We Need To Blog

Evangelicals for McCain? Uh . . . How About No?

2007-10-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

At the Family Research Council's Value Voter's Summit Washington Briefing last week, the evangelical group conducted a straw poll for President. McCain, Thompson, Romney, and Giuliani all spoke. As you can imagine, Rudy Giuliani wasn't the most popular guy. Not only was he given a spot Saturday morning, as opposed to Friday night like everyone else, but he didn't do all that well in the straw poll, with only 1.85% of the vote- eek! BUT, he still beat John McCain, who only got 81 votes...or 1.4%.

Feud Among Hillary Clinton's Staff

2007-05-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

The New York Post reporting a feud between Hillary Clinton's campaign staff in New York and her staff in DC. Apparently there is tension between those in New York who feel they have elected Hillary before, and those in DC who "do national elections." As we move from a fundraising operation to a real campaign, maybe it's time to consolidate staff? But maybe that will make it worse...

This, in the wake of a Clinton Aide telling Hillary in a memo that she should skip Iowa. Hillary quickly put that memo in the circular file.

Obama Goes from Man to Campaign Machine: Takes Over MySpace Page

2007-05-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

For years, the Barak Obama myspace page has been run by a Los Angles man named Joe Anthony. The Obama campaign began to work with Anthony, allowing him to maintain the page, but having the password to add content themselves. not anymore. The Barak Obama campaign has taken the myspace page, with the help of myspace itself, from Joe Anthony.

Joe Anthony writes on his myspace blog, he is "heartbroken." Myspace let him keep the contact info. of the 160,000 friends he had gotten as Barak Obama. The Obama campaign might want to stay on his good side.

Social Networking Sites: Who Wins?

2007-04-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

We recently told you about all the social networking sites that John Edwards belongs to, but who is really winning the social networking war? As you might imagine, it's Barak Obama - no question.

A look at Barak's facebook profile shows 4,650 wall posts (candidates don't have a friend-count), and 185 facebook gifts, which users pay a dollar for. He has posted 95 notes, four videos, and 95 pictures.

Hillary Clinton races to catch up, but only has 2,715 wall posts and 13 gifts -- 172 less than Barak! She has posted no notes and no videos and only 23 pictures (which can be tagged by others).

John Edwards, though a member of them all, doesn't have as strong of a showing on facebook. Only 1,138 wall posts and 2 gifts (right that's 183 less than Barak, and 11 less than Hillary). He has, not surprisingly, posted 12 notes, 9 videos, and 44 pictures.

But even John Edwards has the Republicans beaten. Rudy Giuliani doesn't seem to have a facebook profile. Mitt Romney has 1,008 wall posts, no gifts...seven videos and 185 pictures. He's posting the stuff...but not getting the gifts. McCain comes in last, with only 140 wall posts...no gifts...four notes, no videos and only four pictures.

Chris Dodd, a candidate who got to facebook early, has his privacy settings so you can only see his profile if you're his friend. And well...we're not.

That's a lot like Giuliani on MySpace, who has a private profile. We don't know if this is because he doesn't know any better...or maybe it's his old facebook profile for all his buddies before he was running for president.

Barak also leads the Myspace war with 86,071 friends - way surpassing John Edwards' 16,562 and Hillary Clinton's meek 6,577. Joe Biden has 1,365 and Chris Dodd...546. Maybe that is why you have to be his friend to see his facebook profile.

Romney has 3,699, McCain has 3,244.

John Edwards is a Social Networker

2007-04-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

According to the Washington Post, John Edwards is a part of every social networking site there is - whether you've heard of it or not. Blip.tv? 43Things.com? no one knows what they are, but John Edwards is on them.

He even has a social networking page on his website that gives you a simple link to "connect" to them all, not to mention his own social networking site, which campaign officials say has 20,000 members and 1,200 chapters across the country.

Oh, and on his facebook profile he refers to his wife, Elizabeth, as his "life partner."

Hillary's Record Lasted...A Day

2007-04-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

Barak Obama surprising everyone today with an announcement that he has raised $25 million dollars to date from 100,000 donors.

We've continually talked about how Barak leads the internet race, far outpacing any other candidate, including Hillary. HALF of Barak Obama's donors, 50,000, donated online for a total of $6.9 million.

