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July 31, 2008

McCain's Oil Drilling Hoax By Joe Conason

Forced to cancel a planned visit to an oil platform off the Mississippi coast last week because of inclement weather -- and the untimely leaking of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil by a shipwreck in the vicinity -- John McCain finally got his photo op at a Bakersfield derrick on July 28. Speaking on site, the Arizona senator delivered extraordinarily good news to the beleaguered gasoline-consuming public as he explained why we must drill offshore.

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July 31, 2008

Could a VP Romney Be Health-Care Tsar? By Froma Harrop

We who obsess over universal health coverage may soon confront a startling development: The only candidate on a major-party presidential ticket to have proposed and implemented a universal plan could well be a Republican. I speak of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now high on the list of John McCain's possible running mates.

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July 31, 2008

Alaska Senate Update By Larry Sabato

It looks like a clean sweep for Alaska in the Senate and House. Both of the Republican incumbents, Sen. Ted Stevens, in office since 1968, and Rep. Don Young, who has held his seat since 1973, appear to be going down to defeat.

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July 29, 2008

Vice President Tim Kaine? By Larry Sabato

We have no earthly idea if Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is Obama's choice for Vice President. All we know is that distinguished reporters who claim to have good sources are calling and saying that Kaine is on the short-short list.

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July 28, 2008

Can McCain Back in Again? By Robert Novak

In the contest for president, Barack Obama is a magnetic candidate supported by a disciplined, well-organized campaign. John McCain seems wooden, with a campaign that appears to be in shambles.

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July 26, 2008

Romney's Value By Robert Novak

The principal reason why former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has climbed to the top of Sen. John McCain's practical wish list for vice president is the possibility that he could bring Michigan's 17 electoral votes to the Republicans for the first time since 1988.

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July 26, 2008

Media is For Obama; But Voters Are Split By Dick Morris

If you read, watch and hear the media describe the campaign of 2008, it appears to be the most one-sided contest since Reagan trounced Mondale in 1984. McCain always comes across as borderline senile, lethargic, and pitiful while Obama is awash in media heroics and theatrical flourishes.

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July 26, 2008

A Step Back From Enviro Lunacy By Michael Barone

Sometimes public opinion doesn't flow smoothly; it shifts sharply when a tipping point is reached. Case in point: gas prices. $3 a gallon gas didn't change anybody's mind about energy issues. $4 a gallon gas did.

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July 25, 2008

The Myth of a Toss-Up Election By Alan Abramowitz, Thomas E. Mann, and Larry J. Sabato

"Too close to call." "Within the margin of error." "A statistical dead heat." If you've been following news coverage of the 2008 presidential election, you're probably familiar with these phrases.

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July 25, 2008

Response: Anybody's Ball Game By James E. Campbell

In their examination of the fundamentals and the polls to this point in the 2008 election, my esteemed colleagues Alan Abramowitz, Tom Mann, and Larry Sabato indicate that they believe that the presidential election is essentially a done deal. As they see the 2008 story developing, Barack Obama will win a comfortable victory, if not in an outright landslide, over John McCain.

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July 24, 2008

Romney: A Mistake for McCain By Dick Morris

You’ve probably heard the story about the tycoon who wanted to bring out a new kind of dog food.

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July 24, 2008

Washington's Overrated "Old Hands" By Joe Conason

Barack Obama knows which countries border Iraq; he understands the difference between Shia and Sunni; and he is probably aware that Czechoslovakia no longer exists -- but as John McCain complains, the young senator has "no military experience whatsoever." Indeed, like both of the last two presidents, Sen. Obama possesses scant credentials in national security and foreign policy.

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July 24, 2008

Memories of the McCain That Was By Froma Harrop

Too bad there's no time-traveling on Election Day. The more moderate John McCain of eight years ago would make a very attractive candidate, and Barack Obama eight years from now could offer an impressive track record.

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July 24, 2008

The Soldier Voting Scandal By Robert Novak

Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections.

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July 23, 2008

Illegal RX? Barack Objects & Dick Answers By Dick Morris

In yesterday's Post, we criticized Barack Obama's plan to "give health insurance to 47 million Americans who are now without coverage." We raised the question: "Are they Americans?" - noting that the 47 million statistic includes those who've come here illegally and are subject to deportation.

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July 22, 2008

Tomatoes and Their Bad Rap By Froma Harrop

"Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?" former Labor Secretary Ray Donovan famously asked after being indicted for mob-related larceny and fraud, and then acquitted of the charges.

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July 21, 2008

Obama's Iraq Spotlight By Robert Novak

I asked one of the Republican Party's smartest, most candid heavy hitters this week whether John McCain really has a chance to defeat Barack Obama in this season of Republican discontent.

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July 19, 2008

Obama's CEOs By Robert Novak

Sen. Barack Obama has been meeting secretly with heavy industry CEOs in Washington to discuss issues that he would face as president.

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July 19, 2008

Ghosts of 1976 in Today's Campaign By Michael Barone

Looking back over the last 40 years, the presidential campaign that most closely resembles this year's is the contest between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in 1976. The Republicans were the incumbent presidential party that year, as they are now, but the Democrats had a big advantage in party identification -- on the order of 49 percent to 26 percent then, far more than today.

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July 18, 2008

What to Say by Susan Estrich

When my father died, so many years ago, my heart was broken. And then it got broken again. In the hours and days after his death, I was comforted by family and friends. But I couldn't help but notice who was missing, people I cared about, people I thought cared about me, who didn't call, didn't come, weren't there. Later, much later, I asked a few of those people why: Where had they been? Why didn't they come? And the answer was always the same.

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