I'm not referring to McCain 2008. I mean McCain 2000. The moderate in the GOP primary who gets press love whenever he critiques his own party. Jon Huntsman did himself no favors in the last debate, his campaign's all but written off, but then he spent the week blasting away at the other candidates, taking jabs at Romney for flip-flopping on the flat-tax and Perry for floating a secession trial balloon.
So why isn't Ron Paul getting more pub?
Showing posts with label John mcCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John mcCain. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Friday, November 14, 2008
McCain-Feingold legality challenged
From Politico.com...
Now that John McCain is not the GOP leader, Republican lawyers are challenging the legality of this campaign-finance reform bill, which seems like a pretty pointless bill since the 527s can do whatever they want, and Obama's effectively killed the idea that public financing of campaigns will ever happen.
Now that John McCain is not the GOP leader, Republican lawyers are challenging the legality of this campaign-finance reform bill, which seems like a pretty pointless bill since the 527s can do whatever they want, and Obama's effectively killed the idea that public financing of campaigns will ever happen.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Savaging Sarah Palin
It's very strange what's going on with John McCain's campaign aftermath. All kinds of anonymous campaign folk are accusing Sarah Palin of all sorts of things, among them that she didn't know that Africa was a continent, not a country. Rush Limbaugh made the point that McCain aides are doing more to trash Palin than they ever did Jeremiah Wright or William Ayers. I don't think many of the McCain team will find themselves on the staff of whoever the 2012 GOP nominee will be.
I still think the front-runners for 2012 are Palin and Bobby Jindal.
I still think the front-runners for 2012 are Palin and Bobby Jindal.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Sarah Palin in 2012?
Pretty bloody likely, unless her family decides otherwise.
It looks like McCain will lose the election, and the next four years will be Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Sarah Palin can go back to Alaska, finish her term, run for a second in 2010, and then think about if she wants to try the national circuit thing again. I believe she can do it.
For starts, she would have a different team. I think she and McCain see what a disservice Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis have done to them. They ran a campaign like Bush 2004. McCain is not Bush, but it was eaiser for Obama to keep hammering that point when Rove acolytes were running his campaign. When Palin joined the ticket, she didn't bring her own people, people who knew her, people who knew her strengths and weaknesses and have learned what has worked for her in the past and what hasn't. 80% approval rating from any state is no accident.
Barring a Gingrichian figure to rise to leadership in Congress that will be heavily Democratic next year, the void will try to be filled by the next presidential election.
Now who on the stage now could run in 2012? Mitt Romney could give it another go. If the economy is still messy in Fall 2011, he would have some appeal. He's also said some things this year that will bite him then. ("I want to double the size of Guantanamo.") I don't see Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or John McCain as viable in 2012.
The other main pursuer to the 2012 crown I see is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. He's even younger than Palin, but he showed vastly superior leadership during Hurricane Gustav than whoever ran that place when Katrina hit. And hey, he's an ethnic minority. Democrats will always label Republicans as racists until they get an ethnic minority on the ticket. (Never mind that poll that said 30% of white Democrats are racist and former KKK member Robert Byrd is the senior Democrat in the Senate.)
On the flip side, I can see many Republicans who aspire to the presidency sitting 2012 out. If Obama is remotely effective, they might not want to be the Bob Dole of 2012. I would argue the main reason Hillary sat out 2004 was she knew half of one term as senator wasn't going to beat Bush, adding to the irony of what Obama was able to do.
Where do I sit today? I sit contented knowing Obama will be our next president. I sit hoping he'll be able to control the leadership in Congress from treating the next four years as revenge time. Obama's been going more and more to the middle since he sealed the nomination, and maybe he can effectively govern from there. My general feeling is that 30% of the country is die-hard leftie Democrat, 30% is die-hard rightie Republican, and then there's the middle 40% who get screwed by gerrymandering. The next two to four years is the time for the GOP to reform itself, get back to basics, quit asking 'What Would Reagan Do?' (I loved him too, but it's a different time now) and see what big issues Obama will actually reach across the aisle on.
I also hope this is the time the Democrats learn from the mistakes of the Republicans during their control years. I hope they reform themselves too. But if in January 2009, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd still hold their Chair positions, I'll just have to brace for two more years of the Same Old Same Old.
10% approval, Nancy. 10% approval, Harry. Clean thine houses, for the good of the country.
It looks like McCain will lose the election, and the next four years will be Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Sarah Palin can go back to Alaska, finish her term, run for a second in 2010, and then think about if she wants to try the national circuit thing again. I believe she can do it.
