Informed Speculation

It’s still Rudy in front, but Thompson has cut his lead down in the latest 2008 poll. Indeed, Thompson has also cut into McCain and Gingrich, but it’s Rudy who has lost the most ground. Thompson is running a strong third in this one, with 17% support, behind Rudy’s 27 and McCain’s 19. The question [...]

The most talked-about article today is sure to be this piece in the New York Times that examines the Jihadi etiquette on murder: This jihad etiquette is not written down, and for good reason. It varies as much in interpretation and practice as extremist groups vary in their goals. But the rules have some general [...]

As if McCain weren’t having enough trouble in the wake of the collapse of the immigration bill, Fred Thompson is stealing away his money men: John Dowd represented Sen. John McCain in his darkest hour, the “Keating Five” scandal. He supported McCain the first time he ran for president in 2000 and signed up to [...]

The grand old man of the Grand Ol’ Party speaks: The talk about a pardon for Lewis Libby is food for thought. Partisans are grateful that there is time, even if not much time, to think, pending the appeals that are under way challenging the conviction at a technical level. There isn’t much to hope [...]

…with 22% and 23%, respectively, and McCain pulling second in both categories, with Fred Thompson and Romney not far back. With the donkeys, Hillary is ahead of Obama by a decent 13-point margin. Bottom line: the front runners are still the front runners, but no one is running away with this thing yet…

Well, for better or worse, the immigration bill is dead.  The good news is that maybe we won’t have to be spend 60% of the time in the next Republican debate on this issue.  The bad news is that nothing has been done once again. Now, we can sit back and watch the circus.  Will [...]

What do the pros and pundits say about last night’s Republican debate? Chris Cillizza gives it to Rudy: Of the Big 3, the former Mayor of New York City was the most consistently sound last night. He has improved in each of the three debates and last night seemed genuinely comfortable on stage with his [...]

Anybody else getting debated out yet? First, a quick aside: will Bush pardon Libby? Absolutely – bet the farm on it… But back to the debate. Here goes… Question selection: absolutely terrible. How often must Giuliani be asked about abortion, and was immigration worthy of 60% of the debate time? Maybe to some of you, [...]

When the smoke clears from all the Fred Thompson hype and the anti-Rudy backlash over his position on abortion, it’s a tiny bit surprising to see that Giuliani is still the Republican front runner by a large margin. Rudy has 32 percent support in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, compared to 19 for McCain, [...]

Ye gods, that was just about unbearable. The more I see of these debates, the more convinced I am that they are an almost completely useless contrivance. But I’ll plow ahead: One, the reason I could NEVER be a Democrat is summed up nicely by the round of applause Kucinich got when he suggested we [...]

War! War! That will be the topic de jure, of course, in tonight’s Democratic debate. CNN has a preview: What will New Hampshire voters be listening for when 18 presidential hopefuls square off Sunday and Tuesday in presidential debates? It depends on whom you ask, but on one issue, there is widespread agreement: People want [...]

Doubtless you are beside yourself with giddy glee at the prospect, but for the few hundred million of you who DON’T know, the next round of debates are upon us.  Sunday night, for the Dems, Tuesday for the Reps. Don’t say you haven’t been warned…

To say that Peggy Noonan has gotten a bit eccentric is like saying Ozzy Osbourne can’t sing: both statements are true, but inadequate.  What to make of this? What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, [...]