Bill Richardson

Listening to the CSPAN redux of the Jefferson-Jackson Day Iowa Democratic Party speeches, and knowing that the campaigns bought the tickets to get their supporters inside so they had receptive audiences, one might be forgiven for being a bit cynical.

There was, I thought, a single exception....

Real leadership requires having the strength to stand up, even when it isn't easy and victory isn't guaranteed. The Senate's confirmation last night of Michael Mukasey for Attorney General was a devastating failure of leadership, and a serious set back in our fight to take back America.

Mukasey's waffling...

On November 3, 2007, General President Musharraf of Pakistan imposed emergency rule in Pakistan (the text of the declaration is here), citing a need to curb terrorism and restricting activist judges. Reputable Pakistani journalist, Hamid Mir reported...

While most peace activists are evaluating the Democrats, I would rank Rudolph Giuliani as the most dangerous of all the presidential candidates in a long while, because his Iraq and Iran policies are the work of the most hawkish neo-conservatives who promoted the Iraq quagmire and now want to bomb...

It is a tragedy that in the midst of one failed war in Iraq, George Bush and Dick Cheney are pushing a second front of failure and gearing up to attack Iran. The "unilateral sanctions" recently imposed will hurt diplomatic progress in the region, and I find it disconcerting that...

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is the latest to fan the myth that if Hillary Clinton bags the Democratic nomination she'll drag the Dems down to a flaming defeat in the general election. Obama can be forgiven for fanning the myth. He's way behind in his dog fight...

Or to put it another way is Senator Barack Obama too nice a person to fight aggressively against his opponents to capture the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008?

The first term senator from Illinois, who told the New York Times last Sunday that it was "time to distinguish himself from...

A fascinating thing has occurred among the Democratic candidates. It's a kind of gender role reversal in communication style. Contrary to decades of research, the male Democratic presidential candidates sound more equivocal than the woman.

As a rule, women use more aligning actions (gestures and phrases softening their comments)...

Reporting from the San Mateo Straw Poll today for the presidential election 2008...

Hallelujah. Good old fashioned Democratic politics was still very alive and well today in California. There was tremendous excitement in the room as over 700 people crowded in to vote on a Sunday...

I am at the San Mateo County Expo Center, where they are conducting a Presidential Straw Poll today.

This is a large room and it is packed. It looks lime at least a thousand people have turned out. (Later - just heard someone say 1600.)

Along one wall...