For starts, she would have a different team. I think she and McCain see what a disservice Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis have done to them. They ran a campaign like Bush 2004. McCain is not Bush, but it was eaiser for Obama to keep hammering that point when Rove acolytes were running his campaign. When Palin joined the ticket, she didn't bring her own people, people who knew her, people who knew her strengths and weaknesses and have learned what has worked for her in the past and what hasn't. 80% approval rating from any state is no accident.
Barring a Gingrichian figure to rise to leadership in Congress that will be heavily Democratic next year, the void will try to be filled by the next presidential election.
Now who on the stage now could run in 2012? Mitt Romney could give it another go. If the economy is still messy in Fall 2011, he would have some appeal. He's also said some things this year that will bite him then. ("I want to double the size of Guantanamo.") I don't see Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or John McCain as viable in 2012.
The other main pursuer to the 2012 crown I see is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. He's even younger than Palin, but he showed vastly superior leadership during Hurricane Gustav than whoever ran that place when Katrina hit. And hey, he's an ethnic minority. Democrats will always label Republicans as racists until they get an ethnic minority on the ticket. (Never mind that poll that said 30% of white Democrats are racist and former KKK member Robert Byrd is the senior Democrat in the Senate.)
On the flip side, I can see many Republicans who aspire to the presidency sitting 2012 out. If Obama is remotely effective, they might not want to be the Bob Dole of 2012. I would argue the main reason Hillary sat out 2004 was she knew half of one term as senator wasn't going to beat Bush, adding to the irony of what Obama was able to do.
Where do I sit today? I sit contented knowing Obama will be our next president. I sit hoping he'll be able to control the leadership in Congress from treating the next four years as revenge time. Obama's been going more and more to the middle since he sealed the nomination, and maybe he can effectively govern from there. My general feeling is that 30% of the country is die-hard leftie Democrat, 30% is die-hard rightie Republican, and then there's the middle 40% who get screwed by gerrymandering. The next two to four years is the time for the GOP to reform itself, get back to basics, quit asking 'What Would Reagan Do?' (I loved him too, but it's a different time now) and see what big issues Obama will actually reach across the aisle on.
I also hope this is the time the Democrats learn from the mistakes of the Republicans during their control years. I hope they reform themselves too. But if in January 2009, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd still hold their Chair positions, I'll just have to brace for two more years of the Same Old Same Old.
10% approval, Nancy. 10% approval, Harry. Clean thine houses, for the good of the country.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Al E. Smith Dinner
McCain pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goaj5V4tZoc
pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrqoSyKsAPw
Obama pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXKaAQ-6BiU
pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBQf4FJi-o
McCain was hilarious. Obama had some good lines too, but he didn’t seem as comfortable doing comedy.
Nice to see them in an environment like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goaj5V4tZoc
pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrqoSyKsAPw
Obama pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXKaAQ-6BiU
pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBQf4FJi-o
McCain was hilarious. Obama had some good lines too, but he didn’t seem as comfortable doing comedy.
Nice to see them in an environment like this.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Nuclear power
Obama's getting in more and more laughs. Little one-syllable laughs to dismiss whatever McCain is talking about. Much more effective than Sighmaster Gore.
Strong dial reads on both of their energy answers.
Strong dial reads on both of their energy answers.
Third and Final Presidential Debate
First question on the economy - both brought up their usual points. McCain repeated Obama's line "spread the wealth" five or six times.
Second question on the budget - what would you cut? Obama's only specific is a $15 million subsidy through Medicare to insurance companies. McCain mentions energy and defense spending, and he gets a jump on Obama's usual line of "you don't need a hatchet, you need a scalpel." Obama still finds a way to get the line out.
Hey, McCain looked right at Obama. "Sen. Obama, I am not Pres. Bush. If you wanted to run against Pres. Bush, you should have run four years ago."
Second question on the budget - what would you cut? Obama's only specific is a $15 million subsidy through Medicare to insurance companies. McCain mentions energy and defense spending, and he gets a jump on Obama's usual line of "you don't need a hatchet, you need a scalpel." Obama still finds a way to get the line out.
Hey, McCain looked right at Obama. "Sen. Obama, I am not Pres. Bush. If you wanted to run against Pres. Bush, you should have run four years ago."
Friday, September 19, 2008
What Obama Should Do
In a recent softball interview on MSNBC's Countdown, Keitho didn't so much ask Barack questions as he did solicit campaign advice. He asked when Barack was going to get angry and say, "Enough!"
