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: * In case there was any doubt about the status of the scheduled debate co-hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Fox News, Hillary Clinton joined John Edwards and Barack Obama in […]
Political Paranoia 101
Sometimes, politicians accused of corruption do hysterical things. Take Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R), for example. Gibbons, who was a Republican House member up until last year, is facing a federal criminal investigation for alleged bribes. By any reasonable measure, what we know of the controversy looks pretty bad for the new Nevada governor. Here’s […]
Talk about your ‘absentee landlords’
About a month ago, the Justice Department was scrambling to come up with a coherent excuse for having fired former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. They came up with a weak accusation: Iglesias was guilty of “absentee landlordism,” because he had to take 40 days of annual duty in the naval reserve. (The excuse […]
All of a sudden, Bush’s foreign policy does nuance
There was a fairly startling news item over the weekend that didn’t get quite enough attention. Apparently, the Bush administration is willing to give up on its own North Korea policy, and allow Kim Jung Il to make prohibited arms deals. Three months after the United States successfully pressed the United Nations to impose strict […]
How to celebrate the fall of Saddam
Apparently, different people chose to honor the fourth anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s downfall in different ways. First, there’s the White House’s way. As Iraq observed the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein yesterday, the lead item on the White House Web site, under the heading “LATEST NEWS,” was a photograph of Clifford the […]
Monday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Remember when we were counting on Moqtada al-Sadr and his forces to lay low while U.S. troops tried to bring some semblance of stability to Iraq? Never mind: “[I]n a message sent to an anti-American demonstration today in Najaf, Sadr urged Iraqi security forces to stop working with American […]
Edwards, Obama effectively scuttle Fox News/CBC debate
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute can’t say it wasn’t warned. Democratic activists and officials implored the CBC Institute not to partner with Fox News for a debate with the Democratic presidential candidates. The CBC Institute struck the deal anyway — assuming that they needed candidates, not activists, to pull off a successful event. As of […]
Tax on BBQ? No, just a joke
In case you missed it, about a week ago, this item ran on some overseas news wires. The government of Belgium’s French-speaking region of Wallonia, which has a population of about 4 million, has approved a tax on barbequing, local media reported. Experts said that between 50 and 100 grams of CO2, a so-called greenhouse […]
Note to Condi: Waxman isn’t satisfied with your dodge
Last month, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, inviting her to participate in an upcoming hearing on the president’s infamous “16 words” — the White House’s 2002 claim that Saddam Hussein had attempted to purchase uranium from Niger, a claim that was ultimately based on […]
Gonzales cramming for big test
There’s been a surprising amount of attention lately on embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales preparing for his upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which if the conventional wisdom is to be believed, will determine whether he keeps his job. A strong, persuasive performance, in which Gonzales can explain why his fairly obvious lies aren’t as bad […]