McCain stunned political observers, including those of us in the WBUR Newsroom, when he announced Wednesday a suspension of campaign activities (NPR) to focus on the economic crisis. McCain asked his Obama to agree to postpone Friday’s debate. WBUR’s political analysts say McCain is making a big political gamble, just as he did in selecting Sarah Palin as a running mate. Slate’s John Dickerson says it’s “McCain’s latest crazy, brilliant, desperate campaign tactic.”
This is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately in 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess. I think that it is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.
Despite the disagreement, debate preparations continue (Washington Post) at the University of Mississippi, where the event remains on the schedule. If Obama shows up and the cameras are rolling, what happens if McCain is a no-show? Even Republican strategist Karl Rove, in today’s Wall Street Journal, says the first debate could be decisive for the election. And the Christian Science Monitor has proposed 15 questions for the first debate.
WBUR’s senior media analyst says this year’s ad campaigns by “527″ advocacy groups are not quite political advertising as usual.
Meanwhile, Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard says the media is Barack Obama’s not-so-secret weapon.
Speaking of media, both candidates have new political ads out today (via RealClearPolitics blog). Obama attacks McCain on healthcare.
McCain links Obama to the “corrupt Chicago political machine.”
As Obama and John McCain meet in the first debate of the presidential campaign later this week, NPR’s Steve Inskeep and Cokie Roberts look at how the huge Wall Street bailout is likely to play out in the political sphere.
Bloomberg’s Albert Hunt says Obama, not McCain, is showing the steady hand as the financial markets implode. But Republican strategist Ed Rollins says both candidates are botching the response to the crisis.
After much speculation, the Obama campaign confirmed reports on its Web site and via text messages early Saturday morning that Sen. Joe Biden will be Obama’s running mate.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center this week shows Democrat Barack Obama’s eight percent lead over Republican John McCain is now down to three percent. That’s a statistical tie.
Analyst Steven Stark is covering the presidential race for the Boston Phoenix and RealClearPolitics.com. He says the close contest shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Democratic Party organizers say the campaign of Barack Obama is five million dollars richer this morning. The boost comes from a fund-raiser for the presidential candidate in the financial district of Boston last night.
About 850 Obama backers turned out to celebrate his 47th birthday just three weeks before the party’s convention.
CNN projects Romney as winner in Bay State and McCain winning both Connecticut and Illinois. On the Democratic side, Obama is the projected winner of Illinois and Clinton takes Oklahoma.
Decisive win for Obama in Georgia. Presidential Tote Board says percentage of black vote and early exit polls may portend a big night for the Illinois senator.
WBUR’s Martha Bebinger reports on how a tight Democratic race has led to a split among the state’s Democratic leadership and among Democratic voters. And tight it is, with one Masschusetts poll suggesting the race is a statistical dead heat, though Clinton appears to have the lead in the majority of Super Tuesday states.
One the Republican side, Romney appears to have a significant lead over McCain in the Bay State, but lags in other Super Tuesday state with the possible exception of California, where some polls have it “too close to call.”
As Super Tuesday inchers closer, WBUR political analysts Dan Payne and Todd Domke give us this update on what is at stake that day and how the various candidates are fairing.
Obama scores a Kennedy hat trick: The endorsments of Caroline Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy and Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy have pundits parsing what it all means for the Illinois senator in the Bay State and beyond.
WBUR political analyst Dan Payne says the Kennedy imprimatur, aside from its powerful symbolic value (in her weekend Times op-ed, Caroline Kennedy passed the torch from her late father to Obama ) gives the Illinois senator maybe a ten point bump in Massachusetts, where a recent poll shows Clinton with a double-digit lead.
The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn says the endorsements may help Obama in states with sizeable Latino voters, whom are trending towards Hillary, but are a constituency among which the Kennedy name carries some weight due to RFK’s support of Cesar Chavez and Senator Edward Kennedy’s work on behalf of liberal immigration reform.
The Kennedy connection is factored into On Point’s political prognosticating in today’s hour one program that looks forward to Super Tuesday, February 5th, when nearly two dozen states are in play.
“Democrats in South Carolina turned out in unprecedented numbers for their primary Saturday and handed Sen. Barack Obama a 2-to-1 victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton…”
“Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama sparred Monday night at a Democratic debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Each accused the other of deliberately distorting the truth for political gain.”
“Barack Obama in recent days has sprinted ahead in the endorsement derby against Hillary Rodham Clinton when it comes to a certain breed of Democrat—politicians who have won statewide in places where Republicans dominate presidential politics.”
“Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have clashed over remarks by Mrs Clinton on civil rights that she says were distorted by the Obama camp.”
The former presidential candidate and current U.S. senator is reported to throw his support behind Barak Obama according to several news services including NBC, CNN and The Boston Globe.
From Gallup: “Sen. Barack Obama has taken a substantial lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton among Democratic likely voters in New Hampshire, and Sen. John McCain now has a modest lead among likely Republican voters.”
WBUR sat down with political analysts Dan Payne and Todd Domke to sort through the results, and look ahead to the New Hampshire primary.
On Point spoke to The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg and Washington Post’s Washington Dana Milbank about yesterday’s results and their predictions for the New Hampshire primaries.
“Democrat Barack Obama surged to a four-point lead over John Edwards in Iowa, with Hillary Clinton fading to third just hours before the first presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Thursday…
And there are reports of horsetrading between the Obama and Richardson campaign, the net result being Richardson votes going Obama’s way “in caucuses where the New Mexico governor can’t clear the threshold for competition.” The Obama camp has pledged “to support to Mr. Richardson at caucuses where Mr. Obama turns out more backers than he needs to win any additional delegates.”
This comes on the heals of Dennis Kucinich telling reporters to swing their support behind Obama.
A red-sweatered Giuliani rattles off his gift list for America which includes “secure borders,” “strick constructionist judges” and “a really nice fruitcake.” The bearded-one himself makes an appearance towards the end of the video.
Huckabee, pitching himself to evangelicals, wants us to forget politics and remember the Christ in Christmas. Bookshelf/cross backdrop sparks minor kerfluffle.
Hillary appears amidst smartly-wrapped and labeled gifts including temporarily waylaid package of “universal pre-k.” No sign of Kringle.
The Obama family video postcard featuring father, mother, two adorable daughters, Christmas tree and crackling fireplace. Light on issues; heavy on the sugar plums.
An intensely somber and earnest Edwards yearns for the homeless, the poor, the tired masses, and talks of a “season of miracles, of faith and love.”
As On Point observes, Hillary Clinton, the first woman with a real shot at the presidency, is running neck and neck with a man whose feminist appeal may be as strong as her own.
