Category: Barack Obama

Edwards’s Withdrawal Will Show Tension Between Message, Identity Politics »

Former Sen. John Edwards suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday afternoon after disappointing showings in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.
I wrote previously that Edwards really drove much of the debate during the 2008 Democratic primary. He was the first candidate to release a universal health care plan, the first to really push hard [...]

Florida’s Meaningless Democratic Primary »

My home state of Florida is holding its presidential primary tomorrow in violation of both the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee rules. The rule-breaking date was imposed on the state by its Republican state legislature and governor, and those elected officials did not make their decision until after it was absolutely certain [...]

Bill Clinton Isn’t God »

I’m going to editorialize for a moment. I know this is a personal blog, and I should feel comfortable doing it without any pretext, but this is a touchy subject. Here, I attempt to explain why I think it is OK for a Democratic presidential candidate to criticize former president Bill Clinton. [...]

Obama Benefits from Spat with Bill Clinton »

The emerging conventional wisdom seems to be that Sen. Barack Obama has made a huge mistake by engaging former President Bill Clinton on some of Clinton’s attacks against him. Clinton was, after all, a fairly popular Democratic president. He served two terms. He has a legacy. And I’ve heard of polls [...]

Obama Wanted to Be President as a Kindergartener »

Sen. Barack Obama has said on the campaign trail that he has not been planning to run for President for decades, an indirect jab at Sen. Hillary Clinton, who by some accounts has been planning it. Here’s part of the Clinton campaign’s press release responding to Obama’s claim:
In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an [...]

Biden and Clinton Won the Debate »

In last night’s Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Hillary Clinton was prepared for anything her opponents threw at her. The first ten minutes set the tone of the rest of the night, as both Clinton herself and her fans in the audience slapped down any overt attempts to criticize her. It changed the dynamics [...]

Is Clinton Losing Message Control? »

Two weeks ago, it was Iran. Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards started attacking Sen. Hillary Clinton very directly on her vote in favor of a resolution classifying Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. The Clinton campaign, perhaps sensing that the attacks were catching on, sent an uncharacteristically defensive mailing [...]

The Politics of “Let’s Have a Conversation” »

When Sen. Hillary Clinton announced her presidential bid, she did so by “beginning a conversation” with voters. “So let’s talk. Let’s have a chat. Let’s start a dialogue,” she said. “I have a feeling it’s going to be very interesting.”
And she was right. This year’s primary season has been very [...]

New Campaign Ads Straddle the Folksy/Hokey Divide »

Senators Barack Obama and Chris Dodd both announced new ads in Iowa today. Dodd’s is a TV ad, while Obama’s is a radio ad.
Obama’s ad (listen here) features Duffy Lyon, the so-called “Butter Cow Lady,” and it could be the best ad of the campaign so far. Yeah, it’s folksy. Maybe it’s [...]

Obama Mails His Response to Iowans »

Sen. Barack Obama highlighted his opposition to the Senate resolution classifying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group in a mailing today, only days after Sen. Hillary Clinton sent a mailing to Iowans defending her vote in favor of the resolution.
One helpful rule of thumb for determining who is on the right side of [...]

  • Chase MartynChase Martyn observes and analyzes politics from Des Moines, IA, capital of 2008's first caucus state. He is also Managing Editor of the Iowa Independent.
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