August 2008

Earlier today, we took a look at Alan Colmes' comments about Sarah Palin's most recent pregnancy. Colmes wrote: Rogers Cadenhead gives the timeline associated with the birth of her newest child. She had a speech in Dallas and, even after the water broke, continued with her activities, and then…

(1) Gets Bush out of St. Paul, where he would have given a speech that the media and the Democrats would have pounced on, and puts him in the eye of the storm, doing the nation's business, where he will be welcomed and greeted by friendly Republican governors.

(1) Gets Bush out of St. Paul, where he would have given a speech that the media and the Democrats would have pounced on, and puts him in the eye of the storm, doing the nation's business, where he will be welcomed and greeted by friendly Republican governors. (2) Puts the spotlight on those…

"As for the core principles," writes Andrew Ferguson of the 2008 GOP platform, "they're the same ones you'll remember from back when the Washington Republicans were violating them: less regulation, smaller government, an end to bureaucratic 'social engineering.' "But the urge to stick their fingers…

The New York Times interviews Ian Bowman-Henderson, a 19-year-old Obamaphile who traveled from Cincinnati to Denver to participate in the Democratic convention. Bowman-Henderson was not entirely happy with what he saw. He and other young participants told the Times that "the convention process had…

Tom Wolfe, lamenting the current state of American fiction: "Writers come from master-of-fine-arts programs now. If you add up the college education of Steinbeck, Hemingway and Faulkner, you get to spring break of freshman year."

That's the question Robert Kagan asks in this new essay. Today's so-called "realists," Kagan argues, have inverted the lessons of their predecessors: Leading realists today see the world not as Mr. Morgenthau did, as an anarchic system in which nations consistently pursue "interest defined as…

With all the excitement in Denver, Dayton, and, soon, the Twin Cities, you might have forgotten to take your dose of propaganda and revisionism for the week. I'm talking, of course, about the advertising supplement known as Russia: Beyond the Headlines in the Washington Post. (As it turns out,…

From the Journal's piece on McCain's choice for vice president: "Striding out of [Palin's] downtown office with just a press aide and reporter in tow one June afternoon, a woman passing by pointed her finger at the distinctive-looking governor and said, 'Are you...? Oh my God! I like you, although…

This is a great state. I've visited many times, and it has it all: a nice governor, nice people, great scenery, and the best radio station in the country. Which you can listen to online. In between convention coverage, of course.

Sure, the economy seems to be the central issue of the election. But there is no question that elections are also decided on how many of your supporters show up at the polls versus how many of your opponent's supporters do. And John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin to be his running mate means…

Sarah Palin is proving so popular with the Republican base, it's hard to imagine that John McCain realized just how great an asset he was bringing on board. Right now at least -- before any gaffes or problems that may develop -- Palin seems to be the more popular with Republican true believers than…

Already lower than I imagined. HotAir reports that under the headline "Did Palin Take Proper Pre-Natal Care," Alan Colmes has "rocketed into the gutter," writing: Rogers Cadenhead gives the timeline associated with the birth of her newest child. She had a speech in Dallas and, even after the water…

Another piece of evidence that the "Troopergate" scandal is trumped up: The Anchorage Daily News reports "For the record, no one ever said fire Wooten. Not the governor. Not Todd. Not any of the other staff," Monegan said Friday from Portland.

On MSNBC's Hardball Friday, Pat Buchanan said that Sarah Palin and her husband "were at a fundraiser for me" back in 1996. Politico's Ben Smith noted that there is no record that Palin donated to Buchanan. In a new post, Smith reports that, according to Buchanan's sister, Palin's only contact with…

In 1981, former Harry Truman consigliere and LBJ Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford memorably labeled the new Republican sheriff in town an "amiable dunce." At the time, Clifford was the living embodiment of the Washington establishment, and his glib analysis showed that while you can find the…

Less than 24 hours after the historic selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate, a quick perusal of the National Organization of Women (NOW) website provides a telling window into the world of feminist politics. NOW is the largest feminist organization in the United States, claiming…

George W. Bush will skip the Republican Convention in Minneapolis on Monday in order to focus his attention on Hurricane Gustav, which is making its way toward the Gulf Coast with building intensity. The White House, McCain campaign and convention officials have been meeting and holding conference…

Was there something inconsistent in McCain's naming Governor Palin to his ticket after making much hay out of Barack Obama's not being ready to be president? I don't see it. Most of us McCain-Palin supporters think Senator Obama is ready and qualified to be vice-president, as is Governor Palin. For…

Bill Stuntz has a thoughtful post on three different definitions of "experience" put in play by this year's election.

Quoth lefty blogger Publius after Obama's Invesco coronation: I think McCain's decision to announce the VP pick tomorrow may be too clever by half. I mean, it will certainly draw some attention. But it's not like the press will completely ignore Obama's speech tomorrow or over the weekend. In this…

You have to hand it to former DNC Chairman Don Fowler and House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt: they sure know how to find a silver lining in a sad situation. While some consider it tragic that New Orleans may be about to be hit by a serious hurricane, they think it's something to laugh…

Newt Gingrich e-mailed me the following, which he gave me permission to share with the wider world: Authenticity is the one word threat to the Obama-Biden ticket. There is something going on this weekend which traditional pundits, traditional consultants and traditional politicians are simply…

From NRO, "The Hostess with the Moosest" by Mark Steyn Steyn has at least momentarily emerged from his self-imposed semi-seclusion to remind us of how much we miss him: First, Governor Palin is not merely, as Jay describes her, "all-American", but hyper-American. What other country in the developed…

Christopher Hayes, an editor at The Nation and adoring fan of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, claims that Sarah Palin was a Buchananite based on an AP report that Palin wore a Buchanan button to a Buchanan campaign event in 1999. This news led to Democratic congressman Robert Wexler's frothing-at-the-mouth…

I normally don't link to the work of my Weekly Standard colleagues in these Required Reading thingies, fearing that doing so could set off a frenzy of bribery and what-not as everyone lobbied for inclusion. But I have to make a one-time exception today because our coverage both here and in the…

Red State breaks down Palin v. Obama

From Rasmussen Reports, "Palin Makes Good First Impression: Is Viewed More Favorably than Biden" by Scott Ramussen From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen Now I know why the left was so angry when John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate (apart from…

Following the lead of hackish lefty bloggers, the Washington Post has published a shoddy report on an alleged scandal involving John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin. In a nutshell, Palin faces allegations that she pressured a political appointee, public safety commissioner Walt Monegan, to fire…

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is skipping the Republican National Convention this week in Minnesota to manage an ongoing budget dispute in Sacramento. Republican officials say Fred Thompson will take his place in the prime-time lineup Monday night and onetime presidential candidate will…

With Gov. Palin's five chlidren and McCain's seven, the presumptive GOP nominees have more offspring than any major-party ticket since 1920. In that year, Democratic Ohio Gov. James M. Cox (six children) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (also six children) lost to Harding and Coolidge. Interestingly, both…

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's vice-presidential candidacy makes conservative women proud--and excited that the ceiling with 18 million cracks might be broken by a conservative Republican woman rather than Hillary Clinton. Palin's life story is fascinating, and I'm excited to learn more about this…

TOWARD THE END OF his acceptance speech Barack Obama borrowed twice from the New Testament. The first was when he said that "what makes us rich" and "strong" and "what keeps the world coming to our shores" is "that American spirit--that American promise--that pushes us forward even when the path is…

Two quotes today. From Thursday: "So we zoomed off after [a pedi-cabby named] Colette, who stopped several blocks away at a hotel, and out came Daryl Hannah. Probably you want to know what she is really like, as a person and a human being. I would say, based on gawking at her from a distance of 2…

It's a hit: "Over 38 million Americans watched TV coverage of Barack Obama accepting his party's nomination for president on Thursday, far more than tuned in for the acceptance speeches of past Democratic contenders." How many of these viewers were watching Obama for the first time? Did they like…

Fantastic tick-tock from ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg It wasn't until Sunday night that John McCain, after meeting with his four top advisers, finally decided he could not tap independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to be his running mate. One adviser, tasked with taking the temperature of…

St. Paul Republicans gathering early here in St. Paul are ecstatic about the Palin pick and--not surprisingly--less than blown away by the Obama speech in Denver last night. I talked to some experienced Republican operatives this morning and they shared thoughts on both topics. First, on Obama last…

1. Steps on the story of Obama's speech (and convention), and possibly the bounce coming from them, and wipes them off the news cycle. The Sunday news shows will be all-Palin, all of the time.

1. Steps on the story of Obama's speech (and convention), and possibly the bounce coming from them, and wipes them off the news cycle. The Sunday news shows will be all-Palin, all of the time. 2. Sends Republicans into their convention on a huge head of steam. 3. Wipes out the image of McCain as…

Barack Obama's spokesman says that Alaska governor Sarah Palin is too inexperienced to be vice president: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to…

TALKING POINTS: GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN Governor Sarah Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has seen approval ratings of over 80 percent. · She has…

"I am absolutely delighted by this selection. Once again, John McCain has shown that he is an independent thinker who paints in bold strokes. Sarah Palin is a conservative reformer with executive experience who will bring a breath of fresh air to Washington. She will be an ideal running mate for…

As just one example of how Obama used last night to shift the focus of his campaign, he altered one of the most well-known lines from his primary stump speech. During the last several months, one of Obama's signature lines, used in both speeches and ads, was: Because we are at a defining moment in…

I just got an email from Bill McAlister, a spokesman for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I had emailed him early this morning to ask about whether his boss was in Dayton and whether she had been vetted by the McCain campaign. (I had been told two weeks ago that she had not, which was a surprise given…

Megan McArdle writes that she was disappointed by Obama's speech, which "was basically standard Democratic Convention Boilerplate: nothing we haven't seen before from Obama, or for that matter, every Democratic presidential candidate in living memory." It's understandable that Obama's partisan (or…

Our long national nightmare is over. Below, some brief thoughts on Day 4 of the DNC. 1) What a spectacle! It must be acknowledged that whoever thought of putting on this show at Invesco knew what they were doing. Oh, how we mocked the decision to move the coronation to a stadium and what fun we had…

IF FRED THOMPSON was the latest entrant in the 2008 Republican primary process, he may well be the earliest in 2012. Not that he will admit it.

David Brooks: "[T]his election isn't about the past or the present, or even the pluperfect conditional. It's about the future, and Barack Obama loves the future because that's where all his accomplishments are." There are half-a-dozen lines from the column that are just as good, and I'm only…

Denver

Denver Having followed Barack Obama around on the campaign trail quite a bit, I found tonight's big speech to be of the middle-rank, at least by his own standards. At his best, Obama is a riveting orator--his Iowa caucus victory speech was gob-smacking in the brilliance of both its rhetoric and…

"You can't truly stand up for Georgia," Obama said tonight, "when you've strained our oldest alliances." It's worth unpacking this statement. First, it's a clear indication that, despite what some bloggers say, Russia's invasion of Georgia truly is, yes, a world-historical event that has wormed its…

When discussing foreign policy, Obama said this: "We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country." It's been more than 40 years since John F. Kennedy was president. Since then, three other Democrats have held the office: Lyndon…

Obama's economic message is clearly aimed at middle-class families that have seen prices rise and incomes stagnate. This is his clearest advantage. And he pressed it in his speech tonight here: Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just…

Barack Obama's speech was a historic event. From where I was sitting, the stadium shook. But Obama was clearly playing defense. People have said he isn't specific enough, so he filled the speech with specifics. He found it necessary to respond to McCain's jokey (and effective) "celebrity" ad. He…

TODAY IS THAT DAY that we all realize that summer's lease has all too short a date. The Labor Day weekend starts tomorrow--the last long, lazy weekend of summer. Fewer Americans than usual have taken to the road because gasoline prices, although easing (Hurricane Gustav permitting), remain high by…

Well, that was certainly a spectacular show. And the speech was beautifully delivered, wonderful to listen to--if you could refrain from thinking about what he was saying. If you couldn't turn off your brain, alas, the speech was full of baloney, not that a lot of people don't like a good baloney…

In case there isn't enough talk about celebrity in America, here's some extra fare from England. And it¹s not about Obama, or Paris, or Britney. It's about Kate Moss. Today the British Museum announced that 'Siren,' a nearly $2.8 million, 110-pound solid gold statue of Kate will grace the Greek…

If I were a man of means and could fund a 527, I would devote extraordinary resources to ensure that Al Gore could drone on endlessly in highly public settings about the climate crisis while supporting Democrats and positing that Barack Obama is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln. Alas, I am not…

The set at Invesco which people have been talking about is even worse in person. Because while it's clearly striving for grandiosity, it doesn't achieve it. Instead of evoking the Acropolis or the Lincoln Memorial, it looks like a side entrance to Caesar's Palace in Vegas. Of course, it may look…

And lord I hate to say it, but watching the pre-ordination proceedings at Invesco, they are indeed impressive. Chris Wallace just said it feels like history in the making. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it does feel like something biggger than (not to mention different from) a pedestrian…

Jonathan Beecher Field, an Obama supporter and English professor at Clemson, has written a devastating op-ed at InsideHigherEd.com on the subject of Joe Biden's plagiarism. The article concludes that Biden's plagiarism "suggests something of Biden's character, indeed, in a realm more relevant to…

Senator Charles Schumer of New York is the ur-Democrat, a loquacious and canny politician who, unlike many of his copartisans, is more than a little entertaining as he foils Republicans. He also has an ego the size of Alaska. This moment from Christopher Beam's excellent "Day in the Life of Lanny…

Minneapolis I'm sitting in the Xcel Energy Center watching the birth of a convention hall--a cacophony of hammers, drills and "testing one, two, three" suggests the Republican Convention is just days away. The media presence in these halls is always impressive. Modern conventions are, after all,…

From the Politico, "MSNBC Prez Defends Convention Team" by Michael Calderone Things are getting ugly at MSNBC: In addition to Olbermann, MSNBC personalities Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough and David Shuster were involved in Denver controversies. On Monday evening, Olbermann interrupted Scarborough…

A reader E-mails: How come Obama and co. keep touting the fact that he gave up a Wall Street or high-paying legal career to become a community organizer? A few things to consider: What do we have more of, black community organizers or high-powered blacks on Wall Street or the bar? Wouldn't a guy…

George F. Will: "[D]ecades hence, historians will write about today's response to Russia by the West, perhaps in obituaries for the idea of 'the West.' If Obama does not speak to this crisis Thursday night, that will speak volumes." He's right, of course. As you listen to the assembled Democrats…

On MSNBC, Robert Gibbs held up a picture of George W. Bush giving his 2004 convention speech with white columns in the backdrop to show that their Greek temple setting for Obama's speech is perfectly appropriate: Gibbsblackberry.jpg stadium_large.jpg

Juan Williams's op-ed commentary throughout the campaign has been superb - passionate, informative, and incisive. His latest is not to be missed.

Thomas B. Edsall reports: The Obama campaign has accelerated a transformation already underway in the Democratic electorate. 2008 appears likely to mark the death knell for what remained of the New Deal coalition - the coalition that was crucial to the early elections of such politicians as Joe…

Tony Campolo is a rare bird indeed--an evangelical Protestant who's also a Democrat and pro-life. He was on the platform committee and worked on the plank dealing with abortion. At yesterday's meeting of pro-life Democrats, Campolo was introduced as the committee member responsible for the new…

It's not a pretty picture. Michael Turton, who writes from Taichung, has the goods.

