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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 123 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 511100 |
| Visitors Out: 1702 |
| Total Visitors Out: 1702 |
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| The Importance of Name Identification |
| 2008-05-11 12:04:00 |
I was watching television with my wife a few days ago. We were watching MSNBC's "Race for the White House," which is basically a political junkie's dream show: nothing but punditry, punditry, and more punditry. Political junkies are so well acquainted with Washington's pundits, columnists, and opinion makers that the mere mentioning of their last names evokes strong expressions of support or disgust: Scarborough, Bennett, Hume, Maddow, Smerconish, Borger, Dowd, Brownstein, Gergen, Will, Freidman, Robinson, Olbermann, Schneider, Buchanan...Anyway, the pundits were talking nonstop about the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama post-Indiana/North Carolina. Should Clinton drop out? Will Obama choose her as VP? What happened to Bill Clinton's political skills? Was she pandering ...
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| Hillary Clinton: What's Next |
| 2008-05-07 23:41:00 |
In the eyes of most pundits and political observers, yesterday's split decision in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries was actually a devastating blow to the presidential aspirations of Clinton">Hillary Clinton:1. Even though she won Indiana, she only won by 2 percentage points, which is far less than what most people had expected. That disappointing finish really blunted some of her preferred talking points coming out of the election--that she had real momentum and that Obama had real problems among voters in the Midwest. People aren't talking about Obama's inability to win places like Ohio as much as they used to.2. She lost North Carolina by such a large margin that it essentially canceled out the popular vote...
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| Handicapping Indiana and North Carolina |
| 2008-05-05 19:59:00 |
May 6 is Super Tuesday III. For voters in Indiana and Carolina">North Carolina, they will have a chance to either definitively end this race, grant Hillary Clinton one more stay of political execution, or cause voters everywhere to rethink Obama's strength.Indiana is a lot like Ohio and Pennsylvania, both of which Clinton won. They are largely rural White states with large blue-collar populations and a handful of major industrial centers. And North Carolina is a lot more like Virginia than South Carolina, both of which Obama won. Like Virginia, North Carolina is a young, ethnically diverse state with a lot of well-educated professionals and university students.In short, Obama has far ...
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| Energy, the Environment, and Political Hypocrisy |
| 2008-05-03 21:47:00 |
One of the more interesting political sideshows last week concerns the federal gas tax, which is assessed by the federal government to pay for the nation's transportation infrastructure. Revenue generated by the gas tax pays for new roads, tunnels, and bridges; repairing old or damaged ones; and conducting research to determine how and where to build new ones. Currently, the federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon.Obviously, the more gas you buy, the more you pay in gas taxes. Some liberals have suggested increasing the gas tax as a way of driving down demand. This, they argue, would result in a cleaner environment and less dependence on foreign sources of oil. It's hard for politicians to not be in favor of ...
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| Wrong Approach, Wright Results |
| 2008-04-29 21:58:00 |
The big political story today concerns Barack Obama's public and emphatic rejection of his longtime pastor and spiritual adviser Jeremiah Wright. This pastor has become a major political liability for Obama, so it is no surprise that he had to divorce him so publicly.I have avoided writing much about Wright because his unpredictability would make any analysis of his remarks have limited validity. But because today's developments appear to be the last major chapter in this complicated nexus of religion and politics, it is reasonably safe to tackle this issue now.Regarding my personal beliefs about the pastor, I believe Jeremiah Wright makes a few valid and powerful points, even if they are not what mainstream America is comfortable hearing at times. However, his delivery and confrontatio...
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| On the Folly of Polling |
| 2008-04-29 07:20:00 |
One of the more interesting catchphrases I've been hearing in the news lately is the phrase "poll of polls," which takes the averages of various polls over a certain time period and creates a brand new average that is somehow supposed to be the most authoritative marker of where the race between the three remaining candidates stands. CNN and Real Clear Politics are regular practitioners of this so-called statistical "analysis." However, having studied a little statistics and research methods myself, I cannot believe these reportedly reputable media organizations are allowed to get away with this. There is such a wide variety of polls with various levels of credibility and bias that make averaging them into a consolidated barometer of public opinion a fool's errand. Here's why.Point 1: Word...
