Yesterday, John McCain delivered a high-profile speech on his Afghanistan policy, and unfortunately for his campaign, it didn’t go well. He went from opposing more troops in Afghanistan, to supporting more troops, to saying the troops shouldn’t come from the U.S., to saying some of the troops should come from the U.S. Ultimately, McCain ended […]
Obama, McCain, and redefining the word ‘offense’
Back when Rudy Giuliani was a presidential candidate, the one phrase he repeated more than any other was about his desire to “stay on offense” when it came to national security. He was never altogether clear what that meant, but it apparently had something to do with invading and occupying much of the Middle East. […]
Bush administration considers crackdown on contraception
This is pretty radical, even by Bush administration standards. Family planning groups and at least one member of Congress objected on Tuesday to a Bush administration memo that defines several widely used contraception methods as abortion and protects the right of medical providers to refuse to offer them. The proposal would cut off federal funds […]
Wednesday’s campaign 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 Obama campaign is jumping all over John McCain’s confusion over Afghanistan policy. * Sparking a new round of scuttlebutt about possible running mates, Barack Obama will be joined today by Sen. […]
I guess we’re all appeasers now
Two months ago yesterday, George W. Bush addressed the Israeli Knesset, and suggested that those who support negotiations with Iran are guilty of “appeasement,” equivalent to those who were reluctant to confront Hitler in 1939. The remarks were quickly embraced and amplified by John McCain, who insisted that Barack Obama’s willingness to talk to our […]
Obama enjoys steady lead in national polls, scores big on economy
There was a modest slowdown in national polls around the 4th of July holiday, but it seems outlets are making up for lost time with plenty of new data for observers to pore over. The latest WaPo/ABC poll, for example, shows Barack Obama up by a relatively comfortable margin, bolstered by a huge edge on […]
Obama does some prime-time TV
Barack Obama hasn’t been doing too many prime-time interviews lately, so it was at least somewhat newsworthy to see him sit down with CNN’s Larry King and Gwen Ifill of PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” last night. This exchange from the latter interview seems to have drawn quite a bit of attention. MS. IFILL: […]
Why the NAACP has reason to be wary of John McCain
In about two hours, John McCain will speak to the NAACP’s annual convention. Given his record, it’s going to be a pretty tough sell. If politics is the art of persuasion, John McCain has his work cut out for him in Cincinnati on Wednesday. In the late morning, the Republican candidate for president will walk […]
McCain reverses course on Afghanistan policy, follows Obama’s lead
While talking about the war in Afghanistan yesterday, John McCain predictably went after Barack Obama, saying Obama “has no strategy.” It was an odd attack, given the fact that McCain had just flip-flopped on his Afghanistan policy, and embraced Obama’s strategy as his own. Here’s McCain yesterday, talking about his plan to send more U.S. […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Violence remains a problem in Iraq: “Two suicide bombers posing as army recruits struck an Iraqi base just east of Baquba on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 Iraqi recruits and wounding 63, according to the Iraqi police and medical officials in Diyala Province.” * More: “Scattered sandals and […]