Month: September 2008
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Convention delegates can’t dance
Patrick Healy gets off a nice turn of phrase at the end of this article on the contrast between the two conventions: The Democrats also had a band that played a variety of pop anthems, whereas the Republican hall has been filled with a mix of country music and mellower harmonies. Delegates in both cities
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Obama: McCain “will make abortion illegal”
Politico reports on a misleading new Obama radio ad that falsely claims “as president, John McCain will make abortion illegal”: “Let me tell you: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, the lives and health of women will be put at risk. That’s why this election is so important,” says the nurse-practitioner who narrates Obama’s ad.
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Fred Thompson’s signature move
I’m not watching TV, but I know Fred Thompson is speaking at the Republican National Convention because my post on his throat-clearing is starting to get Google hits. (For the record, I was actually mocking media coverage of it.)
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Worst new pro-Palin talking point
In a column praising Sarah Palin, Pat Buchanan introduces the dumbest talking point yet — she’s governor of a state that is really big: Liberals howl that Palin has no experience, no qualifications to be president of the United States. But the lady has more executive experience than McCain, Joe Biden and Obama put together.
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My question about the Alaska/Russia claim
If Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience because Alaska is near Russia, then is Barack Obama a naval warfare expert because he’s from Hawaii?
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Limbaugh’s latest coded attacks on Obama
On the way into school today, I heard Rush Limbaugh refer to Barack Obama as having been a “street organizer,” a bit of racially-coded jargon pioneered by the Republican National Committee. (It doesn’t even make sense — you can’t organize streets.) Limbaugh, who previously called Barack Obama a “little black man-child,” also contrasted Obama’s past
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The relativism of “objective” journalism
Ezra Klein makes an important point about the tendency of journalists to attribute uncomfortable facts to the other party in an effort to appear neutral: Ryan Avent notices a big ol’ Post headline today: “Democrats Say Palin Initially Backed Bridge.” … [A]ssuming this isn’t an undergrad philosophy class, Palin’s support or opposition to the Bridge
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Bounds: Ticket has “command… experience”
Josh Marshall flags Campbell Brown’s destruction of McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds on CNN last night: During the interview, Bounds repeated the whole litany of misleading talking points defending Sarah Palin’s qualifications as a potential vice president, including the silly claim that Palin is commander of Alaska’s National Guard and therefore has military experience. When pressed
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David Brooks: Not enough GOP experts
In his column on John McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin, David Brooks buries the lede, stating that “[t]here simply aren’t enough Republican experts left to staff an administration” for John McCain: If McCain is elected, he will face conditions tailor-made to foster disorder. He will be leading a divided and philosophically exhausted party. There simply
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“Body language” expert reads Hillary’s mind
Via Greg Sargent and Steve Benen, the CBS Early Show last week took the disturbing step of interviewing a body language “expert” who claimed to be able to interpret Hillary Clinton’s feelings and thoughts as she gave her convention speech”: In her speech to the Democratic convention Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton urged fellow Democrats to