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Political Commentary

Most Recent Releases

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February 28, 2008

Veep! Veep! The McCain Possibilities: A Commentary by Larry J. Sabato

Almost a year ago, the Crystal Ball took a first crack at listing the vice presidential possibilities in both parties.

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February 28, 2008

How Not to Run for VP: An Inside Report by Robert D. Novak

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty carefully prepared his plan for controlling greenhouse gas emissions to present it at the annual Washington winter meeting of governors.

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February 27, 2008

The Clintons Just Won't Learn: A Commentary by Dick Morris

Whether one likes, dislikes, loves, hates, admires, fears, despises, or envies them, every Clinton watcher has this in common: They are dumbfounded both by the incompetence with which Hillary has run for president and her intransigence at sticking to a failed message.

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February 27, 2008

The Suicide of Emma Beck and Silence No More: A Commentary by Michelle Malkin

She didn't have to die. And neither did her unborn children. Over the weekend, London newspapers reported on the 2007 suicide of 30-year-old Emma Beck, a young British artist who hung herself after the abortion of her twin babies. Perhaps the retelling of her suffering can prevent more needless deaths.

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February 26, 2008

Obama's Real Experience: His Candidacy: A Commentary by Dick Morris

The best evidence of Obama’s readiness to lead the nation is the ability with which he has run for president. After all, what is more difficult, complicated, or challenging than getting elected president?

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February 26, 2008

What About the Woman Lobbyist?: A Commentary by Froma Harrop

Both John McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman denied any romantic involvement. Mrs. McCain said she trusts her husband.

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February 25, 2008

Who Will Bell Hillary?: An Inside Report by Robert D. Novak

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Even before Sen. Barack Obama won his ninth-straight contest against Sen. Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin last Tuesday, wise old heads in the Democratic Party were asking this question: Who will tell her that it's over, that she cannot win the presidential nomination and the sooner she leaves the race the more it will improve chances of defeating Sen. John McCain in November?

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February 23, 2008

Clinton’s Crumbling Ohio Firewall: An Inside Report by Robert D. Novak

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After Sen. Barack Obama's decisive victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was reported expressing doubt to political colleagues about whether he could hold his state for Clinton during the two weeks remaining before Ohio's Democratic presidential primary March 4.

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February 22, 2008

Hillary on the Rocks: Foolish Threats - A Commentary by Dick Morris

Barack Obama's victory in Wisconsin on Tuesday was just the latest sign that Hillary Clinton's desperate, anti-democratic moves to salvage her bid for the Democratic nomination are destroying her last chances to win a fair fight.

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February 22, 2008

The G Word: A Commentary by Susan Estrich

It's easy to assume that the worst place to be in a campaign that's going through tough times is right in the middle of it. At least you're not Hillary, people say to me all the time. But in my experience, the hardest place to be in a hard campaign is not right in the middle. I've been there, and it can be eerie and strange, but you rarely get as depressed as you do when you're one step removed. Maybe that's a good thing.

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February 22, 2008

Democrats and the Popular Vote: A Commentary by Rhodes Cook

As the closely fought Democratic presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama moves deeper and deeper into the primary season, there is a growing sentiment that the nomination should go to the candidate that ultimately wins the popular vote.

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February 22, 2008

For McCain and Obama, the Fighting Has Just Begun: A Commentary by Douglas Schoen

The presidential primary races have almost finished and the two current front runners for their respective parties have a striking similarity – they both have an appeal that extends beyond their party base.

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February 21, 2008

Our Man in Islamabad: An Inside Report by Robert D. Novak

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Overwhelming repudiation of President Pervez Musharraf by Pakistan's voters did not immediately dilute the Bush administration's support for him. On the contrary, the first election returns were barely in Monday night when the U.S. government began pressing victorious opposition leaders not to impeach the former military strongman.

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February 21, 2008

NAFTA Gets a Bum Rap: A Commentary by Froma Harrop

"NAFTA bad" has become Democratic shorthand to explain the misery spreading through America's industrial heartland.

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February 21, 2008

No "Straight Talk" on Iraq Cost: A Commentary by Joe Conason

As a presidential candidate, John McCain stands out not only for his vocal endorsement of the unpopular war in Iraq, but also because one of his own sons is a Marine Corps officer on active duty there. He supports the war, even at the price of his own career or the life of a child he loves.

February 21, 2008

It's Over: A Commentary by Lawrence Kudlow

Allow me a dose of hardened market realism concerning Barack Obama's landslide victory in Wisconsin. The race is over. Hillary Clinton is over. Her electability is over.

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February 20, 2008

What's in a Word?: A Commentary by Susan Estrich

Not much, in my experience, if you're a presidential candidate. The speechwriter gives the candidate the speech for the next stop on the flight. He marks it up, or not, and out come the words, like magic. Original means he's never said it before. Usually he has, albeit in a different way. Original doesn't mean he wrote it, but that he's the first one to say it.

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February 20, 2008

Michelle Obama's America -- and Mine: A Commentary by Michelle Malkin

Like Michelle Obama, I am a "woman of color." Like Michelle Obama, I am a working mother of two young children. Like Michelle Obama, I am a member of the 13th generation of Americans born since the founding of our great nation.

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February 19, 2008

Vaporous Obama Turns Off Many Centrists: A Commentary by Froma Harrop

Despite the hard contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, party leaders keep telling Democratic-leaning voters that they have two good candidates. They are right, but one of them may well be a Republican.

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February 18, 2008

Torts and Terrorism: An Inside Report by Robert D. Novak

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A closed-door caucus of House Democrats last Wednesday took a risky political course. By four to one, they instructed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call President Bush's bluff on extending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to continue eavesdropping on suspected foreign terrorists. Rather than passing the bill with a minority of the House's Democratic majority, Pelosi obeyed her caucus and left town for a 12-day recess without renewing the government's eroding intelligence capability.