Gaffes seem to be gushing as much as Gulf Coast oil. John Boehner’s antsy metaphor and Joe Barton’s apology to BP were heartfelt PR disasters. After his interview, General McChrystal was on his own, like a rolling stone. Last month, it was Carly Fiorina caught on camera mocking her general-election opponent Barbara Boxer for hair Read More
Maybe it would have been more interesting if the White House had taken a page from Ronald Reagan’s old playbook.
It was back in December 1987 when, with just over a year left in his second term, Reagan played host to a Washington summit with Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev. In terms of domestic Read More
With mounting apprehension and frustration, many of Barack Obama’s supporters and sympathizers are beginning to note the general passivity with which he has treated members of his own party on Capitol Hill.
To be sure, there is plenty of logic behind this posture: The last Democratic president to enjoy majorities in Read More
Barack Obama won't complete his 100th day in office until next Wednesday, but already the reviews and commemorations are pouring in. Obama's has already been the most closely watched and dissected presidency of the media age, but the 100-day mark has been commemorated with similarly intense media analysis for every recent Read More
Something funny happened last Friday, when Barack Obama detailed his plans for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which include an increase of 4,000 troops to train Afghan security forces: the most outspokenly anti-war Democrats in Congress kept their mouths shut – or even, as in the case of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, embraced his vision.
This Read More
So maybe Barack Obama doesn’t think Jimmy Carter has cooties after all. The soon-to-be-president broke bread and shared the Oval Office stage with Carter on Wednesday. Granted, two other former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were also present, but it nonetheless marked the first time in the nearly Read More
At a press conference in Brooklyn this afternoon to announce tougher rules to home heating oil meter-readers from overcharging, Michael Bloomberg was asked by a reporter how he heats his own home.
“It’s oil,” Bloomberg said.
He advised people to be conservative with energy use and, Carter-like, to "wear a sweater."
At Read More
The New York Times’ John Harwood makes a decent point today–that candidates with leads the size of Barack Obama’s generally don’t squander them in the final three weeks of a presidential campaign.
But this principle is even more iron-clad than Harwood seems to realize. He writes:
In the latest Gallup tracking poll, Read More
President Jimmy Carter acknowledged the tension between Barack Obama and the Clintons in an interview, but said it added excitement to the Democratic convention and set the stage for last night’s dramatic speeches that ultimately left the Democrats better off.
“I thought Bill Clinton made a perfect speech,” said Carter, speaking to The Observer in Read More
Some nominees treat Jimmy Carter better than others. This marks the seventh Democratic convention of Carter’s decorated post-presidency, but he wasn’t exactly shown a great deal of respect by Barack Obama and this year’s planners.
Carter addressed the convention in a pre-taped video message that aired well before primetime, after a speech by a Read More
Affordable Housing or Lack Thereof
