Entries for November 2007

The media should be prepared to offer myriad excuses when former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee either wins or finishes a strong second in the Iowa caucuses.

There will be even more reasons to look foolish if a long-shot Democrat surprises the field. It could happen.

This longer-than-ever primary-caucus season hasn't been just poll driven. It has been top-tier driven.

The Supreme Court will decide next year whether the District of Columbia can restrict handguns in a city with a big murder rate problem. Don't be surprised if the court doesn't go along with gun zealots and declare the ban unconstitutional.

Four conservative justices are probably ready to vote right now. Put Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and George W. Bush's two choices, John Roberts and Sam Alito, in that already-decided column. That side would then need only one other justice to declare null and void the city's ban of 31 years.

In political terms, there is Bush fatigue, along with Clinton fatigue. How about debate fatigue?

The CNN debate for Democratic candidates last week was the last straw for me, and I'm a political junkie. This one was a Hollywood extravaganza.

There are times when liberals need to be scolded. The confirmation process of Attorney General Michael Mukasey is one of those times.

Right-wing conservatives are often holier-than-thou and all-or-nothing partisans. Some liberal critics of Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California fit that profile regarding Mukasey.

The two, as members of the Judiciary Committee, voted to confirm Mukasey, thus assuring his confirmation by the full Senate.

It should come as no surprise that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City is still viewed as a presidential savior in 2008.

Despite his disclaimers, the mayor remains a lively talking point. Just look at his landing on the cover of Newsweek. His moves from Democrat to Republican to independent seem to endear him only more to the pundits. His huge fortune doesn't hurt either for a public official who gets things done efficiently in an often dysfunctional city.

As President Bush sinks even lower in the polls, it has fallen to his father to defend him. Sorry, Mr. Former President, the love and loyalty toward a son are understandable, but he has made a mess of things, mostly abroad but at home as well.

Bush 41 rarely speaks out or subjects himself to interviews these days. His role as an elder statesman gives him space, he says.

There is some good news in Congress. Rep. Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican with the hate-filled stand on immigration, has announced his retirement.

Tancredo is running for president, too, in case you haven't noticed. Few apparently have, since he's barely scratched in polls of the GOP race despite many days and nights in Iowa and elsewhere.

Lest we forget, Tancredo is also the member of the House who broke his own term limits pledge. He stayed two terms longer than the three he vowed to serve.