No, this isn’t a joke. Nor is it a story about a joke. Remember growing up, you had a tree house in the backyard where your secret club members or group of friends met. Perhaps it was a secluded area in the woods or someone’s basement. Somewhere that only you and they knew about. And when anyone would arrive, they wouldn’t just barge in. They would give the … [Read more...] about Knock, Knock.
Full Tankers: Rate the Candidates
Growing up, my father and his friends had a saying which I took for granted but later realized was local in nature and fairly unique. When they really approved of someone, they would often refer to him as a "full tanker." When asked, my Dad would explain that the person in question was the sort of fellow who, if he needed to borrow your lawn mower, would not only return it … [Read more...] about Full Tankers: Rate the Candidates
Pew Forum Senior Fellow on Clinton supporters’ strategies
The University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics director, John C. Green, is a wonderfully affable, wise and intelligent person whom others seek out for analysis constantly. Not to mention a Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics at the Pew Forum. I'm no exception. And so, as I struggle to find a way into the pragmatic side I hope all voters possess … [Read more...] about Pew Forum Senior Fellow on Clinton supporters’ strategies
Reconciling Democrats
In The first cut is the deepest... a Texas political insider imagines the first meeting to unify the Obama and Clinton Camps. Craig (Clinton campaign representative): I hate you. I hate your boss. You have stolen the election from us, and if you expect me to like it, you're out of your mind, you hamster chewing groin poker. … [Read more...] about Reconciling Democrats
Clinton Supporters’ Charge That Obama Is Sexist
Real or sour grapes? Here's one view. (NOTE: We ran other links on this issue this weekend..) … [Read more...] about Clinton Supporters’ Charge That Obama Is Sexist
Controversial Tennessee Republican Michelle Obama Video Features Former Strip Club Owner
When the Tennessee Republican party runs an ad featuring "regular Americans" in an ad going after Democratic likely Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama's wife Michelle, they apparently don't fool around. But one of the "regular Americans" featured in the ad apparently once owned a place where some fooling around might conceivably have taken place: the Nashville Post's … [Read more...] about Controversial Tennessee Republican Michelle Obama Video Features Former Strip Club Owner
No Palpitations, Please
A friendly warning to those of you who bother to watch the largely meaningless primary returns tonight: Kentucky is a split-time-zone state. ... polls in the eastern part of the state close one hour before those in the west. Since the eastern part of the state is home to the areas in which Obama hopes to be competitive (Louisville, Lexington, the Cincinnati suburbs) and … [Read more...] about No Palpitations, Please
Ageism and John McCain
Just as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have fired up a new round of national debates on racism and sexism in America, Senator John McCain has inflamed the battle over ageism. He did, I think, a fairly good job of playing the subject off lightly during his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, and has even inspired a new web site. (Check out Things Younger Than John McCain … [Read more...] about Ageism and John McCain
Confronting The Long Primary Season’s Twin ‘Isms’ & Why Barack Obama Has Won
Riding the first wave of the inevitable post-mortems about what went wrong for Hillary Clinton is an important question: To what extent did sexism play a role in her extraordinary crash and burn? That begs another question without which the first cannot be addressed: To what extent did racism impede Barack Obama's nevertheless triumphant march from obscurity to the verge of … [Read more...] about Confronting The Long Primary Season’s Twin ‘Isms’ & Why Barack Obama Has Won
Meanwhile, Mr. McMaverick Has Big Problems
This should be the best of times for John McCain. After all, the presumptive Republican nominee has pretty much gotten a free ride from the news media while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have duked it out, but the septuagenarian's campaign is sprouting problems like zits on the face of a 15-year-old. To wit: * His biggest liability is Mister Twenty-Seven Percent, yet … [Read more...] about Meanwhile, Mr. McMaverick Has Big Problems
Rest Now For A While…
If we opened the windows from our hearts and looked out, maybe we'd see something like this... It's early morning, we've just pulled away from the pier. We've got the old Evinrude gassed up and practically drowning the stern of this old boat... But, right now, you're rowing by hand, at least til we get past the weedy shallows. Those old oak oars warmed in the sun sure do … [Read more...] about Rest Now For A While…
Clinton’s New Stated Reason To Stay In Race: Karl Rove
The enemy of my enemy is...? Senator Hillary Clinton -- just like any other Democrat -- has used comparing someone's campaign tactics to Karl Rove as the ultimate political insult. But -- in yet a new somersault in a campaign year when candidates are doing so many somersaults that they could win red ribbons in the Olympics -- Clinton is citing an analysis by you-know-who as … [Read more...] about Clinton’s New Stated Reason To Stay In Race: Karl Rove
Obama’s, “Appeasement,” and Diplomacy
Now that a few days has passed over the uproar of President Bush's remarks where he implicitly slammed Barak Obama on negotiating with some of America's less than savory neighbors, I think it's time for me to weigh in. Michael Tomansky of the Guardian has a good piece up on how Obama has been able to blunt criticism from the Republicans on foreign policy. The gist is that … [Read more...] about Obama’s, “Appeasement,” and Diplomacy
Tennessee Republican Senator Corker Agrees With Obama: Leave His Wife Alone
Democratic Presidential nomination wannabe Senator Barack Obama has just gotten an unlikely ally in his demand that the Tennessee GOP "leave my wife alone": Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker has made it known he agrees with Obama. Given the nature of campaign 2008, the reaction to Corker over fiery debate over the Republican web ad is likely to lead to another debate: … [Read more...] about Tennessee Republican Senator Corker Agrees With Obama: Leave His Wife Alone
Obama’s Wife
Mike Lester, The Rome News-Tribune … [Read more...] about Obama’s Wife
Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton To 16 Percent In Gallup Poll
Should we say "What a difference President George Bush suggesting that Barack Obama wants to appease terrorists makes?" Perhaps we should... The latest Gallup Daily tracking poll shows the Democratic Illinois Senator widening his lead even more of Democratic party nomination rival Senator Hillary Clinton -- from 11 percent to 16 percent. The poll was taken during the time of … [Read more...] about Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton To 16 Percent In Gallup Poll
Hillary Clinton: Her Critics and Admirers…
In the present historic US Democratic presidential nomination marathon, the media and the blogs have now begun to write the obituary of Hillary Clinton's ambition to become the President of America. (Did someone say that the media 'obits' had begun to appear right at the start of her campaign?!!!) But the recent 'obits' also reveal a grudging admiration for the spirited … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton: Her Critics and Admirers…
Olympics 2008: How to Treat Western Journalists Who ‘Break the Law’
With the Olympic Games just a few months away, what will Beijing do with all of those pesky Western journalists running around the country flouting the regime's restrictions on a free press? If this article from China's Global Geographic Times is anything to go by, the 2008 Olympic Games are likely to result in the mass jailing and expulsion of a majority of Western-trained … [Read more...] about Olympics 2008: How to Treat Western Journalists Who ‘Break the Law’
Billionaire Warren Buffett Backs Obama For President
Democratic Senator Barack Obama today got a big (bucks) endorsement in his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination and President: the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, says he backs Obama: Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, is backing Barak Obama for US president and thinks current US economic policy will push the dollar lower against other global … [Read more...] about Billionaire Warren Buffett Backs Obama For President
Market Rises, Economy Sinks
Economy Sinks, Market Rises It would be wrong the say that the stock market's hefty jump in recent months is the result of an outright conspiracy. No secret cabal of Templars, Freemasons, Elders of Zion or Club of Romers is behind this curious upturn. Rather, a simple confluence of interest between government agencies and the market's own major players is what's kicking up … [Read more...] about Market Rises, Economy Sinks