In their acceptance speeches both candidates endeavored to define and promote the “change” they represent. Obama offered an unremarkable litany of liberal Democratic policy positions. McCain offered an unremarkable litany of conservative Republican policy positions. So each candidate, acutely aware of a “palpable public mood for change“, wrapped themselves in the rhetoric of change, then explicitly pitched the proposition that the same partisan bromides that Republicans and Democrats have been flogging for decades represent the change that the public seeks. Tough sell.

“Everything is f**king spin.”
- John McCain talking about the Bush White House in Bob Woodward’s new book.
Now that is the type of stuff I wish I heard publicly from McCain. Because if he spoke out like this more often (maybe not as harshly) he’d probably lose some of the base, but how many independents would [...]

In American politics, polarization and participation are not just linked, they are one and the same. When you argue against “bad” political polarization, you argue for decreased political participation - you argue, in effect, for political apathy.

Here we go…
The same publisher that distributed the 2004 best-seller that took aim at John Kerry’s Vietnam service is planning a summer release of what’s scheduled to be the first critical book on Barack Obama.
Conservative journalist David Freddoso’s “The Case Against Barack Obama” will offer “a comprehensive, factual look at Obama,” according to Regnery Publishing [...]

And not only does it promise to be fairly flattering portrayal, but the author is detailing why evangelicals (especially young ones) may swing for Obama this election.
From Politico:
The forthcoming volume from Stephen Mansfield, whose sympathetic “The Faith of George W. Bush” spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 2004, is titled [...]

On the President’s tendency to lie to himself…

On misleading the American people…

On being part of the propaganda campaign to sell the war…

On knowing that the book would have an impact…

Frankly, this doesn’t sound like a guy who’s afraid of speaking his mind. I wonder if he will indeed testify, especially about the Rove/Libby/Plame stuff.
More as [...]

The full 15 minute interview. I’m watching it now, and I’ll post thoughts when I’m done.
Part 1:

Part 2 (after Dan Bartlett):

I don’t know about you, but this seems like the same Scott McClellan I saw for years behind that podium.
So apparently, two things set him off. First, when he found out that that Rove and [...]

That’s been the consistent message out of the White House loyalists, and none were more revealing than Ari Fleischer’s appearance on CNN this evening with a panel of reporters.
He basically suggested that McClellan had not really written many of the strongly worded accusations, and even talked of a phone conversation he had with him earlier [...]

That’s what one Dem congressman wants…
Today Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) called for former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify under oath regarding the devastating revelations made in his new book on the Bush Administration’s deliberate efforts to mislead the American people into the Iraq War.
“The [...]

Now it’s turning into a he said/he said scenario, and Rove is clever enough to know that he can muddy the waters enough simply by throwing a few big rocks into this pond…like when he says McClellan sounds like a left-wing blogger.
From Hannity and Colmes last night…

Folks, how out of the loop does Rove really [...]

After the administration threw Scott McClellan under the bus in the Plame affair, you knew this had to be coming. But most revealing is his inside info about the Iraq war.
Politico details some of his assertions:
• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.
• He says the White House press corps was [...]

Ron Paul supporters are nothing if not passionate, and they’ve pushed his book to the top spot on the biggest online retail site in the world.
From CNN:
“The Revolution: A Manifesto”, released earlier this month, is currently No. 1 on the Web site’s list of top sellers, besting even Oprah’s latest Book Club selection.
“Despite a media [...]

To be fair, I haven’t read My Beautiful Mommy, but still…that title is pretty bad.
If this is just a book about the idea that “mommy” is going to have some work done and how to explain it to a kid, that’s one thing. But if it’s more of a story about “transformation” from normal [...]