National Republicans
Trump disease
Donald Trump is like a fever in the Republican body politic: a sign of sickness. A lot of Republicans are hoping and praying the fever breaks before the sickness infects the entire body. Trump has owned about a third of the Republican vote in polls since he announced. That one-third gravitated to him when he…
Read MoreTerror politics
The Great Ebola Panic hit America a year ago this October, right before the 2014 midterm elections. President Obama’s poll ratings plunged, and races that had been within Democrats’ reach – including the U.S. Senate and legislative races in North Carolina – shifted to Republicans. This year, the Paris terrorist attacks remind us how dangerously…
Read MoreTed Cruz Moment
It starts with seeing a tiny cloud on the horizon – and that’s the first sign; then, next, out of nowhere chains of emails start floating across the Internet – and that’s the second sign: After studying Donald Trump with unease (and amazement) and Ben Carson with hope (but doubt) conservatives’ eyes have now locked…
Read MoreA moment for Hillary
The Paris attacks and the Syrian refugee crisis quickly brought out the worst in Republicans. Will it now bring out the best in Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton? Of course Republican politicians are doing what they do best: stoking Americans’ worst fears, deepest suspicions and darkest prejudices. No surprise. The politicians saw what bashing Mexicans did…
Read MoreAsking hard questions, made easy
The Republican presidential candidates are right: the questions asked at the CNBC debate were awful. But not for the reasons the candidates complain about. By straining to ask “tough” questions, the panel made the debate too easy on the candidates. There’s a better way. Less is more. The hardest questions to answer are short, sharp…
Read MoreA Hurricane
When Donald Trump stormed out of Trump Tower and roared into the lead in the Republican Primary, the press said he was sure to collapse. They said the same thing after the first debate. And after the second debate. After the third debate, with Trump still leading, they said: Rubio soars. Cruz scores. Trump falls…
Read MoreThere’s no ! in Jeb anymore
Poor Jeb looked like an aging big-leaguer striking out on three straight pitches from a Little Leaguer with a wicked fastball. Now Marco gets his moment on the mound. So four questions from last night’s Republican playoff game: When will the rats desert the SS Bush? You almost feel sorry for the Establishment Republicans, including…
Read MoreRyan and Biden bidin’ their time
Paul Ryan and Joe Biden are playing high-stakes poker. Who will hold and who will fold? Biden still isn’t decidin’ whether to run for President. But he’s taking shots at Hillary Clinton just as she’s getting a poll bump from her debate performance. And Biden seems to be rewriting history on what he told President…
Read MoreHillary versus The Donald
This will be The Greatest Show on Earth. Or maybe a sign of the End Times. It will pit the yin and yang of American politics, the alpha and omega, Wonder Woman versus Captain America, Good versus Evil (whichever side you’re on). The only thing they have in common is our obsession with their hairstyles.…
Read MoreMad Republicans
Republicans are fighting mad. At each other. The Republican presidential contest is an insult-comic festival. The US House Republican caucus is cannibalizing itself. Republican members of Congress from North Carolina are knifing each other in the back. And front. Republican legislators are fighting with the Republican Board of Governors over the next UNC President. Governor…
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