Political Insider

Differences

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:14:48 -0500

The most obvious difference between the roll out of President-elect Obama's economic team and national security team was that the former took place over three days.

But the more significant difference is that those named to the national security team each had a chance to speak while the economic team stood silently behind the president-elect.

Was this a concession to Sen. Hillary Clinton?

You Won, Now What?

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:00:08 -0500

Memorandum

TO: Newly Elected Officials and Their Staffs

FROM: Taegan Goddard and Chris Riback

Congratulations! The polls are closed, the votes were tallied and you came out on top! With the hard weeks of campaigning barely over, you must remember that the election was not the finish line, it's the starting gun. The tough job of governing lies ahead.

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill may have said it best: "It's easier to run for office than to run the office."

The reality for today's newly elected officials and their staffs is little different than the fiction portrayed in the 1972 film, The Candidate. Robert Redford starred as an idealist running for U.S. Senate. He never worried much about his campaign promises, because he never thought he would actually win. So when he did, the candidate turned to his manager and asked the question the campaign left him completely unprepared to answer: "What do we do now?"

Like Redford's character, the winners of yesterday's election must now put their campaign promises into action. It's not easy because winning a campaign is very different than running a government. The elected and appointed officials swept into our governments after the elections may find it hard to get the simplest things accomplished. A different approach is needed.

"We campaign in poetry, but when we're elected, we're forced to govern in prose," former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo once said.

I.O.U.S.A.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:37:15 -0500

After decades of following an economic ideology that claimed tax cuts would pay for themselves, it's important to know our government now owes $53 trillion in financial obligations to foreign investors and to citizens in the form of pensions, health benefits, Social Security and Medicare.

This documentary is an excellent way to help citizens better understand the issue.

2012 Match Ups

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:22:31 -0500

The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion sent out an email with the subject line: "Marist Poll: Matchups for the 2012 Presidential Election - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"

Inside was this message:

Did you really open this email?!
Haven't you had enough?!

You'll be hearing from us soon...but, not this soon.

Best wishes,
Your friends at The Marist Poll

Thought of the Day

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:23:02 -0500

With Sen. Barack Obama on the brink of becoming the 44th President of the United States, it's interesting to note that the first 16 presidents could have legally owned Obama as a slave.

McCain Pollster: Ignore the Exit Polls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:44:34 -0500

As people across America seek information about Tuesday's presidential election, many will be tempted to seek out leaked exit polls. However, Sen. John McCain's lead pollster, Bill McInturff warns that they may not be very reliable.

From: Bill McInturff

Subject: Reading the Exit Polls

Date: November 3, 2008

As we have seen in previous election cycles, the exit poll results do leak early and that ends up influencing the coverage of the race before even the first state polls close at 6:00 PM Eastern.

However, we want to remind the campaign that the media's own post-election study of the exit polls in 2004 showed that the exit polls overstate the Democratic candidate's support. Therefore, we would discourage a rush to judgment based on the exit polls and wait until there has been a representative sampling of actual tabulated results from a variety of counties and precincts in a state.

Greenberg Responds

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:17:16 -0500

Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg responds to the memo released a few days ago by McCain pollster Bill McInturf declaring the presidential race "too close to call."

"Dear Bill,

I very much enjoyed your spirited note on the state of the race and Barack Obama's 'ballot position.' It reminds me how much I miss our times working together on the bipartisan polls for NPR and for many of our corporate clients. I miss in particular the banter before those meetings when your Republican colleagues fretted over their teenage children going off to Obama rallies."

Read the whole letter.

McCain Pollster: "Too Close to Call"

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:39:32 -0500

Despite public polling showing Sen. Barack Obama with leads nationally and in the key battleground states, Sen. John McCain's top pollster, Bill McInturff, released the following memo suggesting the race is not easily predicted by polls. He sees the race tightening and says it will be "too close to call" by Election Day next week.

TO: McCain Strategy Team

FROM: Bill McInturff, Lead Pollster, McCain-Palin 2008; Partner, Public Opinion Strategies

RE: State of the Race and Ballot Position

DATE: October 28, 2008

First, let's be clear: This is a hard election to "predict."

The historic nature of the candidates on both tickets, the huge influx of unregulated money by the Obama campaign, the dour public mood, and the unique level of voter interest all suggest an historic level of turn-out, not witnessed in over 40 years.

Obama's Closing Argument

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:23:58 -0500

Below are excerpts from Sen. Barack Obama's "closing argument" speech (as prepared) to be delivered later today in Ohio. Not surprisingly, Obama essentially "lays out the choice in this election and details how he will fix our economy and bring the change we need to Washington." Campaign sources say he will be giving this speech at nearly every stop he makes over the next eight days.

Monday, October 27th, 2008
Canton, Ohio

In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.

In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.

In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.

In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.

McCain Off Message

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:15:54 -0500

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign counted ten different themes used by the McCain campaign today alone -- none of which were about the economy. While the Obama campaign calls this "flailing," almost anyone would agree that pushing so many messages at once goes against all lessons of modern political campaigning.

The entire memo from the Obama campaign is below:

Bush Goes to Broadway

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:26:37 -0500

Will Ferrell, the star of the films Anchorman and Talladega Nights, will get his own one-man show on Broadway, titled You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush, the New York Times reports.

About Joe

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:30:17 -0500

It turns out Sen. John McCain may not have properly vetted "Joe the Plumber" -- the man he brought up more than 20 times in last night's presidential debate.

As the New York Times reports, the man in question "may run a plumbing business but he is not a licensed plumber. His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes a bit in back taxes."

"Joe the Plumber" probably now wishes he never had his 15 minutes of fame.

Update: It turns out Joe may also be related to Charles Keating.

Obama Memo on Tonight's Debate

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:48:46 -0500

TO: Interested Parties
FR: Bill Burton, Obama-Biden Campaign National Press Secretary
RE: John McCain's plan to "whip" "That One's" "you-know-what"
DA: October 15, 2008

In tonight's debate, Chuck Todd of NBC News says, McCain needs to "figure out how to disqualify Barack Obama." Time Magazine's Mark Halperin writes, "McCain will have to produce a major memorable moment." The NY Daily News says the debate is "do-or-die for McCain's campaign." However they put it, people agree, John McCain needs a game-changer.

Inside the Bubble

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:18:23 -0500

With just three weeks to go until the election, what are the chances history could repeat itself?

Inside The Bubble by director Steve Rosenbaum features an inside, up-close look at Sen. John Kerry's final, confident days going into Ohio, Florida and other battleground states four years ago.

No More Maverick

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:24:10 -0500

Not mentioned by many pundits is that Sen. John McCain did not once refer to himself as a "maverick" during last night's presidential debate.

Maybe the jokes were too much.