Note: DC Download has now fully merged with Political Fix, so please consult Fix in the months ahead for posts on the goings-on in Washington and Congress.)
WASHINGTON — Roland Burris isn’t the only would-be U.S. senator whose arrival in D.C. will be scrutinized.
Al Franken, a Democrat who left the [...]
WASHINGTON - The man who called gay marriage “morally equivalent to allowing brothers and sisters to marry,” is going to deliver a religious invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in. He described abortion as a “holocaust.”
He’s Rick Warren, the pastor at 20,000-member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, [...]
WASHINGTON - Some of the most generous contributors to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation are world leaders that his wife, Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton, will engage as the nation’s top diplomat.
According to a list of donors released on Clinton’s Web site this morning, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [...]
Will Tom Vilsack represent more than Iowa in Washington?
WASHINGTON — At first blush, Barack Obama’s selection today of Tom Vilsack as Agriculture Secretary seems no great gift to reformers.
After all, Vilsack was governor of Iowa, where farmers received $3.76 billion [...]
WASHINGTON - A turnout rise among African Americans and college-educated youth propelled Barack Obama to a presidential victory and the country to its highest voter turnout since 1960, according to a report released today by voter guru Curt Gans, the head of the Center for the Study of the American [...]
WASHINGTON - Actor Robert Redford lent his celebrity to a coalition of environmental groups Wednesday that announced a lawsuit against the Interior Department to prevent the Bush Administration from auctioning off 110,000 acres of Utah wilderness.
“What you keep getting shocked about is how devious…and in my opinion, basically, morally criminal,” [...]
Ex-Speaker and GOP tactician Newt Gingrich says his party should lighten up on Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON — Should national Republicans be fixated on the relationship, if any, between Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich?
By some accounts, [...]
WASHINGTON — That’s what Barack Obama was told when he asked the White House to let his family move early into Blair House so his daughters could start school on Jan. 5.
So reports the New York Times this afternoon, adding the White House response that Blair [...]
WASHINGTON - The contest is in overtime and challenger Al Franken appears to be on the offensive in his race against Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican, following a pair of rulings by the Minnesota Canvassing Board.
The board recommended the inclusion in all counties of absentee ballots that were unfairly [...]
WASHINGTON - What did we learn about presidential politics at the conclusion of a nearly two-year race that culminated in the election of Barack Obama? Don’t irritate David Letterman, at least that was the lesson learned by Rick Davis, who managed Sen. John McCain’s campaign.
McCain canceled an appearance on the [...]
WASHINGTON - Environmentalists are up in arms today following actions by the White House they believe will weaken and limit the scope of the wildlife protection law.
The move by President Bush eliminates some mandatory, independent reviews that government scientists have performed for 35 years. The findings in the mandatory reviews [...]
WASHINGTON — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is getting it from all sides.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was circulating a letter this afternoon not just insisting that Blagojevich quit but threatening to reject his appointment to to the vacant Senate seat if he chooses to make it.
The [...]
WASHINGTON — Why should folks like me from Illinois be surprised that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning?
Before Blagojevich, a Democrat, took office, three of the previous six elected Illinois governors ended up in the slammer. [...]
Could Matthews help carry out President-elect Barack Obama's agenda as a Senator?
WASHINGTON - In what some view as a negotiating tactic, MSNBC host Chris Matthews is reportedly considering a run for in [...]
WASHINGTON — Look closely, and the driver of that spankin’ new, shiny black Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid might be a U.S. senator.
One named Claire McCaskill, who bought the new ride last week at the height of teeth-gnashing over the auto industry slump and the intrigue over the [...]
The Dallas Morning News reported this afternoon that the president and Laura Bush will be living in this Dallas [...]
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama has yet to take office and he’s already got his own holiday.
Government employees in Perry County, Alabama, will get the second Monday in November off every year to honor the President-elect beginning in 2009. Roughly 40 workers will get the day off - paid.
Albert Turner Jr., [...]
General Motors may need some real appeal to turn public opinion on its bailout request.
WASHINGTON — When Congress reconvenes next week to take up the proposed auto industry bailout, they’ll be contending with [...]
WASHINGTON — There are fewer practices on the planet more destructive than mountaintop removal mining, which has turned swaths of West Virginia into landscapes resembling the underside of the moon.
Coal companies dynamite the tops of mountains to get down to seams of coal, filling valleys with thousands [...]