Online campaigns have been mainly seen as free advertisment, but as Howard Dean did and now Barak, online donations are becoming more and more of a stronghold for a massive campaign warchest.

Who Expected to See Mitt Romney in a Headline About Fundraising?

2007-04-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton's record-breaking 26 million dollars raised is impressive, but considering the powerhouse of Clinton, Inc. and the fundraising capability of Bill Clinton, it is far more impressive that Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate trailing in third place struggling for name recognition, raised 23 MILLION DOLLARS. what?

Not only did this come incredibly close to Hillary Clinton's world-record, but he also beat Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani, who raised $15 Million (of course $10 million of that was during the month of March alone).

Giuliani, Clinton Dominate Respective Polls

2007-03-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton currently dominate their parties' primary polls, according to an average of all public opinion polls compiled by RealClearPolitics. Giuliani leads by McCain by an average of 14 points (a gain that continues to increase), and even Gingrich beats Romney at this point. Clinton leads Obama by an average of 12 points and Edwards by 20.

Republicans:

Democrats:

Cancer = $$$$

2007-03-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Edwards' recurrence of cancer was seen as detrimental to the Edwards campaign. He would no longer be able to spend the amount of time needed in Iowa and New Hampshire. But lately, all the press has been about one thing: Money. Who will pull in the most to solidify themselves as a leader in the primary before the deadline for the first quarter on Saturday? And more importantly, who would be basically thrown out of the race and no longer seen as a serious candidate? This was a serious risk for John Edwards who faces up against two celebrity candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

But the return of cancer for Elizabeth Edwards has prompted a surge in donations to the Edwards campaign, collecting over a half-million dollars in one week.

People speculate that Elizabeth's cancer has given John Edwards a chance to really connect with voters...an area in which Hillary Clinton still lacks skill, which was even conceded by her husband.

The McCain Bracket

2007-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

John McCain won't have his campaign competing with March Madness. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Hence the McCain Bracket Challenge. You fill out your bracket and have a chance to win a McCain fleece, hat, or lapel pin.

You have to register just to see McCain's bracket, but word on the street is he picked all the number one seeds to go to the final four. Risk Taker?

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees: But It Does Win Primary Elections

2007-03-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

Candidates from both sides of the aisle are worried that a weak showing in first quarter fundraising reports, due by Saturday at midnight. They have fundraisers scheduled right up to the last minute. With so many candidates in the race, creative ways of finding money in unusual places is going to become commonplace; but in the end, there is only so much money to go around and the one with the least money will be the ones dropping out of the race early. We've already seen Tom Vilsack bow out of the race in debt. A debt that Hillary Clinton is helping to pay for, by the way. No money woes from the Clinton campaign I guess. It will be interesting to see how fundraising numbers match up to poll numbers, but keep repeating the mantra It's Still Early. Everyone keeps saying that, but no one has ever seen a race like the 2008, who knows what early is?

Giuliani Endorsed by Steve Forbes

2007-03-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

We know he's an economic conservative, but Giuliani has been endorsed by flat-tax advocate Steve Forbes. Giuliani also rang the opening bell on the NASDAQ market yesterday.

Now where's that Pat Roberts endorsement?
Don't hold your breath.

Though after many Republicans are disappointed that comprehensive tax reform didn't come from two terms of the Bush Administration (many arguing he made the tax code more complicated than it already is) a little Ronald Reagan coming out of a candidate might be a good thing. Particularly as Republicans complain about "the largest tax increase in history" being passed by the Democrats (which democrats, by the way, contend doesn't increase taxes one penny. You figure that out, we just cover the election). This is particularly true as Republican discontent with the President grows, causing many to fear a "meltdown" in 2008.

1984 Video Created Lived Obama's Press Secretary

2007-03-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

The creator of the 1984 video discussed in a previous post that became a huge story as the press tried to figure out who it was, lived with Ben LaBolt, Obama's Press Secretary. Philip de Vellis, the creator, lived with LaBolt last year in Ohio when they were both working on Sherrod Brown's senate campaign, FoxNews reports.

Obama's campaign has denied any knowledge of or involvement with the ad - those words coming straight from LaBolt's mouth.

