Monday, November 26, 2007

And I Thought the Press Had Wrapped Up This Presidential Election Already?

Things are wonderfully helter skelter right now in the world of presidential politics. Just about when all the journalists had all but conceded the Democratic primary race to Hillary Clinton, recent poll results don't look so good for her any more. It looks like she now trails five top Republican presidential contenders in general election match-ups. But that could change in a flash -- just ask Hillary who this past Summer had polls showing she beat every Republican thrown at her.

Most polls still show Hillary ahead in Iowa, but Obama is inching up on her. In New Hampshire, though, Hillary is still ahead by a substantial margin in most polls. And it is the same story in the next primary, South Carolina, with Hillary comfortably ahead. Unless something significant happens (and it could) it looks like Hillary will win two, maybe three of these first contests.

Things are more interesting on the Republican side of the race, though. Romney and Giuliani are attacking each other, while the unfortunately-named Huckabee rises. And so, too, does Ron Paul who

Poll-wise, Romney leads by a lot in both Iowa and New Hampshire, with South Carolina somewhat of a mixed bag. If Romney can capture two of these I think it will be a big blow to the perception that Giuliani is the inevitable Republican nominee.

Oh, and among all this foo-fa-rah Trent Lott announces his upcoming resignation. Buh-bye, Trent!

16 comments:

BAWDYSCOT said...

I realize I am changing the subject but,...

Cheney's got heart problems; who knew he had one. He needs to visit the Wizard because he needs a brain and courage too.

How great is it that Scott McClellan is giving this administration the bird. He got fucked, but he is willing to fight back. Too late, but good for him.

coreydbarbarian said...

bawdy,
i agree on mcclellan. seems like everyone who leaves the bush admin has some dirty laundry 2 share. go figure, huh? truly, good 4 him.

back 2 the issue at hand...
the longer i watch the run-up to the 2008 elections, the more obvious it becomes: the corporate media-monster is running the show.

the race is tightening up? hilary is vulnerable? obama might catch up after all? sounds like the media is trying 2 frame the story 2 be more dramatic. drama ='s viewers/readers, which in turn ='s more $$$.

reminds me of that ol' "tail wagging the dog" thing. sort of.

if hilary wraps things up 2 soon, there is no story left 2 sell.

re: the perception that giuliani is the inevitable republican candidate

only national polling hints at rudy's inevitability (prolly due to 9/11 associations). state by state polling shows a clearer picture - the red party is fracturing apart, with no real leader to speak of.

when and if romney wins iowa and new hampshire, he will claim top-dog status. regardless, the red party's core will not vote 4 him. period.

rudy will point 2 his national numbers (meaningless #'s, election-wise) and say he's still top dog. however, there is plenty 2 dislike about rudy; his numbers will continue to slide as the public learns more about him (beyond 9/11).

meanwhile, huck and ron paul's numbers will continue 2 climb, further dividing the party.

clearly, we are witnessing a battle 4 the future of their party. doubt me? ask yourself why trent lott and denny hastert are getting out now. hmmm...

csm said...

As I re-read this post I realize that I left the Ron Paul paragraph hanging. It just sorta ends... what I meant to talk about there was Paul's recent fund-raising success. You can track it at Ron Paul's Real-time Donation Statistics.

derF said...
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derF said...

coreyd

Trent Lott and Denny Hastert have plenty of company as they leave the Capital's halls. Apparently, new legislation is about to come into effect. That legislation requires departing federal representatives to wait 2 yrs rather than 1 yr before pursuing a career as Lobbyist after leaving public service(?).

Concerning the mysterious disappearance of blog postings, we had a similar event take place back at Freethinkers Paradise. I certain John didn't erase them. With ABC, though, I wouldn't be so positive.

coreydbarbarian said...

re: ron paul's $$$
the only reason this guy is doing so well is grassroots.
lemme s'plain.

i drive a delivery route thru n. indiana & s. michigan on the weekends. over the past 6 months, i've watched the # of ron paul yardsigns increase dramatically.

most are handmade signs, stenciled or written freehand, in cities, smaller towns and out in the countryside. but i see them everywhere. and more of 'em every wknd.

as the masses get more & more disgusted with the frontrunners (especially in the red states), ron paul attracts more & more attention. coincidence?

re: trent & denny
derf, i 4got about the lobbyist law! an excellent point!

a better law would be "banned from lobbying 4 life", but i don't think that'd fly...

derF said...
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derF said...

