Barack Obama sat down with the Wall Street Journal’s Bob Davis and Amy Chozick’s yesterday to talk about economic policy in considerable detail. There are plenty of interesting exchanges, but I was especially fond of Obama’s remarks about empiricism. The Journal asked about what role Bob Rubin might play in an Obama administration, and Obama […]
Three California counties to locals: No marriage for you
I’ve long wondered what, exactly, opponents of same-sex marriage believe will happen if gay couples have the same right to marry as straight couples. Several years ago, I recall Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum telling TV preacher Pat Robertson, “[T]he consequence is very clear. Marriage loses its significance. People will stop getting married. Homosexuals will […]
McCain recycles Bush line, attacks Obama on counter-terrorism
Way back in 2004, Bush told a Florida audience, “[John] Kerry said, and I quote, ‘The war on terror is far less of a military operation and far more of an intelligence-gathering law enforcement operation.’ (Audience boos.) I disagree…. After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our […]
School vouchers fail another test, conservatives remain unswayed
School vouchers haven’t had any luck at all lately. Voters in Utah, expected to be rather conservative, overwhelmingly rejected a statewide ballot referendum on vouchers last November. The president touted a voucher plan in his State of the Union address, which was DOA in Congress. A study of the Milwaukee system found that students who […]
‘Lab rat, guinea pig, disposable hero’
We’ve seen more than a few breathtaking stories in recent years about the kind of treatment veterans receive when they return from Iraq, but this is just astounding. Mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side effects, an investigation by […]
Tuesday’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: * Barack Obama announced yesterday that he intends to visit Iraq and Afghanistan before the election in November. John McCain predicted that Obama would embrace the Bush/McCain policy on Iraq after seeing the […]
McCain suddenly discovers his passion for energy policy
Why, it’s almost as if John McCain, after expressing no interest in energy policy at any point in his three decades in Washington, took a poll and realized it’s time to tackle an issue voters find the issue important. That means unveiling a new TV ad that insists McCain “stood up to” Bush on global […]
The consequences of questioning dubious Halliburton contracts
As a rule, you’d think that military officials who question dubious contracts and protect the interests of taxpayers would be rewarded. Not in this administration. The Army official who managed the Pentagon’s largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable […]
Poll shows Americans see McCain as more of the same
There are a plenty of interesting tidbits in the new WaPo/ABC News poll — overall, Barack Obama leads John McCain by six among all Americans (48-42) and by four among registered voters (49-45) — but there was one set of numbers that was of particular interest. McCain will be running into stiff headwinds over the […]
Was the Solis Doyle hire a ‘slap in the face’?
Over the course of a few hours yesterday, Barack Obama brought Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager onto his team, and after receiving Al Gore’s endorsement, devoted a fair amount of his speech to praising Clinton’s contributions and accomplishments. Great news? Signs of bringing the party back together? Regrettably, not so much. I noted yesterday that […]