Money Troubles for McCain

2007-03-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

McCain won't meet his fundraising goals this quarter and will probably be beaten by Mitt Romney, who currently places third in most Republican primary polls. McCain places second after Giuliani.

Don't read too much into that though, in January and February McCain only attended two fundraisers a month. This month he has twenty scheduled with another twenty for April.

Giuliani Launches New Website

2007-03-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Many posts ago we talked about how poor Rudy Giuliani's Website was. Today he launched a new website - this one definitely prettier. However, it lacks the videos and interactive features that every other candidate has...and internet users have become accustomed to. It does have a small link to facebook, etc. for "Save and Share," and widgets for blogs, but it's certainly not a highlight of the site as it is for many other candidates (or like McCain who has decided to invent his own of everything). There's very little to joinrudy2008.com. He has a newsfeed that shows how many times an article has been viewed (like digg.com) and puts them in the order of those that have been viewed most. That's about as technologically advanced as it gets- a close second to the photo album.

Déjà vu: Elizabeth Edwards' Cancer Returns

2007-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

First diagnosed in the final weeks of her husbands 2004 campaign, Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned. John Edwards cancelled a house party in Iowa to fly back for a doctor's visit where he received the bad news.

The cancer is in the bone, and at a point where it is no longer curable, though it is still fully treatable.

Edwards insists that the campaign goes on. According to Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia's Center for Politics on WTOP Radio News, this is going to have an effect on the campaign nonetheless. It will be tiring personally, and will cause his campaign time in Iowa and New Hampshire, both extremely important for Edwards, to wane significantly.

McCain Continues Campaign to Prove He's Conservative

2007-03-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

McCain, as we seem to post everyday, continues to try and convince the world he is a conservative. This time, criticizing socialism (so yesterday) in South America and warning that is might spread. Who is talking about Latin America? Well just John McCain. But he says the Iraq war has detracted attention from the spread of socialism in South America. Maybe this will work when people know who Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are. I wonder if they will gain notoriety before or after Romney?

Edwards Wife in Medical Trouble?

2007-03-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Edwards had cancer at one time, but all signs point to remission now. Nonetheless, John Edwards has cancelled campaign speeches to fly back to North Carolina for an emergency doctor's visit with his wife.

This story developing...

Clinton "Big Sister" Video Creater Exposed!

2007-03-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

"This ad was not the first citizen ad, and it will not be the last," de Vellis wrote. "The game has changed."

Indeed it has. Phil de Vellis turns out to be the creator the Hillary Clinton "Big Sister" ad that supports Obama, shown below in a blog posting earlier this week.

The surprise? He works for the firm that has been contracted to handle Barak Obama's website. eek! And he's now been fired.

Club for Growth Fight Not Over

2007-03-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we showed the video of Steve Moore, the founder of the Club for Growth, praising John McCain, as well as video of McCain's criticism of the Club for Growth.

But the Club for Growth isn't full of praise. A White Paper released by the Club says that McCain's "overall record is tainted by a marked antipathy towards the free market and individual freedom." Ouch.

It doesn't stop there. The Club for Growth also released a press release stating that McCain was 1 of only 2 Republicans to oppose the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 1 of only 3 Republicans in 2003. The Club is asking him to apologize for those votes.

Maybe that answers the question that comes to mind after you realize who is missing here:

Uncertainty Looms and Threatens Big Time Candidates

2007-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Despite all the hype surrounding the '08 elections a few polls remind some candidates of one thing: It's early. Which means don't get your hopes up. According to data collected by the International Herald Tribune,

One-quarter of people questioned say they would not vote for a Mormon candidate, compared with 8 percent who say they would not vote for a woman and 3 percent for a black candidate, according to a Newsweek poll in December. Tough news for Romney, who is still polling a distant third.

Most Republicans and those who lean Republican are unaware of Giuliani's support for civil unions for same-sex couples and abortion rights, according to a Gallup poll in mid-January. This is made even worse by the fact that public support for McCain is probably based on a fairly firm base of knowledge about him. Knowledge of Giuliani is probably based mostly on his response as New York's mayor to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Nonetheless, Republicans have picked the early front-runner in seven of the past 10 elections, according to Gallup polling...in the other three, the Republican incumbent was elected. If Giuliani can hang on to his fairly strong lead, he will be in fine shape. But if the above stats are true, we could see McCain pulling ahead. None of this looks good for Romney, but he continues to gain momentum and insider support - which is key for a Republican Candidate.

