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Political Commentary

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May 8, 2008

Obama's Vice-President By Gerald M. Pomper

Virginia Senator James Webb should be the Democratic candidate for vice-president.

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May 8, 2008

McCain's Vice President? Mitt Romney As Running Mate By Kathryn Jean Lopez

For Mitt Romney, the suspension of his campaign at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference two days after Super Tuesday marked the beginning of a new and promising campaign.

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May 8, 2008

A Perfect Calm for John McCain By Froma Harrop

John McCain has used these weeks of Republican calm to dive into the Democratic lunch pail. This strategy clearly assumes a Barack Obama candidacy.

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May 8, 2008

Hillary Plays the Crazy Card By Joe Conason

In this protracted and often dispiriting prelude to the general election, few remarks have been as poorly chosen as Sen. Hillary Clinton's threat to "totally obliterate" Iran.

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May 8, 2008

Obama: Flawed or Fantastic? By Robert Novak

Buyer's remorse was beginning to afflict supporters of Barack Obama before Tuesday's primary election returns showed he had delivered a knockout punch against Hillary Clinton.

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May 8, 2008

Rockstar? By Susan Estrich

Rockstar is the name of the company that is rolling wheelbarrows of money to the bank this week, projected to rack up something on the order of $400 million in revenue from the sale of six million copies of its newest video game sensation, Grand Theft Auto IV.

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May 6, 2008

Cosby Is the Real Prophet, Not Wright By Froma Harrop

Jeremiah, you're no Jeremiah. Although Barack Obama's controversial former pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright puts himself at the center of a prophetic tradition of the Afro-American church, he's not much of a prophet.

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May 5, 2008

Czar Nancy's Rule By Robert Novak

Operating outside public view, the House Democratic majority is taking extraordinary steps to maintain spending as usual while awaiting a Democrat as president.

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May 3, 2008

Bush's "R" Is for "Right" By Lawrence Kudlow

President George W. Bush may turn out to be the top economic forecaster in the country.

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May 3, 2008

Wright Controversy Affects the Polls By Michael Barone

Is the bottom falling out for Barack Obama? It's too early to say that, but there are some disturbing signs. On the positive side, superdelegates still are breaking his way.

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May 3, 2008

GOP Loves Earmarks By Robert Novak

A recent secret survey of the House Republican minority by the party's whip organization showed a two-to-one margin opposed to imposing a moratorium on earmarks.

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May 2, 2008

How John McCain Will Lose This Election By Susan Estrich

There's a lot of talk lately about how John McCain might just be the luckiest guy in America, what with the Democrats still fighting among each other, the Rev. Wright proving that friends can be worse than enemies, and Republicans swallowing their doubts about their about-to-be nominee and giving their support to a guy many conservatives can barely stomach. No doubt, he's one lucky fella.

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May 2, 2008

The Incredible Shrinking Republican Base By Alan Abramowitz

Discussions of the current political situation and comparisons between the 2008 election and earlier contests frequently overlook a crucial fact. As a result of changes in American society, today's electorate is very different from the electorate of twenty, thirty, or forty years ago.

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May 1, 2008

Solving the Pastor Problem? By Robert Novak

That is just terrible, absolutely dreadful," a prominent supporter of Barack Obama said Monday morning after listening to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's screed at the National Press Club.

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May 1, 2008

Old Math, New Math, and the Dispute Over the "Popular Vote" By Larry Sabato

Give Hillary Clinton credit. She has shown toughness, stamina, and persistence in one of the longest presidential campaigns in American history.

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May 1, 2008

Why Celebrate Rev. Wrong? By Joe Conason

As the Rev. Jeremiah Wright gleefully tours the airwaves, inflicting severe political damage with almost every utterance, he is proving that racism isn't the only obstacle to a black president.

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May 1, 2008

The Change That Can't Be Changed By Froma Harrop

The Serenity Prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, hangs on countless American walls. I grew up with it. Whatever the reader's religious belief, or lack thereof, the prayer packs a world of comfort in a few simple lines.

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April 30, 2008

It Takes a Village By Susan Estrich

Hillary Clinton has been much mocked over the years for arguing that it takes a village to raise a child. On the other hand, she was right, at least some of the time.

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April 29, 2008

Codependent Addicts: States and Casinos By Froma Harrop

Loath to tax the citizenry based on income, many states have increasingly turned to cigarette smokers and gamblers for revenues. Gamblers are often smokers, and both groups tend to be of modest or low income.

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April 28, 2008

Disobeying the Pope By Robert D. Novak

In the aftermath of the visit by Pope Benedict XVI, a troublesome question is asked by traditional Catholics: Did American pro-choice politicians receiving Communion at the papal masses indicate a softening on the abortion question by the pope?