Republican strategist Mike Murphy on the visual language of tonight's Obama speech at Invesco field: "I think the normally shrewd Obama campaign has a blind spot about tomorrows big speech at Invesco field. The Pepsi center is the visual "home" of this convention. Having Obama do his big finish in…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Economy Grew 3.3% in 2nd Quarter, Much Higher Than Initial Reading" by Jeff Bater and Brian Blackstone Okay, lets' get a couple of things straight. There have been two whopping dislocations in the economy over the past year or so. The decline in home values and the…

John Judis observes: "After securing the nomination in June, Obama's first priority had to be healing the rift between himself and Hillary Clinton. Candidates who can't put nomination battles behind them well before the convention usually lose. Think of Goldwater in 1964, Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy…

The progress of TradeSports/Intrade during the convention week illustrates just what a stellar show the Democrats have put on. Obama's now trading at an all-time low, McCain at an all-time high. Bring on Invesco! tradesports1.jpg HT: Ace

Joe Biden gave a speech in which-in contrast to Bill Clinton's -Barack Obama is an actor. He makes choices and does important things from the time he is a young adult to the present. Instead of choosing Wall Street after college, he goes to Chicago, and he makes the lives of poor people the work of…

Our four day national nightmare is almost over. If we can just get through tonight! In the meantime, some thoughts on yesterday: 1) THE BIG HE - Everyone else went gaga over Bill Clinton. I didn't, but then again objectivity when it comes to this particular political figure has never been my…

THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION exposed the central defect of Senator Barack Obama's candidacy: the absence of compelling evidence he is up to the job of president. The exposé comes courtesy of a bad habit of his running mate, Senator Joe Biden. When in doubt, Mr. Biden exaggerates. And in the…

In his speech last night, Bill Clinton said this: "My fellow Democrats, sixteen years ago, you gave me the profound honor to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity. Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was…

The latest from Fred Kagan, current as of 12:30 A.M.: * The deployment of NATO warships to the Black Sea has definitely gotten Moscow's attention, drawing a combination of bravado, threats, and shrugs from the Russian military. The key issue is most likely that Russia cannot match the naval buildup…

Bill Clinton left no doubt that he's for Barack Obama. But it's striking that his case for Obama depended much less on any accomplishments by the candidate than on his intelligence, character, "family heritage," "life experiences," and promise. Consider that section early on in which Clinton said…

WHILE ATTENTION WAS focused on the other side of the earth, a band of soldiers in Mauritania led by General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz overthrew the government of Sidi Ould Cheik Abdallahi in a bloodless coup during the first week of August. The president, his family, and entourage are detained and…

The first thing that jumps out from Biden's speech is that the tone seems to appeal to the Jacksonians in the Jacksonian / Academic divide that Michael Barone explored during the primaries. He talks about "honor" and fighting and bloodying the nose of neighborhood bullies and the bearing of…

John Kerry contrasted John McCain's bellicose reaction to the Russian invasion of Georgia with Barack Obama's "statesmanlike" response. Recall Obama's first statement about the invasion: "Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war." As…

President Clinton seems willing to put his arms around Obama in a way Hillary wasn't. He actually does say that Obama is ready to be president and defender of the Constitution (though not, interestingly, commander-in-chief). And he mounts a short defense of Obama by saying that in 1992 he, too, was…

In anticipation of Joe Biden's introduction to the millions of Joe Sixpacks he's supposed to appeal to, I can't resist posting Biden's "I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you" video:

While the Dems are abuzz with their new anti-Bush/McCain "four more months" catchphrase, courtesy of Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey, they seem to have forgotten to take a look at the calendar. Inauguration day, December 26, 2008? Not quite. Nonetheless, not once but twice, Casey demanded "Not four…

During his remarks, Harry Reid called offshore drilling "snake oil and quackery" and said that "Doc McCain's magic offshore oil elixir won't work." Reid went on to ever so subtly bring up McCain's age by calling him "kindly old Doc McCain." Reid also argued: "Senator McCain and the Republicans have…

Denver During that Democrats for Life meeting today, held at the Monaco Hotel not far from the Pepsi Center, some of the speakers criticized an ostensibly pro-life Republican Party for failing to make serious progress on a pro-life agenda. One criticism in particular was that despite the fact that…

A Hill aide points out this Seattle Times article, which reports that Democratic congressman Brian Baird is still a pariah in his own party for deciding to back the surge last August: Brian Baird was lonely enough back when all his Democratic friends thought he was wrong. But now that it appears he…

The McCain campaign has some wardrobe recommendations for those of us going to Invesco Field tomorrow.

Denver After visiting the Manifest Hope gallery, I did a dispatch with tons of pictures of the new Obama iconography. Some of it has to be seen to be believed. I was so moved by the change and the hope, that I dropped $20 on an Obama T-shirt: OldTestamentObama.JPG As you can see, this is more of an…

Charles Krauthammer and others have noted the odd grandiosity of Obama's creation of a miniature Greek temple for the backdrop of his acceptance speech tomorrow. But it seems to me that what Obama is likely trying to do is not suggest an Olympian setting, but rather to invoke the Lincoln Memorial,…

Here's Dave Barry on Joe Biden: "The transformation of Joe Biden is one of the best story lines at this convention. A week ago, people would sprint from the room when Joe entered for fear he would start a sentence that might not end until Halloween. Now, suddenly, he is a towering stud muffin of…

Denver

Seen in a storefront window close to the Pepsi Center: "Liberal Markdowns: 50 to 70% Off." Ah, something liberal in this Democratic week that you have to like.

Denver Georgian Ambassador Vasil Sikharuldize is one of the busiest men at the Democratic National Convention, hopping from meeting to meeting to seek American aid for his embattled country. When I caught up with him Monday night, he told me that the need for $1 billion in economic assistance from…

Minneapolis While Democrats prepare for night three in Denver, Republicans kicked off their pre-convention week in Minnesota yesterday. And with the recent polling and the media spending the first half of the Democratic convention debating whether Obama can win over Clinton supporters, the…

That's the claim that author Derek Chollet makes in this blog-post. A friend of mine isn't convinced. He writes: "Chollet tries to argue that an Obama administration will follow the same centrist foreign policy that President Clinton pursued in his second term, which he characterizes as resting on…

At its midpoint, it looks increasingly like the 2008 Democratic National Convention will be seen as a strategic failure. Michelle Obama's speech and the appearance of the Obama daughters worked well, but that was quickly overtaken by Hillary Clinton's launch of her 2012 presidential candidacy. And…

Denver It sounds like a joke: How many pro-life Democrats can you fit in a room? All of them! This afternoon, about 60 people gathered for a town-hall meeting of pro-life Democrats. Of this group, about eight were speakers and another dozen (at least) were media. Maybe the joke is right. That said,…

Denver Following a panel hosted by Democrats for Life of America, I asked Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey Jr. if he would filibuster any bill that would provide taxpayer funding for abortions through Medicaid or insurance coverage of abortion through a national health care plan--measures that Barack…

Mark Leibovich asked delegates to the convention: Who would be greeted with "more contempt"? Joe Lieberman or John Edwards? "'Lieberman, definitely,' said Lola Hopper, a delegate from Texas. 'If he showed his face, he'd have to leave town in the back of a trunk.'"

His quick take: "What's the finish? Maybe Obama's got Zhang Yimou to do the hidden-rope trick, and have him lifted, Beijing-style, to the heavens when he's done. Will he reappear three days later at the Bird's Nest?" After all, he is a citizen of the world.

It seems that Hillary Clinton isn't the only prominent Democrat who can't bring herself to say that Barack Obama is qualified to be president. Jimmy Carter was interviewed on CNN's American Morning today: ROBERTS: Let me remind you of something you said. It was back in November of 2006 on the…

When John Kerry tabbed John Edwards as his running mate in 2004, certain members of the pundit class swooned. They figured Edwards' immense political skills would dramatically bolster Kerry's chances. Me, I was perplexed. If John Edwards was in fact such a magnificent political talent, how come he…

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer's speech to the Democratic convention last night brought the crowd to its feet. Schweitzer's performance was excellent. He bobbed and weaved, stretched words like taffy, and had the audience hanging on his every word. There's a problem, however. It's this line:…

Jay Cost on night two: Obama "is the nominee. He could have given Hillary the vice-presidential nomination. Choosing her would have totally changed the convention for the better. But Obama didn't choose her. He tapped Joe Biden instead. As a consequence, he's lost control of his own convention."…

From the New York Times, "High Anxiety in the Mile High City" by Maureen Dowd On the occasions when Maureen Dowd is good (which admittedly are rare), her work officially rises to the level of "guilty pleasure." So smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, because here comes MoDo at her best: I've been to a lot…

One video that's been receiving much play lately is Suzanne Malveaux's CNN interview of an upset Clinton supporter following the former first lady's speech last night. Not to get all Ghost Hunters about it, but did anyone else wonder what happened at the tail-end of that interview? The distraught…

Jonathan Martin, who looked dashing in his pink oxford at the Politico party last evening, reports that John McCain told supporters in San Diego that he intends to compete in California. Several of the supporters I spoke to in Beverly Hills on Monday said that McCain promised them the same thing.…

From City Journal, "Fire in the Night" by John Murtaugh This excellent essay and the film snippet above provides insight into Obama buddy William Ayers, while casting doubt on the candidate's typically sly evasion of his moral responsibility for hanging around with such a cretin. During the April…

The podium at Invesco kind of looks like Jordan's Temple of Hercules, where Obama delivered a speech during his world tour: obamatemple.photo.jpg

Eagle-eyed reader (and Iraq War veteran) JB Smith emails that if the Republicans feel it necessary to counter Obama's master stroke of tapping Joe Biden as vice-president, there's only one serious option - Trent Lott. Think of it. Both have comical pseudo-hair. Both gravitate to the career-ruining…

clintonorange.jpg

Regarding living Americans involved in politics whom Hillary Clinton referred to in her speech, in order of mention and excepting Obama and of course the despised (by Democrats) Bush and her own husband Bill, here is how she described them: --Michelle Obama will be "a terrific partner" for her…

From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen While dominating the last several news cycles by selecting Joe Biden as his running mate and holding the first night of his convention, Barack Obama still managed to lose four points in the Rasmussen tracking polls.…

Our four day national nightmare is now half over. Herewith, some thoughts on day two of the DNC. 1) I was doing commentary last night for New England Cable News last night, so I got to watch Hillary Clinton's speech in the company of a couple of co-panelists who were devoted Hillary Clinton fans.…

According to the New York Post, our occasional contributor and star of Weekly Standard cruises, Mike Murphy, was bumped from MSNBC Monday night, and a TV-watching friend didn't see him anywhere on air Tuesday night. This after MSNBC had touted the signing of its new contributor, who has starred in…

Reuters reports that "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple." To which a McCain adviser quipped: "Is this from the Onion?" No, you really can't make this up:…

One of Obama's closest contemporaries, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, made only one point worth noting: that the Democrats don't deserve to win just because Republicans deserve to lose--that the Democrats need not just better programs and policies but also a better (than Republicans) vision.…

To follow up on Bill Kristol's report below, it looks like Mark Warner was moved earlier not just to let Deval Patrick bash McCain in prime time--but to get a back-to-back-to-back attack from Democratic governors Patrick, Ted Strickland, and Brian Schweitzer. Warner's speech was a paean to…

Politics aside, when Hollywood is finally ready to make The Dick Van Patten Story, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer should get the call. Schweitzer: Schweitzer.jpg Patten: Patten.jpg

Tonight, Hillary Clinton did a great job paying homage to her foremothers and to what was a historic candidacy--her own, if she did say so herself. She also did a decent job contrasting McCain and Republicans with Democrats, like her. But, as observed by the Fox News panel, among others, her praise…

Bill Kristol calls in from the Pepsi Center. According to a source, Mark Warner was originally scheduled to speak in the 10 o'clock hour in primetime before Hillary Clinton, but Warner was moved to the less desireable pre-primetime bloc because he apparently refused to turn his speech into an…

Denver One of Mark Warner's selling points for Obama is that "We need a president who understands the world today." Yet one of the most troubling aspects of Obama is his consistent misreading of history. McCain pointed to one of these misunderstandings this afternoon: [Obama] suggested that the end…

Tonight's convention theme is the economy. Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, one of the most popular Democrats in the country, just a gave an effective speech on economic issues. As always with the Obama campaign, the speech was set at a high level of abstraction. But one thing you notice when you…

At today's "Faith in Action Panel," I heard some interesting rights talk. A rabbi said that "affordable education is part of the unalienable right to happiness." Other clergy said that education (presumably "affordable" education) and universal health care are rights we should recognize. None of…

Gallup shows McCain leading by 2 points: Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 23-25, the first three-day period falling entirely after Obama's Saturday morning vice presidential announcement, shows 46% of national registered voters backing John McCain and 44% supporting Obama, not appreciably…

After the Democrats' first ever "Faith Caucus," I interviewed Shaun Casey, the Obama campaign's evangelical outreach coordinator. That's a fancy title for someone whose day job is teaching theology (at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.) As Casey's title suggests, Obama is "reaching…

According to this Slate piece, those people arriving early to next week's Republican National Convention have a special treat waiting for them at the Minnesota State Fair. This year's fair features a new Miracle of Birth Center where visitors may witness the miracle from the comfort of the…

Denver

The RCP Blog has a great moment from former Texas Rep. Charlie Wilson who, at an anti-war rally today, said: "We should be led by Osama bin Laden," he said, then quickly corrected himself. "I mean Obama and Biden."

Denver EMILY's List held a "Women Vote!" gala reception this afternoon, which I was forced to attend through a wi-fi hook-up. Nancy Pelosi, Michelle Obama, and Hillary Clinton all took the stage. Clinton went first in a speech remarkably similar in tone to the address she gave yesterday. She began…

Beverly Hills

From Time.com, "McCain Prepared Remarks at American National Legion Convention" by John McCain While the speech John McCain gave this afternoon will lack the psychodrama of the Clinton antics this evening, I guarantee you McCain's content will be more memorable: There are those who say that our day…

Here's a taste of today's Dave Barry column: "I happen to semi-know [Denver] Mayor Hickenlooper, because I belong to an all-author rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, and when we performed in Denver two years ago, Hickenlooper joined us on stage to sing the classic Troggs song 'Wild…

Desperately searching for its long lost mojo, the Obama campaign has taken dire measures. It has dropped the beloved slogan, "Change We Can Believe In" in favor of the far more substantive, "The Change We Need." When I ran for state representative in Massachusetts in 1992, the electorate was…

Maryland state senator Jim Rosapepe: "Mr. Biden has better intuition about other politicians, American or foreign, than any elected official I've ever met."

