Following up on an item from yesterday, “60 Minutes” aired a very compelling report late night, highlighting an awkward reality for our war-time military: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” mandates that gay servicemen and women who are open about their sexual orientation have to be discharged and thrown out of the armed forces. But recruiting difficulties, […]
Federal judge smacks down White House log secrecy
For several years now, White House visitor logs have been a major point of contention with the Bush gang. About a year ago, for example, when Dick Cheney insisted that his visitor logs remain classified, the WaPo sued the administration for access. A federal judge eventually ruled that the logs were public information, prompting Cheney […]
Lieberman drinks the McCain Kool Aid
Following up on yesterday’s news, Joe Lieberman officially endorsed John McCain today at an event in New Hampshire. The former Democrat carefully stuck to the Arizona senator’s campaign message. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Monday crossed party lines to endorse GOP Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for president, calling him the candidate who can best unite the […]
Today’s the day on telecom immunity, FISA
After extensive wrangling and behind-the-scenes positioning, the Senate is poised to vote on a revised FISA bill, which, at this point, includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated with Bush’s warrantless-surveillance scheme. The White House has made its position clear. Two months ago, President Bush made a strong argument for updating a law which […]
Monday’s political 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: * Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), one of Congress’ most right-wing members, endorsed Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign. It gives Thompson a much-needed boost in Iowa, where he’s been running fourth. (Apparently, there was some […]
Snow prefers Iranians to U.S. college professors
On the one hand, I realize that American college professors, in general, are featured prominently on the list of conservative boogeymen. They’re all a bunch of ivory-tower eggheads, we’re told, who were drug-addled hippies in the 1960s. Worse, they’re poisoning the minds of our youths, the argument goes, by teaching college students a bunch of […]
Bob Kerrey’s provocative choice of words
Criticisms of Barack Obama from Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been pretty tough the past several weeks — up to and including discussion of his teenaged drug use — but neither Clinton nor any of her associates have been willing to take on the bogus Muslim email myth. When two Iowa officials were caught disseminating the […]
The rich are getting richer — faster
One of the more common laments of conservative Republicans is that the economy has been great under Bush, but the president just doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Despite steady growth, ungrateful Americans consistently say they disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy, and add that they perceive these “boom” days as sluggish and challenging. […]
The education of David Frum
Slowly but surely, former Bush speechwriter David Frum has been working to restore his credibility. After his White House stint — he is often credited for coining the “axis of evil” phrase — Frum remained a loyal Bushie in the conservative media for quite a while, until a few months ago, when ht started to […]
Lieberman to endorse McCain
Marc Ambinder and Mike Allen are both reporting this afternoon that Joe Lieberman will appear in New Hampshire to endorse John McCain’s presidential campaign. A source familiar with the endorsement said that the two will appear of NBC’s Today Show tomorrow morning and at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. The endorsement could help […]