Putting aside, for a moment, who won, who lost, and What It All Means, it’s also worth noting that the Democrats’ turnout numbers in South Carolina were pretty amazing. In a historical shift, South Carolina Democrats turned out in record numbers on Saturday, besting last week’s underwhelming Republican vote, which was hampered by bad weather. […]
Obama keeps reaching rhetorical heights
It’s unquestionably true that speeches are not the be-all, end-all of a campaign, and it’s simply not reasonable to judge the merits of a candidacy on rhetoric alone. But it’s also true that Barack Obama keeps delivering speeches that confound expectations and raise his stature. Last night’s acceptance speech in South Carolina was another gem. […]
Is South Carolina a game-changer?
Not long after the polls closed in South Carolina, NBC’s Tim Russert suggested that Barack Obama might win by 30 points. The very idea struck me as utterly ridiculous. After all, his biggest lead in a non-partisan poll was 15 points, rumor had it the race had become more competitive the campaign’s waning days, and […]
B. Clinton cites Jackson in explaining Obama victory
I really, sincerely wish Bill Clinton wouldn’t make comments like these. For those of you who can’t watch clips online, the video shows a reporter asking the former president earlier today, “What does it say about Barack Obama that it takes two of you to beat him?” Bill Clinton responds, “Jesse Jackson won South Carolina […]
Fun with exit polls
CNN has posted the exit polls from South Carolina, and given the large margin of Barack Obama’s victory, it probably won’t come as too big a surprise that the Illinois senator pretty much swept the contest in every way a candidate could. There were, however, a few tidbits that jumped out at me: * 61% […]
Obama appears to have cruised to South Carolina victory
The polls in South Carolina closed at 7 pm. By about 7:01 pm, news outlets felt comfortable calling the race. Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the racially-charged South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum in the prelude to a Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates. Former […]
Managing expectations in South Carolina
The South Carolina Democratic primary is, of course, underway, and from what I hear, turnout is strong. (The record for participation is 290,000 Dems, which most expect to be topped today.) The polls vary widely — while most point to a likely Barack Obama victory, I’ve seen margins ranging from eight to 20 points. The […]
When in doubt, go with a red scare
A week ago, Fox News hosted a discussion, exploring whether market instability is the fault of Democrats. As the Republican network saw it, Wall Street is worried that a Dem will win the presidency in November, and as a result, investors are feel anxiety about the future. This anxiety leads to volatility, and before you […]
Downplaying the fears of a ‘plural presidency’
At this point in the process, we’ve all heard plenty of reasons detractors oppose Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, but historian Garry Wills, whom I usually find extremely persuasive, offers an argument in the NYT today that doesn’t really work for me. As Wills sees it, if Clinton is elected, her husband is likely to “use […]
When the U.S. presidential race captures the world’s attention
Clearly, as Americans, we seem to think that our nation’s presidential race is a pretty big deal, but I’d always assumed that the rest of the world, much of which may no longer consider the job the “leader of the free world,” probably wouldn’t follow the U.S. primary process very closely. I stand corrected. To […]