Latest Election News
Why House Republicans are worried
After the Republican Party’s recent third straight loss in strongly GOP-leaning House districts, party legislators are appropriately “shell shocked,” said John Fund in The Wall Street Journal. The GOP’s “one comfort” seems to be that presidential nominee John McCain is outperforming the party in polls, said E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post, but with the rest of the GOP slate facing an “anti-Republican uprising” . . .
After the Republican Party’s recent third straight loss in strongly GOP-leaning House districts, party legislators are appropriately “shell shocked,” said John Fund in The Wall Street Journal. The GOP’s “one comfort” seems to be that presidential nominee John McCain is outperforming the party in polls, said E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post, but with the rest of the GOP slate facing an “anti-Republican uprising” . . .
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Oh., left) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Weekly Poll
Hillary Clinton vowed to fight on “until we have a nominee,” although her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, picked up momentum after the latest primaries. The Seattle Times said it’s time for Clinton to “acknowledge the electoral math” and yield so Obama can focus on beating Republican John McCain. The San Francisco Chronicle said Clinton has every right to stay in the race, and can still win if a big “revelation or gaffe” convinces superdelegates that Obama is “unelectable.”
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May 16, 2008
Gay marriage: The California high court’s gift to conservatives?
The California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in the state, and the embattled Republican Party “certainly hasn’t done anything to deserve such luck.” With John McCain “plainly uncomfortable” exploiting the issue, said Jonathan Martin in Politico, it actually may not matter as much as in 2004 ...
May 15, 2008
Edwards gets off the fence
John Edwards, a former presidential contender, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. Edwards praised Clinton’s “strength and character,” but said it was time for Democrats to unite behind Obama. Edwards seemed to be “going far out of his way to make sure his endorsement didn’t matter,” said Christopher Beam in Slate's Trailhead blog, "but it still matters" . . .
May 14, 2008
How to judge Clinton’s West Virginia landslide
Hillary Clinton’s huge win in West Virginia throws a wrench in Obama’s “certain victory” in the Democratic primary, said Jennifer Rubin in a Commentary blog, because no one there liked him—not “women, seniors, uneducated, educated, whites, poor people—none of them.” So maybe Clinton is doing Obama “a favor,” said E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post, by exposing his and the Democrats’ “weaknesses” . . .
May 13, 2008
What Barr's presidential bid means for McCain
Robert Barr’s third-party bid probably won’t “amount to anything,” said Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, but there’s “enough weirdness going on in the Republican party” that he might just siphon votes from John McCain. If he ends up being McCain’s “spoiler, he doesn’t seem to mind,” said Dana Milbank in The Washington Post, but there’s no indication . . .
May 12, 2008
Could an Obama-Clinton ticket win?
Some members of the Democratic Party are rallying around the idea of an Obama-Clinton “dream ticket,” said James Poulos in London’s The Guardian, but at this point it’s really “now Hillary’s dream.” It’s the Democrats’ best shot, said Steve Mitchell in The Detroit News, but whether it’s a “dream ticket” or a “nightmare ticket” in November . . .
May 9, 2008
Can Obama win enough ‘white’ votes?
Hillary Clinton crossed a line when she said that she's more electable than Barack Obama because she has more support from "hard-working" white Americans, said Joe Conason in Salon. Clinton’s comments may be “politically incorrect,” said Patrick Buchanan in RealClearPolitics, but they’re “also patently true" . . .
May 9, 2008
How McCain and Obama differ on judges
John McCain's "graceful and serious" speech on the need for judges who won't legislate from the bench was a big selling point for his campaign, said Tony Perkins in USA Today. Barack Obama obviously views the role of judges "more expansively," said James Oliphant in Tribune's The Swamp blog . . .
May 8, 2008
Is OPEC breakable?
Bashing oil producers is good politics "around election time," said Josh Marshall in Talking Points Memo, but Hillary Clinton's determination to break up OPEC is as unrealistic as her plan to suspend the federal gas tax. The gas-tax holiday is "misguided," said Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post, but taking on OPEC is a good idea . . .
