Politics
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New Hampshire Revival (updated)
I'm disappointed. I was hoping things would stabilize, but it's clear the situation for the Dems is still pretty volatile. I think the only way to account for Obama's loss of a double digit lead in the polls is a sympathy vote for Clinton. The story of the the "mean girls" on the media bus
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Quote of the Day: Frank Rich
What felt good was not merely the improbable and historic political triumph of an African-American candidate carrying a state with a black population of under 3 percent. It was the palpable sense that our history was turning a page whether or not Mr. Obama or his doppelgänger in improbability, Mike Huckabee, end up in the
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Anti-Corporate Rhetoric (updated)
He’s made Hillary Clinton, with her wonkish, pragmatic approach to politics, seem uninspired. He’s made John Edwards, with his angry cries that “corporate greed is killing your children’s future,” seem old-fashioned. Edwards’s political career is probably over.–David Brooks I think Brooks is right on both counts about the basic political perception, and I think that's
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Not Much to Say about Iowa
Except the obvious. I think that the Huckabee trouncing of Romney is a good sign. Add to his 34% the 10% for Ron Paul, and it's a sign that heartland GOPers who care enough to vote are rejecting the GOP machine that feels far more comfortable with Romney, Giuliani, or Thompson. We'll see if the
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Kristol Goes to the Times (expanded)
In response to Abe Rosenthal's defense of the NY Times's providing neocon propagandist Bill Kristol a column on "free-speech" grounds, Mark Crispin Miller responds: Showcasing Kristol's "views" might be acceptable if they had not beencatastrophically discredited by (what one might dare call) reality. Hislousy record as a pundit should be quite sufficient to disqualify him
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The Bi-Partisanship Fantasy
Digby quoting David Broder: "Electing a president based solely on the platform or promises of one party is not adequate for this time," Boren said. "Until you end the polarization and have bipartisanship, nothing else matters, because one party simply will block the other from acting." Except the one party is called the Republican Party.
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Quote of the Day: Greenwald
Just as the warrantless eavesdropping revelations did, the CIA video scandal presents an extremely clear and straightforward case of serious lawbreaking by our highest government officials. It’s far less complex and far more serious than the scandals that brought down Richard Nixon. That a rational person would be highly skeptical about the prospects that we
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Explaining GOP Legislators’ Lockstep Loyalty
"Tyranny is always better organised than freedom".–Charles Peguy They are bought and paid for. How else to explain why they are risking their political careers in standing by a disgraced, failed president ? I don’t mean bought and paid for in the sense of outright bribes, but more in the promise of their being "taken
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Conservatives’ Embrace of Obama
I’d be fine if Obama were the nominee; I’d much prefer him to Hillary. He may well indeed be the best we can hope for. But this comment by feralman in repsonse to Joe Conason’s piece "Why conservatives love Barack Obama" captures my reservations about him: I think some conservatives like Obama because they know
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Trying to Understand the Ron Paul Movement
Somebody help me out. What am I missing here? Read this article in Mother Jones about Libertarianism and Ron Paul’s attraction particularly by the Wired Magazine techie types. Are they as naive as I think, or is it that I just don’t get it? I understand the philosophical basis and attractiveness of Libertarianism, but I