Friday Talking Points [346] -- Is That Your Final Answer, Jeb?
[ Posted Friday, May 15th, 2015 – 17:28 UTC ]
Jeb Bush, is that your final answer? Sure you wouldn't like to phone a friend, or maybe just get the audience's reaction first?
Archive of Articles in the "2016 Elections" Category
Crassly Calculating Political Risk
[ Posted Thursday, May 14th, 2015 – 17:02 UTC ]
There's a crass and cynical formula for any given political candidate to follow, when any political issue is being discussed. It goes something like this (yes, I made up all this terminology, so please bear with me):
A Third Dubya Term?
[ Posted Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 – 16:11 UTC ]
Are American voters now being given the option of choosing a virtual third term for George W. Bush? Astonishingly enough, that seems to be the direction his brother's campaign has chosen to head towards. I use the word "astonishingly," since conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that this is a dandy way to commit political suicide. But because Jeb Bush is standing so resolutely with the last Bush administration's policies, he now risks his entire campaign turning into a referendum on whether America is truly ready for a third Dubya term.
Don't Mention The War!
[ Posted Tuesday, May 12th, 2015 – 16:42 UTC ]
I certainly never thought I'd have this opportunity, but today's title is a quote from one of the funniest episodes of one of the funniest television shows of all time: the Fawlty Towers episode "The Germans." If you haven't ever seen it, you should. The show features John Cleese of Monty Python fame, and while it only lasted one season is still absolutely hilarious. Cleese, as Basil Fawlty, owns a hotel he runs with his wife. During the episode, he repeatedly gets knocked on the head (even once fleeing the hospital instead of recovering from a particularly bad knock), and then in a daze manages to offend his German guests by "mentioning" World War II in practically everything that comes out of his mouth. The goose-stepping scene is one of Cleese's finest comedic performances, in fact.
Friday Talking Points [345] -- Giggles The Pig For Mayor!
[ Posted Friday, May 8th, 2015 – 18:01 UTC ]
When it comes to the 2016 field of Republican presidential candidates, the rule of thumb this time around is obviously going to be "the more, the merrier!" The number of officially-announced Republican candidates actually doubled this week (from three to six), as Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee all tossed their hats into the ring.
No Precedent For "First Gentleman"
[ Posted Wednesday, May 6th, 2015 – 16:46 UTC ]
While watching the television interview with Bill Clinton the other night, I began thinking about the practical problems of how to treat him if his wife becomes president. I have to admit, Bill did drop one offhand line about his future -- something about what he'd do if he were "called to public service again" -- which sounded rather suspiciously (to my ear, at any rate) like: "Perhaps Hillary will put me in her cabinet, who knows?" I have to admit a snatch of the song "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" from The Sound Of Music also flitted through my head. But then, Bill Clinton is known to have strange effects on your outlook, at times.
Obama Poll Watch -- April, 2015
[ Posted Tuesday, May 5th, 2015 – 16:11 UTC ]
After a somewhat disappointing March in public opinion polling, President Obama has regained ground in April. His monthly average job approval was up, and his job disapproval numbers went down even more. All around, it was a pretty good month, but to put it in perspective he's really just roughly gotten back to where his numbers were in February. Let's take a quick look at the new chart.
GOP Presidential Field Doubles In Size
[ Posted Monday, May 4th, 2015 – 17:18 UTC ]
Last week, the field of officially-announced Democratic presidential candidates doubled in size, from one person to two. This week, the Republican presidential field is likewise going to double, from three candidates to six. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio have all previously officially announced their candidacies, and this week they will be joined by Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson (who announced today), and Mike Huckabee (scheduled to announce tomorrow).
Friday Talking Points [344] -- Run, Bernie, Run!
[ Posted Friday, May 1st, 2015 – 16:34 UTC ]
We've got everything from hippies to Satanists to cover this week, so let's just dive right in, shall we?
The Supreme Court heard a monumental case on marriage equality, which could indeed be their last case ever on the subject (if Justice Kennedy votes the way many expect him to, resulting in gay marriage in all [...]
Bernie Sanders Jumps In
[ Posted Wednesday, April 29th, 2015 – 16:45 UTC ]
We've had a President Jimmy and a President Ronnie, so why not a President Bernie?