If Barack Obama is going to catch up to Hillary Clinton — a scenario that becomes more of a challenge all the time — he’s going to have to build on what he’s done so far this year, and add a new dimension to his campaign. There’s no shortage of suggestions, but I’d argue that […]
Clinton cruising: Has the train left the station?
As a rule, national primary polls, taken more than three months before a single person casts an actual vote, are not reliable. Not only are polls from Iowa and New Hampshire far more relevant, but national data can change on a dime. In the 2004 Democratic race, Howard Dean was coasting to an easy victory, […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Today’s House hearing on Blackwater produced all kinds of interesting information. Here’s the AP’s lede: “Blackwater chairman Erik Prince vigorously defended his private security company on Tuesday, rejecting charges that his staff acted like a bunch of cowboys immune to legal prosecution while protecting State Department personnel in Iraq […]
Targeting Limbaugh’s role on Armed Forces Radio
About a week after right-wing blowhard Rush Limbaugh attacked U.S. troops who disagree with him on Iraq policy, the subject seems to have grown stale. Dems did their best to generate interest in the story, but the political establishment only seems to care when MoveOn criticizes one soldier, not when Limbaugh criticizes thousands of soldiers. […]
GOP sees business vote slipping away
For the last several decades, as nearly all political observers know, the two broad coalitions that make up the Republican Party are business interests (tax cuts, minimal regulation, free trade) and social/religious conservatives (anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-church-state separation, pro-gun). The two didn’t necessarily have much in common, but they were under the same GOP tent, and […]
Key House Dem to block war funding
In a bit of a surprise, Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said this afternoon that he would block supplemental Iraq war spending unless Bush is prepared to embrace timetables for withdrawal and longer rest times for the troops. “As chairman of the Appropriations Committee I have absolutely no intention […]
House GOP connects Blackwater, Petraeus
Given the serious scandals surrounding Blackwater’s activities in Iraq, I thought it was at least possible that congressional Republicans would take their responsibilities seriously enough to challenge the company aggressively. After all, it’s easy to create a distinction between the company’s operations and the Bush administration’s mission — there’s a clear disconnect. In fact, the […]
GOP congressman: Giuliani ‘pro-life’
Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, a staunch opponent of abortion rights and a vocal supporter of Rudy Giuliani, told TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network that the former NYC mayor would, if he were in Congress, be considered “pro-life.” He did not appear to be kidding. “In a hypothetical comparison of congressional votes, Mayor Giuliani’s […]
McCain draws far-right praise for ‘Christian nation’ comments
Of all the groups in the religious right, few have been as hostile to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as the Christian Coalition. TV preacher Pat Robertson, the group’s founder, has made no secret of the fact that he wants to make sure the GOP nominates anyone but him for president. But that was before McCain’s […]
Tuesday’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: * I’ll have more on the quarterly totals later, but for now, Hillary Clinton raised $22 million in primary funds in the last three months, outpacing Barack Obama’s $20 million. No one in […]