The Not-RNC: America’s Next Top Model

People in St. Paul seem to be taking McCain’s call for restraint pretty seriously, so I feel a little bad for observing this, but I sort of loved it when he explained, “we need to take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats” — because conventions, in the end, are all about hats.

And apparently I’m not the only person …

In the Arena In the Arena

Kristol Blue Desperation

Bill Kristol gives me a cameo role in his NY Times column today:

Time’s Joe Klein remarked disapprovingly that McCain didn’t know Palin well and had never worked with her. He noted by contrast “that when Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, House Speaker Tip O’Neill, who had worked with Ferraro, was not only vouching

Making Lemonade

My story on the McCain campaign’s efforts to “Seize the Stormy Moment” is here. To wit: “John McCain can’t stop the storm, but his campaign is determined to make the most of it by using it to rebrand a new generation of Republicans as leaders who govern effectively and rise above partisanship.”

The Palin Gamble

We always write that running mates don’t really move votes, but I’m increasingly convinced that Sarah Palin is the exception. Bill Kristol (who appears to have spent more time with Palin than McCain did before selecting her) sums up the stakes for McCain:

If Palin turns out not be up to the challenge for which McCain has selected her,

Obama Asks Americans to Help, Too

Anyone want to guess what kind of numbers could come out of this?

TOLEDO, Ohio — Sen. Barack Obama announced that his campaign would mobilize supporters from his enormous e-mail list to send money or enlist as volunteers once the impact of Hurricane Gustav becomes apparent.

Obama told reporters that his campaign already is

In the Arena In the Arena

Focused–The Sequel

Another week, another Frank Luntz/AARP focus group of undecided voters–this one in Minneapolis and with some bad news for John McCain: they don’t like the choice of Sarah Palin for vice president. Only one person said Palin made him more likely to vote for McCain; about half the 25-member group raised their hands when asked if Palin …

Re: A Non-Political Convention?

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has just announced there will be an abbreviated session tomorrow, probably ending around 5, doing just the housekeeping kinds of things, the legal requirements they must go through for McCain to receive the nomination and qualify for federal matching funds. It is not clear what will happen after …

A Non-Political Convention?

Years from now, political consultants will be studying how the McCain camp responded to the pending tragedy named Gustav, now swirling in the Gulf of Mexico. The first volley: John McCain promised today to hold something like a non-partisan, non-political start to the convention, which is a bit like making a banana split without bananas, …

Where Are the Republicans?, Part 2

The two most powerful ones — Bush and Cheney — sure ain’t here.

My gut feeling: Gustav, as worried as we all are, is more cover than reason for the absence of the wrong-track twins.

There’s talk of somehow altering the convention should things turn really sour, either making it a telethon of sorts or have convention goers stuff …

Lessons from Andrew

As McCain and Palin make their way down to Mississippi today they would do well to remember George H. W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Most people remember Bush botching the job, prompting one outraged local official to ask “Where’s the cavalry?” But at the time Bush’s first trip to the Miami area was roundly

Where are the Republicans?

It’s shortly before 8 a.m., and I’m at Reagan National Airport getting ready to board my flight to Minneapolis. Last week at this time, this airport was jammed. My Fortune magazine colleague Nina Easton, who traveled at this hour then and is marveling at the contrast now, says they were holding flights, because they couldn’t get the …

They Don’t Hang Out Together

I don’t remember a lot of “respecting the office” talk during Clinton’s impeachment, but I don’t think that’s the point here.

“They’re friendly,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican and McCain ally who has watched the two men up close. “They don’t hang out together. I don’t think John’s ever been to

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