Mori Dinauer

James Kirchick has a bizarre op-ed in the Politico that attempts to argue that John McCain‘s foreign policy judgment makes him a better choice for president than Barack Obama. But Kirchick doesn’t explain why McCain’s judgment is better right now; he simply asserts that McCain was right to endorse the surge and spends the rest […]

In addition to giving a presidential-sounding speech in Berlin today, Barack Obama has put together a presidential transition team, something usually done by a president-elect, rather than a candidate three months before the election has taken place. Of course, not everyone is excited about Obama’s confidence (see Corner, The). In the words of John Derbyshire […]

Scott rounds up the relevant links pertinent to McCain‘s apparent ignorance of the basic chronology of the surge’s effects. I think Ilan Goldenberg said it best: “As far as I’m concerned [this] disqualifies him from being President … I have no choice but to conclude that John McCain has simply no idea what is actually […]

The Politico reports on the mounting number of gaffes John McCain has made on the campaign trail, observing, “Ironically, the errors have been concentrated in what should be his area of expertise: foreign affairs.” The Trail reports that Bush bundlers have raised nearly $26 million for the McCain’s presidential campaign, even while the presumptive Republican […]

John McCain threw everything but the kitchen sink at Barack Obama and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki in response to the latter’s endorsement of Obama’s timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, including the claim that the original Maliki statement was poorly translated. And in a new campaign ad, McCain blamed Obama for high gas prices, which is […]

The New York Times writes about the 300 foreign policy experts advising Barack Obama on the eve of his overseas trip and Marc Ambinder identifies a 301st adviser. Obama’s “foreign policy voice” is speechwriter Ben Rhodes, one of the authors of the 9/11 commission report and a participant in the Iraq Study Group. John McCain […]

The big news today is that Barack Obama pulled in $52 million in June — his second largest monthly haul since the campaign began. Only $2 million is for the general election, although after the convention primary money can be rolled over into his general election account. The DNC raised $22 million in June, giving […]

The New York Times ran a front-page story today with the misleading headline, “Poll Finds Obama Isn’t Closing Divide on Race,” despite the fact that the poll’s own numbers paint a far more varied picture. The Obama campaign briskly provided the evidence, and, in an email response, the story’s lead writer Adam Nagourney said that […]

Barack Obama gave a big speech on Iraq this morning where he reiterated his plan to remove all combat troops from the country within 16 months. John McCain hit back with his own Iraq speech, claiming that he knows how to “win wars” and arguing that Obama’s judgment is tainted because he was wrong about […]

Joe Biden, in an Obama campaign conference call, criticized John McCain’s grip on Iraqi affairs while pumping up military commanders for Obama’s imminent visit: “One thing I can tell you for certain from recent trips is commanders in the field … they all want to see Barack Obama. They’re going to see a man, when […]