Washington Babylon

A bold prediction from James Pethokoukis of U.S. News & World Report (a double major in Soviet politics and American history and 2002 Jeopardy! champion, according to his bio), in…

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Here’s a great investigative story about someone you’ve never heard of, but should know about. From Laura Rozen at Mother Jones: It’s the story of a man with a habit…

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From the New York Times: When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation…

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It looks like Barack Obama has offered Hillary Clinton the post of Secretary of State and she’s mulling over whether to take the job or not. Obama’s apparent offer makes…

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“Michelle Obama’s visits to two private schools and her inquiries about Washington’s public schools have sparked the inevitable public vs. private debate,” the Post said in an editorial today. “We…

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The Washington Post had two interesting pieces today about how Washington is responding to the election of Barack Obama. The first said that Obama’s election had “touched off a mini-boom…

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The Washington Post reports that the “Obama transition team yesterday rolled out a new list of officials who will help guide the process, singling out the Treasury, Defense and State…

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As Norm Coleman’s lead shrinks in the Minnesota Senate race (now down to 206 votes over Al Franken) his campaign’s claims of voter fraud have become more and more boisterous.…

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The Washington Post ran an article yesterday full of breathless speculation about whom Barack Obama would name to head key intelligence agencies. “The nation’s top two intelligence officers expect to…

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There was a funny, well-executed hoax edition of the New York Times published yesterday, with a main headline of “IRAQ WAR ENDS.” Then this morning someone sent me an email…

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From The Agitator (via Andrew Sullivan): The latest absurdity to come out of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is an anti-pot PR campaign with the motto, “Hey, not…

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David Hendrickson teaches international politics and American foreign policy in the Political Science Department at Colorado College. He is the author of numerous books and essays, including Peace Pact: The…

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This is beyond pathetic. ABC reports: Lawmakers and the Bush administration frantically hammered out a gargantuan package to save the nation’s economy earlier this fall. But their efforts to recruit…

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I spoke today with a former government official who was appalled by Obama’s suggested emergency aid to the auto industry and by the Bush administration’s bail-out of the financial industry.…

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From Bloomberg: The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting…

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From CNN: On the day that President-elect Barack Obama is visiting the White House, a new national poll suggests that the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the most…

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From the Washington Post: The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush administration’s request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In…

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From Scott Horton, posted at the Daily Beast: Was John McCain’s senior foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann fired for leaking sensitive information to his friend, the long-time McCain backer and…

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From Chris Kromm at Facing South: Here are six key factors that gave him the victory: 1 – Obama mobilized the base: Perhaps more than any other candidate could have,…

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Washington Post editorial: Mr. Emanuel is undoubtedly a partisan, but with centrist instincts. In his previous White House job, he oversaw President Bill Clinton’s effort to win passage of the…

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Sarah Palin may have been duped by two Canadian pranksters, and she may have spent a lot of the G.O.P.’s money on clothing, but is it really possible that she…

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On my posting this morning, in which I tried not to be cynical: I understand your cynicism about the money Obama took from the people you call (and rightly so)…

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I’ve never been able to muster as much enthusiasm for Barack Obama as many of my friends, but I was happy to see him win last night. He was clearly…

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The Los Angeles Times has a nice web feature that allows you to predict the outcome of the presidential election, state by state. So here’s my prediction: Obama 311, McCain…

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All the available evidence suggests that Barack Obama should cruise to a comfortable margin of victory tomorrow night. “Based on interviews with political strategists in both parties, election analysts and…

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One of the lowest moments of this entire campaign has been the McCain campaign’s repulsive smear job of Rashid Khalidi. The best remark about the whole episode came from Khalidi…

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From the Associated Press: A Canadian comedy duo notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state reached Sarah Palin, convincing the Republican vice presidential nominee that she was…

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From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: A second lawsuit was filed Friday by minority shareholders who allege that a close family friend of Sen. Norm Coleman used a marine company in Texas…

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