Jay Carney

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Palin and that Bridge

The Wall Street Journal today reports out all the evidence showing that Sarah Palin was very much for the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against it. And she turned on it only when it became politically untenable to be for it. And Alaska got the bridge money anyway. Writes the Journal: But Gov. [...]

So Much For Deficit Reduction

In 2007 the federal budget deficit shrank to $163 billion, which the Bush Administration hailed as proof of the wisdom of its economic policies. The President even promised a balanced budget by 2012. Today we learn that the deficit has ballooned by 150% in just one year, to $407. And next year is likely to [...]

Why It Matters

David Frum, conservative author and former Bush speechwriter, weighs in over at NRO on the question of why we should care whether or not Sarah Palin should be subjected to taking questions from the press. His answer: it was the same contempt for elites, both in the media and more broadly, that caused the Bush [...]

The Speech

A mixed performance. The ending worked, though in the hall I doubt anyone could hear him very well as he spoke through the crowd’s applause. The final peroration — “We’re Americans. We don’t hide from history. We make history” — was strong stuff.

“I Hate War”

The difference when he’s talking about something that truly animates him is startling.

McCain versus the Teleprompter

He’s struggling, as he sometimes does — misplacing the emphasis on words, sounding at times like he’s reading the speech for the first time, losing energy during the sections on issues he’s never been particularly passionate about, buring applause lines in a string of sentences. It’s as if he can’t bring himself to pretend he’s [...]

Disruptions

Not sure what the protesters’ goal is — unless it’s to elicit sympathy for McCain among the viewers who tuned in to hear his speech. His response — telling the audience to ignore the “static” and that “Americans want us to stop shouting at each other” — let him come across as reasonable and cool-headed.

No Questions, Please. We’ll Tell You What You Need To Know.

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don’t care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace — in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough’s show — the American people will learn all they need to know (and all [...]

Palin Speaks

Maybe it won’t help them win. Maybe it will turn out to have been too negative and sarcastic for the current public mood, especially coming after Giuliani. But two things are clear after Sarah Palin made her do-or-die debut before 20-plus million people tonight. She is amazingly self-confident. And she knows how to nail a [...]

Huckabee Errata

He gives a good speech, but he’s loose with the facts. He called Abraham Lincoln the “founder” of the Republican Party. Nope. Lincoln was not the founder of the party; he wasn’t even the first Republican nominee (John Fremont was, in 1856). Lincoln was, of course, the first Republican to be elected president. Second, Huckabee [...]