WASHINGTON - As if there wasn’t already enough to do in the nation’s Capitol.
The undergound Capitol Visitor Center opened today in plenty of time to hit its stride in advance of President-elect Barack Obama’s Inaguration on Jan. 20, when more than 4 million people are expected [...]
Sarah Palin speaking Monday in Georgia
WASHINGTON — ‘Never a truer word is spoken in jest’ comes from Shakespeare, but it may have sounded this morning from Vice-president-elect Joe Biden while joking about his obscurity these days.
Biden — and his boss — [...]
WASHINGTON - When the campaign ends, the giving doesn’t stop.
The transition staff of President-elect Barack Obama today released it’s list of 1,776 donors who have combined to contribute more than $1.17 million to Obama’s White House preparations.
Clayco CEO Robert Clark dug the deepest into his pockets among the 17 Missourians [...]
Norman Coleman, left, is trying to hold off Al Franken of Saturday Night Live fame in this big-bucks contest.
WASHINGTON — We’ve been keeping an eye on the vote [...]
WASHINGTON - File this under only in Washington.
After spending time on the campaign trail, performing songs and introducing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, country singer Hank Williams Jr., a Republican, has decided to run for a seat in the United States Senate in 2012.
Don’t adjust your screens. You read that sentence [...]
Â
WASHINGTON – Big-time farmers fond of snatching subsidy checks out of their their mailboxes could be looking to the markets for more of their profits in an Obama administration.
In his news conference today devoted to economic matters, President-elect Barack Obama pointed to a new investigative report showing that some 2,700 farmers with gross incomes of [...]
Manchester United might need a new name
Update: Two New York City Council members are calling on the New York Mets to name their new ballpark Citi/Taxpayer Field, according to the Associated Press.
Citigroup and the Mets have entered into a [...]
Could Tiger lend GM his birdie?
WASHINGTON - When Tiger Woods can’t even keep a gig, clearly, things aren’t good.
The famed golfer’s nine-year endorsement deal with General Motors will come to an end Dec. 31, the company announced today. The decision to [...]
WASHINGTON — Who will finally win the Minnesota Senate race?
An ex-comedian known for his foul mouth or a guy who spent ten years as a rock ‘n roll roadie?
That would be Democrat Al Franken or Norm Coleman, the incumbent Republican who held a 180-vote lead in recounting as of [...]
WASHINGTON — Reports this afternoon say that Barack Obama’s choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state is a done deal and that Clinton is about to resign her Senate seat.
While there’s no official comment, it looks as though Clinton will be a key player on [...]
Remember this guy?
WASHINGTON - Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Reagan and a host of other conservative talk show hosts are worried. Real worried.
Carrying the torch for the group is Reagan, who is already rallying opposition for the fairness doctrine, something conservatives are concerned will [...]
WASHINGTON - The leader of the free world can’t send emails. As a result, President-elect Barack Obama may have to give up his beloved BlackBerry.
The reason? The Presidential Records Act, which makes all of Obama’s emails public information, including messages like “Sox!” that he sent to friends during the campaign [...]
WASHINGTON - During the primaries she labeled him naive. After he won the nomination, he passed on her when it came time to select his vice president.
But the President-elect Barack Obama-Sen. Hillary Clinton dream team appears to be closer to reality than ever before, with word out of Politico [...]
WASHINGTON — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin will remain as the Senate’s assistant majority leader — and Sen. Joe Lieberman gets to keep his post as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite calls for scalp for aggressively supporting Republican John McCain for president.
So went the Democrats’ [...]
WASHINGTON –Their thrashing in November has Republicans in Congress looking over their shoulders and getting creative, especially those senators up for re-election in 2010.
Thus far, Sens. Christopher “Kit” Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio are the only Republicans to sign on to the proposed auto industry bailout being [...]
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama will record the Democratic address not just on radio but for the first time ever on a video to be posted on YouTube.
The four-minute address is being taped today in the Chicago office where Obama is planning his transition and will be posted on the [...]
WASHINGTON - Americans are patting themselves on the back following the presidential election.
Really.
Nearly two-thirds of voters graded themselves an A or a B for the selection of President-elect Barack Obama, who is enjoying the highest post-election marks in the past 20 years, according to a quadrennial survey by the Pew [...]
WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain moved on from his presidential defeat the same way he started his candidacy - with an appearance on a late night TV talk show.
Nearly two years after announcing is candidacy on “The Late Show,” with David Letterman, McCain spread the wealth by giving his first [...]
WASHINGTON – It won’t be quite that easy. But our friends over at Taxpayers for Common Sense are highlighting the madness in today’s government bailout business by giving us access to the application that the big-money boys use when asking taxpayers to rescue their behinds.
And get this: It’s 2 pages long! [...]
WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee today put up a new web site, RepublicanForAReason.com, to solicit ideas on what the party needs to do to get well.
Somewhat oddly, the anchor of the site is a video about the Republicans’ past — with heroic footage of Ronald [...]
A potential First Dog?
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama called it a “major issue,” in a Friday press conference. A nuanced issue, steeped in morality and maintaining good health and future security.
No, not the War in Iraq or the nation’s still floundering economy.
But a [...]
WASHINGTON — The economy was the dominant issue in the presidential election, and it is likely to remain a dominant story for some time to come.
At the center of that story aren’t corporations or statistics — but people. People like John Rhoades of Warrenton. As his story suggests, the problems [...]
WASHINGTON - Reports out of a meeting between Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggest Democratic retribution against the Sen. John McCain supporter is on the table.
Democrats felt betrayed when Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with their party, spoke on Sen. McCain’s [...]
WASHINGTON - A mere two days after winning the presidency Barack Obama is already facing fastballs thrown high and tight by Republicans.
The party’s leaders are critical of the announcement today that Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel will serve as the White House chief of staff in President-elect Obama’s administration.
“Barack Obama’s first [...]
WASHINGTON - According to The Onion, a satirical newspaper, the election of Barack Obama doesn’t reflect a turning of the page in American history, but instead the electorate’s decision to protect Sen. John McCain from himself.
The presidency, according to the New York-based paper, isn’t the glamorous job it used to [...]
WASHINGTON — There are things that young voters are interested in that a lot of us don’t think about — like the right to have drooping drawers.
And then there are the millenials who look at the world like Joe the Plumber, wondering why to bother making big bucks if Barack Obama plans [...]
WASHINGTON - In the crucial white Catholic voting bloc Barack Obama turned a 13 point deficit to an 8 point advantage in one month, according to a Pew Research Center poll released today.
Other polls show the margin closer, including the Washington Post/ABC News Monday and Tuesday tracking polls that show [...]
WASHINGTON - The campaign of John McCain stuck to its playbook today, criticizing ACORN in its announcement of the hotline it launched to help voters find their polling place and report any irregularities, be it fraud, intimidation or even violence they witness on Election Day.
The “Honest [...]
WASHINGTON - John McCain will be rooting for the Washington Redskins. His opponent, Barack Obama, will throw his support behind the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At least they should.
A member of the Elias Sports Bureau coined the “Redskins Rule,” in 2000. According to Steve Hirdt, if the Redskins win [...]
WASHINGTON -Maybe Fox’s decision to delay Wednesday night’s start of the World Series wasn’t such a bad idea.
The network was one of seven channels to air Barack Obama’s infomercial, making it difficult to miss. According to Nielsen ratings from last night, 21.7% of households watching TV [...]
WASHINGTON — Of course there’s been a load of speculation about Sarah Palin running for the Republican nomination in four years given John McCain’s standing in polls.
Despite her rising negatives in polls, she remains popular in Republican circles and, arguably, she continues to get better after being shoved on to one of the biggest [...]
WASHINGTON — Play ball!
Wait, that’s not a Phillie or a Tampa Bay Ray, that’s Barack Obama. Again.
Will folks tuning in to tonight for what might be the last baseball of ‘08 be irritated to see Obama’s mug?
That’s always a possibility given that Fox is one of seven networks or cable channels where Obama has purchased a [...]
WASHINGTON - Former Missouri Senator John Danforth said in a conference call this afternoon that a new ad by ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) unfairly blames John McCain for 48 years of voter suppression.
“Our reponse (to the commercial) is that any kind of intimidation or suppression is [...]
WASHINGTON -That was just one of the dozens of comedy skits lampooning the players in this presidential campaign.
But who stands to lose the most if Barack Obama wins the presidency on Tuesday? John McCain? Well, yeah.
But how about the late-night comics, from Stephen Colbert to David Letterman, who rule late-night [...]
