Maniacally Funny Maureen

(Newser) - George W. Bush was in "one of his oddly chipper moods" during his awkward final trip to London, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd observes—but why? Perhaps, she opines half facetiously, "W. simply feels more at home in a monarchy" after years spent confessing to "Torquemada Cheney." Or maybe it's that he got to hang out with Gordon Brown, one of few world leaders "more unpopular than he is." More »

(Newser) - Now that Hillary Clinton is out of the White House picture, it’s Michelle Obama’s turn to be the object of that “sulfurous national game of ‘Kill the witch,’” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times . The fairer Obama can be more prickly than her sunny husband, and dwells more on racial oppression. Websites have already cropped up painting her as another Jeremiah Wright. More »

(Newser) - "What does Hillary want?" Hillary Clinton asked rhetorically last night at her rally in New York. Still a good question, writes Maureen Dowd, since apparently she's not going away anytime soon. Having given her surrogates the green light to push for an Obama-Clinton ticket, the New York Times columnist asks why Hillary is promoting herself for the vice-presidency—"a job she's already had and doesn't want again." More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama may have the nomination all but wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean his electoral problems are over, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times —and feigning indifference that the Mountain State gave him a raspberry last night isn't a winning strategy. If Obama wants to capture these West Virginians in November, he’ll have to fight for them,  the way JFK did "despite raging anti-Catholicism." More »

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has morphed into Scarlett O'Hara, Maureen Dowd writes, while Barack Obama seems to be, weirdly, the idealistic, if naive, self Hillary used to be, before the campaign turned her into a hard-bitten political survivor. “Heaven help the Yankees if they capture you,” Rhett told the willful Scarlett.  "And heaven help the Democrats as they try to shake off Hillary," Dowd writes in the New York Times . More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama is trying his darnedest to shed the elitist vibe, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times, ditching his dainty sips at a Pennsylvania brewery for big swigs of Bud at an Indiana VFW. But for a man of mixed race and a blue-collar upbringing, it’s proving a surprisingly hard image to shake. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama has spent his entire career trying not to be an Angry Black Man, but yesterday Jeremiah Wright forced him to tap his rage, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times . Wright, seemingly among the angriest of black men, had created a full-blown crisis for Obama, forcing the Democrat to commit “a painful form of political patricide.” More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama's sweep of eight primaries in the past four days has put Hillary Clinton on the ropes, and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wonders if women will once again come to her aid as they did in New Hampshire. But the "national seminar on gender and race" that is this year's Democratic primary has a strange tenor: while Obama aims to transcend race, Clinton often tries to use her sex as a tool, or worse, as an excuse, says Dowd. More »

(Newser) - Super Tuesday results highlighted the deep divides between voters on both the Democratic and Republican sides,  Politico points out. Race and gender divided Dems, while the GOP is clearly splitting into hard-line conservatives versus the rest of the party. White women and Latinos went for Clinton, while white men and African Americans widely favored Obama. More »

(Newser) - Think you saw the beginning of a beautiful Dream Team friendship at the last Democratic debate? Think again, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd says: Hillary Clinton has no more desire to be Barack's running mate than he does hers. Why would Hillary want to play second fiddle to a "political natural"—again? And why would Barack want to be Al Gore? More »

(Newser) - Contrary to his claims, Barack Obama did indeed snub his presidential rival Monday, writes the New York Times ' Maureen Dowd—who’s not surprised, given the long, untold tale of Clinton coldness to the Illinois senator. It began when friendly Obama, fresh from revealing he might run, was “brushed off” by Hillary; she’s been “icing” him ever since, and he seems finally fed up. More »

(Newser) - Some Americans are outraged about illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border, but the New York Times' Maureen Dowd thinks that the breech of some financial boundaries are of greater concern. "Who’s going to own the American economy?" she asks, pointing to oil-rich countries taking advantage of the weak dollar to snap up US assets. More »

(Newser) - Caught up again in what she calls the Clintons' "conjugal psychodrama," New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd says there is "panic and perplexity" in the Hillary camp about whether the prospective First Laddie is helping or hurting things. “For the first time since the Marc Rich pardon,” Dowd quotes a Clinton frien