Slogging Toward 2008: The Stranger's Presidential Election Coverage

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2008

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Mitt Romney's 30,000-Something-Vote Ceiling

Posted by on Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 12:18 AM

While most of the pundits focused on the virtual tie between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in the Iowa Republican caucus, I was captivated by the possibility of an even less likely scenario: that Romney might exactly match his 2008 Iowa totals.

In 2008, Romney finished second behind Mike Huckabee, with 30,021 votes, or 25.19 percent. Four years and about $3.4 million later, Romney has apparently finished with 30,015 votes, or 24.55 percent, just 8 votes ahead of second place Santorum, and a mere six votes short of his 2008 totals. Of course these results aren't yet official, and Karl Rove hasn't necessarily finished marking all his ballots, so another 6 vote pickup isn't out of the question.

Kinda amazing.

Remember, Iowa was spun as a big loss for Romney back in 2008—a loss from which he never really recovered. But the only difference for Romney between 2008 and 2012, is that this time around, conservative caucus goers didn't coalesce behind a single candidate. Romney's numbers didn't budge at all. Compare that to Ron Paul, the only other holdover from the 2008 nomination fight: Paul more than doubled his Iowa numbers.

It's damn hard to see how anybody but Romney wins the GOP nomination, but if he does, his Iowa numbers suggest that his victory won't be the result of any surge of popularity within Republican ranks. Rather, it's the general weakness of the rest of the field that's proving to be the secret to Romney's success, a formula that doesn't bode well for November.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Watch Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in the Teaser for Game Change

Posted by on Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 5:33 PM

Ed Harris as John McCain! Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin! I can't wait until this made-for-HBO movie comes out in March.

All right, Sloggers: Who's got HBO? I'm going to need to come over and watch this thing at your house.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the Federal Government Settle With Journalists Arrested at the 2008 RNC

Posted by on Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 9:41 AM

Back during the 2008 RNC, police roughed up and arrested journalists who were covering the convention. (A list of them is here.) Now the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as the federal government, is paying some of those journalists for their trouble.

From the AP:

Journalist Amy Goodman, host of the syndicated program "Democracy Now!" and two of her producers will receive $100,000 in a settlement over their arrests during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, their attorney said Monday.

Their attorney, Anjana Samant of the Center for Constitutional Rights, also said St. Paul and Minneapolis have agreed to develop a policy and training for police officers on how to avoid infringing on the First Amendment rights of journalists who cover big protests.

The settlement was reached Friday with the aid of U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan in St. Paul. The two cities agreed to pay a combined $90,000 while the federal government agreed to pay $10,000, Samant said. The lawsuit named the federal government because a Secret Service agent confiscated the press credentials of Goodman and her producers, she said.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

O, It's That Guy?

Posted by on Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:54 PM

Remember earlier this month, when I told you about a new anonymously written novel titled O: A Presidential Novel about Obama's 2012 presidential run? I was really excited to read it.

But now, the author has been kinda-sorta revealed to be John McCain speechwriter/Faith of My Fathers cowriter Mark Salter, and I'm just not that interested anymore. Put simply: Salter's just not that good a writer, and I was hoping that this Anonymous, like the Primary Colors Anonymous, would be a member of the press. (Members of the campaign press get all the good gossip, and we almost never get to hear it.)

Now that I know the author is so unabashedly partisan, I'm much less likely to read the book; it looks like Game Change is still as close as we're going to get to an Obama-starring gossipy narrative for a while yet.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Pain and Palin

Posted by on Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 11:59 AM

WaPo takes us back to 2008:

2209094673_58518a3b81.jpg
  • Timitrius' photostream
The former GOP vice presidential candidate started the war of words this week when she suggested that Obama was weak on nuclear defense.
Obama shot back while overseas to sign a nuclear reduction deal with Russia, calling Palin "not much of an expert" on nuclear issues.

Palin counterpunched Friday while addressing the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Clearly mocking the president, she dismissed the "vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer."

Speaking of Palin and nuclear weapons, during the last Silent Reading party, I returned to this passage in The Gay Science (I use the Silent Reading party to revisit underlined passages—my habit is to underline anything that amazes me):
The ultimate goal of science is to create for man the greatest possible amount of pleasure and the least possible amount of pain? But suppose pleasure and pain should be so closely connected that he who wants the greatest possible amount of the one must also have the greatest possible amount of the other...
This may not be a perfect description of science in the 21st century (that is still up in the air), but certainly it describes the state of science in the century that followed the one in which Nietzsche wrote all of his work, the 19th century. With nuclear weapons, the greatest amount of pain possible stands next to (and threatens) the greatest amount of pleasure known to humans, advanced capitalist consumerism.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Stolen Presidency

Posted by on Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 1:43 PM

This man? He is at one with the content (core, meaning, substance) of the Bush years:

(CNN) — Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, killing four fellow Marines. He'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate, collateral damage from the explosion.

None of it was true. On Friday, the FBI arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor."

Strandlof, 32, was held "for false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals," an FBI news release said. Charges had been filed in Denver, Colorado, the week before, the bureau said.

"The penalty for his crime is up to one year incarceration and a $100,000 fine," it said.

