A Running Commentary

Those who doubt that the Democratic nomination is 100% up for grabs should watch this compiled clip of Hillary Clinton all but campaigning for John McCain:
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Clinton continues on the attack, tactically repeating in every interview that in the general election “I would put […]

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Um, did Susan Rice really just say that? I’m watching my man Tucker on MSNBC and I have to rewind the DVR to be sure. Yup, I can’t believe it but she did. Barack Obama’s own foreign policy adviser just said he is NOT ready for the 3:00 am phone call. […]

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The high drama of the 2008 Presidential primaries, especially for the Democrats, has lead many to question the logic of the American nominating system. From the prominence of certain states like Iowa and New Hampshire, to the role of political parties and their delegates, people, politicians, and pollsters alike have questioned the structure’s logic […]

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Ever since the first ‘Super Tuesday” back in February, political analysts have noted the steep uphill climb Hillary Clinton has for her party’s nomination. The talking heads repeatedly claim that, given the democrat’s proportional primary structure, even substantial wins by Clinton make it impossible for her to win the nomination. Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter […]

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Despite the tone of many a political speech, the United States is not a direct democracy. By design the American system is instead a representative one, placing a level of removal between the will of the people and governmental action. Where a pure democracy grants citizens direct control through vote or proxy, elected […]

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How pissed off are the Clintonistas right now? No matter what Hillary does she cannot seem to score. The release yesterday of the “phone call” ad was a classic Clinton move (view below). A pointed, attention grabbing commercial released with impeccable timing so as to dominate a full news cycle, gaining gargantuan […]

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg unequivocally declared yesterday that he will not stage the independent Presidential run he has long ‘secretly’ evaluated. The announcement comes as a disappointment to many who’d hoped the business mogul turned effective leader would stage a campaign outside the realm of traditional partisan warfare.
In his New York Times op-ed […]

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In one of the many great episodes of The West Wing, Josh and Donna have a debate about taxes. Donna, the naïve idealist, wants to know why the government takes so much of her income to pay for things on her behalf. Shouldn’t she be able to make those decisions herself? “I […]

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It is ironic that the word “federal” immediately brings to mind the national government, when in fact it indicates a collective of sovereign states. Following the Revolutionary War, Americans were painfully afraid that a powerful national government would repeat the English tyranny they’d just escaped. So the Founding Fathers initially formed The Articles […]

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I have been asked frequently to explain the nature and purpose of the American primary system. Unlike any election in recent memory, the 2008 Presidential has placed a withering spot light on the arcane and often counterintuitive primary systems of both Democrats and Republicans. Assumptions by many voters on the workings of the […]

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I guess I’m just not a typical NY fan.  Though a New Yorker and lifelong Yankees and Giants devotee, I have never really understood the weird fickleness that seems to typify the New York fan.
Normally this just applies to sports but The New York Times article yesterday made me wonder if it’s more extensive.  How […]

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Is it possible that after decades of predictable pomp the American people could be treated to not just one but two meaningful conventions in 2008?
On the one side, the Clinton camp’s refusal to recognize the writing on the wall guarantees that the Democrats will go into their convention without a clear nominee. If the 90’s […]

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(see previous post and RE: The Dougie Watch for background on the continuing thoughts and adventures of Dougie)
Well Dougie, the ‘why’ is simple; what to do about it is the hard part.
The absurd need to fuse all of your political positions into one presidential candidate is due to the grossly concentrated power of the American […]

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(see RE: The Dougie Watch page for background on the continuing thoughts and adventures of Dougie)
Dougie doesn’t understand why he is stuck synthesizing all of his political views into one Presidential candidate.
In 2004, for example, Dougie may not have been thrilled with President Bush’s handling of the war, but John Kerry’s murky position […]

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Whatever his role as ‘leader of the free world’, President Bush has hardly been a protector of individual freedoms at home. Since initial passage of the USA Patriot Act flew unquestioned through Congress in October 2001, Mr. Bush’s administration has used the specter of terrorism to grab huge swaths of unchecked power. Now […]

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