Headlines: The Aftermath

Picture of the Day 2/5

Michael Strahan and Eli Manning celebrate with 1 million Giants fans in the Canyon of Heroes, in Lower Manhattan, during their victory parade today.

Huckabee Wins WV, Romney PO'd

NBC News projects former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the West Virginia caucus, and picked up the state's 18 delegates.

This set off rival candidate Mitt Romney, who's campaign issued a scathing statement after Romney carried the caucus' first round of ballots with 41%, before Sen. McCain dropped out, and his campaign asked backers to support Huckabee, who won on the second ballot with 52%.

"Unfortunately, this is what Senator McCain's inside Washington ways look like: he cut a backroom deal with the tax-and-spend candidate he thought could best stop Governor Romney's campaign of conservative change.

"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today's first ballot. Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party."

The Romney camp may also believe (as do I) that McCain has cut a deal with Huckabee, where Huck will stay in the race and detract from their candidate's support, until McCain sures up the nomination and tabs Huckabee as his running-mate. However, in all fairness, Huckabee has raised enough money and garnered enough support to earn the right to stay in this race.

Quote of the Day 2/5

"I guarantee you, as the nominee of my party, I can and will carry the city of New York as well as the state of New York, because we know how to appeal to independents."

- John McCain at a rally in NYC. A bold claim considering New York's liberal nature, and that McCain's likely opponent is a popular NY Senator.

Obama Music Video

This cool video is making the rounds on the inter-web this morning...

Super Tuesday Headlines

DeNiro to Obama: You're talking to me (Quote of the Day 2/4)

“You wanted to vote, you just didn’t have anyone to vote for. Well you know what? I felt the same way. Until now.”

- Robert DeNiro addresses young voters at a campaign rally in East Rutherford, NJ. DeNiro delivered his first ever political speech and introduced Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who introduced Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to a crowd of about 3000.

The crowd was far smaller than the 12,000 - 20,0000 turnouts the candidate enjoyed in other states. But weather, timing, and access to the Meadowlands (home of the Superbowl Champion Giants) were limiting factors. The scene did allow Newark Mayor Corey Booker to draw a comparison:

"The important thing about the Meadowlands is the spirit. I don’t know if you can smell it — there’s a spirit of upset."

Here Come the Waterworks...

Hillary Clinton was at her alma mater, Yale Law School, and introduced by her former boss, who described their first meeting back in the early 1970s.

It was an emotional moment, and Sen. Clinton wiped a tear from her eye.

“I said I would not tear up,” she said. “Already we’re not on that path.”

It was similar to a moment after the New Hampshire debate when she welled up talking about the "personal" nature of the issues in the campaign. The next day, Sen. Clinton overcame unfavorable polls and scored a primary victory.

In a completely unrelated story, new polling has Barack Obama surging in important Super Tuesday states like California, where the two are now in a statistical dead heat.

Carville & Frist Superbowl Commercial

My boy James Carville did an excellent commercial with former Sen. (now lobbyist) Bill Frist (who I think is C.P. Coleta's boy). For more on the Superbowl, scroll down.

My Boy!: Marc Landy on McCain

My favorite professor at Boston College, Marc Landy, had an interesting take on Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement of John McCain.

He taught me (almost) everything I know, so he knows his stuff. Check it out...

All Hail the NY Giants!!!

I was going to post this just before Superbowl XLII started, but I didn't want to jinx it. It's kind of corny, with the Madagascar cartoon and all, but I like it just the same.

Fox Still On Top

TV Newser, a website about the news of television news has reported the ratings for cable news shows in January 2008. And, as usual, it isn't even close. Although CNN scored ratings victories with the most watched debate and debate coverage, this chart shows it still has a long way to go. Also lagging, MSNBC likes to brag that it's the "fastest growing" news channel, but that growth hasn't done much to cut into the tremendous lead of Fox News. Leading the way, of course, was Mr. Bill O'Reilly:

