7pm in the east, first polls close. Too early to call most key states, but Indiana is too close to call, which is telling, I think.Consider this an open discussion thread, will update as things happen-- I need to go put the kid to bed, so i'll be back after a rousing...
Forget Powell's endorsement of Obama. The most noteworthy part of his remarks was his public denunciation of those members of the GOP who have engaged in a sickening pattern of Muslim-baiting over...
I actually enjoyed last night's debate much more so than the previous three. Part of it could be that I watched with a real-live crowd of college-aged students instead of by myself at home with only...
ACORN is on the brink of "perpetrating the greatest vote fraud" in American history? About to "destroy the fabric of democracy"? As I said before, we're through the looking glass, people.... Oh, and...
I can't imagine how postponing the Friday debate will have any substantive impact on the nature or character of the bailout negotiations, so I'm going to go with the conventional wisdom and assume that this is basically a very dramatic attempt to get Rick Davis out of the headlines, give McCain a chance to close those 10+ points on economic leadership, and shift the momentum of the campaign.But really now, could the 2008 election get any more bizarre?... Apparently, yes. What is this, some sort of poker game? Obama: "I bid two bipartisan chips." McCain: "I'll see your chips.... and raise you...
While I am never one to question the wisdom of the great Yogi Berra, we're starting to get a picture of how this Presidential election will play out--and it looks like Obama is clearly in the driver's seat.*Take Nate's analysis of the electoral map and today's Washington Post poll that gives Obama a 9 point lead.Two factors are working in Obama's favor. First, historically, early September polls--after the convention bump has dissipated-- tend to give a pretty solid read on the eventual outcome (PDF). Despite the high profile of the Debates, endless important speeches, millions of dollars...
Oh, goody. Another celebrity interview.Bored now.
After the start of the Great Depression, the US government adopted a number of regulations, institutions, and safety-net policies designed to prevent a recurrence of an event that nearly destroyed capitalism and liberal democracy. In the 1980s and 1990s, many of those regulations, institutions, and safety-net policies were eliminated or curtailed. Some call this the triumph of capitalism and freedom over excessive government regulations, others call it "the great risk shift."Now, I'm not saying any of this is directly responsible for the fact that our financial system is teetering on the...
The 2004 September 13-15 CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll had George Bush over John Kerry by 14 points. George Bush won the election by around 2.5 points. Current polls give John McCain a -1 to +3 lead over Barack Obama. This election could go in any direction between today and November 4.
I think Nate is doing some of the best analysis of the current electoral map, and today he makes a critical point: despite all the hype and attention that Palin has given to the McCain ticket, the electoral math is for the most part unchanged from the pre-convention period. Palin has brought home those Republicans who didn't really believe McCain was one of them, but the McCain bounce in the polls is greatest in states where he is already popular. As a result, the electoral college math (which is what really matters, so resist the urge to worry about national daily tracking numbers) is...
Over the last two days the Presidential campaign imploded. The McCain campaign has gone completely Rovetastic. Obama's caugt a virulent strain of foot-in-mouth disease. And don't get me started on how the Palin pick has provided the media with a perfect excuse to avoid the hard task of talking about, you know, issues and, instead, to focus on triviality.Meanwhile, the emerging contours of the horse race looks pretty much like a repeat of 2000 and 2004, with any net bump for McCain over Obama already gone from every national poll except for Gallup's political crack daily tracking poll.I can't...
I know, I know. Anybody who reads our little blog has already seen this clip. But because I've been feeling madly, truly, and deeply annoyed at American political punditry lately, I think it is a mitzvah to put this clip on the Duck. Indeed, every blog should proudly broadcast this clip, until our purple mountain majesties ring with cries of "I can has enough!"