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Political Commentary

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May 24, 2008

The Rev. Wright Connection Still Haunts Obama By Michael Barone

As Barack Obama makes his slow but steady way toward the Democratic nomination, the assumption in the admiring precincts of the press corps is that voters have dismissed as irrelevant his longtime association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

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May 24, 2008

Warner for VP? By Robert Novak

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a strong favorite to be elected to the Senate this year, has told associates that he is being considered as Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate. He did not indicate whether he would be receptive to such an offer.

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May 22, 2008

Democrats Should Be More Democratic By Froma Harrop

There was unfortunate symbolism in Barack Obama's choice of Des Moines as the place to celebrate his delegate milestone on the day of the Kentucky and Oregon primaries.

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May 22, 2008

McCain's Shocking Discovery By Joe Conason

Disturbed by troubling connections and unflattering publicity, John McCain has just purged several prominent Washington lobbyists from his presidential campaign. Surely his intentions are laudable, but if Sen. McCain is consistent in ridding his campaign of such compromised people, he will find himself riding lonesome on the Straight Talk Express.

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May 22, 2008

McCain, Not Disarmed By Robert Novak

When one of the Democratic Party's most astute strategists this week criticized John McCain for attacking Barack Obama's desire to engage Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I asked what the Republican presidential candidate ought to talk about in this campaign.

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May 21, 2008

GOP Senate Massacre of '08 By Dick Morris

While Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hangs in there, locked in a tough race with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Republican undercard is facing obliteration in the 2008 general elections for the Senate.

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May 21, 2008

The Kennedy Family By Susan Estrich

That's what we are. I don't just mean the real Kennedys, the people who are related to what will always be, for my generation, the closest thing America has to royalty.

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May 20, 2008

The Marriage Debate We Ought to Have By Froma Harrop

The new California court decision advancing gay marriage will reignite "the debate," the headlines read. What impact will the issue have on the presidential campaigns?

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May 19, 2008

GOP Drinking Its Bath Water By Robert D. Novak

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, at age 38 and having served less than five terms, did not leap over a dozen of his seniors to become ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee by bashing GOP leaders.

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May 19, 2008

Support for Clinton as Independent Candidate Not Surprising By Douglas Schoen

Hillary Clinton's support as an Independent candidate in a hypothetical 5-way Presidential race should not come as a surprise.

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May 18, 2008

Obama: Wrong on Iran By Dick Morris

President Bush is absolutely right to criticize sharply direct negotiations with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Barack Obama’s embrace of the idea of direct negotiations is both naïve and dangerous and should be a big issue in the campaign.

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May 17, 2008

Striking Out on Energy By Lawrence Kudlow

President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain went to bat on energy policy this week. And guess what? They both struck out.

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May 17, 2008

An Unconventional 2008 Election Season By Michael Barone

What makes this presidential election different from all other presidential elections? And different from what we expected when the year began?

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May 17, 2008

Hillary's Spending By Robert D. Novak

Agents for Sen. Hillary Clinton, trying desperately to keep alive her presidential campaign, are privately telling Democrats that she is so "tight" with a dollar that she would not continue her contest against Sen. Barack Obama if she did not have a chance to win.

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May 16, 2008

NARAL's Choice By Susan Estrich

A few years ago, the National Abortion Rights Action League, as it was then called, or NARAL for short, changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America.

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May 15, 2008

Obama's Next Challenge: Turning Primary Losses Into Electoral Votes By Rhodes Cook

As Barack Obama prepares to move from the primary to the general election phase of the 2008 presidential election, he faces a new challenge which combines both - to bring many of the states where he suffered primary losses this winter and spring into the Democratic column this fall.

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May 15, 2008

Hillary Clinton as Independent Candidate for President? By Douglas Schoen

In a poll released by Rasmussen Reports yesterday, 29% of Democrats say that Hillary Clinton should run for president as an Independent, if she does not win the Democratic Party nomination.

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May 15, 2008

This is Not Your Father's (Or Mother's) Democratic Party By Alan Abramowitz

Forget about soccer moms and NASCAR dads. The key voting bloc in 2008 is the white working class. According to the new conventional wisdom of American politics, the presidential candidate who can win the support of white working class voters will have the inside track on becoming the next president of the United States.

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May 15, 2008

In Rehab: Sweet Things About Slowdown By Froma Harrop

The morning after overdoing it, some of us take pleasure in the cleansing process. The carrot juice goes down smoothly, and a simple walk feels virtuous. One vows to exert more self-control and give yoga another try.

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May 15, 2008

Cindy McCain Flaunts Her Privilege By Joe Conason

Double standards are endemic in American journalism. But Cindy McCain, wife of the Republican presidential candidate, displayed poor taste in flaunting her family's special immunity from press scrutiny.