The Carpetbagger Report

At a fundraiser in April, Barack Obama was asked, long before he’d locked down the nomination, about the kind of qualities he’s looking for in a running mate. “I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I’m not as expert on,” he said. “I think a lot of people assume that […]

Once in a while, Bob Novak can really cause a stir. Take this report from last night, for example. Sources close to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign are suggesting he will reveal the name of his vice presidential selection this week while Sen. Barack Obama is getting the headlines on his foreign trip. The name […]

George W. Bush has been exceedingly stingy when it comes to presidential pardons and commutations, issuing fewer than any modern president. But as Bush’s presidency winds down, there’s some talk about the president using his powers to help conceal some of the administration’s own transgressions. As the administration wrestles with the cascade of petitions, some […]

The conventional wisdom tells us that Barack Obama’s principal weakness as a presidential candidate is foreign policy and national security. Obama hasn’t spent a lot of time abroad; international affairs isn’t perceived as an area of his expertise; and he did not serve in the military. Obviously, then, Obama’s ongoing trip to the Middle East […]

Last Monday (July 14), the New York Times ran an op-ed from Barack Obama on his vision for U.S. policy towards Iraq. It was a very strong column, which as one might expect, described the kind of strategy Obama would pursue as president. It was far more policy driven than political — it referenced John […]

Today’s edition of quick hits. * Barack Obama’s day in Iraq seems to have gone pretty well: “Senator Barack Obama arrived in Baghdad on Monday, meeting with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and other senior Iraqi politicians, as an Iraqi spokesman said that the government was hopeful that foreign combat troops would withdraw in 2010…. […]

As of now, the lead item on Mark Halperin’s “The Page” is a piece noting that John McCain thinks Barack Obama “has been completely wrong” about the Middle East. The presumptive GOP nominee slams his opponent who is traveling in the Middle East, calls him “someone who has no military experience whatsoever” during a joint […]

Following up on an item from this morning, the AP ran a story noting that Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesperson for the Maliki government in Iraq, endorsed the idea of a U.S. withdrawal “by 2010.” The timeframe, the AP noted, is “similar to Obama’s proposal to pull back combat troops within 16 months.” The AP piece […]

Given reality, the fact that the Maliki government wants a U.S. withdrawal timetable and has endorsed Barack Obama’s Iraq policy by name would seem to be bad news for John McCain and his presidential campaign. But the presumptive Republican nominee has a trump card to get himself out of inconvenient jams like these: “I’m John […]

Several recent polls show Americans believe Barack Obama is better prepared to deal with energy prices than John McCain, and given the importance of the issue on the minds of voters, the McCain campaign has decided to rely on a tried-and-true method of campaigning: lie like a rug. Here’s McCain’s latest television ad: For those […]