Putting aside, at least for now, genuine concerns about the structural flaws in the Iowa caucus process, and sidestepping analysis of specific candidates, yesterday was clearly a big win for Democrats in general. For example, consider this take from Fred Barnes, an unapologetic water-carrier for Republicans in the always-conservative Weekly Standard: Democrats nearly doubled their […]
‘Sometimes, just sometimes, there are nights like this’
Following up on the last post, which talked about what Barack Obama’s victory in Iowa means, I wanted to also take a moment (or two) to comment on what was a heckuva speech. As a matter of substance, a speech is just rhetoric. As a matter of campaign strategy, an address thanking Iowans for their […]
Obama’s big win: A game-changer
At the outset, let me concede that all the usual caveats still apply. Iowa is just one state; last night was just one contest; there’s a lot of campaigning left to do; the pressure and scrutiny from here on out is going to be extremely intense; and the rest of the strong Democratic field isn’t […]
Obama, Huckabee cruise to huge Iowa victories
Before getting into this, let’s first note the final results of the Iowa caucuses. The Dems: 1. Obama — 38% 2. Edwards — 30% 3. Clinton — 29% 4. Richardson — 2% 5. Biden — 0.9% 6. Dodd — 0.02% And the Republicans: 1. Huckabee — 34% 2. Romney — 25% 3. Thompson — 13.3% […]
Open Thread — Iowa Caucuses Edition
As it turns out, I won’t be at my desk when the results of the Iowa caucuses are released, so here’s an open thread to a) make predictions; b) highlight results; c) brag about your candidate’s success; and/or d) complain about your candidate coming up short. As for what to expect while you’re expecting, the […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.), now an advisor to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, defended the candidate’s position on gay rights: “He’s always had the same position as to regards to the gay agenda. Look, he wants to know people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But […]
Driving news consumers online
A few months ago, Media Matters released a fascinating report, which documented the way nation’s op-ed pages skew heavily to the right. Shortly thereafter, the Chicago Tribune’s Frank James offered a response, suggesting the ideological tilt is irrelevant: “[T]he growth of the Internet, particularly of blogs, especially of the political variety, suggests that the nation […]
Is it independents’ day?
When one considers all the recent polling in Iowa and New Hampshire, there’s at least one unmistakable trend: a gap in the support from independents. Barack Obama enjoys solid support among Dems, but is in position to possibly win early contests thanks to support from independents. For Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, it’s the other […]
Four more years — of Cheney?
In all likelihood, you don’t need yet another reason to reject the very idea of a Rudy Giuliani presidential administration. Here’s one anyway. Would a Rudy Giuliani administration be populated with a cabinet of Republican rivals and a powerful, all-knowing vice president like Dick Cheney? Possibly, according to musings Giuliani shared in answers to questions […]
Borrowing rhetoric is a real no-no
With several top-notch candidates, and some of the best speechwriters in the business working tirelessly on their behalf, it’s only natural for a campaign staffer to hear a rival give a good speech and think, “What a great line! Why didn’t I think of that?” It leads to a hard-to-resist temptation: “borrow” the line and […]