David Corn

Washington Bureau Chief

Corn has broken stories on presidents, politicians, and other Washington players. He's written for numerous publications and is a talk show regular. His best-selling books include Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War.

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Blinded by McCain, Michelle Malkin Misreads MoJo

—By David Corn

| Thu Jan. 24, 2008 6:16 PM PST

Michelle Malkin, my old sparring partner at Fox News, ought to reread my colleague Jonathan Stein's dispatch on the feverish McCain hatred among right-wing commentators (including Malkin). On her blog, Malkin cites the article as--a-ha!--yet more proof of the "left-wing media's love affair" with Senator John McCain. But in the piece, Stein shows McCain no affection. He merely reports on the rage McCain triggers among conservative leaders, writers, and bloggers, noting that this gang, already upset with McCain's recent success in the GOP primaries, will go ballistic if he does well in Florida and--gasp!--on Supersaturated Tuesday. Her item confirms the point of the piece: McCain sure pushes these guys and gals over the edge. And consider this: McCain is the only major Republican party candidate who's done any heavy-lifting in support of George W. Bush's war in Iraq. Yet he gets no love from these war cheerleaders. What ingrates.

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Michelle vs. Bill: In the Democratic Race, the Spouses Go at It

—By David Corn

| Thu Jan. 24, 2008 1:22 PM PST

Can Michelle Obama take down Bill Clinton?

Well, can she at least exploit the spouse of her spouse's chief rival to raise money for her own spouse?

On Thursday afternoon, the Obama campaign sent out a fundraising appeal signed by Barack Obama's wife that uses Bill Clinton's recent swipes at Senator Obama as its main get-out-your-checkbooks motivator. She writes:

We knew getting into this race that Barack would be competing with Senator Clinton and President Clinton at the same time.

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

Schwarzkopf Endorses McCain: Let's Forget About the Iraq War

—By David Corn

| Wed Jan. 23, 2008 8:30 AM PST

A press release from McCain HQ:

ARLINGTON, VA — Today, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. Army (Ret.) issued the following statement endorsing John McCain for President of the United States:

"Senator John McCain has served our country with honor in war and in peace. He has demonstrated the type of courageous leadership our country sorely needs at this time. For that reason, he has my complete support."

A January 28, 2003 article from The Washington Post:

TAMPA — Norman Schwarzkopf wants to give peace a chance.

The general who commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn't seen enough evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now. He thinks U.N. inspections are still the proper course to follow. He's worried about the cockiness of the U.S. war plan, and even more by the potential human and financial costs of occupying Iraq....

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

Fred Thompson Exits, Stage Right

—By David Corn

| Tue Jan. 22, 2008 1:50 PM PST

Fred Thompson, we hardly knew ye.

Well, actually, we did. And we—or, more importantly, Republican voters—didn't like what they saw: a halfhearted and curmudgeonly candidate who didn't seem to have all that much to say.

The failed candidacy of Thompson, who announced his retreat from the presidential race on Tuesday, does not demand much analysis. On paper, he seemed ideal: a Southerner with a conservative bent, a popular television star, and a Republican who did not piss off any major bloc in the GOP coalition. But as any Hollywood veteran knows, a project on paper can look a lot better than what eventually hits the local multiplex or TV screen.

Thompson put in the worst presidential campaign performance of recent years. At times, he didn't seem to want the part. The media narrative that emerged—Thompson the Lazy Candidate—was, whaddayaknow, kind of true. A few days ago, NPR asked several presidential candidates to name their all-time favorite presidents. The replies were predictable. And Thompson selected George Washington. But his explanation was all-too telling. Thompson did not cite Washington's military victory over the British or his achievements as the nation's first president. He said he admired Washington because he had been able to walk away from the presidency after serving two terms. Thompson pointed out that Washington never returned to Washington (the city) once he was no longer chief executive. Thompson was more intrigued by how a president leaves office than how one governs while in the job.

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

How Will Ron Paul's Libertarian Fans View His Big Anti-Abortion Endorsement?

—By David Corn

| Tue Jan. 22, 2008 12:02 PM PST

Do all those libertarians swooning over Ron Paul realize he's no get-the-government-out-of-my life freedom-lover when it comes to reproductive rights? Today Representative Paul was in Washington--not toiling hard to abolish the Department of Education or to end the Iraq war--but holding a press conference with Norma Leah McCorvey. She was the "Jane Roe" of the Supreme Court's 1973 Rove v. Wade decision, which declared that most antiabortion laws in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy. But since then McCorvey has switched sides and has become an antiabortion activist. These days, she runs her own antiabortion ministry.

At the press conference, McCorvey endorsed Paul. For antiabortion outfits, McCorvey has long been a much used icon. And her support of Paul, who authored legislation in Congress that would define life as beginning at conception, could help his far-from-the-mainstream candidacy among social conservatives. But for his libertarian fans, this endorsement is also a reminder that Paul is indeed in favor of Big Government...when it would do his bidding. If elected president, Paul could fire all those people working at the Department of Education and offer them jobs chasing after anyone who obtains an abortion or uses an IUD.