The Real Father of the Modern Presidency

At long last, a reason to fight, says Dana Milbank

(NEWSER) - President Obama's debt-reduction tax-the-rich plan may be unrealistic and "highly partisan," but it's thrilling, declares Dana Milbank in the Washington Post . At last, "the president hasn’t conceded the race before the starter’s gun, hasn’t begun a game of strip poker in his boxer shorts," he notes. For once it was "refreshing to see the president delivering a speech that appealed to the heart rather than the cerebrum." The "class warrior" presented a choice: "Either ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes," or turn to the less fortunate to pick up a bigger burden. More»

It's turning her off to politics

(NEWSER) - American political hate-mongering has reached such a fervor that for the "first time" in her life Meghan McCain is finding herself "disillusioned with the political process—something I swore would never happen to me," she writes in the Daily Beast . She's angry, too, about political decisions, but "I believe we can discuss our differences with respect," she adds. It's "almost as if to be taken seriously in politics, a certain level of anger and incivility is required." When she presses for compromise, she's attacked as an "Obama zombie," she complains. More»

Weird doings with Hillary, Huck and a chucked shoe

(NEWSER) - Oh-eight was a banner year for politics, and half the time it was a really strange banner. Politico looks back on the weirdest moments in a topsy-turvy year.

• Mike Huckabee holds a news conference to announce he won’t run a negative ad, then plays the ad for everyone.
• Desperate for blue collar cred, Hillary Clinton awkwardly downs a whiskey shot in an Indiana bar.
• San Francisco tries to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush.

(NEWSER) - John McCain is disappointed that longtime friend Colin Powell didn't even call him before backing Barack Obama, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. McCain didn't like Powell's criticism of Sarah Palin, either. "I wished he had taken the opportunity to meet Governor Palin," McCain said. "I'm proud to have four former secretaries of state endorse me and over 200 admirals and generals who are retired support me." More»

Dirty campaigning has always been a feature of American democracy

(NEWSER) - The 2008 presidential race is getting rough, but the combatants look well-mannered compared to mudslingers of the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was called an “infidel” and an “unbeliever,” while John Adams was accused of possessing a “hideous hermaphroditical character.” Although “everybody always assumes there was a golden age of presidential campaigning,” one historian tells the Washington Post, US politics have always been dirty. More»