Dylan Matthews

By Dylan Matthews At a certain level, I really want to agree with Bruce Ackerman’s argument here. His main proposal – requiring Senate confirmation for senior White House staffers like the Office of Health Reform chairperson or counsel to the president – seems like a nice, principled reform that makes a lot of sense in […]

By Dylan Matthews Eric Kleefeld – who’s been covering the legal nitty-gritty of the (still!) ongoing Senate battle in Minnesota for months now – comes bearing some potentially good news. Due to the relative speed of the arguments from Al Franken’s lawyers, a Minnesota election law specialist, David Schultz, is now predicting that there’ll be […]

By Dylan Matthews Thanks to Ezra for having me over again; it’s good to be back. So Andy Grove thinks Obama is being too ambitious. And Fred Hiatt thinks I should care, so Grove gets to express this view on the Washington Post op-ed page, pretentious Machiavelli quote and all. Look, Grove is a smart […]

By Dylan Matthews Shorter Jonathan Chait: “I cannot believe that international and domestic politics are distinct phenomena.” Okay, that’s a bit unfair. But the point he’s making is pretty odd. True, most liberals support increased engagement with “unfriendly” regimes abroad, and many also think negotiating policy with some domestic opponents is counterproductive. Chait paints this […]

By Dylan Matthews My friend and fellow New Hampshire-ite Garrett Nelson raises an interesting point about the Gregg gambit. Regardless of whether Obama eventually appoints him, or whether he eventually accepts, Gregg’s reputation among the Republican base has been badly damaged by his statement that he’s considering the post. Combine that with his support for […]

By Dylan Matthews Former Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card thinks Obama is disrespecting the office of the presidency. Guess why: CARD: I found that Ronald Reagan and both President Bushes treated the Oval Office with tremendous respect. They treated the Office of the Presidency with tremendous respect. And some of that respect was reflected […]

By Dylan Matthews ABC News has an interesting piece on how an increasing number of those on kidney transplant wait lists are resorting to seeking out donors on Craiglist. For those who get them, it’s great; it’s faster than traditional methods, obviously, but more easier than finding paid donors has been in the past. But […]

By Dylan Matthews Well this post sure sounds dumb now: Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he would not be bound by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s commitments to evacuate West Bank settlements and withdraw from the territories. … He said he would invite Kadima and all the Zionist parties to join his coalition […]

By Dylan Matthews Rod Blagojevich has been convicted and removed from office. Pat Quinn is governor. The Illinois state government is now marginally less corrupt.

By Dylan Matthews Stay classy, Jim DeMint: “The stimulus bill that is being championed by President Obama…is not a stimulus, ladies and gentlemen; it is a mugging.” I wonder what not at all racially-charged policy analogies he’ll come up with next. I’m guessing he’ll call any future stimulus bill a “re-up” and airstrikes in Pakistan […]