Barack and a Hard Place
The victory party was in North Carolina, but the struggle for the hearts and minds of America took place in Indiana –– and, up until the last four days, it looked like Barack Obama was losing it. . .
The Pennsylvania Primary: Revenge of The Blob!
The Pennsylvania primary would be a test of who could pander most to the pride, patriotism, fears and resentments of the good people of Pennsylvania -- that great blob of untamed emotions we sometimes call The American Spirit . . .
Rethinking Campaign Finance Reform
Before the lull ends in this endless primary campaign, let’s take a moment to think about what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have spent just to get to this point. . .
A Solution to Florida and Michigan
The solution to Florida and Michigan is to let both delegations attend the Democratic convention in Denver this August, but make them all wear dunce caps. Give them T-shirts that say “I’m The Biggest Jackass In The Joint” and hang Kick Me! signs on their rumps. . .
Hope on the Ropes
Just when Barack Obama thought it was safe to put away petty politics, Hillary Clinton sent a signal Tuesday that it’s not over til it’s over, and even then it never hurts to put an anvil on top of a Clinton gravestone just to make sure. . .
The Wisconsin Primary:
Scenes From a Foregone Conclusion
Four candidates. No surprises. Stump Connolly goes trolling for news in the Wisconsin primary and comes up with a little human interest. . .
The Competition
Let us now praise the competition, and I’m not talking about the candidates. I’m talking about the other guys. The camp followers. The Fifth Column. Or as they are often called, The Press. . .
A Split Decision
My calculator hasn’t had this kind of workout since my first SAT in high school. And given the choices, I’d say the best guess on who won Super Tuesday’s Democratic primary is still none of the above. . .
Air Wars vs. The Ground Game
With Super Tuesday looming ahead, it's time to take a look at the organizations behind the Clinton and Obama campaigns. . .
Mr. Bojangles Takes Michigan
Mitt Romney finally won one. It cost him more than $65 million to do it, and he’s gone through more positions than the Kama Sutra to find one that voters like, but Romney won a primary Tuesday . . . by promising to be the President of Michigan . . .
On the Trail in New Hampshire: Midnight at The Wayfarer
It’s midnight at The Wayfarer, the witching hour and the Ghost of Politics Past hangs in the air . . .
Tom Tancredo: Did This Man Doom The Republican Party?
If the Republicans fall short in the presidential election this fall, they need only look back to Iowa to see where things went wrong. . .
Skipping Iowa
Iowa is a sucker's bet. The only guys who have something to gain from it are the media . . .
How to Have Fun in Politics
Why, you may ask, would anyone want to read my new book Talk's Cheap, Let's Race!?My modest answer is because it’s fun. Politics is fun. It’s fun to run for the presidency. It’s fun covering the campaign. It’s fun to be a part of the whole crazy scene. . .
The Campaign No One Is Watching
To date, the presidential candidates have produced 2,434 Internet videos -- and the first voting is still 60 days away. I'd like to say I watched them so you don't have to, but even I'm not that much of a political masochist . . .
Let's Hear It For The Underdogs
I take a perverse pleasure in watching the 2008 Republican candidates vie to take up the banner George Bush has left them after eight years in office. It’s a little like watching people volunteer to lead a suicide squad. . . .
Curb Our Dependence on Foreign Oil? Make a Wish!
Want to curb our dependence on foreign oil? Make Saudi Arabia our 51st state. . .
My Restless Legs Are Killing Us!
If the candidates ever stop haranguing the drug lobby on the campaign trail, maybe they can get back to Washington and do something about it. Otherwise, there's no telling what my restless legs will do . . .
In Defense of Inexperience
Hillary and Barack are going at it over who is more inexperienced. If you go by statistics alone, we have a 60% chance of getting a good president by voting for inexperience, but only a 33% chance if we choose experience. . .
The Dog Days of Politics
They call this time of year the dog days in journalism because it’s so hot you can’t get a dog to go out walking the streets. It’s a time of slow news days, editor vacations and now, it turns out, presidential debates staged for their entertainment value.. .
Spending the Peace Dividend
Is it better to save face in Iraq or save America at home? . . .
Will Montana Pick the Next President?
The latest memo out of the Clinton campaign suggests that Iowa is in danger of becoming irrelevant. . .
Blog Along in Your Hymnals
Technical difficulties prevented me from seeing the first Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina. So I decided to watch it in the blogosphere . . .