The crisis in Georgia is not going away. Russia now officially recognizes the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The White House has registered its official disapproval. Be sure to check out Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham's piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Key quote:…

Denver At the DNC's Faith in Action Panel, Rev. Jennifer Kottler of the Living Wage Coalition said that poverty, "like slavery more than a certury ago," is a "stain" on our nation. But this stain is much darker and deeper than most know. "Before you think poverty is only about poor people--think…

Was anyone else distracted by last night's not-so-jumbotron? It's one thing to have Michelle and the girls look up to see their father on the big screen, just as Nancy once did, waving to Ron. But the eye-level image of Barack talking with his wife and daughters made me think of those memory…

The Washington Post's opinion writers will be filing quick takes on the conventions here. The upshot: you get to read Krauthammer more than once a week. Here's his first item. A sample: Obama's problem is that he has compounded [his thin resume] with a detached imperiousness and unnerving…

The Left can read the polls as well as we can: The big polling news today, of course, are the tracking polls that show a tie (Rasmussen) and a two-point lead for McCain (Gallup). That is the worst showing for Obama in three months, and also the first time in three months that McCain has a net lead…

From The Hill, "Bill Clinton in Denver Again Undercuts Obama" by Sam Youngman Let me be clear - since he burst onto the political scene some 17 years ago, I have been no fan of Bill Clinton. It is thus confusing and disorienting to be feeling a tingling up my leg nearly every time the former…

Why is the presidential race tied? It's the game everyone is playing. Democrats in particular really want to know the answer to this question. They assume, reasonably, that the underlying political conditions favor their party. They note that the Democrats maintain a sizable lead on the generic…

Goldfarb is not to be missed.

David Brooks writes today that At the core, Obama's best message has always been this: He is unconnected with the tired old fights that constrict our politics. He is in tune with a new era. He has very little experience but a lot of potential. He does not have big achievements, but he is…

Denver

The Obama campaign decided to spend night one of the Democratic convention introducing its candidate to the country. The attacks on McCain and Bush - which reportedly were going to be the centerpiece of this convention - were relatively muted. House speaker Nancy Pelosi went after McCain, but her…

When Barack Obama appeared via satellite at the Democratic Convention last night, he noted that he had watched Michelle Obama's speech with the Girardeaus, a middle-class family in Kansas City. The camera pulled back to reveal the Girardeaus, who look like nice people. They are a family of few…

House majority whip James Clyburn tells Jonathan Alter: "'Obama picks as a running mate someone who has never lived in Washington,' a reference to Biden taking the train home to Wilmington every night. ... Clyburn also notes that Biden, whose wife is a schoolteacher, actually has a negative net…

Apparently even he doesn't know.

Denver One of the hidden wonders of this glorious convention is the lengths to which the Democrats have gone to be environmentally friendly. The media goodie bags, for instance, were filled with eco-worship products including pens made of recycled materials and a plastic bottle to carry water in so…

michelle.jpg

From National Review Online, "A Couple More Cents on Biden" by Jay Nordlinger A_Thousand_Monkeys.bmp

I don't make a practice of posting excerpts of press releases from the presidential campaigns, but this is so funny it's worth making an exception. For some reason, the usually smart Obama campaign has decided to fight back against attempts to link their candidate to William Ayers, the Weather…

The Mile High city isn't noted for its living arts, but it is home to a production called Iraq War: The Musical. I'd love to see it, but unfortunately performances are suspended this week and won't resume until Friday. But to give you a taste of what it seems to be about, here's the promotional…

Our four-day national nightmare is 25% over. Unlike many of my braver and more industrious colleagues, I didn't make it out to Denver this week. So like most of you, I'm enjoying/enduring the DNC via the television coverage. Here are some thoughts on day one as we wait for Invesco. 1) I guess the…

The McCain campaign has released a 3 A.M. phone call ad featuring a clip of Hillary Clinton saying: "I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And, Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." In case you missed it, yesterday the McCain campaign…

The New York Daily News has heard from a close associate of Colin Powell, and it seems he wants to knock down the vice presidential rumors pretty decisively: Informed sources told the Daily News that when McCain called on the retired general and national icon a few weeks ago, the veepship was…

". . . caring for the least among us each and every day." Thus said Michelle Obama, halfway through her speech. Her husband likes to quote this passage (from Matthew 25). Who are "the least" in Obama's world? Lots and lots of people, including widows and orphans and, generally, those who are poor.…

Introducing Michelle was her brother Craig Robinson. He is the new coach of the Oregon State basketball team. Last year he led Brown University to a school record 19 victories. Robinson played at Princeton University and was an investment banker for a while. Last year the Oregon State Beavers went…

Introducing Michelle was her brother Craig Robinson. He is the new coach of the Oregon State basketball team. Last year he led Brown University to a school record 19 victories. Robinson played at Princeton University and was an investment banker for a while. Last year the Oregon State Beavers went…

Jerry Kellman, the man who hired Barack Obama as a community organizer, said earlier tonight: In 1985, I needed to hire a community organizer. I found myself in New York City, across from a 25-year-old recent college graduate. I wanted to convince him to give up a comfortable life and a bright…

John McCain is at the Beverly Hilton -- known to locals as the "John Edwards Beverly Hilton" -- raising money from Hollywood Republicans. There are seven people in attendance. Actually, the room can only hold 400 and many people wanting to buy tickets to the less-expensive reception were turned…

The Obama press office has just released a text of Michelle Obama's speech "as prepared for delivery." Here's the sentence we've been waiting for: "That is why I love this country." Catch her speech and you'll learn the reasons she gives for her love of country. Michelle's "why-I-love" statement is…

Denver Jesse Jackson Jr. has sounded a theme that the Democrats will push all week-namely that "at the heart of this campaign" is the idea that "we all have a stake in each other," meaning, he continued, that the well-being of each depends on the well-being of us all. What Jackson didn't say is…

Denver Inside the Pepsi Center, sitting in a close-down row, I think I'm seeing Carmelo Anthony out there on the court. I think I see him muscling in for a leaner from about 12 feet, with a bunch of bodies sliding in for maybe a rebound. But no such luck. I'm at the Democratic Convention, not at a…

but I'm not. As I type, Wolf Blitzer is profusely praising Michelle Obama's as yet undelivered speech. He assures us it is very moving. Does that mean we needn't watch it?

From the Politico, "Obama Preps in Solitude for Speech" by Carrie Budoff Brown Behold! The most egregious Obama puff piece of the day! As you read, you'll almost hear echoes of Ms. Budoff Brown chanting "O-ba-ma!" while she worked the keyboard. CHICAGO - For three days in a row, Barack Obama traded…

Sitting in the NPR broadcast booth at Pepsi arena, looking down at the podium, you are struck at how bright, crisp, and arresting the speaker's dais is. Reports are that the major news networks poured millions into making the DNC widescreen-plasma worthy. The money paid off. Even to the naked eye,…

In a largely overlooked respect, Biden is the perfect choice for Obama to have made. They both believe that judges may enforce rights not found in the text or history of the Constitution. Biden made plain his belief in unenumerated rights jurisprudence (this is some fancy law language) in 1987…

So laments Ukraine's President in the Washington Post. He has some harsh words for Old Europe and the UN as well -- The conflict in Georgia revealed problems that extend well beyond our region. Recent events have made clear how perilous it is for the international community to ignore "frozen…

For my story in this week's issue, "The Faith-Based Campaign," there were some details about Saddleback Church that I was not able to use, for space reasons, but may be of interest especially to people wanting to know more about this high-profile church: Saddleback is, by intention, "a…

It comes from Dave Barry: "I'll be on hand to report all the convention news developments to you from Denver as I think them up. Then next week I'll head to Minnesota or possibly Wisconsin and do the same from the Republican convention." A sample from his first dispatch: It's hard to blame Sen.…

Denver Four years ago, the gals at Emily's List refused to let Matt Labash cover their big event in Boston because no boys were allowed. Today the press people at Emily's List told me that they wouldn't be able to give me a credential for tomorrow's event where they're bringing Nancy Pelosi,…

Denver Four years ago, the gals at Emily's List refused to let Matt Labash cover their big event in Boston because no boys were allowed. Today the press people at Emily's List told me that they wouldn't be able to give me a credential for tomorrow's event where they're bringing Nancy Pelosi,…

Does irrational Obama hatred drive die-hard Hillary Clinton supporters--known as PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass)--to vote for John McCain? Here's what one life-long Democratic voter tells Ezra Klein in Denver: Thirty-five years I voted Democrat, I'm voting for John McCain. I'd rather have four years of…

What was the biggest news story between August 11 and August 17? Not the Olympics. Not John Edwards's admission of an affair. Not the campaign. Not even the showdown between McCain and Obama at Rick Warren's Saddleback church. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, it was Russia's…

Available on Democraticstuff.com cuckooforcocoapuffs.jpg Can anarchists for Obama be far behind?

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Don Fowler told Adam Nagourney: ""I have a lot of doubts that this convention is going to be as persuasive as it should be because they've got this damn thing with Hillary ... I love Hillary. I was for her. But this is the worst political decision I…

Gallup shows the race tied at 45-45, meaning Obama has gotten no bounce from his selection of garrulous gaffe machine Joe Biden as his running mate. Or does it? Reports the pollster: The latest update includes two days of interviewing following Obama's selection of Sen. Joe Biden as his vice…

WORK IN PROGRESS Marc Ambinder reports that "Obama's campaign has polling data suggesting that an unusually large number of pro-choice Democrats don't know that McCain is pro-life." I'd be interested to hear what constitutes unusually large. In this SurveyUSA poll of Ohio voters from June, 28…

Were the 2008 Beijing Olympics a "victory for China," as the headline on this front-page Washington Post story claims? That probably depends on, um, what the definition of "victory" is. China won more gold medals than any other country. The games demonstrated China's new economic power and ability…

Not that the Obama campaign proactively seeks out my advice, but if I were a neophyte candidate looking to make the transition from celebrity to serious leader, I would forego set pieces like this: Denver's Rocky Mountain News reports on its site today, "The Jersey boys are coming, and we ain't…

Denver Hillary Clinton wasn't invited to address the DNC's Hispanic Caucus until early this morning. Nevertheless, she showed up at the Colorado Convention Center shortly after 10:30 for her first public talk to convention goers about Barack Obama. It was revealing in both what she did and did not…

National Journal has the latest from Mr. Clean: A total of 552 individuals have bundled $50,000 or more for Obama, and 36 individuals and couples bundled $500,000 or more so far, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. All the attention lavished on the high rollers raises questions among…

The Democratic convention has not even begun, and already Barack Obama is in danger of losing it to the Clintons. Patrick Ruffini: The Clinton chatter is dominant. The Clintons will get two nights in Denver -- Hillary Tuesday, and Bill Wednesday. The coverage on the cables so far this morning has…

Denver

Denver

Sean Wilentz, the Democratic party's house historian, likens his party's presidential nominee to none other than Jimmy Carter. And he doesn't mean it as a compliment: Obama's liberal alternative to the post-Bush GOP to date has much in common with Carter's post-Watergate liberalism. Rejecting…

In 2006 Americans enjoyed their first rise in average income since 2000. The problem is that inflation threatens to wipe out these fragile and slight gains. Obama's tax plan features a middle class tax cut (while raising taxes on more or less everyone and everything else). McCain wants broad-based…

David Frum's analysis of Obama's Biden pick is worth your time. Frum writes: "If Obama had felt confident, he would have picked Tim Kaine. Now, though, a month of bad polls have taken their toll, and Obama is acting defensively and protectively." Frum makes several good points, but the one that…

Kudos to author Matt Bai for writing this piece in today's Times. Some liberals are already beginning to assert that racism, not rational policy disagreement or unease with the candidate's youth and inexperience, will lead to Barack Obama's defeat in November. Bai calls this line of argument what…

As Democrats gather in Denver, commentators are starting to tire of Barack Obama's "change" mantra. Paul Krugman devotes today's column to the need for Obama to attack John McCain. Joe Klein worries that Obama is failing "to define his opponent" and failing, "in all but the most amorphous ways, to…

From the New York Times, "A Joe of His Own" by Bill Kristol In his weekly Times column, the Boss tries to analytically work out what a McCain/Lieberman ticket would mean to the presidential race and the country: Now as a matter of governance, there's no reason to think this would much matter.…

Denver Obama Messiah is a great clearinghouse for Obama worship. There's the usual iconography. But there's also great hidden stuff, like a link to this Denver yoga center which is offering a special class called "OmBama--Yes We Can." Here's the description: OMbama Yoga classes! Enjoy these…

In the Democratic presidential debate of July 23, 2007, Joe Biden took some heat from Second Amendment advocates for his condescending attitude toward a gun owner. Less widely noticed was Biden's eagerness to claim credit for writing the assault weapons ban: But as I pointed out elsewhere at the…

You'll pardon me for having some confusion over the current state of Democratic thinking regarding multiple home ownership. In 2004, the Democratic standard bearer owned multiple houses, and yet the party figured his wartime valor trumped that purported stain. Present-day secular saint Al Gore has…

Over the weekend, Michael Goldfarb suggested that the 3 A.M. Saturday morning text message announcing Obama's selection of Joe Biden as his running mate was a dig at Hillary and her 3 A.M. phone call ad. Jonah Goldberg and Allahpundit were skeptical that Obama would do something so stupid. But…

It's only Day 1 of the Democratic Convention, and there's already drama for Barack Obama. First, things aren't looking so certain in the polls. CNN reports that the race is a "dead heat": "In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Sunday night, 47 percent of those questioned are backing…

Senator Joe Biden's selection as the Vice Presidential nominee creates a short-term challenge for the Obama campaign: how to manage disgruntled Clinton supporters at the convention. Disappointment among some women voters, of course, could plague the Illinois Senator for the duration of the…

From Obamaweek, "A Liberal's Lament" by Sean Wilentz First, a little quiz - who said it? "This year will not be a year of politics as usual. It can be a year of inspiration and hope, and it will be a year of concern, of quiet and sober reassessment of our nation's character and purpose. It has…

Blaming the victim is nothing new. But, in the days since Russian tanks first rolled into democratic Georgia, we have been rather surprised at the alacrity with which some--on both the left and right--have blamed that tiny country for the onslaught, and the West for encouraging Georgia's…

For Beijing, Russia's invasion of Georgia has been a mixed blessing. Vladimir Putin stole China's limelight during the Olympics' opening ceremonies with a fireworks display of his own in the Caucasus and embarrassed his Chinese hosts. On the other hand, Putin's Olympics offensive has a long-term…

A NATION OF WHINERS?

What's the worst place in the world? If one were to judge strictly by media hype, Zimbabwe, Somalia, and Sudan would seem to be the prime contenders. Some pieces of terra firma, however, are so Godforsaken and blood-soaked that they are ignored by the media lest they be allowed to trouble the…

Like the Balkan wars of the 1990s, the Russian invasion of Georgia reveals Europe's weakness and disunity in crisis. In fact, many of the debates that have separated the Bush administration from various European governments have also divided European governments from each other, with disagreements…

One wonders whether Russia's invasion of Georgia will finally end the dreamy complacency that took hold of the world's democracies after the close of the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union offered for many the tantalizing prospect of a new kind of international order. The fall of the…

It is now widely accepted that the surge in American troops helped dramatically improve security in Iraq in the last year. But there has been less notice of, or comment on, how the surge has improved the Iraqi oil sector, which contributes more than two-thirds of the country's gross national…

Midlife crises come early to the perpetual adolescent. Mine began, in a slow, simmering way during the summer of my thirty-second year. I felt pangs of mortality and decrepitude. Worse, I saw the gradual creep of grown-up responsibility leaching into my life. So I latched, quite suddenly, onto the…

Millennial Makeover

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero's virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep, difficult, and reserved. Back to this in a moment.

Who Owns Antiquity?

