Why do you argue? These were the words that may have killed CNN’s Crossfire, which was cancelled not long after. Jon Stewart’s now-legendary appearance on that show took not only conservative bow-tied Tucker Carlson to task, but also spanked democratic strategist Paul Begala. Begala no doubt thought that he was…
Word is leaking, painfully, out of the Ron Paul commune today that the Good Doctor is ending his candidacy for the presidency, three days after he was mathematically eliminated from the Republican nomination. There’s nothing quite like choosing your own moment to exit, regardless of circumstance, and Dr. Paul holds…
The night started out with Vermont being crazy. Not crazy because they went for frontrunners Barack Obama and John McCain, in sizeable fashion (Obama carried white voters, male voters and even female voters by smart margins), but because they voted to arrest Bush and Cheney, 2,012 to 1,795. If that…
I’m not a John McCain supporter. I knew him as one of my senators when I lived in Arizona, and I’ve come to know him as a presidential candidate in these last two elections. And as much of a beef as I might have with the man and his politics,…
The Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee just spewed out another release — this time noting that “local software company Nanco Global LLC has provided a software upgrade to the Host Committee’s volunteer page at www.DenverConvention2008.com.” Unfortunately, that upgrade clearly didn’t include a stop by spellcheck…
This hard-hitting slide show by political correspondent Joe Horton shows Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Mike Huckabee all dressed up with only the superdelegates of Texas and Ohio to pander to…
View larger image New Hampshire Total Number of Delegates: 30 Pledged: 22 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a New Hampshire Delegate: “Live Free or Die” is the motto that New Hampshirites use to project their image of fierce independence. In truth, it briefly explains the state’s tax code, which exempts…
Beware of pollsters with agendas. A pollster is supposed to be someone just culling data from a statistically significant portion of the population, right? Someone with one eye on politics, and the other on science? Well, if you consider the efficacy of propaganda a scientific end, Frank Luntz is your…
Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart is not just any observer of the 2008 election campaign. He sees strong parallels between the contest pitting Democrats Barack Obama (who he supports) against Hillary Clinton and his own 1984 run for the White House. Back then, Walter Mondale, the former Vice President and…
View larger image Nevada Total Number of Delegates: 33 Pledged: 25 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Nevada Delegate: Nevadans like to claim that their state was named for the Spanish word that means “covered in snow.” This, of course, seems deliberately misleading to anyone who has visited Las Vegas…
Dear John, The New York Times would like to endorse John McCain. And all of his affairs, scandals and conflicts of interest. They are totally breaking up. What a difference a few weeks makes in a political love triangle. Before Super Tuesday, the NYT was smitten, relatively speaking, with moderate…
Amy Holmes holds the pundit trifecta ticket: she’s black, she’s pretty, and she’s a Republican. Or so she’s espousing these days. She’s gone on record in the past to say that she’s registered as an Independent, and that she privately harbors some fairly liberal views, including being strongly pro-choice…
Chaos at the DNC, riots in the streets of Denver, 1968 relived – no, these aren’t just the protest slogans being voiced by the usual suspects in the local radical scene. They’re potential scenarios that were hashed out by high-profile Democrats on last Sunday’s Face the Nation. If Hillary Clinton…
Whether Barack Obama’s Speechgate is a nonissue, a callous Clinton attack or the tip of the iceberg of Obama’s rhetorical and ideological harvesting, the real political marvel of the season is the emergence of YouTube as a viable political cyberhatchet. Somehow, sandwiched in between videos of drunk kids destroying dorm…
View larger image Nebraska Total Number of Delegates: 31 Pledged: 24 Unpledged: 7 How to Recognize a Nebraska Delegate: Most Americans experience Nebraska only in passing. At 35,000 feet overhead or speeding through on I-80, the state looks flat and boring. It is neither, but that doesn’t stop the “flatter…
Image courtesy Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages Courtesy of barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com: Barack Obama helped you move a sofa Barack Obama built you a robot Barack Obama followed you on twitter Barack Obama held your hand when you were frightened Barack Obama is your new bicycle Barack Obama wrote on your fun wall…
For most of us, the college experience—what we remember—lives on in two neat categories: “Never Again” and “I Found Myself.” This formative process produces “Don’t Remind Me” and “The Best Time of My Life,” where high-minded philosophies mix with pragmatic acceptances that retain extraordinary influence on our decisions, hopes, fears,…
Dear Ron Paul supporters, I have a tip that you might find helpful – and, no, it doesn’t involve bunker-building or camouflage mouse pads. It has to do with graphic design. I’m not an expert in the art of campaigning, but I keep noticing all of these banners hung on…
View larger image Montana Total Number of Delegates: 24 Pledged: 16 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Montana Delegate: Residents of the Treasure State think that their Last Best Place isthe Jewel of the Lower 48. On average, there are only seven Montanans per square mile of Big Sky Country,…
It’s somehow fitting that the last people to know Mitt Romney was dropping his bid for the presidency were his supporters in the room. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Romnites were still handing out buttons and wildly waving posters when Mitt took the stage for a stump…
While other reporters were wasting their time on Super Tuesday night tracking useless information like exit polls and delegate counts, the crack political team at Westword was focused on the issues the matter: namely, which Democratic candidate’s political apparatus throws a better post-caucus party. After a sleepless night of number…
In the days leading up to Super Tuesday, I kept waiting to get an off-white invitation in the mail from an older neighbor, preferably an active, sporty grandmother-type, who had looked up my political affiliation and requested my presence in her home for the Democratic caucus. I would show up…
