May 15, 2008
Republicans Turn to Drugs (Bill Press)
Overshadowed by Hillary Clinton’s big win in West Virginia was a big victory for Democrats in Mississippi.
In Mississippi’s 1st congressional district, Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis in a 62 percent Republican district that George W. Bush carried in 2004 with over 60 percent of the vote. And this transpired even though — or maybe because — Dick Cheney flew to Mississippi and spent election eve campaigning for the Republican candidate.
Poor Greg Davis. Campaigning with Cheney proved almost as dangerous as going hunting with him! > Read More
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What's This May 13, 2008
Beltway Pundits Proven Wrong (Bill Press)
If there's one thing we've learned from this year's primaries, it's this: Don't trust Washington's talking heads.
These are the people who told us, for example, that we would never nominate another senator for president; that the Clintons had the black vote locked up; and that Rudy Giuliani was the inevitable Republican nominee. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
And now, for weeks, the same pundits have been demanding that Hillary Clinton drop out of the race because she's only hurting the party. But the latest Washington Post/ABC poll shows how wrong they are again.
Sixty-four percent of Democrats say Hillary should stay in the race. And 85 percent of Democrats say they're confident the party will unite behind Obama in the fall. > Read More
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What's This May 9, 2008
The Preacher and the Candidate (Bill Press)
Imagine this scenario: A preacher endorses a candidate for president. Then we learn the preacher has, from the pulpit, made inflammatory and un-American statements. Yet the mainstream media totally ignores the preacher's remarks and never pressures the candidate to repudiate them.
Impossible scenario? That depends on whether the candidate’s name is Barack Obama or John McCain — and whether the preacher’s name is Jeremiah Wright or John Hagee. The media’s remained silent about Hagee, even though his public statements are just as outrageous as anything heard from Jeremiah Wright. > Read More
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What's This May 7, 2008
Parting Shot (Bill Press)
She needed a knockout blow. She didn’t get it.
He needed a knockout blow. And he did get it. At least, almost.
Look at it one way: It’s a split decision. Barack Obama, as expected, won North Carolina — but by a much larger margin than expected, given his recent rocky ride with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Hillary Clinton, as expected, won Indiana — but by a much more narrow margin than she wanted — or needed. > Read More
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What's This April 28, 2008
It’s Prom Night in Washington (Bill Press)
It’s as close as Washington comes to the Academy Awards: Saturday night’s 2008 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. And a mediocre time was had by all.
Yes, it’s fun to go, just to witness the scene. But, frankly, it’s a zoo — and it gets more and more ridiculous every year.
What started out as an annual occasion for White House reporters and administration officials to socialize for an evening and raise money for journalism scholarships has degenerated into a race to see which media outlet can attract the most outrageous celebrities. > Read More
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What's This April 24, 2008
The Pennsylvania Tea Leaves (Bill Press)
Give the lady her due. She was outspent, at least 2 to 1, but she soldiered on. She was told to drop out, but she didn’t. She was warned she had to win by double digits, or else — and she did.
After a grueling six-week campaign, Hillary Clinton scored a big win in Pennsylvania, beating Barack Obama by 10 points and picking up an advantage of 12 in pledged delegates.
Does it end the race? No. Barack Obama’s still ahead in total number of delegates, states won and popular vote. He’s still the front-runner. He’s still favored to become the Democratic nominee. But Clinton’s big win in Pennsylvania does change the dynamics of the race significantly. > Read More
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What's This April 22, 2008
In Politics, A Win is a Win is a Win (Bill Press)
I’ve heard a lot of political spin in my life — I’ve even written a book about it — but I’ve never heard any spin as good as what we’re hearing about Pennsylvania.
Turn the dial, on radio and television, and all the pundits are saying the same thing. George Stephanopoulos said it last night on ABC: It’s not enough for Hillary Clinton to win today in Pennsylvania, she has to win BIG. She must win by double digits, or else she might as well lose.
In other words … Even if Clinton wins, she loses. And even if Obama loses, he wins. > Read More
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What's This April 9, 2008
Petraeus Achieves Bush Goal (Bill Press)
If you believe Gen. David Petraeus, we’re making remarkable progress in Iraq, the surge is working, the Iraqi government’s getting stronger, and troops will soon be coming home as promised.
If only it were so. But it’s not. Yes, the surge has helped reduce violence (though not as much as the insurgent cease-fire called by Moqtada al-Sadr), but 30 to 40 Americans are still getting killed every month and there are growing attacks against the Green Zone.
The Iraqi government, in fact, is not getting stronger — as it proved, last week, when it tried, but failed, to take control of Basra. In what George Bush strangely called “a defining moment,” the al-Maliki government, outgunned by al-Sadr, had to call on Iran to stop the fighting. > Read More
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What's This March 31, 2008
Why Should Hillary Drop Out? (Bill Press)
Good for Barack Obama.
Late last week, from prominent Obama supporters, there was a drumbeat of calls for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race. Bill Richardson, Patrick Leahy, Chris Dodd, Dick Durbin and others all chimed in with the same chant: He’s ahead. She can’t win. She’s only hurting the party. She should drop out.
They’re dead wrong, of course. Yes, he’s ahead. But she’s still in the game. Yes, it looks like he’s the winner. But he hasn’t won yet. And you never know what’s going to happen. There’s no more reason for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race than there is for Barack Obama to drop out of the race. > Read More
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What's This March 27, 2008
No Time to Pull Plug (Bill Press)
Welcome to Press’s First Rule of Politics: The longer you’re inside the Beltway, the more disconnected you are from the real world. All those talking heads on television, for example? Ninety percent of them live inside the Beltway — and 90 percent of them only repeat what the other 10 percent are saying.
Remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Washington’s sanctimonious talking heads demanded that Bill Clinton resign the presidency. Meanwhile, out in the heartland, a vast majority of the American people said he should hang in there and fight.
We’re seeing the same disconnect today. Inside the Beltway, most gas bags are insisting that Hillary Clinton must quit the primary, because Barack Obama’s more than 100 delegates ahead of her and Democrats are getting tired of the campaign. > Read More
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