A Brokered Convention?
Do The Math!
Are we headed to the first brokered political convention since 1952? Is it a possibility? Or a certainty. Do the math . . .
The Playbook for 2008:
The Way to Win in Applebee's America
Two books are out recently from veteran political reporters that purport to be playbooks for the 2008 presidential candidates. If you haven't read them, you can bet the campaign managers have . . .
Mayor Daley Wins! And Deserves To
Chicago is not an easy city to govern, much less
be popular
while doing it. Wildly divergent interests are always at work. If the balance
is too far out of whack, something as slight as a snowstorm can bring to power
a Jane Byrne or as ubiquitous as festering racism can cause voters to rise
up and elect a Harold Washington. . .
Ten Men Who Will Not Be President
Anyone in America can grow up to be President of the United States. That’s the myth. So there are now 21 candidates running in the 2008 election who believe it. But only one of them will succeed. . .
Can You Get a Fair Election in Cook County?
With the Chicago mayoral election only a month away, our chief political correspondent stops by the office of County Clerk David Orr to ask the obvious question . . .
Step 1: Change Congressmen Step 2: Change Congress
For whatever reason, and probably because one guy’s political commercials were not as offensive as the other’s, America has voted in a new set of characters in Washington. Here's some simple steps to make them more effective. . .
The Todd Stroger Relief Fund
Here's a modest proposal. Instead of giving more cash to the Stroger campaign for TV commercials, take out $10 from the bank and hand it out at the polling place. It's simple and much more cost-effective. But don't ask for anyone's vote. That might be construed as bribery. . .
What's the Matter with Dan Seals?
If you were looking for a good way to change the balance in Congress this year, you might pick a district represented by a Republican poster boy for George Bush’s war in Iraq, a district that voted 53-47 for Kerry over Bush in 2004, and run against him a young, attractive, Barack Obama-like candidate who, by the way, is the son of a former Chicago Bear. . .
Iraq for Dummies
“Babylon by Bus” is not a political screed. It’s more the tale of two guys on a joy ride through a war zone discovering, like Yossarian, that everything the U.S. military does has a Catch-22. . .
I Smell The Meat A Cookin'
The opportunity to see 80 Chicago ward bosses in convention was too good to pass up. So I hot-footed it down to the Allegro Hotel Tuesday for the coronation of Todd Stroger. . .
Who Should Replace Stroger?
It’s pretty clear now, if it wasn’t the day after his stroke, that John Stroger will not be the Democratic candidate for president of the Cook County Board this November. Who should be? . . .
Not My Man, Mitch
Here in Indiana the spring days are getting longer, but it’s still pretty dark outside when we get up in the morning. Politics aside, most of us hold Governor Mitch Daniels personally responsible. Let me explain. . .
A Middle East Solution
Part I: We Must Leave Iraq Now
Three years ago President Bush stood under that “Mission Accomplished” banner and declared that the shooting war in Iraq was over. Let’s not make a liar out of him. . .
A Middle East Solution
Part II: The Israel Dilemma
Having disposed of the problem of Iraq last week as the first step toward a Middle East solution, we turn now to the seemingly endless question of Israel and Palestine. . . .
A Middle East Solution
Part III: Iran - Constructive Engagement is the Only Way
Cutting deals with "the enemy" is part of Iran's history as well as ours. Let's try what the diplomats call "constructive engagement. . .
A Middle East Solution
Part IV: Is There a Solution?
No, we will likely never eliminate the Islamists, but we can reduce their base and offer alternatives to the dispossessed. That will be the real victory. . .
Goodbye, Ladies!
Going to vote is one of the great pleasures I take in being a citizen of America. And voting in the ladies locker room of Holstein Park is one of the unique benefits of voting in Chicago. . .
Here Comes The Judge?
The brochure arrived in that blizzard of political junk mail that seems to come around these days. “This is the worst political advertising I’ve ever seen,” I remember thinking at the time . . .
Hoosier Haikus
When argument fails, you can always fall back on politics by poetry. . . .
No Love at The Park District
Sarah Eberhard wanted to buy a brick in the new Holstein Park playground that said:We love you, Adam James, Love, Mom and Dad
After it went through The Chicago Park District lawyers,
it said:
Adam James. . . .
The Patronage Culture
What's wrong with Mayor Daley's new personnel plan?