Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Early Endorsement: “Express-News” Says Romney is “Clear GOP Choice”
The San Antonio paper weighs in now due to uncertainty over Texas primary date and spurns Congressman Ron Paul and Governor Rick Perry.
Barack Obama
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Sports
January 21, 2013
Fightin’ Words: Mark Cuban v. the NBA
Were the NBA champion Mavericks locked out from the traditional opportunity to meet President Obama?
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
UT College Republicans President’s Twitter Scandal Continues
Cassie Wright stays under the radar, but the media continues chattering about the offensive tweet.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Today in Perry: Campaign Phone Calls, College Football Fans, and Internal Optimism
Yep, he’s still running for President. Here’s the latest news from the campaign trail.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Today in Perry: Smear Tactics, Debate Hate, and Media Puts Him on Watch
Cain staffer points finger at Perry campaign for harassment leaks, the Governor still “hates” debating, and the Washington Post says that this month is “make or break”
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2012
Election Plight
In which Joshua Treviño and Harold Cook swap emails (and opinions) about the 2012 election, political trends, and what happens next in Texas.
Politics & Policy
September 25, 2012
North Austin Homeowner Takes Down Hanging Empty Chair
The Internet reacts to last week's "chair lynching" in North Austin.
Politics & Policy
July 31, 2012
Julián Castro to Deliver DNC Keynote Address
The San Antonio mayor will be the first Hispanic to give this speech.
The Culture
May 9, 2012
Annise Parker Cheers Obama’s Support of Marriage Equality
Houston's openly gay mayor had previously said Obama's views on gay marriage needed to "evolve" more quickly.
Politics & Policy
April 17, 2012
Ted Nugent Puts Obama in His Sights
Stumping for Mitt Romney at the NRA convention, the rock star proclaims that he "will either be dead or in jail by this time next year" if President Barack Obama is reelected.
News & Politics
February 8, 2012
Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: Texas-Born
Homegrown film director David Gordon Green and three writers who studied at the Michener Center made up the creative team behind "It's Halftime in America" commercial.
Politics & Policy
February 3, 2012
The President Helps a Fort Worth Engineer Get a Job
During a public videochat, an unemployed engineer's wife asked President Barack Obama why her husband didn't have a job. Now, the offers are pouring in.
Politics & Policy
January 25, 2012
How Drunk Would You Have Been If You Played Karl Rove’s SOTU Drinking Game?
Rove said that if State of the Union watchers drink every time President Obama said the phrase "middle class," then "we're going to have a lot of drunk people in America." Was he right?
Sports
January 1, 2012
Behind the Scenes at the Mavericks White House Visit
Between the overwhelming German press corps and the underwhelming holding pen for journalists covering the visit, the scene wasn't exactly what you would expect.
December 28, 2011
DMN Nails It By Naming Admiral Bill McRaven the Texan of the Year
The decision to bestow the honor to the SEAL Team Six commander took “just minutes and was a shutout,” according to Dallas Morning News editorial page editor Keven Ann Willey.
Politics & Policy
December 15, 2011
Are You a Whole Foods Voter or a Cracker Barrel Voter?
The Washington Post tries to put a fresh spin on the old red vs. blue divide by studying the voting habits of people who live close to one of the two retail chains.
Politics & Policy
December 14, 2011
Holder Holds the Voting Line at LBJ Library
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder talks tough about redistricting, Voter ID, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act at the LBJ Library & Museum in Austin
Politics & Policy
November 17, 2011
New UT College Republicans President Continues Offensive Tweeting Tradition
Cassandra Wright is the second University of Texas College Republicans President in just over a month to get into hot water for a tweet about President Obama.
Politics & Policy
November 16, 2011
UT Student’s Tweet: It’s “Tempting” To Shoot President Obama
Lauren E. Pierce, the president of the College Republicans at the University of Texas, tweeted about the White House shooting suspect Oscar Ramiro Ortego-Hernandez and lands on the national political media's radar.