WASHINGTON — How important is voting this election?
So important that 3-in-4 would try to delay a date to vote and 14 percent would cancel the date altogether.
So important that two-thirds wouldn’t be upset if someone called to say: “Sorry, can’t see you because I have to go vote.”
Everything is about [...]
WASHINGTON - Wanna be on hand when Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain march past the Capitol on Inauguration Day? If so, you’ve got a couple of options.
High school marching bands, vocal ensembles and floats can get secure a spot in the presidential inauguration parade by submitting an application [...]
WASHINGTON — Judging from piles of polls, John McCain hasn’t made a great deal of headway with one of his main closing arguments — that Barack Obama is a socialist at heart committed to redistributing wealth.
In fact, polls show that Obama wins McCain’s tax argument possibly because people are reminded [...]
WASHINGTON - That’s the consensus of a new Pew Research Center poll that shows more Republicans identify themselves as “very happy” than Democrats or Independents.
The poll comes as the crash on Wall Street continues to accelerate, and Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s poll numbers decelerate. In Congress, Democrats have visions [...]
WASHINGTON — You get the sense that if John McCain wasn’t running for president, he wouldn’t speak negatively even about his adversaries.
He’s even been muted about his criticisms of George W. Bush despite the Barack Obama forces unremittingly and often unfairly creating a mythical villain that has become McBush in the minds [...]
WASHINGTON — In an interview today with Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson, Sarah Palin observes that she needs God’s help to deal with the mainstream media.
“You can’t pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful,” she said.
“This is where my faith becomes even more important to [...]
WASHINGTON — Apparently we are, according to a fresh television ad from John McCain featuring various folk, men and women alike, declaring themselves to be Joe.
“Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars of spending?” asserts one of the Joes.
With several national polls showing Obama with a double-digit [...]
WASHINGTON — No, Hillary Clinton isn’t talking about turning 60 years old. She hit that milestone a year ago this month.
What the junior senator of New York wants is 60 Democrats in the Senate, which some analysts say is possible given the GOP’s flagging fortunes of late.
“If we reach 60 Democrats [...]
WASHINGTON - Sounds like a novel idea, right? A well-oiled Democracy?
Or…maybe not.
The Pew Center’s electionline.org produced a 2008 election preview - entitled, “What if we had an election and everyone came?” - that breaks down the problems that could arise nationally if voters, as projected, turnout in record numbers. The [...]
WASHINGTON - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, whose rise to national relevance has provided an abundance of material for Saturday Night Live, helped deliver a ratings coup for the NBC show when she appeared alongside her impersonator on Saturday’s show.
Now, the Republican ticket is hoping to cash in on [...]
WASHINGTON - Buried deep in a new Suffolk University poll of Missouri - which showed John McCain and Barack Obama running neck-and-neck - was a question about whether people had heard of Joe the Plumber.
An overwhelming majority of voters polled said they had heard of the plumber, making the Ohio [...]
WASHINGTON — With so much political news flying around, it’s easy to overlook the significance of Barack Obama’s astounding fundraising success.
He will declare to the Federal Election Commission today that he raised more than $150 million in September, a jaw-dropping number that compounds the Illinois senator’s record-smashing totals for his presidential quest.
David [...]
WASHINGTON — Regardless of how it seems, sometimes these presidential candidates lighten up.
Here are some selected zingers at themselves, one another and a few innocent victims from last night at the annual Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York. Some of them are great:
John McCain:
⢠“[T]his morning, I dismissed my entire team [...]
WASHINGTON - Nearly a month after canceling at the last minute, a candid John McCain choppered to New York last night for a sit down with “Late Show” host David Letterman.
The Republican presidential nominee apologized for skipping out on his previously scheduled visit, saying “I screwed up. Look at all [...]
WASHINGTON - One of John McCain’s repeated debate talking points has caused consternation in the scientific community.
In last night’s debate, McCain laid out his plan to reform the money culture in Washington and painted his counterpart, Democrat Barack Obama, as a big-spending liberal. McCain said Obama has “asked for nearly [...]
WASHINGTON — Business, labor and just about everybody else pays handsomely for the political wisdom of Charlie Cook, known as Washington’s foremost political handicapper.
Cook’s newest predictions surely have the Missouri GOP nervous: Today he moved the race between Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer and Democrat Judy Baker from the lean-GOP category to ”toss-up.” The two are [...]
