Andy Ostroy is a New York City-based political analyist and blogger whose guest appearances include MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Air America Radio's Rachel Maddow and Richard Greene's shows and Sirius Radio. His blog The Ostroy Report is at www.ostroyreport.blogspot.com.

Blog Entries by Andy Ostroy

More Republican Lies and Deception Over Cancer Screening

Posted November 21, 2009 | 09:50 AM (EST)


It's highly unfortunate timing for the Obama administration that two new cancer-screening recommendations have been made by government and independent medical groups in a week where the president is seeking legislation for his historic health-care reform bill. While the measures have sparked intense controversy, it's irresponsible and disingenuous for Republicans...

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Was This Magazine Cover of Obama "Sexist?"

3 Comments | Posted November 19, 2009 | 10:00 AM (EST)


I just did a radio interview where I was asked about the Newsweek cover shot of Sarah Palin in tight running shorts (originally shot for Runner's World), and if I thought it was sexist. Clearly, the magazine cover has been capturing the attention (and I suspect the fantasies) of many....

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The Big Surprise Moment During the Oprah/Palin Interview

79 Comments | Posted November 17, 2009 | 10:16 AM (EST)


For weeks now we've been teased with promotions for the much-anticipated interview between talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey and America's most infamous political train-wreck, Sarah Palin, which finally aired Monday. Everyone wondered how the chat would go. Would Palin spill some dirt on McCain? Bash almost-son-in-law Levi Johnston? Announce that she's...

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Republicans Once Again Shamelessly Exploiting Terrorism For Political Purposes

25 Comments | Posted November 16, 2009 | 08:14 AM (EST)


It's been a great week for Republicans -- that is if you consider raging hypocrisy and shameless propaganda successful virtues. Two national security issues have come to the forefront and have given the GOP and its allies a major opportunity to criticize President Obama and the Democratic leadership.

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Katie Couric Should Be Fired!

96 Comments | Posted November 13, 2009 | 10:55 AM (EST)


So, former vice presidential candidate and girl-wonder Sarah Barracuda Palin writes a 413-page memoir, Going Rogue, (due out Tuesday) and sits with mega-media-mogul Oprah Winfrey to dish about the big bad partisan press that treated her unfairly during the 2008 campaign. She took extra special jabs at CBS Evening News...

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The Simplest Justification for a Public Option

Posted November 12, 2009 | 12:51 PM (EST)


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Though not the least bit surprising, Republicans have been manipulating the current health-care debate with incessant partisan posturing, lies and deception and endless anti-Obama/liberal propaganda. But consider the following very simple case for a truly meaningful public option:

-Americans expect and receive government-provided...

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You Are Not a "Great American," Sean Hannity

72 Comments | Posted November 10, 2009 | 07:20 PM (EST)


I have a huge problem with Sean Hannity. And we all should. He is anything but the "great American" he and his brainwashed listeners delusionally call each other every five minutes. In fact, to the contrary, he's about as unpatriotic as they come. He roots for America to fail just...

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The Sad Tale of Greg the Republican

3 Comments | Posted November 6, 2009 | 09:57 AM (EST)


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I have this friend. We'll call him Greg. Greg's an insufferable Republican. One of those Republican stooges who drives you nuts. The kind that seems brainwashed, defying logic and blindly defending the GOP and anything Republican as if they're on the payroll. Even...

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A "Republican Renaissance?" Yeah, and I Hear the Mullet's Coming Back Too

8 Comments | Posted November 5, 2009 | 09:46 AM (EST)


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There's colossal joy in Mudville this week as Republicans predict sweeping success in next year's mid-term elections in the wake of Chris Christie's and Bob McDonnell's gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia respectively, and in what they say is a clear repudiation...

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One Spin You Won't Hear From Republicans About Tuesday's Election

56 Comments | Posted November 4, 2009 | 05:28 PM (EST)


Democrats lost two key elections Tuesday: the gubernatorial races in New Jersey, where Republican Chris Christie defeated incumbent Jon Corzine, and in Virginia, where Bob McDonnell defeated Creigh Deeds in a special election to fill the vacating Tim Kaine's seat.

