Why There’s Still Space—and Time—For Another GOP Contender
Why a Two-Horse Race Is a Problem for Mitt Romney
Neither Rick Perry nor Mitt Romney should have been surprised by a single serious question during Thursday night’s clunker of a debate sponsored by Fox News and an obtrusive Google promoting word clouds and grainy average-citizen videos. But the obviousness of the questions (“Governor Perry … where is your jobs plan?”) meant that viewers were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the briefing books of the leading candidates as they gave their scripted answers. READ MORE >>
The Idiot Box
It was a self-inflicted, eye-glazing marathon—50 hours in late August spent watching a full sampling of the Fox News lineup. Looking back, it seems like a nine-day hallucination of strident voices, blonde hair, and more pitchmen hawking gold coins than at any time since the heyday of King Midas. READ MORE >>
The Debate in Tampa: How Perry's Rivals Are Perfecting Their Attacks on the Frontrunner
CNN’s over-produced, odd-couple alliance with the Tea Party produced an unexpected result—the first “Not So Fast, Governor Perry” debate. READ MORE >>
Rick Perry’s Ponzi Scheme Debate
In his inaugural presidential debate, Rick Perry had a choice. He could have emulated sports heroes like Charles Barkley in 1991 and Terrell Owens in 2006 and claimed that he was misquoted in his own autobiography. READ MORE >>
How the Deck Was Always Rigged Against Tim Pawlenty
[Guest post by Walter Shapiro] Tim Pawlenty’s formal presidential campaign lasted less than 100 days—a stunning, scandal-free collapse for a man who, until recently, was considered a top-tier GOP contender. But even though Pawlenty flamed out with a weak third-place showing amid the vote-buying, corn-dog hokum of Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll, there was a sense of inevitability to his political demise. READ MORE >>
How Mitt Romney Outlived His Greatest Weakness
With enough political reporters in Iowa to cover both the Lindbergh kidnapping and the O.J. Simpson trial, Thursday night’s GOP debate had to be a defining moment, a game-changer so epic that it will shimmer in memory like Ronald Reagan. Yeah, sure. READ MORE >>
The Utter Meaninglessness of the Debt Ceiling Deal
Twenty-six years ago—as part of the price for raising the federal debt ceiling to a shocking $2 trillion—Congress, in a wave of fiscal self-flagellation, approved the Gramm-Rudman bill. If a spendthrift Congress failed to meet prescribed deficit targets, then Gramm-Rudman would slice the budget with the across-the-board subtlety of Sweeney Todd. READ MORE >>
The Corn Ultimatum
On August 13, the Iowa State campus in Ames will become the center of the political universe, as thousands of Republicans participate in what is frequently ballyhooed as the season’s most important campaign event. The GOP activists will wolf down free barbecue, enjoy musical acts, watch their children be diverted by clowns, cheer political speeches, and cast ballots in a mock election designed to preview next February’s Iowa caucuses. READ MORE >>
