Well, we knew the right wasn’t going to be happy about this. On Monday, at an event in Georgia, a voter asked Barack Obama about a “push” for more bilingualism in the U.S. Obama criticized the “English-only” efforts and said Americans would be better off if we spoke more than one language. After noting the […]
About that ‘equal pay for equal work’ pledge….
I’ve noticed a certain pattern to some of my posts this week. Which is to say, they’re mostly about the same thing — John McCain doing or saying something offensive. I’d like to write about plenty of other things — really, I would — and I keep thinking, “Just as soon as the McCain campaign […]
McCain unsure of ‘the progress,’ ‘the nature,’ and ‘the significance’ of the Iranian threat
John McCain chatted with ABC’s Charlie Gibson the other day, and some of his more noteworthy comments have received surprisingly little attention. (Update: I’m having some technical trouble with the video, but it’s online here.) You’ll notice that, early on in the interview, he emphasized the need for “sanctions on the Iranians” because “we cannot […]
Don’t fear the 61-year-old part-time librarian
Following up on an item from a few days ago, John McCain hosted a town-hall meeting in Denver on Monday (the event at which he called the Social Security system a “disgrace”), that was open to the public. Carol Kreck, a 61-year-old part-time librarian, attended the event, and stood outside with a hand-held sign with […]
Who won the week?
Political insiders and pundits seem to enjoy arguing over which presidential candidate won the day, and even more often, who won the week. In theory, the idea is that the candidate who wins more days and weeks tends to ultimately win the election. I have no idea if that’s true, or if the exercise is […]
Friday’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 Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Obama campaign only raised $30 million in June, a number the Journal described as “underwhelming.” Soon after Obama spokesperson Dan Pfeiffer responded, “The […]
Exhibit A in how not to target women voters
Just moments ago, John McCain kicked off a campaign event in Wisconsin, the focus of which “will be women in business and the economic challenges they face.” It makes sense that McCain would target women voters, who, if polls are any indication, prefer Barack Obama by a fairly strong margin. But I don’t think McCain […]
McCain, his personal life, and statements ‘that conflict with the public record’
Long-time readers may recall that I wrote a Washington Monthly piece two years ago about the apparent double standard the media applies to politicians’ marital difficulties. Bill Clinton’s personal difficulties dominated the media landscape for more than a decade — indeed, in some instances, his alleged proclivities are still of interest, 16 years after reporters […]
Reid on Lieberman’s future: ‘Let’s talk about this year’
In April, Joe Lieberman explained that he’s open to delivering the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in September. “If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will,” Lieberman told The Hill. (The remarks came just days after Lieberman praised Rush […]
What the Dems’ victory on Medicare tells us
If Dems were as willing to stand up to Republicans on foreign policy as they are on domestic policy, we’d all be a lot better off. It’s a common refrain in Democratic circles: in the major political disputes in DC, Dems will say the right things, and endorse the right policies, but when push comes […]