Our political Quote of the Day comes from The Daily Beast’s John Avlon who looks at polling numbers and other data and notes that Republicans are being blamed more by many voters — including crucial swing voters — for the Supercommittee’s spectacular failure. Here are a few highlights: Dig beneath the surface of Gallup’s new poll showing that 55 percent of Americans blame both parties...

The Republican Party’s stream of debates is coming under fire for being “increasingly intolerable,” hurting the Republicans’ brand — and becoming boring. Here are two suggestions on how to liven things up. Suggestion One: USE HUMOR: Jon Huntsman’s campaign has fizzled and many call him dull. Huntsman could gain traction by adding “switched” classic comedy club, Las Vegas style comedy and shtick...

WASHINGTON – It’s just another T.K.O. for Ego. If you want to know how these things happen, the story of Herman and Ginger is the most common. Having had the title of “relationship consultant” at the LA Weekly back in the mid-1990s, I know more than most about these things. The latest news was always inevitable, from the moment we saw Gloria Allred behind the microphone. “Obviously,...

No one is suggesting anymore that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is running for Presidents strictly to sell books or to increase his speaking fees. As he watches his poll numbers zoom and sees himself attaining front-runner status in some key polls, he now looks like he’s seriously going for it. For instance, note these recent attack comments against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is still...

Like many other Americans, I’ve been thinking that a strong third party party candidate for president would be a good development given the likely unappealing choices offered by the two major parties. After a bit of research, however, I’ve come to a very different conclusion. A strong third party choice in 2012 could well prove an absolute, utter disaster for this country. In 1992 Ross Perot garnered...

WASHINGTON – The opening of the first Romney ad above is not only hilarious, it’s sheer genius. The ads here from the DNC targeting Mitt Romney are priceless. They also reveal how screwed up the primary process for Republicans is this year and point to the reason Pres. Obama has the biggest chance of getting reelected. “Look, I was an independent at the time of Reagan Bush. I’m not...

Blogger James Joyner unexpectedly lost his wife last night. I haven’t been posting lately due to reasons implied by this very post, actually.  But I wanted to use this opportunity to point out something that seems obvious but is usually ignored in the political blogosphere: bloggers are human beings with normal human problems.  Bloggers have families, partners, and friends.  Bloggers face health crises,...

I was a working journalist for many years doing both freelance reporting and analysis and working as a staff reporter on two major chain newspapers. The most journalistically instructive part came when I wrote paid-by-the piece stories and op-eds overseas from India, Spain and Bangladesh in the 70s for a variety of newspapers and magazines (including for the Newsweek bureau in Madrid right before dictator Francisco...

The Hill describes Republican fury with media attacks on presidential candidates –Michele v Jimmy, for example. Media coverage of conservatives is again in the spotlight, with the furor over the treatment of presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” TV show. … … A number of GOP hopefuls — Bachmann, Cain and former House Speaker...

An interesting quiz for this holiday weekend.

It’s clear that whoever is President will have a major issue on his or her hands as the United States moves into the 20th century, the ongoing problem with Pakistan. And this weekend relations have gotten worse and it could impact the war in Afghanistan: NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing as many as 28 troops and plunging U.S.-Pakistan...

I mean, really. And the point IS? There are so many meaningful issues and tidbits about Barack Obama that can be pointed to criticize him or things he does that can say something meaningful about him (pro or con). This is NOT one of them (like all the teleprompter talk when MANY presidents of BOTH parties have used them and will in the future unless they decide to write notes on their hands).

Randall Enos, Cagle Cartoons This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Yet more bad news for those of us who love newspapers and/or those of us who’ve worked in newspapers: the Denver Post’s award winning cartoonist Mike Keefe will take the Denver Post’s buyout and he doesn’t think the paper will replace him. If so, it’ll mean yet another newspaper that has ended an era when newspapers had cartoonists on their staff. Here’s the lead in to Daryl...

I’ve long contended that despite his blatant political flip-flops and turning himself into a virtual poster boy for craven political pandering former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney would have a far easier time of it — and in closing the political sale — if he was not a Mormon in today’s Republican Party. And a new poll seems to back me up: A new poll that gauges Americans’ views...

I need to preface this post by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Texas. I love visiting Texas. I love Texans. And I think too many Texans have been burned by the false stereotype of the exaggerating, bloviating Texas politician in a state that has many fine elected officials from both parties. But, truly, honestly, Texas Gov. Rick Perry should be in a Political Hypocrisy 101 book. The Politico reports: The first...

Tired of sandwiches? Try this.

A few days ago I posted a piece both at The Moderate Voice and The Huffington Post on the failed attempt by the notorious dentist-lawyer-birther, Orly Taitz, to have president Obama officially removed from the New Hampshire primary ballot. It also mentioned the re-release by the Obama campaign of their limited-edition coffee (or tea) mugs with Obama’s mug shot on one side and a copy of Obama’s official birth...

Around the world a pernicious belief now exercises such a strong hold on political leaders that it shapes virtually all their economic policies. It’s the belief that “markets” are the primary source, the appropriate source, of wisdom when it comes to shaping these policies; and that it has to be this way because like it or no, governments can do nothing to check the power of markets. Resistance,...

RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Our political Quote of the Day comes from the always-solid in his analysis and always-solid in his sourcing Marc Ambinder, who notes that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has given a special gift to President Barack Obama by raising the immigration issue which promises to drive former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney further to the right: Quite simply, it could move Romney to the right, to a place where college-educated...

A heartfelt “Happy Thanksgiving” from all of us here at TMV to you and yours, to the country and to the world. Thanksgiving is a special day when we pause and give thanks and also realize that all the turkeys aren’t in Washington. Image via shutterstock.com

As we prepare for a day of feasting and family let none of us forget that thousands of brave men and women will spend the day far away from those they love in order to protect those you love. And serving at home are those loved ones, who spend the day without that special someone, the parent, spouse, child, sibiling. They serve too. Military.com has a great resource page showing ways you can support those who...

Thanksgiving thoughts inspired by the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Not in the Seahawks. . . definitely not always in the Seahawks. Infrequently, maybe? But “always” is the Lord’s. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” But again, not in the Seahawks. Not always, nor again in the Seahawks. “Let...

In his first TV ad of the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney inserts a voice clip of Obama mocking his 2008 presidential campaign opponent, John McCain, for not wanting to talk about the economy. What Obama said during an Oct. 16, 2008 speech at a Londonderry, N.H., campaign stop, was this: “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, ‘If we keep talking about the economy, we’re...