As expected, the Republican spin-machine is in euphoric overdrive, maniacally...

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One Year After Election Day: The Verdict on Obama

91 Comments | Posted November 1, 2009 | 06:01 PM (EST)


As America struggles to recover from an economic meltdown and is engulfed in two long-standing wars, the burning question now is, Has President Barack Obama done a good job in office since his historic election one year ago, or is he destined to suffer the same fate of Jimmy Carter...

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Cheryl Hines Tells Letterman About Directing Her First Film, the Adrienne Shelly-Penned Serious Moonlight

2 Comments | Posted October 28, 2009 | 06:12 PM (EST)


Cheryl Hines is a real sweetheart. One of the truly nicest people you'll ever meet. She's also wickedly funny, and a talented first-time director who stepped into a very challenging role two years ago in...

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The Bombings in Iraq: Mission Definitely Not Accomplished

1 Comments | Posted October 27, 2009 | 06:10 PM (EST)


Two massive explosions, the deadliest in over a year, erupted in Baghdad Sunday, killing over 130 people and wounding 520 more. The suicide bombings, just under a minute apart, decimated two critical government buildings, underscoring the fragile state of Iraq's nascent democracy, and serving as a powerful reminder of the...

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Cheney Says Obama's "Dithering" Puts Our Troops in Danger. Last Time I Checked, it's Bush/Cheney's War Policies That Have Killed 5200 Soldiers; I'll Take Dithering

Posted October 24, 2009 | 09:28 AM (EST)


Former Vice President Dick "The Dick" Cheney is at it again, harshly criticizing President Obama for apparently taking more time than His Dickness would like to figure out whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan:

"The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger,"...

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What Would George W. Bush's "Motivational Speaker" Salespitch Look Like?

3 Comments | Posted October 22, 2009 | 06:35 PM (EST)


The older and wiser I get the more I realize that anything in this world is possible. Anything. So it's no surprise that former President George W. Bush will headline a "Get Motivated" seminar next week in Fort Worth, Texas, followed up with another in San Antonio in December. Tony...

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Reality TV Makes People Do the Darndest Things!

20 Comments | Posted October 20, 2009 | 04:44 PM (EST)


Mad-scientist/inventor/"Wife Swap" alumnus Richard Heene thought it was a great idea to send a giant flying-saucerish home-built helium balloon into the air and then tell authorities that his 6-year-old-boy Falcon was inside as it careened for hours and 60 miles across the bright blue Colorado skies to the horror of...

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Afghanistan Bananastan

5 Comments | Posted October 13, 2009 | 01:45 PM (EST)


It's a funny thing, politics. For eight years Republicans didn't utter a peep as one general after another, including Gen. Eric Shinseki, Gen. George Casey and Gen. John Abizaid, were summarily replaced after offering criticism of former President George W. Bush's Iraq and Afghanistan war strategies. Others, like Gen. Anthony...

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Why Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Is Deserved

45 Comments | Posted October 10, 2009 | 11:28 AM (EST)


Republicans apparently have one more thing to hate about President Barack Obama now that he has won the Nobel Peace Prize, beating out 200 other candidates for addressing the threat of global warming; for trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons; and for attempting to achieve a global peace....

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Republicans' 2010 Campaign Message: Vote For Us Because Obama Can't Magically Fix in a Year What it Took Us Eight Years to Destroy

14 Comments | Posted October 6, 2009 | 11:20 AM (EST)



The NY Times writes Monday that the central campaign theme for the GOP next year will be jobs, jobs, jobs. But what Republicans won't be reminding voters during the midterm election cycle is how their party and president handed President Barack Obama the worst economy since the...

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Joe Scarborough Shows Yet Again Why He Could Be President Someday

188 Comments | Posted October 3, 2009 | 01:10 PM (EST)


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One month ago I wrote a piece about how MSNBC's Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough could very well be the GOP nominee for president in 2012 if he played his cards right. Well, Joe's hand was full of aces Friday as he...

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