The New York Times reported today that Republicans are "uninspired" by their choice of candidates, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll. In contrast, Democrats are continuing to support Clinton, citing her as more able to unite the country. Interestingly, 44% of Clinton supporters say that Bill's presence encourages them to support Hillary. Obama's most recent endorser, Oprah Winfrey, does not seem to have any influence. The polling data states that only 1% of voters believe that Oprah's involvement will influence their decision.
The latest poll also makes one question what the other candidates can do to catch up to the front-runners, according to another New York Times article. Voters are happier with candidates that explain their own position on issues instead of attacking the other candidates about their stances. It seems that being on the offensive is less appealing in 2008. Perhaps Democrats are still unable to forget Kerry's flip-flops from 2004.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Republicans, Immigration, and the General Election
The BBC recently reported that Hispanics registered to vote favor Democrats over Republicans 57% to 23%. This is in contrast to the 2004 election, when Bush won 44% of the Hispanic vote. Bush's 2004 campaign ran ads in Spanish criticizing Kerry's social views and drew many socially conservative Hispanics into the Republican camp. It appears that Hispanics, however, have abandoned the GOP, given the intensity of the immigration debate. Most Republican candidates during the recent Univision debate found themselves in a tight spot, trying not to alienate Hispanic voters but at the same time attempting to remain true to their conservative base. It will be interesting to see whether the lack of Hispanic turnout for the GOP will have a measurable effect on Republican performance in the general election. Their large presence in some swing states, such as Florida, indicates that it may.
The Future of the Presidency
The Freak Show lives. Just ask:
As Halperin and Harris point out, Senator Clinton can raise a great deal of money but has special problems:
Libby drops appeal case
A Politico.com article reports that today Scooter Libby dropped his appeal case probably hoping to pressure the White House into a pardon. Libby's lawyer attributes the development to high expenses and a long time frame for results. As a lame duck president, Bush is unfortunately more than likely to pardon the four felony counts in his last days in office. Not that Libby will ever have to serve jail time (thanks to Bush's grant of clemency), he just wants his (obviously guilty) record cleared.
Here for the official statement by Libby's lawyer.
Here for the official statement by Libby's lawyer.
CIA Destroys Tapes
Bush is under fire from congress and reporters who are looking for answers about tapes that were destroyed by the CIA. Bush is maintaining his position that he did not know about the tapes or their destruction before he was briefed about them on Thursday. The tapes were allegedly the tapings of interrogations of two suspected terrorists. One of the detainee's lawyers is pointing to a 2005 court order which required the government to "preserve and maintain all evidence and information regarding the torture, mistreatment, and abuse of detainees." full story
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