Mori Dinauer

Bill Clinton will speak in the Wednesday night slot at the Democratic National Convention, and in a reversal for the GOP, Dick Cheney will speak at the Republican National Convention the same night as President Bush. In other convention news, tickets for Obama‘s Invesco Field nomination acceptance speech sold out in under 24 hours, and […]

A front-page Washington Post story on Dems nervous about Obama‘s ability to hit back against John McCain doesn’t deter David Broder from phoning in another of his patented “both sides are slinging mud, but mostly Democrats” columns. It seems to me that Obama is executing a long-term strategy for getting elected, and that if he […]

The Washington Post profiles Harry Sargeant III, a Florida bundler who apparently possesses an affinity for getting apolitical and cash-solvent donors to cough up large campaign contributions for John McCain. McCain isn’t the only presidential candidate who relies on Bundlers, of course, as this New York Times piece explores. Ben Smith reports that Barack Obama […]

The New York Times reports on the large disparity between Democratic and Republican voter rolls, including those in some states that voted for the GOP in 2004: “In six states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the Democratic piece of the registration pie grew more than three percentage points, while the Republican share declined. In […]

Over the weekend, Barack Obama agreed to a three debate schedule put forth by the Commission on Presidential Debates which appears to close the door on John McCain‘s offer to hold town hall-style debates. Obama has released a more aggressive ad attacking John McCain for being in the pocket of big oil, and Campaign Money […]

The Washington Post runs a long profile on John McCain that goes into the mind of the candidate and Politico has a story on the “paper gap” in McCain’s policy proposals. Conventional Wisdom Watch: The negative campaign that has been ratcheted up by the McCain camp in the past week has already soured Joe Klein. […]

A new round of Quinnipiac University swing state polls show Obama ahead in Florida, 46-44, Ohio, 46-44, and Pennsylvania, 49-42. Nate Silver observes that “This is a weaker performance for Obama than in June, but a better performance for him than in any month but June. Our model weights those two factors, and concludes that […]

At a fundraiser dinner last night in Colorado, John McCain raised $3.2 million for his presidential campaign, apparently setting a “Colorado record” according to one participant. Meanwhile, Barack Obama held an atypically low-key event in Missouri, netting $250,000. Crooked Timber notes the language of the Phoenix Initiative, a Democratic foreign policy shop comprised of some […]

The indictment of Republican Senator Ted Stevens today certainly makes the job for challenger Mark Begich easier (although I would dismiss talk that it “virtually guarantees” a Democratic pickup) although the timely entry of Republican primary challenger Vic Vickers and his anti-corruption message complicates things. Meanwhile, Baron Young Smith smartly observes that Stevens’ departure from […]

Over the weekend the McCain campaign issued a new ad claiming that Barack Obama “made time to go to the gym, but canceled a visit with wounded troops” ostensibly because he wouldn’t get a good photo op, a false accusation. (MSNBC appears to be the only big news outlet willing to point this out.) Oddly, […]