February 06, 2008

Big Fat Super Tuesday: It's Still Not Over!

1:58. Obama's declared the "winner winner" in Missouri. He and Clinton are running about even in New Mexico.

In the Republican field, it's near impossible to see how anyone stops McCain. A comeback for the history books, surely. It will be interesting to see how he's received Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which he skipped last year because there was so much hostility toward him. The Gate will be there.

Meanwhile, Romney is meeting with his top advisers tomorrow to discuss his future, the Boston Globe reports. He's been accusing Huckabee of splitting the evangelical vote, but Huckabee's supporters are more likely to go to McCain should their guy bail out. The South was in a pretty anti-Romney mood today, and there's reason to believe this has something to do with religion.

Knowingly or not, Huckabee has used the religion wedge to his advantage. Some would say knowingly, although he hasn't really been called out on it.

We're going to call it a night. Check back tomorrow later today for those lingering New Mexico and Alaska results.

1:26. MSNBC's Chuck Todd did the math, and he projects Obama and Clinton will be about tied in delegate counts. They will have to soldier on in the upcoming contests: Louisiana (2/9), Washington (2/9), Maine (2/10), D.C. (2/12), Maryland (2/12), Virginia (2/12) and probably beyond.

Continue reading "Big Fat Super Tuesday: It's Still Not Over!"

Posted at 1:59 AM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Campaigns, Democrats, George H.W. Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain, Mike Gravel, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, President Bush, Republicans, WH 2008
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January 26, 2008

Clinton Wins W&L Mock Convention Nod

In a very close electoral battle that wasn't decided until the New York delegation cast the last vote, Washington and Lee students predicted at their centennial mock convention that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the Democratic Party's 2008 nominee for president.

Having only missed a prediction once since 1948, this year's preview is especially risky because most political analysts are still hesitant to forecast who will win the fight between Clinton and Barack Obama.

In the end, Clinton received 2,117 votes, with Obama in a close second at 1,642. John Edwards received 288 votes, and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel got 2 delegates thanks to his native Alaska.

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Posted at 1:11 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Campaigns, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, WH 2008
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January 15, 2008

The Dems In Vegas: Liveblogging The Debate

End note. We've suspected for a while that the media have blown up trivialities in the Democratic nomination contest because the candidates are mostly on board with each other on the major issues. This forum was a case in point.

Have Clinton and Obama really been squabbling over who is the rightful heir to MLK? Of course not. But you might have been led to believe otherwise by the previous days' news cycles, which is why it came up tonight.

Is Obama really struggling to convince voters that he's not a jihadist in disguise? Certainly. Not. The only plausible defense Williams et al. could give for bringing that story up is that it's already out there, and they were simply giving Obama a chance to put the rumors to rest. Again, we say: Anyone willing to believe those rumors hasn't been following Obama hardly at all and probably wouldn't vote for him no matter what. Imagine George Stephanopoulos asking John McCain about his rumored illegitimate black baby. Some things, my friends, should simply be out of bounds.

You're going to hear more about the rocky beginning of this debate tomorrow, I suspect. We'll update with reaction in the afternoon. [I lied; we'll go up with it Thursday.]

By the way, with 89 percent of precincts reporting, it's not even close: Romney trounced McCain 39 percent to 30 percent. Because Romney is a native son, a win in Michigan means much less than a loss would have. Still, he needed a gold, and he'll use his victory tonight to convince GOP voters that he's still in it to win it. See reports on the GOP contest here and here.

Continue reading "The Dems In Vegas: Liveblogging The Debate"

Posted at 11:16 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Campaigns, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Mike Gravel, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Republicans, WH 2008
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December 04, 2007

NPR Debate: The Gloves Come... On

UPDATED.

As we had hoped, this afternoon's Democratic debate in Des Moines sponsored by NPR and Iowa Public Radio left little room for petty politics and applause lines (largely because there was no live audience) and brought the conversation back to the issues. Three main issues, to be exact: Iran, China and immigration.

Debate moderators Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris and Robert Siegel said they chose to narrow their questions to those three broad topic areas in order to dig deeper into the candidates' positions and allow more time for follow-up. The heavy focus on foreign policy and immigration largely left out the talking points that Democrats have focused on throughout this year of campaigning: Iraq, climate change, health care and economic burdens on the middle class (although at the end they candidates were given time to discuss what they'd do to improve the economy over the four years of their first term).

Instead of standing at podiums, the seven candidates were seated at a V-shaped table. (Bill Richardson was attending the funeral for a Korean War soldier whose remains he helped repatriate back to the U.S. earlier this year.)

The format largely had the intended effect: The candidates were civil, the discussions were substantive (for the most part) and the moderators did their best to coax straightforward answers from the candidates. And maybe it's just us, but there's something about the radio format that made everyone (well, almost everyone) sound more presidential. Here are some of the highlights:

Continue reading "NPR Debate: The Gloves Come... On"

Posted at 6:25 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, WH 2008
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October 30, 2007

Yo, Hillary! Field Hopes For Front-Runner KO Tonight

Seven of the Democratic presidential contenders descend tonight on America's least-attractive metropolis for what promises to be the ugliest debate of the season.