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| Obama's Veepstakes |
| 2008-04-27 01:12:00 |
Barack Obama lost last week's Pennsylvania primary by 10 points. Since then, Clinton and the media have been buzzing about the notion that Obama may actually be a weaker general election candidate than the former First Lady. This was the source of a good debate over at Not Very Bright, one of the more popular South Carolina bloggers. NVB correctly argued that even though Obama lost Pennsylvania, the fact remains that Clinton did not amass enough pledged delegates to make a difference. I disagreed and said that pledged delegates don't really matter because superdelegates' main responsibility is to nominate someone who can win in November, and not to simply echo the winner of the pledged delegate race. (Normally, these two ideas coincide, but this year might be different.)However, this ...
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| The Pennsylvania Aftermath |
| 2008-04-23 20:27:00 |
Hillary Clinton won yesterday's Pennsylvania primary by 10 points. This margin of victory was healthy enough to allow Clinton to stave off calls for her to withdraw from the race and cede the nomination to rival Barack Obama. More importantly, surviving Pennsylvania allows her to compete in the upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.Last month I wrote about how Clinton could emerge from the wilderness and salvage her chances at winning the nomination. (Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of "Anatomy of a Clinton Comeback.") In short, here are the five tips I offered:1. Contain Bill Clinton.2. Don't drop out, regardless of what happens in Ohio and Texas.3. Stop complaining and fight.4. Wait for Obama to implode.5. Turn Iraq into an...
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| The Conservative Christian Contradiction |
| 2008-04-21 15:24:00 |
The impetus for this post came from three events:1. One of the more active discussions currently taking place in the blogosphere, at least as it pertains to my blogroll, is a discussion about intelligent design over at According to Nikki, a conservative political satire blog written by Nikki Richards. In her post, which has generated more than 20 comments, Richards suggested that both intelligent design and evolution be taught as "legitimate 'theories' in science," presumably in public schools.2. Earlier this month, residents of Columbia, South Carolina, where I live, voted by a more than 2 to 1 margin to allow alcohol sales on Sunday, with the exception of liquor. For those who are unaware, blue laws are still in effect throughout South Carolina and...
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| Pennsylvania Debate Aftermath |
| 2008-04-17 09:59:00 |
Last night Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama participated in their first debate in about two months in Philadelphia. This debate was significant because it represented the last best chance in which the two candidates could impact the race before the Pennsylvania primary on April 22. For Obama, a strong performance likely would have led to a much narrower Clinton victory in the primary, which could easily be spun as a moral victory for Obama who wasn't expected to win Pennsylvania to begin with. And for Clinton, a solid performance would have helped her pad her margin of probable victory in Pennsylvania and help change the narrative that she should simply get out now because Obama is the superior candidate.Obama has mo...
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| Lamentations of an Educated Voter: About Those "Elitists" |
| 2008-04-16 09:44:00 |
The ongoing controversy surrounding Barack Obama and his "elitist" remarks has struck a chord with me. It's not because I'm offended by his remarks. And it's not because some rural voters are offended by his remarks. It's the fact that the people who are complaining the loudest about these "elitist" remarks are "elitists" themselves.Every election cycle it seems that politicians trip over themselves in their attempts to appear like regular people. They create campaign commercials showing them driving tractors, wearing blue jeans, clearing brush, and and fixing their trucks. They pose for shots of them chatting with the locals at bowling alleys, eating greasy hamburgers at state fairs, checking out the watermelons at farmers' markets, and having productiv...
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| Bitter Politics: Advantage Obama? |
| 2008-04-15 15:23:00 |
Barack Obama's "bitter" remarks have gotten an extraordinary amount of coverage in the media over the past few days (such as here, here, and here). Journalists, pundits, and elected officials of all political persuasions have pounced on these remarks and speculated on how adversely they will impact his campaign.Hillary Clinton, for example, has turned the words "bitter" and "cling" into potential political gold by creating a campaign ad slamming Obama as offensive and elitist. She also slammed him at the recent CNN Compassion Forum.John McCain, who stayed far away from the Jeremiah Wright controversy, had no problems jumping in the fray by calling Obama's remarks elitist. Perhaps because class arguments are politically safer than discussing race, "straight talk" is easier for McCain to eng...
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| Bitter Politics: When a Gaffe is Not a Gaffe |
| 2008-04-12 16:52:00 |
Last year Barack Obama was the untouchable Golden Boy of American politics. He was the good-looking candidate who represented the next generation of national leaders and had the right name, the right demographics, the right message, and the right biography. America had never seen such a politician before. The excitement surrounding his candidacy led to musings about the second coming of John Kennedy or the political version of Tiger Woods.How things have changed.While Obama has come very close to punching his ticket to a date with John McCain in the presidential finals, America's Golden Boy has left the political stratosphere for more earthly territory. While he is still generally liked and is seen as offering something entirely different from what v...
