The Other McCain

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

Stunning Discovery: Shadowy Corporate Donors Contribute to Political Campaigns

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. — I was not shocked to learn that MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann had contributed to Democrats. What truly shocked me? Finding out that NBC has an “ethics policy”! MSNBC host Keith Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress and failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway ahead of Tuesday’s election — […]

Doug Hoffman’s Legacy in 2010 Victories

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. — During the Allen West victory party Tuesday night, I stepped outside for a few moments and made a phone call to upstate New York to interview the man whose 2009 special-election campaign did so much to inspire grassroots conservatives nationwide. (See “Battle Cry in the North Country.”) It was just […]

Urgent Deadline for the Final Wisdom; Memo From the National Affairs Desk

When I left the cheap motel in Port St. Lucie this morning, my plan had been to swing by and visit relatives near Orlando before heading north toward Atlanta on my way back home. As I drove up I-95, I put in a call to my editor at The American Spectator, to whom I had […]

Checkout Time

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Heading north today, after a day of recovering from long-term sleep deprivation. My four most recent datelines at the American Spectator: Oct. 29 — Abingdon, Va. Nov. 1 — Vidalia, Ga. Nov. 2 — Panama City, Fla. Nov. 3 — Boca Raton, Fla. Calculating the mileage I drove in those days, […]

My Apologies to the Optimists

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — When I left Boca Raton at 3 a.m., I’d hoped to make it to the vicinity of Orlando before finding a cheap motel to crash in. But I was so tired and brain-fogged, I only made it a few dozen miles up I-95 before I began to get that nodding-off feeling, so […]

Final Warning: Polls Are Not Elections

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — We now have the final Cook Political Report forecast (“The midterm maelstrom pulling House Democrats under shows no signs of abating”) predicting a pickup of 50-60 House seats for Republicans. That would be a truly historic result, but it’s actually a note of sober caution compared to Jay Cost’s “Hulk smash” forecast: […]

Old School in the New Media: Crime, Scandal & Alyssa Milano Lesbian Kiss

“When I was a kid reporter at the LA Times in the 1960s, some of the veteran photographers and reporters regaled me with tales of how they used to sit in their cars with motors running, radios tuned to the police band, so they could be first on the scene of a gangland slaying or […]