The Other McCain

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

Can Mitt Be Stopped? ‘A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Romney Inevitability’

“The final tally in the New Hampshire primary showed Rick Santorum clinched fourth place and Newt Gingrich took fifth, according to the New Hampshire secretary of state. “Throughout late Tuesday night and early [Wednesday] morning when the votes were tallied, Gingrich had been fourth, but Santorum overtook him, beating him by just 138 votes, with […]

Campaign-Induced Tourette’s Syndrome

‘The Phantom Menace’ in Des Moines, Iowa, Aug. 9, 2011 “Perry’s decision to make his announcement in South Carolina was widely viewed at the time as a genius move that would lock down his support in a crucial early primary state, and once he emerged as the most viable conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, Perry […]

Governor Zombie Stumbles Relentlessly Toward Humiliation in South Carolina UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh Compares Perry ‘Vulture’ Attack to Fidel Castro

While I was in Iowa, a source told me that suspicions about Rick Perry’s weak debate performances being caused by back pain — which I had first reported Sept. 23 — were essentially correct. At one point, said the source, the governor had been prescribed oxycontin for the pain, but when his advisers realized that this […]

Rick Santorum Adds Staff, Offices, Money and Key Endorsement in South Carolina

Rick Santorum brought his surge to South Carolina yesterday: Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign announced yesterday that it was opening “five new campaign offices to supplement its existing South Carolina headquarters in Mt. Pleasant, SC.” The new offices are in Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg, Rock Hill and Columbia. “We feel very confident … that the voters are […]

Rick Santorum Distances Himself From Newt’s Lefty ‘Hit Job’ on Mitt Romney

Newt Gingrich’s “super PAC” has unleashed its 27-minute documentary about Bain Capital, When Mitt Romney Came to Town, which a Daily Kos blogger calls a “hit job” that “you’d expect from a lefty operation.” It’s as if Newt hired Michael Moore. Avowed lefty Steve Benen calls it “devastating”: Desperate to gain some traction in South Carolina, Rick Perry has […]

Rick Perry Has Replaced Jon Huntsman in the Coveted ‘Gov. Asterisk’ Position

Marginal poll numbers, yet deemed debate-worthy: According to CNN’s criteria for inclusion, a candidate must get at least 4th place in either Iowa or New Hampshire, or get 7% support in at least three national Republican or three South Carolina primary polls released in January. The requirements were posted online last Tuesday afternoon, several hours […]

Desperate Hours in the Hawkeye State

JOHNSTON, Iowa Republican voters are getting bombarded with robocalls all over Iowa. Last night, I talked to the night clerk at my hotel here. She’s a mother of three and a Republican, an undecided voter who isn’t even sure she’ll attend her precinct caucus tonight in Grimes. She told me she’s getting calls at home […]

Shorter Ace: ‘Bitches Lie’

A grossly unfair oversimplification of Ace’s argument? Sure. But in a multi-candidate Republican primary campaign where everybody’s cutting each other to ribbons, who can complain — if anyone even notices — when I gratuitously play the sexism card? And isn’t Ace calling the lady a liar? Michele Bachmann lives in a strange world. People talk about “moral relativism.” […]

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