MoveOn.org, one of the largest grassroots membership organizations in the country, invited members to vote online to see which, if any, presidential candidate won the group’s endorsement. In 2004, a similar effort did not produce a clear winner — though Howard Dean came close — so the group remained on the sidelines. This year, it […]
Lie about Clinton spreads, truth struggles to keep up
This is exactly what I was afraid of — one instance of bad reporting quickly gets picked up by those who don’t care about the truth, and a new right-wing meme emerges. Yesterday, ABC News’ Jake Tapper misrepresented a quote by Bill Clinton to suggest that the former president believes “we have to slow down […]
Friday’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: * Just how serious were the financial troubles facing John McCain’s campaign up until recently? He took out a $3 million loan, but had to take out a special life-insurance policy in the […]
The stage is set for the showdown over FISA, telecom immunity
With the president having signed a 15-day extension of the existing surveillance law (the poorly-named “Protect America Act”), senators have finally crafted a plan on what happens next. Paul Kiel sets the stage. So, after all that, after all the back room offers and counteroffers and fear-mongering and delaying, the Senate has finally struck a […]
The death of the Bloomberg dream?
We may finally be at a point in which we can stop talking about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his subtle-but-not-really interest in launching an independent presidential campaign. There have been several reports of late indicating that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) had been one of the high-profile figures urging Bloomberg to consider […]
McCain mulled party switch as recently as ’01
Josh Marshall noted this morning,” I was wondering when this would come up. As a lot of us remember, John McCain was very close to leaving the Republican party in 2001 and becoming either a Democrat or, much more likely, an independent a la Jim Jeffords who would caucus with the Democrats. The Hill gives […]
Obama, Clinton find their new target
Yesterday, we talked about how the Democratic presidential race was poised to enter a new phase — with the race for the nomination down to the top two, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will start making the case that they can beat Republicans in general, and John McCain in specific, in a general election. I […]
I watch the debates, so you don’t have to
The last time the Democratic presidential candidates got together for a debate, it got ugly. Nasty exchanges got personal, voices were raised, and charges over Wal-Mart and Rezko were thrown around indiscriminately. The negative reaction was so intense, John Edwards sought to capitalize, running ads in South Carolina about being the only “grown-up” in the […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Yet another al Qaeda #3 goes down: “Abu Laith al-Libi, a top al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan who was blamed for bombing a base while Vice President Cheney was visiting last year, has been killed in Pakistan, according to a militant Web site. Al-Libi was a key link between the […]
Why would Giuliani be considered for a McCain ticket?
It’s hard for me to imagine what could spark this kind of speculation. On his way to California on Wednesday to officially endorse Sen. John McCain, Rudy Giuliani said he was not seeking the vice presidential nomination. […] Giuliani added that the campaign had not discussed any potential role for him beyond campaigning for McCain […]