Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State?!
The big political news this morning is the buzz surrounding speculation that Hillary Clinton could be tabbed as Secretary of State. Politico's Mike Allen: Several Obama transition advisers are strongly advocating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for secretary of state, a move that would create the ultimate “Team of Rivals” Cabinet, according to officials involved in the discussions. President-elect Obama has narrowed the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 14, 2008 08:48
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 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 12, 2008 15:44
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 ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 8, 2008 11:22
2008 Election County-By-County
After George W. Bush won the 2000 election, despite having received substantially fewer votes nationwide than Al Gore, many of us took great comfort in this famous map, showing the election results county-by-county: [caption id="attachment_27108" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="2000 Election County-By-County Map"][/caption] In 2004, Bush won re-election by a majority -- but John Kerry nearly took it anyway because of a close call ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 5, 2008 15:54
McCain’s Final Stand
[caption id="attachment_26200" align="alignright" width="297" caption="RealClearPolitics summary for 15 OCT 08: Electoral College blowout?"][/caption] Tonight's third and final debate between John McCain and Barack Obama is the last scheduled opportunity for the candidates to make an impression on the voters. Election Day is less than three weeks away and, by the looks of things, McCain needs a miracle. According to the poll ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on October 15, 2008 09:46
Obama’s Acceptance Speech: The More Things CHANGE, The More They Remain the Same
I wrote a quick post before bed last night giving my off-the-cuff reaction to Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech, arguing that, despite all the talk of "change," it was basically a speech that Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, or John Kerry could have given. The NYT has a six-page transcript of the speech as delivered. Let's ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 29, 2008 08:14
Best. Speeches. Ever.
I just haven't been able to muster the enthusiasm to watch much of the Democratic Convention coverage. It's a shame, too, as I understand John Kerry, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden all gave the best speeches of their lives last night. Really, though, what were the odds? I'll watch Obama's performance at Mile High Stadium tonight, though. I understand it's ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 28, 2008 07:54
Obama as Jackie Robinson
Adam Serwer laments the fact that Barack and, particularly, Michelle Obama have to humanize themselves to the electorate and fight back against an elitist caricature. [T]he Obamas are still fighting Jackie Robinson Syndrome, the reflexive double standards and often small, sometimes large, but always public humiliations that come from being the first black person to do something. Ezra Klein thinks this "beautifully ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 27, 2008 14:07
Who’s Smearing Whom?
James Kirchich, recent nominee for an Yglesias Award for fairness, says that, while the Obama campaign is setting itself up to believe that "The only obstacle between Barack Obama and the presidency is the mountain of smears that will no doubt come his way," the truth of the matter is that most of the smears are coming from his side. Thus ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 2, 2008 09:33
Swift Boater on McCain’s Truth Squad
John McCain's Truth Squad, formed a few months ago in order to respond to charges by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth clone Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain, is prominently featuring an actual member of the Swifties as a spokesman, CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand reports. One of the members of John McCain’s new Truth Squad — which his campaign says was launched ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 30, 2008 16:02
