If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Edit ‘Em

What do you do when you don’t want to have a full debate on an issue where the voters oppose your position? Say, the Iraq War, which almost six out of ten Americans say was a mistake.
Edit.
That’s apparently the conclusion of Republican consultants who are producing pieces like this, that attempt to [...]

The Importance of the Right Movie Reference

In this ad, Senator McCain refers to Senator Yes We Can as “Dr. No” for allegedly opposing, among many other things, nuclear power.

The ad from the Straight Talk Express is full of crooked claims, but the irony noted by factcheck.org is that McCain decided to organize an ad about nuclear power around the James Bond [...]

Another Data Point…Or Four

Quinnipiac, along with the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, has today released head-to-head survey results from four battleground states:

COLORADO: Obama 49 - McCain 44
MICHIGAN: Obama 48 - McCain 42
MINNESOTA: Obama 54 - McCain 37
WISCONSIN: Obama 52 - McCain 39

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, President Bush’s approve/disapprove ratings in those states are abysmal:

31 [...]

Electoral Data Points Ripped From Today’s Headlines…

Trying to sort signal from noise is tough in any business but particularly so in the hothouse world of presidential politics. In that context, are the following indicators or just static:
- Gordon Smith, incumbent Republican Senator from Oregon, is running ads featuring an implicit endorsement from Barack Obama.
- Team Obama says they expect to [...]

Barack: Bucks over Brand

In many situations, what is good for an organization’s short-term revenue and operations is bad for the organization’s long-term brand. In such cases, the finance and operations side of the organization duke it out with the brand side of the organization, and the chief executive is left with a tough call.
Senator Barack Obama [...]

Terrorist Fist Gab

Fox News was recently ruminating and fulminating about non-verbal communications, and asked the question all of America is surely asking: Why is Barack Hussein Obama doing a “terrorist fist jab” with his wife?

Huh? Terrorist fist jab? If that was a terrorist fist jab Barack and Michelle were doing at the Excel last [...]

“Appeasing’” Is A Pleasing

It might be the single biggest broadside Senator John McCain has leveled against Senator Barack Obama in the fledgling general election brouhaha: Obama is dangerously weak and naïve, because he wants to negotiate with our enemies (Hamas, not Hillary).
Hide the children. Duct tape the door shut. He wants to talk to our enemies!
As [...]

Pawlenty Shows His Chops as VP Hatchetman

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is auditioning for the traditional role of VP nominee — the guy with the hatchet. In the Strib this morning he’s quoted saying this: “He said Obama ‘is someone who continues to show a lack of experience and judgment’ and belittled his resume as including ‘a professor of some type and a [...]

Your Prediction: Who Will Be Obama’s Running Mate?

With Sen. Barack Obama preparing to take the stage here in St. Paul in a few hours to end the Bitter 3 A.M. Michiganandflorida stage of the campaign, let’s play pundit.
Who do you think will be Obama’s running mate? 
You may use your answer to deliver:

serious analysis
a whimsical wild guess
or, if you’d prefer, a snarky broadside [...]

First Cut at the General Election Map

At the risk of being accused of jumping the gun, I spent some time this evening with an electoral map looking at the battleground states. After divvying up the safe Red States (169 electoral votes) and safe Blue States (214), I came up with 155 electoral votes in play this November in these states:

Colorado [...]