Interesting Political Articles

[Burbank Lilywhite]

I found this information pretty interesting. Hopefully those watching the upcoming US Presidential election process will feel the same.

The first article from the USA Today website gives some insight into just what 'Super Tuesday' means for canidates of both parties.

Super Tuesday Maths

I found this in the comments section of the above article and thought it to be one of the smartest and most sensible ways to run the primary-caucus process.

For years, tiny New Hampshire had the first primary election. The New Hampshire Department of Tourism must have LOVED this situation! However, according to the census of 2000, the U.S. population was 281,421,906, while the New Hampshire population was only 1,235,786. That is less than one-half of one percent of the country! Do we want our next President decided by one-half of one percent of the voters?

This year, every state is acting like a child, screaming, "ME FIRST!" As a result, states are leapfrogging over each other to have earlier primary elections than the other states. Well, everyone can't be first.

We now have 22 states scheduled to hold their primaries or caucuses on a single day. These states are spread out around the country, so that only the wealthy candidates can afford to campaign in all of them. The “dark horse” candidates don't stand a chance!

My suggestion is to spread out the primary schedule more evenly, so that the nominees will not be decided in the first or second week. In fact, I think that it would be best to have the biggest states--with the most delegates--scheduled to be held last. My recommendation would be a 14-week schedule of regional primaries:

Week 1: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina (36 electoral votes)
Week 2: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana (39 electoral votes)
Week 3: New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado (34 electoral votes)
Week 4: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming (35 electoral votes)
Week 5: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas (30 electoral votes)
Week 6: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin (38 electoral votes)
Week 7: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois (49 electoral votes)
Week 8: Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio (44 electoral votes)
Week 9: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia (52 electoral votes)
Week 10: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut (34 electoral votes)
Week 11: New York (31 electoral votes)
Week 12: Florida (27 electoral votes)
Week 13: Texas (34 electoral votes)
Week 14: California (55 electoral votes)

I chose to begin the first primaries in the South, in order to minimize the impact of winter weather. The National Association of Secretaries of State also has a plan for the primaries, and they grandfathered both Iowa and New Hampshire as the first two states in the process. However, they divided the other 48 states into four quadrants, but did not specify any further within each quadrant; they did not make any accommodation for weather; and they did not try to back-load the big states at the end, as I did.

And last I found this on the Judical Watch website. It's a list of their 10 most corrupt politicans of 2007.

Interesting to see what voices of 'change' in how Washington does business made the list, and what perceived 'insiders' didn't.

Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted" Corrupt Politicians for 2007

[psychocandy]

i want to put one of those 'thanks' tags here but have no idea how to.

cheers though, will be very interesting to see how the polls look over the weekend, as it currently seems like clinton is edging ahead. I think obama will get to be democratic candidate at some point, whether this is his year....who knows?

The republican race is going to go to the wire IMO

[Burbank Lilywhite]

Here's a couple more than tie in with the USA Today link.

This is from CNN is about Senator Clinton releasing a statement calling on her party to seat both states’ delegates at the national convention this summer.

Both Florida and Michigan had lost that privilege because of penalties arising from their decision to schedule their primaries in January, in violation of national party instructions.

“I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee,” Clinton said in a statement released by her campaign.

“I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan,” she added.

“I know not all of my delegates will do so and I fully respect that decision. But I hope to be President of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and that we have all 50 states represented and counted at the Democratic convention.”

The major candidates, including Clinton and rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards, had promised not to campaign in either state following the Democratic National Committee’s decision, and Obama and Edwards did not appear on Michigan’s primary ballot. Despite calls from her opponents to remove her name from the ballot, Clinton did not follow suit, and she won the state’s primary January 15, with 55 percent of the vote.

On Monday, Clinton’s campaign condemned Barack Obama for running an ad on national cable news networks, including CNN, saying that the spot would air in Florida and violate the no-campaign pact agreed to by most of the Democratic field.

Clinton's delegate appeal

The second one is also from CNN regarding John Kerry's condemnation of former President Clinton and his remarks about Senator Obama. This is an interesting angle that is playing out now. The Clinton campaign needs to campaign against Obama and attack his positions but how do you attack a man who doesn't have a kryptonite you can exploit.

John Kerry, the Democratic Party's 2004 nominee for president, took aim at Bill Clinton Friday, telling the National Journal the former president does "not have a license to abuse the truth."

The Massachusetts senator, who endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid earlier this month, said Clinton's criticisms of the Illinois senator have been "over the top," and suggested the former president is getting "frantic."

Targeting Clinton's recent spate of attacks on Obama, Kerry said, "I think you had an abuse of the truth, is what happened. …I mean, being an ex-president does not give you license to abuse the truth, and I think that over the last days it's been over the top.


Kerry blasts Clinton for 'abusing the truth'

[Bartok]

Clinton is closest of the Democrat candidates to the lying scheming manipulating spinning self-aggrandizing model plurocratic politician I despise.

Obama is the least, but if I had a vote I still wouldn't vote for him.

None of the above.

[Burbank Lilywhite]

Originally Posted by Dixie Chicken

Clinton is closest of the Democrat candidates to the lying scheming manipulating spinning self-aggrandizing model plurocratic politician I despise.

Obama is the least, but if I had a vote I still wouldn't vote for him.

None of the above.

That's why I'm voting for Andrew Jackson. I'm going to vote for a real democrat.

[Bartok]

Originally Posted by Burbank Lilywhite

That's why I'm voting for Andrew Jackson. I'm going to vote for a real democrat.

Awesome. Only way he's gonna stand though is if someone props him up with a stick.