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| Polling Disconnect |
| 2008-04-08 19:55:00 |
Gallup recently released a new poll measuring head-to-head matchups between Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama and John McCain. In both instances, the Democrats were either tied with or marginally ahead of John McCain. These results fly in the face of other polls which overwhelmingly show that the majority of Americans think the nation is on the wrong track, that Iraq was a mistake, and that the percentage of voters who consider themselves Democrats is rising while the percentage of voters who consider themselves Republicans is falling.Given these data and the advantages that Democrats enjoy on healthcare, the economy, the environment, education, and the generic ballot, why is John McCain performing so strongly against his likely Democratic challengers? Or is it more appropriate to ask why Ba...
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| Lame Political Discourse: Part 3 |
| 2008-04-06 13:56:00 |
Until the Pennsylvania primaries two weeks from now, there is not much new going on in the political world. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are still fighting each other tooth and nail, John McCain is still trying to cobble together Republican support, and the pundits keep poring over fluctuating polls measuring head-to-head general election matchups. A consequence of these slow news periods is that it is easier for the media to focus on trivial or mundane matters. However, these dry periods also pose a risk for politicians because the magnifying glass of a larger news hole makes it easier for them to be caught flatfooted and for their warts to be exposed.The latest political foul ball comes from John McCain, who took offense to a comment liberal ta...
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| Barack and Bowling: A Political Gutterball |
| 2008-04-02 11:11:00 |
Last weekend Barack Obama went bowling in Altoona, Pennsylvania, with Senator Bob Casey. As an avid bowler myself (hence the name of this blog, The 7-10), this story is of personal relevance to me. Bowling alleys are normally places for raucous laughter, intense competition, and playful teasing. Unfortunately for Obama, however, this seemingly innocent campaign event may come back to haunt him.Of course, Obama and his supporters probably thought the event was at least a modest success. After all, he got the chance to show his lighter side to voters and humanize himself. It showed him interacting with real regular people on their turf. And given the heated rhetoric, personal attacks, and overall negativity that often characterize politics, yukking it...
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| Hillary Clinton: Then and Now |
| 2008-03-31 15:13:00 |
Clinton">Hillary Clinton started off this year's presidential contest as the woman to beat. She was the undisputed frontrunner who had the luxury of staying above the fray while the longshots, no-shots, and underdogs kept scrapping with each other as they jockeyed for position. Her closest rival for most of last year was Barack Obama, whom she rarely engaged for the first half of the year.All of this changed, however, after Iowa and New Hampshire. Longshot candidates Richardson, Biden, and Dodd dropped out, thus leaving Clinton a bit more exposed. It's easy to maintain one's frontrunner aura when you are sharing the stage with six or seven other candidates. But when that number was reduced to three, it became much easier ...
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| Calling the Democrats' Bluff |
| 2008-03-28 09:41:00 |
Gallup has recently released a poll that sheds light on the extent to which the ongoing fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has damaged the Democratic party. According to the poll, 28% of Clinton supporters would back McCain over Obama in the general election while 19% of Obama supporters would back McCain over Clinton. These findings suggest that both Clinton and Obama have rendered each other unacceptable to a significant amount of each other's supporters. The idea that 1 in 5 Obama supporters or 1 in 4 Clinton supporters would back McCain over their own party nominee should give all Democrats pause.However, while Gallup's findings may make for good fodder for the punditry, I believe it would be prudent to take a step back and view this pol...
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| Mitt Romney: Nowhere to Go |
| 2008-03-25 21:02:00 |
In my last post, I addressed presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's potential vice presidential picks. I primarily examined the merits of former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. However, there was one prominent name that I deliberately left unmentioned because I felt he deserved his own post. That potential pick is former presidential rival and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.Mitt Romney received a bum rap during this year's presidential campaign. Some of it was unfair because it pertained to issues beyond his control that should not have even been issues to begin with, such as his re...
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| The McCain Veepstakes |
| 2008-03-22 11:18:00 |
Seeing that the race for the Republican presidential nomination is essentially over, the only real storyline on that side of the ledger now concerns whom John McCain will chose as his running mate.Vice presidents are chosen for a variety of reasons. They are tapped to bring ideological balance to a ticket (e.g., a conservative trying to broaden his appeal by selecting a moderate), add geographical balance (e.g., a Northeasterner selecting a Southerner), or simply deliver a state (e.g., choosing a governor from State X to take it out of play for the opposing party in the general election). Other vice presidential picks are chosen for reasons unrelated to state-by-state electoral calculus, such as complementing one's resume (e.g., a stiff policy wonk choos...
