About a week ago, William Kristol wrote a transparently ridiculous WaPo column praising Bush’s presidency. He began his love letter, “I suppose I’ll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush’s presidency will probably be a successful one.” And sure enough, Kristol was ridiculed relentlessly, here and elsewhere. […]
‘Less like a president than a king’
About two weeks ago, during a rare press conference, the president was surprisingly candid about what he sees as Congress’ role when it comes to shaping war policy: “Congress has all the right in the world to fund. That’s their main involvement in this war.” As far as the president is concerned, the Legislative branch […]
Where are Lieberman’s complaints?
I’m pleased to see the White House willing to engage Tehran in bilateral discussions, particularly on the issue of security in Iraq, but I have to wonder, isn’t this the kind of thing that should drive the neocons batty? The United States and Iran will hold a second round of direct talks to discuss Iraq’s […]
It’s the credibility, stupid
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of the chamber’s more reliable “loyal Bushies,” had an interesting letter to the editor published in the New York Times yesterday. It was a fairly predictable rant about how much safer we are thanks to the president’s counter-terrorism measures, but it […]
What is Stephen Hayes talking about?
The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes is perhaps best known for arguing incessantly for the last several years that Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly connected to al Qaeda. It earned him a reputation for being a bit of a far-right oddball, but his constant and aggressive advocacy, resisting reality at every turn, made Hayes a favorite […]
Giuliani’s race problem
TPM posted a clip on Friday of Rudy Giuliani screaming “bullsh*t” at a police union rally in 1992. Surprisingly, several leading conservative blogs complained bitterly, questioning the significance of the video. At first blush, the clip appears to reinforce concerns about Giuliani’s temperament, but even more important was the context in which the comments were […]
YearlyKos conference rattles conservative establishment
It’s hard not to notice that the conservative establishment seems to be having a bit of freak-out over progressive activists and bloggers getting together for the YearlyKos convention next month. Earlier this week, it was Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly who lashed out at DailyKos, which he called “one of the worst examples of hatred […]
Sunday Discussion Group
This week’s Senate drama, including an attention-getting all-night debate on Iraq, certainly ratcheted up the pressure on Republican lawmakers to possibly grow some backbone and take a stand in opposition to the president’s failed policies. I say “possibly,” of course,” because it obviously hasn’t happened yet. When the Reed-Levin amendment came to the floor, the […]
Giuliani plays the exploitation card
Rudy Giuliani delivered a speech in Iowa recently on “Restoring Fiscal Discipline and Cutting Wasteful Washington Spending.” Just two minutes and 14 seconds into it, the former mayor said, “I will continue to keep America on offense in the terrorist war against us, because I think that’s the overriding issue of our day.” Giuliani was […]
Blaming Reid
As Atrios noted, the latest Washington Post editorial is drawing the ire of nearly everyone, and with good cause; the piece is a mess, based on a misguided premise. The decision of Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) to deny rather than nourish a bipartisan agreement is, of course, irresponsible…. A […]