Last night, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama, unprompted, started talking about Democratic electability in November. They all made reasonably good points, but Obama added a comment that, under normal circumstances, would have been terribly disappointing. Obama was explaining his take on reaching out to people outside the traditional Democratic fold, and noted “the […]
At this point, highlighting Rudy Giuliani’s many serious flaws almost seems gratuitous. His presidential campaign has become something of a laughing stock, exacerbated yesterday by a poll showing him running third in his own home state. It’s tempting to wait to kick the guy until after he’s off the ground. But, even if we operate […]
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: * Expecting to come up short, Hillary Clinton is apparently scaling back her efforts in South Carolina, campaigning outside the state over the next few days, and returning later this week. Instead, Bill […]
There weren’t really any specific questions about electability in last night’s Democratic debate, but John Edwards broached the subject and made an interesting prediction: “[I]t’s becoming increasingly likely, I think, that John McCain is going to be the Republican candidate.” Now, my hunch is that Edwards is right, though I’m still hoping against hope that […]
So, I was reading the Wall Street Journal this morning, including a front-page piece about the turmoil in the global markets yesterday. As recently as a few weeks ago, I was reading that the mortgage crisis was bad, but relatively contained. It would slow the U.S. economy, but not necessarily adversely affect foreign markets. What […]
One of the more persistent knocks against Barack Obama has less to do with his specific policy proposals, which are pretty clearly progressive, and more to do with his “post-partisan” style. By emphasizing “bringing people together,” Obama, according to his Democratic critics, too often sounds like he’s using “conservative frames,” “right-wing talking points,” and sending […]
In the days leading up to the last debate for the Democratic presidential candidates, there was an ugly race-based dispute between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, leading many to wonder whether the debate would take a vicious turn. Just the opposite happened — Clinton and Obama backed away from the cliff, made nice, and produced […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * AP: “More than 2,000 people crowded Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to peace and equality and note the importance of his legacy in this election year. ‘He understood that life is not about self. Life is about service — and […]
David Corn has an interesting, and largely persuasive, piece today, describing what may prove to be a high hurdle for Barack Obama’s campaign on Feb. 5 — at that point, the race moves away from his strengths as a candidate. If the Democratic presidential race is between [Obama and Clinton] it boils down, in a […]
When looking ahead to November, one of the advantages Democrats enjoy over Republicans is financial — for the first time in modern political history, Dems are raising quite a bit more money than Republicans. The DCCC, for example, already has $31 million on hand for the cycle, while the NRCC has less than $3 million. […]