With his trip to Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday, President Barack Obama returns to a media market that he shunned in the 2008 presidential contest. Even though Iowa is traditionally a swing state, the Obama campaign refused to air television ads in the general election in the Quad Cities because of the exorbitant cost, according to […]
With President Barack Obama’s job approval sliding, the stock market showing its nerves, the public increasingly pessimistic about a jobs rebound and signs of a slowing economy everywhere, the president looks to be increasingly in trouble. Trying to take advantage of what they see as an opportunity, Congressional Republicans seem eager to play a game […]
With millions of dollars in the bank and no challenger, the path to re-election looks like a freshly paved freeway for some Senate incumbents. But using recent history as a road map, those factors can be poor predictors of electoral success and certainly don't guarantee another term. With just days to go before the June […]
While most of political America has by now offered their thoughts about who won the June 13 Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, I’m quite certain about the loser: me. That’s right, I’m the big loser because I spent two hours of my time — hours that I’ll never get back — watching a meaningless […]
The buzz about Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s possible entrance into the presidential race grows, but the Republican’s cheerleaders ought to tread carefully when it comes to a Perry candidacy — very carefully. Perry, 61, surely would be a serious contender for the GOP nomination, at least initially. He looks the part of a politician (even […]
After seeing the argument multiple times that Republican governors’ low poll numbers in key states could severely damage the prospects of the eventual GOP presidential nominee, I figured it was time to track down how that argument spread and to take a look at it. On May 25, Democratic pollsters Tom Jensen and Dean Debnam […]
Six months ago, before redistricting had even begun, Republicans were optimistic they would gain additional seats, or, as former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie put it, that they would “gain or protect” 15 to 25 seats. Not surprisingly, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) disagreed, arguing the process wouldn’t be the “disaster” […]
Even longtime political analysts sometimes fall into a rut, and that’s where I’ve been in thinking about whether a Member of the House of Representatives can be nominated for president. “No,” has been my knee-jerk reaction, falling back on the time-tested explanation that House members don’t get nominated by major parties, and only one president […]
The story of former Rep. Richard Nolan’s possible comeback attempt more than 30 years after he last served in the House may end up merely as an asterisk in any post-mortem of the 2012 election cycle. But for those of us who love the ebb and flow of politics, it could offer a window into […]