AARP COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH?.... In August, at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire, President Obama talked about the broad support that exists for health care reform. The coalition, he noted, included the American Medical Association and Americ...

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING.... Back in August, Jon Stewart did a segment on South Carolina, kicked off by a report about a South Carolinian who loved his horse just a little too much (twice). Stewart said, "We here...

THE LONG-SOUGHT, STILL-ELUSIVE GOP ALTERNATIVE.... When pressed on why Democrats are moving forward with a health care reform plan, while Republicans haven't offered a proposal of their own, GOP leaders will routinely say there are a handful of R...

MEDICARE PART E.... The first time I ran across someone calling the public option "Medicare Part E" was a month ago, when Mark Kleiman recommended it. Apparently, Thom Hartmann started using the same phrase in early September. And while we&...

CIRCUMVENTING THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.... The fall has not been especially kind to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It's lost some high-profile corporate members; its membership ranks have been exposed as exaggerated; and its leadership has been emb...

SORRY, CHARLIE.... Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), up until recently a near shoo-in for next year's Senate race, is facing a spirited challenge from the Republican Party's far-right flank, which has rallied behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio...

TABOR'S TROUBLES.... For a while, Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) measures were all the rage. Right-wing leaders like Grover Norquist would travel around, trying to convince state lawmakers to approve measures that made it extremely difficult to raise...

THURSDAY'S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP....Today's installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn't generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers. * Connecticut's Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee for the Senate in 2006,...

WHEN A 'MODERATE' GIVES UP ON MODERATION.... In the 109th* Congress, which ended last year, Rep. Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois was one of the House Republican caucus' most moderate members. This year, he voted with Democrats on a cap-and-trade...

TWO KINDS OF INTRA-PARTY DIVISIONS.... There are clearly some divisions among congressional Democrats with regards to strategy -- does the majority become more ambitious, generate some excitement, and rack up some key accomplishments in advance of next...