If previous announcements hold, Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) congressional career will come to an ugly end in just nine days. But just when it seems as if he already has one foot out the door, the Idaho Republican suggests he plans on sticking around for a while. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig said Thursday that he’s […]
Democratic presidential nomination far from tied up
McClatchy’s Steven Thomma suggests the one question hanging over the Democratic presidential race as the party enters the final quarter of 2007 is, “Can anyone catch Hillary Clinton?” I think the answer is yes, but I also think Thomma is right to ask. The New York senator has combined the party’s most popular brand name […]
Giuliani: tax cuts + tax cuts = balance
On multiple instances over the last several months, Rudy Giuliani has demonstrated a lack of knowledge about foreign policy, national security, domestic policy, and constitutional law. But once in a while, the former mayor appears so confused, one really has to wonder why he’s even running for president. Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Friday […]
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), caught on tape
Given the Republican corruption scandals of the last couple of years, it’s easy to get inured to the seriousness of the controversies. After a while, names like DeLay, Cunningham, Ney, Foley, Lewis, and Burns start to blur together. Which one was Abramoff’s buddy? Which one took bribes from defense contractors? But as ongoing corruption scandals […]
Friday’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: * Asked about the Jena Six scandal in Louisiana, which drew 10,000 protestors to the small town yesterday, Fred Thompson said, “I don’t know anything about it.” It’s a phrase he seems to […]
Stumbling onto Giuliani’s open secret
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s personal life has been a mess for quite a while. No one needs to go dumpster diving to learn the details; they’re all out in the open — three marriages (including one to his cousin), repeated extra-marital affairs, left his second wife by way of a press conference (he told […]
Picking a fight over kids’ health
At yesterday’s White House press conference, the president kept things unusually brief, answering questions for 30 minutes, during which he avoided practically anything of substance. It prompted Dana Milbank to speculate as to why Bush even gathered reporters in the first place. The answer is pretty simple: Bush called a press conference in order to […]
Republicans’ gun-control fight moves to center-stage
The National Rifle Association will kick off its national convention today, and Republican presidential hopefuls are expected to promise to be the greatest friend gun owners have ever had in the White House. None of this is particularly unusual — the same thing happened in 2000, 1996, 1988, and so on. But this year is […]
Israel, the U.S., and the attack on Syria
Ordinarily, when a reporter asks the president to comment on a subject he’s not comfortable with, Bush will dodge pretty well. He’ll note his unwillingness to discuss the matter, but he’ll do so artfully (albeit unpersuasively) with some vaguely credible explanation. Yesterday, however, NBC’s David Gregory asked Bush about Israel’s bombing raid on a target […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The Jena Six controversy hasn’t generated enough national attention thus far, but this is hard to ignore: “Thousands of protesters clogged the tiny town of Jena, Louisiana, Thursday to show their indignation over what they consider unjust, unequal punishments meted out in two racially charged incidents. They swarmed over […]