Monthly Archives: October 2010

October 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

The good news from South Dakota

It’s been a while since we last checked in on the race for South Dakota’s congressional seat between incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Republican challenger Kristi Noem. South Dakota native John Hinderaker is tied up with work for the next few weeks, so we turn to Best News and Politics for this update. BNandP reports that Noem has retaken the lead over Herseth Sandlin with less than a month »
October 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Tonight in St. Paul

My friend Teresa Collett is running against the useless incumbent Democrat Betty McCollum in Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District (St. Paul and suburbs). As I have noted here previously, Collett is a brilliant teacher at the University of St. Thomas Law School and a powerful pro-life advocate as well as a person of complete integrity. She has been challenging McCollum to debate for the past few months. Tonight’s the night. This »
October 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

The firing of Juan Williams

Mara Liasson is National Public Radio’s top political correspondent. She also helps hold down the left flank on panels where she appears as a Fox News contributor such as Special Report with Bret Baier. Last year Josh Gerstein reported that NPR management has asked Liasson to reconsider her appearances on Fox News because of what they perceive — in accord with the teaching of the Obama administration — as the »
October 20, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Bad news for Harry Reid

The early voting numbers in Nevada do not bode well for Harry Reid. The numbers come from the state’s two most populated counties — Washoe County (Reno) and Clark County (Las Vegas). Together, they are home to 86 percent of Nevada’s voters. According to Politico, in Washoe County, 47 percent of early voters so far have been Republicans, while 40 percent have been Democrats. Voter registration, though, is evenly split »
October 20, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Show them the money

The Democrats say they are showing it to Hispanics. Hispanic leaders say they aren’t showing enough of it, and that the electoral consequences could be “devastating.” Is this a great country, or what? »
October 20, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Barney the UnReady, part 2

We noted the bizarre intercession of Barney Frank’s boyfriend (James Ready) in Republican challenger Sean Beilat‘s post-debate press event here (video included). Now Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory follows up on the story in “Dude, show some respect.” McGrory goes to Frank for his response: When I called Frank yesterday to ask if he condones his partner goading and mocking an opponent, he told me that “Jimmy” is a talented »
October 20, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Stanley Kurtz’s irresistible book

Due to my immersion in the 1960 World Series, and other, less enjoyable projects, I still haven’t finished Radical-in-Chief, Stanley Kurtz’s political biography of Barack Obama. I’m getting there, though, and I recommend that our readers consider doing the same. Early in the book, Kurtz reminds us of this passage from Obama’s autobiography Dreams From My Father: Political discussions, the kind that at Occidental had once seemed so intense and »
October 20, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Do you think baseball has a pacing problem?

Last night’s game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers (won by Texas 10-3) took four hours and five minutes to complete. This is all-too-typical these days of high scoring playoff games with lots of pitching changes. How long do you think Game 7 of the 1960 World Series (a 10-9 game with plenty of pitching changes) lasted? If you said two hours and thirty-six minutes, you are »
October 20, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Ishmael Jones: On the CIA lawsuit

Ishmael Jones is the pseudonymous former Central Intelligence Agency case officer who focused on human sources with access to intelligence on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. His assignments included more than 15 years of continuous overseas service under deep cover. Mr. Jones is also the author of The Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture, published by Encounter Books. When it was issued in paperback he contributed the »
October 20, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Uncommon Knowledge with Victor Davis Hanson

Last week we posted Peter Robinson’s interview with Victor Davis Hanson. Given our format, the interview rotated off the site after a few days. We’ll have another installment of Uncommon Knowledge next week. In the meantime, here is the interview with Dr. Hanson, once more once, after a brief introduction. Victor Davis Hanson is the prominent classicist and military historian who is the author of numerous brilliant books including The »
October 19, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

A benign Obama blunder, but a scary blunder nonetheless

Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post reminds us of how President Obama sabotaged the Middle East “peace talks.” He did so by insisting on a settlement freeze. For years, the PA had conducted talks with Israel in the absence of such a freeze. But when Obama came to power, suddenly the PA treated settlement construction as an obstacle to talks. Why the switch? Because once Obama demanded a settlement construction »
October 19, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Highway 61 Revisited

Up in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District (northern Minnesota, including the Iron Range and Duluth), 18-term incumbent Democratic porkmeister Jim Oberstar is in the race of his life against Republican challenger Chip Cravaack. The Eighth Congressional District is Democratic territory. No Republican challenger has previously come within shouting distance of Oberstar; he has never won less than 59 percent of the vote. In Duluth today Oberstar met Cravaack for a debate »
October 19, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

The Constitution in the Financial Crisis

Michael McConnell is one of the nation’s leading constitutional law scholars, especially on the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. Until recently, he was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In 2005, McConnell was frequently mentioned (including by us) as a possible nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. McConnell resigned from the federal bench last year to teach at Stanford law school and to »
October 19, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Going, going. . . .

The Washington Post points to a set of polls (see item 5 in the link), conducted for the independent expenditure arm of the National Republican Congressional Committee, that shows Republicans leading in nine battleground districts throughout the country. In all but one case, the trailing Dem is an incumbent. Several of the races are ones we have been following. In Florida’s Eighth Congressional District, Dan Webster leads the despicable Rep. »
October 19, 2010 — Scott Johnson

The return of Bill Clinton

Clinton’s never really gone away, but he has returned as the Democrats’ most popular campaigner this year. In Jay Nordlinger the return of Bill Clinton has induced that old Clinton feeling: Watching Bill Clinton on the campaign trail this year has brought back the revulsion I once felt, those years ago, when Clinton was president. The bullying, the arrogance, the dissembling, the lying, the defaming. The refusal to regard Republicans »
October 19, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Strong shots and long shots: Last call, maybe

Given that we’re just two weeks out from election day, I think this may be our last edition of these glimpses of Republican challengers to Democratic incumbents in congressional races around the country. But don’t hold me to it! We have only skimmed the surface noting some of the many outstanding candidates who have undertaken these races, even races that appear to be missions impossible. I think, for example, of »
October 18, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

The most dramatic baseball game ever played, Part Five — sudden victory

Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dick Stuart was already in the on-deck circle, ready to bat for Harvey Haddix. If the score remained 9-9, Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell presumably would pitch the tenth inning. Mazeroski has aptly been described as the perfect hero for Pittsburgh. He had grown up in nearby Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of a »