Author Archive

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Race and the 2008 Election, Part Two

Though this surely won’t be the last word, as we have a long way to go until November, I wanted to follow up on last night’s post and give some of my own thoughts about what role race will play in this election.
First, and I mean this with 100% sincerity, let me say up front […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Race and the 2008 Election: Part One

In a later post, I will put down my own thoughts on the role of race in this campaign, but in this post, I just want to highlight a few pieces published in the wake of the West Virginia stomping last night (while agreeing with the vast majority that the result was essentially meaningless in […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Election 2008 by Mark

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Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

To The Surprise Of Exactly Not A Single Living Soul…

…Hillary Clinton has won West Virginia. No margin yet, but expect it to be huge…What does it change? Nothing, but she’ll get some good headlines, and various pundits will breathlessly wonder what this says about Obama’s electability…
UPDATE 11:22 p.m.: Well, credit where credit is due…40+ points is a huge win.  Unfortunately, what this result […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Monday, May 12th, 2008

Hillary Reaches The Bargain Bin

Despite her upcoming 30+ point victory in West Virginia, Hillary Clinton campaign memorabilia is just not flying off the shelves these days:
The pundits can argue all they want, her campaign may protest that she’s still in the game, but at the “America!” souvenir shops at Dulles International and Reagan National airports, the signs are clear […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Saturday, May 10th, 2008

I’ll Be There When The Last Teardrop Falls

The final shoe has dropped, the final nail is in the coffin: Barack Obama now leads in superdelegates, too.
ABC News’ Karen Travers Reports: For the first time this campaign season, Barack Obama has surpassed Hillary Clinton’s support among superdelegates, according to the ABC News delegate estimate. 
Sen. Obama, D-Ill., picked up two superdelegates this morning […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Hillary For Veep?

More and more chatter is flying around concerning the possibility of an Obama/Clinton ticket - chatter that is being pushed hard by Clinton insiders.  I have always assumed Hillary wouldn’t want - and Obama wouldn’t offer - the slot of Vice President.  It’s becoming increasingly clear, however, that if the alternative is to return to […]

19 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

If Perception Is Everything In Politics…

…then Hillary Clinton has had the worst day of the campaign.  You can’t swing a cat without hitting some pundit, famous or otherwise, calling her presidential bid doomed (and you won’t find any disagreement here - it’s over).  Her chance of securing the nomination plummeted to 8.5% at Intrade after trading as high as 22% […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Obama Did What He Had To Do

Computer issues prevent more than a brief post, but, though Indiana still looks like it will go Clinton by a very small margin, Obama has won North Carolina, big.  And that’s really all he needed.
I wavered a bit on Obama, as he was definitely reeling, but I’m back up to 99.9% certainty: the nomination is […]

17 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Monday, May 5th, 2008

Another Big Day For The Democrats Approaches…

…and I’m predicting Indiana will go Clinton and North Carolina - well, it’s a toss-up. Obama SHOULD win, but everything’s coming up roses for Clinton lately, so I’m not giving North Carolina to either candidate yet.
On the positive side for Obama, he’s been doing quite well with superdelegates as of late, and I predict […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

One Million Served

Some time around 9:00 p.m. Central tonight, May 3, 2008, my Sitemeter is going over the 1,000,000 visitor mark. These meters are an inexact science, but that does give me some gratification. There are sites out there that get hundreds of thousands of visits per day, so I definitely don’t have the big […]

13 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing by Mark

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Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Noah: No Chance For Hillary

Timothy Noah says Hillary Clinton supporters are living in the land of make-believe:
Here’s a rule I would like every political reporter, campaign official, TV talking head, and politician in the United States to follow. Go ahead and say, if you like, that Hillary Clinton retains a serious chance of winning the Democratic nomination. If you […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Thursday, May 1st, 2008

The Shame Of The Ignorance Peddlers

Frequent readers know that I am an unapologetic 100% free-trader. I’ve made the case elsewhere, so here I will simply state that no movement in human history has improved the lot of so many as the development of trade, particularly in the modern democratic, capitalist sense. And yet America, a country that has […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Elephants, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots®, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Is Obama In Trouble?

Mathematically, no…the case for Obama’s inevitable candidacy is as strong as ever.  Perceptually, however, he is reeling, there is no doubt.  The fact that Obama was forced to hold a press conference once again denouncing the paranoid ravings of his former pastor is a telling indicator of how much the issue has hurt him (largely […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Monday, April 28th, 2008

With Wright, It’s All Wrong

God knows why (no pun intended) the Reverend Wright chose just now to plaster his mug all over the tube, but for Obama, the timing couldn’t be worse.  Now, I’m not one of those who faults Obama for the things his former pastor said - I’m satisfied with his moves to distance himself from the […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Polls, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Friday, April 25th, 2008

A Nightmare Or Much Ado About Nothing?

The press and blogs are full of headlines bemoaning the continuing ‘nightmare’ facing the Democratic Party because they have a competitive race that may not be settled until the convention. Though this has hardly been the rule lately, in the past, it was quite common to not have a definitive nominee at this point […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Donkeys, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Pick The Winner The Call Center Way

Handy little graphic in today’s NY Times, if you haven’t seen it, showing what demographic breakdowns lead to Clinton or Obama victories in a decision tree format.
My question is, has anyone had the patience to go through this tree for all the counties in Indiana?  A shiny new dime to the first to meet the […]

No Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

How To Lose An Election (By An Acknowledged Expert)

The Democrats have pretty much settled on their general election theme: a John McCain presidency would equal George W. Bush’s third term. However, I hope they will reconsider, and take the lead of noted loser George McGovern, who thinks the path to victory lies in ridiculing John McCain’s service to his country:
If I’d be […]

28 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys, John McCain, Republican Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Hillary Wins Pennsylvania, Declares AP…

…but that’s no surprise. How big will the margin be? I predicted 9 points yesterday, but it may end up closer than that. If so, I consider that a victory for Obama, though Hillary will, I suspect, disagree…
UPDATE 8:41 p.m.: There was one candidate today who chose not to pander to economic […]

28 Comments » - Posted in John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Republican Candidates, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Monday, April 21st, 2008

You May Never See Again…

…so much ink and airtime and computer-screen space taken up by a less meaningful event than tomorrow’s Pennsylvania primary. If I haven’t had much to say, that’s because there isn’t much to say. If Hillary wins by 20, it’s as meaningless as if Obama wins by 10. The Democratic nominee is Barack […]

No Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Sunday, April 20th, 2008

Gallup Daily Tracking Shows Some “Bitter” Aftertaste

After going up by double-figures over rival Hillary Clinton nationally in the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll, Barack Obama saw his lead completely evaporate in a somewhat-delayed reaction to the “bitter” controversy (or perhaps it was a poor debate performance), though he has pulled back slightly today:
The peeling away of national Democratic support for Barack Obama […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Polls, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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