Barack Obama is getting angrier. He's getting more pointed, more snarky, and veering away from what appeals about him. Obama conveys that he's above the usual political fray. The new dishonest Barack is killing the "hope" and "change" ideals for which he stood.
Political ads are historically distortive and inaccurate. Henry Clay was brutal against Andrew Jackson, portraying him as a simian fool. Abraham Lincoln's opponents compared him to Satan.
John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express in 2000, and the press loved him. And he lost. McCain saw himself in fourth place early in the Republican primaries, and he got a little more Machiavellian with his tactics. Mitt Romney tried to engage McCain on his dishonest tactics, and he lost. He looked like a whiner.
Obama didn't engage in anything Hillary Clinton threw at him. Plagairism? He laughed it off. Lack of experience? Let's focus on judgment.
McCain's ads against Obama have been playfully misleading. But Obama saw the Palin bounce and overreacted, leading to a bigger Palin bounce. Now he's telling his followers to get in people's faces, and putting out race-baiting ads. I don't see how he's going to sway independents by appealing to the desires of the left-wingers who are angry all the time.
What is McCain doing for the righties? He gave them Sarah Palin. That's all he has to do. Republicans know Bush has not been a good president, they know their six years of controlling Congress yielded a higher deficit. Everyone knows McCain will be different than Bush, just not as different as Obama would be.
It all comes down to the debates, and Obama can hammer McCain with specifics, what he will specifically do versus what McCain has not specifically said he would do. But Obama, master speaker, needs to keep the sunny optimism about him. He's complemented Reagan a few times, and he can follow Reagan's lead. Talk about what's good about America, what's good about the American people. Then he can address what he will do to make people's lives better, stregthen the economy, and restore our standing in the world.
And quit taking campaign advice from the DailyKos crowd.
Barack Obama is getting angrier. He's getting more pointed, more snarky, and veering away from what appeals about him. Obama conveys that he's above the usual political fray. The new dishonest Barack is killing the "hope" and "change" ideals for which he stood.
Political ads are historically distortive and inaccurate. Henry Clay was brutal against Andrew Jackson, portraying him as a simian fool. Abraham Lincoln's opponents compared him to Satan.
John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express in 2000, and the press loved him. And he lost. McCain saw himself in fourth place early in the Republican primaries, and he got a little more Machiavellian with his tactics. Mitt Romney tried to engage McCain on his dishonest tactics, and he lost. He looked like a whiner.
Obama didn't engage in anything Hillary Clinton threw at him. Plagairism? He laughed it off. Lack of experience? Let's focus on judgment.
McCain's ads against Obama have been playfully misleading. But Obama saw the Palin bounce and overreacted, leading to a bigger Palin bounce. Now he's telling his followers to get in people's faces, and putting out race-baiting ads. I don't see how he's going to sway independents by appealing to the desires of the left-wingers who are angry all the time.
What is McCain doing for the righties? He gave them Sarah Palin. That's all he has to do. Republicans know Bush has not been a good president, they know their six years of controlling Congress yielded a higher deficit. Everyone knows McCain will be different than Bush, just not as different as Obama would be.
It all comes down to the debates, and Obama can hammer McCain with specifics, what he will specifically do versus what McCain has not specifically said he would do. But Obama, master speaker, needs to keep the sunny optimism about him. He's complemented Reagan a few times, and he can follow Reagan's lead. Talk about what's good about America, what's good about the American people. Then he can address what he will do to make people's lives better, stregthen the economy, and restore our standing in the world.
And quit taking campaign advice from the DailyKos crowd.
Monday, September 15, 2008
My Case for McCain/Palin
I've always said John McCain was my guy in 2000. I think most could look at the country and the Republican party now and say both would have been better off if he had beaten George W. Bush in the 2000 primaries. I voted for Bush in 2000 because I was against Gore.
George W. Bush ran as a compassionate conservative. It turns out that meant was he was socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and diplomatically tone-deaf. No wonder the deficit grew so much.
I voted Libertarian in 2004.
I believe McCain would have implemented some if not all of Bush's tax cuts. I also believe he would have fought back against spending. I believe after 9/11, McCain would have gone to Afghanistan, would not have tried to come up with an excuse to go to Iraq, and McCain would not have announced to the world, "You're with us or against us. Iraq, Iran and North Korea are the axis of evil." We'll never know for sure unless the afterlife has a "What If" Holodeck machine we can play with for eternity. I believe under McCain, Osama bin Laden would be dead by now.
