I went to a fancy-ish cocktail party in Manhattan this week, where I ran across a cluster of old-time Rockefeller Republicans. A retired state supreme court judge —  elected back in the days when Republicans could win office in Manhattan — had been traveling during last year’s elections and asked, “what the hell was the […]

What are the odds that Muammar Gaddafi will no longer be the leader of Libya by year’s end? It’s not a rhetorical question.  You can bet on it.  The line out of Dublin today is 72.4% on the Libyan dictator being gone by then. For those of you who haven’t heard of the InTrade market, […]

Here’s a hoot. Bolivian President Evo Morales is calling on the Nobel Committee to rescind President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.  (You remember Bolivia.  That’s the place where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid catch it in the end.) What qualifies Morales as a figure to make such a call? Well he’s a distinguished human rights leader it seems, […]

Like I said yesterday, it ain’t easy being President…

President Obama is catching a beating from the Left and the Right for his decision to bomb Libyan targets alongside the French, British, Canadians, and others. He’s also lost the support of the Arab League which encouraged the President to weigh in with military action just days ago. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Il) used the word […]

Newsweek has a citizenship quiz up on its website.  Thirty-eight percent of Americans failed the 10-question test, which includes queries on American government, systems of government, rights and responsibilities, American history, and integrated civics. I was impressed  that 62% passed until I read the questions.  Yikes!

Congress’s vote this month to defund public broadcasting went relatively unnoticed — there is too much else happening in the world  —  but for Republicans seeking to significantly pare federal spending, it’s worth taking a hard look at the vote because it could be indicative of a large strategic mistake the GOP is making. There […]

A friend of mine, a former U.S. Army Reserve paratrooper, almost got himself arrested at Charles De Gaulle airport 25 years ago next month.  Well, not in the airport exactly, but on its tarmac. He was en route to Moscow with a layover at DeGaulle where he refused to “de-plane” for an airplane cleaning.  His […]

Politicians are falling all over themselves to order “safety reviews” at U.S. nuclear facilities. Yesterday, President Obama ordered a review of every U.S. nuclear plant; today New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is in on the act with a favorite target of the no-nukes crowd, Indian Point. As a political consultant, that’s exactly what I would […]

I’ve had my share of disagreements with The New York Times editorial page over the years, but all I can say on the Gray Lady’s move to a pay wall later this month is “best of luck.” It’s going to cost me $20 bucks a month to subscribe to the Times via IPad, but I […]