Month: June 2007
-
The leadership of Joe Biden
Attention Democratic primary voters — Joe Biden has the courage to make tough choices as president: Coming soon: Joe Biden loves puppies.
-
George W. Bush: Master diplomat
In just one speech at the Naval War College yesterday, the President managed to suggest that Israel is a good model for Iraq and to appear to make light of the possible death of Fidel Castro. Here’s the Associated Press on the Israel comparison (via Josh Marshall): Bush cites Israel as model for Iraq NEWPORT,
-
Chris Mooney’s Storm World arrives
In the mail: my friend Chris Mooney’s new book Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming. I’ll have more to say once I’ve read it, but the initial reviews are superb — here’s a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly: Having witnessed Katrina’s devastation of his mother’s New Orleans house, science writer Mooney
-
Bloombergs for everyone!
I’m no fan of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, but we agree completely on the pathologies of the campaign finance system, which reduces competition rather than promoting it: We don’t begrudge Mr. Bloomberg a cent of his money, and he should be free to spend all of it on politics if he wishes, including
-
The GOP’s animal problem
What is it with top Republicans and animals? First, we found out that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist used to “bring cats home from animal shelters and dissect them” while he was in medical school. Now, Mitt Romney is in trouble for stuffing his poor dog into a carrier on his station wagon’s roof
-
“Stab in the back” and Nazi analogies
Matthew Yglesias is defending his use of the phrase “stab in the back” against criticism from Jonah Goldberg: Jonah seems upset that when I complain that American conservatives are perpetuating a “stab in the back” theory of the war in Iraq to explain away their own hideous errors of strategic judgment without bothering “to make
-
NYT correction: Latest “Die Hard” illogical
I love this correction from the New York Times today: Because of a transmission error, a film review yesterday about “Live Free or Die Hard” misstated the critic’s description of the plot. It should have been described as “logic-defying,” not “logic-defined.” (Go to Article) By definition, the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster cannot be defined
-
Drew Westen’s academic guru tricks
Kevin Drum nails something that makes me crazy — the way that wannabe gurus like George Lakoff and Drew Westen use academic credibility to legitimate ideas that aren’t backed by specific research: Unfortunately, [Drew] Westen [the author of The Political Brain] then falls into the same traps that George Lakoff falls into. First, he uses
-
Obama: Young people stink
I have to admit I’m amused that Barack Obama held a youth event named “Generation B.O.” What’s he trying to say?!
-
Bush: Democrats’ secret weapon?
The Wall Street Journal editorial board warns that the immigration debate threatens to make the GOP a minority party. They’re right. It splits the Republicans right down the middle, demoralizes the base in advance of 2008, and is prompting a conservative counter-mobilization that could make Latinos a Democratic constituency for years to come. Ironically, the