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Edwards Can Put Obama Over the Top
Tweet Share on Facebook February 29, 2008 CommentFormer Sen. John Edwards can end any real suspense over next Tuesday's Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas by backing Barack Obama.
In the wake of 11 straight losses in primaries and caucuses by Hillary Clinton and defections by some key superdelegates, Edwards could settle the outcome.
The former presidential candidate and vice presidential nominee in 2004, Edwards has won only 50 delegates or so. He probably can't deliver all of them. But his endorsement of Obama would weigh on labor voters in union-heavy Ohio.
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Nader the Egotist
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2008 Comment (1)In case you haven't heard, Ralph Nader is running for president. This is no political joke.
The onetime honorable champion of consumers in the 1960s has already besmirched that legacy. He is now a bitter loner on an ego trip with little backing.
At 74, if Nader lives long enough, he will become another Harold Stassen of American politics. Stassen, in his youth a golden boy of Republican politics in Minnesota and beyond, became a subject for comedians when he ran for president so many times that no one counted anymore.
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The Real McCain Question
Tweet Share on Facebook February 22, 2008 Comment (3)Voters of all stripes should be more concerned about Sen. John McCain's chumminess with lobbyists in Washington than over any alleged romantic ties to a female lobbyist eight years ago.
The New York Times story, subject of a controversy, is still important because the senator from Arizona has been so outspoken with his attacks on special interests. He's almost holier-than-thou on the issue.
A former aide of McCain's was the apparent source who told the newspaper that the lobbyist in question, 30 years his junior, was told to stay away from the senator in 2000. It was when McCain was running against George W. Bush in a bitter GOP presidential primary.
McCain denies being warned about the woman's presence. And he denies any romantic ties to the lobbyist.
However, the lobbying issue won't go away so easily.
Even the appearance of any impropriety could be a problem for McCain. Early in his Senate career, he was one of the Keating Five. The senator was so contrite that he issued a mea culpa to many reporters in the capital. That took courage because most politicans will never admit error.
So far McCain has handled this situation without losing his well-documented temper. McCain is known to have exploded at colleagues in the Senate, including some in his own party. He readily admits to losing his patience at times.
McCain should take some good advice from an anger management expert who told him in this week's National Journal to just "take a deep breath."
As the campaign gets even more tense in the months ahead, McCain may have to take that deep breath quite often.
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Don't Forget the Wars
Tweet Share on Facebook February 19, 2008 CommentAlthough voters rank the worsening economy as their main issue, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be forgotten.
Even allowing for hyperbole, presumptive Republican candidate John McCain argues that our forces may be there for 100 years. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates thinks we may need a presence in Afghanistan for the next decade since we mostly are alone there now.
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Baseball and Drugs: We Need A Third Witness
Tweet Share on Facebook February 15, 2008 Comment (2)So which one—Brian McNamee or Roger Clemens—failed, shall we say, to tell the whole truth in the court of baseball?
Consider which one has the most to lose. That's Clemens, the "Rocket," one of the most successful and feared pitchers in the history of the game.
This extraordinary record holder, one otherwise destined for the Hall of Fame, could lose his reputation or perhaps worse—a ticket to the fabled hall in Cooperstown. He would lose endorsements, as if he needed the money.
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The GOP's Fear Card
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2008 CommentIt is already apparent that the Republicans are going to play the fear card in this presidential campaign against the opposition.
Speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference, including President Bush, sounded out the theme to the wild cheers of the right-wing faithful of the party.
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Ron Paul: Spoiler?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 8, 2008 CommentWhy, one may ask, is Rep. Ron Paul staying in the presidential race?
The onetime Libertarian candidate for president in 1988 apparently isn't going anywhere soon. He barely scratches in the primaries and caucuses but hangs in nevertheless.
Paul's loyal followers have raised an impressive sum of money on the Internet. And when the media fail to mention his name in stories, those followers call to complain bitterly about it.
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Veepstakes Begin
Tweet Share on Facebook February 6, 2008 Comment (3)In this unusual election year, it is hardly premature to talk about the potential running mates of the likely nominees for president.
True, the No. 2 spot rarely helps or hurts the top of the ticket. When George H. W. Bush tapped Sen. Dan Quayle of Indiana in 1988, a relative nonentity in the party and the country, Bush still won the election.
This year could be different, given the age, gender, and race of the finalists.
On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain is 71 and will be older than Ronald Reagan was if the senator from Arizona wins the nomination and the presidency. His health is good, but he is obviously old.
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McCain vs. the Right Wing
Tweet Share on Facebook February 1, 2008 CommentIt is amusing to watch the Republican right wing stew about whether John McCain is "conservative" enough to warrant its support.
Rush Limbaugh, the radio blowhard, is almost in a frenzy over McCain. Rush certainly can't abide him, so I guess he may want the flip-flop choice, Mitt Romney.
James Dobson, the hard-line preacher, can't stomach McCain. Maybe he could support Ron Paul and persuade him to run as a Libertarian. Democrats should be so lucky.
John W. Mashek covered politics in Washington for four decades with U.S. News & World Report, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Boston Globe. His primary beats were Congress, the White House, and national politics. He covered every presidential election from 1960 to 1996. He was a panelist in three televised presidential debates in 1984, 1988, and 1992.
