January 21, 2009 – 11:48 am
As Vinca did, I also cruised around the new whitehouse.gov shortly after noon yesterday. The Obama team looks poised to do some interesting things with the site, most of which I probably won’t understand. But one old-fashioned thing seems to be missing: Any evidence that the last eight years happened. Throughout the Bush Administration the […]
January 16, 2009 – 7:47 pm
In the wake of Thursday’s US Airways near-disaster on the Hudson River, and the heroic actions of the pilot and crew in keeping all the passengers alive, some have suggested that the event – or at least its main players – might find a place in Tuesday’s inaugural address. Perhaps, but I think it would […]
January 16, 2009 – 6:03 pm
Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook alerts us to this AP article about the end of David Letterman’s “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches.” In case you’ve missed it, the bit contrasts clips of grand historical presidential rhetoric (“The only thing we have to fear…”; “Ask not…”) with clips from current presidential speeches in which George Bush is […]
January 16, 2009 – 2:24 pm
President-elect Obama visited the Washington Post yesterday – always a good idea to make friends with the hometown reporters and editors (as if his press coverage could get any friendlier). During the meeting, the Post reports, Obama spoke about the need for Social Security and Medicare reform. Not surprising, even though the issue was once […]
January 15, 2009 – 9:41 pm
George W. Bush’s address from the East Room of the White House Thursday evening was among his best. To a degree almost unseen before, he was relaxed, calm, and comfortable at the podium. He looked like a man about to be relieved of a great burden – not the burden of making decisions (he seems to […]
January 15, 2009 – 3:19 pm
After all the indignities of defeat, Republicans awakened two weeks ago to the news that a candidate for the RNC chairmanship sent out a CD that includes a riff on “Puff the Magic Dragon,” rendered as “Barack the Magic Negro.” Ken Blackwell, African-American and one of the GOP’s most promising politicians in Ohio, excused the […]
January 9, 2009 – 7:17 pm
Continuing with Josh’s theme of … uh … indecorous utterances, Chinese dairy producers have finally provided a firm answer to the question, “What should you absolutely never, ever communicate to someone via text message?” And the winner is: Sorry we killed your children. According to the BBC, “Chinese dairy companies involved in the tainted […]
January 9, 2009 – 2:08 pm
I promise not to make any more stimulus jokes, but I couldn’t resist this. Seems that Larry Flint is asking for a bailout for Hustler Magazine. Why not? From a purely economic view, it makes about as much sense as many of the other companies that are bellying up snout first at our ever expanding […]
January 8, 2009 – 10:40 pm
I was fortunate to be able to attend a White House reception this evening, hosted by President and Mrs. Bush to thank the people who worked in their Administration over the last eight years. The very idea is silly, of course: The president doesn’t owe us any thanks at all; it’s very much the opposite. […]
January 7, 2009 – 11:49 am
At Barack Obama’s press conference today, NBC’s Chuck Todd asked the president-elect to please, please, please say something about the current situation in Gaza. Obama didn’t take the bait, patiently explaining to Todd that when he says, “There’s only one president at a time,” he means it. Kudos to Obama. The press and plenty of […]
