The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on habeas corpus and suspected terrorist detainees has faded a bit on the political world’s radar, but the McCain campaign continues to believe the issue will benefit their candidate. Indeed, just this afternoon, McCain’s in-house blogger blasted Barack Obama’s campaign for “conflicting answers” on whether Osama bin Laden would be […]
‘Democratic strategist’ doesn’t mean what we think it means
Watch any cable news show for any length of time, and you’re bound to see a talking head identified as a party “strategist.” It’s a nice little euphemism, that’s used quite a bit more by television producers than it should be. Jane Fleming Kleeb went on “The O’Reilly Factor” two weeks ago to talk about […]
A focus group in York, Pa.
My very first paid job in politics was in 1996, when I helped run a congressional campaign in York, Pennsylvania (yes, the birthplace of York Peppermint Patties). We had a great candidate, a solid message, and no money, running in a district that hadn’t seriously considered a Democrat for Congress in a generation or two. […]
Karl Rove lashes out at NYT for identifying CIA agent
Sometimes, the irony is so overwhelming, I have to wonder if it’s some kind of satirical performance art, and I’m just not in on the joke. Consider this fascinating exchange between Bill O’Reilly and Karl Rove on Fox News last night: For those who can’t watch video clips online, O’Reilly, referencing an NYT article published […]
McCain ups the ante, vows ‘strategic independence’ from foreign oil
The McCain campaign’s internal polling must show energy policy at the very top of voters’ priority list, because the senator has talked about little else the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, for McCain, the pitch has been pretty weak. First, McCain talked up a “gas-tax holiday,” which most voters recognized as cheap, unhelpful pandering. Second, […]
Would Dems consider an ‘abortion reduction’ plank to the platform?
The Democratic Party platform, for years, has made it clear that it is a pro-choice party. Likewise, the Republican Party platform, for years, has emphasized that it’s a pro-life party. There’s very little wiggle room in either case. In fact, John McCain, not too long ago, wanted to alter the GOP platform to say the […]
Wednesday’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 NYT notes that Barack Obama “asked his leading fund-raisers in a conference call [yesterday] to lend a hand to retire the campaign debt of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.” Clinton issued a […]
The Obama strategy emphasizes down-ballot races
We know quite a bit about the Obama campaign’s intention to “stretch” the map and compete in “red” states that a) Dems would be expected to skip; and b) the McCain campaign doesn’t want to have to fight for. But Ben Smith goes a little deeper today and considers what this might mean for Dems […]
Maybe the White House can try sticking their fingers in their ears, too
As a rule, the Bush White House has a few reliable tactics it uses to avoid information it doesn’t want to hear. For example, when government reports might offer discouraging news that undermines the president’s agenda, the White House likes to eliminate the reports. For that matter, Bush’s proclivity for “The Bubble,” in which only […]
FISA ‘compromise’ to draw filibuster, Reid opposition
What do we know about the status of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) “compromise” legislation, currently pending in the Senate? As of yesterday, we know quite a bit. We know, for example, that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid feels obligated to move the bill to the floor, but he’s not going to vote for […]