The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes

Peter W. Rodman, 1943-2008

Man on Wire

Pontiac, Michigan

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

The Cold War isn't back. The Russian attacks on Georgia don't mean American soldiers will soon be staring at Red Army soldiers in the middle of Germany or that U.S. defense spending must triple to match a global Russian military juggernaut. But Vladimir Putin's aggression, and the justifications…

Defending Identity

IF YOU WEREN'T overcome with excitement as the American basketball team won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, you should have been. The Americans played as spectacular a brand of basketball as the world has ever seen--and played it at breakneck speed. So the question now is: Who was better,…

WHEN ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER won the 2003 recall election, he became the only Republican elected to statewide office in California. He may not have been a doctrinaire conservative like State Sen. Tom McClintock, another candidate on the ballot, but the California GOP's board of directors nevertheless…

Denver Well, those dull, superstitious Clinton voters are back. Here's the Philadelphia Inquirer's Dick Polman demanding that Bill and Hillary Clinton use the convention to put into their place those Clinton voters who still have reservations about Obama: "[I]t would greatly help the Democratic…

Denver So Hillary Clinton gets about 18 million votes in 2008, and isn't even considered for--she apparently isn't even given the courtesy of being consulted--the vice presidential pick. Joe Biden manages to persuade a few thousand (if that) Iowans to support him. And Barack Obama selects Biden?…

Patrick Ruffini provides the audio of Biden's infamous statement that Barack Obama is "the first sort of mainstream African-American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean, and a nice-looking guy." Ruffini also dredges up this priceless quote in response to Biden's, um,…

Via Jennifer Rubin, John McCain devotes his entire weekly radio address to criticizing Barack Obama's extremism on abortion, including Obama's vote on the born-alive bill (see the section in bold): The week began with a debate of sorts between Senator Obama and me at Saddleback Church in Lake…

Andrew Ferguson wrote a great send-up of Joe Biden's book (among other campaign books) in the THE WEEKLY STANDARD last December. [Biden] has published Promises to Keep, a nearly flawless specimen of the traditional campaign book--as perfect as the whitened teeth and Photoshop-blue eyes that gleam…

couldn't resist one last dig at Hillary. http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainreport/Read.aspx?guid=efcca178-401a-41a0-9df1-bac86893e778 http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/22/texting-texting-one-two-three/…

The McCain campaign was ready to go with an ad about Biden (and I hear several other VP contenders). Their piece on Biden is already on the web, and the 30-second format suggests it will also play on TV during next week's convention. It's simple and devastating. Every Republican operative I've…

Now it's John McCain's turn. In talking to Republican sources close to the campaign, it seems clear that the decision has come down to three people: Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Joe Lieberman. The basic dynamic of the McCain selection process has not changed. McCain is most comfortable with…

obamabiden.JPG I have to admit to puzzlement over the Joe Biden selection. The conventional wisdom regarding vice-presidential nominees is first do no harm. Given that Biden has been a garrulous gaffe machine for his lengthy political career (36 years in the senate, although it feels like longer),…

"If I'm the nominee, Republicans will be sorry.... The next Republican that tells me I'm not religious I'm going to shove my rosary beads down their throat.... And we have played into the hands of the Republicans. We've allowed so-called social issues to be so divisive."--Joe Biden, October 22,…

A Democrat involved in the presidential campaign tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD, "It IS Biden." NBC reports Bayh and Kaine are out. Update: "The United States Secret Service has dispatched a protective detail to assume the immediate protection of Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a source tells ABC News,…

Maybe Obama's media gurus read all the free advice I have for them here on the blog. Or maybe they're just finally catching on to the realities of this election. In either case, Obama staffers sacked their 50-state strategy days before the Denver convention and have begun focusing on the states…

Per CNN: After hours staking out Joe Biden's Delaware home with no sign of the prospective VP candidate, reporters are now witnessing a flurry of activity. Cars have recently pulled into the driveway - including a police car - and Biden's daughter, son, and wife are now believed to be inside.

Although the Obama campaign likes to claim he's won over Clinton supporters, the fact is he hasn't. Polls done of people who voted for Hillary reveal only a small percentage of those who said they would vote for McCain back in March, April, and June before he secured the nomination have changed…

The first cross-border invasion by the Russian armed forces since 1979 has been underway for 14 days. The world has distantly observed Russian forces simply ignore the withdrawal agreement their president signed, roaming here and there deep within Georgia, far from the war zone, occupying "bases"…

Is the plane already on its way? Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation and the Washington Note reports that a key Biden staffer has cut short his family vacation in Hawaii to return to D.C.: Biden has a few people he's had around forever and some new additions to his insider crowd. Three of…

We hear from a well-connected political insider that the largest sign manufacturer in Midwest is churning out Obama-Bayh lawn signs. Update: Gill Studios of Lenexa, Kansas, is reportedly printing Obama-Bayh bumper stickers. And in an interesting shift in television strategy, Obama seems to have…

Jay Cost has an excellent post which summarizes the state of the race just about as I see it (hey, that's what makes it excellent!). Here's the heart of it: (1) The macro conditions favor the Democrats in a way we have not seen in at least 28 years. (2) In response, the Democrats nominated a…

The Wall Street Journal's latest poll contains some food for thought for Hillary backers. The poll finds that Hillary would be beating John McCain by 6 points right now, as opposed to the 3 point margin that Obama currently has. That's probably not a big enough difference to make 130 delegates…

Barack Obama has complained that John McCain and the Republicans are invoking religious imagery in their campaign ads about him. Obama argues that it's unfair to suggest that his backers demonstrate an almost religious fervor for him. In unrelated news, Obama's team of B-list entertainers prays for…

Are you a right-thinking progressive appalled by the world George W. Bush has created? Are you tired of having Republican corporate pigs like AT&T profit from your text messages? Then try Credo Mobile! That's the pitch Credo Mobile is making. Billing itself as a company that supports progressive…

We've already heard from the major newspapers that Kayne West, Fergie, and friends are going to make the pilgrimage to Denver for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. But only Bloomberg has reported that the convention has chosen a "composer in residence." Amram, 77, has collaborated with…

Andy McCarthy brings some moral clarity to the debate surrounding Barack Obama's vote defending infanticide: There wasn't any question about what was happening. The abortions were going wrong. The babies weren't cooperating. They wouldn't die as planned. Or, as Illinois state senator Barack Obama…

There's some late breaking speculation that Obama will pick Texas congressman Chet Edwards as his running mate. Nancy Pelosi first floated the idea back in June. A few weeks ago, she said on ABC's This Week: "I didn't want to see a discussion of candidates for vice president without showing the…

now that the the Jake Tapper My question, regarding McCain's how-many-houses-do-I-own scandal, is: What should he have said to head off this controversy at the pass? My suggestion would have been: 'Truth is, I don't own any of them, really. Most, if not all of them, are in Cindy's name. She's a…

Mike Allen reports that the Obama campaign never vetted Hillary: There's one Democrat who would seem to have little or no chance of being picked by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to be his running mate - his former opponent, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). But it's not for the reason you think.…

Remember on Saturday when the DNC reported taking in more money in July than the RNC? Turns out that's untrue. Although an e-mail Saturday from Karen Finney, the DNC's director of communications, said Democratic National Committee raised $27.7 million, FEC reports show that the Democrats only took…

Jonathan Rauch reminds Barack Obama and the Democrats that even if the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan have temporarily quieted, the war on terror is not over. At least, Al Qaeda hasn't stopped fighting it: Still, before Obama and the Democrats move on too quickly, a gentle reminder: This is…

I hope the Denver 7/11s have stocked up on cheetos: marijuana arrests in Denver, which totaled 1,600 last year, are on pace to hit 1,900 this year, without taking into account a surge that's likely to accompany the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Monday. "After the Democratic…

By every indicator, Barack Obama should be doing much better in the polls. Why isn't he? Jeff Jones, who helps write the Editors' Blog over at Gallup, believes that it's not that Obama is underperforming, but that analysts' expectations for the Democrat are too high given no incumbent is running:…

FORGET LIMBAUGH AND NPR: There is no higher form of radio than sports talk. I grew up in Philadelphia where I was spoiled by America's best such station, the all-local WIP. The station played an important part in my adult formation. As a young boy educated by Quakers, I was confused by the strange…

BEWARE THE CAPITULATORS. Republicans are chortling over the fact that their "drill, drill, drill" campaign seems to have forced Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi to backtrack and agree to relax--by no means eliminate entirely--the ban on offshore drilling. Beware what is contained in the Trojan horse…

AT SADDLEBACK CHURCH last Saturday, Barack Obama's latest attempt to woo pro-lifers fell flat. When pastor Rick Warren asked, "At what point does a baby get human rights?" Obama replied: "Answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade." Lost amid the blowback sparked by…

THERE IS A CONCERTED advocacy campaign underway across several disciplines aimed at knocking human beings off our pedestal of moral exceptionalism and redefining us as merely another animal in the forest. Toward this end, elements of the natural world are being personalized by public intellectuals,…

The iTunes store just died in China. And it's all because the U.S.-based Art of Peace Foundation compiled an album for Olympians to download, for free, in the name of "compassion and non-violence ... overcom[ing] intolerance and oppression." The album is called Songs for Tibet and features songs by…

Nicholas Kristof writes today about the dazzling rise of China. I don't mean to over-extrapolate his argument, but he seems to be suggesting that in a generation, China will be the world's leading culture and economy. At least I think that's what he's getting at here: Now the world is reverting to…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Saddleback: The Inner Game of Politics" by Daniel Henninger The normally excellent Henninger stumbles here, clumsily working Peggy Noonan's side of the street and lamenting that everything was better in a mythical yesteryear: Can one imagine Dwight Eisenhower, FDR or…

THE NEW FILM ADAPTATION of Brideshead Revisited has forced Evelyn Waugh's most celebrated novel upon popular culture again, and popular culture has suffered enough. This time the chorus is one of sorrow and anger over the transformation of a work of art into a dangled period piece around which swim…

Pink, red, and lavender are the new patriotic colors, by the looks of the DNC podium in Denver: dncpodium.jpg RNC podium here: rncpodiumsmall.jpg HT: Marc Ambinder

New McCain web ad: You may recall that the last ad lampooning Obama as "The One" led to lots of paranoid accusations that the McCain campaign wasn't merely poking fun at the messianism of the Obamaphiles--Team McCain was calling Obama the Antichrist. Exit question: Remember Mr. "I thought it was…

"Spengler" proposes a grand bargain with Russia: trade the "dubious self-determination of Ukraine" for "Russia's assistance in the Iranian nuclear issue." This is probably less provocative than his talent as a writer makes it sound, and pretty close to the conventional wisdom of America's permanent…

Barack Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. For those of you completely unfamiliar with Latin, "magna cum laude" in this context translates into "he had really good grades." Joe Biden, on the other hand, graduated 76th in a class of 85 from the University of Syracuse Law School.…

Check out Glenn Loury's devastating takedown of Barack Obama's statement last Saturday that he wouldn't have nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court because Thomas "was as strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation." "He raises this issue of competency in a way…

So if you buy the hints that Barack Obama is sending, his running mate will be Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, or Evan Bayh. If you read between the lines, Jack Reed seems entirely plausible. If however, you're a partisan looking over this list, it seems that you're awfully uninspired. And given the…

Exactly right. If you take away Iraq's severe record of human rights abuses, defiance of UN resolutions, invasion of Kuwait, the use of chemical weapons on its own citizens, and belligerent threats against its neighbors, we're wrestling with exactly the same bear. [Obama's] opposition to the Iraq…

A little gallows humor about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, courtesy of a commenter at the indispensable Calculated Risk blog: "FNM and FRE should just have a new single consolidated ticker: FUBAR"

Here's what Barack Obama told Time's Karen Tumulty and David Von Drehle earlier this week, when asked what we would learn about him from his vice presidential pick: Hopefully, the same thing that my campaign has told the American people about me. That I think through big decisions. I get a lot of…

The party of John Edwards, Inc. and John and Teresa Heinz Kerry is having quite a field day with John McCain's statement that he's unsure how many houses he owns. McCain spokesman Brian Rogers responds: "Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private…

From Reason.com, "The Loser Now is Later to Win" by David Weigel In this odd yet thoughtful (although sometimes incomprehensible) essay, Weigel diagnoses and seemingly laments Barack Obama's latest predicament: The dynamic of the race now is summed up by the usual batch of oddly sexual verbs:…

A bunch of people have talked about McCain's edge in being able to pick a VP after Obama. The reasoning goes, McCain can tailor his VP pick as a response to Obama's. I doubt this is realistic if McCain is in fact going to announce his VP the day after the Dem Convention, and there are at least two…

From the American Spectator, "Teleprompting Obama" by the Prowler Not that long ago, even friendlies in the media suggested that I was off-base in observing that Barack Obama is a dreadful extemporaneous speaker. Without a teleprompter guiding him, Obama is the total package of horrors - hesitant,…

From an interview with TIME Magazine: TIME: One of the biggest moments in the campaign is going to be your announcement of a vice president. What is that decision going to tell voters about you? Obama: Hopefully, the same thing that my campaign has told the American people about me. That I think…

The latest from Fred Kagan: * The Russian aim appears to be permanently neutralizing the Georgian military, annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and retaining the ability to intervene unilaterally in Georgia to any extent Moscow desires-including deposing the Georgian government.? Nothing the U.S.…

Yesterday was one of the truly happy days in my life. My Verizon/FiOS service added something like 50 additional high definition channels, including almost a dozen premium movie channels. The FiOS service now offers not just blazing fast internet service that never crashes but also the Golf Channel…

Here is an audio recording of Barack Obama on the floor of the Illinois State Senate in 2002. I suspect that doctors feel that they would be under that obligation, that they would already be making these determinations, and that essentially adding an additional doctor, who then has to be called in…

The Obama campaign tries to link McCain to Jack Abramoff via Ralph Reed: The McCain campaign hits back, invoking Bill Ayers: "Barack Obama's ad is ridiculous. Because of John McCain, corruption was exposed and people like Jack Abramoff went to jail. "However, if Barack Obama wants to have a…

If ever there was a candidate who needed change, it's Barack Obama. In addition to the Los Angeles Times and Zogby polls showing an Obama slide nationally, the highly respected, bipartisan Battleground poll shows he has lost significant ground. Here's the 'glass-half-full' interpretation of the…

During a McCain campaign conference call with the media, former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani attacked Obama foreign policy adviser Daniel Kurtzer, who met with Syria's foreign minister last month. Kurtzer told the New York Sun that "None of us thought we were being used or abused [by…

Jennifer Rubin's take on Obama foreign policy adviser Daniel Kurtzer's trip to Damascus: The naivité is staggering. What productive negotiations does Kurtzer have in mind? And might he have conveyed any message that gives the Syrians hope that Obama is anxious to do diplomatic business? I don't…

I'm surprised that residents of Quebec would let animal rights activists get the better of them on their 400th anniversary: The Thetford Chicken Massacre is not as well-known as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the controversial Quebec tradition in which participants place bets while decapitated…

The Washington Times reported that the McCain campaign will be playing ads during the Democratic convention. My sources on the campaign now tell me that several new ads will premiere, and they will be specifically tailored to the Denver convention. I wonder whether one of the new ads will focus on…

