Slate's Political Gabfest for May 30.

Slate's Political Gabfest for May 30.

Slate's Political Gabfest for May 30.

Slate's weekly political roundtable.
May 23 2008 11:20 AM

Sex and the Gabfest

Listen to Slate's review of the week in politics.

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The Political Gabfest has moved! Find new episodes here.

Listen to the Gabfest for May 30 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz talk politics. This week: Scott McClellan comes clean, Democratic delegates from Michigan and Florida come knocking, and Sex and the City comes to the big screen.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

John's take on Scott McClellan's revelations

A Slate V video showing what McClellan said about turncoats before he became one

Dana Stevens' review of Sex and the City

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

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Posted by Andy Bowers on May 30 at 1:10 p.m.

May 23, 2008

Listen to the Gabfest for May 23 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz talk politics. This week: Speculation about vice-presidential nominees begins, Hillary Clinton is demonized, and Sen. Edward Kennedy is diagnosed with a brain tumor.

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Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

The group owns up to a mistake in last week's podcast involving the California Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage in that state.

David discusses John's recent piece in Slate that likens the Democratic race to a problem in quantum physics.

Barack Obama this week declared that he now has a majority of the pledged delegates and is very close to winning the Democratic nomination.

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The Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee meets in Washington, D.C., at the end of the month to discuss whether delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated at the national convention.

There is speculation that if Obama becomes president, he will appoint Hillary Clinton to the Supreme Court.

Both Obama and John McCain are starting to look for running mates.

The panel reacts to the news of Ted Kennedy's brain tumor.

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They talk about the Democrat Leadership Council's role in establishing the party's core beliefs.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted at 11:20 a.m. by Dale Willman.

May 16, 2008

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Listen to the Gabfest for May 16 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below:

You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss presidential politics, the California Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, and natural disasters in Asia.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

Hillary Clinton wins big in West Virginia.

John Edwards throws his support behind Barack Obama. So does the United Steelworkers Union and the National Abortion Rights Action League.

David discusses a map, produced by Josh Marshall of the Talking Points Memo, which shows the success of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid in rural Appalachian counties.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain gave a speech Thursday in which he pretends to "look back" from the year 2013 to see the results of Barack Obama's proposed troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The group discusses China's recent earthquake and the continuing fallout from the cyclone that hit Burma.

Republicans are regrouping after their third straight loss in special elections for  Republican-held House seats.

CORRECTION: In a discussion of this week's California Supreme Court decision effectively legalizing gay marriage, the Gabfest panelists incorrectly stated that the California legislature had voted against gay marriage. In fact, California lawmakers have twice passed bills that would have legalized gay marriage. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills, saying either the voters or the courts should decide the matter. (We've now removed the inaccurate part of the conversation.)

However, Schwarzenegger now says he "respects" Thursday's ruling. The governor also says he will oppose an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment that's expected to qualify for the November ballot.

In 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22, which declared that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." The measure won with 61 percent of the vote.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted by Dale Willman on May 16 at 11:26 a.m.

May 9, 2008

Listen to the Gabfest for May 9 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the fat lady is now singing for Hillary Clinton, cyclone damage in Burma, and Barack Obama and patriotism.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

John discusses Tuesday night's Indiana and North Carolina primaries, which ended with a split result—North Carolina going to Obama, while Indiana went for Clinton.

Lanny Davis defends Hillary Clinton on CNN.

Hillary Clinton touts her support among a wide range of voters.

Is Hillary destroying the legacy of the Clinton presidency?

John McCain says he will appoint more conservative judges to the bench.

The panel discusses the stunning satellite photos showing the extent of damage in some areas of Burma from last week's cyclone.

World aid organizations struggle to provide relief to Burma as the nation's military rulers are slow respond to offers.

A new study shows that conservatives are much happier than liberals.

One way to improve morale in the Army is to provide one-year sabbaticals for officers.



John raises the continuing issue of Barack Obama's patriotism.

The e-mail address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Posted by Dale Willman on May 9 at 10:36 a.m.

May 2, 2008

Listen to the Political Gabfest for May 2 by clicking the arrow on the audio player below: You can also download the program here, or you can subscribe to the weekly Gabfest podcast feed in iTunes by clicking here.

On this week's show, John and David try to help Emily overcome her laryngitis while they discuss these topics: Obama's pastor disaster, the gas-tax holiday hoax, and whether Miley Cyrus will become the next Britney.

Here are links to items related to this week's episode:

Melinda Henneberger on Obama's Catholic problem

The Senate declares McCain a natural-born American

HBO's original movie Recount(airs Sunday, May 25)

Behind the scenes of the Miley Cyrus photo shoot

Posted by Andy Bowers on May 2 at 10:57 a.m.