Friday’s political round-up

March 16, 2007

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:

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), a presidential hopeful, is poised to sign a bill that will allow the use of medical marijuana. He’s reportedly not concerned about the impact on his presidential campaign. “Sure I’ll catch national grief over this,” said Richardson, “but I don’t tailor my style, or what I stand for, to primary states.”

* John Edwards yesterday said he’d like to create a cabinet-level position to combat global poverty. The AP reported, “Seeking to link poverty in other countries to the United States’ national security, Edwards argued that militant extremists in nations torn apart by poverty and civil war have replaced government educational systems and are teaching young people to hate the United States. ‘When you understand that, it suddenly becomes clear: global poverty is not just a moral issue for the United States — it is a national security issue for the United States,’ he said at Saint Anselm College.”

* John McCain, who’s been running a completely different campaign from the one in 2000, re-introduced his poorly-named bus this week, the “Straight-Talk Express.” The NYT reported: “‘Everybody says, ‘We just want you to be like last time,’ ‘ he said amid a welter of microphones in what turned into a daylong conversation with reporters, punctuated by the occasional meeting with voters. ‘Last time we lost!'”

* Speaking of McCain, remember the smears against him in South Carolina’s 2000 primary? Yesterday, Karl Rove denied that the Bush campaign had anything to do with it. “If you have any bit of evidence that anybody connected with the Bush campaign was involved in that, you bring it forward, because it is a reckless charge,” Rove said in response to a question at Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

* And in case there was any doubt that Feb. 5 has become a de facto national primary, New Jersey’s state Assembly easily passed legislation to move its presidential primary up from Feb 26 to Feb 5. The measure has already passed the state Senate and Gov. Jon Corzine (D) said he will sign the bill into law.

gotta love richardson’s attitude.

  • I think candidates for national office should have to feel that each state’s votes are important, and the only way to do that is to have one national Primary Day, just as we have one national Election Day. By February 6, we will have had the Iowa and Nevada caususes, as well as primaries in, I think, 22 other states. The nomination may well be sewed up on both sides, which means that candidates are not likely to spend time or money in the remaining states, which renders their interests and issues irrelevant.

    That’s just wrong.

  • **** Speaking of McCain, remember the smears against him in South Carolina’s 2000 primary? Yesterday, Karl Rove denied that the Bush campaign had anything to do with it. “If you have any bit of evidence that anybody connected with the Bush campaign was involved in that, you bring it forward, because it is a reckless charge,” Rove said in response to a question at Troy University in Troy, Alabama.***

    Richard Hand—a professor at Bob Jones University, and a member of Bush’s NC staff, during the 2000 campaign.

    Gotcha, Karl….

  • Well that’s the good news on Richardson’s administration. The bad news is that he leaned heavily on stopping the passage of the Health Care Act (HB1222) waiting instead for the report from his own committee which is thought to be a proposal for a Massachusettes style everyone must by some type of insurance. What you need may not be affordable and what you get may not be of much use. That and some extensions to Medicaid. Largely, still proping up private insurance as the foundation for our healthcare.

  • A national primary means only the richest candidates or those with best access to massively monied interests have any chance. It actually increases – greatly – the emphasis on TV-friendly 30-second soundbites instead of well-thought out positions you can defend in small, live groups. The negative unintended consequences of a national primary in terms of quality of candidates and quality of governing would make the cure far far worse than the disease.

    On a different note, I love the McCain entry – the only “straight talk” was his candid admission that because he lost, he is trying on a different political personality this time, and were he to lose and run again in 4 years he’d absolutely try a third. Where was that fork, anyway?

  • McCain riding on a bus called the “Straight Talk Express” makes as much sense as Jenna Jamison going around on a bus called the “Celibacy is Great” express. Of course, they’re both kinda whores, so …

    And if Richardson can help make a medical marijuana law that can withstand the federal push to ignore the will of the people on the issue, then good for him.

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go check out housing prices in Albuquerque …

  • Hey don’t be dissin’ Jenna. 🙂

    McCain’s Straight-Talk Express will be the big smelly bus you get behind on the highway going 12 miles per hour.

  • “If you have any bit of evidence that anybody connected with the Bush campaign was involved in that, you bring it forward, because it is a reckless charge,” … and besides, it would mean that I hadn’t done my smear job in a professional, i.e., devastating but non-culpable, manner. Yuck, yuck.

