“I like him,” Obama says of his VP. “He has my back.”
campaign
Biden vs. Ryan: What to Watch for in the Debate
Generally speaking, it takes a political junkie to get excited about a vice-presidential debate. Sure, showdowns between candidates can be interesting, and occasionally they become truly significant after the fact if some …
Obama’s Challenge: Defining Forward as More than Just a Slogan
The President’s convention speech is his one real chance to tell the American people what they are voting for, not just what they are voting against. And the stage is the one he prefers
Obama’s Travels: Photos of Air Force One on the Campaign Circuit
President Obama’s Boeing 747 isn’t just transport. It’s a mobile command center outfitted to handle everything from a nuclear war to a re-election campaign. TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures of Air Force One.
Can Marco Rubio Win More Latinos Over to the GOP?
I have always been skeptical of the conventional Beltway wisdom that Florida Senator Marco Rubio will be the politico who finally builds bridges between Latinos and Republicans. It’s not that Rubio isn’t a capable envoy; his …
Happy Presidents Day: A Surprising Fact About What it Costs to Elect Them
Surprising data point of the day via Mother Jones: The cost of presidential campaigns did not grow dramatically in the latter half of the 20th century (after the advent of television ad spending, I’m speculating). In fact, in 2011 dollars, 1968’s Nixon-Humprey-Wallace contest cost significantly more than the campaigns of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s:
The Air War Over Health Care Reform
Despite earlier predictions that health care might not be the central component in this year’s congressional campaigns, candidates and outside groups are investing millions in TV ads touting and vilifying the new law. Two new ad campaigns each reportedly costing $2 million launched today.
This ad is being put out by the pro-reform …
Could Michelle Be the Secret Weapon for Dems This Fall?
Yesterday when Speaker Pelosi went to the White House, following a tense few days of family feuding after White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ remarks on Sunday that Dems could lose the House, she had a series of demands. Leveraging her caucus’ outrage – aired to reporters yesterday – Pelosi wanted more money and more help …
Palin’s Haul
Washington is expressing collective shock – shock, I tell you – this morning over Sarah Palin’s second quarter 2010 FEC report. Might she be running for president in 2012??
I’ve always through Palin would run – though it flies in the face of the MSM group think inside the Beltway. How could she run without the staff? The …
Reid on the Rebound?
Sure, he’s a loooooooong way from, um, winning — or even being in a position to win. But he’s had a good month and his poll numbers are finally going slightly north. On the other hand, they could’ve hardly gotten worse. A webstory today from me.
Schumer v. Durbin
Ready for Prime Time…
In the category of more unsolicited advice they didn’t ask for, are tired of getting, and will certainly ignore, I’ll holler one more pitch from my armchair to the McCain campaign (I’m a political consultant, I can’t help it).
There is no state by state way to break out of the campaign’s current spiral. Trips to Iowa will not do it. …
30 Days Out…
Lots of process talk on the political tom-toms right now about McCain pulling out of Michigan and re-deploying resources to other states. This moving forces around the map like Gen. Rommel in the desert stuff may be catnip to the media and a huge pre-occupation of the campaign staffs, but it can obscure the big picture. McCain is in …