Swampland

Re: The Crowds In Ghana

Karen Tumulty — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:00:54 +0000

Ah, the memories! I was with Clinton that day in Ghana as well. It was a day--and a trip--that I still regard as among the most amazing experiences I have ever had. We didn't have this blog back then, but I was able to find one of my dispatches here. I envy you this one, Michael. [...]

A Final Palin Post

Jay Newton-Small — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:29:24 +0000

I'm back from the Last Frontier with this week's dead tree cover story on Sarah Palin, written with the very excellent editor-at-large David Von Drehle. I don't think this will be the last we hear from the soon-to-be-former governor. To me, one of the most interesting aspects of the story is how vehemently the Palin [...]

The Crowds In Ghana

Michael Scherer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:10:30 +0000

On Friday night, Barack Obama is set to become the third consecutive U.S. president to visit Ghana. The two other visits remain quite memorable. Back in 1998, hundreds of thousands had gathered to hear President Bill Clinton. Things became so unruly--one woman had to be saved from being trampled by the president himself--that the White [...]

Health Care: Back to the Drawing Board

Karen Tumulty — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:28:48 +0000

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus had hoped to be unveiling a bill around now, but instead is looking for ways to fill a gaping funding hole on the order of $300 billion or so over the next 10 years. That's because Majority Leader Harry Reid has told him that his original plan to tax [...]

Latest Column

Joe Klein — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:02:30 +0000

On the need for Barack Obama to renew his domestic policy focus. This column could easily have been longer, and I know there will be some disagreement over the positions I favor. Here are a few notes and further explanations: 1. On the carbon tax and the inadequacy of cap-and-trade, here's a terrific paper by Elaine [...]

U.S. Releases Iranians

Joe Klein — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:28:08 +0000

Hmmm. The U.S. has released five Iranian "diplomats" who have been held in Iraq for the past several years. They were taken and held in Erbil at the height of the insurgency, on strong evidence that they were actually Revolutionary Guards operatives involved in the traffic in shaped charges, the extremely powerful late-generation roadside bombs [...]

Obama Wins Again: David Axelrod Is A Horse, Reggie Love a Pig

Michael Scherer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:34:32 +0000

White House officials staying at L'Aquila for the G8 summit have access to a little piece of home in their backyard: A basketball court near their dormitories. (Yes, some officials who will remain unnamed must share bathrooms.) Yesterday afternoon, Barack Obama invited out some aides out to shoot hoops. The competition, I am assured, was a [...]

Swampland Has A New Look!

Karen Tumulty — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Yes, we too are all about change. New design; new features; same bloggers -- and, we hope, same commenters. We think it will be cleaner and friendlier. Please spend a little time getting used to it, and tell us what you think.

Obama's Global Warming Pragmatism, Cont'd In Italy

Michael Scherer — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:28:04 +0000

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked to define success in international global warming negotiations. "Well, look," Gibbs said, as he braced himself through a patch of rough turbulence on Air Force One, which was at the moment crossing Europe on its way to Rome. "I think [...]

Hair Shirt

Joe Klein — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:02:03 +0000

The geniuses over at the Commentary blog, taking a brief time out from their never-ending campaign to announce the Collapse of the House of Obama, have now locked onto the President's support for the right of Muslim women to wear hejab (that is, a head scarf) and turned it into Obama support for the burqa, [...]