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| My First Victory Speech |
| 2008-03-20 20:23:00 |
As you may know, The 7-10 was voted the winner of the Political Blogging Scholarship awarded by College Scholarships.org. The winner of this scholarship must write a victory/acceptance speech which will be posted on the College Scholarships.org website. I have never written such a speech before because I had always considered myself more of a political blogger, rather than an actual politician. But I guess this is something I needed to learn how to do. I've already submitted my speech to the scholarship president, but I felt I should post a copy of it here as well.---It is with great honor, pride, and humility that I accept this award from Collegescholarships.org. What an amazing opportunity and thrilling experience....
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| Obama's Speech: The Political Impact |
| 2008-03-20 11:43:00 |
The big political story this week concerns the much-anticipated speech on race that Barack Obama gave in Pennsylvania. This speech was mainly in response to the controversy surrounding the firestorm brought about by remarks from his pastor Jeremiah Wright, but one can't help but wonder if it was also in response to the lingering racial tone the presidential race has taken over the past few months starting with Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of his campaign and Bill Clinton's race-baiting in South Carolina.Many pundits have already written about this speech and came to various conclusions. Liberal Democrats who liked Obama generally liked his speech and felt energized by his uplifting rhetoric. Many claimed that it was t...
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| Rethinking 2012 |
| 2008-03-17 12:05:00 |
Politicians, political parties, national leaders, and voters are going to have to do a bit of soulsearching and get serious about how they go about electing future presidents. As entertaining as the 2008 primary season has been so far with its intricacies and unpredictable storylines, it has revealed some very troubling weaknesses that do not reflect favorably on our political institutions and ultimately provide a disservice to the nation.The Presidency of the United States is the single most important institution on Earth. Issues of war and peace, the international economy, and the freedoms we enjoy are all dependent on this one person. Shouldn't the importance and seriousness of this office be determined by a process that is equally serious?Here are, in no particular order, criticisms...
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| Homeless Moderates and Nomadic Independents |
| 2008-03-16 00:30:00 |
Imagine you are a middle-of-the-road or unaffiliated voter.You think abortion should be legal, you have less sympathy for illegal immigrants even though you also realize most of them are otherwise law-abiding people, you want to resolve the Iraq situation quickly and without a rapid pullout, you would accept paying higher taxes if that's what it takes to balance the budget or fund social programs, you do not view the government as an enemy so long as it functions efficiently, you think religious groups have too much influence over the government even though you are religious yourself, you support entitlement reform, you support gay rights even though you aren't gay yourself, you support workers' rights and consumer protections, you strongly believe in personal accountability and condemn ha...
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| Obama, Clinton, Ferraro, and Race (again) |
| 2008-03-13 17:27:00 |
Hillary Clinton supporter and 1984 vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro recently threw the latest stinkbomb into the Democratic presidential race:"If Obama was a White man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."Uh oh.When pressed for a reaction to Ferraro's comments, the Clinton campaign initially offered this muted response:"We disagree with her."Of course, the Obama campaign was livid about this, especially given how hard the Clinton campaign came down on Obama recently for one of his advisers' calling Hillary Clinton "a monster." That's when the chairs and fists started flying and the Democ...
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| Why Not Gore-Obama? |
| 2008-03-10 15:33:00 |
As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continue to fight for every delegate, both pledged and super, in their quest for the nomination, the fight over endorsements has largely died down. At this stage of the game, most major political figures have already publicly thrown their support behind one of these two candidates or have decided to remain neutral. Among those who have yet to endorse a candidate are former presidential candidates Bill Richardson and John Edwards.However, one political figure looms far larger than any other. That candidate is Al Gore. Even though his endorsement of Howard Dean in 2004 did not amount to much as far as Dean's candidacy was concerned, 2008 is a different story. Obama and Clinton are deeply divided, and there's the possibility that this situation will be...
