The Bush administration assembled a new National Intelligence Estimate focused exclusively on Iran, but Dick Cheney has been working behind the scenes to keep the information secret. Now we know why. A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, […]
Waxman seeks, White House blocks, Plame scandal docs
Earlier this year, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) invited Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to stop by the committee to discuss the Plame leak scandal and answer lawmakers’ questions. Fitzgerald declined, but offered a consolation prize: some of the documents assembled over the course of the investigation. Wouldn’t you know it, the White House […]
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: * The Des Moines Register poll showing Barack Obama taking the lead in Iowa shook up the landscape, but it’s not the only poll. The Clinton campaign is noting this morning that there […]
Why conservatives oppose universal healthcare
In a recent issue of National Review, Ramesh Ponnuru and Rich Lowry explained how Republicans can avert electoral disaster and get back on track. Conservative writers offer advice columns like these periodically, but this one included a concession we usually don’t see in print. The plain truth is that the [Republican] party faces a cataclysm, […]
Even now, Giuliani touts his ‘fiscal conservatism’
After an unusually rough week, Rudy Giuliani has apparently decided he can help get his campaign back on track by focusing on his economic beliefs. Today, the former mayor has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, though it doesn’t take too long to start noticing its flaws. Here’s the first paragraph: With economic uncertainty […]
Clinton no longer worried about appearing worried
Ah, the advantages of front-runnerdom. For months, Hillary Clinton enjoyed the benefits of having huge leads in every poll, in every state, leading her to remain largely above the fray. She had no motivation to lash out her Democratic rivals — why bother attacking a candidate who’s losing? — and could remind voters that she […]
Why Romney’s ‘religion speech’ won’t work
After months of speculation and unsolicited advice, Mitt Romney suggested a few weeks ago that he was inclined to give a major campaign speech outlining his religious beliefs and how his Mormon faith might affect his administration, but his campaign aides were against it, saying it would “draw too much attention” to Romney’s religious tradition. […]
Corporate lobbyists scramble to milk Bush for all he’s worth
The 2008 elections are 11 months away, but it’s only natural for political observers to look ahead and notice a certain trend. The narrow Democratic majority in the Senate is poised to get bigger. The same is true of the modest Democratic majority in the House. While there’s plenty of presidential-campaign wrangling left to do, […]
National Review rocked by controversy over fabricated stories
In retrospect, the National Review might have been better off not going after the Jayson Blair and Scott Thomas Beauchamp stories with so much enthusiasm. As Tom Edsall reports, the conservative political magazine has been publishing stories about events in the Middle East that were apparently fabricated. There is a growing dispute over the veracity […]
One of the other GOP sex scandals worsens
The Idaho Statesman was investigating allegations surrounding Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) sex life before the scandal broke in earnest in August, and the paper never stopped. Today, The Statesman runs a report documenting four gay men, all of whom have gone on the record, who say “they had sex with Craig or that he made […]