Eli Lake reports that Daniel Kurtzer, an unpaid foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama, took a little junket to Damascus last month: The next president, whether Republican or Democrat, will make a Syrian-Israeli peace agreement a priority only if the two sides, meeting now in Turkey, make…

The 3,000-word puff-piece on Obama's online operation in this morning's Washington Post is beyond tedious. A sample: Texting is a two-way street, and staffers and volunteers respond to texts from supporters who send questions such as "Where's my polling place?" He wouldn't divulge how many…

Via Ed Morrissey, the Obama campaign has said that all the tickets to Obama's speech at Invesco Field next Thursday are free, but that's not true:

If Barack Obama was hoping to project the image of a unified party in the days before his coronation, this is a story he doesn't need: A brother of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and local Democrats who backed her unsuccessful presidential campaign socialized privately Monday with a top surrogate of…

Political conventions focus public attention on presidential politics like few other events. So it's not surprising that these quadrennial confabs also can produce significant movement in public opinion. Political scientist Tom Holbrook provides a useful history of convention bounces in this blog…

Via Mike Allen, the Project for Excellence in Journalism reports that Barack Obama gained more news coverage than John McCain even when Obama was on vacation: For the ninth time in 10 weeks, moreover, Obama generated more coverage than his rival, even during a week when he was vacationing. The…

From Talking Points Memo, "Fibbin'" by Josh Marshall Here's the post in its entirety: From a Republican pal ... "You didn't get this from me, but use it as you will. Is it just me -- as a Republican knowing how we've played this game before -- or should there be genuine puzzlement why Obama isn't…

McCain leads Obama by 5 points in a new national Reuters/Zogby poll. McCain leads Obama 46 to 41 percent among likely voters, which the poll found is outside the margin of error. Reuters/Zogby had Obama ahead by 7-points as recently as mid July. And Rasmussen shows McCain up by 5 points in Ohio:…

PRIMARY ELECTIONS AMONG challengers for a House seat held by the other party aren't normally of great political interest. But the race for the Republican nomination in a New Hampshire district is an exception. The reason: Jennifer Horn, a conservative talk radio host, is running. She's the first…

From the Los Angeles Times, "Barack Obama's Image Suffers Amid John McCain Attacks, Poll Finds" by Michael Finnegan More good polling news for the Maverick. The latest L.A. Times/Bloomberg effort shows McCain pulling within two of Obama, trailing by the razor thin margin of 45-43. In June, the…

Very interesting Politico article from Jonathan Martin, Mike Allen and Alexander Burns. In short, they say that Joe Lieberman is a serious contender to be John McCain's running mate. Their reporting is consistent with everything I've been hearing. My basic take: If McCain were making the decision…

Lefty bloggers are slowly beginning to climb down from their accusation that John McCain fabricated or pilfered the story of a prison guard drawing a cross in the dirt while he was a POW. One hypothesis--that McCain ripped off the story from The Gulag Archipelago--has been debunked. Turns out the…

A bipartisan coalition of House Members is pressing Speaker Pelosi to invite Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to address a joint session of Congress: House and Senate leaders should invite Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to address a joint session of Congress, according to bipartisan…

Yesterday, while speaking to an audience in New Mexico, Barack Obama admitted that he thought it would be great if American adopted a plan for universal health care: Barack Obama said he would consider embracing a single-payer health-care system, beloved by liberals, as his plan for broader…

Democrats in Denver figure why feed the homeless when you can give them stylish haircuts. When Sylvester and Ghandia Johnson saw news reports about homeless people being given vouchers to the zoo and the movies during the DNC, they didn't feel it was right. "We just kind of felt like in news…

From 538.com, "538's Battlegrounds as of Mid-August" by Sean I've mentioned 538.com in the past, but here's a timely reminder. It is without question the best site for poll analysis on the internet. If you like following the presidential horserace (and who doesn't?), it should be a daily stop. This…

From a new Pew survey on the public's knowledge: About half of Americans (53%) can correctly identify the Democrats as the party that has a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In February 2007, shortly after the Democrats gained control of the House after a dozen years of GOP rule, many…

Via Allahpundit, the Chinese pitchers beaned one U.S. player and hit four others during last night's baseball game in retaliation for a couple of home plate collisions with the Chinese catchers. Bowling over a catcher at home may be rough, but it's part of the game. Throwing a fastball at a…

It's "Veep Week," says The Trail's Dan Balz, and practically every blogger has a contribution to what he calls the "orgy of speculation." Both candidates are expected to announce their VP before the end of next week. The New York Times reported yesterday that Barack Obama "has all but settled" on…

If you defy California Democrats in the State Assembly -- especially when they're desperately trying to get a bloated budget passed -- don't expect a corner office: In the latest episode of Capitol punishment, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass tossed Assemblywoman Nicole Parra from her office on Monday…

Polls from several battleground states show McCain gaining traction this past month. Just consider Colorado, Virginia, and Michigan. In July, every Colorado poll put Obama in the lead. In August, only one does, and the average of three others show McCain up by two. Polls from Virginia illustrate…

Placing Senator Clinton's name into "nomination" at next week's Democratic convention has generated considerable confusion in the media and even among political pros. Do party rules technically require a formal "nomination" in order for delegates to vote for that person? Is there even a formal…

Patrick Ruffini has an excellent post on how conservatives can reclaim economic issues from liberals. A taste: In 2008, the recession is all about consumers -- be they consumers at the pump, homeowners, or at the grocery store. The recession is hitting all of us a little (rather than just some of…

From the British paper the Evening Standard, "Barack Obama's Broken Promise to African Village" by David Cohen In the Obama family's hometown in Kenya, the secondary school is named after the presumptive Democratic nominee. Obama visited there in 2006: At that historic homecoming in August 2006…

From the Wall Street Journal, "For Obama, Taxes Are About Fairness" by William McGurn Great column here by McGurn, exploring the "soak the rich" tax mentality that characterizes Barack Obama's campaign: Mr. Obama, by contrast, started out much more directly, suggesting that if you make $150,000 or…

My brief assessment of the military options open to the West in the ongoing Georgian conflict "The Pain Game: A Military response to Russia's aggression?" provoked many comments both favorable and unfavorable. The most thoughtful criticism accused me of elevating the tactical over the strategic;…

Hugo Chávez has been busy lately. On July 22, the Venezuelan president arrived in Moscow to finalize a number of bilateral energy and military agreements, including several arms deals that (according to a Russian newspaper) are reportedly worth around $2 billion. (His previous weapons acquisitions…

From HotAir.com, "POW: I Remember McCain Telling the Cross Story in 1971" by the Allahpundit My friends, the obtuseness of the angry left sometimes shocks me into a benumbed silence. While I've been staring at the intertubes in slack-jawed silence, Allah has summed things up well: Anything that…

Mark Salter and Orson Swindle refute a smear.

THE AMERICAN BASKETBALL team at the Beijing Olympics is being treated shabbily by the media. I've had trouble finding when their games were being played and which NBC channel was televising them. Yet this is one of the greatest teams ever assembled in any sport. It's only a slight exaggeration--and…

Obama advisers respond to the New York Sun editorial of last week about how Obama's tax plan will drive women back into the home: 'Absolutely outrageous" is how Senator Obama's economic adviser, Jason Furman, described our editorial of Thursday, "Obama's War on Women," about the effect the…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Now Phelps Chases Gold on Land" by Christopher Rhoads According to this story, Michael Phelps' haul of eight gold medals may be worth nine figures. Given the physical torment and mental ennui involved with swimming great lengths, the kid has earned every penny he…

Earlier in the summer, fashion designers held a $10,000-per-plate fundraiser for Barack Obama featuring his fashionable wife Michelle. Now with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC just around the corner, the fashion industry will be using the hype about the Spring 2009 collections to promote Obama's…

From the Boston Globe, "Hindsight Isn't 20-20" by Jeff Jacoby The outstanding Jacoby, the lonely conservative presence on the Globe's op-ed page, makes an excellent case for why the Iraq war was worth doing: Hindsight isn't always 20-20, particularly in wartime, when early expectations of an easy…

Here's the real scandal behind the whole cone-of-silence non-scandal. Per Rick Warren, both McCain and Obama had a heads-up regarding the tougher questions at Saturday's forum. The pastor didn't want the candidates to be struck dumb by the hard ones. Warren specifically cited the inquiry where the…

The presidential campaigns of Bob Dole and John Kerry had several things in common: they were veterans whose service apparently counted for little, they were personally unexciting, and they ran weak campaigns. There was one other common factor: both were fatally afflicted with the tendency to lapse…

Via The Scorecard, Republican Jon Gard, who lost an open seat race with Democrat Steve Kagen in 2006 by 2 percentage points, has his first TV ad up and running. It's not surprisingly about gas prices: As potent as the energy issue may be, this might not be the best way to win a district that's home…

A full-page op-ed in Germany's prestigious conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung caught my eye last Wednesday. Titled "Preventive Nuclear War in Europe", the article (which is not available online) describes in great detail the Warsaw Pact's secret military planning for a first-strike…

So Obama raised another $50 million. Why his campaign released this news on late Friday morning, I am not sure since it's not exactly bad news. Some of the doomsday scenarios I laid out last month about his campaign going bankrupt now seem less likely. But one point I made remains true: Obama is…

Nepal may have gotten rid of the royal family, but thankfully it hasn't yet dispensed with another tradition: the child goddess who sounds like a duck. If you are female, possess "the voice of a duck" and are between 2 and 4 years old, it could be just the job for you - Nepal is advertising for a…

The Senate ethics committee is trying to prevent Tom Coburn from delivering babies for free. TEXT http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/coburn-renews-battle-with-ethics-over-baby-deliveries-2008-07-28.html http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/Poll_Voters_take_Coburns_side_in_ethics_dispute.html

Obama received the endorsement of the Savage Dragon, which is not one of his two favorite superheroes. Savage Dragon, a superhero and police officer whose adventures are published by Image Comics, is throwing his hat in the ring for Barack Obama. The news is blared across the cover of issue No.…

On Saturday, Barack Obama did an interview with CBN in which he accused McCain and the GOP of invoking Messianic imagery when referring to him: Brody: Let me ask you a little about some of these ads that John McCain has been running not just on television, but on the web. Let's face it, let's call…

In a strange frenzy of increasing desperation, the left has unsheathed two new attacks aimed at John McCain. The first suggests that McCain somehow evaded the "cone of silence" at the Saddleback debate and thus had an unfair advantage. After all, how could McCain have given a better answer to who…

From the New York Times, "Showdown at Saddleback" by William Kristol From Real Clear Politics, "McCain Shines at Saddleback Forum" by Michael Gerson From Commentary, "McCain Tonight" by John Podhoretz I didn't see the Obama-McCain semi-showdown live on Saturday night. Instead, I was out catching…

Politico's Ben Smith, who has done some terrific reporting on this year's presidential race, has an item up on John McCain and evil. In it Smith suggests McCain is fudging facts -- or at least being careless -- for dramatic effect. The headline on the brief story, which occupied a spot on…

California politico Willie Brown predicts that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama: I'm basing my forecast on a series of phone calls that I received this week. I can't say who called me, but I can tell you one of the questions I was asked: "What do you think the reaction would be if former…

On Saturday night, Rick Warren asked John McCain if evil exists. McCain said yes and told Warren: "Not long ago in Baghdad, Al Qaeda took two young women who were mentally disabled and put suicide vests on them, sent them into a marketplace, and by remote control, detonated those suicide vests. If…

The Clinton campaign made a big show of rending their garments over the sexism they encountered during the primaries. Comments like this one from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Salena Zito probably won't help matters in Hillary Land: This convention is Obama's moment -- his hour to welcome America…

Saddleback Church Lake Forest, Calif. In the "message" room afterwards ("message" being a churchly word for spin), Gary Bauer, for McCain, having described the candidate's performance as "a grand slam home run," told me that "all this talk that Barack would peel off a significant portion of [the…

In the course of just a few minutes, Obama said two things at tonight's Saddleback Valley Community Church event that struck me as disingenuous. First, he claims to have worked with John McCain on bipartisan campaign finance and ethics reform legislation. I think John McCain might remember things…

Saddleback Church Lake Forest, Calif. Saddleback's "Civil Forum on the Presidency" starts in about an hour from now. Note the grand title of this event, when the reality is that the two campaigns are battling for the votes of evangelicals. Bush got a whopping 78 percent of the evangelical vote in…

There's "no smoking gun", but Brian Whitmore at Radio Free Europe tries to connect the dots.

Obama is just back from his Hawaii vacation, so who can blame him for skipping tomorrow's fundraiser in the Hamptons? Going in his place will be Caroline Kennedy, and celebrity co-hosts "include Alec Baldwin, Christy Turlington Burns & Ed Burns, Barbara Lee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Carl…

AFTER MUCH HAGGLING, Poland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States to develop and deploy elements of a ballistic missile defense system on its territory, for the ostensible purpose of deterring and if necessary defeating an Iranian missile attack against European NATO…

Factcheck.org says this Obama ad "paint[s] a false picture." Last week, Brian Faughnan did a little debunking of the DHL smear here on the blog. Announcer: "John McCain helped pave the way for foreign-owned DHL to take over an American shipping company." "MCCAIN MANAGER LOBBIED FOR FOREIGN DEAL",…

"Here's the leader of the Chinese team, at the age of 20, Cheng Fei. She is one of the many who has been taken away from her family-not screaming and yelling out the door-but from the age of 3, and they may see their parents once a year. At one point she called her parents, said she wanted to come…

The latest Russian invasion of Georgia--following the examples provided by tsars Paul I and his successor Alexander I (in 1801) and Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin (in 1921, three years after Georgia first gained modern independence)--has fully revealed the character of post-Soviet neo-imperialism…

Pew released an interesting poll yesterday, documenting the anatomy of the tightening presidential race. Like other recent national polls, the overall the survey shows a near dead heat (Obama leads 46 percent to 43 percent among registered voters with a +/- 2.5% margin of error). But looking behind…

Russia has expressed its anger at the U.S.-Poland missile defense deal which was announced yesterday: Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in…

Kathryn Lopez quotes John J. Miller's National Review cover story, in which he argues that placing Ridge, Lieberman, Crist, or Huckabee on the ticket could quite easily lead to a convention floor fight: "If majorities of just six state delegations to the national convention in the Twin Cities…

When an Obama TV ad claimed that the senator had "worked his way through college and Harvard Law", factcheck.org was a little skeptical. Obama's campaign provided only two examples: a summer construction job during college and his work as a summer associate at a big law school. Now, Lynn Sweet…

David Brody is covering the presidential campaign for CBN, giving particular attention to the role of religion. His interview with Rick Warren is interesting, to say the least. Warren's 22,000-member Saddleback Church will be the site tomorrow night of the two presidential candidates' first joint…

From National Review, "The Lieberman Option" by Rich Lowry From The Politico, "McCain Alarms Base with Abortion Comment" by Jonathan Martin From Commentary, "The Argument for Lieberman" by John Podhoretz First from the Politico: Top social conservative leaders in key battleground states are urging…

Obama bodysurfs in Hawaii: obamabeach.jpg Can you imagine the thrill running up Chris Matthews' leg right now? Er, on second thought, let's try not to imagine that. bodysurfing2.jpg For a gym rat who allegedly curls 70 pound weights, I thought he would be a little more jacked than these pictures…

The McCain campaign just released its July fundraising figure; it raised $27 million for the best month since becoming the presumptive nominee. This money must all be spent before receiving public financing in early September. John McCain and the Republican National Committee started August with a…

