-
Goodbye and Good Riddance to John Edwards, Adulterer
Tweet Share on Facebook August 11, 2008 Comment (91)John Edwards invited critics to beat him up over his extramarital affair and lies about it. The invitation is hereby accepted.
The former presidential candidate and vice presidential nominee of the Democratic Party has betrayed his supporters, his fundraisers, and, most of all, his wife and family. He deserves scorn.
Edwards had portrayed himself as a loving family man who was fighting through his wife's battle with breast cancer. So much for that picture.
-
John McCain, the Accessible Underdog of 2000, Has Been Replaced by John McCain, the Slimy Attack Dog of 2008
Tweet Share on Facebook August 7, 2008 Comment (26)In the dog days of August, neither presidential campaign has distinguished itself with positive or useful information for voters. But it is especially sad to see GOP Sen. John McCain forget what made him such a popular figure in the 2000 race.
McCain's television ads have been disingenuous and downright silly. The fellow who thought up the so-called celebrity ad by comparing Sen. Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears should be summarily fired. The charge that Obama is responsible for high gas prices is ridiculous, and McCain surely knows it. That one is a downright lie.
-
Gun Control Update: Maryland Teen Stockpiling Guns and the Plans for Bush's Motorcade Route
Tweet Share on Facebook August 6, 2008 Comment (14)For those folks who railed against my stand on gun control (and yes, I read even the insulting ones), there's another sad chapter to this story.
In the Maryland suburbs of Washington, an 18-year-old was found this week with an arsenal of weapons in his basement, along with papers on making bombs and a map of the route George W. Bush's motorcade takes to the presidential retreat at Camp David. His father apparently helped purchase the weapons.
Question: Were these weapons for self-defense? Any responsible person knows the answer.
-
When You Think About the Election, Think About Guns and the Supreme Court
Tweet Share on Facebook August 4, 2008 Comment (26)PHILADELPHIA—Voters who are concerned about the control of guns should think carefully before voting for Sen. John McCain.
The presumptive GOP nominee for president has vowed to name Supreme Court justices in the mold of President Bush's two justices. They would be Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. That's enough for me.
-
GOP Oil and Gas Scare Tactics, Cont.
Tweet Share on Facebook August 1, 2008 Comment (9)An update to yesterday's post about GOP oil and gas scare tactics: On July 31, Exxon Mobil reported a quarterly profit of over $11.5 billion, a record figure in the nation's history for one quarter. But, sure, let's turn them loose for more drilling to build on that number in an otherwise struggling economy.
-
Don't Buy the Republican Oil and Gas Scare Tactics
Tweet Share on Facebook July 31, 2008 Comment (50)The Republican Party has decided that the way to win over disenchanted voters this campaign season is to stir up anger on gasoline prices. The GOP answer: Drill like hell on the outer continental shelf and in the wild reserve of Alaska.
Sen. John McCain and President Bush are pinning the blame for those running numbers we see on gas pumps on Democrats in Congress. It is a charade.
Almost in a postscript whisper, the Republicans admit it will be years before new drilling would bring any relief. (Even by conservative estimates, it could be nearly 10 years.)
-
Appreciating Bob Novak
Tweet Share on Facebook July 29, 2008 Comment (6)Bob Novak is a friend of mine and has been for decades. I make no apology for it.
The liberal readers of this blog may be surprised or even angered to read that the Prince of Darkness and I are friends. That's the way it is.
Even younger journalists have expressed astonishment when they hear that the conservative columnist is a friend. They don't understand that reporters of our vintage were on the campaign trail with typewriters and deadlines that permitted some camaraderie and even fun.
-
John McCain's Negative Attacks Against Barack Obama Hit a Low Mark
Tweet Share on Facebook July 28, 2008 Comment (89)In every presidential campaign, candidates of both parties will say something over the line. Sen. John McCain has already hit a low mark.
The senior senator from Arizona said his Democratic rival would "rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign." What's next, an open charge of treason?
-
The Incredible Shrinking Democratic and Republican Conventions
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2008 Comment (5)Suppose there were political conventions and the media were nowhere to be found. It may look like that in Denver and the Twin Cities late this summer.
Severe cutbacks and buyouts at newspapers, large and small, and similar budget woes at the networks are forcing media organizations to scale back their coverage.
-
The Myth of the Media Bias Toward Barack Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2008 Comment (45)Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, the now resigned economic guru to Sen. John McCain, was right to say there were whiners among us. However, they were really his colleagues in the McCain camp howling over news coverage rather than over economic woes.
It is almost pathetic to see McCain's aides hopping mad over coverage of Sen. Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe. If that is the crux of their strategy, it is a sure loser in public relations.
John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.