1. The O'Reilly Factor (Fox)
2. Hannity & Colmes (Fox)
3. The Fox Report with Shep Smith (Fox)
4. Special Report with Brit Hume (Fox)
5. On The Record with Greta Van Susteren (Fox)
6. Americas Newsroom (Fox)
7. The O'Reilly Factor (Repeat) (Fox)
8. Larry King Live (CNN)
9. The Big Story with John Gibson (Fox)
10. Lou Dobbs Tonight (CNN)
11. Studio B with Shep Smith (Fox)
12. Your World with Neil Cavuto (Fox)
13. Happening Now (Fox)
14. Fox And Friends (Fox)
15. Live Desk with Martha MacCallum (Fox)
16. Americas Pulse (Fox)
17. Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
18, Out In The Open (CNN)
19. Countdown with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC)
20. CNN Election Center (CNN)

Money Well Spent

Oil giant Exxon/ Mobil announced the largest ever profit for a US company in 2007- $40.6bn, breaking its own record of $39.5bn set the year before. The company also broke the record for most profitable quarter- $11.7bn for the last three months of 2007, which surpassed the mark set in 2005 by (any guesses?)... who had Exxon/ Mobil? Correct!

The main reason behind the extraordinary profits are surging oil prices, which topped out at $100/ barrel earlier this month. Now, I'm as capitalist as the next guy (as long as this is the next guy), but this is making me sick. When President Bush was inaugurated in 2001, oil was $26/ barrel. It's now close to $90.

The price of gasoline is over $3/ gallon, and I can barely afford to fill up my tank (I might actually have to switch to Regular Unleaded if this continues).

President Bush is an oil man, from an oil family, and has the support of companies like Exxon/ Mobil. They certainly got their money's worth.

Over the next few months, I'm sure that we'll hear the question "Are you better off now than you were eight years ago?" a lot, as the presidential race progresses. It will be used as a rallying cry by Democrats because most Americans aren't.

But if you ask Exxon/ Mobil and its CEO, officers and big shareholders, you'll probably get a very different answer.

Sarah Silverman on Matt Damon

My TV is out so I can't watch the debates, but I did find this hilarious video that Sarah Silverman presented to her boyfriend on his late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live. It's not for the kids, so put em to bed before watching...

February Madness: My Picks

Well, here we are, down to the Final Four. In one half of the bracket, the No. 1 seed, out of the East Region, Hillary Clinton takes on the No. 2 seed, out of the Midwest Region, Barack Obama. In the other half of the bracket, its No. 2 seeded Mitt Romney up against the Cinderella campaign of John McCain.

People often ask for my prediction of how this will shake out. Well, my take is that if Barack Obama wins the nomination he'll win the general election, and if Clinton wins she'll beat Romney. If it's Clinton against McCain, I think McCain wins a close call. But all this comes with the caveat that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

After McCain's triumph last night, he looks well on his way toward the nomination. On the Democratic side, it's still a complete toss up. Just because I endorsed the two, I'll pick an Obama/ McCain showdown.

Picture of the Day 1/30: the Long Goodbye

Rudy Giuliani blows a kiss to supporters before his concession speech last night in Florida, and with it kisses goodbye his presidential aspirations. Giuliani and John Edwards both dropped out today, leaving the presidential nominating contests to four contenders.

Edwards reportedly called both of his rivals to inform them of his decision and ask that they pledge to keep the poverty issue at the forefront of their campaigns. He has yet to endorse a candidate.

Rudy, meanwhile, has backed his friend and now-frontrunner Senator John McCain. Entire poli sci courses will be taught in college someday on the 2008 presidential primaries, and there will be a section called "How to sabotage your own chance" about Giuliani.

(Finally) Good Day to be a Mets Fan

Two- time American League Cy Young Award winner, Johan Santana, is on the verge of signing with the good guys- the NY Mets.


It's enough to make a previously resigned fan (me) giddy with anticipation for the 2008 season. Summer evenings, tailgates under the Van Wyck, and "Meet the Mets" blaring from the speakers for a final season at Shea (see below).

The $30m Delegate

From the Economist: A look at what 2008 presidential candidates got for their money...

MONEY obviously matters in American politics, but some who wish to be president clearly get a better return on their investments than others. The big Democratic spenders (Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) have already shelled out more than $40m dollars each for their campaigns; the Republican Mitt Romney has spent over $50m. At least they have some delegates to show for it. Rudy Giuliani, so far, has spent over $30m and has just a single delegate (this should change in the Florida primary on Tuesday January 29th). The most efficient is Mike Huckabee, who claims 40 delegates for an outlay of $1.6m, a rate of about $42,000 per delegate compared with, for example, Mr Romney's $908,000. A Democrat needs 2,025 delegates to seal the nomination, a Republican needs only 1,191.

