Category: long story short

I was reading the most recent primary comment thread at Kos and someone suggested ignoring the debates till some winnowing occurs, because ten is too many to keep track of. It does seem as though only declared candidates should be invited to the debates. Are they all declared now? I know the declaration is a…

Bringing nothing to read forced me to write. Some guy I hate, goading me on. A looming deadline. A tempting escapade. Anxiety, guilt, shame. Sex. Bodily functions. Unsatisfactory conclusion. Go to (1).

Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan made an interesting observation on the TV tonight. Instead of calling General Clark an outright flip-flopper, she hit a related but distinct theme, saying: never trust a man who tells you he’s on a journey. Her concern is that Clark doesn’t appear to have a fixed political philosophy. He’s learning and…

One of the conservative critiques you’ll be hearing about General Clark is that he’s awfully indecisive for a general, that he’s guilty of muddy thinking, and of course, that he’s flip-flopping. The Right takes flip-flopping very seriously. Bill Clinton was a draft-dodging, pot-smoking, super-slick flip-flopper. Gore was a big-fibbing, sweat-streaming, sore loser of a flip-flopper.…

Back in the 2000 primaries, one of Bush’s trademarks was his ability to deliver an entire speech without once accidentally making eye contact. These cautious, close manuscript readings came in striking contrast to Bill Clinton’s free-wheeling, sometimes seemingly improvised shtick. Around the time of the Republican convention, something changed. Bush began to look up from…

I was struck over the weekend by the enthusiasm the folks at Fox News have shown for a Hillary Clinton presidential bid in ’04. Even though (almost) all evidence points against a last-minute Hillary run, they look at her numbers in the primary polls and say, “C’mon now, you can do it! Believe in yourself!…