New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) has been one of the more sought after endorsements in Democratic circles over the last month or so, with aggressive lobbying from both the Clinton and Obama campaigns. It’s not hard to figure out why — Richardson is a popular governor of a key swing state, and arguably the […]
State Department snoops, peeks at Obama’s passport file
This could be an instance of a few over-eager Bush administration staffers who let their curiosity get the best of them, or it could be an instance of the Bush administration using federal resources to dig up dirt on a Democrat to help a Republican win an election. At this point, we don’t know. Two […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * I think we can pretty much forget about the Michigan re-vote: “Michigan’s State Senate adjourned Thursday without reaching an agreement to schedule a new Democratic primary on June 3. The Legislature is now on recess for two weeks, and by the time lawmakers return, it will likely be too […]
Fox News gets a little desperate for its latest Obama hit job
Conservative efforts to characterize Barack Obama as Scary Black Man 2008 have picked up considerably of late, but this Fox News piece, disseminated widely by far-right blogs, reflects a certain desperation. Barack Obama’s campaign has rejected the support of the New Black Panther Party, after removing an endorsement by the group from its Web site […]
The economic argument for ending the war
If you’re unmoved by the national security arguments against the war in Iraq, and the strategic arguments, the military arguments, the moral arguments, the personal arguments, the practical arguments, and the diplomatic arguments, there are always the economic arguments. Senator Barack Obama linked the fragile American economy to a “careless and incompetent execution” of the […]
Have reports on the death of the soundbite been greatly exaggerated?
Yesterday, Matt Compton raised an interesting point about voters’ ability to bypass the media “filter” and avoid the ills of modern soundbite journalism. Compton used Barack Obama’s speech on race in America on Tuesday as a key example. If you do a quick survey online (and ignore The Corner) the criticism, such as it is, […]
It’s one daily tracking poll, but…
This Rasmussen poll seems to be getting quite a bit of attention, bolstered in part by a big Drudge headline about McCain’s “double digit” lead. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows John McCain’s lead growing against both potential Democratic opponents. McCain currently leads Barack Obama 49% to 42% and Hillary Clinton […]
Bush admin. uses Department of Education as a GOP campaign tool
If we were making a list of the most offensive things the Bush administration has done to the federal government, the politicization of cabinet agencies would have to be in the top 10. Examples like this one just leave me shaking my head. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was in Minnesota on Tuesday to […]
Note to McCain: When you fall in a ditch, stop digging
Slowly but surely, reporters are picking up on the fact that John McCain’s confusion over Sunnis and Shia, Iran and al Qaeda, is worth a little additional scrutiny. In an interview yesterday with NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) dismissed criticism of his multiple false claims that Iranian operatives are “taking al-Qaeda into Iran, […]
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: * Barack Obama conceded to CNN yesterday that the Jeremiah Wright flap has taken a toll. “In some ways this, this controversy has actually shaken me up a little bit and gotten me […]