Posts by Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Explosion From Apparent Bomb Injures 29 In New York City

An explosion that ended up injuring 29 people interrupted an otherwise quiet Saturday evening in the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City.

Third Party Candidates Excluded From Presidential, Vice-Presidential Debate

Once again, the debate commission controlled by the two major parties is excluding third-party candidates from the Presidential debates.

Trump’s Campaign Says He Now Believes Obama Was Born In The U.S.

Donald Trump’s campaign is apparently finally acknowledging reality, although its claim that birtherism originated with the Clinton campaign in 2008 does not comport with the facts.

Despite Historic Success, Gary Johnson Struggles To Qualify For Presidential Debates

Gary Johnson is doing better than any third-party candidate in twenty years, but that doesn’t mean he’s likely to get an invitation to the upcoming Presidential debates.

Even Trump’s Supporters Don’t Believe Mexico Would Pay For Trump’s Border Wall

Apparently, even people who support Donald Trump don’t believe his claim that he can get Mexico to pay for his border wall.

With Eight Weeks To Go, A Tighter Race But It’s Still Advantage Clinton

The election is now fifty-six days away and, while the race is tighter than it has been, it’s still one in which Hillary Clinton has seemingly all the advantages.

Clinton Health Scare Raises Questions

Clinton stumbles and leaves an event early, leading to the news that her campaign has been withholding health information from the press.

The Lost National ‘Unity’ Of September 11th

The sense of national ‘unity’ that existed in the wake of the September 11th attacks didn’t last for very long.

U.S., Russian Agreement On Syria Seems Doomed To Fail

The United States and Russia have reached an agreement to end fighting in Syria, but it seems unlikely to succeed given that it doesn’t involve the parties actually doing the fighting.

What To Do About North Korea?

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear program but it’s unclear what anyone can do about it.

Donald Trump’s Disturbing, Disqualifying Love Affair With Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump’s admiration and praise for the dictatorial leader of Russia should be sufficient reason to disqualify him from being President of the United States.

North Korea Conducts Another Nuclear Weapons Test As The World Runs Out Of Options

North Korea conducts yet another nuclear weapons test, and it’s unclear what anyone can do to stop them.

Republicans Vow To Continue Investigations Even If Hillary Clinton Wins The White House

House Republicans are vowing to continue their investigations even if Hillary Clinton wins the White House.

Federal Prosecutors Will Not Retry Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell

After a unanimous Supreme Court victory, Bob McDonnell won’t be facing another corruption trial.

Gary Johnson Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

Libertarian Party Presidential candidate Gary Johnson doesn’t get much national press attention, and it doesn’t help when he flubs an answer like he did this morning.

Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Trial Set For June 2017

A long way off, but there are some important pre-trial matters to resolve between now and then.

The Unserious Campaign Of Evan McMullin

Evan McMullin’s quixotic campaign for President continues.

Fox News Pays Gretchen Carlson $20 Million To Settle Sexual Harassment Allegations

Roger Ailes’s sexual harassment has led to Fox News paying out some big dollars.

With Nine Weeks To Go, Clinton’s Post-Convention Bounce Seems To Have Disappeared

It’s the traditional start of the campaign season, and the race for President is getting close, at least at the national level.

Latino Voters Really Don’t Like Donald Trump, And That’s Hurting The GOP As A Whole

Another poll shows that Latino voters are set to reject Donald Trump in record numbers, and now they’re turning against the GOP.

New Emails And F.B.I. Notes Show Clinton Still Hasn’t Put Email Issue Behind Her

Another set of revelations shows that the Clinton campaign has yet to put the email story behind it.

Trump Surrogate: Without Donald Trump There Will Be ‘A Taco Truck On Every Corner’

A Trump surrogate warns of a “taco truck on every corner” if Trump loses. That sounds like more of a promise than a threat if you ask me.

August Jobs Report Delivers Mediocre Numbers

A mostly mediocre jobs report for August.

Trump Campaign Forces Volunteers To Sign Non-Disparagement Agreement

If you want to volunteer for Donald Trump, you’ll have to agree to never disparage Trump, his family, his campaign, or any of his businesses. Forever.

Supreme Court Blocks North Carolina From Enforcing Restrictive Voting Law

In a ruling that could have a real impact on the 2016 election, the Supreme Court has declined to grant a stay to a lower court ruling striking down a North Carolina law that tightened Voter ID laws and restricted early voting.

Donald Trump Doubles Down On Hard Line Immigration Policies

After some two weeks in which it seemed like he might be moderating, Donald Trump doubled down on the most anti-immigrant portions of his immigration plan.

Republicans Starting To Cave On “No Hearings, No Votes” For Merrick Garland?

Comments from one Republican Senator are raising the possibility we could see hearings and a vote on Merrick Garland during the post-election lame duck session of Congress.

John McCain Cruises To Primary Victory

As expected, John McCain easily defeated his primary opponent yesterday.

Marco Rubio Easily Wins Florida Senate Primary

As expected, Marco Rubio easily won the primary for his Senate seat. The General Election battle, though, promises to be more difficult.

Ten Weeks Out: The Presidential Race Tightens A Bit, But Clinton Still Leads

With ten weeks to go ,there’s been some tightening in the polls but Hillary Clinton continues to maintain a commanding lead in the race for the White House.

Rick Perry Goes From The Presidential Campaign Trail To ‘Dancing With The Stars’

This is not exactly what Rick Perry had hoped he’d be doing this fall.

Gene Wilder, Comedian And Film Actor, Dies At 83

A skilled comedian and unlikely leading man has passed away at the age of 83.

John McCain Faces Primary, General Election Challenge In The Era Of Trump

John McCain is bidding for a sixth term in office, with a challenge from the right in tomorrow’s primary and Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in November.

Should Presidential Candidates Be Required To Undergo Independent Medical Reviews?

Much like their predecessors, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have released only limited information about their health. It may be time for that to change.

Most Americans Oppose Trump’s Positions On Immigration And Border Wall, Poll Finds

Sorry Donald Trump, but most Americans believe that people here illegally deserve a path to citizenship and oppose building a border wall.

Sluggish Economic Growth, The Federal Reserve, And The 2016 Election

Another sign of a weak economy as the Federal Reserve considers rate hikes and the Presidential campaign moves forward.

French Court Strikes Down Burkini Ban

A high-level French Court has struck down the ban on the so-called ‘burkini’ adopted by many towns along the French Riviera.

Clinton Hits Trump On Demagoguery, Ties To Extreme Right

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton pointed out truths about Donald Trump that his fellow Republicans were too scared to point out during the primary..

Donald Trump Shrugging Donald Trump Shrugging

Trump Flip Flops On Immigration Again

Over the course of twenty-four hours, Donald Trump has had three separate positions on how he’d deal with illegal immigrants already in the country.