Democrats on the other hand have a wide open field. Clinton's high poll numbers mean little in that race.

McCain Continues Fight to Win Over Conservatives, Cites/Violates 11th Amendment, and Changes position on Club for Growth?

2007-03-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our first post ever was about John McCain's tribute to Ronald Reagan and his attempt to become a conservative (or show the world he really is one?).

That fight continues, now the McCain campaign is circulating this video from CNBC about how conservative John McCain has become...

Why is this hilarious? Because the video above is Steve Moore talking about how conservative John McCain is. Steve Moore, the founder of the Club For Growth, which McCain blames for the Republican loss in the midterm elections. Again citing Reagan, McCain quotes and violates the 11th amendment right here, all while criticizing the Club for Growth:

Everyone's Talking About It: Hillary? Big Brother?

2007-03-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

A video has appeared on YouTube that is anti-Hillary (kind-of) and at the end says "BarakObama.com," yet the Obama campaign takes no claim to it, and Hillary has no idea where it came from. Yet it's creating a lot of news, which is just another example of how regular people armed with YouTube can create free political advertising for candidates. Which just means that the candidate creating the most internet traffic (see post below, in this case it's Obama) might have a huge leg up.

Ann Coulter said on FoxNews that it was a great video and she doesn't see how anyone could vote for Hillary now. I'm not sure I even understand the "commercial."

McCainSpace

2007-03-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

John McCain has someone telling him about social networking...but a profile on myspace isn't enough for him. He's started McCainSpace...apparently a social networking site to build grassroots support...and "build your own website." Will he take off like Howard Dean did? raise millions of dollars through the internet? probably not.

Weekly Internet Rankings: Campaign '08

2007-03-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

Weekly Internet Rankings are back! Candidate, world ranking, us ranking, and the change in the US ranking from last week is shown. As we get closer to the election, most sites are increasing in traffic, but Duncan Hunter, Sam Brownback, and Joe Biden have all declined. More surprisingly, Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton (who still lead the pack-by a lot) have seen a reduction in traffic, at least relative to the rest of the internet.

Website	World Rank	US Rank	Change
mittromney.com	124,242	16,501	14.12%
joinrudy2008.com	129,763	17,556	33.34%
johnmccain.com	167,447	10,185	73.61%
gohunter08.com	465,530	79,789	-26.20%
brownback.com	357,914	80,646	-12.81%
teamtancredo.com	462, 946	76,711	6.01%
explorehuckabee.com	633,594	79,622	21.09%
tommy2008.com	1,577,683	193,926	34.33%

barakobama.com	12,147	1,649	-6.59%
hillaryclinton.com	18,401	4,948	-88.07%
johnedwards.com	31,220	4,876	37.33%
kucinich.us	133,971	12,886	53.46%
joebiden.com	377,144	75,069	-69.18%
richardsonforpresident.com	335,701	64,692	11.73%
chrisdodd.com	557,591	47,040	52.92%
gravel2008.us/	762,001	37,666	78.10%

Sorry...

2007-03-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone, I've been in London for a week. I'm back now and weekly internet rankings will be up soon.

Hillary Clinton hides past as a Republican and a Communist

2007-03-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

When Hillary Clinton arrived on the campus of Wellesley College, she was a Goldwater Republican and soon become President of the Wellesley Young Republicans.

But she probably doesn't want you to know that. However, as the presidential candidate attempts to shed her liberal skin, she probably really doesn't want you to know that she later harbored communist ideas and that she attempted to bury her senior thesis as Clinton Biographers clamored for it.

Then University President Nan Keohane (later the president of Duke) said that the senior thesis of every Wellesley alumn is available in the college archives for anyone to read. Well, that is, except for those written by either a president or first lady of the United States.

But Hillary is no longer first lady, and her thesis is no longer under seal. MSNBC has dug it up, and the reason she wanted to hide it is beyond apparent as she appears to agree strongly with the radical, communist ideas of Saul Alinksy, for whom she shows quite a bit of sympathy.

The article says that campaign attack ads citing her thesis are not out of the question. Though it's probably more surprising to most that she was a republican, not a communist.

