What better example of a profile primary than Huckabee's recent 11-page spread in The New York Times Magazine? Zev Chafets, the author, does an interesting job defining Huckabee. As a New Yorker, my strongest memory after reading it was the fact that Huckabee chose to eat at Olive Garden when visiting with the writer in Manhattan. Chafets writes, "I had offered to take him anywhere he wanted and then vetoed his first choice, T.G.I.Friday's." Huckabee orders soup and a salad and seems to spend a large part of the interview playing with his croutons. I am sure that the Gang of 500 will pick up on this as well. My question is whether America can take a candidate seriously when he visits Manhattan and chooses to eat at a chain. If he wants to appeal to more than the Midwestern voter, why not choose a pizza place or a deli? Is this a case of Huckabee being too humble and "small-town" for his own good?
The rest of the article is also interesting. Chafets's writing shows that he is slightly skeptical of this "dark horse" candidate. At one point, Chafets talks to Huckabee about foreign affairs and gets an interesting response. Chafets writes:
At lunch, when I asked him who influences his thinking on foreign affairs, he mentioned Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, and Frank Gaffney, a neoconservative and the founder of a research group called the Center for Security Policy. This is like taking travel advice from Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, but the governor seemed unaware of the incongruity.
The article is humorous at times, as both quotes illustrate, which allowed me to enjoyably read the entire 11 pages. It is obvious, however, that Huckabee will have to continue to work if he wants to be taken seriously. His rise to the top of the polls is not enough to counter his age and experience.
My Mac won't let me hyperlink but this should work:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/magazine/16huckabee.html?ex=1355461200&en=e8ee2a8545fa9f6f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Monday, December 17, 2007
Clinton Applying Halpern and Harris
In an attempt to reverse Obama's surge in Iowa, Hillary Clinton has lifted a "trade secret" straight from Halpern and Harris: run toward your weakness. Her enemies during the battles of the 1990s portrayed Hillary as a ruthless, ultra-feminist liberal. Obama has not-so-subtly alluded to these memories with his electibility argument: do Democrats really want to nominate someone, he asks, that stirs the passions of every grassroots GOP voter?
To combat this argument, Clinton has begun to highlight her softer side -- she has become more "emotional" at recent speeches in Iowa and is airing ads featuring her mother and daughter gushing about how warm and caring she is. She has also launched a website, CNN reports, showing Hillary as a strong Senator who works hard for everyday people like you and me.
These efforts represent an attempt to drive down her infamous high "unfavorable" ratings the media has worried about and to steal (or at least mitigate) the "nice guy" image that Obama enjoys.
To combat this argument, Clinton has begun to highlight her softer side -- she has become more "emotional" at recent speeches in Iowa and is airing ads featuring her mother and daughter gushing about how warm and caring she is. She has also launched a website, CNN reports, showing Hillary as a strong Senator who works hard for everyday people like you and me.
These efforts represent an attempt to drive down her infamous high "unfavorable" ratings the media has worried about and to steal (or at least mitigate) the "nice guy" image that Obama enjoys.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
An active-postive President in the making?
While hardly an election-changing event, Thursday's Democratic debate allowed Senator Obama to look like a front-runner. He earned the praise of David Yepsen, the "dean" of Iowa political reporting, and the general wisdom is that he has finally "hit his stride" as a candidate. This afternoon, he projected authority, poise and a good sense of humor.
The moderator pointed out that some of the big names among Obama's foreign policy advisers once worked in the Clinton White House. How, then, would he "still deliver the kind of break from the past" promised to voters?
Hillary, off-camera, responded with a boisterous laugh that could barely contain her sarcasm: "I want to hear that!" she cackled. Obama, undaunted, brushed off Hillary's response with a disarming smile. Demonstrating a newfound grasp of the art of the soundbite, he coolly told the one-time frontrunner that he was "looking forward to you advising me as well."
While definitely trivial in the grand scheme of things, this episode suggests Obama's increasing confidence as a candidate. Previously, he seemed uncomfortable engaging in the nitty-gritty of campaign warfare. Now, however, he appears to have found a way to make it interesting for him and, as a result, be able to deliver convincing performances at debates.
The moderator pointed out that some of the big names among Obama's foreign policy advisers once worked in the Clinton White House. How, then, would he "still deliver the kind of break from the past" promised to voters?
Hillary, off-camera, responded with a boisterous laugh that could barely contain her sarcasm: "I want to hear that!" she cackled. Obama, undaunted, brushed off Hillary's response with a disarming smile. Demonstrating a newfound grasp of the art of the soundbite, he coolly told the one-time frontrunner that he was "looking forward to you advising me as well."
