http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/ en Copyright 2008 Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:45:00 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss In the days and weeks following Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's loss in the 2004 presidential election, the massive campaign staff he had constructed quickly dissolved. They returned to their lives as consultants, lobbyists and staffers on Capitol Hill, and quickly began the search for a new candidate in 2008. Not Amy Dacey. Dacey, who joined Kerry's presidential effort in 2003 and eventually rose to be the traveling political director in the general election, stuck by the Massachusetts Senator -- helping him wrap up the inevitable loose ends of a national bid, and then moving to the staff of his leadership political action committee. Amy Dacey with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) "I felt very strongly that I wanted to continue working with him," said Dacey. "Right after the election he wanted to get right back up and work on this. That was impressive to me and I wanted to be a http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/08/insider_interview_amy_dacey.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/08/insider_interview_amy_dacey.html Insider Interview Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:45:00 -0400 The lasting image of the 1988 presidential race is of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D) riding on top of a military tank clad awkwardly in a too-big helmet and jumpsuit. Bennett says Democrats "have got to win not just a majority of moderates but a supermajority in a lot of places in order to win." (Photo courtesy of Third Way) The media, as well as GOP nominee George H.W. Bush, cast the image as a symbolic of Dukakis's weakness on national security issues and awkwardness on the world stage -- defining factors in his defeat that fall. Matt Bennett, at the time a 21-year-old campaign aide working advance for Dukakis at that fateful event, remembers the day well. In fact, the jumpsuit that Dukakis donned that day hangs in Bennett's closet to this day -- nearly two decades later. (Jack Weeks, Dukakis's trip director during the '88 campaign, has the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/07/insider_interview_third_ways_m.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/07/insider_interview_third_ways_m.html Insider Interview Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:00:46 -0400 As part of our continuing series of interviews with politicians weighing bids for president in 2008, the Post's Dan Balz and I sat down with Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) late last month. Arizona Sen. John McCain Much has been written on The Fix and elsewhere about McCain's public support for President Bush on issues like the war in Iraq and immigration, as well as his more private courtship of key players from the president's 2000 and 2004 races. During the 30-minute interview McCain said that any sort of timetable-setting for troop withdrawals from Iraq would be a mistake and asserted that progress is being made. On immigration McCain expressed optimism that a compromise bill could emerge before the November election, warning that his party faces considerable peril if no legislation is approved. He also reiterated his call for partisan comity on Capitol Hill, decried the negativity of modern campaigns, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/07/insider_interview_john_mccain.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/07/insider_interview_john_mccain.html Insider Interview Mon, 10 Jul 2006 06:02:44 -0400 When Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called President Bush a "liar" and a "loser" last spring, Paul Adams sprang into action. He started a website called "Reid's Retchings", hoping to make it a clearinghouse for comments made by the Nevada Senator that Adams believed were not getting enough attention from the media. "I was pissed," recalls Adams, the chairman of Nevada's Republican Party. "I thought it was completely inappropriate to say that on the national stage especially in a time of war." "Reid's Retchings" soon became "The Reid World" a compendium of Reid comments and commentary maintained by Adams and sponsored by the Republican Party. Adams makes no apologies for his coordination with the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- both of whom supply him with occasional material and research. The goal? "An erosion of his stature," said Adams. "Long term we'd like to knock him http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_paul_adams.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_paul_adams.html Insider Interview Mon, 26 Jun 2006 06:00:00 -0400 Jon Ralston is already an institution in Nevada politics. In 2008, he just might become one nationally. Ralston is the political reporter in Nevada, and his state is very likely to play a special role in the 2008 presidential campaign, as the Democratic Party may schedule the Silver State's caucuses to fall in the week between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. If Nevada's caucus date is moved up, Ralston will join two other reporters -- David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register and John DiStaso of the Manchester Union Leader -- as holding a very special vantage point when it comes to covering the 2008 nominating contest. "I look at it very selfishly," said Ralston when discussing the possibility that Nevada's caucus will be moved into the first weeks of the primary campaign. "I want it to happen because I think it's good for me." Ralston, like http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_jon_ralston.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_jon_ralston.html Insider Interview Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:00:57 -0400 "Cautious" is not a word that comes to mind when writing about Russ Feingold. Feingold is tired of what he says is Democrats' softness on issues. "[W]e lost because we were perceived as unable to take the tough stands," he says. (Reuters) The Wisconsin senator was the first member of his party to propose a timeline for withdrawing American troops from Iraq last fall, and when news broke about the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping campaign, Feingold introduced a resolution to censure the president for violating U.S. law. Political suicide, says the Democratic political establishment. Phooey, responds Feingold. "I've heard these pundits, they are people that are paid by Democrats, many of them were in the Clinton administration, these are paid political pundits and paid political consultants who make their living coming up [to] the Capitol and telling the Democratic leadership this is a loser," Feingold says. "It is bad advice. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_russ_feingol.