Jim Talent, adviser to the Mitt Romney campaign, on Hardball yesterday: "[Romney]’s always had the same position as to regards to the gay agenda. Look, he wants to know people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country." So here’s my … Read More
Fred Thompson To Possibly Bow Out Maybe
Politico reports: Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday’s Iowa caucus. *** “Without a solid third-place finish, there’s no point in going on,” a Thompson adviser said Wednesday. “It was an honorable race, and he turned out to be … Read More
How The Iowa Caucuses Work
The explanation: The purpose of the caucus vote is to select delegates to attend a county convention — each caucus sends a certain number of delegates, based on the population it represents. The delegates at the county convention in turn select delegates to go to the congressional district state convention, and those delegates choose the delegates that go to the … Read More
Strong Words
In an editorial in today’s New York Times, Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton (the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the 9/11 commission) outright and openly accuse the CIA and the White House of obstruction: The commission’s mandate was sweeping and it explicitly included the intelligence agencies. But the recent revelations that the C.I.A. destroyed videotaped interrogations of … Read More
Iowa Caucus
The latest news has Clinton and Obama tied at 28 percent, with Edwards at 26 percent. Let me make what will undoubtedly mark the beginning of a long string of inaccurate predictions: Edwards will win Iowa. I say that because they like him there. He’s been campaigning hard, and most importantly, he’s been there before. They remember him from 2004, … Read More
Recommended Reading
Slate’s Top Ten Bush Administration’s Dumbest Legal Arguments of the Year. It’s a doozy. Number one: 1. The United States does not torture. First there was the 2002 torture memo. That was withdrawn. Then there was the December 2004 statement that declared torture "abhorrent." But then there was the new secret 2005 torture memo. But members of Congress were fully … Read More
A North Carolinian Canvasser Experiences New Hampshire
Yes, I know: If you’ve never seen New England blanketed with two feet of snow, you have missed out on one of life’s glories. The already picturesque towns and even the cities take on a Christmas card/gingerbread village look that, combined with the crisp coolness and fresh air, way surpasses the two-dimensional Currier and Ives. And when the snow is … Read More
Squandering America’s Leadership
Today’s New York Times editorial says everything that needs to be said in these four simple paragraphs: There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up … Read More
Here We Go Again….
This story, debunked many times, is starting up again, thanks to the National Enquirer. UPDATE: If you’re looking for a link to the story, don’t bother. It was pulled by the National Enquirer.
Top Ten Bushisms Of 2007
Compiled by Daniel Kurtzman: 10. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it." –interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007 9. "I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing … Read More
How Loony Is Huckabee?
In 1998, then-Arkansas-governor Huckabee wrote a book entitled Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture Of Violence, spawned from a March 24, 1998, school shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In Kids Who Kill, Huckabee argued that school shootings were the product of a society in decline, a decline marked (and caused) by abortion, pornography, media violence, out-of-wedlock sex, divorce, drug use, and, … Read More
Lieberman Endorses McCain
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., just endorsed Republican John McCain’s bid for the presidency, Saying: "I know it’s unusual for a Democrat to be endorsing a Republican…" Except for one thing Sen. Lieberman — you’re not Democrat. UPDATE: Ned Lamont, the Democrat that Lieberman defeated in 2006, says: During our debate last year, Senator Lieberman intoned that he wanted to "elect … Read More
The Huckabee Backlash
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Typepad seems to be on the fritz. I’m still posting, but nothing is showing. I guess they’re working on it…. It’s kind of amusing to watch the GOP punditry lash out against Huckabee. For years, they have courted the Christian conservative vote if only to get people like Bush in office. People like Bush make a lot … Read More
Riiiiip
Well, well, well…. Look how much the Bush Administration has spent for paper-shredding over the past few years. Each bar off the vertical axis represents $500,000 dollars. John Cook: In 2000, the feds spent $452,807 to make unpleasant truths go away; by 2006, the "Cheney Effect" had bumped that number up to $2.9 million. And by halfway through 2007, the … Read More
Obama Edges Ahead In New Hampshire
Sen. Barack Obama "has come from behind to turn the Democratic presidential race in New Hampshire into a toss-up," according to a new Concord Monitor poll. Obama leads with 32%, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 31%, John Edwards at 18% and Gov. Bill Richardson at 8%. Key finding: "The poll suggests that the Democratic race could hinge on the … Read More