Some more fallout (and, in my opinion, auspicious signs) from the first money primary held recently: Hillary Clinton may have more in the bank, but Barack Obama raised more money, has more cap room to spare, so to speak, and has been peeling off some top Clinton donors to back his own efforts. “A list of Mr. Obama’s top fund-raisers released Sunday showed the extent to which the Democratic Party establishment, once presumed to back Mrs. Clinton, has become more fragmented and drifted into her rival’s camp, lending the early stages of the Democratic primary campaign the feeling of a family feud.” Update: In related news, a new poll shows the race tightening on both sides. Clinton’s up only eight on Obama, Giuliani has six on McCain (pending GOP reinforcements such as Fred Thompson.)
Tag: Election 2008
Money Money Money.
Yes, folks, this is how we choose a president in this country: Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. The first primary is effectively over, and Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney lead the begging and scraping for loot at $26 and $21 million respectively. On the GOP side, Rudy came in second at $15 million, with McCain trailing at third with $12.5 million. Meanwhile, for the Dems: John Edwards has $14 million, Bill Richardson $6 million, Chris Dodd $4 million, and Joe Biden a clean, articulate $3 million. Still obviously missing, Barack Obama, who is rumored to be up around the 20 mark. While I hate to indulge this stupid financing system, I hope it’s something like that, as I’m still rooting for he or Edwards over Sen. Clinton in the primary, and the Clinton money machine is, without a doubt, a sleek, well-oiled contraption. Update: Make that $25 million for Obama.
The GOP’s Twin TTs.
In related news, two more Republicans enter the 2008 fray: former Wisconsin Governor and HHS head Tommy Thompson and Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo. Well, it’s good news for alliteration. And, moreover, Tancredo is going to hammer the immigration issue like there’s no tomorrow, which will mean a lot of uncomfortable shuffling by the main contenders during the GOP primary debates, so as not to turn off swing voters everywhere. But I’ll bet dollars to donuts neither of these fellows gets anywhere close to the nomination.
The “Ethical Spectacle.”
“Worse, today’s progressives fail to tap into America’s collective unconscious through spectacle, which Duncombe defines as ‘a way of making an argument…through story and myth, fears and desire, imagination and fantasy.’ Republican Party leaders don’t hesitate to derive inspiration from Madison Avenue and Hollywood. George W. Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ photo-op may have backfired, but it demonstrated an impressive commitment to spectacle. In this way, Republicans are actually far more populist than the New Democrats.“
World of Demcraft? In a review of Stephen Duncombe’s intriguing new Dream, Slate‘s Joshua Glenn argues that progressives need to liven up their image, perhaps by taking a cue from games like Grand Theft Auto: “‘If a game offers power, excitement, and the room to explore, people will play evening after evening after evening, almost regardless of the results,’ he writes. ‘Perhaps the problem is not that people don’t want to get involved in politics, but rather that they don’t want to take part in a professionalized politics so interested in efficiency that there is no space for them, or they don’t want to spend time in a political world so cramped that there’s no freedom to explore and discover, to know or master.’“
The Writing on the Wall.
November’s returns and congressional oversight are already sticking in their craw, and now a new study by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press finds even more trouble ahead for the formerly dominant GOP: “The analysis of 20 years of polling data…says that half of the public identifies as a Democrat or leans that way. Just 35 percent align with the Republican Party. In 2002, the country was split, 43 percent affiliating with the Republicans and the same percentage with the Democrats.” 1968-2006…it was a pretty good run, y’all, but now it’s time…for you…to go.
Edwards Stays On.
“The campaign goes on…The campaign goes on strongly.” Despite a deeply unfortunate recurrence of his wife’s cancer, John Edwards announces he’s staying in the presidential hunt. A welcome decision: At the moment, I’d say it’s still a race between he and Barack Obama for my primary vote.
The Hagelian Dialectic?
Is Nebraska Senator and GOP maverick Chuck Hagel poised to join the 2008 field next week? Signs point to yes (although others see solely a Senate retirement in the offing.) “‘Perception has always been that he wasn’t viable because he couldn’t ‘out McCain John McCain,'” said Alex Vogel a Republican lobbyist not affiliated with any of the 2008 candidates. ‘Now that [Hagel] and McCain have split over the war, he’s betting there’s a road from Omaha to Des Moines.‘”
Late Night with John McCain.
“I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States.” With Rudy Giuliani pulling ahead in the still-relatively-useless name game polls, the former captain of the Straight-Talk Express, John McCain, tells David Letterman he’s in for 2008. So…Clinton, Obama, Giuliani and now McCain: With a little less than a year before the first primary, the field of major contenders now seems to be set. Gentlemen (and gentlewoman), start your begging.
First In, First Out.
“‘This process has become to a great extent about money — a lot of money,’ Vilsack said at a news conference in Des Moines yesterday. ‘And it is clear to me that we would not be able to continue to raise money in the amounts necessary to sustain not just a campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire but a campaign across this country. So it is money and only money that is the reason that we are leaving today.‘” Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, the first entrant into the Democratic race, begs out of the 2008 presidential contest, citing money issues. Well, what did you think was going to determine the winner? Issues?
Whither the Reformer?
True colors, or just a victim of the money madness that afflicts our political process? As he gallops off to all-important Iowa (and tries to ignore the furor over Iraq that’s gotten him linked inexorably with Dubya’s failures), John McCain also appears to be neglecting his campaign finance bona fides in his attempt to gather loot for his presidential bid. “McCain’s allies in the campaign finance reform movement seem resigned to the fact that he will not abide by many of the principles he advocated for a decade as a reformer, including public financing and its associated spending and fundraising limits.“