The Kicker

Earlier today, I mentioned an article, penned by the HuffPo’s Rachel Sklar, that explains Rachel Maddow’s ascension to her own show as evidence of liberal leanings at MSNBC–and of the power Keith Olbermann, a Maddow mentor, enjoys at the network. “This isn’t about why she was hired, this is about who she replaced, and why […]

As a lead-up to Denver, the Washington Post has enlisted David Broder–who has covered every convention since 1956 (again: 1956)–for a series of videos in which he reflects on conventions past. “I love conventions,” Broder says in today’s spot, “but they’re not today what they were then.” Slight understatement, perhaps. But that makes the remarkable […]

Rachel Sklar, senior editor at the Huffington Post and scribe of its “Eat the Press” column, has an article up on Romenesko today. Which would be unremarkable, save for the fact that the article’s presence on Poynter wasn’t the result of curation: it was originally published there. As an entry in Poynter’s Forum, to be […]

Barack Obama once again gets the cover of Time magazine. For anyone keeping track, this makes seven Time covers for the Illinois senator; John McCain has thus far graced only two. [via Drudge]

Talk about a housing crisis. Yesterday, following John McCain on the trail in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Politico’s Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen asked the senator a seemingly straightforward question: how many homes do you and Cindy own? The answer, coming from a candidate who has made much of his opponent’s general “elitism”—and during, of […]

So Denver authorities are assuming, it seems, that the press, pols, and party people who’ll be descending on their city next week will be high on more than Hope. Reason is reporting (h/t: Ben Smith) that Denver’s own drug czar, Mason Tvert, is expecting a “surge” in pot use while the convention’s in town. Tolvert, […]

Gail Collins today on the Lieberman-could-be-McCain’s-veep-choice buzz: When you have a 71-year-old presidential candidate, it’s particularly important that voters be confident that he’s backed up by an experienced and qualified vice president prepared to step in and do the exact opposite about everything except Iraq. How about someone prepared to step in and do the […]

ABC News noted (veep!) that Evan Bayh’s wife had her hair done (stakes!). 23/6.com imagines an IM exchange between Obama veep hopefuls in which Kathleen Sebelius (IM handle, “SebeliusBizness”) has some choice words about Evan Bayh’s (“BayhCurious”) coiffure. And Vanity Fair polled “three of New York’s top hair stylists” on “yet another issue in John […]

The Washington Post‘s Capitol Briefing blogger, Ben Pershing, explains how it was that he and

Georgia cuts access to the last Russian radio station left standing

Will Bunch on the press on the Edwards Affair: How is it that the Enquirer can assign a team of people to expose a presidential sex scandal, and a big newspaper or TV network can’t? You probably know this, but when it comes to American politics, sex scandals are the ONLY story that the Enquirer […]

CNN was reporting this afternoon on the “death of” Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D, OH) up until it carried live, around 2:30, a press conference at a Cleveland hospital during which a spokesperson referred to Tubbs Jones being “in critical condition at present,” having suffered an aneurysm. Soon thereafter, before our very eyes, “death of” […]