May 1, 2008

Hillary Clinton "has testicular fortitude?"

I really don't even know what to say to this. I mean, its weird enough that someone said it as a way of introducing Clinton,...[More]

Hillary Ahead In NC?

If this is confirmed by other polls, it is very, very bad news for the Obama campaign. A loss in NC could send his campaign...[More]

Happy Anniversary!

5 years ago today, the war in Iraq ended. "In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." Isn't life in...[More]

"Dumbfounded, Even Betrayed"

NYT: Late Monday night, in the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, N.C., Barack Obama's long, slow fuse burned to an end. Earlier that day he...[More]

If Claims of Executive Privilege And "State Secrets" Covers This, It Covers EVERYTHING

Via Laura Rozen, Newsweek: The Bush administration is refusing to disclose internal e-mails, letters and notes showing contacts with major telecommunications companies over how to...[More]

Clinton Wants To Sue OPEC?

The gas tax "holiday" idea was stupid, but that was just because it was bad policy. This latest pander from Clinton isn't just bad policy,...[More]

About That Recession

Roubini: The official headline for U.S. Q1 GDP growth says a positive 0.6% growth but the details are ugly and confirm that we are in...[More]

May 2, 2008

Bits And Bobs

+ Another first for Bush. No president has ever broken the 70% disapproval mark in a Gallup poll. Until now. + We finally have an...[More]

2 Days, 2 Big Endorsements For Obama

First former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew switched from Clinton to Obama, and now former DNC Chairman Paul Kirk has come out for Obama....[More]

Who Is Al-Sadr?

Spencer Ackerman has a great take on that question today at Washington Independent: Yet while the political fortunes of all other Iraqi Arab political figures...[More]

Compare and Contrast

Chris Orr catches Hillary Clinton in a pretty hilarious contradiction. Rules are good when the benefit here, and they must be set aside when the...[More]

"History will prove me right." Or Not, Depending.

Rahm Emanuel: "Madam Speaker, in 1993, when professional-baseball owners were deciding how to rehabilitate the reputation of baseball, after the player's strike, they debated whether...[More]

May 3, 2008

Everybody Knew About It

I was planning on taking the day off today, but you really do need to read this....[More]

May 5, 2008

The Last Word (I Hope!) On Gas Tax Idiocy

I really was planning to let this go, but Hillary said some things this weekend that were so silly that, well... just take a look...[More]

Friedman: Who Will Tell the People?

Thomas Friedman is back from a 5+ month book writing sabbatical, and damn if he isn't a man on fire: We are not as powerful...[More]

Realignments

As you examine the data, remember: realignments are a multi-step process. In many, many cases, people don't convert directly from one party to another. First...[More]

About Those "Experts"

Ah. Now Clinton's sudden aversion to the opinions of experts makes perfect sense: "We need a president who's a fighter again," Mrs. Clinton said at...[More]

Quote of the Day

Via Andrew Sullivan: "Why don't we hold these Wall St money grubbers responsible for their role in this recession?" - Senator Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, her...[More]

Quote of the Day II

The Internet's Matt Yglesias: It's really bizarre how, in the context of war, totally normal attributes of human behavior become transformed into into mysterious cultural...[More]

May 6, 2008

Good News / Bad News

On the one hand, the fact that the Iraq War will produce more suicides than combat deaths could be seen as a triumph of modern...[More]

Judicial Activism Is A Meaningless Idea

McCain apparently gave a big speech today on judges and judicial activism. After Bush v. Gore (2000), you would think "judicial activism" would be a...[More]

The Kids Are Alright

Following up on my latest post about how different today's college students are from those just 4 short years ago, there's this from yesterday's WaPo...[More]

Quote of the Day

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!! Andrew Sullivan: ...why is remembering an event the key to experiencing it fully? Sometimes, being there, without mediation,...[More]

Re: Mr. Super

As I mentioned last week, I had what I thought was a pretty good lead on the ID of "Mr. Super," the anonymous Super Delegate...[More]

1.5 Million Donors For Obama

Its so unprecedented that I'm at a loss for words. Thankfully, Andrew Sullivan isn't: No one has ever come close to this in history. And...[More]

Redefining Incompetence

NYT: Law professors are sometimes influential, but in a general way. Their insights can help shape the law, over time and at the margins. But...[More]

Choices, Choices...