Perhaps the indictments of Lott, his son and a couple of his legal associates for the attempted $40,000 bribing of a Mississippi judge might also help account for his resignation. Breaking News... your government is lead by gangsters!!

derF said...
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derF said...

Oops... neither Lott nor his son were indicted. Instead they are no longer in obvious positions of power; no paper trail, no stated connection. So, I guess it can't be definitively stated that your government is lead by gangsters.

Bawdy, I get back to you on the question of federalism after I've had time to compose my thoughts.

coreydbarbarian said...

wasn't it lott's brother who's in trouble w/ the law?

have y'all seen the pope's new encyclical? he covers such topics as materialism, science, atheism, karl marx and francis bacon, the enlightenment (and how it screwed things up 4 da catholic church), and a wonderful recipe 4 pork chops using a slow cooker.

okay, i made the last one up.

i haven't read the whole encyclical yet (just under 60 pages), but the irish times had a tenable synopsis.

abc, true 2 form, frames the letter as a christian attack on atheism. good ol' abc, always the ratings whore.

with all the other things going on in the world, why does this matter?
i'm starting 2 believe this pope has the shrewdest intellect i've ever seen in the vatican. he is realigning the church, issue by issue, in key philosophical regards.

not only could this revitalize the church and its peoples (short term), it will ensure political and theological viability 4 the catholic church 4 several more generations.

i don't endorse benedict or his ideas, but i'm forced 2 respect him.

i'm glad the evangelicals don't have a unitary executive leader, especially one as smart as the catholics have. things would suck just a lil more if they did.

derF said...

I know, things can get confusing at times. Was Abram Lot's brother or uncle? Sometimes you can't believe anything you read. Welcome to the Corporate revolution!!!

coreydbarbarian said...

ooh!! such wit!
and 2 think, i avoided a play on lot vs lott, thinking i might offend my freethinkin friends' sensibilities...

when's the next revolution start? 'cause i'm really not digging this corporate revolution.

derF said...

Sorry if that came across as flippant and trite. I was a little flustered. The day Trent Lott resigned I had seen a item on a normally reliable news service which reported that Lott and his son, I think his name is Charles, had been indicted. I had seen this service break other stories days in advance of America’s corporate media (‘the free press’). When I realized that after the resignation no indictment would be forth coming, I was a little embarrassed and disappointed. I felt that I might have let you down.

My suspicion, of course, is that this news source is still reliable, a deal was struck between Lott and his cronies and you can still say that the government is lead by gangsters. Unfortunately, there is no proof available to me. So… it is merely conjecture. See how embarrassing this can be for an empiricist?

Ceroill said...

For some odd reason I am reminded of a strange little book I used to have, called Gleeb. I contained a number of two sided conversations, often humorous but a bit thoughtful as well.

One of my favorites was as follows:
a)What's wrong?
b)I have a problem I'm having difficulty solving.
a)I see. Well, why don't we use rational logic to solve it?
b)Alright, but whose rational logic shall we use? Yours or mine?

Then there's this one:
a) How do you measure infinity?
b) You can't measure infinity, it has no end.
a) Then let's measure halfway from the beginning and multiply by two!

coreydbarbarian said...

sounds like a fun read, bob.
also sounds like many conversations i've had with various boss's over the years.

derf,
don't sweat it. me being me, i couldn't tell if you were flustered or joking, or both.
i opted 2 play along with a joke i didn't quite grasp. it's all good, friend.

incidentally, it was trent lott's brother-in-law (dickie scruggs) and his nephew-in-law (zach) who were indicted on bribery charges. your source was SO close...