Campaigns & Elections

Everyone is talking about how badly President Obama is doing in the polls. Remember Harry Reid? Remember how badly he was doing in the polls? Yeah. He got re-elected. Why will Obama win? 1. People want to like President Obama. Yes, the independents have left him, but they’re fickle pickles. If President Obama starts to make even a lick of sense on a minor issue, they’ll turn back his…

NBC correspondent Norah O'Donnell hyped Sarah Palin's criticism of her liberal opponents on Tuesday's Today show, stating that the former governor "rips the heart out of some of her opponents" in her new book. O'Donnell stated that Palin, "in very personal terms, also questions the President's [Obama's] patriotism, concluding he has 'a stark lack of faith in the American people.'" The…

Imagine the (justifiable) media and other outcry that would result if a previous presidential administration and congressional leadership had convinced gullible House and Senate members to pass a law which they weren't given time to read specifying the following about a new Military Spending Board. First, the Board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate) sets a predetermined (…

Whoever said politics was boring surely had not paid attention to this past election cycle.  From witches to chickens to peanuts, this election might go down as more than just a “shellacking” of the Democrats.  From the outrageous to the bizarre, Republicans and Democrats reminded the public why campaign season can be so much fun.

On Monday, all three network morning show's eagerly highlighted former First Lady Barbara Bush voicing opposition to a Sarah Palin presidential run while suggesting the former Alaska governor has spent too much time in the public eye. As Harry Smith proclaimed at the top of CBS's Early Show: "It's all Palin all the time. But could the most famous family from Alaska be on the verge of…

The seemingly endless variety of "name that party" stunts has yet another wrinkle. In this case, Matt Drudge is currently linking to a Des Moines Register story ("Culver OKs state pay raises"; also saved here at host for future reference) about how outgoing Iowa Governor Chet Culver has decided to rush through union contracts granting thousands of state employees 3% raises (before considering…

In a Tuesday item, the Politico's David Catanese reported on the results of an interview he had (HT to Third Base Politics) with outgoing Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, who was defeated by Republican John Kasich earlier this month. It was billed as "his first one-on-one interview since his loss," the first for a sitting Ohio governor in 36 years, so you would think anything particularly…

Joe Scarborough apparently likes Nancy Pelosi's toughness, given her response to his MSNBC colleague pressing her as to why she would make a good House Minority Leader after losing 60 seats. MSNBC's Luke Russert asked the Speaker why she should lead the House Democrats if her approval rating among independents is at 8 percent. Pelosi delivered a testy response, and Scarborough admitted…

Apparently not all successful businessmen are created equal. Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos conducted a condescending interview with billionaire Republican Donald Trump on Thursday and oddly quizzed the Republican about abortion. After Trump simply described New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as "a little on the liberal side," Stephanopoulos pounced, "Are you pro-choice?...…

On Thursday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski declaring victory in her write-in bid for reelection and portrayed her as a victim of the GOP: "[She's] in a very unique position, not beholden to the Republican leaders who turned their backs on her when she decided to run and not beholden to the tea party, which did everything it could to defeat…

In a piece for the Huffington Post Tuesday morning, Howard Fineman explored the possibility of an independent presidential ticket in 2012, with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg running for President and MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough as his running-mate. Scarborough shot down the rumors quickly on his MSNBC morning show with one word – "no."  

First came the Searchlight Brawler, Harry Reid.  Now Orrin Hatch joins the ranks of the Senate tough guys . . . Asked whether—like fellow Utah Senator Robert Bennett—he might be defeated in his bid to obtain the Republican nomination, Hatch bragged "I'm a lot tougher" than Bennett, and considerably more conservative to boot. Hatch's macho moment came this morning during an interview…

MSNBC's prime-time "town hall" on immigration reform yesterday exemplified one of the more unseemly elements of media bias: brazen political advocacy disguised as an "honest conversation." Attempting to pass itself off as a forum for voices on all sides of the immigration issue to elevate the dialogue, "Beyond Borderlines" featured droves of liberal guests who dismissed, admonished, and…

President Barack Obama is peeved with the American press. They never say "thank you," he whined to journalists in Japan on Monday. According to the pool report from the press conference, one reporter said "Thank you, Mr. President." Someone said the reporter was Australian. "I knew it must have been an Australian because my folks never say thank you," Obama said.