I noted last week that the neocons, who had largely followed Norman Podhoretz’s and Michael Rubin’s lead in lining up behind Rudy Giuliani, didn’t need too much convincing to gravitate towards John McCain. Given that McCain was a neocon favorite as far back as 2000, the shift was predictable. And why is the neocon crowd […]
Senate backs retroactive immunity for telecoms
It seemed like a modest hurdle. The FISA bill currently under consideration in the Senate includes a ridiculous measure that extends retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that apparently broke the law in turning over information about Americans’ communications to the Bush administration. An amendment would have stripped this provision from the legislation. All we needed […]
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: * CNN reported last night that “two sources close to Al Gore tell us not to expect the former vice president to endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama any time during the […]
Three leading candidates — all of whom have had it pretty easy
Hoping to instill doubt about Barack Obama’s general-election viability, Clinton pollster Mark Penn raised an interesting point yesterday. The Clinton team moved on Monday to shift the spotlight off the candidate’s short-term challenges and focus instead on “the long run,” in the words of her senior strategist, Mark Penn. “She has consistently shown an electoral […]
No, the Obama campaign did not embrace Che Guevera
The far-right sure does find some odd things to get excited about. If you’ve perused the major conservative blogs over the 12 hours or so, you’ve no doubt seen the major-league freak-out about the Obama campaign allegedly opening an office in Texas with a Che Guevera flag. Ed Morrissey, who is usually a little less […]
The Writers Won – And So Did You
Guest Post By Thomas McKelvey Cleaver [Editor’s Note: Way back in November, when the Writer’s Guild strike first began, Carpetbagger regular Thomas McKelvey Cleaver was kind enough to write a guest post from an insider’s perspective, offering valuable insights on what the dispute is all about. Now, with the strike coming to a conclusion, Tom […]
Mitt Romney as the new ‘face of conservatism’
While in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney insisted that he did not want to return to Reagan-era policies, and when confronted on his party affiliation, he frequently reminded voters that he was an independent in the 1980s. But as a presidential candidate, Reagan became the focal point of Romney’s stump speech, as he positioned himself as the […]
Clinton campaign: ‘We can’t wait to get to March 4’
By any reasonable measure, today is a pretty important day in the Democratic presidential race. Generally called the “Chesapeake Primary,” Dems (and independents) will vote today in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Obama is considered the favorite in all three. But on the front page of the NYT today, the story isn’t about […]
Monday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * We’re going to be hearing a lot more about this: “The Pentagon announced today that it has charged six detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison with conspiring to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and that military prosecutors will seek the death penalty for each.” […]
McCain vs. Clinton, McCain vs. Obama
A few weeks ago, it seemed that the national polls offered a little something for everyone on the Democratic side of the aisle. For those who wanted to see Hillary Clinton get the nomination, there were polls showing her beating John McCain by a bigger margin than Barack Obama. For Obama supporters, there were polls […]