Archive for June 2007
Oh, Johnny Boy
It may be a coincidence but just as John Edwards is redirecting the focus of his campaign away from the war and back to his crusade against poverty, the New York Times has published a scathing report about Edwards’ anti-poverty foundation, the Center for Promise and Opportunity. The Times reports, “The main beneficiary of the…
Read MoreMs. Pelosi, Work and Junkets
Nancy Pelosi, during the honeymoon after being elected the first woman Speaker ever, promised she was going to put the members of Congress to work after their indolent year under the Republicans. Then she set a schedule for House sessions this year. That gave members twenty weeks off (Dick Morris Reports, 6-20-07). No corporation can…
Read MoreGet Rid of the Primaries
Could we have designed a worse system of nominating presidential candidates than the primary mess we have today? You need an Excel spreadsheet just to keep up with which state is holding a straw poll, primary or caucus when. And which states are moving theirs up, which will force Iowa or New Hampshire or Lower…
Read MoreAn Activist’s Nightmare
Here’s an activist’s nightmare. He – or she – camps out on the lawn of the State Legislature in the June heat for 51 hours with a ragtag band of fellow demonstrators alongside a troop of plastic hogs, piles of artificial hog manure and a baby wading pool full of the real thing (to send…
Read MoreBloomberg’s Humbug
The last time a short billionaire with an ego to match his checkbook ran for President, he helped elect Bill Clinton. So I’m intrigued by Michael Bloomberg running in 2008. I’ll feel different if polls show he hurts Democrats more than Republicans, of course. But, really, Bloomberg’s whole message is a sham. Elect me, he…
Read MoreWait and Hope
What to do about the war in Iraq has the Republican presidential candidates tied in knots. They don’t want to get out, they don’t dare say to go in deeper and the surge isn’t working. So Republican policy boils down to three unstated words: Wait and Hope. Imagine this: A presidential candidate says, “Look, we’re…
Read MoreDole’s Dilemma
Talk about a dangerous place to be – how about Sunset Beach last weekend with the Trial Lawyers in town holding their annual convention – you could get sued for using the wrong fork at dinner. That aside, it’s a safe bet Congressman Brad Miller didn’t drive 200 miles to the beach just to sit…
Read MoreAmbivalent About Brad Miller
Most Democrats are ambivalent about Brad Miller running against Elizabeth Dole – apparently including Brad Miller. Miller sounded ambivalent in his interview with The N&O’s Rob Christensen. He even said, “A lot of my closest friends are pretty ambivalent about it. They have mixed feelings, including my wife.” Well, Brad, that makes it hard to…
Read MoreThe You and I Tube Campaign
At a Wake County Democrats’ panel this morning, we were asked whether the Internet will make TV irrelevant in politics. My answer: look at Hillary Clinton’s new video about her campaign song. It led the morning news. It dominated CNN. CBS’ Bob Schieffer called it “genius.” The video gave Hillary millions of dollars worth of…
Read MoreRethinking Fred Thompson
Last week I trashed Fred Thompson as too lazy to run for President. Now a national Republican consultant whom I greatly respect tells me I dismissed Thompson too quickly. He says Thompson has what no other major Republican presidential candidate has: a political and cultural affinity with the hard-right conservative, even fundamentalist, base of the…
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