Posts by Jefferson Morley

The “blue” patriotism of Barack Obama is not new. It’s been hidden in plain view all around the same parts of Washington the inaugural parade will follow this morning.

The ideals of “country first,” and “service” won lavish praise at the Republican National Convention last night. The realities of the Republican party and President George W. Bush got rather less respect.
A parade of speakers in St. Paul, including Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Hispanic businessman, an Arizona educator, and President Bush (speaking from the [...]

As the twin human interest hurricanes of Gustav and Bristol Palin’s pregnancy dissipate, the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., is returning to normal. This is the kickoff to a presidential election, not a preview of a daytime talk show, remember?
As Washington Independent columnist Charles Morris notes, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, now scheduled [...]

As the Republican National Convention returns to a semblance of normality on Tuesday, the public record of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is beginning to emerge. Laura McGann of the Washington Independent is in Alaska and beginning to excavate Palin’s tenure as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

The announcement that Bristol Palin, the unmarried daughter of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Plain, is pregnant, injects a welcome dose of reality into the so-far unreal discussion of Republican “family values” in the 2008 presidential campaign.
The challenges facing the Palin family are a matter of public record. Bristol Palin has gotten two traffic tickets in [...]

Would-be Vice President Sarah Palin, who announced today that her unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant, opposes sex-education programs in schools as a matter of principle.  Washington Independent’s Ari Melber has the story.

Until Thursday night, it had been a crowded week for the Democratic National Convention. There were too many delegates and too many reporters jammed into the too-small Pepsi Center. The conversations of the faithful were crowded with anxieties about slipping poll numbers, soft messaging, elusive unity, and the omnipresent Clintons. Memories of disastrous Augusts (John [...]