Al Franken Needs Help

Unless something drastic happens, Al Franken will lose his bid to overtake Norm Coleman's narrow first-count win of Minnesota's U.S. Senate election through the recount.  He's considering other options, including asking the Democratically-dominated Senate to step in. The math's not in his favor: To win his case before the state Canvassing Board, Franken must prevail on more than 6 percent of his ...

Bill Clinton for Hillary’s Senate Seat?

[caption id="attachment_28109" align="alignright" width="292" caption="Former President Bill Clinton has been mentioned as a possible replacement for his wife in the Senate."][/caption] Former president Bill Clinton is being "mentioned" as a logical replacement for Hillary Clinton, who'll vacate her New York Senate seat upon her presumptive approval as Secretary of State. The task of choosing a successor falls to David Paterson, New York's ...

Obama Shafts Progressives, Campaign Loyalists

Two reports in the British press indicate that Barack Obama has shunted aside key campaign advisors and given the back of his hand to his most ardent supporters in the liberal wing of his party. Leonard Doyle of The Independent reports on the machinations necessary to get Hillary Clinton on board as Secretary of State. The advisers who helped trash the ...

And Let That Be a Lesson to You

Joe Lieberman is going to keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee after all but, in a stunning rebuke over years of constant disloyalty to the Democratic Party, he's being stripped of his Environment and Public Works subcommittee. Ouch.  That's gotta sting.

Whites Voted For Obama, Proving They’re Racist!

Larry Bartels examines the voting behavior of white Americans on Election Day and finds that, as he expected, we were very, very racist: According to the exit polls, Obama outpolled the previous Democratic nominee, John Kerry, among people from small towns and rural areas and among gun owners. He also did better than Kerry among white males, white Protestants, and white ...

Taking Separation of Powers Seriously

Glenn Greenwald, reacting to reports that Barack Obama has told Harry Reid that Joe Lieberman should not be stripped of his committee chairmanship and thus making it very difficult for him to do so, has written a long and passionate plea for a return to vigorous separation of powers with strong institutional jealousies. [W]hatever the outcome here is, it's vital that ...

Fixing the GOP Redux

Stacy McCain has a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to my post on the Republican Party's future in which he notes that Sarah Palin graduated college, some non-Southern states voted for McCain, and than some non-rednecks agree with Palin on some issues. James doesn't want the Republican Party identified with redneck opponents of illegal immigration (like that illiterate hillbilly Mark ...

Obama’s Landslide in Perspective

In the discussion on Obama's apparent 365-173 Electoral College victory, Rodney Dill asks, "How close is this, historically? The popular vote difference seems like it was pretty big by modern standards, but usually that would result in an even more lopsided electoral vote." It's an interesting question. Dave Leip's Atlas has the results for every election. In 1980, the first ...

Rahm Emanuel Next White House Chief of Staff

[caption id="attachment_27087" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff?"][/caption] NBC's Mike Vigueira confirms a rumor that's been circulating for several days: Three House Democratic sources confirmed Rep. Rahm Emanuel has been offered a Chief of Staff job with an Obama White House and is currently "agonizing" over whether to take the job. Emanuel is a much better fit as a politco than a ...

Warner Wins Virginia Senate - Democrat Pickup

Both CNN and Fox are projecting that Mark Warner has defeated Jim Gilmore for the open Senate seat caused by the retirement of Republican John Warner (no relation).   This was widely expected.  Gilmore barely campaigned while Warner has been out in force for months.  Warner was a very popular governor, while Gilmore was largely an afterthought.