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| Clinton vs. Obama: Rationales for Their Nominations |
| 2008-03-09 14:58:00 |
Seeing that John McCain has all but officially snared the Republican presidential nomination, most of the political action is taking place on the Democratic side of the ledger between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. While last week's contests were newsworthy because of how they gave new life to Hillary Clinton's campaign, they were also important for another reason. Clinton's victories in Ohio and Texas, combined with Obama's victory in the Wyoming caucuses, perfectly illustrate the dilemma confronting Democratic voters. How this dilemma gets resolved depends entirely on how Democrats choose to answer a simple question: Do they want to solidify their base, or grow it?Hillary Clinton has won the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Conne...
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| Junior Super Tuesday: Advantage GOP |
| 2008-03-04 23:46:00 |
With his victories in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont, John McCain has amassed enough delegates to effectively clinch the GOP nomination. More loose ends were tied up when rival Mike Huckabee ended his presidential bid and threw his support behind McCain. Meanwhile, the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remains in flux. As of this writing, Clinton has won Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas while Obama won Vermont.Two months ago, few politicos would have predicted that the Republican nomination race would be settled long before the Democratic one. Republicans had to deal with five strong candidates who conceivably could have won the nomination as they tried to don the cloak of Ronald Reagan. Some pundits were even dreaming of a brokered convention in which social conserva...
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| Anatomy of a Clinton Comeback: Part 2 |
| 2008-03-02 10:56:00 |
(Note: This is the second half of an extended piece about Hillary Clinton. To read the first half, click here.)-----3. Stop complaining and fight. At the most recent debate in Cleveland, Clinton started the debate off by whining about "being asked the first question" and sarcastically chided the moderators for not asking if "Barack [Obama] wants another pillow." This was a stunningly stupid thing for her to say because it only reinforced her negatives, reminded voters that she was losing, sounded petty instead of presidential, and wasted time that could have been better spent articulating her views on something that actually mattered to voters. One of the most basic rules of politics is that when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. (Regarding...
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| Anatomy of a Clinton Comeback: Part 1 |
| 2008-03-02 10:53:00 |
(Note: This is the first half of an extended piece about Hillary Clinton. To read the second half, click here.)-----The caucuses and primaries on March 4 in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont have been dubbed Junior Super Tuesday. This is welcome news for politicos who will have been starved of fresh primary election results for about two weeks. Because of the saturation of pundits on television as of late, many political observers have noticed that there simply isn't much new to say right now. After the Wisconsin and Washington primaries, everybody knew that Barack Obama had the momentum, that John McCain was the assumed Republican nominee, and that Hillary Clinton was in serious trouble. And given that Obama is whittling down Clinton's lead in...
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| Help Anthony Win a Scholarship! |
| 2008-03-02 10:50:00 |
The 7-10 has been selected as one of the three finalists for a scholarship awarded by College Scholarships.org to university students who maintain political blogs. The selection of the winner will be based on how many unique votes their blog receives from the general public. If you regularly read The 7-10, are a subscriber, or like the content of this site in general, please visit College Scholarships.org and VOTE FOR ANTHONY PALMER HERE and help me win this scholarship! Voting is currently underway and will last until March 16. Thank you for your support!Copyright 2007-2008 by Anthony Palmer. All rights reserved.
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| About Barack Hussein Obama |
| 2008-02-29 09:51:00 |
Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg wrote a must read piece about Barack Obama and how his appeal among voters depends on their definition of "change." A lot of what Rothenberg wrote reinforces my argument that Obama's support is inflated because it seems that many of his supporters are more attracted to his presentation than his politics, even though these politics may be out of line with their own long held views. Of course, these supporters would likely retort that this is exactly why they like him so much. Obama is not about politics; he's about people and progress.I identified this inflated support as one particular potential weakness of Obama's candidacy. Assuming that Hillary Clinton does not become the nominee, it is a valid point that conservatives and Republicans should be ab...
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| Republicans and Race |
| 2008-02-26 21:13:00 |
According to the Politico, Republicans have quietly been polling voters about their attitudes regarding attacking female and ethnic minority candidates. This research is being conducted in preparation for waging a general election campaign against an opponent who, for the first time, will not be a White male.Given today's era of hypersensitivity, identity politics, political correctness, and coded language, it would seem wise that politicians are wise to engage in this kind of research. And it would seem especially wise for the Republican Party to express an interest in this kind of research seeing that they are generally seen as less sensitive to the needs of women and people of color. However, the fact that such research is even necessary illustr...
