Liberal Talk Radio

I agree with this Ezra Klein post 100%: But if Obama is going to be the transformational, Reagan-style pol he presents himself as, he’s going to have to grow comfortable speaking positively of the role of government, and selling some of his initiatives as good ideas worth paying for. It’s worth it to have effective [...]

The Hollywood Reporter has a hilariously biased piece on Rick Boucher, who would succeed Rep. Howard Berman on the House subcommittee on intellectual property (Berman is a Hollywood ally): Succession is less clear at the copyright subcommittee as the next in line there is Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher is a long-term advocate of expanding [...]

Don’t look now, but President Bush (Remember that guy?) is going to give his last(?) State of the Union address on Monday. With all the economic turmoil today, it’s pretty clear what he’s going to talk about, but the real question is just how little coverage it will get with the Democratic primary in South [...]

Josh Patashnik has some interesting thoughts on where we are and where we might be going in the post-bipartisan era.

The Politico has a story today alleging that our own Patty Murray, the preschool teacher-turned-Senate-powerhouse, may be staging a coup of sorts on the Senate Appropriations Committee, making 90-year-old Robert Byrd the “chairman emeritus,” and herself “acting chairwoman.” Sopranos fans will immediately recognize the scenario from Season 1, where Tony puts Junior at the top [...]

The Professor isn’t the only member of the media elite who has to suffer on Northwest Airlines’ narrow-body 757s. The New Republic’s Frank Foer welcomes us aboard “Conventional Wisdom One”: When I journeyed to Des Moines last night, I hopped a flight that should rebrand itself Conventional Wisdom One. It is the lone direct flight [...]

Even though Gates turned it down, this seems sort of significant: Senior Defense Department officials said Mr. Gates met at the Pentagon on Friday with Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, and received a formal proposal that would shift Marine forces from Anbar Province and deploy them in Afghanistan. The proposal was based [...]

Isn’t it a bit absurd that, in the year 2007, politicians can still skip out on a vote simply by not being in Washington DC? I mean really, is it that hard to phone in your vote, or email it via your Blackberry? Why must you be physically on the Senate floor? Secure satellite phone? [...]

This is a big deal. I really thought it would come apart at the last minute infighting, but there you go: something gets done. Bush will probably veto, but that’s besides the point. Just one more reason he’ll look like a bad president in 30 years.

Next to the MCAs, the next biggest “accomplishment” of the Bush Administration will be having shown by example just how incompetent government can be. This is a feature, not a bug, remember! Apparently the State Department has thrown so much money into training Iraqis, and with so little results, that they had to give up [...]