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Why the IRS Scandal May Be More Politically Potent Than Benghazi

May 16, 2013 Scandals for the Obama administration offer political opportunities for Republicans. But while GOP strategists acknowledge it’s tempting to use continued questions over Benghazi as fodder for attack ads or fundraising, many are arguing it's not effective politics. That hasn’t stopped Republican groups from seeking to capitalize politically off the Benghazi ...

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Weighty Politics: Why Haven't We Seen Heavier Presidents?

May 8, 2013 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie emphasized this his decision to get weight-loss surgery had nothing to do with any future political ambitions. But it also highlights a reality of American presidential politics: There hasn’t been a significantly overweight president of the United States in nearly a century. It's hard to ...

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What to Expect at Wednesday’s Benghazi Hearing

May 7, 2013 The Obama Administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which left ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead, will come into focus on Wednesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing. Testimony by three self-described whistleblowers could contradict portions of the narrative of ...

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Why Politicians Need to Beware of the Meme

March 12, 2013 Sen. Marco Rubio can’t make a public appearance these days without at least one water-sip joke or mentioning his penchant for rap (or, let’s face it, both). But in this digital era of rapidly-moving memes and ever-declining attention spans, such jokes run the danger of getting old, fast. It wasn’t ...

How Republicans Are Looking to Close the Digital Divide Against Democrats

February 20, 2013 As Robert Draper underscored in last week’s New York Times magazine cover story, the Republican Party is engaged in serious soul-searching about why they were so badly outgunned by the Democrats on the technology front in the last election. One of the most telling anecdotes in the story: The suggestion ...

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John Kerry departure leads to racial milestone in the Senate

January 30, 2013 John Kerry's departure from the Senate to head the State Department has led to an historic moment in the Senate. For the first time, the upper chamber has two African-American senators. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appointed his former chief of staff, William "Mo" Cowan, to fill Kerry’s seat until June’s ...

A tale of 2 strategies: The Twitter genius of Chuck Grassley and Cory Booker

January 10, 2013 If you’re on Twitter and not following Sen. Chuck Grassley, you’re not using Twitter correctly. The Iowa Republican is known for his colorful and personal Twitter feed. Take a gander: He personally tweets about everything from the History Channel to "Obamacare" to an incident in which he hit a deer ...

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Republicans in fighting mood over debt ceiling

January 8, 2013 The recent fiscal-cliff showdown has left Republicans smarting, putting much of their legislative gamesmanship over the spending and taxes standoff at odds with the public's desire for compromise. A newly-released Pew poll suggests that the messy negotiations benefited the White House: Just 19 percent gave GOP leaders good marks on ...

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House to reconvene Sunday evening

December 27, 2012 It's official: the House will be back in session Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced Thursday. The House will reconvene at 6:30 p.m., Sunday -- a mere 29 hours and 30 minutes before the country goes off the fiscal cliff. So... Plenty of time to get something done, right? ...

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Video: Another fiscal cliff scenario, as predicted by 'Saturday Night Live'

December 21, 2012 Hey everybody: calm down. House Speaker John Boehner's failure last night to get enough votes to pass Plan B doesn't necessarily spell doom for a fiscal cliff deal, as my colleague Chris Frates explains. One point worth highlighting: Boehner's whip counters now have a pretty good idea of how many ...