Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Two weeks after the Sarah Palin nomination shook up the presidential race, we seem to be settling into a new campaign narrative, one which should deeply concern John McCain and his advisors. Below is a screen capture of the most popular stories on the New York Times website. I grabbed it today, September 14: Nine … Continue reading What McCain Must Do To Win
Clive Crook of the Financial Times and the Atlantic Monthly nails it on the head: Democrats speak up for the less prosperous; they have well-intentioned policies to help them; they are disturbed by inequality, and want to do something about it. Their concern is real and admirable. The trouble is, they lack respect for the … Continue reading The Reason Democrats Keep Losing Elections
I’m sure conservatism will one day recover – because it is right about the main issues: government needs to be kept in its place, taxes should be low and budgets balanced, individuals should be able to pursue their dreams as free of government control as possible, families do matter and need to be free from … Continue reading Paragraph of the Day: Conservatism
The recent attacks on Barack Obama and Sarah Palin show a fundamental ignorance of how America works. The bottom line is that once Americans decide that they like someone, they don’t like to change their mind. America decided that it liked Ronald Reagan, and no amount of liberal teeth-gnashing could dent Ronnie’s Teflon popularity. America … Continue reading Once American Decides Who It Likes, It’s Hard To Change Its Mind
Every election since 1960 has gone to the candidate that was the superior on-camera performer. 1960: Kennedy over Nixon.1964: Johnson over Goldwater1968: Nixon over Humphrey1972: Nixon over McGovern1976: Carter over Ford1980: Reagan over Carter1984: Reagan over Mondale1988: Bush over Dukakis1992: Clinton over Bush1996: Clinton over Dole2000: Bush over Gore2004: Bush over Kerry Barack Obama is … Continue reading The Road to the Presidency Runs Through The Remote
Governor Sarah Palin’s speech tonight was harsh, pandering, and full of factual inaccuracies. And it breathed life into the dying McCain campaign, which seemed headed for a landslide defeat.It was only earlier today when MSNBC’s microphones caught two leading conservative commentators, Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, calling the McCain campaign “over,” the Palin pick “cynical,” … Continue reading Palin Breathes Life Into McCain Campaign
Question for discussion: If the Republicans brand themselves as “Guns, Babies, Jesus,” what have the Democrats branded themselves as, and is it working? Here’s my best stab: “Minorities, Welfare, Abortion.” Hmmm, doesn’t have a winning ring. Some might argue for a different phrasing (say, “Inclusiveness, Equality, Choice”) but that’s just gilding the lily. If you … Continue reading Framing the Democrats
“Palin = Guns, Babies, Jesus.” –Rush Limbaugh Once again, evidence that Republicans are better at simplifying and framing than Democrats. Agree or disagree, you’re pretty damn sure what they stand for.
I continue to be amazed by the number of Democrats I speak with who are convinced that John McCain is going to win the presidential election. They seem far more convinced of this fact than any of my Republican friends! The fact is that, barring a major shocker (Obama is actually a robot from the … Continue reading The One Factor No One Is Talking About That Will Determine Who Becomes President
I think Palin is a brilliant move on McCain’s part. He didn’t have a lot of attractive choices. People hate Romney, and don’t care about Pawlenty, Crist, et al. Palin shores up his standing with evangelicals and the hardcore base, and allows him to break far more openly with Bush (McCain had been forced to … Continue reading Sarah Palin: A Smart, Strategic Pick for McCain