View image | gettyimages.com So Quinnipiac has a new poll out showing Jeb Bush with ongoing problems among Republicans in Iowa, but I don’t think he should be worried. I’ll let Ed Kilgore explain: What do the internals say about Jeb Bush’s basic standing among Iowa Republicans? They really don’t much like him, though not […]
Paul Waldman
Paul Waldman is a weekly columnist and senior writer for The American Prospect. He also writes for the Plum Line blog at The Washington Post and The Week and is the author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Why Hillary Clinton Can Move Left on Immigration
View image | gettyimages.com Back in 2008, I tried (without much success) to convince everyone that John McCain’s reputation as a “maverick” was built on a fundamental misconception. It isn’t that he didn’t sometimes go against the prevailing Republican position on a given issue, because he did, even if those occasions were actually quite rare. […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Photo of the Day, Across the Pond Edition
View image | gettyimages.com I thought of posting a photo of Mike Huckabee announcing his presidential candidacy, but this one is just so much more fun. Britons go to the polls this week, and that’s George Osborne of the Conservative Party, who is currently Chancellor of the Exchequer, visiting with some hard-working constituents to tell […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Ridiculous Lure of the Amateur Politician
View image | gettyimages.com All the news stories about yesterday’s entrants into the Republican presidential field, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, mention they are extremely unlikely to win. Yet the fact that they decided to run at all, and that many in their party will consider them carefully and give them money and attention, testifies […]
Posted inPaul Waldman
Photo of the Day, Announcement Edition
View image | gettyimages.com That’s Ben Carson, announcing his campaign for a radio talk show and higher speaking fees … I mean president! Announcing his campaign for president. Wherever he goes in this campaign, he will bring his circular red rug, which channels his power and allows him to mesmerize audiences.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Multiple GOP Presidential Candidates Now Investigating Nutball Conspiracy Theory
View image | gettyimages.com As we discussed last week, conspiracy theorists in Texas are convinced that a multi-state training exercise the military is soon to conduct called Jade Helm is actually preparation for the declaration of martial law across the Southwest, with all manner of ungodly consequences to follow, including the confiscation of people’s guns […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Drafting the Script of Campaigns: Reporters Define Candidates’ Flaws, Real or Imagined
Republicans are surely hoping that reporters will lock in a frame in which Hillary Clinton is presumed to be dishonest, and reporters appear poised to oblige.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
When Reporters Decide a Candidate’s Supposed Character Flaw ‘Raises Questions,’ Watch Out
View image | gettyimages.com Which of Hillary Clinton’s character flaws do you find most troubling? If you’re a Republican, you may not have quite decided yet, since there are any number of things about her you can’t stand. But if you’re hoping to defeat her, you’d do well to home in on whatever journalists think […]
Posted inPaul Waldman
Photo of the Day, Cool Energy Edition
View image | gettyimages.com That’s a Tesla superfan (which apparently is a thing) posing in front of the company’s new Powerwall battery, which Elon Musk unveiled today. Meant for homes and businesses, the battery will allow users to store energy from their solar panels, windmills, or whatever else they’re using to charge up their cars […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Riots and Results
View image | gettyimages.com Yesterday, I wrote about how the explanation Baltimore police gave for the death of Freddie Gray was almost impossible to believe, and apparently, state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby felt the same way after her investigation, because she announced today that she is charging six officers with crimes ranging from negligence to second-degree […]
