The Other McCain

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

LIVE! AMES STRAW POLL COVERAGE: Fear and Loathing at Hilton Coliseum UPDATE: BACHMANN WINS!

UPDATE 6:41 p.m. ET: AMES, Iowa – Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann has won the Iowa Republican Straw Poll of 2012 presidential candidates. UPDATE 6:47 p.m. ET: Bachmann 4,823 (28.5%) Paul 4,671 (27.6%) Pawlenty 2,293 Santorum 1,657 Cain 1,456 Perry 718 (write-in) Romney 567 Quick analysis — obviously, Pawlenty’s toast. He spent more than a million […]

Dave Weigel on the Undecided Iowans

There is a lot of genuine ambiguity among Republicans here: Romney leaves Pella and makes his way an hour up the road to Des Moines. He’s the honored guest at a Polk County Republican fundraiser at the home of Nick Van Patten . . . Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and other candidates have already been […]

He Only Steals From the Best

NEWTON, Iowa When I showed up at the state capitol Tuesday for the Tim Pawlenty event, T-Paw had already split the scene and I found myself talking to Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle, who explained that Pawlenty had avoided reporters’ questions while making his early exit. Joe and I started talking about the […]

Young Minions of the Sith Lord of Texas UPDATE: Perry Coming to Iowa Sunday

DES MOINES, Iowa For the past several days I’ve been referring to the prospective Rick Perry 2012 candidacy as the “Phantom Menace” looming over the Ames Straw Poll. Today I unexpectedly encountered the menace in the form of perky Texas coeds in burnt orange “Americans for Rick Perry” T-shirts: While I’m usually very much pro-coed — especially […]

Fear and Loathing at the Quality Inn

DES MOINES, Iowa Just got off the phone with Dale Peterson, who’s meeting with agriculture groups — including the Iowa Turkey Federation — on behalf of the Herman Cain campaign today. Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out the logistics for the rest of my trip. Right now, I’m staying at the Quality Inn downtown, which […]

News: Herman Cain Beats Rick Perry and I Just Bought My Ticket to Des Moines

The media don’t much like him, but whenever he gets a chance to meet people one-on-one, he wins: Presidential candidate Herman Cain won the straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver this weekend with 48 percent of the votes, followed by Texas Governor Rick Perry. “How about spectacular,” Cain said to ABC News […]

Ruh-Roh: Rick Perry Staffing Up in Iowa? And What About Sarah Palin? In or Out?

First, the news: The group “Americans for Rick Perry,” which made headlines in the last two days for trying to light a fire for the Texas governor in the form of support at the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa next month, is making hires – including a top former Newt Gingrich staffer, sources told POLITICO. […]

Perry Is A Bad Man Because He Saw What Happened To Palin And Had A Delay Put On Release Of Travel Vouchers. Bad Man!

by Smitty What have we learned since 2008, if not that the former courts of justice have been reduced to an ideological battleground? Unexpectedly, Rick Perry, kicking around a Presidential run, wants to express himself politically without having his travel used as a weapon against him. Many of the trips are unrelated to state business […]

« go back — keep looking »