Special Coverage: Election 2008

Memo to Obama: Moving to the Middle is for Losers

Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post. July 5, 2008.
Realpolitik is one thing. Realstupidpolitik is quite another.

From the blogs

Fox News Has Celebrity McCain Endorser Stephen Baldwin Make Fun of Celebrity Endorsements

by Isaac Fitzgerald, The Young Turks

To use a rather articulate quote from Baldwin: "That's the most stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life."

Banana-gate: McCain Backer's Firm Pleaded Guilty To Funding Terrorist Group In Colombia

by Nico Pitney, Huffington Post

Former Chiquita CEO oversaw $1.7 million payoff to right-wing paramilitary group.

Obama Outlines Faith-Based Agenda

by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report

Like Bush's plan, only more constitutional...

John McCain Pledges to Either Torture, or Not Torture

by Booman, Booman Tribune

Candidate may have accused president of torture, or pledged to torture. No one cares.

John McCain Campaigns on GI Bill He Opposed

by Isaac Fitzgerald

McCain does the flip-flop shuffle.

Obama Supporters Organize to Protest Candidate's Stance on Spying

by Ari Melber

Concerned netizens taking the fight to campaign's official website.

Peggy Noonan: John McCain Needs to Insult More Female Campaign Staffers

by Roy Edroso, Alicublog

Candidate called his spokeswoman a bipolar drug-dealing drunk, charms press.

John McCain Meets With Gay Republicans (In Secret, of Course)

by Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks

"Secretly I don't hate you as much as I tell the evangelicals I hate you, but I still kinda hate you. Is that ok?"

A Closer Look at the DC Handgun Ruling

by , Huffington Post

Silver lining for liberals: Upholding the ban would have been "massive in kind campaign contribution" to John McCain.

John McCain Jokes: "And I Stopped Beating My Wife..."

by Lindsay Beyerstein

Candidate tries to deflect question about divorcing Nevada governor with spousal abuse gag.

Obama Runs to the Middle

Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate. July 3, 2008.
What should progressives do about Obama's move to the center?

World Yawns at McCain's Coalition of Democracies

Melinda Brouwer, AlterNet. July 2, 2008.
Creating a "League of Democracies" is a central tenet of John McCain's foreign policy "vision," but in other democracies, the idea's a non-starter.

Republican Campaign Against Likely Democratic Voters Begins

Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. July 2, 2008.
The GOP’s latest accusations are long on rhetoric but short on facts.

Inside Obama's Christian Crusade

Max Blumenthal, TheNation.com. July 2, 2008.
Obama has made a major effort to woo evangelicals, but at what cost to church-state separation?

The Strange Journey of Larry Johnson

David Weigel, The American Prospect. July 1, 2008.
The former CIA officer has morphed from defender of Valerie Plame to crazed purveyor of a debunked Michelle Obama rumor. What happened?

The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency

Brad Reed, AlterNet. July 1, 2008.
A shorter version of our long national nightmare.

Are Obama's Supporters Getting a Centrist Candidate They Never Bargained for?

Paul Krugman, The New York Times. July 1, 2008.
We could -- and still might -- do a lot worse than a rerun of the Clinton years. But Mr. Obama’s most fervent supporters expect much more.

McCain the Reformer? You've Got to Be Joking

Ari Berman, The Nation. July 1, 2008.
The level of John McCain's ties to lobbyists has reached dizzying proportions.

Nader Plays the Race Card

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet. June 30, 2008.
Nader holds Obama to a different standard than he holds McCain or any other white mainstream politician; a standard based solely on his color.

Women Have the Voting Power to Control This Election

Martha Burk, Ms. Magazine. June 30, 2008.
The economy, war, the health care crisis and tax policies all affect women differently than men. And women have the power to change them all.

10 Things You Should Know About McCain Advisor Charlie Black

Jon Ponder, Pensito Review. June 30, 2008.
Black was an early innovator of the GOP attack machine, and a very successful lobbyist and political strategist in the Reagan and Bush eras.

