Liz Elsewhere

Yesterday former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney launched the first negative TV ad of the 2008 cycle, hammering former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Iowa for having "supported in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants" and "taxpayer-funded scholarships for illegal aliens."
While a valid critique (Huckabee has never denied Romney's assertions), it was an odd maneuver. Obviously, Romney's campaign is concerned about Huckabee rising in the polls -- especially in Iowa, where...

Yesterday, in College Station, Texas, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave his "Faith in America" speech. Designed to allay concerns among the mainly evangelical bloc of Republican voters nervous about nominating a Mormon for the presidency, the speech was the political equivalent of a base hit. Romney's speech will help him, at least in the short term, but it wasn't the home run he needed to vastly improve his chances of winning the Republican nomination.
Sure, the speech offered...

On Monday, ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee released his second presidential campaign ad. Focusing on the onetime preacher's faith, it features the phrase "Christian Leader" flashing across the screen and shows Huckabee speaking to the religious conservative faithful at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit. It's less than subtle, to be sure. But then, the Other Man From Hope has never been shy about making religion -- as opposed to mere positions on subjects like abortion or...

Last year, ultra-liberal elements within the Democratic Party waged a heated political battle against Sen. Joe Lieberman, their vice-presidential nominee of just six years earlier. But if you thought that liberal cannibalism stopped with the attack on Connecticut's junior senator, think again. The left wing has now set its sights on California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, another centrist Democrat who has failed to walk in lockstep with the increasingly puritanical left.
Why are the...

Last week, Hillary Clinton's campaign blamed her poor debate performance on sexism.
It was a maneuver that seemed suspiciously aimed at detracting from Hillary's lackluster showing whilst simultaneously shoring up her female support. But, ironically, it has had the opposite effect. Rather than fostering a sense of solidarity between women and the first credible female presidential candidate, Hillary's cries of discrimination have left many women cold, and with good reason. We've...

Last week, with the Club for Growth conference and the "Values Voter" summit taking place in Washington, D.C., infighting among the leading Republican presidential contenders reached an all-new high.
Except where Sen. John McCain was concerned. After all, while ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, ex-Sen. Fred Thompson and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have been busy sparring over everything from abortion to taxes, McCain has kept busy bashing Romney, almost exclusively --...

Earlier this month, Sen. Hillary Clinton lost her cool with Randall Rolph, an Iowa voter who dared to ask about her vote in favor of a resolution seen by anti-war activists as a pretext for war with Iran.
It was a chilling moment, and one that likely made Clinton's campaign team recoil in horror. But it was also a heads-up to campaign observers that Clinton, who espouses the need for change, hates the unpredictable as much as President Bush. Next year, America could be in for a...

Yesterday, New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici announced that at the end of his current term (expiring in January 2009), he will retire.
The announcement opens up another Republican-held Senate seat as the 2008 election approaches -- and it will generate new headaches for Republicans, already facing the prospect of losses in the Senate, who would no doubt have liked to run the incumbent, even given his alleged involvement in the firing of Albuquerque U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, for a...

Just over a week ago, third-placed Democratic presidential candidate, ex-Sen. John Edwards, broke with tradition and went to campaign in... Montana.
It was an odd move, but perhaps also a savvy one. After all, Edwards's advisers are surely aware that heading into 2008, the Mountain West will be a key battleground -- and one that Edwards evidently aims to claim as his own.
The Mountain West is traditionally Republican territory. Three of its core states -- Arizona, Montana and...

In the wake of Republican Sen. John Warner's retirement announcement just over a week ago, focus has shifted away from the Senate maverick to another outside-the-mold Warner of Virginia politics -- Democratic ex-Gov. Mark Warner.
Speculation has been rife for months that if Sen. Warner declined to run for re-election in 2008, the former Governor would step into the ring. However, over Labor Day weekend, Mr. Warner made clear that he is weighing at least two options: running for...