Category Archives: The making of the President

Here’s a poll that shows John Kerry with a sizeable lead among Hispanic voters in his race against President Bush. The presumptive Democratic nominee held a 58 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush among voters who identify themselves as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is what Democratic unity looks like. John Kerry is getting fund-raising and message-making help from his former Democratic primary foes, some of whom are potential running mates and big financial draws in important parts of the country. Missouri Rep. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Poor Man has decided to harness the power of honest competition and good old fashioned trash talking for the purpose of raising funds for John Kerry. Dean and Clark supporters in particular should take note. Check it out. Continue reading →

Ezra is hopping up and down about the following passage in this Time article: Administration sources tell TIME that employees at the Department of Homeland Security have been asked to keep their eyes open for opportunities to pose the President … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Never one to refuse an opportunity to show just how down-home, Real America, Mom & apple pie he is, President Bush will pay a visit to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo today. When President Bush drops by the Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Keith Berry surveyed a few bloggers to ask who they thought Kerry’s VP choice would be, and he found the most popular answer was…”Beats me!” I picked John Edwards, mostly because I didn’t feel like coming up with some too-clever-by-half … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I got a recorded phone call yesterday about attending this John Kerry event, but it was scheduled for 7:30 AM, and I really needed the sleep. If anyone reading this did attend, please leave a comment. One item of interest: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, barring anything truly wacky, John Kerry will be carrying the Democratic banner this fall. Kerry was not my first choice, but that was based as much on my perception of his early campaign missteps as anything. As with any … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The goal: Defeating President Bush in November. The requirement: Turning at least one Red state from 2000 into a Blue state. How are we doing on that front? Well, John Kerry and John Edwards are both leading George Bush in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yawn. Ralph Nader may run for President again this year. After weeks of postponing his decision, Nader will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to make the announcement, said Linda Schade, a spokeswoman for Nader’s presidential exploratory committee. “He’s going … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s old news by now, but I do want to add my voice to those who have thanked Howard Dean for helping to infuse the Democratic Party and the various contenders for the Presidency with a spine, and to help … Continue reading → Continue reading →

When I first stumped for John Edwards as the second half of a Kerry/YourNameHere ticket, I mentioned that I had a gut feeling that having Edwards on board would help Kerry woo back some Dean voters who are unenthusiastic about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I suppose it’s time to do a little navel-gazing about who might run as the Robin to John Kerry’s Batman in November. Not that I’m ahead of the punditry curve here – Mark Evanier quotes someone he describes as “loosely … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Somewhat to my surprise, given how many members of our Congressional delegation have endorsed Wes Clark and how well-established the Howard Dean network is, John Edwards is the top money-raiser among Democrats in Texas. Edwards raised $1.6 million in Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Holy crap. The latest Quinnipiac poll of registered voters has Kerry beating Bush nationally by 51-43. That’s better than all of the other Dems, who each trail Bush by a small margin, and is greater than the margin of error, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Mandatory Punditry Act of 2003 states that I must offer my opinion on the New Hampshire Primary within 48 hours of its conclusion, so I may as well get it over with. First, congratulation to John Kerry for another … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m kinda sorry I missed Judith Steinberg Dean’s coming out party with Diane Sawyer on Thursday night. She sounds like my kind of woman. Whether she’s helped rehab Howard Dean’s campaign or not, I can say that I personally am … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not what we all expected in Iowa, was it? My favorable impression of Howard Dean has come as much from his vaunted organization as from his passion, but if this is the best they can do, then he’s gonna be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So does this mean that we can officially call a halt to any future Dean-is-like-McGovern articles? Wesley Clark, seeking to make inroads among supporters of Howard Dean, was endorsed Sunday by George McGovern, whose opposition to the Vietnam War propelled … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like former Texas Governor Ann Richards is about to endorse Howard Dean for President. Like Al Gore, Richards, whose not-so-narrow loss to Bush in 1994 set the stage for his meteoric rise, helps Dean make a key argument about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think my favorite response to that Club for Growth ad is Jim’s, but then I’m a sucker for quantitative analysis. Would you have guessed that Texas is way more Starbucks-infested than Vermont? Not that I’d ever set my non-coffee-drinking … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Who says that President Bush isn’t into recycling? The Austin American Statesman noticed an example recently. See if you can spot a trend. Here’s what Marc Racicot, chairman of the Bush-Cheney re-election effort, said recently in announcing the campaign’s Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the Flea-on-an-Elephant Department, here’s a story about some GOP Primary opponents for President Bush. There will be 14 Republicans on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot besides Bush. Among them are [Dick] Bosa, the former mayor of Berlin, N.H.; … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s a very interesting analysis of regional trends in Presidential elections which, as the title indicates, goes beyond the binary red/blue state model. Check it out. Via TAPPED. Continue reading →

You know, after all of the bashing the Chron did of Tom DeLay, Rick Perry, Tom Craddick, and the rest of the redistricting bunch over the summer, I started to lose some of my animosity towards their editorial page. It’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Or something like that. He’s officially on the state ballot, anyway. Gov. Rick Perry, flanked by other GOP officeholders, filed the necessary paperwork at Texas Republican headquarters. He predicted a close presidential race next year but said Bush, his predecessor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Joan Jett, celebrated far and wide for her trip to Afghanistan to support the troops, is now supporting a candidate for President: Howard Dean. A slate of convention delegate candidates from New York made public by the Dean presidential campaign … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You’ve seen this question a million times already: “If next year’s election for President was held today, do you think you would vote for George W. Bush, or some other candidate?” Suppose I told you that in a recent poll, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t know if this counts as a trend, but I like it anyway. Retired Gen. Merrill “Tony” McPeak, the former Air Force chief of staff who endorsed George W. Bush in 2000, has left the Republican fold and is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Michael Tomasky has the first is-Dean-electable? article I’ve seen that makes some sense. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and I have to say, I think the “conventional wisdom” about Dean is a lot of crap. The reason … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So I see that John Kerry Version 2.0 is ready for shipping, and now he’s even anti-Deanier than before. Can’t you just feel the excitement? No? Me neither. And it’s a damn shame. John Kerry, is smart, good looking, a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Public Citizen’s White House for Sale blog has some good coverage of Howard Dean‘s referendum on whether he should abide by his original statement to participate in the presidential public financing system (see here and here), as well as a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Big Media Matt says he’s “puzzled” by this story in which a majority of GOP politicians and strategists polled named Rep. Richard Gephardt as the Democratic candidate that they think is the strongest challenger to Bush. I can understand his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So now with Wesley Clark a declared candidate for President, we’ve got a CNN/USA Today poll and a Newsweek poll that not only shows him leading the Democratic field, but also shows him in a virtual tie with President Bush. … Continue reading → Continue reading →