Ilan Goldenberg catches the Bush Administration admitting something that all us lefties have been saying for years: Iraq is preventing us from achieving success in...[More]

Straight Talk!

Greg Mankiw passes along this gem from the Washington Times: John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who should know better, was the first presidential...[More]

If McCain Wins In November...

...he will be the Republican version of Jimmy Carter. Carter's legislative agenda and approach to governance permanently shredded what little was left of the old...[More]

The Nonsense Coming From The Clinton Campaign Is Unbearable

Lisa Caputo, former Press Secretary to First Lady Hillary Clinton and current Clinton campaign supporter, just now on MSNBC: Just because she went to Wellseley...[More]

"No One Could Have Predicted"

First, the news story: About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't...[More]

NBC Calls NC For Obama

Right at 7:30pm when the polls closed. Woot!...[More]

Size

Worth keeping in mind... The approximatepopulation of tonight's states: North Carolina: 9,100,000 Indiana: 6,300,000...[More]

The Money Primary

Ben Smith does some reporting: I asked Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe just now whether Clinton had given or loaned her campaign more money in...[More]

CBS: Clinton Wins Indiana

The question now is: with what margin?...[More]

"The Die Is Cast"

Howard Fineman reports just now on MSNBC that David Plouffe is predicting Obama will have a majority of the pledged delegates locked up when the...[More]

Race, Gender, and Age

Listening to and reading all of the exit poll data tonight, it looks like everyone is once again missing the point. Obama is "losing" among...[More]

Obama's Victory Speech

Text here. My favorite part here: Yes, we know what's coming. We've seen it already. The same names and labels they always pin on everyone...[More]

Clinton Cancels All Morning Media Appearances

So says Tim Russert @ 11:54pm. Meanwhile, Indiana is down to It all comes down to... sign it with me now... Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana,...[More]

Want to Understand What The Fall Election Will Look Like?

Go read Jonathan Cohn. Now. After describing the battle between Clinton and Obama, Cohn pivots to describe how the fall race between Obama and McCain...[More]

May 7, 2008

MSNBC: It's Over

According to Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, and Chuck Todd, the race ended tonight. That is all. UPDATE: Or not. Josh Marshall reports Clinton has canceled...[More]

John Cole: "I want payback."

Not all that long ago, John Cole was a stalwart Republican. But a few years back he saw the light, recognizing that his party no...[More]

Raged Against The Machine

There have only been a small handful of dynasties in American history - Adams, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush - and the Clintons were aiming to add...[More]

Zombies

And yet today she goes on. Last night's reports of a day free of public appearances must be amended. Howard Wolfson is trying to...[More]

Meanwhile, In Iraq....

BBC: The authorities in Baghdad say they are preparing for an exodus of thousands of people from eastern parts of the city. Fighting between government...[More]

Meanwhile, In Iraq.... [Part Two]

At least one person in DC gets it. From yesterday's White House briefing: THOMAS: Yesterday, according to The New York Times, we dropped a bomb...[More]

Meanwhile, In Oil...

Via Atrios, MSN's Charley Blaine looks at the price of oil and muses: The news got lots of attention: Goldman Sachs analyst Arjun Murti predicted...[More]

Hillarity!

War Room reports on this AM's Clinton conference call: And another reporter pointed out that while the Clinton camp has repeatedly denigrated Obama for his...[More]

May 8, 2008

Please Just Go Away

So much for going gracefully. USAToday: Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Wednesday to continue her quest for the Democratic nomination, arguing she would be the stronger...[More]

On Second Thought...

