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Since WWII, the only two Presidents who lost re-election bids were Bush I and Jimmy Carter. (LBJ withdrew from the 1968 race because his role in the unpopular Vietnam War doomed his chances.) Carter was turned out primarily because of his utter fecklessness over the Iran Hostage crisis, although his mishandling of the second oil crisis and the ‘economic stagflation’ that resulted may also have done him in. In any event, his was a uniquely poor Presidency.
Bush I was penalized by Ross Perot’s entry into the race. The 1992 results were Clinton 43%, Bush 38%, Perot 19%. The majority of Perot’s votes would have gone to Bush, so absent Perot, Bush I would have been re-elected around 52-48%.
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They may claim to be fair and balanced, but that doesn’t mean they are always right. Well maybe they lean to the right, but they are not always correct!.
A funny boo-boo by someone in the graphics department produced a slightly skewed version of the location of nations in the Middle East:
Someone really screwed the pooch on that one!
Is this really the best his district can do? Really? You’re proud to have him as your Congressman, VA-8?
Time: Mitt Romney Readies a Different Kind of Campaign
By Jason Wright, EditorFiled Under Race for White House 2012 on Jan 27
Here’s an interesting look at a potential Romney campaign, version 2012.
How terrible was Sharron Angle as a candidate?
By Jason Wright, EditorFiled Under Domestic Policy on Jan 26
Seriously, how bad a candidate do you have to be to lose to Harry Reid? How did this man win reelection? This guy is a complete embarrassment in every way.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Although President Kennedy’s inaugural speech in January 1961 is more famous (“Ask not what your country can do for you….”), President Eisenhower’s farewell speech from January 1961 contained many themes and ideas that could still be thought of as being quite relevant, even today.
Excerpts follow:
A few life times ago, I spent a few years working on a railroad – all the live long day and night. During those years I witnessed and was part of a few train wrecks. No, I didn’t cause any of them. That’s a filthy lie. It was sub standard track. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
But I digress. Where was I? Train wrecks.
One of the most dangerous types of train wreck is where the engineer is unaware (for whatever reason) that part of his train has derailed and he continues to plow ahead at track speed whilst his train drags on behind him tearing up tracks, grade crossings, buildings, and passing cars. Sometimes this results in many miles of destruction before the train is finally stopped.
Looking back on the first half of what will hopefully be the only term of Team Obama, I can only echo the comments of the fictional US Marshall Sam Girard (played so ably by Tommy Lee Jones) when he looked out on the famous train wreck scene from The Fugitive:
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Candidates like Mitch Daniels rarely win nominations.
They never win Presidential elections, where good looks, a velvet tongue, and rock star branding almost always trump competency, intelligence, and character. Just look at the last three guys we’ve elected.
Even more of a kiss of death is this article from Politico, which tabs Daniels as the favorite of the pundits, talking heads and policy wonks. And if you are wondering why this is the kiss of death, take a gander the candidates from the past that these political nerds had a crush on in the past:
Bruce Babbitt. Paul Tsongas. Ross Perot. John Anderson. Lamar Alexander.
Not exactly a murder’s row of memorable candidates.
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Former Virginia Senator George Allen is expected to announce today that he will be running for the Senate once again. Allen lost his seat to Democrat Jim Webb in 2006 by less than 10,000 votes.
Update: this morning Allen sent a video message to his supporters announcing his 2012 candidacy for the US Senate.
One of the pivotal moments of that race, is of course the infamous “macaca moment,” where Allen was caught on camera using an ethnic slur to describe a Webb volunteer at a campaign stop. Allen apologized and maintained that he was not aware of the meaning of the word and said he never would have used it had he known its meaning.
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Barney Frank is probably not on many people’s list of favorite U.S. Representatives around here. However, it appears that he is taking the lead on cooperation with House Republicans as they try to alter a small provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that was passed over the summer. To be fair, Frank was never really supportive of the original provision, pushed by Dick Durbin in the Senate, on limiting fees that credit card companies and banks could charge merchants. The Bloomberg article also notes that,
“The interchange issue has created unorthodox battle lines in Congress, with some Republicans who side with large merchants voting for the rules, and Democrats, unconvinced by the argument, voting against.”
That’s right folks, PD co-founder Stephen “Scrubb” Fountain turns 40 today. I know he’d love a little ribbin’ from you!
Happy Birthday, Old Timer! Hope you got the case of Metamucil I sent last week.
Rudy to roll out his brilliant 2008 strategy again?
