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 [...]

Trash Talkin’ Norm

I dispute the base policy claim, but this is a pretty darn good piece of political advertising.

Humanize the candidate by showing him interacting in a loving relationship. Check.
Insulate the candidate from criticism by deploying human shield. Check.
Appeal to women voters by spotlighting unquestioning spousal submission. Check.
Appeal to men voters by highlighting the [...]

Mutual Fund Muzzling

I’ve seen a lot of weak political attacks, but yesterday the Minnesota Republican Party’s head hatchet man, Ron Carey, got just plain goofy.
Mr. Carey attacked Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken for criticizing oil and pharmaceutical companies while holding stock in those industries via a mutual fund he owns. He said this exposed [...]

Rage Over Anti-Franken Messengers Clouds DFL’s Analysis of Franken Message Problems

Suppose a poll of DFL activists had been done a few years ago posing this question:
A native Minnesotan who has long lived in New York is considering a run for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat. He is a wealthy comedian who was critical of President Bush and his supporters even before it was [...]

Kersten’s questions

My first contact with the story of the TIZA charter school and questions about its religious activities was this headline on Strib columnist Katherine Kersten’s blog: “Should Katherine Kersten get the ax?“
Kersten wrote a column about the school: “Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) — named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain — is [...]

Minnesota’s Blog Scene Gets NYT Coverage

The New York Times has an interesting look at the impact it believes Minnesota’s bloggers are having on our State’s political landscape. The article focuses mostly on the role Minnesota Democrats Exposed is playing in the Senate race, but also mentions True North, Truth vs. The Machine, MNPublius and the Minnesota Campaign Report.
- Austin

Premature E-Accusation?

We knew taxes would be an issue in the Minnesota U.S. Senate campaign. But some of us hoped to be reading stories about the tax evasion of the wealthiest 1% of Americans who were handed Bush-Coleman tax cuts, not tax evasion of the Democratic candidate.

Yes, “evasion” is too strong of a word. “F*** [...]

You Go to Hell, I’m Going to Hawaii

I’m back long enough to grab a few things, put the house on the market and leave a forwarding address for the kids when they come home from college. I left the back door open; you’re welcome to anything you want to scavenge.

I talked to the bartender at the Grand Wailea - a lot - [...]

National Transportation Spin Board

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told the media yesterday that the I35W bridge collapse was due to faulty gusset plates and heavy maintenance equipment on the bridge. Period.
Investigators say nearly 300 tons of construction materials on the bridge “played a role” in the tragedy and there is “no basis” to believe corrosion or [...]

Phased Gas Tax Increase Gives Legs To A Damaging Story

When you face an inevitably controversial story, every strategic communications counselor worth their salt will tell you the same thing: Manage the initial bad story as best you can, but, more importantly, do all you can to halt or limit subsequent follow-up stories. Reason: More damaging stories usually means more reputation damage.
Everyone [...]