Archive for 2008
Remain Calm
An experienced ocean-swimmer knows what to do in a riptide. Don’t panic, and don’t fight it. Swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of trouble. Then get back to dry land. That’s what Hillary Clinton and John Edwards should do now. They’re caught in a Barack Obama tide. There’s no fighting it. But there…
Read MoreNew Hampshire
Ten polls yesterday in New Hampshire; John McCain led in nine; Barack Obama in all ten. The press loves a good story and Obama’s given them one: David slaying the Clinton Goliath. And the press has gone a little berserk. Hillary’s best hope is to hold on until the wave passes. Which takes two things:…
Read MoreNew Hampshire Change-up?
OK, OK, we’ve answered one question. The presidential race is all about “change.” But here is a baker’s dozen (plus one) other questions about New Hampshire Tuesday: Will New Hampshire voters be content to “finish what Iowa started,” as Obama suggests? Or will these notoriously independent Yankees revive the Clinton campaign? Obama says his campaign…
Read MoreIowa Oscars
Only in America. After Iowa, the leading Presidential candidates are: An African-American man. The real thing, with a father from Kenya. A Southern Baptist preacher with a sense of humor and a populist streak. Both Obama and Huckabee get two prizes for winning: a big boost and a big bullseye. Put on your Kevlar, gentlemen.…
Read MoreIowa Predictions
Only one result from the Iowa Democratic caucuses will surprise me tonight: a big win for Hillary. Three outcomes seem possible: Edwards wins big. But Mr. Conventional Wisdom decrees that he has to win again somewhere else to prove he’s not a one-hit wonder. Obama wins big. And Mr. Conventional Wisdom says that Hillary is…
Read MoreGeezers Gone Wild?
A friend who is in Iowa this week was struck by two things: “How seriously the Iowans we’ve met take their politics and with what discipline they entertain each candidate’s view” “The Obama headquarters was full of energy and not a person over 30.” News reports suggest that maybe 100,000 of Iowa’s two million voters…
Read MoreHappy New Year
2008 will be a good year. It’s the last year of the Bush Presidency. So let’s get off to a good start with this from David Letterman (thanks to the reader who passed it on): President Bush has attended a conference on what to do about malaria. At the end, Bush announced, “The U. S.…
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