Category Archives: U.S. Elections

A Brokered Convention?

People keep asking things like: “Can Santorum really be the GOP nominee?” I don’t think so. The under ticket, which revolted when Newt led the field, likely would rise again if Santorum should win, say, Michigan (personally, I think Romney will win Michigan and the big to-do over who will be the nominee will begin to die down).
Posted on February 22, 2012 By B. Jay Cooper
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Lessons for the President From Last Night at the “Dean Dome”

The finish of the Duke-North Carolina basketball game last night was amazing. Duke, which had trailed all night, and was down by 10 with less than three minutes remaining, rallied late and won the game on a three-pointer as time expired. As a basketball player and fan, President Obama can take both positive and negative lessons from the game as he looks at his reelection campaign. Duke won on the road -- they went into a hostile environment at the "Dean Dome" and came away with a win. The president will certainly have to pick up electoral votes in swing states where he currently trails in the polls. And congressional redistricting has not been kind to him, taking electoral votes out of states he won in '08 and moving them to states where they will be much more difficult for him to win. It won't be easy, but Duke showed him it can be done.
Posted on February 9, 2012 By Virtual Vantage Points
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Unsolicited Campaign Advice to Candidate Romney

Governor Romney – As Churchill once said, you have reached not the “beginning of the end” but the “end of the beginning.” Your nomination is in sight but not yet secured. Your opponent, with his strengths and flaws, stands identified but not yet bested. If you wish to stand on the Capitol steps this coming January 20th taking the oath of presidential office, I offer the following bits of campaign wisdom:
Posted on February 6, 2012 By Barry Schumacher
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Newt, the Center of Attention, in His World

It’s (nearly) over, I think. Romney’s pulling into a double-digit lead in Florida. Newt is quietly imploding, which many have long anticipated. The media turned its fire on Newt, with help from establishment conservatives and Newt’s former colleagues, most of whom have been affronted, insulted or somehow done wrong by Newt, who forgets the one rule of Washington that never changes: “What goes ‘round comes ‘round.” (The only congressman of his era that I’ve seen endorse him is ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham, who is serving eight years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery).
Posted on January 30, 2012 By B. Jay Cooper
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The State of the Union I’d Like to Hear

Here’s the State of the Union I’d like to hear: My fellow Americans, I will be brief. The State of the Union is not good. It can and should be far better. We have millions of Americans out of work, for too long. We have too many houses under water on their mortgages. We have children who go to bed hungry. We have a government in Washington that is more concerned about scoring political points than it is about making things better for our citizens. I am part of that problem, yet I came here to lead us to
Posted on January 24, 2012 By B. Jay Cooper
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A Whole New Race

What a difference a week makes. Evangelicals meet to endorse a candidate, two candidates drop out and endorse rivals, a candidate’s ex-wife makes news, and two debates shape voter opinion as one candidate turns in stellar performances. By the end of the week, there was another open primary, another candidate surge, and a third winner in three outings. Newt Gingrich cruised to a 40 percent to 27 percent victory over Mitt Romney. A review of the polls finds that most of the traditional telephone surveys ended their calls on Wednesday, January 18, three days before voters headed to the polls. While most of the traditional pollsters correctly had Gingrich in the lead, they all missed the Rick Santorum surge. The only survey to interview until the night before the election was also the only one to catch the Santorum surge and correctly call the order of finish, but Public Policy Polling (PPP) does not conduct traditional telephone research; they use an automated calling system that uses a pre-recorded voice and interactive technology to conduct their surveys. There are mixed opinions regarding their methods, but their results – whether because of timing or technology – were pretty much right on. Here are their results compared to the final tally posted on the South Carolina Board of Elections website:
Posted on January 23, 2012 By Bill Dalbec
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