Update: This post has been updated, expanded, and broken down by category. I’m delighted the NYT noticed. Senator John McCain likes to present himself as the candidate of the “Straight Talk Express” who does not pander to voters or change his positions with the political breeze. But the fine print of his record in the […]
Monday’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: * Who’s likely to win in Ohio tomorrow is anybody’s guess, but Quinnipiac has Clinton leading Obama by four, 49% to 45%. Quinnipiac showed Clinton up by 11 a week ago. Zogby, meanwhile, […]
McCain is Mr. ‘No New Taxes’ — except when he isn’t
John McCain’s single biggest problem as a presidential candidate is that he’s effectively offering the public four more years of Bush/Cheney. His second biggest problem as a presidential candidate is a consistent habit of saying whatever random thought pops into his head, which he invariably contradicts shortly thereafter. Two weeks ago, for example, ABC’s George […]
Questioning whether McCain’s military experience is the right kind of experience
In general, there are two ways to challenge John McCain’s credibility on military and national security issues. The first is to concede that McCain has a fairly lengthy background in these issues, but that experience is ultimately of little value because he’s fundamentally wrong about the major challenges the U.S. faces in today’s world. We […]
McCain jumps into autism controversy, rejects science and evidence
I can appreciate that this is an emotional issue for some people, but if we limit ourselves to evidence and science, it looks like we have yet another issue in which John McCain doesn’t know what he’s talking about. At a town hall meeting Friday in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that “there’s strong […]
Did Clinton hedge on Obama-Muslim lies?
The buzz in political circles this morning seems to be this 22-second clip from Hillary Clinton’s appearance on “60 Minutes” last night, when CBS’s Steve Kroft asked for the senator’s thoughts on the lies being circulated about Barack Obama being some kind of secret Muslim. As Ben Smith noted, Clinton denied that she believes Obama […]
When the right blames the media for economic insecurities
For the last several years, the conservative line on the economy was relatively straightforward: the economy was great, but the mean ol’ mainstream media refused to tell anyone about it, in part because news outlets were obsessed with Iraq. Now, apparently, the conservative line has shifted. The economy, they say, is still great, but the […]
In defense of women everywhere
It’s literally hard to believe that the Washington Post published a 1,700-word opinion piece about women being dumb. This is, after all, the 21st century, and reasonable, sensible people like to believe feminism has made at least some strides towards equality between the genders. And yet, there it is, in black and white. Charlotte Allen, […]
So, who’s going to win on Tuesday?
A couple of weeks ago, when the Clinton campaign circled March 4 on its calendar, the thinking was that Texas and Ohio would save Hillary Clinton — they’d serve as firewall states that prevented Barack Obama from ending this contest once and for all. Big wins in these two states, where polls showed her with […]
About that presidential library…
At a press conference the other day, Bush was asked some pointed questions about plans for his presidential library at SMU: “Do you believe it’s important for the American people to know who is giving that kind of money to their President? Will you disclose the contributions as they come in? And will you place […]