McCain: I'd Sign Amnesty Bill, But 'They' Want Borders Secured First

Takeaway exchange from John McCain's Meet The Press appearance today.TIM RUSSERT: If the Senate passed your bill, S-1433, the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill, would you as president sign it?JOHN MCCAIN: Yeah, but the lesson is that it isn't going to come, it isn't going to come. The lesson is they want the borders secured first.View video here.
Mark Finkelstein

Clinton Clobbered in South Carolina, Will Media Blame Race Baiting

Have the recent race baiting antics of the Clintons left you wondering whether the former first couple has lost its collective mind, especially now that this tactic seems to be at least partially responsible for Barack Obama's landslide victory in Saturday's South Carolina primary? Or, like most conservatives, do you believe that nothing this pair ever does is spontaneous and without…
Noel Sheppard

NYT: AZ Prop 300 'Frightening' Away Illegal Alien Students

The New York Times wants you to know that legislators in Arizona are mean to illegal immigrants trying to go to the state's schools on the cheap. The Times wants you to imagine that Arizona's new anti-illegal laws are oppressing those poor, illegal immigrant students that come into Arizona expecting to get all sorts of loans and financial breaks just because... well, just because they happen to…
Warner Todd Huston

Hypocrisies Galore from Olbermann and Kurtz on ‘Reliable Sources

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann was Howard Kurtz's guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday, and unfortunately, viewers were treated to a litany of hypocrisies from both media personalities, so much so that it seemed like a lengthy advertisement for the controversial "Countdown." Although Kurtz did present his guest as being mostly liberal and decidedly anti-Bush, he never once mentioned "Countdown's"…
Noel Sheppard

NYT’s Frank Rich: The Clintons Kick Reporters Like Dogs

Well, sports fans, as the Clintons continue to disingenuously carp and whine that they're not being treated fairly by the media, more and more press members and outlets are striking back. On Sunday, the New York Times columnist Frank Rich jumped on the anti-Clinton bandwagon actually opining that the resurrection of Bill could help the Republicans retain the White House in November. In a piece…
Noel Sheppard

Mickey Kaus Refutes Clinton's Obama-Jackson Comparison

In the wake of Hillary Clinton's 2-1 thrashing in South Carolina at the hands of the politician I typically refer to as BOOHOO (Barack O-bomba Overseas Hussein “Obambi” Obama), the spin from Mrs. Clinton's husband is that it has no more significance than Jesse Jackson's Palmetto State victories in 1984 and 1988.Kausfiles blogger Mickey Kaus shows that the claim doesn't stand up to scrutiny (links…
Tom Blumer

Open Thread

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist endorses John McCain.How will this impact Tuesday's primary, as well as the rest of the campaign?Despite conservative angst with the Arizona Senator, is the media's love affair with McCain, and all the attention he's getting, turning him into the inevitable winner? Or, does Romney or Giuliani have the political…
NB Staff

AP: Tough Immigration Laws to Blame for Infant Death

You're in a country illegally, and your infant child is very ill. Waddya do? Well, being the person that I am, I'd do anything to ensure the well-being and life of my child. Possibly being deported would be a distant concern when compared to my child. Guess I'm just weird like that: Edgar Castorena had diarrhea for 10 days(!) and counting, and the illegal immigrant parents of the 2-month-old…
D. S. Hube

WashPost Reporter Frets Taxes Off Table, 'No Matter How Sensible

“In Heat of Battle, Darman Put Taxes Back on the Table,” read the Saturday “Business” section headline over the “appreciation” piece, by veteran Washington Post reporter Steven Mufson, on the legacy of Richard Darman, the budget director who in 1990 arranged the deal which undermined George Bush's “read my lips: no new taxes” pledge. Darman passed away Friday, at age 64, after battling leukemia.…
Brent Baker

In Newsweek, Bush Aide Says GOP Suffers from 'Bolshevik Fervor

Tim Graham

Carl Bernstein: One of Worst Nights of 'Shopworn' Hillary's Life

Carl Bernstein isn't just, on the basis of his Watergate-busting fame, a liberal icon. He's also a certified Hillary Clinton expert, having devoted years to researching and writing a definitive biography of her, A Woman in Charge. So his comments tonight on Hillary's graceless reaction to her stunning defeat at the hands of Barack Obama carry special weight, and are likely to reverberate through…
Mark Finkelstein

Obama Wins South Carolina Open Thread

Exit polls are saying that Barack Obama won big today in South Carolina, taking more than 80 percent of the black vote. Maybe more important, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are battling for second place.How might this change the nomination picture, and what does this say about the race card the Clintons have injected into the campaign?
NB Staff

Liberals Hating on Hillary: 'Loathing Seems a Lot Less Irrational

On the east and west coasts today, two liberal columnists unleashed a torrent of vitriol at Hillary and Bill Clinton. At the Los Angeles Times, contributing editor Jonathan Chait [a past master of political hatred] asked Is the right right on the Clintons? Consider these blistering excerpts [emphasis added]:Something strange happened the other day. All these different people -- friends, co-…
Mark Finkelstein

Clintonistas Carville and Begala Temporarily Booted From CNN

It appears the Clinton News Network is going to be a little less Clintonian as primary season heats up. According to Greg Sargent of the Talking Points Memo's Horse's Mouth blog, James Carville and Paul Begala, due to their pro-Hillary positions, will be persona non grata until after the nomination. Makes one wonder what took CNN so long to come to this obvious conclusion. Filed in the "…
Noel Sheppard