crosscut.com : White House

Hillary Clinton will you please go now!

Crosscut — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Flip Side: With apologies to Dr. Seuss and Maureen Dowd.

57 states — and the Soviet of Washington?

Crosscut — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:43:01 PDT

Sen. Barack Obama must be drinking some of the same Seattle water as secessionist Mayor Greg Nickels. In Beaverton, Ore., he told the crowd that he'd visited "57 states" with "one left to go." He goes on to say that the only states he hasn't been to during his presidential bid are Alaska and Hawaii, which means Obama thinks the U.S. has 58 states, though by his own count there should be 59.

After Pennsylvania, still a close race

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:00:01 PDT

Sen. Hillary Clinton won decisively, but she's still trailing Sen. Barack Obama in delegates. Next: North Carolina and Indiana.

An Earth Day accounting of planet-saving efforts

Crosscut — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Washington has enacted greenhouse gas-reducing measures and has signed the Western Climate Initiative. But about the most you can say for those efforts so far is that they don't do any harm — they're symbolic first steps.

Mr. Ruckelshaus goes to Washington

Crosscut — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:00:01 PDT

Bill Ruckelshaus, well known in these parts for his leadership in efforts to save salmon and Puget Sound, is having his 15 minutes of national fame. The lifelong Republican has endorsed Barack Obama, with the timing meant to be helpful to Obama's primary efforts in Indiana, where Ruckelshaus is a still-revered native son.

Ruckelshaus has had his earlier moments of fame, notably when he joined Elliot Richardson in defying President Nixon by refusing to fire Archibald Cox. It was a moment of great integrity, typical of Ruckelshaus's principled character, and it may have cost him the White House. I can explain.

Is Dino Rossi a moderate?

Crosscut — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

I wouldn't call him that, but the Republican candidate for governor has no need to run to the right to beat Christine Gregoire. Just as he did in the election cliffhanger of 2004, he can present himself as a comparatively moderate candidate, one in touch with the state's mainstream aspirations. He's starting to do that.

Pennsylvania could be a bellwether primary

Crosscut — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:00:01 PDT

With significant percentages of both Democratic candidates' supporters considering a shift to John McCain if their choice doesn't make it, the Pennsylvania contest's import couldn't be clearer. Whether or not McCain can overcome his obstacles, however, remains to be seen.

Get rich quick: Write poorly

Crosscut — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:00:01 PDT

Guess what best-selling author wrote this: "Almost everyone — regardless of income, available time, age, and skills — can do something useful for others and, in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity."

Like millions of others, the Clintons can't get their taxes done on time

Crosscut — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

More proof that the system is maddeningly complex, confusing, and just painful. Let's do something about it.

The Clintons' mighty morphin' Seattle-based hedge fund

Crosscut — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:30:01 PDT

The controversial former Seattle investment firm Quellos Group makes an appearance in the just-released Clinton tax returns. The Washington Post reports that the Clinton’s tax filing for 2006 discloses “an interest of an undisclosed size” by the Clintons in Quellos Alpha Engine, an investment fund headquartered in the Cayman Islands. Alpha Engine was one of a number of funds-of-funds — a bunch of separate hedge funds bundled into a single mutual fund — run by Quellos Group.

Here's a real dream ticket: Barack Obama and ...

Crosscut — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:01 PDT

Some say it's unfair that the U.S. Constitution stands in the way of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger running for president. Only the accident of his Austrian birth blocks his path.

Schwarzenegger's not the only one whose public service is stifled by the law of the land. A dream ticket awaits us, if we can just clear that Constitutional obstruction.

Hillary to the Democratic Party: I will burn down the house

Crosscut — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:02:01 PDT

In Sunday's Washington's Post, Hillary Clinton makes clear she's not going away till the bitter end, and it will be bitter if it doesn't go her way:

Why Hillary can and should stay the course

Crosscut — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

An Obama supporter and scarred veteran of many Democratic nominating contests outlines the political calculations that keep Clinton's hopes alive.

It's their party, they can cry if they want to

Crosscut — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Washington state's parties are looking for the silver lining in the top two primary system, but they're not going to find it.

A friend goes off to war — for a second time

Crosscut — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

It's hard when a friend goes off to war, especially when the president is envious.

Politics not as usual

Crosscut — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:00:01 PDT

A seminal campaign speech and a crisis on Wall Street mark a turning point in the national conversation, with implications far and near.

This marginal economy

Crosscut — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:00:01 PDT

Historic action by the Fed last week showed just how badly the home-loan crisis has affected broader financial markets. At ground zero is Seattle-based Washington Mutual, but it's far bigger than that now that the likes of Bear Stearns is teetering.

Washington's GOP ain't dead yet

Crosscut — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A delegate to the state convention talks about what he sees at the grass roots: diverse, enthusiastic, and newly active Republicans who are devoted to reviving and, as necessary, redefining the party.

If it's 3 a.m. when the Red Phone rings, what time is it really?

Crosscut — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:00:01 PDT

There's so much the federal government could be doing to make life easier, namely: Stop taking an hour away from us every spring and start moving blocks of time to more civilized and useful hours of the day.

Does Barack Obama have the brass?

Crosscut — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:00:01 PDT

If he wants to be president, he's going to have to answer the question sharply posed by his Democratic rival: Is he tough enough? So far, we don't know the answer.