In 2008, there are many reasons for me to vote for Obama. First, I'm in Utah. McCain will win this state by over 20% no matter what. So, more votes for Obama narrows that gap. As long as Republicans control so much, they will continue to take this state for granted, and the Democrats will continue to ignore it.
Second, I do think Obama would send a positive message throughout the world, a world that didn't hate us as much in 2001 as it does now, and most of those in the world who hate America don't really hate the American people; they hate the American government. They hate Bush.
Third, it'd be cool. Two of my kids are from Zambia. How cool would it be to have them grow up knowing a black president?
Every once in a while, a party needs something to remind them who they are and what they stand for. For the GOP, Reagan came along and rescued them. Then they lost it. Then they got it back in 1994. Then they lost it. They lost it by following George W. Bush on everything. There needed to be more questions on Iraq, on the program of pre-emptive strike. Why was the post-strike occupation of Iraq so poorly managed? Why increase the entitlements in Medicare when the deficit is already huge? They did push back occasionally, like the nomination of Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, but there should have been more.
I think fear of losing power led to their loss of power. They trusted Bush in 2004, and Bush didn't lead. They deserved to lose control of the House and Senate in 2006. In the past year and a half, Bush has wised up on diplomacy and troop levels. He underplays so he doesn't have to admit to many mistakes. Google-search Fareed Zakaria's recent Newsweek article on what Bush is getting right; he did a great concise job of laying it out.
Fifty years from now, I don't think Bush will be considered the worst president in history, which is what many lefties right now believe. I think James Buchanan will always hold that dubious honor, with Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding down around there too. Many felt that way about Truman when he left office but decades later, he's viewed as pretty good. History's been kinder to LBJ as well. I'm not saying he'll ever be in the top half. Time will tell.
But with Democratic control sure to remain over the House and Senate, this country would be better off with McCain in charge than Obama.
Watching the GOP convention, this party is ready to reform against itself, ready to throw the bums out (except their own). Gone are Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Dennis Hastert, Rick Santorum, George Allen. Soon to be gone are Larry Craig and Ted Stevens. With the religious right, Jerry Falwell's dead, Pat Robertson's irrelevant and religious guys like Rick Warren seem more tolerant. (Firm in their beliefs, but tolerant.) I participated in aiding a primary election of throwing out an Republican incumbant to bring in a new guy (Jason Chaffetz) running on fiscal discipline.
Despite how petty the campaigns have become the past few weeks, McCain's demonstrated time and again his ability to compromise and work with the other side of the aisle. This is important. Joe Lieberman got Republicans to cheer Bill Clinton at their convention by point out that hey, Bill worked with you on welfare reform and balancing the budget.
Right now the Dems are running against Sarah Palin, trying to terrify the public that John McCain will die in office and this woman will then have the nuclear codes. But running against a Vice-Preisdential candidate never works. The Dems annihilated Dan Quayle in 1988, but to what end? Besides, Palin was the perfect pick for McCain if he wants to get elected. I can't think of another person who would have energized the base more, with all due respect to Kay Bailey Hutchison. As for McCain dying in office, I keep looking at his 96-year-old mother. And if he did die in office, say at the three-year mark, that's three years of valuable experience Palin would have by then. But the whole experience question is kinda of a joke. Americans like governors as president (Bush 43, Clinton 42, Reagan 40, Carter 39, etc.) and she did more to tackle problems in her two years as governor than Obama did voting the party line in four years in the Senate.
George W. Bush ran as a compassionate conservative. It turns out that meant was he was socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and diplomatically tone-deaf. No wonder the deficit grew so much.
I voted Libertarian in 2004.
I believe McCain would have implemented some if not all of Bush's tax cuts. I also believe he would have fought back against spending. I believe after 9/11, McCain would have gone to Afghanistan, would not have tried to come up with an excuse to go to Iraq, and McCain would not have announced to the world, "You're with us or against us. Iraq, Iran and North Korea are the axis of evil." We'll never know for sure unless the afterlife has a "What If" Holodeck machine we can play with for eternity. I believe under McCain, Osama bin Laden would be dead by now.
In 2008, there are many reasons for me to vote for Obama. First, I'm in Utah. McCain will win this state by over 20% no matter what. So, more votes for Obama narrows that gap. As long as Republicans control so much, they will continue to take this state for granted, and the Democrats will continue to ignore it.
