After a year-long primary election contest and a record number of nationally televised debates, Republican voters don’t have a consensus candidate for president. Despite the fact they’ve had an opportunity to try a cross-section of conservative messages on for size, Republicans aren’t sure what it takes to defeat President Obama and lead this country in a new direction.
Former Governor Mitt Romney will not find being the party’s candidate for president an easy task unless the power of establishment … Continue reading »
Herman Cain finally said it, but each of the front-runners in the Republican presidential primary has the same problem. Surrounded by campaign consultants and fund-raisers and pollsters, they are constantly changing their rhetoric to conform to the issue of the day. Those with records in elected office long ago found ways to justify changed positions. Newt Gingrich, who has been on almost every side of every issue, is the best at this. Asked why he … Continue reading »
Posted November 15, 2011 in: Elections, Opinion Page |
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President Obama is disadvantaged in seeking re-election next year by the public concern for the U.S. economy and our pessimism about the future of national leaders to have figured out what to do about it.
83% of us are worried about the future of the country. Only 21% of us believe our children will be better off 20 years from now and 57% believe they’ll be worse off. Obama is betting these people don’t see policies working that appear … Continue reading »
Paul Gigot is an opinion writer for the Wall Street Journal. Read his entry from the Politcal Diary Newsletter followed by Dave Durenberger’s response.
The College Board and News Corp. sponsored a forum on education with four GOP presidential candidates last week, and the runaway winner was Newt Gingrich. (Truth in advertising: I moderated the session along with Joel Klein, the former New York schools chancellor who now runs an educational unit for our employer, News Corp. Each … Continue reading »
Posted November 4, 2011 in: Elections, Opinion Page |
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Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan takes his position as House Budget chair seriously enough to have put his neck on the political block over the privatizing Medicare combined with a publicly-financed voucher related to the underlying cost of care. From Senators Henry Bellmon (R-OK) and Pete Domenici (R-NM) to Lawton Chiles (D-FL) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), this nation has been blessed with budget chairs willing to bite the budget bullets their colleagues shied away from. Medicare has always been … Continue reading »
What to Make of the “Week From Hell”
We were enjoying life at the foothills of the Teton Mountains of Wyoming while the stock market reacted to S&P’s reaction to our national political leader’s reaction to the Tea Party demands we lower federal spending in exchange for increasing our borrowing. Or maybe it reacted to the decision to delegate the future of federal spending/taxing policy to 12 members of the Congress.
In any event, no one in … Continue reading »
Not many Minnesotans are laying money on having two Minnesota Republican candidates for President at the GOP convention in 2012. Not because they believe Tim Pawlenty or Michele Bachmann will be the decided endorsee coming out of primaries. But because neither partisans nor money bundlers think Tim can catch fire with the base. And because Michele is more than likely to get weighed down by the distortions in her diatribes.
Nobody’s calling her a liar, but just … Continue reading »
Posted July 25, 2011 in: Elections, Opinion Page |
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John King asked Tim Pawlenty (who was runner-up to Sarah Palin for McCain’s VP), whether McCain or Obama made the better choice for vice president. Although he seemed surprised by the question, Pawlenty came roaring back to condemn 36 year Senate veteran and Obama VP Joe Biden as the champion of failed policy and endorsed “Governor Palin” for president.
Biden, meanwhile, is chairing a committee of Senate-House leaders looking to find a way to raise the … Continue reading »
Posted June 16, 2011 in: Elections, Opinion Page |
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New York Times columnist David Brooks says he is covering the 2012 presidential campaign in protest over the fact that it will be “unusually incommensurate to the problems at hand.” Last Monday evening the Boston Bruins scored two quick goals on the Vancouver Canucks sending goalie Roberto Luongo went to the bench, and I switched to St. Anselm’s in New Hampshire to watch history being made. Two Minnesota Republicans competing to be president of the … Continue reading »
Posted June 16, 2011 in: Elections, Featured |
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Tim Pawlenty used his appearance on Fox News Sunday to show a tougher demeanor and to prove he will not make health care cost containment and access a priority. As Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney worked with the Democratic legislature and the health care industry to expand access to all residents of the state and to commit to cost containing behavior change. The coverage reforms came right out of conservative health policy playbooks at Wharton (in the 1980s) … Continue reading »
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