The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

The Familiar Pattern Emerges Again

JOHNSTON, Iowa Today I published another column from the campaign trail here in Iowa: Rick Santorum made a bold prediction here Friday night: The Pittsburgh Steelers will go all the way to the Super Bowl for a rematch with the Green Bay Packers. The former Pennsylvania senator was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation on […]

Don’t Underestimate Rick Santorum’s Campaign Strength in New Hampshire

“Ten days ago I was at 5 percent [in the polls] and every question I got was ‘Why don’t you pack it up and endorse another candidate?’ And now they’re saying ‘You’ve got to win [in Iowa] to exceed expectations.’” — Rick Santorum on NBC’s Meet the Press JOHNSTON, Iowa One of the stupid assumptions […]

Rick Santorum Talks Steelers Football

JOHNSTON, Iowa My friend Dan Collins insisted that I must interview the candidate about his favorite NFL team, which I did Friday night: SANTORUM: “We will beat the Browns this week. My prediction is, both the Patriots will lose to the Bills and the Ravens will lose to the Bengals and we will be the […]

SANTORUM SURGE SUNDAY: Final Poll Makes Front-Page News in Des Moines

JOHNSTON, Iowa You’re looking at the front page of Sunday’s Des Moines Register, which I just bought this morning at a convenience store down the street, and which carries the results of their final poll: Mitt Romney tops the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in the closing days before the Iowa caucuses, but Ron Paul […]

‘Occupy’ Protesters at Bachmann HQ: Proof That Gardasil Causes Retardation?

JOHNSTON, Iowa Michele Bachmann has taken a lot of flak for saying that she was approached in Florida by a mother who claimed her daughter suffered brain damage as the result of a Gardasil vaccination. You may sneer at that claim, but when I showed up at Bachmann’s Iowa campaign headquarters today for an scheduled […]

Michele Bachmann Flyer Omits Comparison to Records of Santorum, Paul

JOHNSTON, Iowa During my visit to the Iowa headquarters of Michele Bachmann in nearby Urbandale today, I picked up a copy of a slick full-color flyer being distributed by her campaign (see front and back photos below). The 8½-by-11-inch flyer urges Iowa Republicans to “Vote for a Consistent Conservative” and includes an issue-by-issue comparison between the […]

Perry Campaign’s Amateur Hour

The secret to an effective “oppo dump” is to leave no fingerprints. The campaign trying to push negative information about its rival into the media strives to obscure the origin of the attack. If the Rick Perry campaign thinks that delivering its opposition research files to Erick Erickson is an effective messaging technique — well, […]

‘Quite a Difference!’

AMES, Iowa Here at Buffalo Wild Wings near the campus of Iowa State University, the place is packed with media covering the Rick Santorum campaign. I’ll have photos in a few minutes, but first, let me explain that title quote. On Aug. 11, after the debate before the Ames Straw Poll, I came to this […]

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