While definitely trivial in the grand scheme of things, this episode suggests Obama's increasing confidence as a candidate. Previously, he seemed uncomfortable engaging in the nitty-gritty of campaign warfare. Now, however, he appears to have found a way to make it interesting for him and, as a result, be able to deliver convincing performances at debates.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
SF Straw Poll Links
Sorry!! My hyperlinks didn't work. The Youtube video can be found at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lFao5EilpCw&feature=related . The article can be found at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/10/BAOLTQJLN.DTL (then scroll to the bottom of the page).
SF Straw Poll Canceled
Below is a little piece on what's going on in San Fran with Ron Paul:
GOP goes wild: San Francisco Republicans have managed to prove that they can be just as wacky as the rest of the bunch.
It all started when the San Francisco Republican Alliance, one of many small GOP clubs in town, got together at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf the other night for a little pre-election dinner and presidential straw poll.
The keynote speaker, Republican state Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley in Nevada County, delivered a long-winded speech on behalf of his candidate, Fred Thompson, leaving little time for other speakers.
But it did give Ron Paul backers time to put out a call for their supporters to show up - and the result was dozens of Paul's posse members trying to get in as Thompson's folks cried foul.
Club president Gail Neira, dressed in red and wearing a Santa cap, then got up and canceled the vote.
The stormy aftermath was caught on video by a Paul supporter, who promptly posted it on YouTube (watch here)
"This is why people are leaving the Republican Party," one Paul backer is overheard shouting. "You can't say, 'Come to a straw poll,' then cancel it."
"Yes, we can," one man replies.
"I want my money back," says another.
The video finishes with an older Paul backer angrily telling Neira, "You are a disgrace to the Republican Party."
What the tape doesn't capture is the hotel security guards who were called soon after to restore order and clear the room.
Neira says her phone has been ringing off the hook ever since from furious Paul supporters from all over the country. Still, rules are rules, and she was the one who got to make them. And as far as she's concerned, this was an invitation-only dinner.
"I don't believe in rewarding people who breach my protocol," she said.
No word yet on a plans for a sequel.
The article above can be found at sfgate.com.
GOP goes wild: San Francisco Republicans have managed to prove that they can be just as wacky as the rest of the bunch.
It all started when the San Francisco Republican Alliance, one of many small GOP clubs in town, got together at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf the other night for a little pre-election dinner and presidential straw poll.
The keynote speaker, Republican state Sen. Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley in Nevada County, delivered a long-winded speech on behalf of his candidate, Fred Thompson, leaving little time for other speakers.
But it did give Ron Paul backers time to put out a call for their supporters to show up - and the result was dozens of Paul's posse members trying to get in as Thompson's folks cried foul.
Club president Gail Neira, dressed in red and wearing a Santa cap, then got up and canceled the vote.
The stormy aftermath was caught on video by a Paul supporter, who promptly posted it on YouTube (watch here)
"This is why people are leaving the Republican Party," one Paul backer is overheard shouting. "You can't say, 'Come to a straw poll,' then cancel it."
"Yes, we can," one man replies.
"I want my money back," says another.
The video finishes with an older Paul backer angrily telling Neira, "You are a disgrace to the Republican Party."
What the tape doesn't capture is the hotel security guards who were called soon after to restore order and clear the room.
Neira says her phone has been ringing off the hook ever since from furious Paul supporters from all over the country. Still, rules are rules, and she was the one who got to make them. And as far as she's concerned, this was an invitation-only dinner.
"I don't believe in rewarding people who breach my protocol," she said.
No word yet on a plans for a sequel.
The article above can be found at sfgate.com.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Romney Goes Negative in Iowa
The Huffington Post has a story from the AP today that says Mitt Romney has decided to pull the trigger on attack ads. Romney is putting out a spot in Iowa attacking Mike Huckabee on immigration. The ad is in response to Huckabee's recent ascent in the polls, as well as an ad Huckabee is airing touting his immigration policy. The ad also tries to downplay Romney's shaky past on social conservative issues.
Romney seems like the 2008 election cycle's equivalent to the person in Risk who gets a hold of Europe early on. It looks nice at first, but then you realize you've put yourself in the cross hairs of every one of your opponents and you can't commit enough forces to win on any front. Romney was looking great this summer, but now he has different opponents attacking him on different political fronts. It's going to be very difficult for him to balance his campaign strategy anddefend against each of them.
Romney seems like the 2008 election cycle's equivalent to the person in Risk who gets a hold of Europe early on. It looks nice at first, but then you realize you've put yourself in the cross hairs of every one of your opponents and you can't commit enough forces to win on any front. Romney was looking great this summer, but now he has different opponents attacking him on different political fronts. It's going to be very difficult for him to balance his campaign strategy anddefend against each of them.
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