Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota weighed in last Sunday on fellow Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina:

"Any time you have leading figures who are engaged in behavior that is sad and troubling and hypocritical...It certainly hurts the brand."

The brand? Interesting word choice, and Republicans have been...

This story has fallen through the sports cracks as the NBA Playoffs have unfolded. It deserves to be part of the national dialogue under the category "professional athletes behaving like total cads toward women."

In short, here it is: Dirk Nowitzki, the 11-year power forward of the...

The Washington Post is helping George Bush polish his flaccid legacy. Let's hope it's just a sympathetic one-off between ex-lovers.

Last Saturday, they ran a front page article on Bush-in-retirement. Woven into the puff piece was this seemingly bland statement (italics mine):

...

On Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh finally said it. He told Neil Cavuto on Fox News that he's the "de facto" leader of the Republican Party.

Here's his quote:

"Too many elected Republicans right now are just in fear, Neil, of being criticized, of opposing...

Here's an actual exchange from the "comments" section of a recent HuffPost entry about guns (monikers mine):

Gun Obsessive: You do understand, I hope, that shotguns have a very limited range?

Not Gun Obsessive: I understand that if shotgun pellets are continuously being found in your backyard that those guns...

Texans and guns.

Back in 2006, Dick Cheney shot a man in Reno, err, Kingsville, in South Texas. In the face, while hunting quail in an open field. On a 53,000 acre spread.

He claimed (and experts disbelieved) to be at least 90 feet from his victim,...

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Poor George. He can't help it. Even out of office, he reinforces the narcissistic traits that were a hallmark of his failed presidency.

On Tuesday, he popped into a political science classroom at SMU, home of his future library. He gave a ten...

Mark McKinnon was a guest on MSNBC's Hardball this week, identified as a "Republican strategist." He didn't flinch at the title.

This is a long way from the fellow who produced the TV spots for Democrat Ann Richards in her successful 1990 Texas governor's race. She...

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Change is happening, and its positive effect seems to be everywhere.

David Letterman delivered a sincere apology on his TV show Friday night. In 1993, he ordered that a stand-up routine by the late comic Bill Hicks be edited out of an episode. Now he...

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George W. Bush has been gazing toward his future reputation for a while, and loves the view.

"Some day people are going to look back at this time and day and say, 'Thank God'..." he actually insisted at a private fundraiser of Republican fat cats...

The death of a certain William Devereux Zantzinger was quietly announced January 3rd on an obscure Maryland website, thebaynet.com. The New York Times and the Washington Post finally picked it up and ran obituaries on January 10th.

What news outlets wrote about this passing -- or rather pointedly...

Jerry Brown, California Attorney General, has given Proposition 8 opponents an early Christmas present. He's asked the state Supreme Court to void the gay marriage ban approved on November 4th.

Even though it's the AG's duty to defend state law, he believes the prop must go because...

Some Republican survivors in Congress say nothing in Tuesday's presidential election result suggests that the times they have a'changed. I guess the drugs have finally kicked in.

Despite eight years of incompetent governing, a foolish Iraq war and an economic collapse, it is conceivable (barely) that John...

Now that we know "Joe the Plumber" isn't licensed as a plumber, isn't capable of buying the business he works for, earns far less than advertised and has a financial lien against him over state income taxes, it begs a question: why did this stranger personally deceive Barack Obama...

The New York Times has an October 9 story previewing how bad things will probably be on election day for Republicans in House and Senate races. This sentence jumped out:

"Strategists for both parties say Republican House and Senate candidates are being hurt by the dip in support...

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Tuesday afternoon, just hours before Barack Obama and John McCain meet to chat with Tom Brokaw and real Americans in a Town Hall debate, the Associated Press has moved a story that screams: "Retirement Accounts Have Lost $2 Trillion."

According to the head...

That was quite a sight Tuesday: the Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chairman, lined up in front of the Senate Banking Committee, begging for an immediate $700 billion to bail out America's shaky financial system.

John McCain thinks this represents "strong fundamentals," and his economic adviser Phil Gramm...

Wick Allison, founder, publisher and editor in chief of D Magazine in Dallas, has written a short essay in support of Barack Obama's candidacy.

D is a slick monthly featuring a mélange of ads, reviews and occasional in-depth articles. As for Allison, he's a life-long conservative, and he starkly...

The Sept. 12 NY Times has a front page piece that no doubt speaks to millions: "Obama's Tone Sharpens as Party Frets."

The story discusses how some Democrats are concerned that the focus of the campaign has wandered in the two weeks since the convention in Denver, particularly...

A speculation:

We all know Karl Rove has been a master political manipulator for three decades. Best sellers have been written about it. His favorite modus operandi over the years has been constructing a "straw man" scenario (fake, untrue) that can be easily rebuked for his candidate's gain.