Game Change casting

HBO is continuing to cast its planned adaptation of Game Change, the Heilemann/Halperin bestseller about the 2008 presidential primaries and general election. So far only people associated with the McCain campaign have been cast, including Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin.

I'm a little worried that Danny Strong is writing the adaptation. Game Change, I thought, was a pretty fair insightful look at the 2008 craziness. I'm worried he will just turn into a Democrats-are-heroes/Republicans-are-villains the same way he almost ruined Recount. About two-thirds of the book dealt with Hillary-Obama.

Never too Early for Electoral Maps

Or is it?

Larry Sabato's run some numbers and has a lot of exceptions, but here's an early, early look at how he sees the landscape. He has 247 in the leaning-to-safe for Democrats and 180 in the leaning-to-safe for Republicans, with 111 votes as toss-ups. So theoretically if Obama can keep all the blue states regardless of shade and then win Florida, he wins re-election.

Donald Trump on Republicans

"I really believe the Republicans are just too crazy, right?" - Donald Trump on Meet the Press, 1999.

That's not the only quote Trump may need to walk back as he toys with the idea of running for president again.

Do You Know Your Constitution?

I went looking around the internet on some recent polling of Americans' knowledge of the Constitution and found this one from 2008. As Arte Johnson might say of the results, "Verrrry interesting."

How Uniformed is the American Public?

* Only 6% can name all four rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. (24% cannot name even one. 27% can only name one. 43% can name two or three.)
* 62% cannot name all three branches of the Federal government. (One-third cannot name even one. 14% can only name one. 15% can name two.)
* 35% believe that the Constitution mandates English as the official language.
* Only 7% can correctly identify the Constitutional Convention as the authors.
* 4 in 5 do not know how many amendments there are to the Constitution.
* 1 in 5 do not know that the President is Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
* 84% believe that the U.S. Constitution is the document that states that "all men are created equal", thus confusing it with the Declaration of Independence.
* 1 out of 6 believe that the Constitution establishes America as a Christian nation.
* 32% believe that John Hancock had a hand in drafting the Constitution.

So how would you do with the same questions? Answers here.

InTrade Watch on 2012 GOP Hopefuls

1. (1) Mitt Romney - 26.9%
2. (2) Tim Pawlenty - 16%
3. (3) Mitch Daniels - 8.5%
4. (7) Michelle Bachmann - 7.6%
5. (-) Donald Trump - 6.1%
6. (5) Mike Huckabee - 5%
6. (9) Jon Huntsman - 5%
6. (4) Sarah Palin - 5%
9. (8) Haley Barbour - 4.5%
10.(6) Newt Gingrich - 3.9%

Rising: Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachmann, Donald Trump
Falling: Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie

If Sarah Palin plans to run for president, she'd better do it soon. Michelle Bachmann is ramping up her efforts and getting the supporters, and Palin looks less relevant with each passing week.

Meanwhile Mike Huckabee is another sideline-sitter who needs to decide if he's going to do it or not. He fares well in the occassional poll, but he also looks like one who doesn't want to abandon his cushy Fox News job for another run, even if it's to just block Romney.

Mitt Romney is making the trips and speeches and is absorbing more and more the front-runner mantle. Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels, methinks, really need the first debate to truly get their momentum going.

And Donald Trump, well, he's making headlines with the birther thing. Maybe it's all an elaborate stunt to boost the ratings for Celebrity Apprentice.