One more time: Rudy Giuliani spent $30m so far and has a single delegate pledged. He is currently running third in Florida. Someone in that campaign will have a hard time finding work when he drops out (a.k.a. next week).

**Update** This article was posted today, its chart has incorrect delegate totals. I'm not sure what I'm missing, maybe someone can figure it out and let me know. Anyway, here are the pledged delegate totals according to CNN:

Democrats (2025 needed)
Clinton- 230
Obama- 152
Edwards- 61

Republicans (1191 needed)
Romney- 73
McCain- 38
Huckabee- 29
Paul- 6
Giuliani 2

The Legacy of the George W. Bush presidency

The chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Rahm Emanuel, debuted the following chart last week in anticipation of the President Bush's final State of the Union address tonight. It's pretty startling stuff...

THE LEGACY OF GEORGE W. BUSH’S PRESIDENCY

The Country He Inherited, The Country He Leaves Behind

THE ECONOMY	JANUARY 20, 2001	TODAY UNDER BUSH
REAL GDP GROWTH1	4.09% Over Prior 8 Years	2.65% Over Prior 7 Years
NATIONAL DEBT2	$5.7 Trillion	$9.2 Trillion
BUDGET DEFICIT/SURPLUS3	$431 Billion Surplus over the Previous Three Budget Years	$734 Billion Deficit over the Previous Three Budget Years
NEW PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS CREATED4	1.76 Million Jobs Per Year Over Previous 8 Years	369,000 Jobs Per Year Over Previous 7 Years
AMERICANS IN POVERTY 5	31.6 Million	36.5 Million
QUALITY OF LIFE	JANUARY 20, 2001	TODAY UNDER BUSH
AMERICANS UNINSURED & CHANGE IN UNINSURED LEVEL6	38 Million Uninsured 4.5 Million Less in 2 Years	47 Million Uninsured 8.5 Million More in 6 Years
ANNUAL TOTAL PREMIUM COST7	$6,230 for Family Premium	$12,106 for Family Premium
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME & CHANGE IN MEDIAN INCOME8	$49,163 $6,000 Increase in 8 Years	$48,023 $1,100 Decrease in 6 Years
PRICE OF GAS9	$1.39/Gallon	$3.07/Gallon
COST OF COLLEGE10	$3,164 per year	$5,192 per year
PERSONAL SAVINGS RATE11	+2.3%	-0.5%
CONSUMER CREDIT DEBT12	$7.65 Trillion	$12.8 Trillion
UNITED STATES & THE WORLD	JANUARY 20, 2001	TODAY UNDER BUSH
U.S. TRADE DEFICIT13	$380 Billion	$759 Billion
STRENGTH OF U.S. DOLLAR14	1.07 Euros per Dollar	0.68 Euros Per Dollar
COMBAT READINESS15	All Active Duty Army Divisions Were Rated At The Highest Readiness Levels	Not A Single Active Duty Or Reserve Brigade In The U.S. Considered “Fully Combat Ready.”
FOREIGN OIL DEPENDENCY16	52.75% of U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption is Imported	60.38% of U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption is Imported
VIEW OF AMERICA ABROAD17 PEW POLL OF TEN NATIONS	58.3% Viewed America Favorably	39.2% Viewed America Favorably
GREAT BRITAIN’S VIEW OF U.S.	83% Favorable	56% Favorable
INDONESIA’S VIEW OF U.S.	75% Favorable	30% Favorable
TURKEY’S VIEW OF U.S.	52% Favorable	12% Favorable
GERMANY’S VIEW OF U.S.	78% Favorable	37% Favorable

Letterman: Top 10 Rejected Titles for the George W. Bush Movie

I've been doing a lot of Letterman stuff recently, but I have to post this because they did a Top 10 list that mirrored my post from last week.

Here's the list...

10. "Jackass 3"

9. "The Lyin' King"

8. "The Departed As Of January 20th, 2009"

7. "Stop Or My Vice President Will Shoot"

6. "Dial M For Moron"

5. "Das Boob"

4. "When Sally Met Cheney's Daughter"

3. "White Men Can't Govern"

2. "The Nightmare Before Hillary"

1. "Raging Bull****"

It's good stuff, we had one identical entry... here's my link.