Both Barack Obama and John Edwards are scrambling to slam the brakes on Hillary Rodham Clinton's runaway lead. With the Iowa caucuses about two months away, double-digit spreads are forcing the rest of the pack to be more forceful and, dare we say, meaner than they've been so far.

The M-word might be unfair, but it's inevitable because of Clinton's gender. Everyone wants to avoid a Rick Lazio moment, in which they attempt to treat her as they would a male candidate and end up coming off as ungentlemanly.

On the other hand, Clinton isn't just any woman. She's in the lead because she's been exuding forcefulness and strength throughout her campaign -- a breakdown in most polls shows she scores highest on national security issues, not personality. It also doesn't hurt that a large swath of the Democratic left is waving the white flag as they signal their support for the former first lady. So Obama, Edwards and the rest -- Christopher Dodd, Joseph Biden, Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich -- will take time to remind primary voters of Clinton's many apparent weaknesses.

Continue reading "Yo, Hillary! Field Hopes For Front-Runner KO Tonight"

Posted at 6:45 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bill Richardson, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Michael Mukasey, Mike Gravel, WH 2008
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August 15, 2007

WH '08: You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here

The crowded presidential campaign fields can be headache-inducing, and that has some political pundits wishing more candidates would make like Tommy Thompson and just leave.

Today, the National Review's Rich Lowry calls on Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback to pack his bags and go.

Calling Brownback's abortion platform "the very embodiment of a tendency toward impractical perfectionism among pro-lifers," Lowry points to fellow pro-lifer Mike Huckabee's surprise second-place finish at the Iowa Republican Straw Poll. "Huckabee has shined in the debates, is a natural orator, and has considerable crossover appeal to the media. None of this can be said of Brownback," Lowry scoffs.

Continue reading "WH '08: You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here"

Posted at 4:13 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Cox, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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August 10, 2007

Queer Eyes On The Candidate Guys

The gay vote will be reliably Democratic for the foreseeable future, but the LGBT community has a real beef with the party: the M word.

That's marriage, of course. Most of the Democratic leadership and all the 2008 presidential front-runners essentially back marriage rights for gays but without the "marriage" part. During last night's Human Rights Campaign/Logo forum, Barack Obama (perhaps unknowingly) summed up that contradiction succinctly. "You know, semantics may be important to some," he said. "From my perspective, what I'm interested in is making sure that those legal rights are available to people."

The question was whether his backing of civil unions but not marriage for gays was tantamount to a separate-but-equal policy. Gay marriage-backers have a point in that criticism, and Obama's response wasn't much of an answer.

Continue reading "Queer Eyes On The Candidate Guys"

Posted at 12:51 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Gay Rights, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, Republicans, WH 2008
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August 08, 2007

A Stumble For Edwards; Plus: Gravel Returns!

We paid only cursory attention to last night's AFL-CIO debate in Chicago because the pander factor tends to skyrocket during niche forums. But that doesn't mean this meeting, or tomorrow's before a gay issues-oriented crowd, isn't significant. Here are a few takeaway moments that may portend where this race is heading.

Does he really feel your pain? Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has been working the union vote practically ever since his bid for the vice presidency came up short in 2004. Ahead of the forum, campaign reporters were describing the debate as Edwards' chance to shine. Well, he didn't.

Continue reading "A Stumble For Edwards; Plus: Gravel Returns!"

Posted at 5:50 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, WH 2008
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July 23, 2007

Liveblogging The Democratic Debate: Clinton, Biden Come Out On Top

End note. Overall, a pretty fun evening, insofar as debates this early in the cycle can be fun. We already know that the front-runners are not happy with the debate lineups, but a certain senator from New York would be wise not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She has come out looking surefooted at every meet-up so far, and that has to help answer all those woman-Bill-Iraq-vote clouds that hang over her head. Obama, meanwhile, was shakier this evening.

Democrats are learning to their frustration that control of Congress isn't enough. Not only do they need a more substantial majority in the Senate, but they need to not have a veto-wielding president standing in their way. In short, Democrats are out to win next year, and a made-for-TV bio and bucketloads of charm may just not cut it in '08.

The surprise of the evening was Biden, who has the resume but lacks the name recognition (and cash) to make headway in this contest. He delivered some of the more memorable lines of the night and, as his camp frequently and loudly points out, has the only detailed exit plan from Iraq. The Kuciniches and Cindy Sheehans of the nation will never accede to this, but the reality of the situation in Iraq is there is no good way to leave, just less bad ones. Both Clinton and Biden took pains to explain that tonight; we'll see if it starts sinking in with the MoveOn segment of the base.

No gaffes, no Ron Paul moments. The best thing the Democrats have going for them is unity on Iraq (more or less), President Bush, and being on the right side of voters on domestic issues. The worst thing they have going for them is probably history. We'll see how the Republicans fare in this format on Sept. 17 -- by which time everyone's political fortunes could be reversed depending on the highly anticipated U.S. report on progress in Iraq, due Sept. 15.

Continue reading "Liveblogging The Democratic Debate: Clinton, Biden Come Out On Top"

Posted at 10:16 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans
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