Tom Ridge to Support McCain, Chair Exploratory Committee

2007-02-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

The first Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has pledged his support for John McCain and will serve as the national co-chair of McCain's exploratory committee, the McCain campaign announced today.

If It Is Hillary...

2007-02-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

If Hillary turns out to be the Democratic Nominee who gives Republicans the best chance? It's early to say, but we can look at head-to-head polls from RealClearPolitics:

Giuliani has the best shot and seems to be gaining on Hillary all the time...

Poll	Date	Giuliani	Clinton	Spread
Average	02/06 to 02/24	48.30%	43.30%	Giuliani +5.0%
Zogby	02/22 - 02/24	47%	40%	Giuliani +7%
Rasmussen	02/21 - 02/22	52%	43%	Giuliani +9%
Quinnipiac	02/13 - 02/19	48%	43%	Giuliani +5%
Marist	02/12 - 02/15	47%	45%	Giuliani +2%
FOX News	02/13 - 02/14	49%	40%	Giuliani +9%
USA Today/Gallup	02/09 - 02/11	50%	48%	Giuliani +2%
Siena	02/06 - 02/09	45%	44%	Giuliani +1%

John McCain is iffy...could go either way...

Poll Average	Date 02/06 to 02/24	McCain 46.00%	Clinton 44.80%	Spread McCain +1.2%
Zogby	02/22 - 02/24	47%	39%	McCain +8%
Quinnipiac	02/13 - 02/19	46%	44%	McCain +2%
Marist	02/12 - 02/15	46%	46%	Tie
USA Today/Gallup	02/09 - 02/11	47%	50%	Clinton +3%
Siena	02/06 - 02/09	44%	45%	Clinton +1%

If Hillary is picked, Mitt Romney has some campaigning to do...

Poll	Date	Romney	Clinton	Spread
RCP Average	02/05 to 02/24	37.30%	48.50%	Clinton +11.2%
Zogby	02/22 - 02/24	35%	45%	Clinton +10%
Quinnipiac	02/13 - 02/19	37%	49%	Clinton +12%
Marist	02/12 - 02/15	36%	49%	Clinton +13%
Rasmussen	02/05 - 02/06	41%	51%	Clinton +10%

Defeating the Jihadists

2007-02-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

On Governor Mitt Romney's webpage you won't find anything about the "War in Iraq." Instead, it's all about "Defeating the Jihadists." Pretty smart for someone who is pro-war (most of the time), and supports the troop-increase. We're not "stabilizing Iraq," we're "defeating the Jihadists!"

For a good look at how everyone voted for the War in Iraq, what they think now, and whether they support the troop increase - as well as a good listing of some candidates you've maybe never heard of - check out this New York Times Article

Weekly Internet Rankings

2007-02-25T23:05:00.001-08:00

Something we're going to do every week here at weneedtoblog is examine the alexa.com internet ranking of all the major candidates' websites.

Below, they are separated Republican (red) and Democrat (blue) and in order by their US ranking.

Democrats continue to blow Republicans out of the water. Many more visitors to their sites than Republicans overall...many, many more. But within each party, the stats might surprise you...Obama beating Hillary, and Romney beating Giuliani who is beating McCain. Remember the numbers below are their rankings compared to the entire internet (the lower the number, the more visitors).

Candidate____Website____World Rank__US Rank

Mitt Romney	mittromney.com	191,054	19,214
Rudy Giuliani	joinrudy2008.com	217,752	26,335
John McCain	johnmccain.com	413,408	38,599
Duncan Hunter	gohunter08.com	614,563	63,223
Sam Brownback	brownback.com	373,420	71,490
Tom Tancredo	teamtancredo.com	627,931	81,612
Mike Huckabee	explorehuckabee.com	962,358	100,908
Tommy Thompson	tommy2008.com	2,415,902	295,291

Barak Obama	barakobama.com	17,148	1,547
Hillary Clinton	hillaryclinton.com	22,635	2,631
John Edwards	johnedwards.com	47,224	7,780
Dennis Kucinich	kucinich.us	199,971	27,690
Joe Biden	joebiden.com	491, 375	44,371
Bill Richardson	richardsonforpresident.com	433,316	73,287
Tom Vilsack*	tomvilsack08.com	362,818	74,864
Chris Dodd	chrisdodd.com	757,406	99,905
Mike Gravel	gravel2008.us	1,014,896	171, 977

