Politics

by hilzoy On the McCain Report, Michael Goldfarb writes that Sarah Palin “has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden put together”, a point that, by some strange coincidence, has popped up all over the conservative blogs. I think that the idea that Palin has an advantage over Obama in this area is … Read more

by publius One of the many fascinating aspects of the Palin nomination is the grass roots’ enthusiasm for her. It’s tempting to see the excitement among the social conservative base strictly through the lens of abortion politics. That is, you might think that the excitement over such an unknown, inexperienced first-term governor is evidence that … Read more

by hilzoy Now that I’m back from the convention, and have transferred all my backed up stuff onto my new computer (sigh), I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and consider McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. I was in an airplane during her speech yesterday, but I saw her speak … Read more

by publius I didn’t have a chance to write about Palin today (unlike Eric, some people have to work), so I’ve been chewing it over this afternoon. The more I think about it, the more insane it seems. McCain might well have lost the presidency today. Curiously though, the base is all in. Their enthusiasm … Read more

by publius I think McCain’s decision to announce the VP pick tomorrow may be too clever by half. I mean, it will certainly draw some attention. But it’s not like the press will completely ignore Obama’s speech tomorrow or over the weekend. In this sense, announcing tomorrow will prevent McCain from getting maximum coverage of … Read more

by publius Strong, strong speech — I thought it was excellent. This is why he got nominated — and he came through. There was nothing weak or amateur about it. More importantly — and quite characteristically — Obama’s speech defied and shattered the conceptual boxes that pundits have been trying to squeeze him into. It … Read more

by publius Here we go. 9:49 — This is very very good. More substantive thoughts later tonight.

by publius So I’ve been sitting here trying to think up something semi-intelligent to say about tonight’s speeches, but not having much luck. The reason, I think, is that it’s extremely hard to know what will prove effective to swing voters. I mean, I can tell you about what I liked or didn’t like. But … Read more

by publius What’d you think? 9:22 — God, I love Bill Clinton. I just can’t not like him. Take this for example: Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The American Dream is under siege at home, and America’s leadership in the world has been weakened. . . . But on the two great … Read more

by publius Before the Big Dog and Biden get going, I want to return briefly to Kerry at today’s New America panel. In short, he was outstanding. He’s incredibly effective in this type of format — far more than he ever was on the campaign trail. He moved effortlessly from complex issue to complex issue, … Read more

by publius Best guy ever. And I predict a strong comeback for the bolo after the convention.

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by publius Another cool aspect of being at the convention is that you see a million different organizations advertising themselves. I kind of liked this one though — both on substance and because of their outfits. The initiative is called “Trick or Vote,” which essentially an effort to go canvassing on Halloween days before the … Read more

by publius I went to a very informative New America panel this morning put on by Steve Clemons about the Middle East and the next president. Details to come this afternoon. As you can see, Kerry came by and was extremely impressive (more on that in a bit).

by publius 9:33 – Schweitzer is great, but no one is covering him except CSPAN. 9:37 – I’m digging the intro video. 9:57 – Powerful line — “Were you in it just for me? . . . Or were you in it for [important issue]?” That’s rhetorically well done. A good pitch to the die-hards, … Read more

by hilzoy Sorry to have been absent: I’ve been having internet problems. I did manage to catch a little CNN coverage after I got in last night, and it was absolutely surreal: the convention they are covering bears no relation whatsoever to the one I had been walking around observing all yesterday. I’ve been wandering … Read more

by publius Ezra’s right — that was the most unemotional comatose speech I’ve ever heard. I feel a bit better about Obama not picking her. UPDATE: Also, they should have put Lilly Ledbetter on during major network time (i.e., 8-9 MT).

by publius One of the best parts about being here is that you get to meet some interesting people with some very interesting sites doing cool stuff. For instance, BAGnewsNotes has been posting some really interesting visual media this week. Also, check out The Seminal — another cool site that I don’t check out nearly … Read more

by publius One big problem with being in Denver is that I have no idea what the media are actually saying. But after wandering around all day, I’ve been watching MSNBC for the past hour or so, and it’s just amazing how much coverage Hillary Clinton is getting. It’s not just coverage, they’re going on … Read more

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by publius It’s been difficult — you know, as an intrepid reporter on the ground — keeping up with what people are saying about the convention thus far. I gather that one dispute is whether the convention should be more hard-hitting, or whether it should stay fluffy like last night’s. Count me pretty firmly in … Read more

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by publius What’d you think?

by publius So I was a little late getting to the “blogger lounge,” so I missed Michelle. But I did catch the New Republic’s environmental panel earlier today — “the Politics of Green.” It was a good group — Rep. Ed Markey, Sen. Bingaman, a Sierra Club bigshot, Cass Sunstein, the Obama energy advisor, and … Read more

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by publius Everyone should read David Leonhardt’s piece in the NYT Magazine on Obama’s economic philosophy. It’s fascinating — and reflects just how difficult it is to squeeze Obama into any sort of conceptual box on any issue. The article also reaffirmed some of my original reasons for supporting Obama — i.e., it reminded me … Read more

by publius If you have the stomach for it, check out Sean Wilentz’s latest — and nastiest — anti-Obama screed. It’s not everyday you see a respected Princeton historian devolve into Grandpa Simpson in four short pages, but Wilentz pulled it off. (The 4th page alone is all you need to read.) Like everyone else, … Read more

by hilzoy Politico: “But Biden watchers also know that there is much to like and admire about the man. Biden is a fighter who is joining a campaign some Democrats believe should scrap a little more. He is a serious adult on the serious, adult issues of the day. And no one will liken Joey … Read more

by publius Biden it is. Personally, I’m pretty psyched — I’ve always liked Biden. But I also think it’s a strong political choice, despite all the potential criticisms. The first criticism — echoed already by the great visionary Ron Fournier — is that Obama’s pick shows a lack of “self-confidence.” Another way of looking at … Read more

by hilzoy I got my email (I’m not technologically advanced enough to want a text message) while I was sleeping. I’m getting ready to go to the convention tomorrow, so I don’t have much in the way of thoughts. But for what it’s worth: I think this is a decent choice, especially given the alternatives … Read more

by hilzoy From ABC News: “ABC News’ Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson Report: John McCain’s campaign signaled on Wednesday that the Arizona senator is backing away from his previously stated goal of changing the GOP’s platform on abortion. (…) McCain’s plan to take a hands-off approach with the abortion platform stands in stark contrast with … Read more

by hilzoy In my ideal world, the fact that John McCain cannot remember how many houses he has would not be a very big deal. It does make it clear just how wealthy he and his wife are, and it raises the question how well he understands life outside the cocoon of privilege. But in … Read more

by publius Predictably, the McCain campaign went into full hothead mode in response to Obama’s attacks, flailing about desperately and bringing up Rezko. A few observations on this. First, it’s further evidence that McCain is at his absolute very worst in responding to a crisis. He and his campaign’s initial instincts are always to lash … Read more

by publius It’s tempting, at first glance, to see the attacks on McCain’s house counting problem as trivial gotcha politics. Even assuming that’s true, I won’t shed many tears at this point — not after watching McCain rip Obama every day for the last month for excessively silly reasons. But there’s actually a substantive component … Read more