Would President Obama Keep Bush's Secretary of Defense?

Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation. June 29, 2008.
Raising eyebrows over his Iraq approach, a new report suggests Obama could recruit none other than Robert Gates if he becomes commander-in-chief.

Immigration Hard-Liners and John McCain: Strange Bedfellows or Forever Star-Crossed?

Jordan Michael Smith, AlterNet. June 28, 2008.
McCain was the anti-immigrant movement's least favorite candidate and now they face a hard choice: support him or sabotage their party.

Progressives and Netroots Feeling Abandoned as Obama Tacks Rightward

Jason Rosenbaum, Sam Stein, Huffington Post. June 28, 2008.
Two Huff Po. articles consider the frustration and anger from progressives and the Netroots concerning Obama's rapid shift to the center.

Obama v. McCain: What Do Iraqis Think?

Ahmed Ali, Dahr Jamail, IPS News. June 27, 2008.
While some Iraqis cautiously look towards Obama, many believe neither candidate will withdraw from Iraq anytime soon.

Would President Obama be More Clintonian than Rooseveltian?

David Michael Green, AlterNet. June 27, 2008.
Obama remains enigmatic, and progressives are wondering how he would govern as president.

The Candidates' Wives Face Media Sexism

Lisa Witter, Newsday. June 27, 2008.
The media bring us the most important issues of election 2008: which candidate's wife bakes, cleans and most closely resembles Jackie-O.

Obama's Draconian New Death Penalty Stance

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. June 27, 2008.
In a reactionary political calculation, Barack Obama comes out in support of the death penalty for child rape.

Party Crashing: How the Facebook Generation Does Politics

Courtney E. Martin, AlterNet. June 26, 2008.
Author Keli Goff on how today's youth -- black youth in particular -- choose their leaders. Hint: It's not by skin color or party affiliation.

A Hidden Agenda: John McCain and the International Republican Institute

Sarah Hamburger, Council on Hemispheric Affairs. June 26, 2008.
The senator's ties to the infamous quasi-governmental organization require far greater scrutiny.

The Real Pro-Life Candidate

Cristina Page, RH Reality Check. June 25, 2008.
It's pro-choice policies that result in dramatic declines in the need for abortion, and it's the pro-choice candidates who truly value life.

Obama Goes Soft on Free Trade

John Nichols, TheNation.com. June 25, 2008.
Obama campaigned against NAFTA during the primaries. Now he's backpedaling and reassuring Wall Street about that same policy.

Obama's Clearest Path to the Presidency: Talk About Wages

David Sirota, Creators Syndicate. June 24, 2008.
If Obama counters the GOP's race-baiting by promoting working-class interests and a fairer trade agenda, he will win the White House.

Abuse of the Filibuster: Republicans Play Dirty 'Block and Blame' Game

Christopher Moraff, The Philadelphia Tribune. June 23, 2008.
It works like this: Republicans hijack the Senate, block important legislation, then complain nothing is getting done.

Americans Disenfranchised Again

Tad Daley, AlterNet. June 23, 2008.
No instant run-off voting? No national popular vote? And this is democracy?

Feminists for McCain? Not So Much.

Katha Pollitt, The Nation. June 23, 2008.
The media claims McCain is a moderate, but voters who care about women's rights won't fall for it.

Can the Media Deal With Michelle Obama?

Megan Garber, Columbia Journalism Review. June 21, 2008.
The media is pushing hard on the boundaries between being a life partner and being a political partner.

McCain's Incoherent Environmentalism Is a Sign of Larger Problems

Lester Feder, Huffington Post. June 20, 2008.
McCain's recent flip flop on off-shore oil drilling shows his campaign's efforts to define the 2008 election narrative are in disarray.

It's Time for a Radically Different View of Patriotism

Ira Chernus, AlterNet. June 20, 2008.
Republicans do not own the rights to this word. Obama has an opportunity to change how we think about patriotism. Will he take it?

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