The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Can Newt Be Trusted? Calls Mitt Romney ‘Anti-Immigrant’ in Spanish-Language Ad

You may remember last week’s CNN debate in South Carolina, when Rick Santorum hit Newt Gingrich with this: I will give Newt Gingrich his due on grandiose ideas and grandiose projects. I will not give him his due on executing those projects, which is exactly what the president of the United States is supposed to […]

The False Dilemma Fallacy: Mitt or Newt? The Devil or the Deep Blue Sea?

Jeff Foxworthy says that, as a Southerner, the minute you open your mouth, people deduct 15 points from your IQ score. It’s a joke that’s funny because it’s so true. People automatically associate Southern accents with stereotypical backwoods hicks, and so I’ve spent my whole life being underestimated by Yankee smart-asses who think they know […]

‘Let-Me-Tell-You-What-to-Think’ and Other Conventional Wisdom Tricks

Many months ago, Ace of Spades erupted in a fury over an “objective” mainstream media news story: Stop telling me what to think! I’d love to link that memorable post, but archive searches on Ace’s site are difficult. The point he made, however, is that some journalists have an obnoxious tendency to assume readers are […]

Florida Republican’s Ad Depicts Children Enslaved by Obama and Alan Grayson

Children are shown as slaves forced to pay for deficit spending in a new advertisement for a Republican congressional candidate in Florida. “Turn This Ship Around” is the title of the 30-second video for Mark Oxner, a businessman seeking a House seat in Florida’s new 27th District, where former Democrat Rep. Alan Grayson is hoping […]

Barbara Espinosa’s Gingrich Files

Longtime readers of the blog will warmly remember Barbara Espinosa, whom I first met at Right Online 2009 in Pittsburgh (“Grandma Is an Angry Mob,” American Spectator, Sept. 18, 2009). Barbara doesn’t like it when I remind people that she’s a grandmother and a widow. She thinks those descriptions might discourage romantic overtures from the kind […]

‘Remain Calm! All Is Well!’

“All the insanity inspired by the intense struggle in Iowa will be over in two weeks, and nothing would be crazier than to predict that Santorum — who has lingered near the back of the Republican pack all year — will emerge with an upset victory Jan. 3.” — Robert Stacy McCain, “Hawkeye Fever,” Dec. […]

Beware of Early Florida Polls

HAGERSTOWN, Md. The dateline is perhaps necessary to signify that, after eight days in South Carolina, I’m now back home and — thank you, tip jar hitters! — planning to make it to Jacksonville, Florida, for Thursday’s debate. Trying to assess the situation going forward, I want to caution against falling prey to the bandwagon […]

Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Somewhere, There Is an Island …

Thirteen-year-old editorial assistant Jefferson McCain staffs The National Affairs Desk, 8:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 ROCK HILL, S.C. Jimmie Bise Jr. was on the phone when I turned off the exit from I-77 North and hooked a left toward the McDonald’s. We were discussing the finer points of blogger ethics, and the importance of […]

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