*Tom Vilsack is no longer a presidential candidate

What is perhaps most surprising is when the world ranking doesn't correspond to the US Ranking. Unexplained to us, Bill Richardson had a higher rank in Estonia (39,075) than in the United States (73,287), Tommy Thompson had a higher rank in Australia (179,688) than in this country (295, 291), and Mike Gravel, although barely known to American voters is apparently more popular in both Lithuania (ranked 77, 657) and Australia (140,575).

Next week we'll show you updated stats and the change from this week. Website traffic may not be an accurate way of looking at the overall demographic, but this early in the stage it's a good indicator of momentum, particularly on the grassroots front.

VILSACK OUT OF THE RACE

2007-02-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has dropped out of the 2008 run for the White House.

At a new conference, Vilsack cited trouble raising money early in the game as the underlying reason. He is the first drop out of the year (Evan Bayh dropped out in December).

This raises a lot of questions though. Although Vilsack didn't have an outpouring of support he had a core group of very loyal supporters, most of whom are in Iowa. Who will they support now?

Can't Get Enough Facebook

2007-02-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

We've been talking an awful lot about social networking sites like Facebook lately, and with good reason. Barak Obama has recently added a Facebook link to his website, and he's putting it to full use. Barak is not only putting a smiling face on Facebook and asking for friends, he's putting up the rarely used Facebook Notes, as well as events.

He also doesn't seem to be editing wall postings for language or content, which could gain him popularity among the Facebook Crowd? Example:

And, he's on Flikr as well...which is becoming a strong trend among candidates.

Tom Visack has also joined the online community, becoming a member on the host of social networking sites that seem to be making up the campaign so far. This from his campaign website:Will these sites help candidates gain momentum and grassroots support? It seemed to work for Dean, but now they just have to find a way to translate that support into actual votes, where Dean ultimately failed.

So far, no word from Republicans on social networking sites. Come on guys, even FoxNews has a sponsored Facebook group.

Facebook: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2007-02-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

We've seen Facebook come center stage early in the race so far. With Chris Dodd all over it, and Barak Obama paying for adspace on it...but we tend to forget facebook is grass-roots. Young people (most who won't turn out to vote) can create groups, put up pictures, etc - but as we've seen YouTube ruin the fate of a few, Facebook can go negative too.

As to an earlier post that said people don't hate Hillary much anymore, Facebook seems to differ...a group search of her name comes up with far more anti-Hillary groups than pro. Shown here is a selection from the first page of that search.

And Numbers for the Democrats...

2007-02-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

A clear Hillary win if the election were today...but we've got a long ways to go...

Republican Poll Numbers

2007-02-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

Giuliani gains some ground as we look at this week's USAToday/Gallup Poll among Republican contenders (or possible contenders...or people who just poll higher than contenders):

Things are Looking Up for Many Candidates

2007-02-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton received her all-time high approval rating from this weeks USAToday/Gallup poll, 58% favorable, 40% unfavorable and (no surprise) only one percent of people have no opinion on Hillary!

Of course Obama also experienced a spike in approval ratings from last week (53/19, +11). So did John McCain (57/26, +9), and Rudy Giuliani (66/22, +4).

Mitt Romney, however, suffered a ever-so-slight decrease (18/18, -1), but what is remarkable here is that 47% of voters have never even heard of him.

John Edwards also suffered a decrease (49/31, -5), as did Al Gore (why are we still polling about Al Gore again?)

A Million Dollars in a Week? With Bill's Help.

2007-02-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hillary Clinton is trying to raise money Dean-style: online. Going for a million dollars in one week. An email to supporters from husband Bill Clinton is sure to help the effort. So far she's about 25% there... will she make it? With Bill's help anything is possible.

McCain Spends Time in SC

2007-02-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

Third straight day for John McCain in South Carolina and it seems to be working for him. While in January, SC Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell endorsed McCain, today he was joined by state Sen. Hugh Leatherman.

Here's the kicker for Republicans who think McCain is too liberal...

