Ronald Reagan towered above any of these Republican candidates doing various imitations of Bush 43.5, Bush 43.6, Bush 43.7 and so forth.

Lets start with Rudy, the candidate who will implode, the only question being when.

Rudy is the guy imitating Karl Rove with the kind of attack fear politics on terror that led Bush to 35 percent popularity and led Republicans in Congress back to minority status.

Rudy, you may remember, was the genius who ignored all advice and put his emergency command center in the World Trade Center that was previously attacked. Another common denominator with Bush: not listening to advice from those who know far more about certain matters than he.

Rudy masterminded the poorly functioning system of communications that proved disastrous on 9-11. Read more...

What is all this political hand-wringing over the Iraq votes?  How many votes for an override, the differences between the liberal Democrats and the blue dogs, are Democrats over-reaching?

The Democrats are not only doing the right thing pushing back against the Bush administration but the Republicans are quaking in their boots every time they have to cast another vote for Bush’s Iraq policy.

Here’s my guess. Many Republicans feel that they have until early fall to keep their powder dry and lie low. They raise some questions in their public comments but basically toe the Bush line on the votes. If there is not a dramatic turnaround in Iraq soon they know that there is no Plan B. They know that the politics of Iraq, if it rolls into 2008, will be a disaster for Republicans. They know that this war has no light at the end of the tunnel, only more devastation and disaster. They also know that things are unraveling in Afghanistan with more and more civilians getting caught in the crossfire and increasing concern about U.S. troop presence and action on the ground. Read more...

Tonight at the Reagan Library the GOP presidential candidates, known as the 10 White Men, all hope they will have a chance to break away from the pack. We are sure to hear much gushing about their hero, Ronald Reagan, and some awkward statements about the current Republican president, George W. Bush. But to make an impact the candidates clearly need to talk about themselves, and  to do a good job of it.

This task is hardest for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who has built his career as a politician defined by his independence — that is, until recent years, when he has become defined by his contradictions. All eyes are on him tonight as the former frontrunner fighting to regain his momentum. To win, candidate McCain must become someone beyond the guy who infuriated conservatives and opposed Bush, then the guy who embraced conservatives and Bush. Read more...

A couple quick thoughts this morning before tonight's GOP presidential debate in Southern California at the Ronald Reagan Library:

1.    Intensity, intensity, intensity. It ain't there. If the GOP doesn't fall in love with their eventual nominee by next year, they aren't going to turn out to vote. And that, of course, could have a ripple effect throughout the country in state and local races. I think part of the angst is that Republicans aren't sure what they would get by voting for any of the top three candidates. Would McCain be a good capitalist in the White House? Not sure. Would Romney be as eager to veto socially liberal bills as he says he would spending bills? Maybe. Would Rudy go a tad too far in wire-tapping every citizen for the sake of the greater good?  Who knows. Read more...

It was a very close vote in the House. Not in the sense that the president’s veto was close to being overridden; rather in the sense that House Democrats are not really sure this is a winning issue for them.

Seven House Democrats abandoned their leadership and voted to sustain the president’s veto, while only two Republicans abandoned their president.

All the passion on this issue is coming from the crazy left, who dominate the primary process for House Democrats. Yet seven thought it was worth the risk of alienating their base and possibly inspiring a primary fight to vote with the president. Read more...

Progressive radio talk show host Stephanie Miller is doing a great job in the old Imus spot on MSNBC, and I hope everyone has a chance to catch her show.

Stephanie is a comedienne, radio host and progressive impressario, and it's great to see her doing cable television.

She's funny, pointed, provocative, progressive and her time on MSNBC is a mini-breakthrough and I suspect we'll be seeing more of her. Read more...

Barack, Barack, Barack. What is it going to take for this guy to take a gimme?

According to a story in our paper yesterday by Alexander Bolton, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was asked a year ago by the Congressional Black Caucus to do a fundraiser for the CBC political action committee and still hasn't found the time.

Has Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) found the time? You betcha. Why would
she pass up the chance to help? And Bill Clinton has found the time to lend a hand as well — no surprise there — with plans to chair a charity golf and tennis tournament organized by the spouses of Black Caucus members. Read more...

In the Academy Award-winning movie “Bridge on the River Kwai,” British Lt. Col. Nicholson (played by Alec Guinness) becomes so enamored of his project of building the bridge, which will help his enemy in the long run, he actually attempts to stop efforts to blow it up by his fellow allies. That is called losing the proper focus.

House Republicans may be accused of pulling a “Nicholson” if they cooperate too much in finding a solution to the war-funding crisis. House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), in particular, has proposed some steps to bridge the gap between the White House and congressional Democrats.

But unlike Nicholson, Blunt is actually serving a bigger purpose than just building a bridge. He and his House Republican colleagues may actually save the reputation of congressional Republicans and the Republican Party. Read more...

He already owns the Fox Network, the Fox News Channel, the New York Post, the Weekly Standard, Sky News, and 20th Century Fox movie studios. And he’s starting a new Fox Business Channel. But that’s not enough. Now he wants to buy the Wall Street Journal.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the United States of Murdoch! Yes, right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch has made a $5 billion offer to buy Dow Jones, parent company of the Journal.

Make no mistake about it, the FCC should not allow this deal to go through. Because it’s bad news for America. Read more...