Archive for 2007
The Wizard Behind Hillary’s Curtain
Mandy Grunwald may be the best political consultant youâve never heard of. Sheâs the image-maker behind Hillaryâs âSopranosâ video. And sheâll handle the ongoing repackaging of Hillary. Iâve known Mandy for more than 20 years. She worked with David Sawyer when he was Jim Huntâs media consultant, including in the 1984 Senate race. Of course,…
Read MoreEdwards Supports Gay Marriage?
Well, not John. Elizabeth. Mrs. Edwards made a pilgrimage to San Francisco to help kick off the annual gay pride parade which The News and Observer (6-25-07) described as ‘a campy civil rights celebration… attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators sprinkled with drag queens, leather chaps and a healthy dose of nudity.’ Mrs. Edwards promptly…
Read MoreBurr’s Contortions
Senator Richard Burr’s contortions on President Bush’s Immigration Bill have him tied in knots. First, Burr announced he was against the bill. And voted against it. Then, yesterday, he reversed himself, supporting Bush’s bill on a key procedural vote. Now, Burr’s staff is reassuring opponents of the bill, telling them he will vote against its…
Read MoreGet Out and Get Osama
It’s time for Democrats to think ahead about the terrorism issue. Today we’re riding a wave of public support for getting out of Iraq. That tide makes 2008 look like a good year. But a lot can happen. George Bush could announce in September that we’ll be out of Iraq next year. Or America could…
Read MoreBloomberg
At first, I was a little intrigued by Michael Bloomberg’s running for President as an Independent. After all, the Republicans (at least the ones in the White House) have joined Ted Kennedy on immigration and the Democrats have marched so far left Hillary’s now a moderate, so I thought, maybe, shaking up the two-party system…
Read MoreOdds and Ends
It’s perplexing. How could Vice President Cheney not understand that when he said he was not a member of the Executive Branch just about everyone in America was going to look at him and say, Huh? Cheney may have a hoary legal point. But he just surpassed Dan Quayle’s misspelling potato when it comes to…
Read MoreWhy Tony Blair Is Better Than George Bush
First, Blair is better because he’s smarter. And he can talk sensibly. Blair did what Bush never could do: articulate a persuasive case for invading Iraq. But in the end it didn’t help Blair. For all his brains and glibness and media mastery, he leaves office unpopular and unmourned. Because of Iraq. That’s the main…
Read MoreOh, 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…
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