Following up on an item from yesterday, there’s been a flurry of national polls released over the last couple of days, and most offer relatively similar results about the state of the presidential campaign. AP has Obama leading McCain by six (47-41); CNN has Obama up by five (48-43); CBS has Obama up by six […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * NYT: “A panel of six military officers convicted a former driver for Osama bin Laden of one war crime Wednesday but acquitted him of another, completing the first military commission trial here and the first conducted by the United States since the end of World War II. In a […]
Yesterday, Lifetime Networks released a national poll of women and their presidential preferences. Time’s Mark Halperin said Barack Obama “edged out” McCain in the poll. Obama’s lead? 11 points. “Edged out” made it sound like it was close. It wasn’t. Similarly, CNN characterizes Obama’s five-point national lead as “squeaking by” McCain. The race between Sens. […]
As political theater goes, I think this sounds pretty good — and it’s a hell of a lot stronger than tire-gauges. Stung by Republican taunts about tire gauges, Democrats are pumping up a stunt of their own. The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday is launching an “Exxon-McCain ’08” campaign, complete with a gas-pump logo and […]
A month ago, at a town-hall event in Ohio, John McCain heard first-hand about the hardship facing workers in Wilmington, Ohio, where a DHL plant was set to close. Mary Houghtaling, who runs a hospice in Wilmington, Ohio, choked up as she told McCain of DHL’s plans to close its domestic air hub in her […]
What can I say, John McCain just loves surges. Reading from a prepared text at an event in Ohio today, McCain said, “What we need today is an economic surge. Our surge in Iraq has succeeded militarily, now we need an economic surge to keep jobs here at home and create new ones. We need […]
Arguably the most notorious campaign ad of the cycle, at least so far, was last week’s McCain campaign spot, comparing Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. It was widely panned as spectacularly stupid. Today, McCain unveils the sequel, which leaves the young blondes out, but doubles down on the whole “celebrity” attack. “Is […]
After nearly a week of Republican excitement, the Great Tire Debate of 2008 has, thankfully, apparently run its course. Six days ago, Barack Obama mentioned to voters that there are things individuals can do to help conserve energy, including bringing their cars in for regular tune ups, and keeping their tires properly inflated. The remarks […]
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: * Evan Bayh told the Indianapolis Star that Obama has not asked him to be on the Democratic ticket. Asked if he will be asked at some point, Bayh said, “I have no […]
In any party or political movement, there’s bound to be a mainstream and a fringe. As a rule, the fringe looks to the mainstream for validation, and the mainstream looks at the fringe as kind of icky. Things get interesting, of course, when the line between the mainstream and the fringe blurs. Take the Republican […]