As my colleague Barbara Kiviat notes over at The Curious Capitalist blog, Goldman Sachs’ legal troubles are deepening. With the firm reportedly mulling settlements with both the SEC and a hedge fund that folded after an ill-fated CDO investment, the Wall Street Journal reported last night that the Justice Department has opened an investigation that [...]
Before heading to Maryland to tour a Secret Service training facility, President Obama gave a 10-minute address in the White House Rose Garden that focused mostly on this morning’s strong economic numbers. As Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, noted in the post to the White House blog, real GDP grew for [...]
From the TIME’s White House Photo Blog. (No need for snark on this one.)
One of the big changes in the U.S. military over the course of my career has been the diminution of happy talk and propaganda designed to hoodwink the public about the true situation on the ground in war zones. There are no more 5 o’clock follies–a reference only those of us old enough to remember [...]
Florida Governor Charlie Crist exited the Republican senate primary with much fanfare this evening, announcing his intention to run without party affiliation before a hometown crowd of supporters in St. Petersburg and under the bright lights of a captivated national media. His decision not only launched a fascinating three-way Senate race, but the swift flight [...]
Max Boot is right to wonder about the U.S. military’s political strategy in Kandahar Province, but he neglects to mention a rather significant point: According to the New York Times and U.S. government sources, Ahmed Wali Karzai (known to the military as AWK)–the local strongman and President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother–has been on the CIA payroll [...]
The White House turned its mid-day briefing into a press conference about the massive oil spill in the Gulf. Clues about how the mess will play politically are beginning to seep out. Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the leaking underwater oil well is a “spill of national significance” as the [...]
Jon Ralston gets a hold of three new ads from the Nevada Senator’s re-election campaign: There’s a brief biographical aside in the second one, but for the most part, they’re a proactive effort to sell Nevada voters on the health care law Reid championed as Majority Leader. Health reform is not necessarily what he wants [...]
Ezra Klein has an interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham that explores Graham’s opposition to moving on immigration legislation before tackling a climate bill. As the piece’s title quote suggests, to an extent Graham comes off like a parent trying not to offend either of his difficult children. But it’s a fairly candid Q & A, [...]