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| Obama's Inflated Support |
| 2008-02-23 19:36:00 |
Part of the main draw of Barack Obama is that he is branded as the post-racial, post-political, unity candidate. He is the candidate that will deliver "change" and forge a new working political majority that will accomplish great things for the American people. Given the disillusionment of the American people regarding Washington, this is a powerful message he has adopted and it has served him well, as he is on the cusp of securing the Democratic nomination.Obama fares better in a general election against John McCain than Hillary Clinton and is flush with cash. Combine all this with the lopsided voter turnout in the primaries and caucuses so far and it looks like Obama is a safe bet to become the nation's 44th president.However, a premature coronation and projections of an electoral rou...
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| Don't Expect an Obama-Clinton Ticket |
| 2008-02-21 10:01:00 |
Barack Obama's lopsided victories in the Hawaii and Wisconsin primaries have made him the almost certain Democratic presidential nominee. Most of the states have voted, and most of the states that haven't yet done so are small states. The last plausible chance Hillary Clinton will have to catch Obama (or at least slow him down) is on March 4, when Texas and Ohio have their primaries. Once those contests are finished, the last major states will be Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Indiana. North Carolina is essentially off the table, given Obama's strength in the South Carolina and Virginia contests. And Indiana's demographics are quite similar to Wisconsin's, so that might be tough sledding for Clinton too. Pennsylvania seems a bit more doable, but ...
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| Barack Obama: A Second Look at Race |
| 2008-02-17 23:04:00 |
When Barack Obama declared his presidential candidacy, the media and chattering classes could not stop talking about how he was the first viable presidential candidate of color, how he was the child of an interracial and intercontinental marriage, and how his ability to appeal to both Blacks and Whites could make him the nation's healer.By now, most people know Obama was born in Hawaii to a White woman from Kansas and an African man from Kenya, raised in Indonesia, sidetracked by drug abuse, and admitted to Harvard Law School where he became president of the Harvard Law Review. America has never had a presidential candidate with such a biography before, so it's easy to see how Obama is a dream candidate for the media to cover. The possible angles t...
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| The Problem with the Clinton Brand |
| 2008-02-13 15:12:00 |
With his sweep of the so-called Potomac Primaries last night (Virginia, DC, and Maryland), Barack Obama is now the undisputed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. He has won more states, has more pledged delegates, has won more demographic gropus, and has more momentum than Hillary Clinton. In addition to this, even if you include superdelegates in the candidates' delegate count, Obama still comes out ahead.Obama's victories last night revealed some particularly troubling results for Hillary Clinton's campaign. Obama did better among Black voters than Clinton did among Hispanic voters. Obama won with White men and closed the gap considerably with White women. White women form the core of Clinton's base, but yesterday's results show...
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| On Partisanship and McCain Hatred |
| 2008-02-10 23:49:00 |
Barring a cataclysmic collapse, John McCain will be the Republican presidential nominee for the 2008 general election. McCain turned out to be the last man standing, as he peaked at just the right time. However, McCain will enter the general election with a fractured party and quite a bit of resentment among the Republican base.There are two types of conservatives: ideological conservatives and Republican conservatives. Dissatisfied ideological conservatives will likely have fewer qualms about sitting this election out or voting for the Constitution Party nominee. These ideological conservatives want the Republican Party to remain true to its conservative principles, even if that means splitting the Republican vote so much that it allows a Democrat to...
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| Money and the Problem with the Clinton Apparatus |
| 2008-02-07 14:43:00 |
The most recent bombshell in the presidential race concerns the fiscal health of the Hillary Clinton campaign which has come under increased scrutiny as it was revealed that Clinton had loaned her campaign $5M. This is a big deal because the only candidates who loan themselves money and have staff working without pay are candidates who are having major problems raising money. And if you have problems raising money, that means you have problems generating support for your candidacy.John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney have all made similar moves in the past, and all three candidates have dropped out of the presidential race, with Romney being the most recent candidate to call it quits. The fact that this news com...
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| The Economy and an Argument for Conservatism |
| 2008-02-05 15:31:00 |
Aside from Super Tuesday and the presidential race, one of the biggest issues facing the country regarding its government is the economic stimulus package currently being debated in Congress. Economic volatility, a slumping housing market, and a weak dollar have contributed to a pervasive sense of pessimism among many voters.To address these voters' concerns, President Bush, members of Congress, and even the presidential candidates have talked about the need for some sort of "stimulus" that will benefit American families and help jumpstart the American economy. However, their rhetoric and the very nature of the economic stimulus package on the table blatantly contradict some of the principal tenets of their political philosophies. Both liberals and con...
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