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/insider_interview_russ_feingol.html Insider Interview Mon, 05 Jun 2006 07:55:43 -0400 In a discussion with The Fix's Chris Cillizza and chief Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold shares his views on the weaknesses of the Democratic party, the war in Iraq and his plans for 2008. Download/Listen to the interview (edited) or read the full transcript. By clicking on the links below you can subscribe to The Fix's political podcast, which includes news, interviews and analysis. You'll receive a new podcast every two weeks or so. Audio Podcast: XML | iTunes | My Yahoo Video Podcast: XML | iTunes | My Yahoo http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/the_fix_podcast_sen_russ_feing_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/06/the_fix_podcast_sen_russ_feing_1.html Insider Interview Mon, 05 Jun 2006 07:35:29 -0400 The Fix's Chris Cillizza and chief Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz sat down with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to talk about the governor's views on politics and faith, as well as his plans for 2008. Download/Listen to the interview (edited) or read the full transcript. By clicking on the links below you can subscribe to The Fix's political podcast, which includes news, interviews, and analysis. You'll receive a new podcast every two weeks or so. Audio Podcast: XML | iTunes | My Yahoo Video Podcast: XML | iTunes | My Yahoo http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/mike_huckabee_the_podcast.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/mike_huckabee_the_podcast.html Insider Interview Wed, 24 May 2006 19:10:17 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_mike_huckabe.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_mike_huckabe.html Insider Interview Tue, 23 May 2006 06:00:08 -0400 New York Gov. George Pataki (R) isn't a household name in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes, but Leonard Rodriguez aims to make him one. Should New York's George Pataki enter the '08 GOP presidential race, Leonard Rodriguez will bring valuable national campaign experience to the Pataki organization. (Courtesy Leonard Rodriguez) Rodriguez, who caught the eye of White House political guru Karl Rove during the early days of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential bid, is staking his quick rise through the Republican ranks on Pataki -- signing on as political director of the governor's 21st Century Freedom PAC. "This guy has a lot to offer and has really not been given an opportunity for the public at large to know his work and his story," Rodriguez said of Pataki. Rodriguez is one of a number of former Bush campaign aides who have already signed on with a candidate for the upcoming 2008 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_leonard_rodr.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_leonard_rodr.html Insider Interview Mon, 15 May 2006 08:10:55 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_chris_esposi.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_chris_esposi.html Insider Interview Mon, 08 May 2006 08:45:13 -0400 In 2000 Michigan was John McCain's last stand. In 2008 it could be his final hurdle to the Republican presidential nomination. McCain has an early lead for 2008, according to Mich. party chairman Saul Anuzis. (Courtesy Michigan GOP) Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis says the organization that the Arizona senator used to best George W. Bush six years ago is still largely in place, making McCain the only prospective GOP candidate with an active campaign infrastructure in the state. "Right now McCain is clearly the guy to beat in Michigan," Anuzis said. That doesn't mean that McCain is the only Republican spending time and attention courting voters in the state. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was born in Michigan and whose father served as the state's governor from 1963 to 1969, is active in Michigan, along with New York Gov. George Pataki and Sens. Bill Frist (Tenn.), Sam Brownback http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_saul_anuzis.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/05/insider_interview_saul_anuzis.html Insider Interview Mon, 01 May 2006 08:33:07 -0400 Everything pollster Pete Brodnitz needed to know about the 2005 Virginia governor's race he learned two years ago in Nevada. Can Democratic pollster Pete Brodnitz apply the lessons he learned in Nevada and Virginia to help the Democrats reclaim the Senate this year? (Courtesy Pete Brodnitz) Brodnitz, who handled Gov. Tim Kaine's (D) survey research in 2005, spent much of the previous year polling for the Nevada Democratic caucus -- several of whose members faced tough races in 2004 after supporting an $833 million tax increase proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn (R). Not only did Brodnitz's clients win, but he also helped knock off two Republicans who had been the most ardent opponents of the tax increase. "A lot of my views about what we were going to do in Virginia were informed by my views in Nevada," he said. What did Brodnitz do in Virginia? Elect Kaine in the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_democratic_p.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_democratic_p.html Insider Interview Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:28:25 -0400 Ask Tom Rath to describe the courting process between presidential candidates and New Hampshire voters and he begins to wax poetic. "It is a real art form," Rath said. "It's...kind of mannered, almost elegant dance." Rath should know. He has been involved in nearly every Republican presidential primary fight in the Granite State since 1964 when he worked for New York Sen. Nelson Rockefeller as a freshman at Dartmouth College. (Rockefeller and eventual nominee Barry Goldwater lost the primary to Henry Cabot Lodge, who ran as a write-in candidate.) The presidential candidates Rath has supported over the years are a who's who of Republican power-brokers -- former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker (1984) and Bob Dole (1988), former President George H.W. Bush (1992), Sen. Lamar Alexander (1996 and 2000) and President George W. Bush (2004). All of that experience in New Hampshire primary politics makes Rath, 60, one of the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_granite_stat.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_granite_stat.html Insider Interview Mon, 10 Apr 2006 08:37:47 -0400 Indiana's junior senator is nothing if not thoughtful. Bayh is laying the groundwork for a 2008 White House run. Above, Bayh, center, talks with members of New Hampshire Young Democrats before an address on Sunday, March 26 2006, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP) Ask Evan Bayh about his views on almost any foreign or domestic issue, and he'll offer a measured perspective. (Watch video excerpts of the Bayh interview below, or read the full transcript.) Take the war in Iraq. Bayh, like most of his Democratic Senate colleagues weighing a presidential bid in 2008, initially supported the 2002 use-of-force resolution against Iraq. But unlike some of his rivals, Bayh has so far been unwilling to either fully repudiate that vote or set hard deadlines for withdrawing U.S. troops from the country. "We've got to be somewhere between 'cut and run'...and mindlessly staying the course," Bayh said during an interview with several http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_evan_bayh.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/04/insider_interview_evan_bayh.html Insider Interview Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:24:44 -0400