WASHINGTON — One of John McCain’s strongest moments in last night’s debate was seizing the offensive with regard to an Ohio plumber with aspirations, a fellow named Joe Wurzelbacher.
You probably know this already, but Wurzelbacher is the would-be business owner who approached Barack Obama last week in Ohio to raise concerns [...]
WASHINGTON - The debate over ACORN - which according to Florida election officials registered the Disney cartoon character to vote - rages on as the community activist group spent the morning exchanging messages with the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
The non-partisan group called on McCain to reach out [...]
WASHINGTON — Beginning a critical week in his presidential quest, John McCain told a crowd in Virginia Beach this week that he’s trailing Barack Obama but that things are still fine.
“We’re 6 (percentage) points down. The national media has written us off. Sen. Obama is measuring the drapes and planning [...]
WASHINGTON - Maybe not.
At least according to a national voter protection group, Advancement Project, that released a study Thursday that says several battleground states, including Missouri, are not prepared for all the voters who will decide the next President.
“People are excited about voting in this election, registration and turnout will [...]
WASHINGTON - Insurance giant AIG went through a tough stretch that resulted in government loans totaling $123 billion.
Then, the companies executives did what anyone would do: Vacation! To be precise, a lavish $440,000 mental health trip to a California spa where they played golf and soaked up some sun.
The resort [...]
WASHINGTON — If you think this campaign has gotten flat nasty, you’re on to something.
A day after his campaign aides suggested that John McCain would shift back to the economy and drop the recent offensive begun by Sarah Palin on Chicagoans in Barack Obama’s background, the campaign this morning put [...]
WASHINGTON - The announcement proclaimed: “Of the 300 million people in United States of America, Senator Fitzgerald is the only individual to serve in both the Illinois State Senate with Barack Obama and the United States Senate with Barack Obama and John McCain.”
It didn’t take the fact checkers long to [...]
WASHINGTON â A few hours before the second presidential debate, there were signs that the evening could take a distinctly negative detour.
A little while ago, John McCainâs campaign sent out a short transcript and video of a Time interview with a Barack Obama aide under this [...]
WASHINGTON — Terry O’Sullivan, president of the Laborersâ International Union of North America, will be in Missouri Monday through Wednesday to meet with thousands of union construction workers and talk about the issues at stake in the presidential election.
The union endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President after a lengthy process involving its members, [...]
WASHINGTON – Sarah Palin took some weight off of John McCain’s shoulders last night with a solid debate performance that likely stemmed the growing worries about her competence that have been showing up in polls.
If post-VP debate polls are right, Joe Biden won thanks to his substantive responses, a strong showing buttressed [...]
WASHINGTON–With only about two hours to go before a scheduled second vote on the $700 billion bailout proposal, House Republicans emerged from an early-morning huddle still looking a little shaky on whether they could reach the magic numberâ218âof votes needed for passage.
âWeâre not going to talk about any numbers yet,â [...]
WASHINGTON–Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., will have to miss out on the hottest political event in the country tonightâthe showdown in St. Louis between vice presidential contenders Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden.
Thatâs because Blunt is the House GOPâs bail-out pointman. As the Republicanâs No. 2 leader, Blunt has been saddled with [...]
WASHINGTON — Here, courtesy of Taxpayers for Common Sense, are the Top Ten ”sweeteners” in the Senate-passed bailout bill, otherwise known as the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, that the House might take up tomorrow:
1. Exemption from excise tax for wooden arrows designed for use by children;
2. Seven-year write-off for costs of motorsports racing track [...]
WASHINGTON — More than a few Post-Dispatch readers and folks from coast-to-coast have called or emailed today to note, none too gently, that I failed to include in a mini-profile of Gwen Ifill that she is writing a book about the evolution of African American politics.
I’ve tried to respond to [...]
 WASHINGTON — John McCain’s economic policies would be good for Missouri, with its many small businesses and its reliance on exports, says Nancy Pfotenhauer, an economist who is a senior policy adviser to the McCain campaign.
“From an economic standpoint you couldn’t get two more clearly differing paths,” she said in [...]
WASHINGTON–Sen. Claire McCaskill took a swipe at her Republican colleague, Sen. Christopher âKitâ Bond, Wednesday over his role in the firing of former Kansas City U.S. Attorney Todd Graves.
