-
Poll Gives Republicans Biggest Lead in 2010 Election
Tweet Share on Facebook August 31, 2010 Comment (12)Will anyone be happier to see August go than Democrats? The party has been languishing in the worst kind of political summer doldrums, buffeted both by the president dipping his toe into unpopular end of a transitory political debate--regarding the so-called "ground zero mosque"--and by continuing bad news on more enduring issues, namely unemployment and the economy. What better capstone to the month, then, than the latest Gallup generic ballot for the 2010 midterm elections, giving Republicans a 10 point lead, their biggest ever.
-
Obama's Politics Problem
Tweet Share on Facebook August 30, 2010 Comment (10)One of the great mysteries of the Obama administration has been how someone with such great gifts for public communications, and an apparent understanding of its importance--remember "words matter"?--could have done such a dismal job of communicating and communing with the American public. In his Washington Post column today E.J. Dionne offers a pretty good insight into this failure. It turns out Obama has a Bush problem, and I'm not talking about W.
-
The 'Ground Zero Mosque' Is Not a Mosque (or at Ground Zero)
Tweet Share on Facebook August 16, 2010 Comment (90)Despite what you might have heard, a 13-story mosque is not going to be built at ground zero in lower Manhattan. For that matter, a 13-story mosque is not going to be built within a few blocks of ground zero. Rather a 13-story building is going up which will contain, among other things, a mosque.
This might seem like an academic distinction, but in the heated debate surrounding Park51, or as the building is known more commonly, the "ground zero mosque," it really is an important one.
-
Newt Gingrich's Weird 'Ground Zero Mosque' Criticism of Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook August 16, 2010 Comment (18)I read with little surprise yesterday the GOP criticism of President Obama's defense of the right of American citizens to build a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan (the so-called "ground zero mosque" controversy). John Boehner, for example, finds the decision to build a community center a few blocks from ground zero "deeply troubling"? Yawn. Then I got to Newt Gingrich's remarks, which were ...bizarre.
-
Democrats Bet on the Politics of Social Security
Tweet Share on Facebook August 14, 2010 Comment (48)Happy birthday to Social Security, which turns 75 today. Over the last few days, Democrats have keyed on the anniversary in their latest attempt to reframe the battle for control of Congress, highlighting the desire on the part of a number of Republicans to retire or revamp the venerable, beloved program in favor of something privatized.
-
President Obama Defends 'Ground Zero Mosque'
Tweet Share on Facebook August 13, 2010 Comment (12)After a seemingly studied silence regarding the controversy surrounding plans to build a Muslim community center a couple of blocks from ground zero--the so-called "ground zero mosque"--President Obama defended the project this evening. "As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama said at a White House dinner honoring Ramadan. "And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America."
-
Michelle Obama's Campaign Trail Vacation Recalls Hillary in '98
Tweet Share on Facebook August 11, 2010 Comment (5)The Washington Post has an interesting piece today about how Democrats have decided that, with President Obama foundering in the polls, Michelle Obama is their secret weapon heading into the 2010 midterms. As a result the next vacation "the closer," as she was nicknamed in 2008, takes will be out onto the campaign trail. In this regard she'll be following a path trod by her predecessors, most notably Hillary Clinton in 1998.
-
A Democrat-Tea Party Alliance?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 6, 2010 Comment (17)Politico has an intriguing front page story today suggesting that Democrats might have secretly helped a handful of third party, Tea Party-type bids in seven competitive House seats around the country. "Democratic officials and activists in at least four states now stand accused of collaborating with tea party candidates in an attempt to sabotage Republican challengers in some of the closest House races in the country," Politico's excellent Jeanne Cummings reports.
Stand accused? Of trying to engineer GOP losses? Perish the thought. Shouldn't the sturm und the drang be directed against the Tea Partyers here?
-
The Politics of the Gay Marriage Prop 8 Decision
Tweet Share on Facebook August 6, 2010 Comment (24)Andrew Gelman has an interesting chart up at FiveThirtyEight showing the relative levels of support for gay marriage in the 50 states, and how they have shifted over the last decade-and-a-half or so. Looking at the numbers in the context of competitive races this cycle gives some insight into the extent to which this week's decision by a federal judge overturning California's ban on same sex marriage will play in the midterm elections.
-
Birthers Thriving in the GOP
Tweet Share on Facebook August 5, 2010 Comment (18)Maybe Barack Obama's title should be changed to "president of the United States of Crazy." More than 1 in 4 Americans think it likely that the president was born in another country, according to a new poll.