Andy McCarthy argues that the "president must withdraw the U.S.-Russia civil-nuclear cooperation agreement, submitted in all its naïveté to an appropriately hostile Congress back in May." In small compass, Russia tells the sorry story of Secretary Condoleezza Rice's Carteresque turn at the State…

Politico's Jonathan Martin writes that pro-life conservatives are sending strong signals to the McCain campaign that choosing a pro-choice runningmate is unacceptable. Top social conservative leaders in key battleground states are urging John McCain not to pick a running mate who supports abortion…

AS RUSSIAN BOMBS FELL on apartment complexes in Gori, Georgia, this week, President Bush made speeches. As Georgian ships sank in the Black Sea, NATO planned an "extraordinary meeting." As a Georgian woman fled her home towards Tbilisi, she asked "Where is America now?" Unlike our forceful…

An interesting nugget from today's Rasmussen Daily Snapshot: "Despite the Russian invasion of Georgia, daily tracking data shows no shift in voter priorities for Election 2008. Forty-one percent (41%) say economic issues are most important while just 22% name national security issues as the top…

The security dynamics in Diyala Province demonstrate the continued need for Coalition forces to clear, control, retain, and rebuild the provinces to defend against al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their counter- offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq in June of 2007, driving the…

THE MOST IMPORTANT economic news of recent weeks is the recovery of the long-comatose dollar. On a single day earlier this month it recorded its biggest jump against the euro in eight years, before retreating a bit. Sounds like unambiguous good news, since a stronger dollar might lower import…

Conventional wisdom has rapidly hardened around the proposition that there is no practical military response to the Russian invasion of Georgia. In fact, if the Georgians were inclined to fight, there is quite a lot they could do militarily, and in a way that would not directly involve U.S. or NATO…

John McCain faces an uphill battle against Barack Obama in Pennsylvania. But the Arizona Senator's prospects could get a boost from an unlikely source: Several GOP House challengers are giving some liberal Democratic incumbents reasons to worry about their own electoral survival. Commentators argue…

Over at the Corner, Jay Nordlinger says that actress Vanessa Redgrave and one of her ilk read verses from "Poems from Guantánamo," a volume written by Gitmo detainees, after a performance of her one woman show last night. Nordlinger says he didn't stick around for the reading (which is…

From the Wall Street Journal, "Bush Toughens Up" by the Editors Like many conservatives, the Journal's editors have been hard on the administration's dilatory response to the situation in Georgia. Also like many conservatives, they are now pleased that the Bushies have rediscovered their spine. The…

From Fred Kagan: • South Ossetia and Abkhazia are on a path to declare independence and be recognized by Russia. • Russia has warned the U.S. to take no steps in Georgia that might "directly or indirectly" encourage Saakashvili to try to retake these areas, but says that it neither objects to…

Rasmussen has a poll up whose results will chill the hearts of those of us who enjoy (and occasionally guest-host) conservative talk radio shows: Nearly half of Americans (47%) believe the government should require all radio and television stations to offer equal amounts of conservative and liberal…

From the AP: Poland and the United States reached an agreement Thursday that will see a battery of American missiles established inside Poland, the prime minister said, announcing a plan that has infuriated Russia and raised the specter of an escalation of tension with the region's communist-era…

Kilpatrick is not welcome in Denver: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has been charged with multiple felonies for perjury and an assault case, may want to attend the Democratic convention in Denver but a spokesman for presumptive nominee Barack Obama says he isn't exactly open to the idea, the…

From the New York Times, "Creep Show" by Buzz Bissinger Buzz hates the Olympics even more than I do! As you may know, Bissinger is the author of the seminal fly-on-the-wall sports book, Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights was a searing look at the world of high stakes high school football as…

David Sirota makes an interesting observation about the change that has come over MoveOn.org: In effectively OK-ing the VP nomination of a politician who has consistently voted against Moveon's organizational mission, the Moveon leadership lets us in on the secret that I reported in my book: namely…

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey writes in Pravda that Max Boot's LA Times op-ed on the Russo-Georgian conflict is a "two-page schmuckfest of unadulterated bilge." Max Boot calls Russia's crossing into Georgia a violation of international law. So what does he have to say about the USA's act of criminal…

Rasmussen conducts a regular survey on whether voters intend to support the Republican candidate for Congress, or the Democrat. Their most recent survey shows that the Democratic advantage has closed to 8 points -- the closest it has been in several months: The Republicans have tightened the gap…

Kevin Vance has done some fresh reporting on Obama's vote against the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act. Earlier this week, the NRLC provided a document showing that Obama voted against a version of the bill that included an amendment clarifying that the act would not be used to undermine Roe v.…

From the New York Times, "The Wrong Force for the Right War" by Bartle Breese Bull The generally hawkish and specifically pro-surge Bull questions the bipartisan wisdom that we should flood a bunch of troops into Afghanistan in order to better pursue "the right war." But what are the real prospects…

President Mikheil Saakashvili is understandably upset that Western leaders have offered little more than rhetoric: Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday called for John McCain and other American leaders to do more for Georgia in their response to the conflict in his country.…

If the rumors are true, John Edward's former mistress is receiving $15,000 a month in child support/hush money from a former campaign aide. Edwards says he wasn't aware of the payments, and has nothing to do with them. The Enquirer says nonsense in the tabloid's most recent update. At $15,000 per…

The New York Sun's take on the Obama tax plan: The Obama campaign has at long last lifted the veil of mystery that has surrounded the Democratic presidential candidate's tax increase plans. Mr. Obama's two economic advisers, Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee, have an op-ed piece in today's Wall…

From Salon.com, "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" by Walter Shapiro Shapiro laments how he bought John Edwards's long stream of shinola only to be betrayed when Edwards' true nature finally revealed itself in that Beverly Hills men's room: Beginning with a trip to North Carolina in the spring of 2001 to…

OIL DEPENDENCE IS America's Achilles' heel in the battle against terrorism--a fact that has not escaped the terrorists. Osama bin Laden and others have declared the oil supply a top target, and subsequent plots demonstrate that the desire to disrupt world energy markets is more than mere rhetoric.…

Kiev

It's pretty simple. If you have an adjusted gross income of between $85,000 and $100,000 or so, Obama won't raise your marginal tax rates. If you're anywhere else in the income scale, you're not so lucky. FS_Obama_Tax.jpg Although Obama is offering a new series of tax breaks, they undermine rather…

This morning at AEI Tom Donnelly moderated a panel discussion on Georgia with Fred Kagan, Ralph Peters, and Leon Aron. C-Span has video of the event (you have to click on the little red camera next to "AEI Panel Discussion"). And you can find Kagan's updates on the conflict here.

Never hurts to be prepared: CBS4 News has learned if mass arrests happen at the Democratic Convention, those taken into custody will be jailed in a warehouse owned by the City of Denver. Investigator Rick Sallinger discovered the location and managed to get inside for a look. The newly created…

Barack Obama's supporters seem to find racism wherever they look, and have argued quietly that racism is keeping down Obama's overall numbers. But Obama is polling about the same as previous Democratic nominees among white voters. In the latest CBS poll, McCain leads Obama by four points among…

Obama eats as much as Michael Phelps. The Honolulu Advertiser reports, "Obama ordered six half-pound cheeseburgers, eight third-pound cheeseburgers, 10 kids' burgers and 20 orders of fries." The bill at at Kua 'Aina Sandwich Shop totaled $116 (plus a $40 tip). Is Obama training for the Olympics or…

Ted Kaczynski's cabin is on display now at the Newseum in Washington, DC, and he's none too pleased about it. Apparently an ad for the Unabomber exhibit found its way into his "supermax" federal prison in Colorado. He has sent a three page handwritten complaint to a U.S. Court of Appeals requesting…

In aboard his campaign plane this morning, John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights. McCain also criticized Barack Obama's presidential…

IN A WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW aboard his campaign plane this morning, John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights. McCain also criticized…

Fighting between the Russian Federation and Republic of Georgia appears to be winding down. As Russia consolidates its gains in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, it's time to consider appropriate and proportional responses to Russia's violation of Georgia's sovereignty. -Move quickly and decisively to…

Before Congress adjourned for the August recess, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not permit the House to vote on opening the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, calling such proposals a "decoy." Meanwhile, many House Republicans stayed in D.C. to protest the lack of a vote, and recent polls…

The Olympics brings out the patriot and sports fan in all of us--especially since the winningest Olympian ever is from the United States. Last night, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps won his eleventh Olympic gold medal and smashed two more world records, including the men's 200-meter butterfly with…

In today's Washington Post, Peter Beinart says race still matters. Already, there is reason to believe that race is weighing Obama down. A survey this year by CBS and the New York Times found that 94 percent of respondents would vote for a black presidential candidate. But when asked if "most…

Fareed Zakaria's Newsweek cover story on "what Bush got right" contains the following ridiculous assertion: "On the central issue of energy policy - the greatest economic challenge and opportunity of our times - Bush has been utterly obstructionist." Hmm. Last I checked, Bush supports alternative…

On street corners across America, Democratic volunteers are feverishly trying to register young voters. Why? First, because this age cohort overwhelmingly supports Barack Obama. According to the latest Gallup poll (July 28-Aug 3) he leads McCain 56 percent to 35 percent among 18-29 year olds. And…

Now that the Democrats say there's only one America, they're holding two conventions. The first Democratic Convention is on the second and third days and will feature the Clintons, and the second Democratic Convention will take place on the first and final day and will feature the Obamas. The…

IN MARCH 2003, registered nurse Jill Stanek submitted a statement to the Illinois Senate Health and Human Services committee in which she reported that infants who survived abortions at her Oak Lawn hospital were sometimes "taken to the Soiled Utility Room and left alone to die." Stanek was…

"China's Communist rulers, while basking in the glow of their Olympics bash, are surely checking the tea leaves for what this might presage about U.S. support for another U.S. ally: the democratic Republic of China on Taiwan. If the U.S. will not stand up to North Korea, will not stand up to Iran,…

In the LA Times, Max Boot outlines a course of action: The West must demand that Russia withdraw its troops from all of Georgia's soil, possibly to be replaced in South Ossetia and Abkhazia with international peacekeepers. If the Kremlin won't comply, the West should respond with sanctions such as…

Barack Obama's new ad hits cable news today, and he's making a critical mistake in attacking McCain. Obama's numbers are falling not because people are gravitating towards McCain, but because they don't know who Obama is and the McCain ads mocking him are resonating. In an effort to be all things…

See Fred Kagan's latest update on the situation in Georgia.

When Barack Obama was preparing to go back on his pledge to accept public financing, he said that a major reason was the fear that McCain would refuse to rein in well-funded outside groups that supported his candidacy: John McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by…

McCain tells a crowd in Pennsylvania: My friends, today the killing goes on and aggression goes on. Yet, I know from speaking this morning to the President of Georgia, Misha Saakashvili, who I've known for many years, that he knows that the thoughts and the prayers and support of the American…

From Rasmussen Reports, "59% see Russian Invasion of Georgia as Threat" by Scott Rasmussen The pollster reports: Just over half (51%) believe that John McCain is the best equipped of the two major presidential candidates to handle a similar crisis in the future, while 36% believe Barack Obama is…

Obama's terse statement on Friday called for peace without blaming Russia for the conflict in Georgia. Then on Saturday, Obama issued a second statement, which allegedly beefed up his criticism. But a close reading reveals Obama still doesn't blame Russia for the attacks. "The current escalation of…

Religion is among the most powerful predictors of voting behavior in American elections. This pattern plays out again in the 2008 race for the White House. And while Democrats are working hard to appeal more to people of faith, a strong religious/political divide continues. For example, those who…

York, PA -- John McCain addressed that advice to "Washington" today, where House and Senate Republicans, on recess, are pushing aggressively to raise the profile of the energy issue. But of course there is one senator who is taking a very high profile vacation right now: Barack Obama. McCain spent…

Could there have been a better line in today's Washington Post op-ed section than from George F. Will's column? On ABC's "This Week," Richardson, auditioning to be Barack Obama's running mate, disqualified himself. Clinging to the Obama campaign's talking points like a drunk to a lamppost,…

From the AFP: Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus on Tuesday compared the situation in Georgia to the 1938 Munich crisis, when Western nations tried to appease Hitler's territorial demands before World War II. "We can't allow a second Munich, when the international community climbed down to…

From the Daily Dish, "Cheney or Putin" by Andrew Sullivan Andrew Sullivan provides a wonderful example of the moral confusion brought on by an acute case of Bush Derangement Syndrome: A key point: Russia is not exporting a totalitarian ideology; it is flexing its military power in its backyard, as…

From the Washington Post, "A Path to Peace in the Caucasus" by Mikhail Gorbachev Even Gorbachev, a.k.a. Russia's Jimmy Carter, is flush with militaristic pride based on Putin's Georgia adventure. What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South…

Forget about the Hillary emails. More interesting is Obama's correspondence with several celebrities. Obama lived in California for two years, matriculating at Occidental College, before transferring to Columbia. But before he left Los Angeles, he seems to have internalized the cult of…

As John Noonan notes below, Fred Kaplan criticizes "the Bush people" and the "neocons" for supporting Georgia's bid for NATO membership: Bush pressed the other NATO powers to place Georgia's application for membership on the fast track. The Europeans rejected the idea, understanding the…

Normally I enjoy Fred Kaplan's columns. But here, we part ways: Bush pressed the other NATO powers to place Georgia's application for membership on the fast track. The Europeans rejected the idea, understanding the geo-strategic implications of pushing NATO's boundaries right up to Russia's border.…

From National Review, "Moscow's Sinister Brilliance" by Victor Davis Hanson In this brief essay, Professor Hanson gives you just about everything you need to know about the Russia-Georgia conflict. You'll want to read the whole thing, but the following passage is my favorite: The Russians have…

IN A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN dominated by foreign affairs and the economy, both candidates have made a point of endorsing one controversial education proposal: teacher merit pay. Barack Obama even braved the boos of a core Democratic constituency, the National Education Association (NEA), with his…

SOME SAY THE OLYMPICS, now underway, are all about politics, a coming out party for China's ruling regime, eager to show that its rise to world-power status is no threat to anyone--except for the Taiwanese, Tibetans, domestic Christians, and the few millions of others who might behave in ways the…

Presidential elections are decided by a series of important moments. This may be one of them. Barack Obama put out another statement on the developments in Georgia and moved even closer to where John McCain was at the moment the crisis began. He read it, on vacation in Hawaii, standing in front of…

Barack Obama's excuse for opposing a bill that would have required medical care for newborn infants who had survived an abortion attempt is bogus.

