Democrats
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What the Median American Voter Thinks
In elite circles, including Capitol Hill, people often misunderstand American public opinion in a specific way. They imagine that the median voter resembles a type of political moderate who is quite common in those elite circles — somebody who is socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Michael Bloomberg is an archetype, as are some Republican mayors
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The Internecine Democrat Culture War
From the Economist: Obamaworld is a universe of liberal professionals and young people — plus blacks from all economic segments. Hillaryland, by contrast, is a place of working-class voters, particularly working-class women, and the old. These are people who occupy not just different economies but also different cultures. How many white Obama voters eat in
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Prevent Defense–(Updated)
This was not a good week for Obama. After the Clintons' goal-line stand on Tuesday, they took possession of the ball and they've pushed down the field some. The question now is whether the Obama camp will find an effective way to push back. I was disappointed at Obama's allowing the Samantha Power's "monster" comment
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The Dust Having Settled…
I think that the main reason for disappointment at Tuesday's results lies in its being the third time Obama had a chance to close the deal–New Hampshire, Super Tuesday, and now Ohio/Texas–and he couldn't do it. It's not that he's been damaged or that he has failed in some way; it's just that he hasn't
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The Race This Week (Updated)
The polls have been notoriously inaccurate in this primary season. There are probably better analyses why than my rumination here, but in a volatile situation where no real pattern or dynamic has been established and in which a large percentage of voters are undecided, the polls have little predictive value. Olbermann's "Keith Factor" is a
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Realignment
I was listening to our local public radio earlier today, and the subject was Nader. Most people calling in were supportive of his candidacy, and angry at the people who criticize him for being an egomaniac. You'll find a similar sentiment expressed here at P.M.Carpenter's blog. One woman called in who voted for Nader in
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Obama the Subsidiarist
Frank Rich's column this morning makes much the same point about Clinton's campaign I made in this post last week: for all her vaunted experience and management expertise, the two most prominent opportunities for Clinton to demonstrate her executive competency were her heading the healthcare task force in her husband's administration and now her running