  • ” John McCain, who’s been running a completely different campaign from the one in 2000, re-introduced his poorly-named bus this week, the “Straight-Talk Express.” The NYT reported: “‘Everybody says, ‘We just want you to be like last time,’ ‘ he said amid a welter of microphones in what turned into a daylong conversation with reporters, punctuated by the occasional meeting with voters. ‘Last time we lost!’” ”

    Translation: Forget all that crap about “Straight Talk”, I am going to lie like hell if that is what it takes to win.

  • Seeking to link poverty in other countries to the United States’ national security,

    Finally! Someone who actually seems to get it and is willing to propose at least the start of a solution. Don’t count Edwards out yet.

  • I gotta say that I keep loving everything Edwards is saying. The national press , esp TV, is ignoring him, but I hope he gets some traction late rthis year. And I hope he continues talking about issues like global poverty as a security issue.

  • I’m with Zeitgeist. I absolutely hate the shift away from retail politics. Somebody needs to see these people up close and keep them honest. The survival-of-the-richest isn’t likely to lead to the best candidate – or the best president.

  • For McCain to even countenance a “straight talk express” is just sad. He’s such an obvious sell-out that the conservatives don’t like him, the liberals don’t like him and he’s trying to jump on the religious right’s train after it already left the station. To be in the cold winter of one’s political career without any friends left is just plain sad.

  • Edo and Sagacity (#10 and 11), I couldn’t agree more. Unless we start hearing some stirrings from Gore (and I’m not saying even that would sway me), I like Edwards for President. He stumbled a bit in hiring those bloggers, but even there he was deliberate and in the end got the proper results. What I really like about him is that he sincerely embodies the concern for country and for the less fortunate everywhere which has inspired our party ever since the New Deal.

  • Anne @ #2:
    I think candidates for national office should have to feel that each
    state’s votes are important, and the only way to do that is to have one national
    Primary Day, just as we have one national Election Day. By February 6, we will
    have had the Iowa and Nevada caususes, as well as primaries in, I think, 22
    other states. The nomination may well be sewed up on both sides, which means
    that candidates are not likely to spend time or money in the remaining states,
    which renders their interests and issues irrelevant.
    Or, the electorate is split and there is no winner. We then have two
    possibilities: 1) there are enough remaining electoral votes still available to
    cinch the nomination, and/or 2) we wind up in an open
    convention where a consensus needs to be built to gain the nomination. Either
    way it may not be a bad thing, IMHO.

  • Ed Stephan,

    What I really like about him is that he sincerely embodies the concern for country and for the less fortunate everywhere which has inspired our party ever since the New Deal.

    Totally agree. Obama may have similar leanings but he’s pretty opaque about it. Hillary? I just don’t see it.

  • I have always admired Richardson, but now I think I will support him. Medical marijuana is important to lots of people in all strata of social class, race, ethnicity, etc. Aging and disease are both equal opportunity problems, and the feds have been high-handed for years in their irrational desire to suppress the movement. Bravo to Richardson for taking what is a very progressive (and popular) stand.

  • He – Richardson — has also come out against DADT. I have been supporting him for a while. I know there will be positions he (or any) candidate will take that I won’t like, but my first question is who will make the best President. And it isn’t as simple a job as all that — witness the problems we’ve had with some Governors who had no Washington experience (Reagan, Carter, Clinton and our current idiot). Richardson has been a Congressman, a Cabinet Member, a UN Ambassador, and a Governor.
    Then the question is character and courage. Again he seems to qualify, based on these recent actions. (Can anyone imagine Clinton or Edwards doing this?)
    Is he capable of learning? Again, yes. (This is why there is one Republican who I could consider voting for — but only against Hillary — even though I disagree with most of his positions. That is Fred Thompson.)
    Finally, is he electable? I think any Democrat is likely to win, but he won’t mobilize and unify the Republicans like Hillary (Very conservative Republicans have said they’d support Giuliani to keep her out), he won’t inspire the racists like Obama (which wouldn’t be a factor if it weren’t for the electoral college, but the racists seem to congregate in some borderline states we need, while the anti-Hispanic idiots mostly don’t know Richardson is Hispanic).
    I think he’s the best choice, and I hope there’ll start to be more and more notice of him.

    • Comments are closed.