Before his deception was revealed, crowds ate up his story. He canvassed Colorado appearing at the sides of politicians. Inspiring and seemingly authentic, he spoke on behalf of veterans at the state Capitol.

He formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

The whole thing was a lie...

The of whole of Bush's presidency was the same as his claims. Strandlof was only being honest to his times.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Big Lie

Posted by on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 4:02 PM

According to HuffPo, this image is being ciruculated in Tea Party circles as a true representation of the protest on Sept, 12:

original.jpg
The image is real but it does not represent the Tea Party event but one that happened before 2004:
There's another big problem with the photograph: it doesn't include the National Museum of the American Indian, a building located at the corner of Fourth St. and Independence Ave. that opened on Sept. 14, 2004. (Looking at the photograph, the building should be in the upper right hand corner of the National Mall, next to the Air and Space Museum.) That means the picture was taken before the museum opened exactly five years ago. So clearly the photo doesn't show the "tea party" crowd from the Sept. 12 protest.
So the status of the image is the same as that of Obama's Kenyan birth certificate. For Tea people, the present truth is so painful that any old lie offers some comfort.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Our Hero

Posted by on Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 9:20 AM

Good news from Iraq!

(HuffPo) — An Iraqi journalist imprisoned for hurling his shoes at former President George W. Bush will be released next month after his sentence was reduced for good behavior, his lawyer said Saturday.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi's act of protest during Bush's last visit to Iraq as president turned the 30-year-old reporter into a folk hero across the Arab world, as his case became a rallying point for critics who resented the 2003 U.S. invasion and occupation.

"Al-Zeidi's shoes were a suitable farewell for Bush's deeds in Iraq," Sunni lawmaker Dhafir al-Ani said in welcoming the early release. "Al-Zeidi's act expressed the real will and feelings of the Iraqi people. His anger against Bush was the result of the suffering of his countrymen."

He is not just a hero in the Arab world, he is a hero to all cosmopolitans across the globe.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Terorrism Charges Dropped Against the "RNC 8"

Posted by on Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 10:16 AM

The Ramsey County prosecutors assume, correctly, that they "would have been a distraction at trial."

The conspiracy to riot and conspiracy to damage property—those charges remain.

You can see the alleged conspirators, smiling in their courtroom best, at Friends of the RNC 8.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

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Nailin' Palin

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A Shameful Review

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

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RNC Lawsuits Filed

Posted by at 8:48 AM in

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

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The Real Palin

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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Obama Nation

Posted by at 9:06 PM in

Sunday, February 1, 2009

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Dress Respect

Posted by at 1:42 PM in

Friday, January 30, 2009

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Smelling the Coffee

Posted by at 3:38 PM in

Monday, January 26, 2009

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Better Late Than Never?

Posted by at 5:17 PM in

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

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Appropriate!

Posted by at 1:04 PM in

Monday, January 19, 2009

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Two-Way Biden

Posted by at 1:37 PM in

Following the Contenders

Endorsements

2008 Features, Columns, & Profiles

From the Election Archives

  • Battling for Seattle

    The Election Is Over but the Dean-Kerry Rivalry Continues

    Apr 21, 2005
  • We Won

    You Just Don't Know It Yet

    Nov 11, 2004
  • Supreme Danger

    The Scariest Thing About a Bush Reelection

    Oct 28, 2004
  • Strange Trip

    By embracing tough-talking Howard Dean, Seattle helped make it safe for Dems to bash Bush. If John Kerry wins, Dean and Seattle deserve a share of the credit.

    Oct 28, 2004
  • Debate Prep

    What Kerry Needs to Do to Win His Debate

    Sep 30, 2004
  • Dead Man Walking?

    As Hard As He Tries to Be, Bush Is No Reagan

    Jun 10, 2004
  • Left Wing-Man

    Dean Hugs Kerry in Portland as Nader Twists in the Wind

    May 20, 2004
  • Southern Man

    The Case for Vice President John Edwards

    Apr 29, 2004
  • He Came, He Spoke, He Failed

    Independent Ralph Nader's Bid to Attain Oregon Ballot Thwarted by Low Turnout

    Apr 8, 2004
  • Bush/Nader 2004

    Will the left repudiate Ralph Nader? Or does the left really want to re-elect George W. Bush?

    Feb 26, 2004
  • John Fucking Kerry

    Will the Real John Kerry Please Stand Up

    Jan 29, 2004
  • Flying High

    Howard Dean has gone from nobody to the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now he's a political rock star, and he just went on a coast-to-coast tour to prove it. The Stranger tagged along for the ride.

    Aug 28, 2003
  • Golden Boy

    John F. Kerry seems like the Democratic Party's dream candidate. He has the bio and the stature. He has a touch of Camelot cool, and he can quote André Gide as he throttles America's enemies with his bare hands. So where's the love?

    Jun 19, 2003
  • Tough Guy

    Howard Dean is the ultimate muscular Democrat. He's not afraid to take on George W. Bush, and in the process Dean is reminding Dems what it feels like to have a spine. But can he win?

    May 15, 2003
  • Digging Howard Dean

    Overflow Crowd Supports 2004 Prez Candidate

    Apr 10, 2003