In a Time.com column published today, our colleague Mark Halperin takes stock of the Democrats’ increasingly bleak midterm prospects. “Republicans are either going to have a fantastic Nov. 2 — or a revolutionary one,” he writes. You can read why here.
Why The Tea Party Can Help The Republican Brand
According to the emails I get every day from the Democratic National Committee, the Tea Party movement is a Democratic gold mine. It has helped to nominate unpopular Republicans, like Sharon Angle in Nevada, and it has split conservative vote in districts like New York-23, allowing Democrats to win even when they should not. It is also …
Morning Must Reads: Spelling
–Two major polls, the Wall Street Journal/NBC News and Washington Post/ABC News surveys, find that while the generic ballot remains neck-and-neck among all registered voters, Republicans have a commanding lead when predicted turnout is taken into account — an indication that the enthusiasm gap is spelling doom for Dems.
–Stuart …
The Problems with Obama’s Infrastructure Request
On this Labor Day, President Obama announced that he’s calling on Congress to pass an additional $50 billion in infrastructure investment. While I’m sure this pleased the construction, steel, plumbers and transportation unions – and, let’s face it, unions haven’t been the happiest of groups of late – I see several problems …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Election Road Trip Day 1: The Opacity of the Process
Philadelphia, Pa.
miles traveled: 290
traveling companions: Peter Cove and Lee Bowes of America Works
events: Door-to-door campaigning with Republican Pat Meehan in Drexel Hill; Polish picnic with Republican Mike Fitzpatrick in Doylestown; Allentown Fair with Democrat John Callahan in, uh, Allentown.
In the ArenaUncategorized
Election Road Trip, Day 1: The Things I Carried
All right. I’ll be shoving off in about a half hour for a day of politicking in Eastern Pennsylvania. I’m checking out three Congressional races in the Philadelphia and Allentown areas, including two seats now held by Democrats: the fight for Joe Sestak’s old seat and Iraq war vet Patrick Murphy’s seat. I’ll also be checking in with …
The GOP’s Tortoise and the Hare
From this week’s dead tree edition, a look at John Boehner and Eric Cantor, whom I fondly dub the tortoise and the hare.
In the ArenaUncategorized
The Crisis in Afghanistan
With my month-long September road trip looming, I’m having to face the reality that I won’t be able to keep up with some of the issues I’ve been focusing upon–especially the overseas issues, and most especially Afghanistan, which seems to be falling apart. The latest crisis, the run on the Kabul Bank, has brought the rot at the heart of …
1,000 Words: Braying With The Brass Edition
From our White House Photo Blog (and by popular demand):
The Call: How Obama Slipped In The Polls
The podcast returns! Scherer and Kate join me for this week’s edition:
In the ArenaUncategorized
Summer Reading
There are, inevitably, scads of recommendations for beach reading at the start of every summer. I’d like to reverse that and recommend two extraordinary among the dozen I’ve read since the solstice. Both are written by women–both might even be called “women’s” books. But I’ve always been a fan of women, women writers and women singers: …
Hillary 2012?
Forget those rumors that she’ll take Joe Biden’s place on the presidential ticket. At lease one Chicago dentist, William DeJean, with deep pockets has launched a movement to get Hillary Clinton to challenge President Obama for the top spot in 2012, according to our friends at CNN. The minute-long ad is thus far only airing in New …
A Sliver of Economic Hope for Obama
The president just spoke from the Rose garden this morning to hail the somewhat encouraging new job numbers, which while terrible by most definitions came in better than expected, and at least signal that we’re probably not (yet) veering into a dreaded double-dip recession. Acknowledging that there’s a long way to go, Obama said that his …