I didn’t exactly intend to do a whole series of posts on the TV show “24,” but as long as I started down this road, I might as well let readers know about the resolution of the “torture question.” As it turns out, there may be a less offensive outcome. Fox’s 24 will become less […]
What ‘gut-level bond’?
Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, is on the right track about public perceptions of the president, but he’s woefully behind. ABC News’ Teddy Davis Reports: In the forthcoming issue of Texas Monthly, former Bush strategist Matthew Dowd writes that President Bush’s “gut-level bond” with the American people “may be lost” […]
Giuliani defines ‘strict constructionist’
Rudy Giuliani has always been unswervingly pro-choice, even accepting an award from NARAL, which is why it’s been noticeably odd to see him try to finesse the issue lately, suggesting to Republican primary voters that it may not matter that he’s pro-choice, because he’d appoint conservative judges. The subject came up last night, during an […]
Thursday’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: * Al Franken announced yesterday that he is running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota and unveiled an excellent web video explaining why. Franken will likely face attorney Mike Ciresi in a Dem […]
‘Party of ideas’ watch
For most of Bush’s presidency, congressional Republicans had a standard knock on Dems: they’re against Bush’s agenda, but won’t offer one of their own. It consistently struck me as having the broader dynamic backwards: Dems were chomping at the bit with policy ideas they wanted Congress to consider, but Republicans rejected their ideas. Lately, I’ve […]
At this point, we’re supposed to have 5,000 troops in Iraq
Last September, Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid explained that Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists to develop plans for securing a postwar Iraq in early 2003, at one point going so far as to threaten to “fire the next person” to mention the need for a postwar plan. “The secretary of defense continued to push on […]
Afghanistan ‘could slip back into chaos’
This week, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on conditions in our other war, the one in Afghanistan. Demonstrating the extent to which the nation remembers the conflict against the country that was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, no reporters bothered to show up for the event, despite testimony from Gen. Karl Eikenberry, […]
Fair and balanced comedy
About two weeks ago, after months of rumors, we finally got a look at Fox News’ attempts to break into comedy. Apparently, with the success of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the right decided that conservative humor was missing from the discourse, and Rupert Murdoch would fill the void. The first glimpse wasn’t […]
Wednesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The defense rested in Scooter Libby’s criminal trial today, but not before a little drama. Apparently, Libby’s defense team had led the judge to believe that the defendant would testify, which led to the lawyers having access to specific classified information. When the lawyers announced Libby would not take […]
Ruining the Republican brand
Earlier this week, on an unrelated point, Paperwight had an interesting item about institutions and their brand names: “If you don’t use and defend a trademark or brand, you lose it.” With this in mind, how’s the Republican brand looking? It’s seen better days. Gallup recently found that people identifying themselves as Republicans dropped in […]