Politics & Policy
August 13, 2011
The Great Campaigner
We interrupt your regular blogger to bring you a special message from the editor: So it’s official. As of today, at 1:30 pm EST, Governor Perry is finally a formal candidate for president (though we’ve been convinced he had eyes on the job as far back as
Politics & Policy
August 8, 2010
Obama’s upside-down visit
Republicans are salivating with anticipation; Democrats are running for cover. This is nothing new. The biggest enemy of the Texas Democratic party has always been the national Democratic party, dating back to 1952, when Governor Allan Shivers broke the Solid South by endorsing Eisenhower, who carried Texas. The worst thing
Politics & Policy
April 25, 2010
Target practice
Remember that comment Perry made a week or so ago, when Obama talked about adding jobs at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but remained mum about the Johnson Space Center in Houston? Perry said that Obama had “put a target on Texas’s back.” One hardly expects Obama to love
Politics & Policy
September 5, 2009
The Obama speech to school children
This is one of those flaps that is hard to believe. Conservatives are going nuts over Obama’s plan to speak to school kids urging them to stay in school. For sheer hysteria, it is hard to top Debbie Riddle’s letter to constituents: By now, most of you are aware that
Politics & Policy
February 4, 2009
Obama ups the ante in Medicaid debate
President Obama just lent a hand to the advocates in Austin who have been arguing for 12-month eligibility for families signing up for Medicaid, as opposed to having to re-up every six months. Obama today signed the SCHIP Reauthorization Act, which rewards states that reach more children with Medicaid. Currently,
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2009
Dreams from My Father
How my dad learned to stop worrying and love a Democrat.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 2009
Working on a Presidential Campaign
Kenny Thompson on planning Obama’s campaign events.
Politics & Policy
November 29, 2008
Rush to Judgment
Jack Rains, whom some may remember as a former Secretary of State during the Bill Clements years, sent this commentary by Rush Limbaugh to his (Rains’) e-mail list. It pertains to the county-by-county map of the election (click on image for full map). I will comment following Limbaugh’s
Politics & Policy
November 25, 2008
Thought for the day
One of my favorite web sites is Stratfor.com, a private, Austin- and Washington-based firm that specializes in geopolitical analysis. Yesterday’s analysis focused on Obama’s approach to governing. If that seems a trifle far from geopolitics, Stratfor points out that what Obama decides will impact a world that remains
Politics & Policy
October 25, 2008
Zogby: Obama, Noriega lead in Harris County (but read the fine print)
In a Zogby poll taken for the Houston Chronicle to coincide with the start of early voting, the results showed Barack Obama with a 7-point lead over John McCain in Harris County and Rick Noriega with a similar lead over John Cornyn. The poll was published by the
Politics & Policy
October 16, 2008
McCain Scores, but Can’t Keep the Momentum
This was a debate out of the past, one that centered on familiar issues–taxes, spending, health care, education, abortion, litmus tests for judges. It was about ideology, left versus right. The 800 pound gorilla in the room is the economic crisis, but only the first two questions dealt with it.
Politics & Policy
October 8, 2008
Obama scores huge win (he did?)
I didn’t see it that way, but that is certainly what the networks are saying. CNN’s poll of debate viewers called it 54-30 for Obama. I thought the debate was pretty even and generally devoid of fireworks. The only way I can account for such a margin is it reflects
Politics & Policy
October 7, 2008
The rules for tonight’s debate
This is from my favorite web site, politicalwire.com. It represents outtakes from a longer piece by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago-Sun Times about the negotiations between the two camps for the debate. I recommend Sweet’s article. Readers will find it informative. Sweet points out that the
Politics & Policy
September 28, 2008
Who won the debate?
Can I vote "present?" It was hard to score. One of the factors in a presidential debate is gaffes. There were none. Another is body language. (Remember Al Gore's eye-rolling performance in the first debate of 2000.) Both candidates maintained their discipline, McCain moreso than Obama, who was too visibly
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2008
Editor’s Letter
I bet you’d like to know what’s going to happen on March 4, when Texas finally gets to have a say in the presidential race. Beats the heck out of me. Over the past twelve months, I’ve been asserting, with arrogant certainty, that the November combatants would be Clinton and
Politics & Policy
February 22, 2008
Debate Stalemate
There was no clear winner in the Texas Democratic debate. That result should benefit the front-runner, but who is the front-runner? Hillary Clinton is ahead in the polls here, but Barack Obama is surging nationally, and that momentum is reflected in Texas by the early vote totals. He is ahead