http://www.wikio.com/search=Mark Halperin Wikio - Mark Halperin http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63117663 WASHINGTON, July 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In March, Sen. Clinton Questioned Obama's Pledge To Withdraw Troops From Iraq In 16 Months, Saying It Was Words You Can't Rely On. Sen. Clinton: "Senator Obama promises to withdraw from Iraq Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:38 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63117663 2008-07-05T14:00:38Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63116265 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63116265 2008-07-05T14:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63108969 Per TIME magazine’s latest scorecard, Obama and McCain tied last week. Read how Mark Halperin scored rounds on party unity, patriotism and leadership, grassroots support, foreign policy in the new issue here. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:00:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=63108969 2008-07-05T11:00:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62953081 Per TIME magazine’s latest scorecard, Obama and McCain tied last week. Read how Mark Halperin scored rounds on party unity, patriotism and leadership, grassroots support, foreign policy in the new issue here. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:00:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62953081 2008-07-04T03:00:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62950358 Barack Obama speaking in Pennsylvania Mark Halperin reports that in a hastily scheduled second press availability, Barack Obama sought to clarify his remarks made earlier and insisted that his position on Iraq has not changed. “I intend to end this war… That position has not changed. I have not equivocated on that position. I am not searching [...] Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:22:54 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62950358 2008-07-03T22:22:54Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62663294 "Ooooh! Faked ya out!" Photo: Getty Images Time 's Mark Halperin noticed a sad little tidbit in today's Obama press-pool report from the candidate's Eastside Community Ministry tour in Chicago. After visiting and joking around with a group of kids, this is what happened: He then came back to the room where the children were drawing pictures. Stooping over a table, he autographed a number of drawings. The children were delighted; one girl held her picture to her cheek after Obama signed it. As he left, a boy tried to give him a fist bump. Obama said no. “If I start that …” his voice trailed off. This makes us sad on so many levels. Obama Declines to Fist Bump [Page/Time] Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:14:09 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62663294 2008-07-01T22:14:09Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62545295 Did John McCain let slip the dogs of election theft today? This peculiarly cryptic page by wanker de luxe Mark Halperin indicates that McCain said in Pipersville, PA, "that the state will pick the winner in November — and he will be behind until right before the polls close." And what happens right before the polls close in Pennsylvania, Senator? Do they swap out the smart cards in the voting machines? Do they decide that there's a terrorist threat and the vote counting has to be done in secret? Tell us, Senator McCain: WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT BEFORE THE POLLS CLOSE IN PENNSYLVANIA THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT'???? Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:27:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62545295 2008-07-01T01:27:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62492827 A few months ago, Paul Krugman described as "Clinton Rules" the press' tendency to use any statement from Hillary Clinton, no matter how innocuous, as an excuse to generate a fake scandal. Welcome to the new world of McCain Rules: any criticism of McCain, now matter how straightforward, is condemned as Swift-Boating or character attacks. Yesterday on Face the Nation, Wes Clark stated the obvious: John McCain has no experience in making critical national security decisions. He was a war hero as a POW, has served on the Armed Service Committee, and was a squadron commander during peacetime, but he has not been tested in pressure situations requiring the exercise of judgment. Neither does Obama, of course, but as Clark very clearly pointed out, Obama isn't running on this assertion--McCain is, and needs to be called on it. For some reason, Sullivan attacks this as swift-boating, and links it personal attacks on McCain that Clark never uttered and never suggested. Helperin says that Clark's words criticized McCain's war record, which they very clearly did not. I don't expect mainstream guys like Halperin to be able to read: he's just a stenographer. But this is really beneath Sullivan. Jeez--just listen to it on YouTube. So now, the McCain camp has gotten the vapors. Call out the scented handkerchiefs! If McCain can't stand up to Wes Clark, then how can he stand up to the terrorists? Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:02:05 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62492827 2008-06-30T17:02:05Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62472376 Mark Halperin’s three things to watch for in presidential politics for Monday, June 30: 1) John McCain is in the battleground of Pennsylvania, a historically blue state he’d like to keep in play in November. In an attempt to try and burden Obama with a big electoral college challenge, the Senator is making two afternoon stops [...] Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:36:12 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62472376 2008-06-30T14:36:12Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62216229 Campaign Scorecard (Mark Halperin, 6/27/08, TIME: The Page) McCain's Good Week (Jonathan Chait, 6/23/08, TNR: The Plank) [M]cCain did a spectacular job of stopping Obama this last week. Obama was trying to focus on the economy, and he got virtually no traction because McCain has been driving the debate by attacking him on debates, public financing, and terrorism. The first two, especially, seemed to take a toll. Political reporters are interested in politics, not policy, and a process fight will always eclipse a debate over economic plans. And it's pretty clear that Obama's image has been tainted by the process fights. ...that the quality of the campaigns matters, when really the race is just a function of political dynamics. Everything that helped Senator Obama defeat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination is a liability for him in the general, while nought that aided John McCain is. Now, Senator Obama has to jettison all his baggage -- his identity politics, his voting record, his affiliations, etc. -- and can't help but seem two-faced as he does so. Worse, since no one really knows who he is their first impression of him is that he's so changeable as to be hollow. Republican attacks on his original politics and his shucking them for political purposes simply reinforce this image. Maverick isn't winning so much as Senator Obama can't win. Posted by Orrin Judd (June 27, 2008 11:55 AM) Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:55:53 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62216229 2008-06-27T16:55:53Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62199720 MY FRIENDS....I don't know in general if Mark Halperin's advice to John McCain is good, but I'll second this particular nugget:9. Never say "My friend(s)..." again.Where did McCain pick up this habit? It doesn't make him sound like one of... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:39:16 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62199720 2008-06-27T15:39:16Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62087751 At the end of last week, after I wrote about the Democratic Congress’ spineless cave-in on the White House’s desired FISA legislation, our good friend Eric Earling made a flailing attempt at a point here : Mark Halperin makes this observation about the FISA compromise today, supported by Barack Obama and 105 House Democrats (including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer): Watch to see how liberal bloggers and the commentariat react. Locally, Lee, aka Sound Politics commenter “thehim,” is not pleased at all. Washington Democrats Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, and Adam Smith joined Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Dave Reichert in voting for the measure. More proof the netroots does not represent the mainstream of American politics on the issues of the day. Now someone who isn’t a complete idiot could probably figure out simply by looking at Congress’ approval ratings to know that what Congress is doing is not a good barometer of public opinion. And as I’ve been reading through Great American Hypocrites , the latest book from Glenn Greenwald, the process by which Eric ended up in this bubbling stew of idiocy is well documented. When it comes to beliefs in limited government, Republicans in this country went from being true believers of constraining executive power (when Clinton was in the White House) to being unapologetic big government advocates now that Bush is there and we’re “fightin’ the terra’ists.” As Greenwald explains: Being an American who believed in the core political principles of the country always meant adhering to these standards and embracing these values. Today’s Republican Party, acting contrary to its election rhetoric of conservatism and limited government power, has repudiated, trampled upon, and made a mockery of the core principles defining our country. Today in the right-wing world, the very ideas that they spent the last several decades loudly touting and that long defined America have become the hallmarks of leftist radicalism. And the media has dutifully ingested this new framework. Thus, our Beltway establishment first looked the other way, then acted to protect the President of the United States once it was revealed that he was spying on the communications of American citizens in violation of the leftist doctrine called “law.” One could also look at the statements by conservatives Bob Barr and Ron Paul to understand that opposition to the FISA bill is not coming solely from “liberal bloggers,” but also from principled conservatives as well. This issue isn’t about left vs. right here. It’s about keeping the Executive branch of the government in check, something that should be important regardless of who’s in the White House, or regardless of whether you have a more liberal or conservative view. Earlier this week, I was reminded of why this matters as I took a trip down to Covington to see my in-laws. As I’ve mentioned before, my father-in-law is a staunch Republican, even to the extent that he has serious doubts about McCain’s Republican credentials. He’s retired now and spends his days working on his long-time hobby: building engines and exploring alternative energy solutions for homes and vehicles. His latest tangent is with Kei Class