Second, I do think Obama would send a positive message throughout the world, a world that didn't hate us as much in 2001 as it does now, and most of those in the world who hate America don't really hate the American people; they hate the American government. They hate Bush.
Third, it'd be cool. Two of my kids are from Zambia. How cool would it be to have them grow up knowing a black president?
Every once in a while, a party needs something to remind them who they are and what they stand for. For the GOP, Reagan came along and rescued them. Then they lost it. Then they got it back in 1994. Then they lost it. They lost it by following George W. Bush on everything. There needed to be more questions on Iraq, on the program of pre-emptive strike. Why was the post-strike occupation of Iraq so poorly managed? Why increase the entitlements in Medicare when the deficit is already huge? They did push back occasionally, like the nomination of Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, but there should have been more.
I think fear of losing power led to their loss of power. They trusted Bush in 2004, and Bush didn't lead. They deserved to lose control of the House and Senate in 2006. In the past year and a half, Bush has wised up on diplomacy and troop levels. He underplays so he doesn't have to admit to many mistakes. Google-search Fareed Zakaria's recent Newsweek article on what Bush is getting right; he did a great concise job of laying it out.
Fifty years from now, I don't think Bush will be considered the worst president in history, which is what many lefties right now believe. I think James Buchanan will always hold that dubious honor, with Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding down around there too. Many felt that way about Truman when he left office but decades later, he's viewed as pretty good. History's been kinder to LBJ as well. I'm not saying he'll ever be in the top half. Time will tell.
But with Democratic control sure to remain over the House and Senate, this country would be better off with McCain in charge than Obama.
Watching the GOP convention, this party is ready to reform against itself, ready to throw the bums out (except their own). Gone are Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Dennis Hastert, Rick Santorum, George Allen. Soon to be gone are Larry Craig and Ted Stevens. With the religious right, Jerry Falwell's dead, Pat Robertson's irrelevant and religious guys like Rick Warren seem more tolerant. (Firm in their beliefs, but tolerant.) I participated in aiding a primary election of throwing out an Republican incumbant to bring in a new guy (Jason Chaffetz) running on fiscal discipline.
Despite how petty the campaigns have become the past few weeks, McCain's demonstrated time and again his ability to compromise and work with the other side of the aisle. This is important. Joe Lieberman got Republicans to cheer Bill Clinton at their convention by point out that hey, Bill worked with you on welfare reform and balancing the budget.
Right now the Dems are running against Sarah Palin, trying to terrify the public that John McCain will die in office and this woman will then have the nuclear codes. But running against a Vice-Preisdential candidate never works. The Dems annihilated Dan Quayle in 1988, but to what end? Besides, Palin was the perfect pick for McCain if he wants to get elected. I can't think of another person who would have energized the base more, with all due respect to Kay Bailey Hutchison. As for McCain dying in office, I keep looking at his 96-year-old mother. And if he did die in office, say at the three-year mark, that's three years of valuable experience Palin would have by then. But the whole experience question is kinda of a joke. Americans like governors as president (Bush 43, Clinton 42, Reagan 40, Carter 39, etc.) and she did more to tackle problems in her two years as governor than Obama did voting the party line in four years in the Senate.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
GOP Speeches so far
These are the ones I saw.
Fred Thompson - He did a vivid narrative of John McCain's service, and if he'd shown that type of passion when he ran for president, he might've done better.
Joe Lieberman - It was weird seeing him there. And the crowd seemed unsure how to react at times. He was Genial Joe, incapable of pulling a fire-and-brimstone Zell Miller speech, but with his smile, he conveyed quite nicely that party differences aside, Barack's just not ready to be president. He also got the crowd to cheer for Bill Clinton, when he pointed out Clinton was able to cross party lines to pass things like welfare reform and a balanced budget, and Barack has no examples of doing anything similar.
Mitt Romney - His speech played to the hall, and in a way, it also illustrated why he lost the nomination. His rhetoric was over the top and in ways, fear-mongering. I think he's better in a job than campaigning for one. He really turned the Olympics around. Maybe he can move to Michigan and run for governor there, or fill a cabinet post.
Mike Huckabee - Huck has an easy time speaking to a crowd and he hit some good populist points. It's difficult to gage his sincerity. He reminds me of the old saying, "Once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made." I think even if McCain loses, neither Mitt nor Huck will not be the nominee in 2012. Huck's going to be a Fox News talking-head.
