We’ve talked at some length about the White House using demonstrably false rhetoric about al Qaeda in Iraq as part of a cynical and deceptive strategy to rally public support under false pretenses. Americans don’t support U.S. staying in the middle of a civil war, but maybe, the Bush gang hopes, Americans will support a […]
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: * The mass exodus of John McCain’s staff continued this morning, when communications director Brian Jones stepped down, along with deputies Matt David and Danny Diaz. Research director Brian Rogers and South Carolina […]
Senate GOP may hold chamber hostage over judicial nominee
About a month ago, Senate Republicans threatened a “major meltdown” in the chamber unless Senate Dems approved more Bush judicial nominees. The showdown is poised to get even more heated. Barring an unlikely confirmation of Leslie Southwick to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the Judiciary Committee this week, Senate GOP leaders have […]
‘It’s getting scary; they don’t want to hear the new facts’
If this doesn’t help expose the problems with capital punishment, I don’t know what more it will take. A Georgia man is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday for killing a police officer in 1989, even though the case against him has withered in recent years as most of the key witnesses […]
Experience vs inexperience
The NYT’s Matt Bai had a fairly interesting piece yesterday exploring the importance of political experience in presidential candidates. He grudgingly acknowledges that Bush “lowered the bar for presidential preparedness,” which Bai believes is part of a broader trend. This, however, didn’t quite work. Through the long decades that saw the rise and fall of […]
Webb shows us how it’s done
Too often, when Democratic leaders appear on the Sunday morning shows, they speak with a certain hesitancy about Iraq. You can almost hear them thinking about which right-wing bumper-sticker slogan might be used against them. They want to sound tough, but also criticize the existing policy. They want to acknowledge reality, without being called a […]
Anything but ‘successful’
Speaking of classic opening sentences, William Kristol takes the unusual step in a Washington Post piece of anticipating mockery: “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.” Kristol’s argument is surprisingly weak, but he got one point exactly […]
‘Half the foreign fighters in Iraq’
This might put a crimp in the White House’s talking points. Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military […]
Tuning out the boys who cry wolf
The New York Daily News reports today that the possibility of a domestic terrorist attack this summer appears high, but Americans are skeptical about the warnings. To American who have grown skeptical of terrorism warnings, the professionals in the intelligence community say they understand. They also say this time, it could be for real. That’s […]
Sunday Discussion Group
A month ago, we had a terrific discussion, with a number of fascinating insights, exploring which of the Republicans presidential hopefuls is the “most genuinely scary.” Today, I thought we’d consider the inverse. Whenever I consider the Republican field in the abstract, I’m amazed. “One of these guys,” I think to myself, “is going to […]