"Once upon a time, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat before he became a Republican. Sen. Leatherman was also a Democrat before he saw the light and became a Republican," McCain said to applause and laughter from the crowd.

And who can blame him for spending so much time in South Carolina - the state that pretty much wrapped up his presidential campaign in 2000, a huge let down after his New Hampshire win.

But today is McCain's last day in South Carolina - off to California tomorrow for a press conference with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Romney to Fire Government Workers?

2007-02-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

Many Republicans talk about downsizing government, but few brag about firing government workers. A video on Mitt Romney's site shows him bragging about firing government workers. While most of the video has other people talking about Romney, he himself gets on screen and says, "we ended up cutting more government workers than any other state in America."

Might help in the primary, will it come back to bite him?

Obama Hits Facebook

2007-02-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

Not to be outdone by Chris Dodd, Obama has an advertisement on Facebook(I know, who pays to be on facebook?)...found by Hotline.

Phones are Quiet among Prominent Moderates in Iowa

2007-02-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

Joy Corning is a former two-term Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, a Republican that one would think campaigns would be clamoring to get an endorsement out of. But, according to the Des Moines Register, Corning's phone is silent. She hasn't even been contacted by any campaign seeking an endorsement.

Why? "They are all trying to appeal to the far right." says the moderate Corning.

Conservatives make up two-thirds of Iowa GOP caucus participants. And what do these voters want to hear?

- Conservatives in Iowa solidly oppose abortion rights and gay marriage.

- Many also say they oppose earned citizenship for illegal immigrants.

- They support President Bush's execution of the war in Iraq

And Let's look at the big names to see how they stack up:

While, as the chairman of the Dickinson County Republicans Mike Koenecke says, "Conviction to principles is more important to me than winning," he is still "hard right" when it comes to abortion rights, gay marriage, and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

So how do the big-name candidates stack up? Well...

Rudy Giuliani supports abortion rights, gay rights, and earned citizenship for illegal immigrants. Three strikes - yet he still leads most polls in Iowa.

John McCain opposes abortion rights and gay marriage...but he opposes a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. He is also a strong supporter of allowing illegals citizenship if they pass a number of steps, such as paying back taxes and penalties.

Mitt Romney...well, who really knows? The Massachusetts Governor supported abortion rights and gay rights during his 1994 U.S. Senate bid, but now he is opposed to both.

So the big-names are not fairing so well with Iowa voters, it seems - does this open the chance for a lesser-known candidate?

Mike Huckabee seems to identify with Iowa voters more, except for extending healthcare and education to illegals as Governor. And he has spoken out against President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, which Iowa conservatives seem to ardently support.

Then there is Senator Sam Brownback (who?), who is supports defining marriage, is anti-abortion, and very pro-Iraq. Now if he could just get voters to recognize him, maybe he could get his views across.

If Only 13 Year-Olds Could Vote...

2007-02-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

Chris Dodd, with very little coverage in the mainstream media, has taken to the internet. He has anchored himself on every major social networking site: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr.

On to South Carolina and...Racial Politics!

2007-02-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

We're far from a clear leader in Iowa or New Hampshire, but candidates are wasting no time heading to South Carolina. Obama was there Saturday, Chris Dodd was planning on attending the same day but backed out at the last minute, instead sending a surrogate to "other planned events," John McCain made a visit yesterday and Hillary Clinton will be there today.

Obama visited Claftin University, an historically black college and Hillary will visit Allen University, a -you guessed it- historically black college.

It was Obama's first trip to South Carolina, and that's all it took to get racial politics started according to the Charlotte Observer. Of course, it was just a few days ago that a black South Carolina legislator, Senator Robert Ford, concluded that Obama winning the White House would lead to losses for Democrats both in Congress and gubernatorial races.

According to The State, responding to Ford's remarks was the highpoint of Obama's speech, and in fact it does currently headline Obama's website.

"Everybody is entitled to their opinion," Obama said, "but I know this: That when folks were saying, 'We're going to march for our freedom,' somebody said, 'You can't do that.' And somebody said, 'Don't sit at the lunch counter, don't share our table.' We can't do that. We can't." Which led to the crowd chanting "Yes We Can."