Rudy Giuliani - His strong points were on McCain the man. I thought he got a little lost in the weeds with the Islamic terrorism thing. He also got out some good points about Sarah Palin; pointing out her 80% approval rating makes her "most popular governor in America."
Sarah Palin - Speech of the week so far. For example, for the Democrats, I thought Bill & Hillary's speeches dwarfed Joe Biden's. Not the case here. The hall was rooting for her. After seeing how the press brutalized her and her family the past five days, it was nice to see her respond, and she did it with a smile, with grace and dignity, and she also served well the usual role of a VP nominee: attack dog. She wasn't mean about it; she just got in her jabs, illustrating how she has more experience than "our opponent", let alone John McCain. The line that leapt out to my wife was "For you parents of children with special needs, you will have a friend and an advocate in the White House."
Even if they lose, she can go back to being governor, and she'd be the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2012.
Fred Thompson - He did a vivid narrative of John McCain's service, and if he'd shown that type of passion when he ran for president, he might've done better.
Joe Lieberman - It was weird seeing him there. And the crowd seemed unsure how to react at times. He was Genial Joe, incapable of pulling a fire-and-brimstone Zell Miller speech, but with his smile, he conveyed quite nicely that party differences aside, Barack's just not ready to be president. He also got the crowd to cheer for Bill Clinton, when he pointed out Clinton was able to cross party lines to pass things like welfare reform and a balanced budget, and Barack has no examples of doing anything similar.
Mitt Romney - His speech played to the hall, and in a way, it also illustrated why he lost the nomination. His rhetoric was over the top and in ways, fear-mongering. I think he's better in a job than campaigning for one. He really turned the Olympics around. Maybe he can move to Michigan and run for governor there, or fill a cabinet post.
Mike Huckabee - Huck has an easy time speaking to a crowd and he hit some good populist points. It's difficult to gage his sincerity. He reminds me of the old saying, "Once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made." I think even if McCain loses, neither Mitt nor Huck will not be the nominee in 2012. Huck's going to be a Fox News talking-head.
Rudy Giuliani - His strong points were on McCain the man. I thought he got a little lost in the weeds with the Islamic terrorism thing. He also got out some good points about Sarah Palin; pointing out her 80% approval rating makes her "most popular governor in America."
Sarah Palin - Speech of the week so far. For example, for the Democrats, I thought Bill & Hillary's speeches dwarfed Joe Biden's. Not the case here. The hall was rooting for her. After seeing how the press brutalized her and her family the past five days, it was nice to see her respond, and she did it with a smile, with grace and dignity, and she also served well the usual role of a VP nominee: attack dog. She wasn't mean about it; she just got in her jabs, illustrating how she has more experience than "our opponent", let alone John McCain. The line that leapt out to my wife was "For you parents of children with special needs, you will have a friend and an advocate in the White House."
Even if they lose, she can go back to being governor, and she'd be the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2012.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Electoral Map
I've been looking at the latest polls and where certain states are leaning. It's close in a few areas, and it will be for months. But in going through some scenarios, this could easily turn into a 269-269 tie with electoral votes.
If McCain keeps the South, and Obama keeps the West Coast, Northeast, and Great Lakes states, and if McCain get Ohio and Colorado, but Obama gets Nevada and Iowa, it will end at 269-269.
If that happened it goes to the popular vote.
Or logically, you'd think that might be the case, but no, it would go to the House of Representatives. Realistically for the first time since John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson, the House of Representatives could be responsible for picking the next president. Each state would caucus its members, and each state would get one vote. States who have an even numbers of Republicans and Democrats would tie and not get a vote.
Currently the amount of states where Democrats exceed Republicans outnumber the states where Republicans exceed Democrats. So if it comes to a tie, Obama wins.
So I'll predict now. If McCain doesn't get Colorado and Nevada, he'll lose the election.
If McCain keeps the South, and Obama keeps the West Coast, Northeast, and Great Lakes states, and if McCain get Ohio and Colorado, but Obama gets Nevada and Iowa, it will end at 269-269.
If that happened it goes to the popular vote.
Or logically, you'd think that might be the case, but no, it would go to the House of Representatives. Realistically for the first time since John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson, the House of Representatives could be responsible for picking the next president. Each state would caucus its members, and each state would get one vote. States who have an even numbers of Republicans and Democrats would tie and not get a vote.
Currently the amount of states where Democrats exceed Republicans outnumber the states where Republicans exceed Democrats. So if it comes to a tie, Obama wins.
So I'll predict now. If McCain doesn't get Colorado and Nevada, he'll lose the election.
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