+ Rain, snow and sleet in the forecast for Ohio tomorrow. As it did in Maine, I suspect this will benefit Obama. Why? Older voters...[More]
March 3, 2008
Bits and Bobs
I've been waaaaay too busy these past few days with school and music-related stuff, but if I had been blogging, here are a few of...[More]
March 4, 2008
Election Day Predictions, With Running Updates
Might as well go on the record with this.... TODAY: Texas: On the strength of early voting, Obama pulls out a narrow win in the...[More]
Today's Edition of the Slow Motion Collapse [Updated]
Fun news on the mortgage front from Countrywide / Bank of America. One of the clever new products they came up with in the flurry...[More]
Codename: Giant Lance
Sometimes I am amazed that we are able to survive our own lunacy. From our not so distant past, Wired brings us the tale of...[More]
NIN Sees the Future Of Music
Figures that it would be people like Trent Reznor and Thom Yorke that would lead the way: Trent Reznor has been telling the whole world...[More]
Quote of the Day
From TPMmuck's latest on telecom immunity, Kurt Opsahl, one of the lawyers for the Electronic Freedom Foundation's lawsuit against AT&T: Above all, Opsahl said, it's...[More]
Number of the Day: $600 Billion
$600 billion. According to S.& P., that's the total amount of cash held by companies in its industrial index. That's roughly 3x the amount they...[More]
Worse, Much Worse, Before Getting Better
Hilzoy is right. If Obama doesn't put this one away tonight, the tone of this campaign is going to get worse before it gets better....[More]
MidEvening Thoughts, Updated
Some thoughts... + The networks have called Ohio for Hillary. But I'm standing by my earlier prediction: the final result will be less than 2%....[More]
"The World Is Watching"
Obama just gave one hell of a speech. Again. But this time he took a totally different tack. And I may have time to get...[More]
March 5, 2008
Quote of the Night
Courtesy of Keith Olbermann: "This election will come down to delegates.... Again and again, this race has shown that it is voters and delegates who...[More]
Chuck Todd Updates the Numbers
Vermont and Rhode Island cancel one another out. +3 for Obama in VT, +3 for HRC in RI. Ohio will be a net 5-9 delegates...[More]
% Reporting
I've notice over the course of the night a lot of confusion around the blogs about the "% reporting" stat. The % is "precincts reporting,"...[More]
Chuck Todd, Take III
He really has become my go-to guy for intelligent analysis on TV. Even at 1:30am he's still making sense. To paraphrase.... Neither candidate can win...[More]
Chuck Todd, Take IV
More from the best political analyst on TV.... HRC just bought John McCain the time he needs to build a campaign infrastructure. Right now he's...[More]
About Last Night
Texas: For those of you looking for an accurate count of delegates from the primary, Burnt Orange Report has what you need. As of earlier...[More]
Quote of the Day
James Fallows, watching CNN early this morning, heard the following not once but twice from Clinton: Sen. McCain has a lifetime of experience, I have...[More]
Turley on "Mukasey's Paradox"
Great op-ed from Jonathan Turley in yesterday's LA Times: The recent decisions of Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey to block any prosecution of Bush administration...[More]
Mack The Quack!
Great analysis of McCain's health care plan from Jonathan Cohn, the health care wonk's wonk. My former Comparative Public Policy students should read the entire...[More]
Quote of the Day II
David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, talks about what's next: ``We have not hesitated to draw distinctions between the candidates and we'll continue to do that,"...[More]
Looking Towards Pennsylvania
Its already too late in the evening to do extensive commentary, so I'm going to outsource it all. Here is some of the best commentary...[More]
These Are the Rules, The PA Version
Well now this is interesting. Apparently the delegate allocation rules in PA are even more favorable for Obama than were the ones in Texas. Anyone...[More]
March 6, 2008
About Laura Bush
John Aravosis asks a great question: I'm just trying to figure out how being First Lady or First Gentleman (Sir Dennis Thatcher comes to mind)...[More]
The Supers
Political Wire: Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Sen. Barack Obama's Missouri co-chairman and pledged Obama superdelegate, said Obama will gain the support of 50 undecided Democratic...[More]
More NAFTA-Gate Nonsense?
So the story all weekend was about how one of Obama's advisors has assured the Canadians that when it came to NAFTA, he was all...[More]
Looking Towards Pennsylvania, Part II [Updated]
This one is all Marc Ambinder. After playing with one of those fancy delegate calculators that are apparently all the rage, he's come up with...[More]
No Secret Supers!
So much for that idea - Team Obama denies reports of a secret stash of 50 Super Delegates. Oh well.......[More]
Homeowner Equity Hits All-Time Low
ThinkProgress: The Federal Reserve announced today that "Americans' percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time on record since...[More]
Bits and Bobs
No time for blogging today - I'm packing for a week of skiing in Big Sky, Montana - so for today these odds and ends...[More]
March 7, 2008
Olbermann Eviscerates Clinton
Oh my. If you care at all about the idea of a Democratic Party that stands for something other than a watered down version of...[More]
Off To Big Sky!
