Informed Speculation

Such will be my new tagline, as “It’s Never Too Early” is now too late. Such is also the state of the Republican Party’s nomination battle, as the newest CNN/Opinion Dynamics poll has Rudy up over McCain by a mere 2%, with his lowest showing in a major national poll yet at 25% support.  In [...]

Part of being a blogger with integrity, and I’d like to think I am such a blogger, is admitting when you got it wrong. Well, I strongly hinted here that I believed the scuttlebutt that Alberto Gonzales was toast back on the 19th of April.  Three weeks later, the man appears to have weathered the [...]

Especially if that nominee is the only one that can win in November? That’s the essential question of the Rudy Giuliani candidacy.  I will support John McCain, and I suppose I could see my way to Thompson or Romney, but honestly, I don’t think any of those three can win in November.  I’m not 100% [...]

The Democrats are still trying to find a way to placate the left without seeming unwilling to support the troops, and their latest proposal would pony up half of the needed war appropriations now and half in July, provided certain benchmarks are met.  Bush is not having any of it: President Bush would veto the [...]

Some news sure to calm the nerves of Rudy supporters who haven’t had much to cheer about over the last couple of weeks, and further confirmation that Hillary is widening her lead over Obama, comes from Gallup today: A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds Hillary Clinton solidifying her lead over Barack Obama and the rest [...]

Is Obama still a rock star? Instead of Bono, he’s starting to poll more like Art Garfunkel (take that, all you other political writer types out there!): Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, has increased her lead over the Democratic field in the race for the presidential nomination, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll [...]

Well, what’s new about that, you might ask? The Times gave up long ago. First, to the editorial: WHATEVER THE future holds, the United States has not “lost” and cannot “lose” Iraq. It was never ours in the first place. And however history will judge the war, some key U.S. goals have been accomplished: Saddam [...]

The shamelessness of ‘progressive’ political types has no equal when it comes to slanders of the right, particularly those with no foundation in reality.  It should comes as no surprise, then, that the LA Times has a story speculating on whether there will be any blowback for Fred Thompson for portraying a racist in an [...]

TIME steals my completely original grading the candidates concept here, with the grading done by Mark Halperin.  He gives the debate to Romney with an A- (in retrospect, I was too rough on Romney’s performance, overly influenced by my largely negative opinions of him).  Here he is on Rudy, who gets a B: Sold his [...]

Hmmm…well, I wasn’t very satisfied with what I saw tonight.  Many candidates put on a face that I think is frankly unappealing to large parts of the country.  I hope we put the desire to elevate abortion and immigration into the main issues of the day behind us before the general election, or we shall [...]

Rudy Giuliani’s inevitable softening of support has been a bit swifter and deeper than I expected: Quinnipiac polled 1,166 American voters between April 25 and May 1. Compared to Quinnipiac’s last national poll in February, Mr. Giuliani fell to 27% from 40% — a huge tumble. Mr. Romney barely budged, going to 8% from 7%. [...]

…as the oil revenue sharing plan has finally been sent to Parliament: Iraq’s oil minister says a long-awaited draft oil and gas law has been sent to parliament for approval. The bill, seen as crucial in regulating how oil wealth is divided among Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups, received cabinet backing in February. A dispute [...]

…and Craig Crawford says the onus is on John McCain: An adamant supporter of the troop buildup in Iraq that is being carried out by President Bush, Sen. John McCain of Arizona needs a surge of his own in Thursday’s first Republican presidential debate of the 2008 race. Overtaken by former New York City Mayor [...]

From President Bush’s address tonight: Here’s why the bill Congress passed is unacceptable. First, the bill would mandate a rigid and artificial deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq. That withdrawal could start as early as July 1st, and it would have to start no later than October 1st regardless of the situation [...]

I can handle a Mormon president, but an L. Ron Hubbard fan? That may be a bridge too far: “What’s your favorite novel?” is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership. A “Moby-Dick” lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal. A fan of “To Kill [...]

It’s fair to say Christopher Hitchens is a wee bit disappointed in the big George Tenet tell-all: …[T]he only really interesting question is why the president did not fire this vain and useless person on the very first day of the war. Instead, he awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom! Tenet is now so [...]