National Republicans
End of the Obama era
As President Obama joked on Jimmy Fallon’s show not long ago, “How do you like me now?” Well, pretty good, the polls show. Especially as we ponder what comes next. As Michelle and Barack elegantly and eloquently exit the Democratic convention this week, let’s salute what they brought to the White House: eight years of…
Read MoreAn Old Plumb Line
Clicking back and forth between Fox News and CNN, watching the Democratic Convention, was like watching two different conventions. From two different worlds. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was roundly booed by Bernie Sanders’ supporters. But, then, Michelle Obama righted the Democrats’ ship with her speech Monday night – and proof of her effectiveness is the non-existent…
Read MoreBerning down the house
The bitterest fights are always inside the family. So it is with the Republican and Democratic conventions. Donald Trump has Ted Cruz (and John Kasich and Jeb Bush and…). Hillary Clinton has Bernie Sanders. At least Sanders endorsed Clinton. But not all his supporters buy it. There is a certain self-righteousness among some Sanders supporters…
Read MoreThe 24 Hour News Cycle
Last Friday, as the smoke cleared after the Republican Convention, with a Mongol Horde of Democratic Super PACs after his hide Donald Trump attacked Ted Cruz instead of Hillary. Next Wiki-leaks dumped nineteen thousand hacked Democrat Party emails onto the Internet and the Democrats’ dream of a happy convention went up in smoke. Sunday Debbie…
Read MoreWhy Clinton raised Kaine
Hillary Clinton’s choice of Tim Kaine is about more than winning the battleground state (excuse me, Commonwealth) of Virginia. It’s about a seismic shift in the Presidential chessboard this year – and for years to come. The Clinton campaign calculates that she must win Virginia, North Carolina and Florida (57 total electoral votes) if Donald…
Read MoreHillary’s No Poet Either
It was a rough week. But it’s over. No more opening the morning newspapers to read stories about plagiarism. Or about booing Ted. Or about hour-long political speeches in prime time by Donald Trump. Orators aren’t born – they learn their art the old-fashioned way. One hard step at a time. And great orators…
Read MoreWrapping up the Republicans
Today, some random notes from the GOP convention: There’s a new Republican slogan. “Make America Hate Again.” Republicans deeply admire Michelle Obama. When her lines are mouthed by a Slovenian swimsuit model. It’s okay to plagiarize. Joe Biden had to drop out of the 1988 presidential race when he got caught plagiarizing a British politician.…
Read MoreThat Old Time Religion
We haven’t heard this said before – not during this convention. And not during Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s campaign against one another. We have heard, from Donald Trump: ‘I will make America great again.’ And ‘I will make great trade deals.’ And we’ve heard how ‘Donald Trump can do the impossible.’ We’ve heard…
Read MoreTrump and Tricky Dick
You might not expect a presidential candidate to compare himself to America’s most crooked and disgraced President, but Donald Trump and his campaign chairman did just that this week. Trump and Chairman Paul Manafort said that, just as with Richard Nixon in 1968, Americans want a strong “law and order” leader at a time when…
Read MoreOut of the Myst
Rudy Giuliani nailed the key to the election, saying Obama’s inability to speak two words – Islamic Extremists – has consequences; that it already had consequences in San Bernadino and at Fort Hood with Major Nidal. He was yelling ‘Allah Akbar,’ Guilani said. The only person who couldn’t figure out that was an Islamic terrorist…
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