Politics

While inside-the-Beltway boys declared Al Gore’s spiffy new wardrobe evidence that “Al the Stiff” is casting about for a more salable image, fashion and media mavens viewed his new duds as, well, clothes. From Democratic media man Michael Sheehan to fashion historian Anne Hollander and GQ magazine editor Art Cooper, the consensus is that politicians … Read more

Alvin E. Toffel, a former president of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and national campaign manager for Rep. Paul N. “Pete” McCloskey’s antiwar run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1972, has died. He was 69. Toffel died Sunday of a stroke while vacationing in Las Vegas with his wife, singer Neile McQueen Adams, … Read more

President Obama plans to use his State of the Union speech Tuesday to articulate a centrist vision that will shape the remaining two years of his term and provide a template for his reelection campaign. Obama has been moving steadily to the political center since his midterm election drubbing two months ago, agreeing to extend … Read more

The Democratic-controlled Congress, closing ranks behind President Bush at a crucial moment in American history, voted Saturday to authorize U.S. troops to attack Iraq as early as Wednesday. Bush’s victory was decisive and bipartisan, even though the authorization was strongly opposed by the Democratic leadership and most aspirants for the Democratic presidential nomination. Many Democrats … Read more

State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine is not a vegetarian, is allergic to cats and doesn’t own a dog. (He does, however, admit to a “family of dust bunnies” under his bed.) This year, the only legislation that has come close to making him famous — both “Good Morning, America” and “The Colbert Report” took notice — … Read more

President Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 13 in Washington. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) By the standard President Biden set himself, the core purpose he proclaimed when he ran in 2020, it is impossible to assess his one-term presidency as anything but a failure. … Read more

The Democratic candidate for Florida attorney general, stunned by the apparent murder-suicide of his son and ex-wife, secluded himself Tuesday while voters chose between him and his Republican challenger. Bob Butterworth was “in shock” after being informed Monday night that his former wife had shot their only child to death and committed suicide, said Ron … Read more

Re “Palin to be MIA on Sunday shows,” Sept. 7 Rick Davis, an aide to John McCain, states that he and other Republican strategists would determine if or when it would serve their purpose to allow vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to go on any televised news programs. He goes on to say that “if … Read more

After vowing to create a “new Texas” in her inaugural address in January, Gov. Ann Richards wasted little time starting to make good on her promise. With her folksy charm and down-home humor, Richards has taken the capital by storm. And her hallmark has been an aggressively populist approach to government. In contrast to her … Read more

Each of the three most fiercely contested battleground states in the 2000 campaign remain up for grabs between Al Gore and George W. Bush, new Los Angeles Times Polls have found. In a vivid measure of the race’s extraordinary competitiveness, the surveys found the two men running virtually stride-for-stride in Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania–the three … Read more