Not at the presidential level, where any sober analysis of the electoral map at this point suggests John McCain and Barack Obama are in a race that will be decided by one or two states. But the congressional map is something else altogether. The latest battleground poll and strategy memo from Democrats Stan Greenberg, Ana [...]
Speaking of Virginia politics, Jim Webb is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for Barack Obama. Like Obama, Webb is a freshman Democratic Senator. But Webb’s resume is anything but light: Naval Academy grad, Marine Corps officer, Vietnam vet, recipient of the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts, [...]
Well, we knew things had evolved in Virginia, state of my forebears, when in November 2006 Jim Webb ousted George Allen from the Senate and crushed in its infancy Allen’s “frontrunning” 2008 presidential campaign. And we knew when the popular former Democratic governor of Virginia, Mark Warner, decided to run for Senate in 2008, that [...]
Money is a dominant theme in much of today’s coverage of John McCain’s campaign. First, there’s the continuing storyline about staffers and advisers to the McCain campaign having to resign because of their ties to lobbying firms or outside political groups. The latest casualty, deemed the biggest story of the morning by the Washington Post, [...]
Another update from Paul du Quenoy in Beirut — sent last night: Hints of normal life are appearing. Yesterday and today more – I would even say most — shops were open. I walked down Joan of Arc Street toward the university. People were walking with real purpose instead of the nervous curiosity that possessed [...]
For journalists covering Congress, one of the best things about game-changing elections like the 2006 mid-terms is that they create a trove of new story lines. David Herszenhorn exploits the opportunity well in a smart piece about Barney Frank in this morning’s New York Times. Frank, 68, was elected to the House from Massachusetts the [...]
Herewith Paul du Quenoy’s most recent missive from Beirut, sent a few hours ago: The settlement is touch and go. I slept very late today. Beirut seemed quiet, but there was word of fighting continuing in the northern part of the country, in Tripoli and Halba. The Sunnis are strong in the north and were [...]
My professor acquaintance Paul du Quenoy sent this Saturday. To those who have enjoyed his dispatches from Beirut, my apologies for not posting this one sooner. An even more recent one, from today, will be posted soon. Here’s Saturday’s, with the subject line “The Seige is Lifted”: I am happy to report the situation is [...]
Paul du Quenoy sent another fascinating email from Beirut a few hours ago. Here it is: The situation continues to be very tense. This morning I was able to confirm that Hezbollah and affiliated Shi’ite militias are in control of most of Muslim Beirut. The pro-government Sunni militias were bested and disarmed with what is [...]
I received a vivid email this morning from someone I know who finds himself in Beirut amid the escalating clashes between pro-Hezbollah and pro-government forces. Paul du Quenoy is a professor, most recently at the American University in Cairo, who is moving to teach at the American University in Beirut in the fall, conditions permitting. [...]
