Online Journal of Politics and Foreign Affairs
While Barack Obama has already resigned his Senate seat to concentrate on the transition, Joe Biden has not followed suit. NBC’s Doug Adams speculates that he’s holding off on doing so in order to set the stage for his son, Beau, to replace him. Biden told a local TV station right before Election Day he [...]
Several folks are picking up on this Strange Maps overlay of cotton production in 1860 and the voting patterns in this month’s presidential contest between Barack Obama and John McCain: While the title “From Pickin’ Cotton to Pickin’ Presidents” is rather amusing, it’s precisely wrong. Indeed, the Strange Maps blogger makes this clear: The link between [...]
Then-candidate Barack Obama sent letters to federal employees promising them big gains if he got elected, Carol Leonnig writes in a front page story in today’s WaPo. The letters, sent to employees at seven agencies, describe Obama’s intention to scale back on contracts to private firms doing government work, to remove censorship from scientific research, [...]
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 [...]
We all thought convicted felon Ted Stevens had been narrowly reelected to the Senate, presumably as a placeholder to keep the seat in Republican hands. Not so fast! Mark Begich made a dramatic comeback Wednesday to overtake Ted Stevens for the lead in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race. Begich, who was losing after election night, now [...]
John McCain has caught quite a bit of flak for his rather cursory vetting process for his vice presidential selection. Barack Obama is going to the other extreme, requiring applicants for even low level appointments in his administration to fill out a seven page, 63 question document covering every conceivable base. The questionnaire includes 63 [...]
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 [...]
John McCain was on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno last night, continuing his graceful exit from a bitter presidential race. In his first interview since conceding the presidential election, John McCain said Tuesday that Sarah Palin did not damage his presidential bid and he dismissed anonymous criticism aimed at her following their crushing defeat. [...]
George Will argues that the 2008 election demonstrates precisely what the Framers sought to prevent with the Electoral College. In a Presidential contest replete with novelties, none was more significant than this: A candidate’s campaign—for his party’s nomination, then for the presidency—was itself virtually the entire validation of his candidacy. Voters have endorsed Barack Obama’s [...]
Over at New Atlanticist, I discuss “Obama’s Afghanistan Plan,” noting that actually achieving results will prove far more difficult than criticizing the Bush administration. My main criticism is of his continued harping on catching Osama bin Laden: [I]t would be ironic indeed if a Democratic successor to Bush seriously made tracking down a single terrorist a [...]
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 [...]
My Palin Derangement Syndrome post got a number of thoughtful responses, especially for a weekend post. My fellow Jacksonville State alumnus Stacy McCain, a Palin fan, thinks the internal debate on her role in last week’s defeat and her future as a Republican Party standard bearer is one we should have. He objects strenuously, though, [...]
NYT has a feature on today’s visit by Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House for the traditional meet-and-greet with outgoing president and first lady George W. and Laura Bush. For nearly two years on the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama rarely missed a chance to take a swipe at President Bush. The name [...]
Two lawyer-bloggers who I’ve followed for years are upset with me for buying into the “Sarah Palin was in over her head” meme. Xrlq accused me of drinking “the anti-Palin Kool-Aid” for buying into claims that Palin didn’t know which countries were in NAFTA while Bill Dyer is “genuinely concerned for [my] mental health.” As [...]
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 [...]
I’ve been waiting to hand out recognition for correctly predicting the Electoral map until all states have been decided. Missouri still hasn’t been called, although it’s likely to fall into McCain’s camp. North Carolina has been called for Obama, who also picked up one elector in Nebraska, the first time either Maine or Nebraska has [...]
Robert Byrd stepped down from the Appropriations Committee, on which he has served FIFTY YEARS, citing his advanced age. He’s being replaced by relative whippersnapper Daniel Inouye, a sprightly 84. “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven,” said Byrd, who had fended off earlier challenges this past spring [...]
Over at New Atlanticist, we’ve been running a series all week on the Foreign Policy Priorities for the Next President. In addition to my introductory post, we’ve run installments by Elizabeth Jones, a retired U.S. career ambassador whose posts included Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia, former Saloman Smith Barney managing director Ronald Freeman, Woodrow [...]
Harry Reid, not unreasonably, is strongly considering stripping Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship after he campaigned vigorously for the Republican nominee for president. Reid, in a sternly worded statement after the 45-minute meeting, said no official decisions have been made. But an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid was leaning toward removing Lieberman as [...]
It turns out that, despite a huge rise in voter registrations, actual turnout Tuesday was essentially the same as in 2004. 61 Percent of Eligibles Voted A new report from American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate concludes that voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the same in percentage terms as it [...]
Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin puts Barack Obama’s election into perspective: “What a historical moment that was last night. … From an African-American standpoint, I watched my people — watched my people — celebrate the not guilty verdict of O.J. Simpson. They were so hungry for a victory of some kind that they [...]
Among the dumbest things I’ve read since Barack Obama was elected is Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s “Used to Early Nights, Washington Is Ready to Stay Up Late.” (Thanks, memorandum.) Bill Clinton brought jazz, Rhodes scholars, a slice of Arkansas and all-night pizza policy sessions. When George W. Bush arrived, Texans took over the town. Blue jeans [...]
