Paul Glastris

TORTURED LOGIC.. It’s hard to know which of the many, many cases of Bush administration incompetence is the most mind-bendingly awful. Ignoring eight months of warnings about al Qaeda until September 11? Actively misreading and misrepresenting the intel on Iraq’s WMD? Failing to plan for the aftermath of the invasion? Trusting Ahmed Chalabi? Worthy candidates […]

MOTIVATIONAL SEMINAR… The modest shift towards Kerry in several recent national polls is certainly a hopeful sign for Democrats. But fundamentally, the race is still tied, as today’s LA Times poll shows. So the big question remains the same as it has been for weeks, even months: which side is more motivated? Which group of […]

DRAFT ANIMAL… News that the U.S. military failed to guard stockpiles of very high explosives in Iraq is only the latest example of the consequences of the Bush administration’s insane decision to occupy that country with insufficient numbers of troops. The administration hasn’t deployed more troops in large part because we don’t have many more […]

CACHE & CARRY… More nightmarish Bush administration incompetence. According to today’s New York Times, 380 tons of very high explosives, of a kind favored by terrorists and insurgents, has gone missing in Iraq. The IAEA, which once monitored the site where the explosives were stored, repeatedly warned the Americans to keep watch over it, but […]

CASE AGAINST SHRUM #273… I’ve never understood why the Kerry campaign hasn’t made more of the candidate’s record in the Senate of holding tough, thankless, let-the-chips-fall-as-they-may investigations of the rich and powerful. Especially impressive was his pursuit of BCCI, the Arab-owned international bank which turned out to be a massive criminal enterprise that enabled terrorists, […]

LANDSLIDE?… Andrew Sullivan makes the case that whichever candidate wins this election–and he thinks it’s going to be Kerry–will do so in an electoral landslide. He’s got a strong historical argument behind him–the same argument Chuck Todd made five months ago.

POST HASTE… One of the recurring frustrations of the monthly magazine business–for us but especially for our readers–is that issues arrive late in people’s mailboxes. It’s often our fault for sending the magazine to the printer too late. For that we apologize and vow to do better. But in many cases we are at the […]

DEBATE BOUNCE… A new Newsweek poll has Kerry leading Bush by two points. Four weeks ago, the magazine had Bush leading Kerry by 11 points.

THE QUESTION… Are we safer now than we were four years ago? That’s the question this ad poses. It’s the one question that could change the dynamics of the race. I hope someone asks it tonight.

BEATING THE DRUM… The Washington Post has nominated Political Animal for a best blog award in the “outside the Beltway” category. Congratulations, Kevin! Our Washington Monthly colleague Joshua Micah Marshall’s site Talking Points Memo has also been nominated in two categories, including best “inside the Beltway” blog. It’s a readers choice award, so if you […]