The Other McCain

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

‘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 […]

What Does This Sentence Mean?

“Base hostility will now be exacerbated by Mitt Romney’s backers now undoubtedly making a conscious effort to prop up Rick Santorum to shut down Newt Gingrich.” — Erick Erickson, Red State Last night I found myself talking to Caleb Howe, who said how much he hated the argument that a vote for Candidate X is […]

SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY RESULTS: Newt Gingrich Stops Mitt Romney’s ‘Inevitability’; Rick Santorum Places Third

CHARLESTON, S.C. The polls just closed and we are at Mark Clark Hall on the campus of the Citadel, where Rick Santorum will have his Primary Night celebration. Santorum today said he would be pleased with a third-place finish and would definitely stay in the race through the Jan. 31 Florida primary. Fox News declared […]

South Carolina Primary Day: Before My Saturday Afternoon Nap in Charleston

The National Affairs Desk, 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Squinting at my computer screen while blogging about Will Folks. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. Last night I lost my temper and blew up at Ben Howe, who was defending Erick Erickson’s pro-Perry bias as if it were an inconsequential thing to be shrugged off, despite its […]

Iowa Republican Party Finally Admits That Rick Santorum Won Jan. 3 Caucuses

CHARLESTON, S.C. Few things in this long and frequently shabby campaign season have been more shabby than the Iowa GOP’s mishandling of the results of their first-in-the-nation caucuses. The state party mistakenly named Mitt Romney the winner on Jan. 3 and, when the final certified tally this week showed that Rick Santorum actually won, Iowa […]

Front Page On The GOP Final Four

by Smitty It’s a good thing that PJTV is pushing Alan Barton to YouTube: The Romney income tax question gets a lot of play here. It’s a stretch to believe that an otherwise carefully crafted campaign is, unexpectedly, getting wrecked on the income tax issue. I highly doubt there is anything surprising in Mitt’s taxes. […]

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