I found Howard Kurtz’s WaPo column today quite frustrating. Rudy Giuliani has appeared on only one Sunday talk show this year: “Fox News Sunday.” Fred Thompson has made eight television appearances in 2007, all on Fox News, six of them sit-downs with Sean Hannity, who sometimes campaigns for GOP candidates. Mitt Romney has chatted on […]
Islamists are not going to take over the world
After noting the oddities of Roger L. Simon’s latest piece on why the “War against Islamofascism” leads him to support gay marriage, Glenn Greenwald raises an important point that I think often goes overlooked. Every now and then, it is worth noting that substantial portions of the right-wing political movement in the United States — […]
You don’t have to embrace modern science to win GOP votes
In early May, at the very first debate for Republican presidential candidates, The Politico’s Jim VandeHei opened up a question about modern biology to the entire field: “I’m curious, is there anybody on the stage that does not agree — believe in evolution?” The camera didn’t show the 10 candidates for very long, but three […]
Rove exits stage right
Following up on this morning’s item about Karl Rove’s alleged genius, Bush and Rove made a brief public appearance this morning to note the departure. “Karl Rove is moving on down the road,” Bush said, appearing grim-faced on the White House’s South Lawn with Rove at his side. “We’ve been friends for a long time […]
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: * Mitt Romney backed off from comments he made last week, when he equated his sons’ efforts on behalf of his campaign with military service in a time of war. Yesterday, on Fox […]
And then there were eight
After a miserable performance in the Ames Straw Poll, former Wisconsin governor and former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson is leaving the Republican presidential field just a little smaller. After a sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll, Tommy Thompson, the four-term governor of Wisconsin and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, […]
Steering clear of recess appointments
In April, some White House recess appointments really annoyed Senate Democrats. Looking ahead, Harry Reid & Co. didn’t know what to expect Bush to do when the Senate broke for August, but the prospects were discouraging. One report suggested Senate Dems would limit the recess to just 10 days, while another noted that Reid would […]
Giuliani backs away from civil unions
Several months ago, I had a constantly-updated list of John McCain’s many policy flip-flops, as the one-time GOP maverick abandoned every position that made him popular, on route to currying favor with the conservative Republican base. The list got up to 17, which is quite a few flip-flops for one candidate. As it turns out, […]
Kos vs. Ford
Meet the Press offered one of the more compelling line-ups in a while yesterday morning, with the “debate” between Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas and Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Harold Ford, Jr. You’d think, given recent history, that there is no love lost between the two, and a high-profile confrontation on national television could lead to […]
Karl Rove to resign
He won’t be frog-marched out of the White House, but the man the president affectionately refers to as “Turd Blossom” is stepping down. Karl Rove, U.S. President George W. Bush’s senior political adviser, will voluntarily step down from his White House post at the end of the month, senior administration officials said Monday. Rove, who […]