This morning, almost in passing, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough mentioned the national press corps covering the presidential campaign and said, “I think every last one of them would move to Massachusetts and marry John McCain if they could.” A little crude, sure, but Scarborough’s point is not without merit. Last week, for example, McCain finished fourth […]
‘There is no such thing as false hope’
After Saturday night’s Democratic debate, there was a fair amount of discussion about an exchange in which Hillary Clinton raised her voice and became quite animated while talking about her ability to be a force for change. The discussion was between those who thought Clinton helped herself by showing passion and those who thought Clinton […]
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: * After coming up short in Iowa, and struggling in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney hasn’t had too much good news lately, but he at least has one victory under his belt: on Saturday, […]
Kristol signals the end of the ‘Huckabee Panic’
At first blush, Bill Kristol’s inaugural column in the paper of record confirms the concerns of critics. It’s filled with the kind of far-right talking points that one has come to expect from the Weekly Standard editor. He laments the “nanny state”; he warns that Democrats would lead us to “defeat” in Iraq; and just […]
With 24 hours to go…
The New Hampshire primary, believe it or not, is tomorrow. The polling window between the results of the Iowa caucuses and the voting itself is fairly small, but we’ve seen quite a bit of data over the last couple of days, giving us a sense of what’s likely to happen. Let’s take a look at […]
Huckabee wants to get ‘vertical’
At Saturday night’s Republican debate, Mike Huckabee used a word he emphasizes quite a bit: “vertical.” “I think we also ought to recognize that what Senator Obama has done is to touch at the core of something Americans want,” Huckabee said. “They are so tired of everything being horizontal — left, right, liberal, conservative, Democrat, […]
Is the phone-call flap foolish or fair?
It’s only the first week in January, and we’ve only seen one actual contest, but I suspect it’s stories like this one that make a lot of political observers wish the primary season was already over. The Clinton campaign, throwing the kitchen sink, released a statement from a supporter, Sandy Keans, who got the Obama […]
I usually watch debates so you don’t have to
Well, my streak was finally broken last night. I’ve watched every nationally televised debate for the presidential candidates in both parties dating back to early last year, and the next morning, I report back. But last night, I skipped it. I’d had my four-hour fill on Saturday night, and I just couldn’t bring myself to […]
Why campaign reporters travel in packs
Jon Stewart has described the media’s style of pack journalism many times with the same analogy: 8-year-olds playing soccer. As Stewart describes it, there’s a weird clump of legs, all moving in the same direction. Suddenly the kids see a ball rolling, and the weird clump converges on it in an awkward, graceless, and rather […]
David Frum is ‘terrified’
Slowly but surely, former Bush speechwriter David Frum has been working to restore some semblance of credibility. After his White House stint — he is often credited for helping coin the “axis of evil” phrase — Frum remained a loyal Bushie in the conservative media for quite a while, until a few months ago, when […]