The Other McCain

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

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 […]

Muslim Calls Republicans ‘Extremists’; Muslim Extremist Attacks U.S. Embassy

Those doggone extremists! October 28th, Tampa Bay Online posts a column by Hassan Shibly, J.D., a Muslim activist and the executive director of CAIR-Tampa, calling Adam Hasner and Allen West extremists. A few hours after this column is posted a Muslim gunman, in Sarajevo, Bosnia opens fire on the American embassy. . . . According to […]

Cain Debuts Radio Ad, Picks Florida Team

Sunshine State Sarah picked up this news from the St. Petersburg Times: Look for an announcement soon about some top-tier political talent joining Herman Cain’s Florida campaign team. Statewide chairs: Former St. Petersburg Mayor (and Mitt Romney supporter) Rick Baker; former State Sen. (and expected Rick Perry supporter) Carey Baker; former Jeb Bush chief Kathleen […]

Nevada Sets Caucus Date for Feb. 4, Averting December Primary in N.H.

Florida set off a predictable chain reaction by jumping its primary to Jan. 31, and one consequence was the threat by New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner to move that state’s primary to as early as Dec. 6. The problem was that Iowa had moved its caucuses (originally scheduled Feb. 6) to Jan. 3, […]

Savage Weirdness at Final Boarding: Did Team Perry Put the Blame on Rubio?

The National Affairs Desk, in the smoking lounge at Dulles International Airport, 1:10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Less than hour until final boarding for my flight to LAX en route to Vegas, and no time to waste on trivia now. While I was checking in the one-way rental car ($164), I […]

Fear and Loathing (and, Yes, Sweet Vengeance) On the Road to Feb. 1, 2012

 Today’s the day I fly off to Las Vegas to cover Tuesday’s crucial Republican presidential debate. It’s a long flight from Dulles to LAX, then a four-hour layover before I catch the plane to Vegas. I’ll be crashing in Barbara Espinosa‘s suite at the Sands, while Smitty and Wombat — both of them got their […]

462 Days Until Jan. 20, 2013

Inauguration Day, when four long years of endless misery known as the Obama presidency come to an end. And I’m counting the days. It’s 79 days until Jan. 3: The Iowa GOP caucuses. And it’s 107 days until the Jan. 31 Florida primary. To give you a sense of proportion, it’s been 72 days since […]

From the Future Ambassador to Vanuatu

Feb. 17, 2010: When we first met by accident in an elevator at CPAC, Marco Rubio said to me, ‘Hey, your camera’s pink.’ After the events of this afternoon, I e-mailed my American Spectator story (about Marco Rubio denying my Thursday exclusive) to a fellow journalist. He replied, “My guess is that you were right […]

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