April 02, 2008
In the 1992 presidential campaign, where Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush, the economy was in the doldrums which contributed greatly to Bush Sr.’s defeat at the polls. Clinton’s chief strategist James Carville saw the economy as being the pivotal issue of the campaign and stressed the importance of staying on message. Carville’s entire election strategy was to keep the message simple and on course. Thus he coined the famous phrase that was repeated to his campaign staff daily, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
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March 26, 2008
The decision to move our presidential preference primary up to February 5th has been considered by most observers to have been good for our state. Leaders of both political parties have hailed it as a success and well worth the cost. It was a public relations plus in two ways. It shed a positive image and gave us deference from the candidates for the first time in modern history. In addition, it gave us a relevant say in the nominating process. Our votes counted for something and obviously we enjoyed it because we voted in record numbers. In short, we became players in the presidential race.
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March 19, 2008
The legislative session is in full swing and is entering its sixth week. Legislators are facing daunting financial problems. They are striving to balance both the general and education budgets, which are under duress from the national economic downturn. The Education Trust Fund is especially sensitive to an economic recession because its main source of revenue derives from sales and income taxes.
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March 05, 2008
We are four weeks into the 2008 Regular Session of the Legislature. The session is one-third of the way through. It has been a relatively quiet session, probably because nothing much has been accomplished. I guess you might say it has been more successful than last year’s considering no Senators have slugged each other in the face. However, it has pretty much been the same song second verse.
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February 27, 2008
With the start of the New Year the presidential juggernaut bolted out of the gate with a cavalcade of early contests culminating with Super Tsunami Tuesday on February 5th, which included us in Alabama. The race for the White House has clear frontrunners earlier than ever in history. The early primaries have definitely had a winnowing effect. The process has weeded out the wheat from the chaff.
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February 20, 2008
Now that the dust has settled from Super Tuesday the presidential contest is much clearer, especially on the Republican side. Arizona Sen. John McCain has emerged as the GOP frontrunner. He has come full circle in the process. A year ago he was considered the favorite. During the summer he faltered and was counted out for dead. Then he arose from the dead like the Phoenix from Phoenix. His staff calls him Lazarus.
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February 13, 2008
Mike Huckabee’s victory in Alabama was no surprise. If the primary had been held two months earlier he would have won by a larger margin. Polling had him leading by twelve points as late as January 1st. Ever since the evangelical vote crystallized around the Baptist minister in Iowa, the word spread throughout the nation that this is our guy. In a crowded field, where the GOP vote is splintered among several candidates, the evangelical bloc vote becomes insurmountable. Huckabee did well here in the Bible belt, but did not fare as well in the Northeast and the West.
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February 06, 2008
You have an advantage over me because you know the results of Tuesday’s balloting and I do not because I had to go to press prior to Tuesday’s primary voting. However, today the big question is whether the February 5th voting winnowed out the field and gave us clear cut frontrunners?
Yesterday’s Mega Super Tuesday balloting consisted of 22 state primaries, including us, and was to be the waterloo of the presidential primary cavalcade. For many of us, this year is unlike any we have ever witnessed. It is the first presidential election year since 1952 where there is neither an incumbent president running nor a vice president waiting in the wings to move up the ladder. Therefore, it is the most open presidential race in over 56 years. Hence it is only fitting and proper that we have the most undecided race in history.
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January 30, 2008
Next Tuesday, February 5th, will be a red letter political day for Alabama. We will be a full participant in Mega Super Tuesday. We will be one of twenty-two states holding a presidential preference primary that day. It will be the first time in decades that we will have a real say in the party nominees. With this many states, including the most populous states like New York and California voting, we may get an early indication of who will be the nominees for president.
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January 23, 2008
Political campaign gurus and insiders have always known that there is a difference between running for a legislative, congressional or senatorial seat versus a race for mayor, governor or president. The big difference is that voters do not seem to scrutinize the personal and family life of a lawmaker or congressman. They are one of a body of people and people tend to vote more on pure name identification or party affiliation. They especially prefer to vote for incumbents. Interestingly, when polled about the legislature or congress they will rate the body as a whole as a bunch of degenerate idiots who they detest and distrust. However, within the same poll they will rate their legislator or congressman very highly and will rank him or her as the most popular politico in their county or area.
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