in the City of Brotherly Love, Senator Clinton says […]
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: * A new Rasmussen poll out of Pennsylvania has caused a bit of a stir, showing Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by just five points, 47% to 42%. This is down from a […]
Obama wouldn’t want his daughters ‘punished with a baby’
Over the weekend, hosting a town-hall meeting in Johnstown, Pa., Barack Obama was asked about how his administration would address HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases among young girls. Obama’s answer didn’t strike me as especially controversial, but the right seems pretty worked up about it. “When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention […]
McCain tries running on family legacy
A few months ago, there was quite a stir over whether Reagan employed a divisive Southern strategy in 1980, starting his campaign with a speech supporting states’ rights in Philadelphia, Miss. — the same town where three civil rights workers had been murdered. With that in mind, I was a little surprised to see that […]
The military plan to ‘clandestinely’ put bloggers on the payroll
For quite a while, the debate over blogs in the Defense Department was over whether U.S. troops should be allowed to have them at all. On the one hand, some officials were concerned about security breaches, with troops inadvertently sharing compromising information online. On the other, some saw blogs as a morale-boosting outlet for the […]
McCain, Obama scratch their itch, wrangle over Iraq
Last week, Jonathan Martin noted that it seemed as if Barack Obama and John McCain were “itching” to take each other on directly: “They just can’t wait to go at it.” And there is not just an appetite for blood, but some strategic political imperatives at work. In the science world, they call it “symbiotic.” […]
Monday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The lede is encouraging, the details are not: “The Bush administration Monday proposed the most far-ranging overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. The plan would change how the government regulates thousands of businesses from the nation’s biggest […]
Pennsylvania’s Rendell praises Fox News’ biased coverage of presidential race
OK, new rule. High-profile Democrats and surrogates for the Democratic presidential candidates can no longer go on Fox News and praise the Republican network for its “balanced” coverage of the horserace. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), I’m looking at you. For those of you who can’t watch clips online, the video shows Rendell, a major […]
Barack, bowling, and blue-collar voters
Jonathan Cohn made an interesting observation today I hadn’t seen before. For the last two weeks or so, as my colleagues can attest, I’ve been asking everybody I know whether they recalled ever seeing Barack Obama stand outside a factory and greet workers as they walk in for their shift. It’s one of, if not […]
Renewing the ‘presidential temperament’ question
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 […]