10.24.2007
This Week in Politics - Minneapolis Edition
The Good Guy himself was in town yesterday stumping for Hillary. Although I was unable to make it (press pass request failed), I sensed his presence from my office a couple buildings over. He was at the Graves 101, our ultra-fancy new hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
Pres. Clinton was able to lay the smackdown on one heckler, who wisely advised us that 9/11 was an inside job. Personally, I am impressed at the heckler's ability to escape the lethargic confines of his mother's basement and show up for the fundraiser. After all, being there is half the battle.
More info here
In other news, our Governor, Tim Pawlenty, is currently in India with a US trade contingent. Similar to The Mind's trade trip to China and Cuba, Mr. Pawlenty is selling the state of Minnesota to potential trade partners across the subcontinent.
Pawlenty has already made inroads, signing a sister-state deal with the Indian state of Haryana.
What is interesting to me is the reception of Pawlenty's trade missions compared to Ventura's. Jesse's trips were constantly derided as pointless and a waste of taxpayer money.
On the other hand, Pawlenty is "getting down to business" and "timely" in his visit to India.
This just goes to show how detested Ventura was in the press, and how the media is able to spin any story in the manner they see fit.
In RNC 2008 news, the GOP are now aghast at the thought of hundreds of homeless people hogging the cameras during the convention. As it turns out, the renowned Dorothy Day Center is just across the way from the Xcel Center in St. Paul. Although the GOP has sent a welcome wagon to the homeless shelter, and even had volunteers man the soup-line, the truth is that they want the shelter closed for the duration of the convention. GOP officials deny this claim, so we shall see what fate awaits the Dorothy Day come convention time.
10.11.2007
New RNC 2008 Logo
The GOP today unveiled the new RNC logo for the 2008 convention in Minneapolis:
Oooh, aaaah.
Notice the Democrat Red used for "2008"? Dastardly!
10.05.2007
This Week in Politics
Poor Fred Thompson. The media spotlight's been on him for months, breathlessly awaiting his Grand Announcement. Now, here we are post-announcement and he's getting about as much press as Brownback. The non-excitement seems palpable in Iowa, where Mr. Thompson has to coax applause from the crowd. Where did it go wrong? The GOP base has basically anointed him the next Reagan without hearing a word. Now that they are hearing Thompson, he's coming across more Bonzo than Reagan. He won't commit, cannot articulate his positions, and is not a big fan of the meet and greet. Mr. Thompson needs to get focused and start taking chances. He needs to be out there speaking his mind, grabbing headlines. It may be risky to actually talk about issues, but that's kind of what we expect from candidates for President of the United States.
But, as my Republican friends like to remind me, it's still early.
Yes, the GOP is a mess. 9/11 remains the front runner, despite the veiled threat by James Dobson to vote for a third party if he wins the nomination. Mitt Romney is raising alot of cash, but he's Mormon (not that there's anything wrong with that). As I have written before, do not count McCain out. Even though Dobson and his ilk despise the man, McCain has the broad appeal of 9/11, without all the personal baggage. I firmly believe McCain will be a strong candidate well into 2008.
Meanwhile, there is relative peace in the Democrat camp. Hillary continues to improve in national numbers, crushing Obama by a mind-boggling 33 points in the latest polls. I must admit I do like Hillary, but I like Obama even more. He's the one candidate on the Dems side that attacks issues and discusses them, whether it helps or hinders his candidacy. The bottom line is that he is confident in what he speaks of and is quite erudite. So what if he talks hypotheticals, that is what voters want to know. What would you do if___?
Plato would approve of Obama, as he is the philosopher-king of this election.
Back to Hillary for a moment. Peggy Noonan wrote today about the Bush/Clinton fatigue factor. While there is some truth to the dangers of handing the Presidential reigns over to family dynasties, I am having a hard time digging up a Noonan column on Bush's campaign in 2000. I find it convenient that this piece comes out over Hillary's efforts. When Jeb runs in 2012, I will be looking for Noonan's opinion then.
9.10.2007
This Week in Politics
Behold! The power of autumn. The playtime of summer is a fading memory. A week or so ago, we were still hitting the beaches, trying to get those last golden rays. Yesterday, I put on a sweater.
The lakeshore resorts are already empty. Morning traffic is jammed once again, the roads bloated with returning high school and college kids in cars much nicer than mine. The leaves are just turning that hue of yellow-green (green-yellow?).
People are Back to Work, and it feels good. Things get serious in September. Families get serious – back to nine months of rigorous routines and schedules. Football gets serious. The weather gets serious. And best of all, politics gets serious.
In honor of this crisp, new era that is Fall, the Spencer Post presents a new weekly round-up of the latest topics on Election 2008.
John McCain
Wow, I seriously thought this guy was down for the count. Suddenly, McCain is being talked about again. His buzz is definitely upward this week. The driver behind this sudden change in conventional wisdom appears to be McCain himself. The man is everywhere. I turn on the TV, and McCain is there. I flip the channel, McCain is there. There is a mathematical theorem somewhere dealing with the probability of McCain appearing on your TV screen within a sixty minute interval. Colbert, Leno, Stewart, Letterman, Stephanopoulos, Barnard, Harvey, Maxa - the list is honestly endless. And do not forget the repeat viewings. I honestly think McCain has been on The Daily Show every other week for the past couple months.
In any case, it appears to be working. McCain has come across more confident, more sure of himself. His strategy of supporting the war, once thought of as daft, is actually a brilliant idea. The reason is simple: McCain knows what he is talking about. Military strategy is not new to him. If Iraq isn’t neatly wrapped up in November, will voters start looking for the next War President? Do not dismiss John McCain just yet.
Fred Thompson
Mr. Thompson’s announcement this week was about as anti-climactic as Britney Spears in her new bikini. Surprisingly, Mr. Thompson did not come across like some nuvo-Gerardo like some thought he would. He’s actually seemed a bit nervous in interviews, suddenly realizing he’s in this thing for real.
So many ideals and desires have been wrought upon this man, I will be interested in what he has to say in the next few weeks. Thompson has already been given a few chances to address the issues, but so far we’re getting “I agree, that is an issue,” to “we are looking in to that.” There might be more there, we’ll see.
Not much happening here. Everyone is far more interested in the hurly-burly of the GOP at the moment.
9.05.2007
Election 2008
Keep in touch with spencerpost for continuous coverage of Election 2008!