Kevin Drum is right: the race is over, and we ought to start acting that way. So unless it is news related to her formal...[More]

May 9, 2008

AZ Republic: McCain Is Not A Maverick

Tell me something I didn't already know. Over the years, Sen. John McCain has publicly condemned Republican Party leaders and occasionally voted against the GOP...[More]

WaPo: McCain Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Sen. John McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade remote grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of...[More]

Bits and Bobs

No time to blog today. Here are some things you should be reading in my absence: + Obama picked up 8 more Super Delegates today....[More]

May 10, 2008

Gas Prices + Public Transport

As you read this, imagine how different our mass transit system would look, and by extension how different our country would look, if we had...[More]

Clinton's Campaign Debt

All this talk of Obama paying off Clinton's campaign debt had been really worrying me. His campaign's ability to raise small sums of money from...[More]

Trash

This story about garbage and recycling in San Francisco is really, really cool. Their motto? "You can recycle almost anything." And its true! Apparently you...[More]

Go Enjoy Your Weekend!

Get out of here on a high note......[More]

May 11, 2008

This Is Your DJ Speaking

Go see Speed Raver. If sensory overload is even remotely your thing, I promise you it will be the best 2+ hours you spend in...[More]

SNL

Wow....[More]

May 13, 2008

Quote of the Day

Barack Obama: There is no reason we shouldn't pass the 21st Century GI Bill that is being debated in Congress right now. It was introduced...[More]

WV Prediction

Obama will lose by more than 20 but less than 30. This is far less than the predicted 35+ point loss, so the media will...[More]

Bits and Bobs

I'm in the middle of doing some serious prep work for the upcoming Summer Semester that starts one week from today, so between now and...[More]

Fafblog Interviews Hillary Clinton

Brilliant!...[More]

Quote of the Day

The Internet's Matthew Yglesias can be very, very funny: Her campaign is rescued from the dead. As the Clinton campaign sagely points out "no Democrat...[More]

Quote of the Day II

No sooner did I hit publish on the last post than Chris Matthews said the following: Hillary Clinton in the past few weeks has become...[More]

Five Myths About Obama's Support

From Team Obama and via the Swamp: Debunking Five Myths About Obama's Support MYTH 1: The Primary has left Democrats divided. FACT: Democrats are united...[More]

Exit Polling Data

As you listen to all of the breathless reporting about the exit polling data tonight, keep this in mind: Big Cities (N/A%) Smaller Cities (3%)...[More]

It's Appalachia

Josh Marshall has an absolute must read post tonight that explores the one and only area where Clinton has a big advantage over Obama: Appalachia....[More]

May 14, 2008

What the Edwards Endorsement Really Means

I haven't yet had a chance to read any blogs today (yes America, it is possible to oversleep a 3:30 appointment. Don't ask.), so no...[More]

Poverty From The Inside

Please go read this. Please....[More]

The Change You Deserve?

Having just yesterday lost a special congressional election in yet another solidly Republican congressional district, the GOP today rolled out their new political strategy for...[More]

Quote of the Day

Via Andrew Sullivan "...as my husband pointed out this morning, if the inability to concede error or defeat even in light of irrefutable, empirical evidence...[More]

May 15, 2008

A Tribute To Tony Kornheiser

Washington Post sports columnist (and now PTI and MNF host, too!) Tony Kornheiser announced today that he is taking a buyout from the Washington Post....[More]

Bits and Bobs

655 unread items in my RSS feed. Here's the best of the best: + God bless California. And serious props to the Guvernator for doing...[More]

Redrawing The Political Map

A few realignment-inspired posts that I came across today: + To reiterate: Obama's problem isn't race, its Appalachia. And people are starting to notice. Take...[More]

Munich?

Surely by now you've heard and/or read plenty about Bush's ludicrous speech today before the Israeli Knesset. I really don't have it in me to...[More]

May 16, 2008

McCain: Hypocrisy on Hamas

At this point I really am actually starting to feel sorry for the guy. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive nominee for the Republican nomination, was...[More]

You Don't Know What You Are Talking About

I know I posted this yesterday, but its so damn good I have to post it again....[More]

Coal-Fired National Parks

The party of Teddy Roosevelt? No longer. WaPo: The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it...[More]

More McCain Flip Flops

That Internet thing is a bitch, isn't it? The NRA is entitled to their advocacy. I don't think they help the Republican Party at all,...[More]

Veepstakes

Good to see the Supers knocking back this ridiculousness from bob Beckel. Mr. Super: Q: CAN THE CONVENTION DELEGATES PICK A VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE OVER...[More]

Meanwhile, In Saudi...