Roll Call suggests that Tim Kaine may be out of the running for Barack Obama's VP pick unless he can tame his unruly eyebrows: Kaine's brows - arched, wiggly and what most people remember from the Democrat's rebuttal to the State of the Union speech in 2006 - have become one of the chief objections…

Showing the same sort of rapid response that He displayed during the 14 month Jeremiah Wright "problem," Barack Obama and His campaign have belatedly issued a rejoinder to the McCain campaign's almost two week old "Celebrity" ad. I think you'll agree it's a stroke of genius. The Obama campaign,…

From Pravda, under the headline, "Russia: Again Savior of Peace and Life:" The international community collectively held their breath waiting for the reaction of Russia after the savage, brutal, criminal attack by Georgia on South Ossetia. After having offered a ceasefire in hostilities, the…

In Senator Obama's defense, he would have to give up much more than just bodyboarding in order to be in Fort Hood tonight. He also has a big fundraiser scheduled tomorrow night in Hawaii. It would be awfully hard for him to attend tonight's townhall and make it to the fundraiser without suffering…

Calling their convention "America's Townhall" takes a lot of chutzpah given Barack Obama refused to do a series of townhalls with McCain. But not as much as declining to do a townhall with U.S. soldiers because of a "previously scheduled commitment" and then jetting off to Hawaii for a vacation.…

In his latest ad, Obama uses a bunch of photos of Bush with McCain. There may not be many flattering photos of Obama with Clinton, but what about a response ad featuring ... sneider1.jpg sneider2.jpg sneider3.jpg

Above is John McCain's entertaining new internet ad. Will Joe Klein find it scurrilous? Will Andrew Sullivan be gobsmacked? Will Barack Obama show a heretofore hidden ability to laugh at himself? You'll have to stay tuned.

From the Wall Street Journal, "Volunteering for Torment" by John Paul Newport It's been a while since I've indulged in some golf blogging. Please forgive me for surrendering to temptation. Besides, it's not like anything interesting is happening in the world like a war breaking out or a major…

President Bush's visit to Georgia in 2005 was one of the most successful foreign trips of his presidency. He embraced the people of Georgia, and the people of Georgia embraced him. President Bush, under the influence of Georgian food, music and high-concept schmoozing, stayed up celebrating hours…

The London Times reports that Russian troops have advanced beyond South Ossetia and taken the Georgian city of Gori: Russian forces overran the strategic Georgian city of Gori today as troops prepared to defend the capital Tbilisi from what one official called a "total onslaught". Georgian soldiers…

As Samantha notes below, you can download any and all of the 12 free Barack Obama ringtones at barackobama.com. I've been boogeying down (and laughing out loud) to Obama's old-school rap (ringtone 1) and his techno rendition (ringtone 3) for the last thirty minutes. Of course, neither of those…

Want 2 B the first 2 know Barack Obama's VP choice? You can sign up to receive a text message alert when he decides! Is this a good idea? Hot Air's Ed Morrissey concludes, "Instead of looking presidential in making this announcement, Obama looks like a parent trying too hard to be hip around his…

From the New York Times, "Will Russia Get Away With It?" by Bill Kristol From the Washington Post, "Putin Makes His Move" by Robert Kagan If I worked for the Atlantic or The American Prospect, I would be forced to write about stuff that I have little or no familiarity with. Fortunately, I'm under…

Via Andrew Sullivan, Nate Silver asks: How can someone being portrayed as "the biggest celebrity in the world" also be painted as radical and out of the mainstream? Either Obama is like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton: a fluffy, substanceless, mass-consumed but empty celebrity-for-celebrity's sake,…

From the New York Times, "Sometimes, There's News in the Gutter" by Clark Hoyt In an unintentionally laugh-out-loud essay, the Times' ombudsman provides some insight into how the Grey Lady and her fellow media travelers managed to overlook the John Edwards story: Still, Edwards-Hunter was…

Over the past week, several of our friends from the organization Vets for Freedom (VFF) have returned to Iraq. All of the men and women on the trip are veterans of the Iraq War, most of them combat veterans. The idea was that they would return to the areas where they served so they could see what…

angelina-jolie-picture-3.jpg

Baghdad Less than less than six months ago, A Company 4th Battalion 64th Armor Regiment was conducting typical combat missions in Iraq. But now, under the leadership of 26 year-old Captain Andrew Betson of Midway, Georgia, the A Company is overseeing the security and development in the southeastern…

When the Olympics enter the public consciousness, we like to think it should be for sports-related reasons, even if some of us hardly consider the likes of synchronized swimming and curling real sports. But the Beijing Games have made news for all the wrong reasons. When the International Olympic…

Jonathan Coors was outnumbered when he met with Colorado governor Bill Ritter Jr. last April. Ritter wasn't alone in his office. The governor's secretary of labor and chief of staff were there, along with several business leaders opposed to the effort by Coors to put a right-to-work referendum on…

The Disinherited

Barack Obama's neighborhood newspaper, the Hyde Park Herald, has a longstanding tradition of opening its pages to elected officials-from Chicago aldermen to state legislators to U.S. senators. Obama himself, as a state senator, wrote more than 40 columns for the Herald, under the title "Springfield…

How Green Was My Dorm?

Los Angeles

I said the proceedings were "slightly demented." I was being polite. I was one of two witnesses invited by the Republican members to testify at the House Judiciary Committee's hearings on "executive power and constitutional limitations" on July 25. The event was more accurately described by one of…

Tropic Thunder

Although 73 percent of Americans favor offshore drilling, Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't allow the House of Representatives to vote on the Republican bill to lift the drilling ban. In a recent CNN interview, Pelosi said she has "no plans" to schedule a vote on it because she opposes drilling in…

Law and the Long War

In January 2007, with Iraq in flames and Democrats set to take over Congress, President Bush had two options. He could side with Senator Barack Obama and begin a gradual drawdown of American troops in Iraq, leaving the Iraqis to a grim fate and dealing a serious and consequential blow to American…

How to know when you've made a spectacle of yourself? The first hint that I had gone from unremarkable though odd--my natural state--to publicly pathetic came when two young men, complete strangers, drove by my house and called out to me and laughed. I noted their out-of-town baseball caps, bearing…

On July 30, Ali Khamenei demolished what was left of George W. Bush's Iran policy. Iran's clerical overlord also put paid to Senator Barack Obama's dreams of tête-à-tête, stop-the-nukes diplomacy. Ten days earlier the Americans, British, French, Germans, Russians, and Chinese had gathered in Geneva…

Even the best political books are in their nature ephemeral, but there are exceptions. One is Theodore H. White's making-of-the-president series, especially the first, on the Kennedy-Nixon contest. Stewart Alsop's The Center, published 40 years ago this spring, and the subject of this reprise, is…

Churchill, Hitler, and the "Unnecessary War"

A statement by John McCain just released by his campaign: "For many years, I have warned against Russian actions that undermine the sovereignty of its neighbors. Unfortunately, we have seen in recent days Russia demonstrate that these concerns were well-founded. "This afternoon I spoke, for the…

Barack Obama said yesterday that "Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war." John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann criticized the apparent moral equivalence in Obama's statement: "That's kind of like saying after…

As discussed earlier, Barack Obama has a new radio ad slamming John McCain and Rick Davis for their alleged role in the potential loss of 8,000 jobs in southwest Ohio. The ad excerpts a portion of McCain's town hall exchange with the wife of one of the affected employees, Mary Houghtaling of…

From this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly: EW: Everyone knows you're a Jay-Z fan, but who else is on your iPod? Barack Obama: My staff teases me about how eclectic my tastes are. I've got Frank Sinatra, I've got Sheryl Crow, I've got John Coltrane, I've got Bob Dylan. There's Javanese flute…

Picking up on an ad put together by Ohio Democrats, Barack Obama is airing a radio commercial blaming John McCain (and campaign manager Rick Davis) for the potential loss of about 8,000 jobs in Wilmington, Ohio. Basically, Davis lobbied in support of DHL's bid to acquire Airborne Express of…

Whether it's the "Rat Pack" crooning for John F. Kennedy or Ludacris rapping for Obama, some entertainers like the stump as much as the stage. Call it an Entertainment Tonight/Electoral College fusion. So it was not a big surprise when savvy political strategist Paris Hilton - with the help of her…

John Edwards just keeps digging himself deeper. The central claim of the National Enquirer's story--that Edwards had an affair with Hunter--is proven true, but Edwards says in a statement he was being "99% honest" when he denied the story: In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted…

From HotAir.com, "Edwards Admits Affair" by the Allahpundit It's been a long week of blogging, and yet I still can't seek safety on the golf course - I must say something about the John Edwards affair. As is so often the case, Allah has the best and most insightful rundown. If you're keeping score…

Earlier this year, President Bush strongly advocated Georgian assimilation into the NATO alliance. European diplomats, fearing--well, exactly what's going down in the Caucasus right now--voted down the fiercely pro-American nation's request to join the Western powers. Let this be another lesson in…

The Washington Times notes that the late-night hosts have been shamed into doing their job. Jay Leno earlier this week quipped that when the Democratic presidential aspirant was asked what he thought about being called arrogant, "well he said he was 'above having to answer that question.' " Jon…

By their own admissionn, liberal political operatives seek to chill Republican speech by sending out thousands of letters warning donors of the potential repurcussion of giving soft-money to 527-like groups. Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country…

ABC reports: John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today. In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an…

As Dean notes below, Paul Krugman has a particularly distasteful column in today's New York Times, reviving John Stuart Mill's mantra that conservatives belong to the Stupid Party. According to Krugman, [T]he debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I've been thinking…

Matt Welch notices that an enterprising Californian has state approval to start collecting signatures for an initiative to buy America's oil companies, car companies, and large investment houses. How will a state heavily in the red pay for those investments? Simple: through a huge new tax on…

Everyone has heard reports that public transportation is in record use in metropolitan areas, because of rising prices at the pump. Indeed, "The transportation association says people took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation nationwide in the first three months of 2008 -- almost 88 million…

Under the breathless headline "'Adlai Stevenson's Lasting Legacy' panel to feature Adlai Stevenson III, Sept. 24", Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School offers details of a compelling program you won't want to miss in addition to wrapping up this week's "Not a Parody" prize: A panel discussion titled…

Why pledge allegiance to the flag when you can salute Obama? obamasalute.jpg Is it a 0 for no progress on energy? Is it an O for overreaching? If the reactions being deleted from the U.S. News comment section are any reflection of how the country as a whole will react, John McCain should thank the…

From National Review, "On Energy, Do Everything" by Charles Krauthammer It was my great honor during one of my stints guest-hosting the Hugh Hewitt Show to be able to tell Charles Krauthammer publicly to his face (or at least over the phone) what I've often said in private - he is the best…

Andy McCarthy writes: In Hamdan's case, we thus have a double problem. First, the jury of military officers somehow decided that material support to our enemies, by a guy who actually protected bin Laden and transported weapons for al-Qaeda, was worth only five-and-a-half years in jail. Second, the…

Vice President Dick Cheney will be speaking at the Republican National Convention in early September after all, according to four Republican sources. He is scheduled to speak on the opening night of the convention, Monday, September 1, before George W. Bush addresses delegates. The decision to…

From the New York Times, "Know-Nothing Politics" by Paul Krugman In his trademark understated and genteel manner, Paul Krugman tries with today's column to buck up the fortitude of the Don't Drill Democrats. I truly wish him the best of luck in the endeavor. The column highlights what a tough spot…

Apropos of Jake Tapper's scoop showing that Barack Obama receives more money from Exxon/Mobil than John McCain, blogger Jeff Dobbs of The Voice in My Head (which you should be reading every day) has come up with a logo to convey the gravity of the situation. barackbigoil.jpg

Obama is making a strategic blunder in going on offense instead of playing defense in response to McCain's attacks. The fact is Obama will win this election if he convinces Americans he is a reasonable alternative. Polling suggests Democrats will expand their majorities in the House and Senate.…

Jake Tapper reports: In Youngstown, Ohio, this week Obama said that McCain is "offering $4 billion more in tax breaks to the biggest oil companies in America -- including $1.2 billion to Exxon-Mobil...a company that, last quarter, made the same amount of money in 30 seconds that a typical Ohio…

From Rasmussen Reports, "News You Watch Says a Lot About How You'll Vote" by Scott Rasmussen Fascinating stuff here. 87% of Fox News viewers plan on voting for John McCain. By way of comparison, 63% of MSNBC viewers plan on voting for Barack Obama. Yesterday, I posited that Keith Olbermann was…

In an online chat with supporters today, Hillary Clinton wrote: "I am so pleased that Senator Obama shares my commitment to universal health care." Of course, during the primaries Clinton argued that Obama's plan was not universal. She told Obama during one debate: You know, when I proposed a…

No one doubts Obama gets loads of media exposure. Many would argue that's a good thing. But it turns out moderation really is a virtue - even when it comes to press coverage. Pew Research released this new survey yesterday suggesting that Obama's media coverage is beginning to wear on people. When…

A guide to Canadian etiquette for President Bush and his staff: When U.S. President George W. Bush visited Canada in 2004, members of his delegation were provided with a "protocol guide" to help them understand the language and customs of the foreigners. Among the advice: How to decipher what…

Above is the McCain campaign's new ad. Not that anyone asked my opinion, but I like it. Facing an unpleasant reality, there's no way a normal Republican would have had a chance in the 2008 general election. The Republican brand at this moment is badly damaged and in disrepute. It's something of a…

From the Wall Street Journal, "What McCain Should Do Next" by Karl Rove Quoth the Architect: "Then there's character. Mr. McCain is the most private person to run for president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. He needs to share (or allow others to share) more about him, especially his faith. The…

From the Washington Post, "A Way Back to the High Road" by David Broder It's become a quadrennial tradition more reliable than the Olympics and almost as boring. Every presidential election, the media shed crocodile tears over how negative the campaign process has become. Today, David Broder…

MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about Salim Hamdan, an admitted driver for Osama bin Laden who was convicted on charges of supporting al Qaeda by a military jury at Guantanamo Bay earlier this week. Said Boujaadia, the suspected terrorist who was captured with Hamdan in Afghanistan in late 2001, has received…

Rasmussen reports that the recent shift toward McCain in the national polls is accompanied by (or perhaps caused by) increased trust in his ability to handle a range of issues: The Republican also has pulled ahead on the issue of balancing the federal budget. Two weeks ago, the candidates were tied…

From the Huffington Post, "John Kerry, Surrogate-in-Chief" by Sam Stein A few months ago, I urged the Obama campaign to consider John Kerry as its running mate. Forget the fact that Kerry would fulfill His needs; Kerry would also fill my need for non-stop comedy: There is one man that Barack Obama…

Barack Obama claims that by inflating our tires, Americans will be able to conserve as much oil as might be produced by offshore drilling. Not likely. How much gas can you save by inflating your tires? Our would be mechanic in chief explains: "Now two points, one, they know they're lying about what…

Prof. James Duane of the Regent University School of Law recently gave a lecture before a classroom full of students on why people should never talk to the police. To use his words, "it cannot help," and he quotes Justice Jackson that it is never a good idea under any circumstances. Now you may…

From the New York Times, "Learning to Speak Climate" by Tom "The World is Melting" Friedman Tom Friedman has written his fourth straight column on environmental matters. Yippee! Obviously, Friedman is trying to get on to the Al Gore gravy train, the one that allowed the prophet of environmental…

What distinguishes anti-Semitism in France from anti-Semitism in the rest of the world is the self-righteous way in which the French deny that their views are in fact anti-Semitic. Islamic fundamentalists are at least forthright, honest, and self-aware about their prejudices. The French are…

madashelloi4.jpg From National Review Online, "MSOBAMA" by Pete Wehner Like many of us, Wehner has taken a fascination in the falling out between Dana Milbank and Keith Olbermann. In case you haven't heard, Olbermann happily greeted the news that his longtime partner in purported news analysis…