I'll be out in Big Sky, Montana for the next 10 days, and although I will have my laptop with me, posting will for very...[More]
Because I Cannot Resist... Some Pre-Flight Bits and Bobs
Before I head out for the airport this afternoon... + FL and MI back in play? Don't forget that the magic number jumps from 2025...[More]
March 9, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day One
There's only one word that can describe skiing in Big Sky, Montana: Epic. I know that the reviews and websites all say that you can...[More]
Quote of the Night
Tom Daschle, responding to Clinton's suggestion that Obama run as her VP: "It's really a rare occurrence, maybe the first time in history, that the...[More]
March 10, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day Two
Some things that happened in the world today while I was flying down the side of a mountain... + Mark Penn apparently believes that Clinton's...[More]
March 11, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day Three
Some things that happened in the world today while I was flying down the side of a mountain... + You must have been hiding under...[More]
March 12, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day Four
Some things that happened in the world today while I was flying down the side of a mountain... + The Pentagon has completed a massive...[More]
March 13, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day Five
Some things that happened in the world today while I was flying down the side of a mountain... + The Republican Party has some very...[More]
March 14, 2008
Blogging From Big Sky, Day Six
Some things that happened in the world today while I was flying down the side of a mountain... + It is now official: we are...[More]
March 17, 2008
Today's Edition of "The Slow-Motion Collapse"
I've been writing quite a bit about the gradual collapse of our systems of banking and finance over the past year, so it figures that...[More]
Today's Edition of "The Slow-Motion Collapse" - In Pictures!
If my last post was too long for you, take a look at this post from Charles @ Through the Looking Glass. I'll entice you...[More]
Kick Lieberman Out Of The Democratic Caucus
For god's sake, will someone please strip this man of his committee chairmanships? Please? ThinkProgress: Friday, Lieberman said he will attend the Republican National Convention...[More]
Why Wiretapping Matters
Julian Sanchez has a must-read in yesterday's LATimes. In fact, its so good I'm posting it here in full for future reference: As the battle...[More]
Bits and Bobs
Economic blogging apparently took up most of my time today, so I'm going to have to roll up everything else into a single post. In...[More]
Bits and Bobs From the Campaign Trail
Some campaign news you may have missed: + I'm way behind on my Obama-Wright blogging, and at this point I think it makes sense to...[More]
Blogging From Beyond Big Sky
More pictures later as I collect them from everyone I traveled with. Until then, these three will have to do. Notice anything? Those are all...[More]
March 18, 2008
Six Years?!?
NYT: U.S. Adapts Cold-War Idea to Fight Terrorists In the days immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, members of President Bush's war cabinet...[More]
Number of the Day
$350 million (or is it $150 million? I cannot tell). That's how much a coalition of groups like MoveOn, the AFL-CIO, and the Change to...[More]
Metaphor of the Day: Fire!
Krugman on bank runs: Bank runs come in two kinds. In some cases, the bank run is a pure self-fulfilling prophecy: the bank is "fundamentally...[More]
Obama's Speech, The Prelude
This is obviously the major news of the day, so I suspect that a number of posts will be in order here. Before I get...[More]
Obama's Speech, The Text
Here is the prepared text of today's speech: "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." Two hundred and twenty one years...[More]
Obama's Speech, The Video
UPDATE: Higher quality version courtesy of the Obama camp:...[More]
Obama's Speech, My First Reactions
Honest. Nuanced. Deeply personal. Impossible to sound bite. A critique not just of our politics but also of our national discourse. He both expects and...[More]
Obama's Speech, The Reactions of Others
Given that I suspect history will mark this speech as a major turning point in the campaign, I'm going to put together an extensive compilation...[More]
Obama's Speech, The Reactions of Others (Part II)
If you prefer something shorter than my last post, go read Jonathan Cohn. UPDATE: Like Cohn, TNR's Eve Fairbanks and Josh Patashnik were once an...[More]
A Silver Lining?
One last thought, courtesy of Steven Benen: Anyone who still believes Obama is a Muslim, after all of this, probably needs some kind of medication....[More]
Bits and Bobs from Iraq
In no particular order... Sen. McCain today once again made clear that even when it comes to foreign policy, he has no idea what he...[More]
The Economy, Stupid
Ignore the rally in the market. The Fed has now cut rates by a full point in the last 48 hours. When the Fed looks...[More]
March 19, 2008
What GDP Misses
A few days back, in a post about the gradual collapse of our financial systems, I wrote the following: I for one wouldn't mind the...[More]
Before I Move On To Today's News...
A few more thoughts on yesterday's big speech from Sen Obama: Glenn Greenwald, quoting Steve M.: The premises [the speech] lays out require you to...[More]
Obama: "The World Beyond Iraq"
In the second of three consecutive speeches on three different topics, Obama took on the subject of Iraq. While I'm looking for video of the...[More]
Meanwhile, In Iraq....
