What's that sound I hear? A bounce for McCain-Palin from the Republican National Convention that exceeded my expectations (H/T Rocky Mountain Right). A 10-point lead among likely voters ... seriously? At this point, it's an outlier, but the trend is undeniable. The Republican ticket leads in the Real Clear Politics average (which includes McCain's 1-point Rasmussen edge and 3-point Gallup Tracking Poll lead but not his 4-point tilt from Zogby) for the first time in about six months. There's a lot of campaigning left to do, but John McCain is in significantly better shape at this point than almost anyone would have forecast him doing. As I see it, the Presidential contest has moved from "Obama's race to lose" to "a toss-up." I'll take … [Read more...]
Alaska Can Have Bill Ritter … Colorado Will Take Sarah Palin Any Day
After last night's amazing speech, I'm jealous. Alaska, you can have Bill Ritter. Can we have Sarah Palin? Then I thought, in a few months she has a very good chance of being our vice-president. I'll settle for that. Interestingly, the Denver Post reports today about Gov. Ritter's lackluster speaking performance at last week's Democratic National Convention. A broken teleprompter appears to have been part of his problem. It seems Sarah Palin faced the same teleprompter problems, but went on unfazed to deliver a homerun. Could the same be said of Bill Ritter - or for that matter, Barack Obama - when they're off teleprompter? Broken teleprompter or not, I like this take from Michael at Best Destiny:But let me just leave this first … [Read more...]
Could It Be True: RNC Bloggers Being Subjected to the Spanish Inquisition?
Going to the Republican National Convention as a blogger never was really an option for me this year. But my friend and colleague El Presidente is on location and filing dispatches. Hadn't heard any complaints really until I flipped over to Pajamas Media and saw this report from Rick Moran:Here on what is passing for “Bloggers Row,†there is plenty of grumbling about the accommodations supplied by our hosts. Some descriptives are not printable. Most reflect a huge disappointment with the way the GOP has shunted most of the bloggers off to the side, far from the action, dispersed throughout a gigantic “Press Filing Center†where the working media comes to hook up to the net and file their stories.... ...The dungeon that the … [Read more...]
Posing as a Pundit
I will be joining a locally-televised makeshift panel of commentators on the Republican National Convention, tomorrow (Tuesday) evening live on KBDI Channel 12 from 7 to 9:30 PM. Details are on Jon Caldara's blog. … [Read more...]
El Presidente Headed to RNC … Reader, Can You Spare a Dime (or 2)?
El Presidente, the hard-working and creative blogger at Slapstick Politics, is heading to the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities to provide his creative brand of new media coverage from a center-right Colorado perspective. Any financial support you can give him is appreciated. … [Read more...]
Denver Gives Democrat Officials Tax Exemption, Risks Public Resentment
A few days ago I had a conversation with some non-political family members about the pains of hosting a national political convention. One of them lives in the Twin Cities. The rest of us live in and around Denver. Doubtless this means some inconveniences and annoyances for denizens, regardless of whether it's the Republicans or Democrats coming to your town. But the Denver Post today reports a small outrage I hadn't even considered before (H/T Slapstick Politics):Several Denver City Council members are questioning why the Democratic National Convention Committee has a contract with the city to fill up their fleet of vehicles with tax-free fuel. The $466,000 contract, only $9,700 of which has been paid so far by the DNCC officials, … [Read more...]
Ron Paul Supporters Numerous Among National Delegate Candidates
From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... Balloting is ongoing from state delegates. One of the things they are deciding on is the slate of delegates to the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. There is a list of nearly 400 candidates for national delegate in the Colorado Statesman along with their Presidential preference. About 40 percent have no preference listed - nearly the same amount (155) are pledged to John McCain. Poised to wreak havoc are 74 Ron Paul supporters, followed by a handful each listed for Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. State conventions can be strange things, though this is a particularly strange year. On a different note, Sen. Shawn Mitchell just compared Bill Ritter to Jimmy Carter ... ouch. … [Read more...]
Romney Wins, Now What?
Mitt Romney recorded an impressive win in the Michigan primary tonight. Hats off to him. Now here's hoping that Fred Thompson surges back to take South Carolina and Rudy makes a comeback with a Florida victory. It will drive all the pundits mad, simply mad - especially those in the MSM beginning to mourn McCain's demise. Can you imagine it? The phrase "Republican frontrunner" will set off unending fireworks on all the cable news programs. So should the word "momentum," which professional and amateur prognosticators appear to have put too much stock into this far. Huckabee's Iowa win got him what? Back-to-back third-place finishes. And McCain went from one week as the New Hampshire darling to badly beaten in Michigan the next. So who … [Read more...]