Good riddance to the rule breakers
Scanning the landscape at week's end:There has been a paucity of commentary in this space about Florida and Michigan. And now that the Democratic do-over scenarios have evaporated, I can summarize my...
View ArticleA Hillary surrogate retrofits his convictions
It was excrutiating yesterday to watch Senator Evan Bayh audition on CNN for the job of Hillary Clinton's running mate. One of the requirements, apparently, is that the applicant must be ready and...
View ArticleThe 4,000th death as metaphor
The occasion of the 4,000th American military death in Iraq has actually triggered something akin to a miracle on the home front, forcing people to focus anew (albeit briefly) on President Bush's...
View ArticleUnder fire, but not from snipers
Maybe she was hoping that the toy companies would agree to market a Hillary Clinton Action Figure. More likely, she was probably hoping that she could inflate her meager foreign policy experience by...
View ArticleMore quote marks for McCain
As part of my continuing effort to persuade media colleagues to put quote marks around the word maverick when writing about John McCain, here's his latest pit stop on the flip-flop express.Ten years...
View ArticleCasey at the bat, and the brushback pitch
Big story this morning, broken by one of my colleagues: Senator Bob Casey, the ever-cautious Democratic centrist whose surname is golden among white Catholic working-class Pennsylvanians, is endorsing...
View ArticleBreaking bread with the vast right-wing conspiracy
While scanning the various Sunday commentaries, I stumbled across these laudatory effusions for Hillary Clinton: "...courage and confidence...political courage...impressive command...her answers were...
View ArticleGargling the neocon Kool-Aid
I know this is not a big news story in America anymore, but the question is still worth asking:How goes President Bush's Iraq democratization crusade these days - the same crusade that would be waged...
View ArticleGas prices and pander politics
In his bid to bond with blue-collar Pennsylvanians during the runup to the April 22 primary, Barack Obama engaged yesterday in some old-school substance-free politicking. He denounced the price of...
View ArticleObama and the benefits of time
I’m traveling the rest of this week – and not for work reasons – so new postings will be light (today) or non-existent (Friday). The normal regimen resumes on Monday.However, with respect to the...
View ArticleBlame the Clintons, not Mark Penn
The Clintons were reportedly shocked, shocked to learn this weekend that chief strategist Mark Penn had recently donned his other hat - as CEO of a global consulting firm - and sought to lobby on...
View ArticleTen questions for Petraeus
Gen. David Petraeus is back on Capitol Hill, talking about "progress" and pleading for more "patience." We all know the drill by now. Perhaps some lawmaker will ask him questions like these:1. General...
View ArticleIraq and rhetorical aspirin
George Orwell, best known for his novel 1984 but renowned in some circles (mine, anyway) for his spirited attacks on the bureaucratic debasement of the English language, would have winced at the...
View ArticleA politician, not a messiah
The flip flop is a staple of politics as usual. Here’s a fresh example, starring Barack Obama:A mere five months ago, in Iowa, Obama didn’t like it when outside “special interest” groups sided with his...
View ArticleCondi and Bill in the silly season
On the presidential election calendar, April often marks the start of the silly season. April is typically a time for silly stories that come and go within the space a single news cycle (bulletin: a...
View ArticleObama and the perils of Cling-gate
Can Bill and Hillary achieve Restoration by exploiting Cling-gate?Perhaps the small-town burghers and downscale workers of Pennsylvania will answer that question when they vote in the primary eight...
View ArticleThe brave (and brutish) new world
There once was a time when presidential candidates could utter an awkward unscripted remark, or a crude joke, or a loaded phrase, and conceivably get away with it - particularly when the press was...
View ArticleActions speak louder than words
Focusing on his real audience - the unpledged Democratic superdelegates, and the independent voters who will ultimately swing the November election - here's what Barack Obama needs to say tonight...
View ArticleObama shaken, rattled, and rolled
Just how bad was Barack Obama's debate performance last night? Not as bad as Britney Spears' song-and-dance routine at the MTV Awards. Not as bad as Bill Buckner's legendary error during the '86 World...
View ArticleAttention all readers!
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this special announcement:This blog is being moved to a new platform, with a new address. Or, to put it more colloquially, this blog will...
View ArticleAlways pleased with where they are
Whatever happens in the Pennsylvania primary tomorrow night, rest assured that Hillary Clinton’s spinmeisters will have it covered. Here’s a rhetorical tip sheet.Scenario: Clinton wins in a landslide,...
View ArticleThe Washington Post wants you
I'm doing an online lunch-hour chat for The Washington Post at noon EST Tuesday, as guest chatterer, talking about the Pennsylvania primary and the state of the race. You're invited to visit the site...
View ArticleThe undecideds versus the newbies
"So whattaya think?"I'm getting that question a lot, as Pennsylvania Democrats - old and new - head to the polls today in expected record numbers. And I generally respond like this:"Beats the heck out...
View ArticleTake these candidates, please!
Six weeks of bowling and Bittergate and Pastorgate and nonexistent Bosnian snipers....and for what? The Pennsylvania results have essentially changed nothing. There is seemingly no cure for the chronic...
View Article"A little rough in the sandbox"
We've moved!The "American Debate" blog can now be found at this address:http://go.philly.com/polman-------If we all weren't so focused on the slow-motion Democratic death march, we would have already...
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