Posts by David Weigel

Why has MSNBC embedded one of its top on-air talents with Sarah Palin’s book tour? That’s a good question, but I thought Norah O’Donnell’s grilling of a young Palin fan was a fair use of the network’s time. O’Donnell asked Jackie (no last name given), who was wearing a T-shirt criticizing the bailouts, if she [...]

I’m all set to see a D.C. premiere of this film; Ben Smith has the trailer (after the jump).

There’s little dispute that the ACORN sting conducted by twenty-something conservative videographers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles was the conservative media triumph of the year. The takedown of Van Jones was a real and unexpected victory, but the ACORN tapes may end up bringing down a major liberal organization and tarring several Democratic candidates by [...]

It’s the dark side of the media sensation book tour: the disappointed fans who, in the age of YouTube and blog comments, have louder voices than ever. Liberal blogger Kevin K. at Rumproast has video and angry comments from Sarah Palin fans. One angry comment:
Went to the book signing in Noblesville, IN. Waited three hours [...]

Rand Paul, who has surprised a lot of people by becoming a real contender for a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky, bows to political reality — he’s blasting the Obama administration’s policy on terror trials and proposing to “try, convict, and lock up terrorists in Guantanamo.”
Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), is one of the [...]

Rasmussen Reports finds Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) clinging to a two-point lead over a possible challenger, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.). Chris Simcox, the leader of the anti-illegal immigration Minuteman Project who’s already in the race, scores 4 percent. All of this puts McCain, who has never been seriously challenged since he came to the [...]

As the NY-23 absentee ballot count moves into districts that were won by Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), his lead is growing over Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman. According to the Watertown Daily Times, Owens now leads by 3,096 votes with 3,105 absentee ballots left to count. That represents a boost to the Owens lead since [...]

Eric Kleefeld points to the internals of a Fox News poll — one that shows President Obama’s overall approval rating dipping into the mid-40s — that has a mere 26 percent of Americans saying it’s “never appropriate” for the president to bow to foreign leaders. Sixty-seven percent say it’s fine.
I think Greg Sargent gets at [...]

Sarah Palin’s book tour is a big story, and I think Ben Smith has the best political take on it so far, but it’s worth pointing out that a huge crowd for a conservative book is not a phenomenon unique to Palin. In March, radio host Mark Levin came to Tysons Corner, in liberal northern [...]

A moment I nearly missed, from last night’s Sarah Palin appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show:

HANNITY: Look, you supported [Conservative Party candidate] Doug Hoffman in the New York 23. And when you did that, though, it was a big jolt to his campaign. As a matter of fact, according to the latest numbers [...]