May 8, 2008
Should Clinton quit, and let Obama focus on McCain?
It's time for Hillary Clinton "to do something she is not wired to do," said The Seattle Times. She should "acknowledge the math" and help Democrats unite behind Barack Obama. Clinton “has every right to stay in the race,” said the San Francisco Chronicle in an editorial . . .
May 7, 2008
Has Obama left Clinton behind?
Hillary Clinton failed to capitalize on Barack Obama's recent troubles, said Adam Nagourney in The New York Times. Splitting presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina "was not a draw." Obama "can certainly breathe easier now," said The Wall Street Journal . . .
May 7, 2008
Rush Limbaugh: Clinton’s secret weapon?
Rush Limbaugh claims he pushed Hillary Clinton over the top in Indiana by urging Republicans to vote for her, said Michelle Dubert in Rolling Stone, and Barack Obama's campaign certainly believes in the "Limbaugh effect." It’s silly to deny that Limbaugh has influenced this race, said Kathryn Jean Lopez in National Review Online . . .
May 6, 2008
The last round of the fight between Obama and Clinton?
Democrats vote in the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, said Paul Steinhauser in CNN.com, and "the outcome this time could truly be crucial." A big day for Clinton could strengthen her chances, said Adam Nagourney in The New York Times, but "a double Obama victory would almost certainly mean lights out" . . .
May 5, 2008
Where to focus your anger over Jeremiah Wright
The members of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's former church are "angry at the outside world" for painting the minister and the church he built as "a haven of hatred," said Errol Louis in the New York Daily News. Their anger should be focused on Wright, said Leonard Pitts in The Miami Herald ...
May 5, 2008
Will Jindal be McCain's running mate?
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal would make a great pick as John McCain's running mate, said William Kristol in The New York Times. Jindal, 36, would certainly help counter concerns about McCain's age. He would also please conservatives, said Kathryn Jean Lopez in National Review Online. But . . .
May 1, 2008
Al Franken's tax burden
Comedian-turned-U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken said he recently paid $70,000 in back taxes and penalties in 17 states, said Eric Black in MinnPost.com, and this should rekindle his supporters' "long-standing palpable nervousness" about his chances to unseat Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. Now that Franken has finally decided to “get in front” of the story, said the Minneapolis Star Tribune in an editorial, the question is whether his disclosure will do the trick . . .
May 2, 2008
Can Clinton catch Obama?
Hillary Clinton's campaign suddenly has new hope, said the AP's Beth Fouhy in The Boston Globe, as she gains on Barack Obama in the polls. Yes, but the numbers are still on Obama's side, said Adam Nagourney and Carl Hulse in The New York Times . . .
May 1, 2008
Are Clinton supporters trying to suppress black turnout?
A voter-registration group's calls suggesting to African-American voters in North Carolina that they need to fill out new paperwork to vote smells like a dirty trick, said The Economist in a blog. And all signs point to Hillary Clinton's supporters. Nonsense, said Ben Smith in Politico. The board of this group has included supporters of Clinton and Barack Obama . . .
May 1, 2008
Why Hillary Clinton needs Bill O’Reilly
What is going on with the Democratic presidential candidates? said Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle. First Barack Obama goes on Fox News, and now Hillary Clinton grants an interview to Bill O'Reilly? She has to reach out to conservative Democrats and NASCAR fans if she wants any chance to win next week's North Carolina primary, said Doug Heye in National Review Online . . .
May 1, 2008
A gas-tax holiday: Relief, or pandering?
“We know pandering when we see it,” said The New York Times in an editorial (free registration), and that’s the only word to describe the proposals by John McCain and Hillary Clinton to give drivers a summer gas-tax break. The key to providing relief at the pump is no big secret, said Clifford D. May in National Review Online . . .
Apr 30, 2008
Will repudiating Wright help Obama?
It took longer than it should have, said The New York Times, but now that Barack Obama has “firmly rejected” the “racism and paranoia” of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, the nation can get on with a serious discussion of race. No serious conversation can begin with the kind of “pure, unadulterated horse manure” Obama is selling, said Michelle Malkin in the New York Post . . .
