Steve Benen

LEAST HELPFUL…POLL…EVER….In the unlikely event you haven’t seen this information elsewhere, Rasmussen Reports released a poll yesterday afternoon on the story we’ve all been watching closely: Bush’s warrantless-search program. Well, that’s sort of what the poll was about. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone […]

A FRAME UP….When it comes to the debate surrounding Bush’s warrantless-search program, most Dems, and a surprising number of Republicans, have been pretty vocal about their concerns that the president exceeded his authority. It’s interesting, though, to consider why some Dems are hesitant to criticize Bush on this. “I get nervous when I see the […]

PRIMARY COLORS….The good news is the Democrats are making progress on a plan that would revamp the party’s presidential nominating calendar. The bad news is it may not address the problems that prompted the review in the first place and it may lead to a fight that the DNC is unprepared to deal with. For […]

IT’S ONLY HOMELAND SECURITY….The Washington Post ran a severely unflattering multi–part series last week on the Department of Homeland Security, explaining in alarming detail how the agency has been beset by almost every bureaucratic problem imaginable. You name it — turf wars, incompetent management, political cronyism, budget shortfalls — the DHS has had it. About […]

LOWERING CLASS SIZES….Syndicated conservative columnist Cal Thomas may not agree with a federal court ruling that struck down intelligent-design creationism in a Pennsylvania school district’s science classes, but in a principled way, he welcomed the development. As Thomas hopes, the decision should prompt parents to abandon public schools altogether. [The court ruling] should awaken religious […]

MOVING AMERICA BACKWARDS….Some of Bush’s more blindly loyal supporters are taking to the airwaves to bolster support for the war in Iraq. You’ll never guess what they’re saying. The television commercials are attention-grabbing: Newly found Iraqi documents show that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, including anthrax and mustard gas, and had “extensive ties” […]

‘FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE’….The principal problem facing the Bush administration over its warrantless-search program is political — the president’s critics are outraged, there’s bi-partisan support for congressional hearings, and op-ed pages are filled with commentaries about Bush intentionally circumventing the rule of law. It’s not, however, the administration’s only problem. There’s also issue about […]

SNL HITS ONE OUT OF THE WEST VILLAGE….Slate’s Josh Levin wrote late last week, “If you haven’t seen Saturday Night Live’s Chronicles of Narnia rap, then you don’t have any friends. Or at least any friends with Internet access.” That’s probably a little overstated, but only a little. The SNL video has generated widespread media […]

‘LET THE STUDENT DECIDE’….Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) hopes to become the oldest person ever elected president, but he’s still making an effort to reach out to younger voters. Consider what Mr. Straight Talk told an MTV audience recently. “Let the student decide.” With those well-chosen words John McCain summed up his view on the teaching […]

DO WE GET WHAT WE PAY FOR?….I tend to believe that members of Congress shouldn’t give themselves pay raises until they start doing more to earn it, but conservative economist Thomas Sowell has considered the quality of today’s lawmakers and has come to the opposite conclusion. I don’t make a million dollars a year but […]