At a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor this morning, Ralph Nader told reporters that Barack Obama is "blurring himself" with John McCain on crucial issues. "That's the fatal mistake all these Democratic presidential candidates have made since Walter Mondale," Nader said.…

House Republicans refuse to give up on their push for a comprehensive energy bill, including expanded domestic drilling options. It's important to put the emphasis on the word "comprehensive." Media shorthand often equates Republicans with a "drill only" approach. In reality, the GOP "all of the…

From the Boston Globe, "Obama Shows Hints of His Year in Global Finance" by Sassha Issenberg I know what you're thinking: Obama spent a year in global finance? Where did He find the time, what with already being a community organizer, a part-time lawyer, a law school lecturer and a state…

From the New York Times: A panel of six military officers convicted a former driver for Osama bin Laden of a war crime Tuesday, completing the first military commission trial here and the first conducted by the United States since the end of World War II. The military commission conviction of the…

Today is Charlie Rangel's birthday. Actually, it's not the day of his birthday, and Rep. Rangel just doesn't seem to know it. THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained an invitation to Rep. Rangel's "birthday gala," and although Rep. Rangel turned 78 nearly two months ago on June 11, his b-day bash is this…

Yes, it's true - we should all check our tire pressure regularly. Our vehicles will be more fuel efficient if we do so. We should also wear our galoshes in inclement weather. What we don't need is a president to remind us of these things. Take it from someone who lived for 12 years under Michael…

Blue Dog Democrats take popular, moderate-to-conservative positions in their districts, but back in Washington they play games and often side with the liberal Democratic leadership. Once in a while, some of them vote with the Republicans. But somehow enough of them stick with their party and the…

THE PRE-DAWN SILENCE in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan province was shattered on July 13 by the racket of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades; the attack on the new base was fiercer and the insurgent force larger than American troops could have expected. The first enemy fire struck the…

THE HEAD OF HAMAS'S POLITBURO in Damascus, Khalid Mash'al, recently telephoned Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and denounced the International Criminal Court's accusations against him, according to an article that appeared on the Palestinian Maan News Agency website. The "armed wing" of…

Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Via Hot Air, Paris Hilton has cut this video responding to John McCain's "Celeb" ad: Allahpundit's review is spot on: "She's got a sense of humor, a thoughtful energy policy, and nearly as much federal legislative experience as Barry O. If grotesque overexposure and grandiose ego are now…

From the Wall Street Journal, "My Bet with Francis Fukayama" by Bret Stephens Stephens begins the process of figuring out how history will view the Iraq War. He also details how he took $100 from fickle philosopher Francis Fukayama: I'll grant that Mr. Fukuyama had decided the war was a mistake --…

Obama doesn't just want to run against George W. Bush; he wants to run against Dick Cheney. Today he again accused McCain of "taking a page out of 'the Cheney playbook' on energy." The problem with this analogy is that it's wrong. Obama actually voted for Vice President Cheney's energy legislation…

Last Thursday the free world plunged into an uproar as it learned that the 20,000 journalists covering the Olympics in Beijing were not getting the full Internet access that China and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had promised. Kevan Gosper, the IOC's press chief, expressed surprise…

From the New York Times, "Where's the Landslide?" by David Brooks In this provocative yet oddly silly column, Brooks purports to diagnose why Barack Obama hasn't run away with the election. He's a sojourner! The root of it is probably this: Obama has been a sojourner. He opened his book "Dreams…

Barack Obama may have left Berlin more than a week ago, but the political repercussions of his speech to about 200,000 people there can still be felt. First came John McCain's controversial Barack-Obama-Is-The-Biggest-Celebrity-In-The-World-But-Is-He-Ready-To Lead? ad. Then the Republican National…

We see it every day in Congress. Lawmakers take popular positions back in their districts but somehow gridlock prevails in Washington. This pattern produced the "I hate Congress but love my Congressman" phenomenon. No group does this more effectively or consistently than the congressional "Blue…

From McCain '08, "Broken" by some really clueless campaign workers Please - bring back the allegedly juvenile ads that moved the debate! Yes, it's true that only Lowry and I liked them when they first came out, but we were a lonely majority of two. I'll make a bold prediction - the above ad will…

Ron Suskind has written another book. It's getting lots of attention. And the main charge is almost certainly false -- which is the same thing that happened the last time Ron Suskind wrote a book. In his new book, Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a document reporting…

From The Hill, "MoveOn Plans to Push Back Hard Against House GOP" by Klaus Marre Here's perhaps the best news of the morning! MoveOn is going to mark out the "don't drill" territory of the energy debate as its own. Perhaps the organization can play the same constructive role it did when David…

From the New York Times, "Not Quite Ready to Go Home" by Stephen Biddle, Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack The three authors have just returned from Iraq and are soberly analyzing the progress made and the road ahead: Violence in Iraq declined because the key combatants were either defeated in…

Henry Kissinger has written a very moving letter to the Washington Post regarding his friend and mentee, Peter Rodman. It's well worth reading in full: The generation that saw us through World War II and its aftermath is often called "the greatest generation." Without doubt, it performed signal…

It's no wonder the Chinese Olympic Committee selected Yimou Zhang to produce the opening and the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yimou is an incredible talent. Aesthetically speaking, his work is unmatched in Chinese cinema. In the span of just two decades, Yimou has directed…

Just in time for the Beijing Olympics, Ellen Bork of Freedom House, Tian Jian a student protester in China in 1989, and THE WEEKLY STANDARD's own Philip Chalk have created this map documenting where pro-Democracy demonstrators were killed by the Chinese government in 1989. Visitors to the Summer…

The Boss emails some observations from the road: Larry Kudlow makes an interesting suggestion in his article on NRO: As Sen. John McCain and the GOP leadership nationalize the drill, drill, drill message, the Republican party might conceivably be riding a summer political rally. The question of…

intrade.jpg Here's another one for our "Miraculous Fortnight" file. Above is a graphical representation of how Barack Obama has done on the InTrade markets the past three months. You'll want to pay special attention to the end of the graph which represents the last few weeks, or the entire…

"Headwinds", "volatility", "mortgage-related assets", "CDOs", "FDIC", "auction rate securities", "false bottom", "recession". "Words, words, words," as Eliza Doolittle screamed at Professor Higgins' insistence on precision in their pronunciation and usage. We have been deluged with new and often…

PETER'S FORMER COLLEAGUES at National Review have done him justice with their tributes at NRO. John O'Sullivan in particular knew Peter well, and his is a lovely memoir.

From the great James Lileks: In the summer of '78 I was back home in Fargo between college years - exiled from the civilized world, cast into barbarity. During the day I labored under the hot sun painting giant fuel tanks in the hot sun, next to an auto-body shop that exhaled poison and Eagles all…

A month ago, Barack Obama righteously (not to mention correctly) opposed tapping the Strategic Oil Reserve. Back then, Obama said that we should only tap the reserve in the event of an emergency. Since then, oil prices have plummeted by $25/barrel, or more than 16%. And yet now, inexplicably, the…

Apparently supporting Barack Obama is more significant than winning an Academy Award these days. A reader points out that the top headline on Google News moments ago was this item from the LA Times blog: "Now, 2 Obama backers, Bernie Mac and Morgan Freeman, hospitalized"

From the New York Times, "How to Pick a V.P." by William Kristol The boss looks inside Team McCain's veep selection process, and has them foreseeing four possible scenarios: 1. "We're going to defeat Obama straight up." That means Pawlenty or Portman, the two least controversial and most…

I WAS GLAD I CAUGHT a lot of Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. in the last game he broadcast, which was last Thursday. The Braves were at home against the Cardinals, and Skip was in the booth with his longtime partner, Pete Van Wieren. Between the first pitch and the fifth inning I was in various…

From the New York Times, "McCain, the Analog Candidate" by Marc Leibovich My former basketball teammate Leibovich* has written an enormously entertaining article on the technologically challenged Republican nominee: "I don't expect to set up my own blog," he told the New York Times reporters Adam…

Obama brain.JPG From BarackObama.com, "New Energy for America" by Barack Obama Linked is the text to a "major address" that Obama gave today on energy policy. Just once, I would like a presidential candidate to give a minor address. The context of the major address in question is full of big…

Gwyneth Paltrow stars in an ad from the Democratic Party, encouraging Americans who live abroad to vote. Oh, and Paltrow advises that the hip thing to do is vote for Obama. Lesson 1: Never make a political ad two minutes long, especially when it's this boring. Just because Paltrow is easy on the…

From CBSNews.com, "O-Force One" by Allison O'Keefe This story will really help Obama with all of those arrogant/presumptuous storylines that have burgeoned in recent days. Apparently, He has spent his bountiful campaign funds (donated in dribs and drabs by poor people!) on a campaign plane worthy…

From Rasmussen Reports, "Daily Presidential Tracking Poll" by Scott Rasmussen Barack Obama's "miraculous fortnight" continues! He now trails John McCain by one point. Yes, you read that right - the Maverick has surged into the lead. The most interesting findings: A week ago today, Obama had a…

Congress skipped town on Friday without passing comprehensive energy legislation or lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling. Despite Republican objections, Democratic congressional leaders opted for a five-week vacation rather than passing legislation to ease pain at the pump. But as Politico's…

Paris Hilton's parents have contributed to the McCain campaign. Although Paris Hilton is refusing to take any formal stand -- brands don't belong to political parties, don't you know -- she refused to object to the McCain ad and some suggest she may be a closet McCain supporter. Nonpartisan Paris…

As John Kerry and Joe Lieberman dueled on Meet the Press, I had an epiphany. Many times over the past few months, people have asked me what they can do to help John McCain win the election. Often, these have been people of means. I have yet to offer any creative or even hackneyed ideas. But that…

Last week, after Barack Obama had consented to allow the people of Western Europe and the Middle East to gaze upon him, Republicans in America seemed especially disheartened. Their presumptive candidate, John McCain, trailed Obama in the polls. The press, when it wasn't breathlessly chronicling…

Among the pieces of unfinished business that the Bush administration will pass on to its successor is a now five-year-old effort to denuclearize North Korea. Whoever takes office in January 2009 will inherit a process and a set of understandings that supporters claim have finally brought that goal…

London

The Evanston Public Library has a small room devoted to sale books, some donated by patrons, others removed from their shelves because of continuous neglect by readers. I no longer collect books, but old habits die hard, and so I pop in every so often to see if there isn't some neglected book that…

Vive la différence!

A collection of photographs of Jerome Robbins hung in the lobby of the David H. Koch Theater for New York City Ballet's Spring Season. Family, rehearsal, and performance shots, they plotted the extraordinary life story of Robbins, from his religious ancestors in Poland to his adopted family in the…

Paris

Reasons to Believe

Early in 2001, President Bush approved the export of arms to democratic Taiwan. At the time, Bush said the United States would do "whatever it takes" to defend its tiny, besieged Pacific ally. That was yesterday. Today, it's looking more like Bush was just kidding.

The Wackness

The Making of a Tropical Disease

Bamako, Mali

Senator Barack Obama declared in a recent interview on the business cable channel CNBC: "Look, I am a pro-growth, free-market guy. I love the market." And Obama's economic team appears to support this claim. His main advisers, Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee, are both centrist, pro-free traders;…

Dawn Dusk or Night

Every spring, just around prom time, dead bodies and crumpled cars litter America's suburban streets. Full-scale emergency response teams swarm around the accident sites, complete with helicopters, ambulances, and the occasional hearse. Police officers visit high school classrooms to break the news…

The Roadto Independence?

The Supreme Court ended its term this year by making a mistake in one of its most controversial cases--the case in which it held unconstitutional a Louisiana law authorizing capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12 years of age.

Anyone who wants to understand Barack Obama would do well to stay away from the radio and the TV. Obama is a theatrical presence. That's what it means to be "charismatic": To an unnerving degree his appeal relies on sight and sound rather than sense. Better, in my opinion, to stick to the printed…

Andrew Sullivan has returned from his two week vacation, swooning more than ever: "Yes, the last couple of weeks of the campaign, even from my remote perch, were pretty uninspiring on the GOP side. Here's my brief take, for what it's worth. Obama's fortnight was an objectively miraculous one." In…

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Michael Goldfarb tears into the New York Times editorial board for writing that the McCain campaign's "Celeb" ad was racist. He leaves nothing but a trail of Cheeto dust in his wake: That the Times made this allegation in a blog post rather than running it on the editorial page indicates that they…

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Boumediene v. Bush was a terrible blunder that repudiated the measures governing the treatment and legal status of terrorist detainees, agreed to in good faith by President Bush and the U.S. Congress multiple times. It is now once again up to Congress and the…

1) From the Washington Post, "The Curious Mind of John McCain" by Robert G. Kaiser A couple of days ago, we glanced at a Jonathan Chait column that whined about the way Democratic general election candidates are always labeled flip-floppers. Well, today it's the Republicans' chance to whine. Every…

Obama explains his dollar bill statements: "I was in union, Missouri which is 98 percent white - a rural, conservative. and what I said was what I think everybody knows, which is that I don't look like I came out of central casting when it comes to presidential candidates. But that I think that…

Via Tom Bevan: "The Moses part made me laugh out loud," writes Rod Dreher.

Bush-and-Obama.jpg The similarities between Bush and Obama are becoming more and more apparent. It's not just that Obama is trapped "in a bubble more insulating than the actual president's." Or that they're both stubbornly unable to admit they were wrong about Iraq, which kept Bush from adopting a…

Exxon-Mobil is receiving plenty of attention for posting a record $11.68 billion profit in the second quarter, but I see no mention of the fact that the company paid almost three times that much in taxes in the same quarter. Go to page 8 of Exxon's second quarter financial report and you'll see…

"Nobody reported it as a racial comment," says Obama chief strategist David Axelrod of his candidate's "dollar bill" remarks. "The only time this became an issue was when Rick Davis and their campaign decided to kick it up and make make it a racial issue." Hat tip: Ben Smith

The Hill reports that jury selection for Senator Ted Stevens's trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 24, but the judge said the case could start a couple days sooner or later, depending on whether other trials affect his schedule. Stevens's lawyer was optimistic that the case could conclude a week…

When reports surfaced that Orrin Hatch had written a song dedicated to Ted Kennedy, THE WEEKLY STANDARD requested the complete lyrics. Some senators are known for their less than captivating memoirs. Other are known for their carousing. A surprising number of Republicans on the Hill are aspiring…

Blasting McCain's latest ad, Obama meant to say the 30-second spot featured Britney Spears. Instead he said Hillary Clinton. Oops, he did it again. Check it out: "Now we've got ads about Britney and Paris," Obama said referencing McCain's new ad comparing his opponent to the young celebrities,…

To add to what Steve Hayes just posted, the deeper problem is this: If Schmidt holds such a high view of the Clinton record on race, how can anyone expect McCain to be adequately briefed on issues involving race? Already McCain is behind the curve, as consider this exchange with CNN's Wolf Blitzer…

This is a stunner. Steve Schmidt, who is now effectively running John McCain's presidential campaign, told Politico's Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith yesterday that "every American should be proud" of Bill Clinton's record on race issues. "Say whatever you want about Bill Clinton," Schmidt said, "but…

THE NEW DOCUMENTARY, American Teen, has been sold to audiences as a real life version of The Breakfast Club. In that John Hughes classic, five high school students gather for Saturday detention. Locked together in a library, the teenagers represent the archetypes seen in every high school hallway:…