Keeping Score

Until the voters vote, there are only two ways to keep score in politics: polls and money. So here’s what the second-quarter fundraising scorecard tells us: John McCain: Put butter on him, because he’s toast. His hopes are dying for one reason: He supported the immigration bill. And Republican primary voters hate him for it.…

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“Poisonous” Politics?

To honor July 4th, I take issue with Sunday’s front-page story in The News & Observer: “Attacks replace issues; politics turns poisonous.” Excuse me, but have they heard of the 1984 Hunt-Helms race? Or the 1950 Smith-Graham race? There is nothing new here. The only thing new, really, is cable TV, the Internet and talk…

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Bush Justice

The Bush Presidency was conceived in contempt for the law: a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that stopped the 2000 vote count while Bush was still ahead. So it’s no surprise that Bush commutes Scooter Libby’s sentence so as to keep him out of prison. While Democratic politicians – like Kevin Geddings and Jim Black –…

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Left Turn Ahead

Here’s good news for Democrats and liberals: the youngest generational cohort is more like us than are older voters. A poll by The New York Times, CBS and MTV found: “Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the…

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The Wizard Behind Hillary’s Curtain

Mandy Grunwald may be the best political consultant you’ve never heard of. She’s the image-maker behind Hillary’s “Sopranos” video. And she’ll handle the ongoing repackaging of Hillary. I’ve known Mandy for more than 20 years. She worked with David Sawyer when he was Jim Hunt’s media consultant, including in the 1984 Senate race. Of course,…

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Get 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…

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Why 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…

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Get 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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Bloomberg’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…

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Ambivalent 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…

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