TPM: I think everyone can agree that if you go to the trouble of organizing an Iraqi political reconciliation conference, it's generally a bad sign...[More]
Quote of the Day
Ladies and gentlemen, your democracy at work: CHENEY: On the security front, I think there's a general consensus that we've made major progress, that the...[More]
NYT: Can't Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club
Great primer on our current financial crisis from today's NYT....[More]
Bearing Witness: Five Years of the Iraq War
From Reuters. Brilliant. Unbelievably difficult to watch, but brilliant. You owe it to everyone who has given their lives there to watch this. Be sure...[More]
McCain: Unfit For Duty
Josh Marshall weighs in on McCain's recent foreign policy mistakes and declares McCain "unfit for duty." But this is really just the tip of the...[More]
I'm OK, But That Guy Next To Me...
Earlier today, I wrote about my belief that most Americans vastly underestimate the ability of their fellow citizens to think about and process political information....[More]
Guardian: Clinton a long way from the White House at key foreign policy moments
Thousands of documents detailing Clinton's time as First Lady were released today, and the first pass through looks to create problems for her claims of...[More]
March 20, 2008
Dionne: The Street on Welfare
I missed this yesterday. EJ Dionee had a blistering column in the Washington Post: Never do I want to hear again from my conservative friends...[More]
Another Day, Another McCain Gaffe
McCain loves to portray himself as an expert on all things Israel. Except, of course, that he's not. NBC: When McCain made a foreign policy...[More]
Iraq will not be a Qaedistan
First, a bit of context... In his speech yesterday marking the 5-year anniversary of his glorious war, President Bush made the following claim: "With such...[More]
Black Guy Asks Nation For Change
When the Onion is on, its just so damn on....[More]
Experience
Yet another of Clinton's claims of experience down the drain... Dana Goldstein: Seriously though, a bigger story supposedly "uncovered" in the First Lady papers is...[More]
March 21, 2008
Change Congress!
Tech guru Lawrence Lessig recently decided not to run for congress, but that doesn't mean he's giving up his role as an active activist. Yesterday,...[More]
Obama, Clinton, McCain Passport Files Breached
This is insane: Confidential passport files of all three presidential candidates were improperly breached by State Department employees, a department spokesman said. The private data...[More]
Number of the Day: 2.5 Million
That's the number of views this single instance of Obama's speech on race in America has gotten over the last three days. Some people say...[More]
Richardson Endorses Obama
Not sure how much practical impact this will have, but its definitely worth passing along. UPDATE: Interesting. His statement reads as if it is Obama's...[More]
E. J. Dionne: Man On Fire
If you thought his last column was good, wait until you see today's: Let's ask the hard question about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Is he...[More]
"Amateur Hour"
TPM: On a conference call with reporters just now, Hillary spokesperson Phil Singer characterized the Obama campaign as "amateur hour." Singer claimed that a discussion...[More]
Analogy of the Day
Tim @ Balloon Juice discusses the idea that Iranian Shiite Ayatollah Khamenei would support Sunni extremists bent on murdering his fellow Shiites: Thinking that the...[More]
Today's Edition of the Slow Motion Collapse
Be afraid. Be somewhat afraid. Context from Kevin Drum: When Japan got stuck in a liquidity trap in the early 1990s, it took them about...[More]
Government, What Is It Good For?
Washington Independent: Researchers at MIT and Boston College have developed a low-cost, nanotechnology technique that could lead to significant energy conservation. The scientists have improved...[More]
As The Narrative Turns?
Time's Mark Halperin: 1. She can't win the nomination without overturning the will of the elected delegates, which will alienate many Democrats. 2. She can't...[More]
Save Tibet! Not With Protests, But With Surprise...
Via Megan McArdle and her commenters, this is brilliant: A far better approach would be if the athletes themselves engaged in all manner of subversive...[More]
A Government Conspiracy. No, But...
Of all of the "crazy" things Rev. Wright said, the ones that people have agreed to be most clearly out of bounds are his comments...[More]
Another One Bites The Dust
Via Chris Orr.... Hillary Clinton, March 17: I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at...[More]
Clinton Out Of Money Again?
NYT: Despite a strong month of fund-raising in February in which she brought in $35 million, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton finished the month essentially in...[More]
Meanwhile, in Iraq....
Wonderful: The success of the US "surge" strategy in Iraq may be under threat as Sunni militia employed by the US to fight al-Qaida are...[More]
Rove Is Not A Genius
In my never-ending quest to destroy the myth that Karl Rove is a genius... Here's Rove today on FoxNews talking about the war in Iraq:...[More]
Why The Passport Story Should Be Personal
Lest you think this passport story has nothing to do with you.... Time: Under new guidelines printed in the federal registry on January 9, the...[More]
Montana to DC: "Go To Hell! Thanks for Playing...Montana's Not In. Blah Blah Blah."
Go on guv! That's how you do it! Is it the beginning of a new Sagebrush Rebellion? The timing would be right... For more background,...[More]
If He Runs, He Wins, Take II
Following up on my previous post.... In 2004 I made that prediction about Barack Obama. If he runs for president, he wins. Let me go...[More]
Quote of the Day
The Pentagon's big report detailing the non-existence of the connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda is finally online. Here's my favorite part: Saddam viewed...[More]