Japanese trucks . As Dana and I pulled into the driveway, he was standing next to one of the trucks. I could tell he was excited to give me a demo. The vehicle looked like a Smart Car turned into a pickup truck with the steering wheel on the right side. He had a second one in his workshop and we hopped in for a quick drive around the block. As we took off down the street, I said to him, “Is what we’re doing legal'” He replied, “No, do you want to ask me if a care?” I laughed and said, “No, I already know the answer to that.” He and I have obviously had quite a few discussions on politics over the years, so he knowingly said, “I think you and I have some overlap in our thinking on this.” Kei class trucks are in legal limbo in this country (as you can see from this thread ). They are not up to federal emission standards and therefore there’s a question as to whether or not it’s legal to drive them on the roads - even if your particular state registers it and gives you a plate. These vehicles get fantastic gas mileage for a pickup truck (~45-50 mpg), so their popularity is starting to take off. The attitudes towards the federal government expressed in that thread by those in Mississippi and Tennessee over a law that was limiting their freedom isn’t much different that the attitudes expressed in California and Washington over medical marijuana laws. And as you might expect, I find the federal laws to be unjustified in both cases. Whenever the topic of FISA comes up, Bush supporters blindly cheer on the ability for the President to monitor our communications without warrants, yet few of them seem to apply this logic to when a Democratic Administration is in power. When the reality of an Obama Administration sets in, and their wild caricatures of what he’ll do take shape in their minds, the idea of giving him the power to spy on people without oversight in the name of national security takes on a different light - especially considering that it’s not hard to equate either gun control or combating global warming with national security.* As an Obama supporter, I’m relatively confident that he’s not the kind of leader who would abuse that power, but that’s beside the point. No President should have these kinds of powers. With no oversight, they’ll inevitably be abused for political purposes. This is why we have things like the 4th Amendment in the first place. When I brought this up in the comment thread to the Sound Politics post, commenter Russell Garrard summed it up quite well: When an Obama says that he wants to register all semi-auto guns just in case any terrorists are stockpiling them, we right-wingers will scream like stuck pigs. But nobody will take us seriously**, because we’ve already made the argument that “if you’re not a terrorist, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” Is it asking too much for the main blogger at Seattle’s most popular Republican blog to grasp this fact? Apparently so. * For the record, I agree with the court’s decision today that D.C.’s gun ban is unconstitutional. ** Well, Mark Halperin might. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:56:12 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62087751 2008-06-26T18:56:12Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62041525 Mark Halperin presents a list of 22, mostly inane, suggestions as to “What Smart Republican Strategists Think Should Be on John McCain’s To-Do List.” It’s certainly true that the McCain campaign needs to be “about the American people and what is best for their lives” and that this requires going beyond foreign policy and McCain’s biography. And, yes, his... [RSS scrapers have been stealing my content so I've been forced to switch back to partial feeds.] Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:45:16 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=62041525 2008-06-26T12:45:16Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61810209 Focus on Obama, Charlie Black, energetic politics, and conservative love for Jon Stewart Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:12:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61810209 2008-06-24T19:12:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61672161 It's kind of amusing to see that the political coverage of the campaign is proceeding as if the FISA bill capitulation never began and is not ongoing. RealClearPolitics' only mention is a Moonie Times editorial on how great the FISA bill is. Mark Halperin's The Page has no mention of it at all, although he does note the unusual circumstance that both John McCain and Barack Obama are left-handed. Matt Drudge has no mention of FISA on his homepage. This is one of the subtle ways that the corporate media is able to do the bidding of corporate interests. If they don't cover something, it doesn't exist. Yet, it should be a news story in and of itself, that the same blogosphere and the same activists that were lined up so strongly for Barack Obama in the primaries are now criticizing him loudly. A pundit might want to at least try his or her hand at pondering the potential significance of such a development. Just last week, Obama endorsed Rep. John Barrow of Georgia and cut a television advertisement for him. Yet, that same representative is now the target of a Netroots' campaign to elect his primary challenger Regina Thomas. ActBlue shows that over 1,000 activists have donated a combined $28,000 to Thomas' campaign, and that is just through their site and doesn't include the over $300,000 that has been raised by Blue America to oppose proponents of retroactive immunity and the expanded police-state domestic surveillance powers. Much of that money will be targeted at Rep. Barrow as well. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:31:15 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61672161 2008-06-23T19:31:15Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61652405 The press corps seems to have decided that John McCain had a bad week. Mark Halperin does his "who won the week" schtick here . And over the weekend, the Washington Post reported : In the two weeks since Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee, John McCain has demonstrated a knack for driving the daily political debate, forcing his opponent to respond to a challenge to meet in town hall debates, accusing him of being "delusional" about terrorism and saying he flip-flopped on public financing for his campaign. But even as McCain's strategists claim tactical victories, Republicans outside the campaign worry that underlying weaknesses in its organization and message are costing him valuable time to make the case for his own candidacy. Hmm. Political campaigns are zero-sum. It's not the worst thing for McCain to lose the chance to make the case for himself if he can deny Obama the same opportunity. And McCain did a spectacular job of stopping Obama this last week. Obama was tryign to focus on the economy, and he got cirtually no traction because McCain has been driving the debate by attacking him on debates, public financing, and terrorism. The first two, especially, seemed to take a toll. Political reporters are interested in politics, not policy, and a process fight will always eclipse a debate over economic plans. And it's pretty clear that Obama's image has been tainted by the process fights. Look at this passage from another article in today's Post : In the opening weeks of the general-election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama has moved aggressively to shape his campaign and offered a clear road map for the kind of candidate he is likely to become in the months ahead: an ambitious gamer of the electoral map, a ruthless fundraiser and a scrupulous manager of his own biography in the face of persistent concerns about how he is perceived. A few weeks ago, Obama's ability to insire hundreds of thousands of people to make small donations over the internet was considered a sign of his appeal. Now it's "ruthless." The small, unstated assumptions like this about candidates' motives are really the things that drive political coverage and public perception. If McCain is getting reporters to think of Obama as an unprincipled operator, then I'd say he's doing pretty well. --Jonathan Chait Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:06:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61652405 2008-06-23T16:06:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61645218 So, what can you say when the party betrays an important principal? When they go back and say it’s OK to spy on Americans without a warrant? When they immunize the very companies that have been doing it from the consequences of their illegal acts? You could despair; you could give up. Or you can [...] Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:46:35 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61645218 2008-06-23T15:46:35Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61578811 OK, this is not a “scientific” poll. But, you know what, I’ll take the word of 200,000 Americans asked a simple question over a carefully-crafted, get-the-results-we’re-after Zogby or Gallup poll. AOL Hotseat: How Honest is Obama? Not sure why the question asked was “How Honest is Obama?” It should have been, “Is Obama More Honest [...] Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:51:50 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61578811 2008-06-23T03:51:50Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61547973 Mark Halperin Time Obama Announces Plan to Fully Close the Enron Loophole, Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation As President, Obama will restore common-sense regulation to ease the impact of soaring gas prices CHICAGO, IL—Senator Barack Obama today announced his plan to crack down on excessive energy speculation and fully close the “Enron Loophole” to ease the impact skyrocketing gas prices. The Enron Loophole was created by McCain campaign co-chair Phil Gramm at the behest of Enron—just one example of the special interest politics that put the interests of Big Oil and speculators ahead of the interests of working people. And the American people have seen the results: record corporate profits while Americans pay record prices at the pump. “For the past years, our energy policy in this country has been simply to let the special interests have their way—opening up loopholes for the oil companies and speculators so that they could reap record profits while the rest of us pay $4.00 a gallon,” Senator Obama said. “My plan fully closes the Enron Loophole and restores common-sense regulation as part of my broader plan to ease the burden for struggling families today while investing in a better future.” (Continued here.) Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:35:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61547973 2008-06-22T18:35:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61103095 Welcome back to Midweek Madness, where we parse tabloid punditry so you don't have to. This week marked a slight departure in tabloid fare, as Us featured potential President and First Lady Barack... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:30:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Mark+Halperin?rinfoid=61103095 2008-06-18T17:30:00Z