Category Archives: The making of the President

Oops. Romney not only did not get the Concord Monitor of New Hampshire endorsement, they told their readers NOT to vote for him and why. Smack those flip-flops together, he’s not “trustworthy”. Several newspapers made endorsements Sunday. Democrat Barack Obama: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This does not sound good. A man claiming to have a bomb walked into Hillary Rodham Clinton’s storefront campaign office today and took at least two hostages, police and witnesses said. One woman was later released. ”We are in close … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You’ve probably heard about Robert Draper’s book Dead Certain, in which the author got a remarkable amount of access to President Bush. If you haven’t bought the book yet, you can read an excerpt from the excerpt that Texas Monthly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If the GOP is the party that doesn’t “get” the internet, are they also the party that doesn’t “get” Hispanic voters? When only John McCain committed to attending a Spanish language debate in Miami, it was indefinitely postponed: Univisión planned … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There are two things that will make me drop my current undecided status for the Democratic Presidential nominee. One is actually going to the polls next March with the nomination on the line. I can’t say how that will turn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I love the fact that I live in a country where this sort of thing is considered to be worthy of space in a major news weekly. Election season is taking over the front page, the evening news, and–sticker by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg changes tack. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Tuesday that he was dropping his Republican affiliation, a step that could clear the way for him to make an independent bid for the presidency. […] Until … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Obviously, I don’t actually care who will win the Republican nomination for President. Having said that, if I were a John McCain fan, I’d shudder in horror at this news. Josh Robinson-State Field Director [for South Carolina] A graduate of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nice to see that at least some decent bills have made it through despite the neverending sideshows and distractions this session. The Texas House unanimously passed an omnibus bill Tuesday that would radically reform the troubled Texas Youth Commission. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

My very best wishes to Elizabeth Edwards as she continues her battle against cancer. I agree with Kos – in a fairer world, she’d be a Senator or something similar. Regardless, she’s a fighter and a huge asset to her … Continue reading → Continue reading →

By the time you read this, Rep. Ron Paul will most likely have made the announcement that he is running for President. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a fierce critic of the Iraq war, formally will declare his candidacy for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’ve had a visit from Barack Obama, and now it’s time for John Edwards to pay a visit to the Lone Star State. I expect to have more details later, but for now here’s what I know: WHAT: A rally … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Took him a little while to do it, but in the end John Edwards did the right thing. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve already said that I’m not terribly interested in obsessing over the Presidential primaries right now. I have, however, figured out what my minimum requirement is for being considered worthy for my vote. Two bloggers hired by John Edwards to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So, Hillary Clinton is running for President. Quelle surprise, eh? I’m going to spend as much time as possible this year not blogging about the 2008 Presidential primaries, so let me say this now and get it out of the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like we might have an open seat race in CD14 in 2008. Ron Paul, the iconoclastic nine-term congressman from southeast Texas, took the first step Thursday toward launching a second presidential bid in 2008, this time as a Republican. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Dwight, here’s a thought from Scott Adams that will either get you nodding your head or recoiling in abject horror. I think that in an election cycle or two you will see an atheist business leader emerge as a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Polstate, a county by county comparison of the two-party Presidential vote in Texas for 2000 and 2004. I actually started some work on this very topic myself just before leaving town for Thanksgiving. You can see my spreadsheet here. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think Byron is right about the potential trap in the “Amend for Arnold” movement, and I approve of his solution: If Republicans are smart, they’ll turn this into a campaign about supporting immigrants, and enlist prominent Hispanic elected officials … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Let me throw my hat in here with Ginger regarding all this “Fsck the South” stuff. It’s insulting, and I refuse to loathe myself because of where I live. I’m doing what I can to help turn my little corner … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t really have much to say about what happened in the Presidential election. I think John Kerry is correct to pursue claims of irregularities in Ohio, but in the end I don’t think it will matter. That’s all I’ve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Has there been an upswing in rivers running uphill lately that no one has told me about? Jim Henley has endorsed John Kerry for President. OK, so it’s not much more enthusiastic than the Denver Post endorsement of Bush was, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I took another drive through my neighborhood, making sure I covered every block this time, to get an updated yard sign count. With a week to go before the election, the count stands 163 for Kerry, and 33 for Bush. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I note with some interest this story about yard signs in Alamo Heights. [In Alamo Heights], one of the city’s more affluent enclaves that has long been considered a conservative stronghold, residents are noticing a roughly equal smattering of Bush … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Statesman and the Chronicle gave President Bush a clean sweep of Texas major newspaper endorsements today. I’m not surprised by this – in fact, I predicted it. I simply never expected any of the major Texas dailies to hold … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Bringing out the base and persuading swing voters are important and all, but converting one of the other guy’s supporters is the sweetest thing of all. You just have to find the right issue. Here’s how Texas Law Chick did … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Kevin T. Keith has an interesting story of door-knocking for Kerry in Pennsylvania. It’s worth a read, especially if you plan on volunteering or organizing volunteers this year. One thing I’d like to comment on: Since we were working off … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ralph Nader’s bid to get on the Texas ballot has been rejected by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The state ballot without Nader has already been certified and sent to all 254 Texas counties. Nader tried to get on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Vice President Cheney, last night: “Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer…. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.” Except for the 2001 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Inspired by this Kevin Drum post, I took a little informal yard-sign survey of my neighborhood this past weekend. Now, I expected Kerry/Edwards supporters to greatly outnumber Bush/Cheney fans. I live in a Democratic enclave, I had only seen K/E … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So Kerry appears to have won the post-debate spin as well as the debate, and it’s showing in the polls. Of course, as Steve Casburn reminds us, Walter Mondale did pretty well in the first debate of 1984, too, so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Surely by now you’ve heard that the Lone Star Iconoclast, Crawford, TX’s hometown newspaper, has endorsed John Kerry. I was going to do a longish post on this, tying together some of the other iconoclastic things this paper has done, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Pretty clever idea, getting red staters and blue staters to actually talk about issues so we can all see where they agree and disagree (and, as Hope points out, where they’re just plain factually challenged). Now if I can only … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Want an example of former Bush voters switching to John Kerry? Try this on for size. And check out this interview (scroll down) that Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow and Bush voter in 2000, did with Judy Woodruff: BREITWEISER: …I spent, … Continue reading → Continue reading →