As a rule, Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, has generally been considered a “team player” in his party. He hasn’t always been quite as conservative as some of his rank-and-file colleagues, but on the big issues, Davis has always stood toe to toe with his Republican caucus. It’s why he was rewarded a few […]
Bush’s economic talk is ‘too far afield of reality’
The president spoke to the Economic Club of New York on Friday, delivering a speech that was apparently intended to help reassure the markets and investors that the Bush administration is aware of the economic downturn, and is prepared to take steps to address the problem. I think it’s safe to say that Bush came […]
When it comes to foreign policy, ‘Who is the real John McCain?’
In the midst of an unpopular military campaign, one senator took a firm stand for troop withdrawal, regardless of conditions on the ground. He insisted that waiting for democracy to “flourish” is folly, and America would be better served if locals were to “police themselves.” Asking American military personnel to prevent violence between one group […]
When a president answers the phone at 3 a.m.
After John McCain and Hillary Clinton both ran campaign ads touting their abilities to answer the White House phone at 3 a.m. and deal with an unknown crisis, it’s become one of the more talked about facets of the campaign. But exactly how often does a president get a 3 a.m. call, and what’s expected […]
Iowa Dems gather, give Obama another delegate boost
After the Iowa caucuses in early January, we saw tallied results that showed Barack Obama picking up 16 delegates. That number, though, was actually a projection of expected results when the Iowa Democratic Party met for its state convention. As it turns out, Obama ended up doing even better. Democrat Barack Obama expanded his fragile […]
Superdelegates, if they choose to, can end the process
Shortly after Super Tuesday, DNC Chairman Howard Dean sounded a relatively optimistic note, noting his belief that Dems will have a nominee “sometime in the middle of March or April.” If not, Dean said, he intended to “make some kind of an arrangement.” Well, it’s the middle of March, and road ahead still looks awfully […]
When candidates keep their tax returns secret — no, not that one
Putting aside whether it’s an effective political strategy, one of the side debates of the Democratic presidential race has been about transparency and disclosure. Barack Obama has released his tax returns and a list of every earmark he’s ever requested; Hillary Clinton has declined, thus far, to do either. The issue hasn’t exactly reached Ferraro […]
Obama sits down with papers, sets record straight on Rezko
I’ve never been especially moved by Barack Obama’s Rezko controversy. As far as I can tell, there was some quid, but nothing in the way of quo. After quite a bit of scrutiny, over a long period of time, there still didn’t appear to be much in the way of evidence pointing to any specific […]
Kristol wants to re-engage in a debate over Saddam’s terror ties
As was widely reported this week, the Pentagon has prepared a new report on non-existent ties between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s regime. The document is the culmination of an exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Not surprisingly, officials discovered what we already knew — […]
The mystery that is Chris Matthews
I’ve often wondered what is a professional talking head does all day. For example, what’s Chris Matthews’ schedule like? He’s on the air, arguing and pontificating, quite a bit, but what about when he’s not in front of the camera? As a media professional covering a presidential race, Congress, a war, and various political controversies, […]