PUBLIC MARKS from itsatrap with tag "2008 election"

Exclusive Q&A with writer Taibbi. Snippet - "If and when I ever get to be Interior Minister, one of my first acts is going to be the putting to death of anyone who thinks God interferes in the outcome of things like sporting events and elections. I'd want to have a giant shark tank built expressly for this purpose. Just throw them in there and then dump a couple of barrels of cow blood in the water..."

Imagine you're a State Department official charged with helping formulate our country's policy toward a new government in Africa. As you review the files, you note something odd. Their Constitution grants everyone over the age of 18 the right to vote in national elections - which is good - but it also establishes guidelines for how much those votes count...

Giuliani is definitely the "Teflon Don" of the current presidential campaign, in that even as more and more evidence surfaces about how deeply right-wing his politics actually are, I still run across a baffling number of people who insist that they'd vote for him because of his socially liberal positions, or because he "cut taxes and stopped crime in NYC," or because he looked authoritative and in command on 9/11. Now, a lot of this is just pure mythos...

That's the question on everyone's lips since the porcine political player announced he would be stepping down at the end of August. Of course, the excuse that he wants to spend more time with his family is horse puckey and we all know it--so what's really going on? Is he trying to give Bush political cover if he gets ensnared in one of the many investigations that keep leading back to...

Deliciously cynical ad from "Embrace Diversity '08."

Let's dissect Clinton's pronouncement: "And I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons." The key words are "any" and "use." Senator Clinton seems to be declaring that, deterrence aside, she doesn't rule out preemptive use of nuclear weapons (presumably tactical, or low-yield). This policy was designed by the Pentagon with the blessings of the administration...

It's the Prince of Darkness himself, Bob Novak. How could that be, when Novak has been pimping Fred Thompson for weeks? Well, acquaint yourself with Novak's weird sense of humor. Loathe as I am to link to the Washington Times, it's in their "Fishwrap" (snicker) blog that he is quoted as follows...

It's where we're headed anyway... dynasty leadership. Mecenday has the goods.

Er, the D.C. economy, at any rate. From his latest exclusive newsletter: "[F]ew Americans know that a very small number of Washington-connected families negotiate, appropriate and benefit from large expenditures of taxpayer money on a small number of companies through the earmarking process." Another interesting bit from his latest is his take on the dust-up between Sens. Clinton & Obama at the recent Dem YouTube debate...

New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg says Sen. Barack Obama isn't eligible to be president due to his lack of experience, if this Politico report is to be believed. Incidentally, you may have heard that Bloomberg is also interested in running for president. Being old, rich, and Prince of the City, he's a natural choice over Obama, he might suggest. But the Constitution of the United States list these and only these requirements to be president...

So Bob Novak snidely suggests in his latest political report. Talking about upcoming US Senate races, Novak has this to say about Louisiana, which he feels is the GOP's "best pickup opportunity" in 2008...

Sometimes it's hard to tell, when our old buddy Bob Novak scuttlebutts, whether he's been interacting with actual people or talking to his fist like Señor Wences. And then, if there's good reason to believe he's not winging it on his own, you have to figure out if he's sharing legitimate insider analyses or just passing on Karl Rove's latest crateful of fat red herring to hapless readers. That's what makes him fun to peruse. If we got no-bullshit Bob in his latest political newsletter, then Republicans are in for an even more miserable 2008...

Bob Novak writes in his take on the recent Dem/GOP debates that Sen. Hillary Clinton, whom Novak accidentally identifies as a Republican, "is slow-walking her way toward the nomination, which is often a path leading to defeat." Why defeat? Because Novak reveals that...

A few days ago I mentioned how Bob Novak was hyping Fred Thompson as the hottest candidate in the race for the GOP nomination, and with just cause: Karl Rove has been sticking his electoral feelers out via one of his monkeyboys, and as everyone knows, Karl's sweaty touch is golden. He's also got his fingers in the Giuliani campaign, but methinks with all of Rudy's dirt and skeletons, he'll be relegated to the VP slot on a ticket headed by Reagan-Bot Thompson...

Nattering nabob Robert Novak says in his latest Evans-Novak Political Report that ex-Sen. Fred Thompson is "a strong Republican presidential prospect because of the weaknesses of the GOP's 'big three.'" Bob can rattle off all the distracting nonsense he wants, but he knows the real reasons that Fred Thompson will surely be the Republican nominee are two...

With the latest news that of the current 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, only rantin' grandpa Mike Gravel, kindler gentler racist Joe Biden, and "Peace Gnome" Dennis Kucinich are bothering to show up for Fox's debate in a few months, I'm wondering who the pseudonews network could call on to fill out the seats that Clinton, Edwards, Obama et al. won't be sitting in. A few worthy possibilities came to mind...

None of 2008's crop of Republican presidential candidates bothered to show up for the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral. Were the notable absences due to busy schedules or is it a further indication of the faltering political significance of the religious right? Or were the GOP fatcats anticipating spectacular violence? This just in from ABC News...