Michelle Obama can be a dynamic force on the campaign trail, but yesterday, she drew quite a bit of fire over these comments: “What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my […]
In retrospect, it was incredibly helpful for John McCain to argue last week that one of his biggest points of contention with Barack Obama is his alleged aversion to “specifics.” I’ve heard of leading with your chin, but this is ridiculous. Last week, we talked about a couple of glaring instances in which McCain seemed […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * How strong was the turnout in Hawaii’s Democratic caucuses yesterday? The state has never topped more than 5,000 participants. The Obama campaign speculated a few days ago that as many as 18,000 […]
No matter which candidate one prefers, it’s probably fair to say Hillary Clinton’s campaign is not where it wants or needs to be. The question, of course, is what the one-time frontrunner is going to do about it. “I’ve been there trying to turn around losing campaigns,” a true-blue Clinton loyalist painfully acknowledged Tuesday. “When […]
In one sense, I suspect the Obama campaign is delighted that John McCain has effectively given up on attacking Hillary Clinton and is directing all of his fire on the Illinois senator. That’s largely the dynamic Obama wants. But what of the Republican’s attacks themselves? So far, they’re pretty underwhelming. “I will fight every moment […]
I suppose we’ve all heard the now-predictable knocks on Barack Obama’s campaign style — his speeches soar, but he usually goes light on the policy specifics. I’ve argued that this is as it should be; Obama’s principal strength is his ability to motivate and inspire. No one really wants to hear a presidential candidate read […]
It’s not just that Barack Obama keeps winning primaries and caucuses. And it’s not just the sizable margins of his victories. What’s really disconcerting for the Clinton campaign right now is how — and with whom — Obama is getting ahead. Obama won the Wisconsin primary by stealing support from blue-collar workers, previously a key […]
The good news for Hillary Clinton is, there are no more Democratic contests in the month of February. The bad news is, any additional good news at this point is pretty elusive. For the past week or so, Barack Obama was expected to do fairly well in Wisconsin and Hawaii, and he entered yesterday as […]
This flu bug still has me off my feet, but I’ve decided to get back to work anyway. As I see it, it’s the smart thing to do because a) I’d be pushing my luck if I imposed on my great guest-posters even more; and b) I’ve been bored out of my skull. I want […]
Guest post by Ron Chusid The conventional wisdom in this campaign has been that Obama and Clinton agree on most issues. While there are certainly areas of agreement, I’ve noted many significant differences in the past which have affected my decision as to who to support. One of these areas of difference is the topic […]