Today’s edition of quick hits. * Iraq’s most intense fighting in several months: “Amid heavy clashes between government forces and Shiite Muslim militants in Baghdad and the southern port city of Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an ultimatum Wednesday demanding that the militias surrender their weapons within 72 hours. Radical cleric Muqtada […]
It doesn’t sound like Clinton’s going anywhere anytime soon
In case there was any doubt at all about Hillary Clinton’s intention to keep fighting for the Democratic nomination, as long as it takes, the senator made her objectives clear in an interview with Time’s Mark Halperin. When Halperin asked about her “most likely path to victory,” given the very high hurdles in front of […]
One good thing about a prolonged primary fight
At this point, finding the good side of the Democrats’ prolonged nomination fight is awfully difficult. I imagine voters in Oregon and Kentucky, for example, are pleased that their votes will be sought after in late May, so for them this is marginally good news, but for the party overall, this has grown tiresome, frustrating, […]
Chris Wallace backpedals on Fox News criticism
It was probably the most-watched segment Fox News has aired in months. Last Friday, “Fox and Friends” host Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Gretchen Carlson spent the better part of the morning demonizing Barack Obama over the “typical white person” flap, mainly by removing the quote from context. Enter “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace. […]
The inability to define ‘victory’
If the typical question for a war supporter is, “How much longer do we stick with an ineffective policy in Iraq?” the typical response is, “Until we achieve victory.” War supporters labeled themselves the “Victory Caucus” a while back. When John McCain talks about his support for Bush’s Iraq policy, he insists we need to […]
Expect to hear this phrase a lot: The ‘Tonya Harding Option’
Way back in March, Carpetbagger regular Jim Benton encouraged the Clinton campaign to “stop with the Tonya Harding tactics.” Apparently, it’s a comparison that’s catching on. Jake Tapper reports: I just spoke with a Democratic Party official, who asked for anonymity so as to speak candidly, who said we in the media are all missing […]
Wednesday’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: * No word yet on whether James Carville will compare her to Judas: “U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, one of Washington’s 17 Democratic superdelegates, isn’t ready to shift her allegiance from Sen. Hillary Clinton […]
Housekeeping note
We’ve had a few technical troubles here at Carpetbagger HQ, and the nice folks at Hosting Matters were kind enough to move the site to a new server. Unfortunately, this caused a few problems, including some missing comments. I’m very sorry; there was nothing I could do. (This is also why there was no post […]
The ‘most liberal senator’ myth continues to linger
Yesterday, while exploring whether a center-left presidential candidate can win with a progressive policy agenda, the NYT noted: To achieve the change the country wants, [Obama] says, “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.” But this promise […]
Freedom’s Watch makes its move
When Freedom’s Watch burst upon the political scene in August 2007, it was part of a coordinated effort to rally support for staying the course in Iraq. The group unveiled four slick TV ads, including one featuring a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq who argued that we have to stay in Iraq because […]