Blog

So, everyone is now talking about how Rep. Tom Davis won't be running for Virginia's Senate seat. Personally, I'm going to wait for Davis to make his intentions public before speculating (I know the guy, and while I wouldn't say well enough to bet on his plans, given how much effort he's devoted to putting himself in a position to run for the seat, I still think there's a chance he may go ahead and do it-- even if he's not happy about having to go through a Virginia GOP convention, rather than...

> More

... but, tonight I stumbled across Right-Wing Facebook, one of their productions.

I strongly encourage you to check it out. There are two reasons for this.

First, it's pretty funny (see items like Thompson's status: "napping," Rudy's political views: "9/11" Romney's interested in: "conservative voters with short memories").

Second, it offers an interesting insight into the kind of themes on which liberals seem to be trying to reach out to voters who can be persuaded by...

> More

I was unable to live-blog last night's Republican debate on FOX due to a migraine, but I did tune in-- and am offering my thoughts, belatedly.

First off, I'm declaring joint winners: McCain and Giuliani.

McCain had a number of great lines last night (my favorite being about Woodstock being a cultural and pharmaceutical event), and won me over by hitting the nail on the head in relation to Russia. What really did it for me, however, was his willingness to charge Romney with...

> More

Interesting.

> More

Jonathan Martin has details of how Romney bought another straw poll, this time the Family Research Council's Values Voter straw poll.

Among actual attendees of the FRC's Values Voter conference/summit, Mike Huckabee took a stunning 51% of the vote. But, because the FRC allowed online voting among people who contributed as little as $1 to the FRC, Romney won overall.

Today, I had occasion to speak to a couple of swing voters, independents who could go either way next year. They...

> More

Wow. This is a severe kick in the pants for Romney.

Jeb Bush, Jr. isn't as important a figure in Florida politics as his dad (the actual former governor and brother of the President). But still, he's a pretty big name, and the endorsement does suggest that Romney hasn't quite captured the imagination of Jeb Bush's immediate family as he presumably had hoped to do. From Team Giuliani:

The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Campaign today announced the endorsement of Jeb Bush Jr. Bush...

> More

Well, this should help tighten up the debates:

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) will drop out of the 2008 presidential race tomorrow, the AP reports.

"Brownback, a long-shot conservative contender, had trouble raising money to compete in the race. He is expected announce his withdrawal in Topeka, Kan."

It also isn't much of a surprise. Those tracking the presidential race have noticed that Brownback has sunk and sunk in the last few months. There's been plenty of urging among...

> More

... I give you a mock-up of Larry King Live featuring Ken Starr and James Carville.

Kd2TA4ZOEfE.tube

> More

I didn't attend the Club for Growth thing in DC today, but I have noted the coverage of it.

The main point for me? Romney praising No Child Left Behind:

Unfortunately he apparently praised No Child Left Behind and spoke in favor of a national weekend training program for parents of children in schools that rank in the bottom 10%. Now for a guy trying to live down government intervention in healthcare in Massachusetts I think this is one bad idea. And a NATIONAL plan? I suppose...

> More

Today starts with some good news. While Jim Ogonowski didn't win in MA-5, he only lost by 6%. That's nothing-- literally, nothing-- when you consider that a) it's Massachusetts (aren't they supposed to elect Democrats for everything except for Governor by something like a 20-point margin) b) Ogonowski was outspent something like 4:1 and c) he was running against the widow of a former Massachusetts Senator, who had much better name ID and a much higher public profile to start with, than...

> More