International diplomacy is amazingly messy up close. One would think that with hours of planning, and mutual pledges of cooperation, shout fests and shoving matches could be avoided. But they seem almost inevitable on international trips of the president (I recall shoving and shouting in Ankara, verbal threats in Beijing’s Great Hall) and they tend [...]
It is a sign of how desperately Democrats are searching for a silver lining to the Nov. 2 midterm elections that some have suggested President Barack Obama, facing two years of implacable opposition on domestic policy, may be able to score some foreign policy victories to boost his accomplishments as he heads into the 2012 [...]
It is in the nature of politicians, and political observers–mea culpa!–to overread election returns. The Democrats certainly did this in 2008: their mandate was to focus on an economy that Republican-style deregulation had brought crashing down (with a major assist from Larry Summers, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac), and also to bring an end to [...]
More states may sign on to the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. I spoke to Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, today and she said, “I’m sure with the turnover, there will be more states joining the lawsuit.” Sebelius also said she still expects “pragmatic” governors to move forward [...]
MSNBC has suspended Keith Olbermann “indefinitely and without pay” for making financial contributions to three Democratic congressional candidates. Per MSNBC.com: The announcement came in a one-sentence statement from msnbc TV President Phil Griffin: “I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely [...]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will run for minority leader in a statement today. It had been widely expected that Pelosi, 70, would retire. But, after she spent much of the last two days calling virtually every member of her shrunken caucus, she said she came to the conclusion that her “work is far [...]
Nancy Pelosi wants to run for House minority leader. A better idea: the Democrats need to find someone who reflects the middle of the country, and the problems average folks are facing in the middle of the country. Nominations, please?
She announced via Twitter, of course: Driven by the urgency of creating jobs & protecting #hcr, #wsr, Social Security & Medicare, I am running for Dem Leader.
This is the announcement today from AARP, one of the biggest backers of President Obama’s Health Care Reform law, via the Associated Press: AARP adds that it’s changing copayments and deductibles to avoid a 40 percent tax on high-cost health plans that takes effect in 2018 under the law. . . . “Most plan co-pays [...]
A couple weeks back, I wrote about the racial stereotypes Sharron Angle employed in her television spots in Nevada, and speculated that such strategies would pile up electoral baggage for the Republicans. Well, it looks like the baggage got thrown at Angle. Here is the Las Vegas Sun’s Jon Ralston from his winners and losers [...]