McCaskill ducked a direct question about a Department of Justice report Monday indicating that Bondâs office pushed for Gravesâ ouster. DOJ [...]
WASHINGTON — A poll out this morning shows that neither Sarah Palin nor Joe Biden is viewed favorably by a majority of Americans — but that voters think Biden will win their debate at Washington University Thursday night.
The Marist poll found that for Palin, the bloom is off the [...]
WASHINGTON — So much for those refrains of Kumbaya wafting up, up, up in the Capitol Dome.
After the financial rescue failed today 228-205 in the House, comments by Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and others made you wonder if Congress can get this close again. Â
Two-thirds of Republicans voted against the bailout, but Blunt and [...]
WASHINGTON — Going into this debate, Barack Obama enjoyed voters’ preference with regard to the economy and several key issues with one notable exception:
On the question of who could best protect the nation against terrorism, voters answer John McCain.
McCain did little to exploit that advantage in the debate’s last question [...]
WASHINGTON — Toward the end of this debate, Obama is putting people to sleep sounding like a world history professor with regard to Russia.
That may wise if he just wants to run out the clock. Is this a tactic or a strategy, senator?Â
“A bit of naivete there,” McCain responds, sounding the realpolitik. [...]
WASHINGTON — That was John McCain, joking to the tune of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann” early in the campaign.
He sounds considerably more moderate tonight while warning of the peril in Iran developing nuclear weapons.
But he says: “What Sen. Obama doesn’t seem to understand that you don’t sit down without [...]
WASHINGTON — In candidate debates, something memorable often happens at this time in the evening.
Nothing here yet.
Keep in mind the basics: You lose debates, but seldom win them. Nothing like that has happened yet.
Secondly, John McCain may need to win this debate given his bad week. Like Barack Obama, he’s [...]
WASHINGTON — You can almost hear the sound of channels switching as candidates warm up on the issue of Iraq, which has dropped to fourth or worse on the public’s radar screen of chief concerns.
But Iraq policy remains a chief difference between Obama and McCain, which amounts to a matter [...]
WASHINGTON — How many ways can these guys duck Jim Lehrer’s question of what will change in their spending priorities after this $700 billion financial rescue gets passed.
Their responses, unfortunately, are restatements of stump speech blurbs.
Obama is smart to note that we’re spending $10 billion a month in Iraq — while Iraq [...]
WASHINGTON — Those are some dense stripes, but I think the problem is in the Post-Dispatch television here in Washington.
A fine and illuminating interchange on taxes 20 minutes into the debate.
Barack Obama did well, noting that American business may indeed have a high tax rate (John McCain wants to lower [...]
WASHINGTON – Fifteen minutes in this debate, I’m wondering if this supposed free-wheeling debate format will work.
Early on, these candidates are behaving like workers tired on a Friday night after a hard week of work.
Barack Obama had to be told to direct his mild criticism directly to John McCain.
McCain responded with humor: “Was he [...]
WASHINGTON — It was a strange announcement, but these are strange days.
At 10:43 St. Louis time, the “suspended” and silent McCain campaign issued a lengthy statement noting the “familiar spectacle” of Washington politicians playing the blame game during this epochal effort to rescue Wall Street.
In the statement, the McCain folks [...]
WASHINGTON — Too early to tell, but both John McCain and the Wall Street bailout look to be floundering.
It’s unprecedented in recent times for presidential politics to become so intertwined with consequential doings in Congress.
But by Thursday evening, the campaign for the White House and the monumental effort to rescue the economy had become [...]
WASHINGTON–One would think Democrats would be relieved the spotlight has shifted away from Alaska Governor and VP nominee Sarah Palin. After all, Palin was sucking up a lot of the political oxygen in the presidential race, even at times seeming to overshadow GOP hopeful John McCain, not to mention knocking [...]
WASHINGTON â Four Illinois legislators, Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama and Reps. Jerry Costello and John Shimkus, are urging U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to review the findings of several Veteransâ Administration investigations of the Marion VA Medical Center for possible criminal violations.
The VA investigations have probed the causes of at least [...]
WASHIINGTON–Blaine Luetkemeyer, the Republican candidate for Missouriâs 9th congressional district, landed in the nationâs capital Tuesday in search of a little financial boost for his hotly-contested House race against state Rep. Judy Baker.
He came at the right timeâjust as lawmakers were considering a $700 billion bailout for failing Wall Street [...]