WaPo: Saudi Arabia announced Friday that it will boost oil production by about 300,000 barrels a day to meet increased demand from customers next month....[More]

Obama Comes Swingin!

Go on, Barack! The way to beat these people is to ridicule them. Their rhetoric isn't worth taking seriously, but that isn't necessarily self evident...[More]

What Went Wrong

This take on the Clinton campaign from TNR, consisting almost entirely of unattributed quotes from people within the campaign, is an absolute must read. Short...[More]

Digital Storage

This is a point so important that it deserves its own post for emphasis. It isn't just that McCain has flip-flopped on nearly every important...[More]

More Proof Rove Is Not A Genius

Marc Ambinder reports on Rove's speech today before the NRA: At the NRA convention in Kentucky this afternoon, Karl Rove portrayed Barack Obama as an...[More]

Let's Go To The Digital Videotape!

See? This is exactly what I was just talking about: Earlier, for example, we talked about McCain's 2006 position that the U.S. engage Hamas diplomatically,...[More]

Hey Connecticut Voters, You Proud Of Yourselves Today?

Joe Lieberman is now defending Pastor Hagee. He's saying that Hagee "represents a lot of people in this country, particularly Christians who care about the...[More]

May 20, 2008

Bits and Bobs

I've been almost totally overwhelmed with last minute Summer Semester planning - Media and Politics in the United States (PO324) starts tonight at 6pm -...[More]

May 21, 2008

On the Coming Realignment

Matt wonders: is Obama a new Reagan, or is he a new Carter? Ezra counters by suggesting he might be a Bill Clinton. Guys... Stephen...[More]

What Has Kennedy Done?

Many of this blog's readers are too young to know precisely what Sen. Kennedy has done over the course of his near half century in...[More]

Bits and Bobs

Yet more catch-up: + This Matt Bai piece on McCain was an absolute must read. I had planned to comment extensively on it, but no...[More]

Number of the Day: $21 million

That's the sum total of Clinton's campaign debt: $10 million in loans to herself plus $9.48 million in unpaid bills. Additionally, campaign officials said the...[More]

Justice Clinton?

JB is right - even if this is something Obama is considering, he would never, ever announce it publicly. I mean, sure, it might rally...[More]

Vice President Webb? You Can Bet On It.

Get comfortable with the idea, people, because it is going to happen. Watch this video from an appearance on MSNBC. Sen. Webb takes on the...[More]

May 23, 2008

Clinton Uses The "A" Word

I know I said that I wouldn't post anymore about the insane things that come out of Hillary Clinton's mouth, but today's comments are so...[More]

May 25, 2008

Bits and Bobs

Getting caught up on my RSS Feed reading.... + The President plans to veto the latest Defense Authorization bill. His reasoning? A 3.9 percent pay...[More]

Robert Frank: The Invisible Hand Is Shaking

The NYT provides yet more evidence that the days of conservative dominance are ending. When economists begin taking to their pages to explain some of...[More]

Zakaria: The Only Thing We Have to Fear...

If only it hadn't taken us five years to get to this point... You know that we are living in scary times. Terrorist groups are...[More]

Sabato on Obama's Veep

Oops. In my post predicting that Obama would pick Webb as his VP, I quoted Virginia politics guru Larry Sabato. Sabato's quote came from the...[More]

Hillary: Why I continue to run

If I were going to construct a time capsule that preserved post-1960s "politics as vicitmhood" for future generations to consider, I would almost certainly include...[More]

McCain's Weakness on Veterans Issues

Obama knows he has a winner. Hilzoy explains why....[More]

Is Barack Obama A Muslim?