By Jason Wright, EditorFiled Under Race for White House 2012 on Jan 21
Rudy Giuliani says the door is still open to a presidential run:
“I will take a look at 2012. It’s really a question of: can I play a useful role? Would I have a chance of getting the nomination? Those are things I’ll have to evaluate, you know, as the year goes along,” said Giuliani, in an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report.”
Raise your virtual hands if you think Rudy has prayer of competing in 2012.
While I suspect most here do not sympathize with his politics, and more than a few have expressed their disdain for the Kennedy clan as a whole, I think it would be remiss not to mention the 50th anniversary of one of the more significant inaugural addresses of the 20th century.
There really wasn’t enough of a Kennedy administration to really assess what kind of President he was and could have been. There were certainly mistakes, perhaps none bigger than the Bay of Pigs invasion, which nearly and perhaps should have crippled his entire agenda. But like any great boxer, Kennedy picked himself up off the mat, shook off the cobwebs, and went right back at his opponents.
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On Tuesday January 18th, 2011, word came that Joe Lieberman wouldn’t seek re-election to the Senate in 2012. At the end of his current term, he will have been in the Senate for 24 years.
His is an interesting career. He remains the only prominent national Democratic elected lawmaker to speak out forcefully against President Clinton in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal. He said on September 3rd, 1998:
Obama might have a shot in 2012!
By Stephen MeehanFiled Under Predictions, Race for White House 2012 on Jan 19
Please welcome Stephen Meehan to the pond. Play nice with the new guy!
The Oval from USA Today is reporting that Obama “is on a political roll.” Jackson cites Obama’s rising approval ratings and a new McLatchy-Marist survey that says Obama is crushing any and all potential GOP candidates, particularly Sarah Palin. I’m not as shocked by this as I am by the fact that everyone up till now had been basically counting Obama out of the race.
2012 Power Rankings: January 17, 2011
By Power RankingsFiled Under Power Rankings Only 2012 on Jan 17
Welcome to the ninth edition of PoliticalDerby.com’s 2012 Power Rankings. We were the first to rank the horses for the ’08 race and once again we’re the first to rank the horses that will vie for the GOP nomination to challenge Obama in 2012.
As a reminder, the rankings are not a prediction of which horse will win the nomination, they are simply a snap shot of where the horses are on the track today. Rankings are based on DC scuttlebutt, grassroots buzz, polls, straw polls, fundraising, PAC activity, and media coverage.
1. Sarah Palin: The year 2011 will define Palin, but neither as a Fox News personality, nor as the hostess with the mostest walking us through the wilds of Alaska. No, 2011 will be the year she defines herself as a potential candidate for President of the United States. The you betchya’s and why donchya’s are starting to age like a fine loaf of bread, and six out of 10 Americans say they wouldn’t even consider voting for her. Worse, her year started with the media suggesting she was responsible for the Tucson shootings, then griping that she inserted herself into the story by responding to their accusations. On the other hand, Palin tolerated Kate Gosselin’s company for an entire afternoon, people. An entire afternoon! Don’t count on her taking her ‘prom hair’ back home.
Steny Hoyer’s time as the House’s second in command is complete. But he didn’t accept his demotion quietly. Instead he delivered a psychological evaluation of TEA Party activists. Dr. Hoyer’s diagnosis: “My presumption is they have unhappy families.”
Thank you Dr. Hoyer. Your keen insight has revealed the true mental state driving the TEA Party. TEA Partiers hate their mothers. They have low self-esteem due to incessant emotional and physical abuse suffered at the hands of their domineering fathers. Likely as not they want to wed their siblings, or perhaps their family pets. The root causes of their familial dysfunctions are limitless. But obviously TEA Partiers were forced to eat too many Brussels sprouts when they were young. Read more
All of us get those infamous forwards from our friends and family that go all over the internet. You know the ones, that have 43903480 email addresses listed and the subject looks something like “FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD: Something pseudo witty here.”
My personal favorites are the alleged answer to a question on a chemical engineering on whether hell is endothermic or exothermic and the alleged response to Bill Gates’ criticism of how General Motors does business.
The latest one I received is from my uncle in Virginia Beach and presents a pretty solid, if idealistic, plan to reform Congress:
It’s D-Day for the RNC. Is there anyone who still thinks Michael Steele can survive and keep his job as RNC Chairman? If not Steele, then who wins?
Palin’s take on AZ shooting and aftermath
By Jason Wright, EditorFiled Under Media Clips and Issues on Jan 12