So was the big loss in the stock market the other day due to Obama winning the election? I don’t think so. Yesterday also saw the release of the employment/unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the unemployment rate held at 6.1%, the nonfarm payroll fell by 159,000 jobs, an it is likely [...]
My office overlooks the Washington Post building and my parking garage is directly across the street from the entrance to the WaPo offices. A curious sight greeted me as I left for home yesterday evening: A large crowd of people lined up to get a copy of the OBAMA MAKES HISTORY commemorative edition of the [...]
Andrew Sullivan thinks the revelations about Sarah Palin that have the Right Blogosphere in such an uproar also reveal something damning about the mainstream press. They kept taking Palin seriously as a veep candidate when she didn’t come close to even minimal standards for passing a citizenship test. I’m sorry but I think this is [...]
Some interesting thoughts from Mark Salter, John McCain’s close aide and co-author, at TIME: The changes to how McCain campaigned were forced by the press, Salter argued. “The fact that we didn’t do the back-of-the-bus stuff is only a function that you guys really wouldn’t let us,” Salter said, referring to the media. “Once the [...]
In the clip from Fox News about staff infighting that’s embedded in James’ post below, a lot of people around the blogosphere are making hay of the fact that the report claims that Sarah Palin did not realize that Africa was a continent, not a country. To which I say: do you really believe that? [...]
Quite a few reports came out yesterday buttressing rumors that there were tensions between John McCain and Sarah Palin which caused a feud within the campaign team. It’s only fitting, I suppose, since the selection of Palin has highlighted and exacerbated a growing fissure within the Republican Party itself. Fox New’s Carl Cameron dished last [...]
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: In 2004, Bush won re-election by a majority — but John Kerry nearly took it anyway because of a close call in [...]
Newsweek shares several tidbits from their “special election project,” which gave them inside information that they couldn’t publish until after the fact. Palin’s Spending Spree NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin’s shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain’s top advisers privately fumed at what they [...]
While neither AP nor the networks have yet called it, convicted felon Ted Stevens has almost certainly been re-elected to the Senate from Alaska. Alaskans will have to wait a little while longer to find out if Senator Ted Stevens has been re-elected just days after becoming a convicted felon. The Republican held a slim [...]
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 legislator [...]
The Minnesota Senate race between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic comedian Al Franken is still too close to call. Coleman has a slight lead in all the counts and is expected to be ahead narrowly when the counting’s done. The Star Tribune says that a recount looms. With 99 percent of the 4,130 precincts [...]
The top entry pages at OTB over the last hour, by a longshot, are Barack Obama the Socialist, Obama the Antichrist?, and Left Behind Authors Say Obama Is Not the Antichrist. (Also getting a lot of entries, likely through the vagaries of search engine rankings, Primary Popular Vote Totals.) Apparently, neither John McCain’s gracious concession [...]
The country has elected Barack Obama as president and broken the recent cycle of close contests decided by one state. The Democrats have expanded their margins in the House and Senate but with less of a landslide than many predicted and have thus been denied the fabled “filibuster-proof” majority. The pre-election polls, once again, were [...]
With the polls now closed in California, FOX News has officially called the election for Barack Obama as of 11 Eastern, trailing OTB by more than two hours. Juan Williams is choking up at the significance of a black man being elected president. It is indeed quite incredible. Bill Kristol notes, too, that Obama will [...]
John McCain’s age hurt him far more than Barack Obama’s race, the exit polls show. Race played less of a role in the presidential election than age, exit polls showed Tuesday. Voters line up to cast their ballots in Henderson, Nevada, on Tuesday morning. While Barack Obama would be the nation’s first black president, John [...]
Fox News has projected Barack Obama as the winner in Virginia, although it’s tight with 91% of the precincts in. If this holds, it’s the first time a Democrat has carried the Commonwealth in my lifetime. Then again, Northern Virginia, the DC suburbs where I live, have grown tremendously with transplants.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican Leader in the Senate, held on to his seat. This guarantees that, barring a post-election party switch, the Democrats will be held under the “magic” number of 60 seats. I’ve always thought McConnell was one of the good guys, an articulate defender of limited government who maintained an air of civility [...]
Barack Obama has won Ohio, CBS radio projects, making it the first Bush state from 2004 to actually switch. This takes out of play any “miracle” scenarios whereby John McCain somehow won Colorado and New Mexico and kept the 2004 caucus together. It’s another 20 Electors for Obama. Fox, I should note, hasn’t called it [...]
Since the boss has already called it, we might as well go ahead and assign blame. Though there’s plenty of blame to go around, I place the bulk of it on Bush. He killed the Reagan coalition. That coalition has consisted of the religious right, small-l libertarians and other small government types. Likewise with people [...]
I’m going to be traveling a bit and will resume the liveblog around 9 Eastern. I’ll revert to my standard all-in-one-post format at that point, going until perhaps 11 Eastern or so, in this spot. Truly big news will get separate posts. – Fox projects McCain to carry Georgia and North Dakota, two traditional Red [...]
OTB projects that Barack Obama will easily win more than 270 Electoral votes and become the 44th President of the United States. Of course, it’s far too early to give final numbers at 8:32 Eastern, with polls still open in much of the country. Obama’s win in Pennsylvania, however, makes it a fait accompli. There’s [...]