Is this significant beyond the fact that we have an African-American with a legitimate shot at winning the White House? Yes. South Carolina, an early primary state, might be essential in determining who the winner is and, more importantly, half of South Carolina democratic primary voters are black. Whether they follow Obama or Hillary in that state could determine the outcome.

"I don't see [Obama] beating Mrs. Clinton among blacks here," said Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen, who closely follows S.C. presidential politics.

South Carolina will be the state to watch - and not just for Democrats. According to the State Party's Website, no Republican has ever lost the South Carolina primary and gone on to win the party's nomination.

Debates are already planned, with the Democrats on April 26th (aired on MSNBC) and Republicans on May 15th (aired on FoxNews Channel).

Hillary Clinton: Not So Bad?

2007-02-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

According to a New York Times article, Hillary Clinton isn't getting the public beating she had expected...or even hoped for?

A main point in Hillary's fundraising stump speech has been that she needs money to "fight back" against the onslaught of criticism and attacks she will undoubtedly face in the upcoming election.

But perhaps Christopher Ruddy, who once worked full-time for Mr. Scaife investigating the Clintons, puts it best: “Clinton wasn’t such a bad president...in fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways." Which is saying something considering, according to Ruddy, “the level of intensity and anger toward Hillary is not getting to the level that it was toward Bill Clinton when he was president.”

But the question may not be is this good news or bad news for Hillary's fundraising hopes...but rather is this good news or bad news for Republicans? Many who see Hillary Clinton as the best chance of unifying their party, particularly considering how their field of candidates so far seems to be doing exactly the opposite.

Giuliani Has a WIDE Margin on McCain

2007-02-18T21:26:00.000-08:00

According to a CBS News Poll, Rudy Giuliani is beating John McCain head-t0-head by 29 points.

PREFERENCE IF GOP NOMINATION WERE JUST MCCAIN V. GIULIANI
(Among Republican Primary Voters)

Giuliani 50%

McCain 21%

Neither 13%

Among Republican Primary voters, 59% thought McCain had the "right temperament to be President," while 76% though Giuliani did - and the questions were asked seperately. 17 points is a pretty large margin there.

Though Guliani drops behind Republican primary voters who think he "shares their values," with only 57% agreeing (I don't now if that says more about Giuliani or Republicna primary voters). McCain on the otherhand, has 60% that share his values, a small lead.

Overall opinion shows another Giuliani advantage, though with more undecided folks in McCain's camp...maybe they'll be swayed by that section of his website just for them:

Overall Opinion of McCain:
Favorable 31%
Not favorable 20%
Undecided 28%
Don’t know enough yet 21%

Overall Opinion of Giuliani:
Favorable 41%
Not favorable 18%
Undecided 25%
Don’t know enough yet 16%

McCain on the Superhighway, Attempts to Appeal to Reagan Conservatives

2007-02-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

John McCain has launched his website, johnmccain.com, which he claims to be "a departure from the tradiitional campaign website." Upon first look, all you really notice is that it's black and white (insert jokes relating website colors to personality here), but once you get to the videos you see that he's got other things on his mind. He's a conservative again!

The site includes a video entitled "Reagan Tribute," which is a montage of pictures showing McCain at Reagan's side and of course another POW plug.

To make sure that viewers get the message that John McCain likes Ronald Reagan so much because he is a conservative too, McCain lays it out there saying, "I am confident that the reason why I hold a lot of the philosophical views that I have are the inspiration of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, there's no doubt about it."

Of course there is also the please-seperate-me-from-George W. Bush-plug, "One of the things that caused our defeat in 2006 is we strayed from many of [Reagan's] principles, we forgot where we were and who we are."

But McCain does seem to have the internet crowd down. He, like everyone else, has his own blog, and perhaps the most innovative thing: YouTube town hall! Now we've seen how YouTube has destroyed candidates (read: Mukaka), but John McCain seems to be attempting to use it as his advantage. The idea is that you put a video on YouTube asking John McCain about an issue that is important to you, register the video on McCain's site, and he posts responses. Pretty nifty way to get plenty of your supporters on YouTube...we'll see how it works.

The Undecided page helps voters to choose John McCain in an ever-widening field of Republican contenders for President when none seem to be taking center-stage. The site is certainly more fun than http://www.joinrudy2008.com/, and A LOT better than the Solutions America (Rudy's PAC) site, which is literally just a logo.