The only financial edge the Republicans currently enjoy is with the national parties — Obama may be raising more money than McCain, but the RNC has a flush bank account compared to the DNC. And the Republican National Committee began spending some of its money on this ad: “Record Gas Prices, A Climate in Crisis,” […]
Kerry questions McCain’s judgment, media screws up another story
John Kerry appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, and did a fine job as an Obama campaign surrogate. In fact, I’d go so far as to say he was pretty darn good — he dominated the discussion, hit all the high notes, and generally did exactly what the Obama campaign hoped he’d do. But […]
When all else fails, Republicans still have divisive, wedge, identity politics
A common complaint in Republican circles right now is that the McCain campaign seems direction-less. Sure, McCain is attacking Obama, but it’s scattershot and knee-jerk — there doesn’t seem to be any kind of theme or narrative. Now that Rove’s team is heading up McCain’s operation, that’s likely to change, but in the meantime, McCain […]
Don’t let Bush corrupt the minds of our youth
There are more than a few possibilities for a post-presidency career for George W. Bush, but National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez has a suggestion that I really hope the president chooses to ignore. A totally crazy Saturday-morning thought: Wouldn’t George W. Bush make an awesome high-school government teacher? Wouldn’t it be something if his post-presidential […]
Candidates playing for high stakes (in more ways than one)
I generally don’t care for pop psychology, especially when it’s applied to politics. It’s only natural that the public wants to know more about the personalities and styles of national leaders, but it’s very hard to believe there’s much to be gleaned about a presidential candidate, for example, by checking out their iPod. Or what […]
A valuable lesson on the Republican narrative-creation machine
Barack Obama spoke to reporters yesterday aboard the campaign plane, and was still puzzled as to why news outlets rushed to report that he’d changed his approach to Iraq, when he’d done nothing of the sort. In turn, reporters didn’t seem especially pleased to be blamed, and so we got items like this one. Two […]
Dr. King was not a Republican
Two years ago, in the midst of a competitive Senate race in Maryland, the National Black Republican Association went to work in support of Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a conservative black Republican. As part of the group’s efforts, the NBRA ran ads insisting that Democrats were responsible for Jim Crow laws, the KKK, and […]
The elephant in the convention
The Republicans are planning to throw quite a party in Minnesota in a couple of months. They’re just not quite sure what to do with the President of the United States. Convention planners, the White House and the McCain campaign are wrestling with how to choreograph a proper send-off for Mr. Bush — sure, his […]
National Right to Life knows who it hates, but is unsure who it likes
At the National Right to Life Committee’s annual convention just outside DC this week, it was abundantly clear which presidential candidate the activists didn’t like. But the group’s support for his opponent is considerably less clear. From the speakers to the rank and file at the Arlington, Va., event, there was near-unanimity Thursday in their […]
When the AP drops the pretense
I argued the other day that the Associated Press seemed to be taking sides, rather blatantly, in the presidential election. With each passing day, it appears the wire service is dropping the pretense altogether. At this point, it goes beyond just the AP giving John McCain donuts and McCain giving the AP barbecue. First there […]