Presidential Campaign

Here’s a Holiday Weekend Pop Quiz for all you spinmeisters who delight in turning a phrase.

Presidential candidate John Edwards managed to make news this week, and will no doubt be the subject on all the Sunday morning political shows, for saying the “war on terror” is a bumper sticker, not a strategy. So that’ll be the theme of this, the first ever (I think) Holiday Weekend Pop Quiz.

Match the quote with the person who said it.

1. “… for us to be successful in this war on terrorism, we have to find these terrorist groups where they are, whether it’s within our borders or outside our borders, and stop them and stamp them out before they do us harm.”

A. Sean Hannity
B. Lt. Col. Oliver North
C. John Edwards Read more...

One of the finalists for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) campaign theme song is The Temptations’ “Get Ready.” That’s the winner, in my book.

We should all “Get Ready” for a Hillary administration.

She has said that when she is president, she will cut healthcare spending by $120 billion. So we should all get ready by stockpiling all of the life-saving drugs we can get our hands on. With Hillary in charge, healthcare will get a good deal worse for the average American.

Hillary has done a masterful job in positioning herself at the center-right of her party (which is still much further left than most Americans are willing to go). But let’s not kid ourselves, Hillary’s heart is still at the far left of the political spectrum. Read more...

Someone named Mike Henry is having a horrible day. I even wonder if he is still employed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, having dared to do the unthinkable and break her perfect record for campaign discipline. Henry either leaked his memo about her skipping Iowa in the ’08 primaries or he let that memo float into the hands of a leaker. It is hard to believe he got sloppy; all Clinton employees know better.

The idea to ditch the caucuses, according to breathless and categorical statements from Howard Wolfson and other top campaign staff, was Henry’s and Henry’s alone and was soundly rejected by everyone in HillaryWorld, including Sen. Clinton herself. She denounced the idea and said she is “unalterably” committed to competing in Iowa, while spokesman Phil Singer said they are “unequivocally committed” to competing in Iowa. Sounds like they are going! Read more...

Late last night, I watched Rudy Giuliani on “Late Night with David Letterman.” Surprisingly, Letterman got into some pretty substantive discussions about issues like Iraq. Letterman asked the former New York mayor about timetables and the cut-off dates, and to big applause, Rudy said that he didn’t understand why we would give the enemy our plans to surrender.

This is in New York and Rudy got some big applause. Maybe the Democrats aren’t winning this rhetorical war after all.

One thing that won’t be forgiven by the American people is incompetence when it comes to funding our troops when they are in a real war. The Democrats can hem and haw all they want. But they better get the money to the troops before they leave for the Memorial Day recess. Read more...

Why should the Democrats, especially the presidential candidates, try to one-up each other on Iraq? Dates, timetables with conditions, without conditions, benchmarks, funding clauses and sub-clauses. Do they really think that voters next January are going to look back and research which version of which bill they supported? Do they really think that MoveOn.org is going to determine who the presidential nominee will be?

Is it really helpful to have MoveOn spending hard-earned money running negative TV ads against Carl Levin and Steny Hoyer because they didn’t vote for the Feingold or McGovern amendments? Is this the right message to send? I doubt it.

The simple fact is this: Either the Republicans are going to continue to move off Bush by the fall and call for an end to this war, or they are going to lead the ship of state into an iceberg. And they will pay dearly in the November 2008 elections. Democrats are already basically united against the current policy; they are the ones pushing for change, the ones keeping the pressure on the president every day. Voters get that. Read more...

Just who is Ron Paul? Ask anyone on the Hill and they’ll tell you he’s a quirky House back-bencher often heralded for his “libertarian” views on issues. That’s not how I see it. For years, I’ve witnessed Congressman Paul (R-Texas) trot to the well of the House, only to vote no on seemingly every issue critical to this country. I’m not kidding — he’s voted against entire defense bills and the war in Iraq. “Well, he opposes the war,” you retort. OK, but why vote against farm bills? Water-quality bills? Anti-terrorism legislation? Education bills? Bills where he is the only Republican to vote no? To hear Congressman Paul tell his story, he doesn’t think the federal government should be involved in those issues. So why, then, is Ron Paul in Congress?!? Isn’t that his job — to ensure the taxpayer’s dollars are spent wisely and on the services that are necessary to run the Commonwealth? And now this guy wants to run for president??! Give me a break! There are far more qualified individuals who deserve a slot on that stage, and Ron Paul isn’t one of ’em.

Flip-flops. John Kerry must be mad as hell. This crowd of Republicans is making his much publicized comment, “I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it” look like a simple statement of fact.

What I wonder is, has the flood of flip-flops from the Republicans made it safe to change positions at will? Does anybody in the Republican Party care about the about-faces that these candidates are engaging in on a daily basis? These aren’t evolving positions, these aren’t candidates getting wiser or processing new information — these are all about integrity and core beliefs versus putting your finger up to the political winds and going whichever way the wind is blowing that day.

Romney is the ultimate weathervane in a hurricane. More pro-gay rights than Ted Kennedy, now gay bashing. Pro-gun control, pro-Brady bill, pro-assault weapons ban, now a “hunter” (twice) and a lifetime member of the NRA (since last August). Pro-choice, now pro-life. For immigration reform, now against it. Read more...

Hats off to the earnest and dedicated lawmakers who spent months behind closed doors trying to solve one the country’s worst problems while their colleagues competed for air time on the Iraq war. But it’s already hard to believe this hard fought immigration compromise has a pulse.

It would be mighty impressive if the new Democratic majority actually tried to get this sick and dying patient to the hospital, to surgery and to stability. But it’s more likely they drive the ambulance down a dark alley and dump it. Helping President Bush win one for the legacy might sound alright — on their most generous day — if it didn’t guarantee the Democrats so much trouble. Just after gaining power are they eager to take something on that rankles black voters, Hispanic voters, labor unions and big business all at once? Read more...

A ticket of Al Gore for president and Barack Obama for vice president would create an electricity and enthusiasm that would transform American politics and send shock waves of excitement throughout a world yearning for new American leadership.

With the release of Al Gore's new book about reason and truth in politics, and the July 7 worldwide concert for global warming, the stage is set for a new era in American politics that would be more exciting than any event since the inaugural of JFK.

Al Gore would bring the most commander-in-chief qualities in the history of presidential candidates with a passion and depth that would lift the hopes and hearts of Americans ready to inaugurate the post-Bush era. Read more...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson’s new video response to Michael Moore says it all: Macho is the ticket in the GOP nominating contest for 2008. Turning to the camera with his cigar stuck in his mouth and his glasses ever so perfectly perched, Thompson talks tough to the favorite conservative bogeyman, sort of a Hollywood mano-a-mano. Their particular food fight is about Castro and Moore’s film about healthcare in Cuba but is irrelevant to the larger point — for Thompson to enter the race he realizes he has to have more swagger than Rudy.

How good a night would Rudy Giuliani have had at the second Republican debate if he hadn’t slammed Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) about, you guessed it, Sept. 11? It was a tailor-made moment for Rudy, and after wading through the weeds on abortion it was more than a lucky break, reminding Republicans just who needs to be in charge here.
Read more...