Barack Obama Is NOT A Muslim. If you have a blog, please link. We need to push this site to the top of Google's index....[More]

Today's Obama Highlights:

From Florida: "We all have a piece of each other, and we can't get caught up in our differences." It's post-partisan, post-racial, post-Reagan, post-1960s identity...[More]

June 3

Via Kos, Reuters: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday he expects Democratic superdelegates to reveal their choice for presidential nominee soon after the...[More]

George Packer: THE FALL OF CONSERVATISM

Everyone else has already linked to this article, but in case you missed it, George Packer's take on the fall of conservatism in the latest...[More]

May 28, 2008

Hey CT Voters... How Ya Felling Today?

The latest in a continuing and apparently unending series... Joe Lieberman, the fabulous man you Nutmeggers sent back to the Senate in 2006, has accepted...[More]

Bits and Bobs

Somehow I always forget at the beginning of each new semester... prepping new lectures is a lot of work! Some things that happened while I...[More]

More On McLellan

I mentioned this in last night's Bits and Bobs, but it really does deserve a full post. So, without further ado, here are some of...[More]

Quote of the Day I

I'm gonna give another nod to McClellan: "The president had promised himself that he would accomplish what his father had failed to do by winning...[More]

Quote of the Day II

Via Andrew Sullivan, John McCain: "I think that the very significant failing was to not question the course of the war in Iraq for too...[More]

Number of the Day: 100%

ThinkProgress: According to a CQ analysis of Senate votes on issues President Bush expressed "an explicit, stated opinion," Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted with President...[More]

Putting A Rumor To Rest

MojoBlog has an important corrective to an Iran-related rumor that has been making the rounds....[More]

May 29, 2008

Speechifying

Just how good are Obama and his speech writers? Read this and be amazed....[More]

"Out of the Loop"

Earlier today, Karl Rove was asked about some of the charges leveled by former White House Press Sec. Scott McClellan in his new memoir. Here's...[More]

Quote of the Night

Let's head to bed on a high note. Via Hilzoy, Reuters reports: "During a fund-raiser in Denver, Obama -- a former constitutional law professor at...[More]

May 30, 2008

More On McLellan

First, the man in his own words: It's been less than 2 days since the Politico first ran excerpts of the book, and already opinions...[More]

Quote of the Day I

From a Wired News story detailing yet another problem with electronic voting machines "Somehow the recording software had tabulated it into the wrong race," Haggard...[More]

About That GI Bill

So much for the specifics of the Bush-McCain argument... Slate: One of the strongest arguments in favor of Jim Webb's new GI Bill, which passed...[More]

Feed History

Oh dear god help me. I agree almost entirely with everything Peggy Noonan just said: Leave him alone. He wrote a book. It is true...[More]

Bits and Bobs

Before getting to today's news, some catch-up: + I had meant to post this on Memorial Day, but events got the better of me and...[More]

"That narrative is itself demonstrably false"

Thank god someone finally said it: Puerto Ricans have vastly different interests from most stateside Latinos, starting with the fact that Puerto Ricans are citizens...[More]

Quote of the Day II

Brilliant: "It would be nothing short of a nightmare," council member Dave Thune told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune at the time. He added that he wanted...[More]

Quote of the Day III

Kos: Primaries truly do little for party building. Caucus are almost 100 percent party building. He's right, you know. Caucuses don't simply favor those who...[More]

Celtics vs. Lakers

Paul Pierce just said it: its just like when we were kids. Celtics vs. Lakers. NBA Finals. Someone cue the Magic vs. Bird tapes. 'Cause...[More]

May 31, 2008

Disenfranchisement

In preparation for todays meeting of the DNC's Rules + Bylaws Committee, Josh Marshall is asking all the right questions. To hear the Clinton campaign...[More]

Now He Tells Us?

Via Andrew Sullivan, a great quote from former Bush speechwriter David Frum: "George W. Bush brought most of his White House team with him from...[More]

"The Best Qualities of America"

ThinkProgress reports: The Sons of Confederate Veterans, an all-male organization dedicated to preserving the "true history" of the Civil War period, is currently constructing what...[More]

Just Breathe....

I know that everyone thinks today's events at the DNC mean we're rapidly approaching some sort of armageddon, but I don't buy it. I mean,...[More]